Good News and Michigan Bound!!

So my doctor's appointment went very well yesterday! My blood pressure is back down and in the normal range, it was actually a little low. I passed another kidney stone! Horrah, well for those of you that didn't have to stay up all night in agony, that's a hoorah! Doctor checked little E out and said everything looked good. He also said in about a month, we may do another ultrasound to get an idea of a projected weight. I freaked a bit because at the last ultrasound they told me my child's head was measuring 10, yes 10 days ahead.....so pardon me for freaking out. He tried to reassure me that everything was well within the normal range and I measure 32 cm, which is again in the normal range. I have only gained 11 pounds (4 in the last month...erg) in 7 months so they are happy with that. Glucose test came back within normal ranges as did the hemoglobin test.

When I asked if it was ok to travel to Michigan, he said it was fine, but this is my last opportunity. I need to be super careful and drink plenty of fluids and make sure to get out and walk around as to avoid any blood clots. The only other concern he had was that I could pass another stone, which would put us in a bit of a predicament not knowing where the nearest hospital would be if it got that bad.

The doctor I saw this time had quite the sense of humor, he went through my medical history with me since getting pregnant and was like wow, you've had nausea/vomitting for 5 months, lost 30 pounds, had kidney stones, high blood pressure and he says, "what's next?" I was like hopefully nothing but a healthy little girl.

I am soo eager for Christmas to be over so that we can get settled in our new house. We also start labor and delivery classes two days after moving, and then before you know it, I will get to hold my little girl in my arms!

Jeff and I will be celebrating our 2nd Wedding anniversary on Monday. I can't believe it!! We have been together for almost 7 years and married for 2. I love that man more than anything and thank my lucky stars every day that I get to spend with him. I can't imagine my life without him and I can't wait to see him hold his little girl :)

This girl means the world to me......

Yesterday I went for my last regular monthly check-up and was about to start my bi-weekly check-ups. I had a pretty bad feeling about going to the doctor yesterday. Things have been going really well even with all the kidney stone issues. I had been feeling pretty good and even started sleeping through the night again. Wednesday was when everything changed. Mid-afternoon after an unneccesary and uncalled for stressful meeting, the pain of stones, and cramps began. I was able to make it through the day but left in extreme pain. Came home and the pain eased and my loving husband took such great care of me. Thursday was my scheduled doctor's appointment and I knew there would be bad news. After leaving school earlier than my planned leave time for my doctor's appt. I went home laid down and tried to relax. I arrived at my doctor's appointment for my glucose test and regular appt. They took my blood pressure and guess what.....yup.....it was high. Really high. They put me back in the room to wait for the doctor and she came in and said, "what the h&#^ is going on." I was not only stunned but caught off guard. She said your blood pressure has sky-rocketed since your last appt. what's going on. I immediately broke down and she said wait a minute, your a teacher right, I said yup. She said it's either the kids or the co-workers. We chatted for awhile and she basically put me on a restrictive work schedule. Which just means I can't do anything outside of my basic job duties. She wants to see me next week and if my blood pressure is still high, then she said that's it you're done.

It saddens me that I try so hard to do everything right and make sure that I am taking the best care of my baby girl while she grows, but no matter what it just seems that things don't go the way I want them to. I know that there are reasons things happen and don't get me wrong, I am soooooooo thankful that she is still inside my tummy growing! Maybe this is a lesson to teach me to speak up, stand my ground, and fight for what is right. Maybe it's a lesson in depending more on God. Whatever the lesson I am open to learning and pray everyday that God protects Baby E and keeps her safe and happy inside my belly. He has been so faithful and she is so strong, and she has given me faith!

My prayer is that Baby E stays safe, healthy, and that I too can stay safe, healthy, and CALM so that she has the best possible growing environment. My next appt. is Thursday....so prayers that everything works out and my blood pressure drops back into the normal range and that the kidney stone pain stays away or manageable again.

Today's Latest Doctor's Update

So I went back to the doctor(s) today to find out what the next step is if there are any? I had called my OB last night because I was having some significant cramping and my OB thinks it's because I am not staying hydrated with this stone trying to move. She suggested I drink 24 ounces of water an hour from the minute I get up to the minute I go to bed. I about flipped, I have been drinking as much as I possible can. So I followed their advice last night and felt better this morning.

I went to the urologist this morning, and wasn't sure what to expect. The doctor came in and he looked frusterated. He did the usual questions, how are you feeling, how are things going, blah, blah, blah. He told me that they had still found a significant amount of blood in my urine, which immediately tells them there are still stones moving/caught. I wasn't surprised. I informed him I haven't been taking the pain killers because I'm trying to deal with the pain so our baby has better chances of staying put longer. He just shook his head and said, I hate to say this to you, but I don't know what to do. I know your in pain and incredibly uncomfortable. He explained our options again 1) continue taking the percocet to kill the pain and risk pre-term labor 2) go in and put a stent in which puts our baby in significant danger 3) continue on the path we are on which is drinking fluids and praying this sucker passes and doesn't cause any infection.

I knew there is really only one option and that's to just deal. I can't subject my little girl to risks because of my own pain and discomfort. She needs to stay put and every day and every week she is in my belly is another day and another week she will become just that much stronger. So unless something drastic happens such as me spiking fevers, more vomitting, or severe chills, we will continue to press on one day at a time. If i start fevers, vomitting, or chills, that is a sign there is an infection and that leaves us with no option but to go in and put a stent in.

SO, prayers that things stay the way they are or that this pesky stone is released and the others stay put for now. We need Baby E to get bigger and healthier. Pray for patience and an ability for me to continue to endure the pain and discomfort that comes with these freaking stones.

13 more weeks until baby E arrives

I feel like this is a great time for me to start blogging. Jeff and I are expecting our first baby and we are so excited to meet Baby E! This has been a long journey and our lives have changed so much already and I want to be able look back and thank God for what he has brought us through because I know there is a reason for all of this, even amidst the storm when I feel so discouraged.

Let me give you the details:

December 2010, Jeff and I decided we wanted to try and start a family. We love kids and we knew the timing would never be perfect, so we went for it. We found out in late June that we were expecting. Two weeks later, we had our first scare: I was bleeding pretty heavily and over the 4th of July called our OB and had an appointment scheduled to get things checked out. I went into the office and they did an internal ultrasound and assured me that I was pregnant, but it was most likely an ectopic pregnancy. They couldn't find a heart beat, but the signs of pregnancy were there. Jeff had just started a new job and I didn't want to jeopardize that so I had my friend Melissa come to the appointment with me. She had recently been pregnant but lost her baby at 5 months into the pregnancy. I was devastated, Jeff remained hopefull as they sent me to a specialist that same evening. Melissa left and Jeff joined me that evening, after a horrendous 2 hour wait in the waiting room (they were squeezing me in) it was finally my turn. Another ultrasound later and guess what, they found a heartbeat and our baby was there! The heavy bleeding was due to a tear in the placenta or the placenta attaching to the uterus.

Week 12: We had an ultrasound scan done to check for the possibility of birth defects. We just wanted to know ahead of time if we had higher chances of having a child with birth defects, we knew we would love this child regardless, but wanted to be prepared. Back to the specialist I went. Unfortunately it was another mid-day appointment and my amazing friend Melissa was once again their by my side so my hubby didn't have to leave work....not that he wasn't willing.I just hated to see him leave and take time from work when he had just started there. So the screening began and the doctor was telling me all the things he was looking for and measuring the fluid behind the baby's head. He then asked if my husband and I were going to find out the gender of our baby and of course I said yes and asked why. He informed me that with 98% accuracy he could tell me we were having a little GIRL! I felt so blessed to find out so early, but a little upset because had I known, Jeff totally would have been there! The doctor then had difficulty getting a clear picture of our little one's arteries from part of her bladder. He assured me it was probably just the position that she was sitting in. He saw the utter terror on my face as did my friend Melissa, who thankfully put words to the fear I was feeling. He offered to do an internal ultrasound to get a better picture, and ease my mind. Thankfully he was able to locate everything he was looking for. Three days later the results of all the pre-natal tests came back and everything was withing normal ranges, which just meant that there were no signs of birth defects.

One week later, I had the lovely onset of morning/all day sickness! 27 pounds later and 11 weeks later the morning sickness finally subsided (thanks Zofran for getting me through those long weeks).

Week 18: We went back to my regular OB to have our fetal ultrasound---this is where they normally tell you the gender and check to make sure everything is growing properly. They reassured us we were having a little girl and everything looked PERFECT. RELIEF! Our little girl was growing healthy despite all my sickness.

Week 20-22 were great. I felt so blessed to finally feel what everyone other pregnant person around me had been talking about the entire time, this amazing feeling of being pregnant and happy and full of joy. That lasted about 2 weeks.

That brings me to about 23 weeks when the dreaded phone call came. My doctor informed me
that after looking at the ultrasound pics, they were concerned with the picture they had of our little girl's heart. The nurse on the phone tried to assure me that everything was fine, but they needed to bring me in for another ultrasound so they could get a better picture of her heart. The nurse could have offered me a million dollars and told me everything was fine, but until I saw her again and heard that wonderful heart beat, there was nothing that could reassure me. A week later the ultrasound began and I heard that wonderful little heartbeat and the ultrasound tech had some trouble getting the pictures she needed, because our little girl was not cooperating. I started to realize that maybe this little girl was taking after her daddy a little bit. She didn't want to be bothered, but they finally got the pictures they needed and again everything looked fine! I knew our little girl was a fighter and quite stubborn! Sleepless nights then kicked in, cramps started, bouts of morning sickness came and EXHAUSTION set in.

The next three weeks were difficult, but all I could think about despite feeling so horrible, was that our little girl was healthy. She was growing like a weed and happy. In all the ultrasounds the doctors always commented how she seemed so content and just wanted to be left alone. She seemed so happy!

Week 26-I had been feeling more and more tired and crampy and concerned that I wasn't drinking enough fluids because I wasn't peeing enough. One saturday morning the pain hit. I knew exactly what it was and I feared it the entire pregnancy thus far. It was a kidney stone. It explained so much of how I was feeling. As soon as the pain hit, I immediately starting throwing up water and peeing blood, there was no doubt it was a stone. I went home, rested, slept the day away and drank so much I could have floated away. I felt great the next day thinking it had passed. I awoke Monday morning at 2 with more pain, I knew it wasn't over. As the morning progressed the pain was worsening. I called into school and made my sub plans and went back to bed about 6. Jeff decided to work from home that day in case I needed anything because the pain so just that bad. About 8:30 I went into his office at home and told him I had called the doctor and they had wanted me in right away. Got to the doctor about 10 and by 10:30 I was admitted to Wake-Med Cary Labor & Delivery. I was freaking out. I had no idea what was going to happen, the pain was unbearable, the doctors couldn't find a vein in my body to hook an IV into. 30 minutes laters finally an IV was in, fluids pumping and morphine dripping...the morphine wasn't even touching the pain, so they changed the pain meds to Daluadid, which kicks in within 2 minutes and finally I felt relief. They sent me to ultrasound and confirmed it was a stone, but were concerned because I was severely dehydrated. They strapped me to a heart monitor to monitor Baby E. She was doing ok, and then they strapped the contraction monitor on and my doctor was concerned that I was having contractions. Again scared beyond belief, all I could think of was, I was hurting my baby girl with all the narcotic drugs they were pumping through me to ease the pain, and no matter what treatment option they gave me it included a high risk of Pre-Term labor. They kept me overnight and kept the fluids pumping, thankfully one of the stones passed and oral pain meds were easing the pain. They sent me home on Tuesday with oral pain killers. The next few days got better and I thought it was all over until Sunday night. The pain started, but I was determined to go to school, I couldn't let my kids at school down, I have been out soo much and I owe it to them to be there. The pain got so bad at 2 that I had to leave. I have follow up appts. tomorrow to see what's going on and go from there.

If there is one thing that this little girl has taught me is to have Faith. She is a fighter and she is not giving up. She is happy in her little home and she constantly reminds me that she is there and that she's ok. She kicks, punches, and hiccups. It seems every time I start to wonder if she's ok in there, she gives me the cutest little reminder or nudge (kick) to let her mommy know that she is ok. I know I need to have faith, God has proven faithful thus far and no matter what he will guide our paths. Jeff has been absolutely amazing through this whole process from holding getting my wash cloths when i'm throwing up, rubbing my back when it's sore, getting me weird craving foods to just letting me know that everything will be ok.

I could not be more blessed! I just need to keep reminding myself of this through this trial.