What's Baby B Going to Be?

September 12th was our scheduled anatomy/gender scan and 9:30 couldn't get here fast enough!! Anthony, as usual met up with me at the doctor's office and we headed back to the ultrasound room. We had debated for a few weeks prior whether or not to find out at the appointment what the Baby B was or if we would have them write it down, go out to dinner, and then find out over dinner what the gender was. We decided at the doctor that we would just go ahead and find out while we were there and it ended up being the first thing she checked!

Let me say, there was no denying it was a BOY! As soon as she got a good picture I asked "is that a boy??" and she said "it sure is!". How exciting!! The whole time everyone had been asking me if I had a feeling of what it was and I honestly have to say there was no special feeling. Everyone had been thinking it was a boy so I just kind of went with the flow and thought maybe it was. Anthony had been thinking girl, but I think he was presently surprised when we found out it was a boy! One of the nice things is we can narrow our name search to just boys!!

The rest of the scan consisted of checking measurements of different things like his head, stomach, and different bones. Everythings measured great but she did have some trouble with his heart. He wasn't in the best position and she ended up going back 3 or 4 times to try and get a good clear picture of the four chambers of his heart. she mentioned she would let Dr. Pohl know she had some trouble, because she said she'd rather be honest then say she could clearly see all 4 chambers. We were sent back to the waiting room with a few pictures, one of which is by far my favorite, he looks like he is praying =)

Praying Baby B!

After a short wait we were called back to meet with Dr. Pohl. He greeted us and asked how we were and then began to explain the information the tech had relayed to him. He confirmed that she did have trouble finding the fourth chamber of his heart and that she was concerned with some of the movement of the wall of his heart. Surprisingly at this point, I wasn't freaking out. We patiently listened as Dr. Pohl told us that he would schedule an appointment for us to go to Maternal Fetal Specialists to get a follow-up ultrasound of Baby B's heart. I asked him what he thought could be wrong, but of course there was no way to tell as of yet, or even if there was anything wrong. He did say that there are around 50 different things that can be wrong with a baby's heart and they range from mild to severe. But, other than that he couldn't really tell us much more until we had the results from the other scan. I remember him saying "try not to worry, even though I know you probably will..".

He asked how everything else was going and if I had any questions. The only thing I asked was if it was normal to feel like you're breaking in half when you turn over in the middle of the night! So far that's been the worst part of pregnancy...it is NOT fun to switch sides..Of course it can be normal since your body is releasing certain hormones to losen all your ligaments, etc. I just have to suck it up ;)..and did I mention my pelvic bone has started to pop as well..it sounds terrible, haha!

Surprising Family

The day we had decided to tell our family had finally come!! My mom's birthday is on June 20th and we had planned to tell her and my dad then, but we were so close to 12 weeks and we couldn't keep the secret any longer. So, we decided to give her her birthday present a week early!

My mom has been a hair dresser for over 50 years! And, one day Anthony told me he wanted me to learn how to cut his hair...coming from the man who is pretty picky about getting his hair cut every 2 weeks (at least he used to be)...are you kidding? Mom had taught me how to put on her color, so I had been doing that for quite some time, but a man's haircut?? Anyhow, she taught me about a year ago and I have been cutting Anthony's hair ever since. Talk about saving some money!! Before mom retired she had been doing hair in her salon, located in their basement, for the past few years and so I have a great place to cut hair. We've made it a routine that about every 2 weeks we will come over on a Friday or Saturday so I can cut Anthony's hair. We decided that on Friday (July 13) that we would head over to "cut Anthony's hair" and give mom her birthday present early. Perfect plan...they wouldn't suspect a thing.

With Shiloh (baby #1) I had bought 2 bibs, one that said "I love Grandma" and "I love Grandpa". We had planned on surprising them with the bibs until we had our miscarriage, and then I tucked them away in a drawer. I was so excited I would finally be able to use them! I wrapped them both up separately and placed them on the bottom of a gift bag. About 20 minutes after getting to my parent's house we made mom come in and open her gift. Anthony had our camera and was able to video the whole thing! Her reaction was great, and of course dad was excited but he's more of the quite type =). Mom and dad had a sunday school get together that evening and mom insisted that they "wear" the bibs to show everyone...

Proud Grandma and Grandpa Reck!
This will be grandbaby #9!

We waited until Saturday to tell Anthony's parents. Anthony and his dad referee little league football in the fall and they ended up having to ref some early scrimage games that morning/afternoon. We planned on having pizza at their house after they had finished and I offered to bring the dessert. I decided to get a cookie cake at Publix and I had a lady at the bakery write "We're having a baby!" on it. I palced it in a dish and covered it in foil so they wouldn't be able to see it. About 30 minutes after eating we decided to get out the desert..I'll never forget Sharon saying "just bring me a piece.." I told her she HAD to come see it because it was the best desert I had made yet, haha! Bubba took off the foil and immediately shouted "whoohooo!" It took Sharon a second to read it and then repeatedly said "are you kidding, oh my gosh!". We again were able to get their reaction on camera and it was great! Jessica, Anthony's sister left that Thursday for a vacation in Mexico and we knew she wouldn't have service on her phone. We ended up sending her a little clip of an ultrasound and she immediatley called congratulating us!

The surprise cookie cake!

All of the surprises turned out wonderful and we couldn't have asked for better reactions from everyone!

I Know You're Sick of Doctor Posts =)

**To save you from reading more boring posts about doctors appointments, I'll just combine a couple so we can try to get caught up to present time:

June 12 appointment:
I had my 3rd Doctors appt. in 3 weeks today. I must say it's kind of nice to be able to see your baby each week and get that extra reassurance that everything is ok. Anthony wasn't able to go this time but I asked him if he could take off for the next one in 3 weeks...seems so far away! Everything looked great again. The baby had definitely gotten bigger and Dr. Pohl mentioned that it had a lot of room to grow, which is good. He said the babies that usually get in trouble are the ones who don't have a very big gestational sac to grow in. He also noted and showed me 2 spots around the outside of my endometrium. I can't recall what he said they were called but he explained that it had something to do with my low progesterone. He again stressed thats why it was so important that I'm taking the Prometrium. The 2 spots are nothing to worry about but he said they will probably clot off and make their way out (glad he told me so I'll be prepared and not freak out!).

He measured the baby and it stayed right on track showing that it's right at 7 weeks, so Dr. Pohl made my official due date January 29, 2013! I asked him when we'd be "out off the woods" and he said normally it would be 8 weeks, but because of this whole progesterone thing, not until 10 weeks...3 weeks! It feels so far away! I saw the heartbeat again and he made a picture plus a dvd for me! So neat to be able to show Anthony since he wasn't there. I also met with him in his office as he had a couple things he wanted to ask/share with me. First he wrote my due date on the back of a card, lol. Then he asked if I was planning on having a natural vaginal childbirth. I said yes and he replied "good, that's how I believe it was meant to be anyways, I have a very low c-section rate as well". Glad to hear that as I do not plan on having a c-section unless absolutely necessary. And, we're going to attempt no epidural as well...we will see! He also discussed the optional 12/13 week ultrasound (the nuchal fold scan) to do genetic testing for down syndrome, etc. Anthony and I haven't discussed this thouroughly yet, but I'm leaning towards no, because there is always that chance of a false positive which would just lead to extra worry. And, we will love our baby no matter what.

Baby B at 7 weeks!

July 3 appointment:
July 3 is Anthony's dad's birthday. We had debated whether or not to let the family in on our little secret, but decided we would continue waiting until we got closer to the end of the first trimester.

Anthony was able to meet me at this appointment (he's only missed 1 so far). My vitals and weight were fine and we had another ultrasound as well. This one was the best by far because Baby B actually looked like a little baby and not just like a little peanut!! You could see it's legs and arms moving all around, it was so precious! The baby definitely put on a little show for us and even had the hicups at the end...melt my heart!! Baby B measure right around 1 1/2 inches and had a good strong heartbeat.

Baby B at 10 weeks!

We decided to go ahead and do the nuchal fold ultrasound, but not the blood tests (which according to Dr. Pohl tend to have a greater chance of false positives). While doing the ultrasound Dr. Pohl mentioned he could tell the baby looked normal and therefore the unltrasound should be fine. This will also give us another chance to see the baby, who wouldn't want to do that!?


July 25 appointment:
Today we had the nuchal fold ultrasound and everything looked and measured great!! It was soo fun to see how much Baby B had grown!!! B was very wiggly and active this morning..so it took a while for the ultrasound tech to get a good picture of what she needed. We did get a cute picture of B with his/her hand in their mouth =)

Hand in mouth

Don't Worry be Happy

Tuesday (6/5/12) finally got here and I met Anthony at the doctors for my appointment. We did the normal routine of weight/blood pressure, and then sat in our room waiting for our second ultrasound. Dr. Pohl knocked on the door and came in. I think at that point my heart was about to beat out of my chest! I was ready to see this baby and make sure everything was alright. I remember praying and asking the Lord to prepare my heart for whatever news we were going to receive that morning. As soon as Dr. Pohl found the baby on the ultrasound  he said "looks like we have a baby with a  heartbeat!"...I on the other hand had no clue how in the world he could tell. He had me lay still and showed me where you could see the baby's heart beating on the screen, what an awesome feeling and relief to see your baby's heartbeat for the first time!! Everything looked perfect, and Dr. Pohl estimated that the heartbeat was around 120 BPM.

Baby B's second picture!

 

I mentioned to Dr. Pohl that I had expereinced some spotting and cramping that weekened and he reassured me that the cramping was better to have than the spotting, which made me feel a lot better. He also explained that the Prometrium I'm on for my progesterone levels could have caused the spotting if I had taken a dose a little late. Taking a dose late could cause my levels to drop, therefore causing the spotting. That definitely made me realize how important taking that stuff is. I hate taking it but I will if it means it's keeping that baby in there! I was thinking it might have been from going to the driving range, but not necessarily. However, Anthony and I decided I will avoid golfing for awhile just in case.

One of the worst symptoms so far has been feeling sick to my stomach anytime I think about food (especially healthy food, like veggies!). Nausea can also be a symptom of the Prometrium so I'm guessing it's a little of both. I have been living off of carbs for a while..which I feel terrible about eating, but it's the only thing I can stand to eat! Hello hashbrowns and grits...and the entire can of Pringles salt and vinegar chips that I finished off in 2 days!...oh and the nightly bowl of Cocoa Puffs. I'll mention I'm shocked I haven't gained 10 pounds already but instead I've lost about 2 pounds, but I'm not complaining!!

We go back next Tuesday (6/12/12) at 2:45pm for another ultrasound. Dr. Pohl likes to scan a good bit since I am on the progesterone. Technically he didn't want to scan until the following week, but he will be out of town on vacation. Anthony mentioned again after the appointment how glad he was we switched doctors, and I must agree!!

No More Golf

Anthony has an awesome schedule for work! He works 10 hour days Monday-Thursday and has every Friday off. It's so nice when I'm not substituting to be able to have a 3 day weekend. Just recently, Anthony has gotten into golf. I grew up with my dad playing and he started taking me to the driving range at a pretty young age. I enjoyed it but didn't really stick with it once I started playing travel softball. Rather than playing softball in college, I ended up playing golf with my roommate. They needed an extra girl for their team, and since I had played a little before I thought why not? I am SO glad Ashley (my roommate) talked me into playing! It was such an awesome experience, I learned a lot, and even got to travel to different places to play on some pretty cool golf courses!

Ashley and I on probably the coldest day I've ever played golf!

He was such a great boyfriend for coming with my
dad to walk 18 holes and watch me play



The best golf trip we took was to Jekyll Island! SO fun!



I had been bugging Anthony to try out golf and he finally decided he would give it a try. Golf has got to be one of the  most frustrating sports. One day you'll play great and the next you can look like you've never even picked up a club. I think Anthony has finally learned that and has begun to enjoy it more. His swing has definitely improved!

Great action shot!
 

At my first doctors appointment, I asked Dr. Pohl if I could still play golf. I think I kind of caught him off guard, haha, because he stopped for a second and then said he didn't see why not. So, Anthony and I decided to hit up the driving range the Friday after my appointment. Anthony and I split a bucket and we spent about an hour hitting on the range. I felt pretty good but didn't want to over do it. The next day I noticed a little bit of spotting after I had gone to the bathroom...and my heart stopped! I had also been experiencing some cramping. That was how my miscarriage had started and that was all I could think about. Of course Anthony told me not to worry and that everything would be alright, but Tuesday (my next doctor's appointment) couldn't get here fast enough! We both decided that golf would be put on hold until after the baby comes. Needless to say, Anthony has been working very hard on his golf game and is convinced he will beat me the first time we actually get to play 18 holes together...in his dreams! =)

Finally! I've almost brought you guys up to speed with where we are at in life today!!
My first doctor's appointment (besides the quick bloodwork check) was on Wednesday, May 30th. Anthony was able to be there with me, which was nice since he couldn't go to the last baby's first appointment. I did the whole pee in a cup thing and the most exciting part was, we had our first ultrasound! And, it put our estimated due date at January 22, 2013! This was our first time actually getting to meet Dr. Pohl. He was very nice and asked us a lot of questions. It seemed he was really interested in getting to know us. My next appointment was scheduled for the following Tuesday at 3:45 for another ultrasound at 7 weeks. I still have to take the Prometrium (Progesterone) 100mg 3 times a day until I'm 12 weeks. The one positive thing about having to take the Prometrium was that I got to see the baby quite a few times because Dr. Pohl likes to scan about every other week until after the first trimester. I did ask if the progesterone deficiency was a one time thing, or if it will be something I'll have to do for each pregnancy...more than likely,  I will have to take it for each pregnancy.

Baby B's very first picture!

The ultrasound showed me measuring at 5 weeks 6 days. That wasn't too far off from going by the first day of my last period which had me a 6 weeks 1 day. What an amazing feeling it is to be able to be reassured that, yes, you do have a baby in there and it looks like a little egg at this point! I guess it was really just the yolk sac, but still cool!

No Such Thing as Coincidences

"Many are the plans in a person's heart,

but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails" ~Proverbs 19:21

After subbing at one school for quite some time, I mentioned to one of the ladys in the office that I was looking for a new OB/GYN. She immediately mentioned she went to Dr. Pohl at Women's Healthcare Consultants of Gwinnett and couldn't say enough good things about him. She also told me about 2 other teachers that used him (one of which was pregnant at the time). And now has the cutest baby girl!..Congrats Emily!!

I was a little skeptical at first since it was a male doctor. I had only been to women up until this point, but the referrals for him were great so I had to check him out. Tuesday, the day after I found out I was pregnant, I became really sick. I woke up feeling like I had a terrible case of the flu! I was nauseous, my lower back hurt like crazy, I had a headache, and a fever of 102. I knew I had to call in and let the school know I wouldn't be able to come in. When Cicely answered the phone I told her what was going on. As much as I didn't want to "let the cat out of the bag", I told her I was pregnant and thought maybe I should call the doctor. She congratulated me and said that they normally don't see patients until about 8 weeks. With that information I debated for about 2 hours at home before finally deciding to call. I can recall telling Anthony "If this is what it feels like to be pregnant, I'm not sure I want anymore kids..." Hah! I must have felt terrible!!

The lady on the other side of the phone was super sweet. I told her I was a new patient and what was going on, and for some reason I felt the need to tell her I had had a mscarriage back in January. THANKFULLY I did. She then asked if I would be available to come in for some bloodwork. I told her sure and asked when they had an appointment, her answer "whenever you can get here". I hurried and got dressed and made my way to the office. I waited for about 10 min. and Ms. Pam (the nurse) called me back. She drew some blood and told me they like to check progesterone levels, especially if you've had a miscarriage before. If my levels were low, it could possibly cause a miscarriage if not treated. They told me they would call as soon as they got the results, and so I went home to try and get some rest/feel better.

Wednesday came and I felt SOO much better (must have been some sort of 24 hour flu thing). Doctor Pohl's office called that morning and told me that my progesterone levels came back and were at 11.1...and they like for them to be over 20. Wow, almost half of what it should be! They called me in a prescription for Prometrium (progesterone) and said I needed to start taking it ASAP. I took 4 pills a day: 1 in the morning, 1 in the afternoon, and 2 at night until I was 12 weeks.

Now let me just stop and say how AWESOME God is. Looking back He had been at work all along. Had I not had my miscarriage, I probably would not have switched doctors. Had I not gotten terribly sick I would have waited to schedule my appointment for 8 weeks. Had the nurse not been so diligent I would not have had early bloodwork done to find the progesterone deficiency. And, had I not had the bloodwork, this pregnancy could have possibly ended in a miscarriage as well...that my friends is NOT merely a matter of coincidence. That is the work of and almighty God who is always looking out for us whether we acknowledge it or not. We might not understand while we're going through the storm, but when the clouds clear we can always look back and see He was at work all along. Ahh...it gives me chill bumps everytime I think about it!!

"...With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" ~Matthew 19:26