Thursday, December 31, 2015

The Details for BB-3

As much as I'd like to reflect on the previous year, I can't help but be excited about the new year. 2015 had many good points, and a few low. {Plus, I need to back date a few posts *cough**cough*}

I know last year, I was just ready for 2014 to be over. I don't feel like that this time, but I am more focused on next year than I am reflecting. If you really want to know how our year went, you can check out the monthly highlights posts I did.

Now, for the details of our little BB-3! Before you even ask, yes it was planned. We'd love to have 4 children total, but we'll see what the future holds :)

Starting in January, Phil and I couldn't quite pinpoint the best time to officially start trying for baby #3. Part of this was due to me not wanting another December baby, my brother's wedding coming up in April, and our super busy schedules. Nothing seemed really right, so we just went with the flow. We'd try for a month or two, take a month or two off, etc. until later this summer.

Around July, my primary care physician wanted me to stop taking Metformin so he could do a blood test. That made me a little nervous, but I trusted my doctor. The results came back showing that I didn't need it to regulate sugar anymore. {Side note: I previously went off it, but my cycles got really erratic, so I went back on} He asked that we try for 6 months without it. If I was having trouble ovulating, then I could check in with my OBGYN and get something else to help with that. This is also around the time I started to Carb-Cycle. I did have a chemical pregnancy during this time, but I wasn't entirely convinced I could conceive and carry a baby without Metformin. I mean, I never had before!

I was really convinced that we had conceived in October. I mean, I was prepared to see a positive test, and I'm usually not that confident. Well, my period came a day early on the 30th. To say I was sad is completely on the mark. I was just so confident! Plus, the upcoming month was going to be a little on the busy side.

The first weekend of November, we ended up adopting our dog, Olive! We decided to put in the application if we didn't conceive in October. Within 24 hours of applying, we had a call saying she was ready for adoption if we were willing. Good thing we had been preparing for a dog for a few months! Just two days after we brought Olive home, Phil went out of town for 5 days for work. I had two sick babies, and a brand new dog to take care of. It was overwhelming, but we made it! I was pretty sure we had missed my fertile window with Phil being gone, so I was certain November was a bust. To add to this, I got rear-ended by someone on my way to church. It wasn't bad or anything, but enough that I figured even if I had conceived, the baby couldn't attach because of it. {Trust me, I know that is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever typed!}

Right before Thanksgiving, I had a meltdown of epic proportions. I'm talking, crying in my closet like a drama queen! Now, I am an emotional person, I totally admit that. However, I can usually harness my crazy a little. This was one of those times where I could not, for the life of me, calm myself down. I knew I was overreacting, but I could not stop it. This was my first clue. The only other points in my life where I've felt out of control with my emotions was during pregnancy. I ended up taking a cheapie test, and the line was so faint, I didn't even mention it to Phil. I wasn't even fully convinced it was there. That was 11/25.

Thanksgiving was great! My parents were in town, we did minimal cooking, and we just had a great visit! I am so thankful for the holiday we had. The morning after, I took another test. This time, Phil could see a line too! So on 11/27, we were optimistically hopeful for baby #3. I did tell my mom what was going on, but didn't want to tell anyone else until after my blood tests. I took one more at home test on 11/29, and the line was darker enough for me to feel ok.

On 11/30, I went to the doctor for a blood test as early as I could. Now, in the past, if you went early enough in the day, they would call you by 5 pm to tell you the result. This is no longer their policy :-/
Anyways, they called me on 12/1 and said my hCG levels and progesterone were both pretty low, (77 and 13 respectively), so they needed me to come in the next day to confirm everything was progressing as it should. I went in and took another blood test on 12/2. They called me on 12/3 saying my hCG more than doubled, so they would put me on progesterone to raise those levels. I was put on progesterone for both Jillian and David, so this was fine with me. I tried to ask if not being on Metformin would make me more susceptible to miscarrying, but no one seemed to answer that. It made me pretty nervous. When I finally got an appointment with an ultrasound to confirm it is not an ectopic pregnancy, I couldn't get one until 12/30 due to the holidays. This about killed me, but I knew there was not much else I could do.

For the next few weeks, my pregnancy symptoms were just different from Jillian and David that I would panic about every other day. I got sick later, the sickness wasn't too bad, my eczema flared up really bad, etc. Like I said, it was just different enough to make me worry. I can't tell you how many times Phil and I had conversations about how this pregnancy is ok, and how it was probably due to the fact that I was not on Metformin anymore.{My NP yesterday confirmed that is most likely why I am not as sick this time}.

Phil did have to work yesterday, but he offered to watch the kids so I could go to my ultrasound and appointment at 8:30 without having to juggle the kiddos. I was grateful, but nervous to go alone. Plus, I was the only lady there without her husband in the waiting room. When I was called back, I let the tech know that I was a bit nervous. She immediately showed me our "little nugget" as she called it, and got the heartbeat at 177 bpm. It was a beautiful sound :) All my fears melted away! I was measuring 1 day behind, so they gave me a due date of August 6th. I then saw my nurse practioner, and we had a good conversation. Plus, she said I am not at a higher risk of miscarrying since I was off Metformin long before I got pregnant :)

I do have a few things to look out for: postpartum depression popping up before the baby is here, and I have to do extra glucose tests because I may end up with gestational diabetes since I am off the Metformin. Those are all things I can deal with! I have to go back for my bloodwork and the 1 hour glucose test, but I have 3 weeks to get that done.

So here we are! Now it's time to plan on mini-vans, and how to juggle 3 kiddos. I am beyond excited, and I can't wait to meet him/her :)

Love you, little one!
{Not the best picture, but I love it anyways :)}

No comments:

Post a Comment

But I Know What It Feels Like

This post is going to be awfully vulnerable and hard for me, but I really want to finally say it out loud. I got permission for my daughter ...