Heads up!

A few days after my last post, life threw me curve ball.  On April 22nd, I began to bleed.  It was enough to have me worried.  Immediately, I knew my pregnancy was ending.  I called my doctor and she suggested I try to get an appointment to see her in the office.  However, their soonest time would have been around 6pm that evening.  This was 7:20am!  There was no way I could hold out that long.  So, David called his mother so she could watch the children.  Then, I called my mother.  Remember, no one knew about this pregnancy.  So, you can imagine what was going through my mom's head when she heard her daughter say (through tears), "Mom.....I'm having a miscarriage."  She told me she was on her way.  Now, my mother and I have had a fallen out back in the fall.  I never really felt like she was emotionally there for me.  Even in my childhood.  This time she really came through though.  My mother in-law was also in shock over the surprise pregnancy...and now loss.

By the time I arrived at the hospital, the bleeding had subsided.  I peed in a little cup, and had an internal exam.  The doctor said my cervix was still closed and he wanted to do a transvaginal ultrasound.  He found an empty gestational sac, but wanted a confirmation from the radiology department.  So, I was sent there to have an additional ultrasound.  The ultrasound tech found the same.  I was told that I could be starting to miscarry or I was just not has far along as I thought.  Which, I couldn't believe that considering how meticulously I recorded my cycles.  A blood test was performed to test my HCG levels.  So, I was sent home.....and still did not know the future of my baby.

The next few days, I continued to spot/bleed on and off.  I mourned the loss of my baby.  I was sure this was it.  I tried to think of the positive things about not having another child.  I reminded myself about how stressed David I were over the thought of having a fifth child.  I let this soothe me and help  me through this rough patch.

Every couple of days after this, I had to return for more blood test.  This was to determine if my HCG levels were going up the way they should.  The first time, my OB said they were going up, but not dramatically.  The second time, she said they were not going up the way she liked to see.  So, I was sent for a follow up ultrasound to see if there was any new growth.......or to see if the sac had shrunk.

The ultrasound nearly didn't happen because of some screw up with insurance.  I thought I was about to jump over the desk and maul the poor lady, but I was able to convince her to give me a few minutes to straighten everything out.  Soon after, I was called back for the ultrasound.  The tech was very friendly and seemed genuinely concerned.  She said she would try an abdominal scan first.  The monitor was moved out of my sight and she spent a few minutes prodding around.  I jabbered on the whole time...mostly from my nerves.  She slowly turned the monitor to me and said, "There is your healthy little baby.  That fluttering is the heartbeat.  It's about 138 bpm."  What??  I'm still pregnant?!  But, I just got over this!!!!  I broke down.  I've never cried so hard in front of a total stranger in my life.  There was life inside of my womb!  Turns out, I WAS about two weeks behind my ovulation date!  I later found out from the OB that I must have ovulated the day or so before my period was due.  My new due date is December 19th.

Here is my little sugar plum...