NuMom2Be

At my very first prenatal appointment, I saw a sign on the door of the bathroom for a new mom study. Requirements were that this had to be your first pregnancy or you have had no more than 2 miscarriages under 20 weeks, and you had to be in your first trimester. So I thought, sure why not? I looked into it, and was chosen to participate.

It is a University of Utah study, called NuMom2Be.

The purpose of the study is to find out why so many first time pregnancies have complications or turn to miscarriage. You have one appointment per trimester, where they run tests, do a pelvic exam, and an ultrasound (3D during 3rd trimester). Then at delivery, they take samples, and wah-la! I'm done.

Did I mention this is all free, and I'm compensated for my time?

The coolest thing about it is that I get 3 extra ultrasounds that I wouldn't normally have. Yesterday was my first appointment, at almost 12 weeks.

 

Baby at Almost 12 Weeks

Baby is certainly starting to look like a baby. We still think it's a boy, and it's looking like he's going to be tall like his Daddy and big sister. Also, baby is growing pretty fast, because my due date has changed 3 times! First it was August 7, then based on the growth of the baby it was August 4. As of yesterday, the due date is August 1.

I have mixed feelings about the due date moving up, because I want the baby to come to us as soon as possible (healthily), but also, I have this weird thing about wanting to not have a baby-baby on our first wedding anniversary. I guess it would be ok, though, if the baby came early enough before our wedding anniversary, that I could go out with my husband and celebrate while not looking like a whale. (not likely)

Sometimes I get sad when I look at my facebook cover photo and think, "I'm never going to be that skinny again." At least, my genes are against me. Boo.

Back to the point of this post, the appointment was cool. It was at the IMC hospital, where I plan to give birth. Which is also the hospital where Jayah was born. It went just about how my 6 week appointment was. They took some blood from me, I did a urine test, pelvic exam, and an ultrasound. I also spent close to an hour doing an interview with the Research nurse. Basic questions about my overall health. In depth questions about my family health history, and even more in depth questions about my eating habits in the months prior to my pregnancy.

The bummer thing is that all of this information is anonymous. I am just a 10 digit number. So I'll never get the results of any of my testing. They also keep samples of everything they take from me for future testing. You know, in case they find any correlations with anyone else.

I was worried that Jaymeson wasn't going to be able to make it to my appointment (because his work sucks), but luckily he was able to get there right on time. We are 3/3 on appointments with Jaymeson. Hopefully we can keep that track record going all the way through pregnancy.

One (cool) thing that I learned through filling out questionnaire after questionnaire, is that my mom had the Rh Factor Issue as well, which resulted in 4 of her miscarriages. Her blood type is O Negative, as well as 3 of my other siblings, which could be the only reason why we survived to full term. Which is also weird because normally you get the blood type from your father, and my dad is not O Negative  Luckily, that was 20+ years ago, and technology and medicine is much more advanced than it used to be. Maybe I will be able to have other babies after all. :) That is, if I feel like I can survive pregnancy/child birth a second time.

Another (not cool) thing that happened at my appointment, is that my records are under a different name. So when they printed my ultrasound picture for me, it said Heather Cheney. Gag. Luckily, the Research nurse was nice enough to black out the name on the photos for me. :) So now I need to go get my Roush License ASAP, so I can get in there and change my name with the hospital. I don't want to see that ever again, especially on my ultrasound pictures! Does the whole name changing process ever end?

Next study appointment is in March, where they will confirm the sex of the baby. We will have our normal appointment a week or so before that one, so it really will just be more of like a confirmation. But still cool!

I want to thank all of you for your comments to my previous post. I love reading everyone's opinions and it has definitely helped me to consider things I probably wouldn't have normally considered. I am always open to opinions of others. Like I said before, I am very uneducated on all things baby-making, so I appreciate all the help I can get! 

A Pregnancy Discussion

I have always thought, of course I'm going to breast feed. And of course I'm going to a hospital to give birth. And of course I'm going to get an epidural. But now that I'm pregnant, I'm starting to wonder if those are really the right decisions for me and my baby.

So, I want to hear from you mommies...

Why did you choose to breastfeed? And specifically, you mommies that chose not to breastfeed, what helped you to make that decision?

What was your method of child birth? Were you at the hospital? Did you do at home birth? Did you choose the bathtub approach? And why? Are there other options?

What are the pros and cons to epidurals? Is it worth it to try (key word) doing it naturally? Are there really any risks to the epidural?

Hopefully this discussion can help me to feel more comfortable, and confident in the decisions I make about this pregnancy. I'm still learning so much, and I feel like I'll never know everything I need to know in time. It's all so overwhelming to think about! And I still have 200 more days!

Side Note: 

Check out this HILARIOUS Week by Week Pregnancy Blog my friend introduced me too. Even if you aren't currently pregnant, if you have ever been pregnant, or someday want to be pregnant, it's pretty funny.

10 Week Baby

I had my 10 week appointment today. Jaymeson and Miss Jayah came with me. I was so excited for her to actually get to see Baby. She talks to him (we think it's a him) sometimes, and always kisses my belly goodnight, but I wanted her to really get to see him.

So off we went, before school, to see the wonderful Dr. Marilee Simons, whom I love. I did the standard tests with the nurse, (side note: They always ask if I can do a urine sample, and I always say "I'll try." And every time, without fail, I can. Pregnancy...) and then Dr. Simons came in. We talked about the pain in my left side, which is now completely gone. But before it disappeared, it got worse and weird. My left side was swollen, my left rib was sticking out, and it felt like there was something there every time I would bend that way. But it's all gone now, and it's all good.

All other pregnancy symptoms have pretty much disappeared, or I've just really got this whole pregnancy thing down. I don't have weird cravings, or any cravings for that matter. I hardly have morning sickness. I don't really have to pee a lot. My boobs aren't sore. I have only thrown up a few times. I don't have swelling. I don't have cramping. I don't have back pain.

My only pregnancy symptom is meanness. I am a mean pregnant person.

At my last appointment, they took 7 or 8 viles of blood from me. I got a recorded messages stating everything was all good, (you know, no STDs or anything) but she wanted to run over all the tests with me anyways. I like that about her,  she explains everything. One interesting thing I found out is that I am Blood Type: O Negative. O Negative is the rarest blood type. I can donate to almost anyone, but only O Negative can donate to me. Also one crazy thing about O Negative, is that if the babies blood is a Positive Blood Type, my blood could potentially attack the baby... which would obviously cause lots of problems.

She gave me some reading to understand the situation more. It's the Rh Factor. Most people have the Rh Factor, which means they are Rh Positive. I am one who is Rh Negative. Basically that means that if my blood comes in contact with someone's blood who is Rh Positive, I become sensitized and I will start to produce antibodies that fight the Rh Factor as if it were harmful. Once the antibodies are formed, they don't go away. Good news is, I don't currently have any antibodies

So during pregnancy, the mother and the fetus do not share blood systems, but sometimes a small amount of blood from the fetus can cross into the placenta into the mother's system. If that happens in my case, I become sensitized and create antibodies to attach and break down the baby's blood cells. That causes anemia, which can potentially cause severe illness, brain damage, or even death to the baby.

For a first time pregnancy with an Rh Positive fetus, the baby is usually born before my body would develop the antibodies, so there will most likely not be any problems unless there is some sort of traumatic injury before delivery. However, in a second pregnancy with an Rh Positive fetus, the antibodies are already developed and will most likely cause anemia. 

Lots of information to take in. For now, I have to get a shot on my butt, every appointment starting at 28 weeks up until delivery, to monitor the development of antibodies. Then if I am pregnant again, I will have to have shots every other week or so, and probably have a more high risk pregnancy. Yay....

After we talked about all of that, Dr. Simons wheeled in her little ultrasound machine, and we got to see Baby. At first I was really nervous, because he was not moving at all and I couldn't hear a heart beat. Then I laughed and the baby sort of bounced, and then started moving all over the place. We saw his little hands and feet moving around. We saw him rubbing his face and waving his arms. We even saw him roll over. It was the cutest thing! Jayah was so excited. She kept asking if the baby could see her, and kept talking and waving to him. She is so excited to have a little sibling on its way!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is Baby rolled over.

Here is Baby facing forward.

.
My next appointment is in 4 weeks, and then the appointment after that we get to find out if our "he" is really a "he". I can't wait to find out and to start creating the nursery and buying baby stuff!

Scratch That

The real secret to terrible sleeping and back pain is a pregnancy pillow.

Thank Heavens for pregnancy pillows.

Pregnancy Secret # 1

Today marks 8 weeks of baby. It sure seems like this is the slowest thing to ever happen to me. March (gender reveal) seems to far away. August (due date) seems like an eternity away.

So far, pregnancy has not been good to me. I am nauseaus all the time, though I have only actually thrown up a hand full of times. I am tired all of the time. I am grumpy all of the time.

Right after I found out I was pregnant, I noticed that my hips and back were sore always. I talked to my doctor about it, who says that that's just my body (hips) preparing for child birth. I guess that's what happens when you are an almost 24 year old female with absolutely no curves.

(Also, I am already showing. How can I be already showing at 8 weeks, when the baby is only the size of a raspberry?? Must be another thing that happens when you are shaped like a boy.)

So it was making it hard to sleep. My doctor told me that if I slept with a pillow between my legs, that would help my back stay alligned at night, which would decrease the pain and soreness. Sure, why not?

It worked.

I still have a hard time sleeping sometimes, but I blame that mostly on Jaymeson and his ever annoying elbows in my back. 

Here's to 32 more weeks...



This is baby at 7 weeks.


 

Announcing...

Jayah is extra excited to announce the birth of a baby brother or sister next Summer!

Jayah has been asking for a baby sister for as long as her Dad and I have been together (coming up on 2 years). Although, we aren't entirely sure that we'll be able to fulfill that wish 100%, we've got a good start!

The news came on a Thursday night when I was just two days late for my period. It was a stressful day, with lots (and lots) of crazy things happening. Jaymeson had mentioned his worries about if I was pregnant, etc, and how knowing that I wasn't would relieve some stress.. So we decided to take a trip to the local Smith's to get a pregnancy test.

 (Can you tell this wasn't planned?)

At Smith's, all the pregnancy tests were locked up in their own individual boxes, so we had to have a sales associates unlock the box for us. It took him probably 4-6 minutes to figure out how to do it. Then we bought it and headed home. The whole way home, I was reading online about the best time/way to take a pregnancy test. Jaymeson wanted me to take it right away, but I wanted to wait until morning, or until I was 7 days late, or any other time so I didn't have to face a "no" on the test.

I pretty much refused to take the test until the morning, so Jaymeson went to bed, and I couldn't handle it anymore. I took the test and saw this...

I sat there for a minute, texted this picture to my friend Sarah, and panicked. I have been baby hungry for quite some time, but I never actually thought it would happen so soon. I wandered around the house for a few minutes thinking of how to tell Jaymeson. I have always imagined the cutest ways to tell my husband that I was pregnant, so I wanted to plan something super cute. That lasted for a few minutes (I have no self control.) before I laid down next to Jaymeson and tapped him on the forehead to wake him up. I dropped the test down in front him. He looked at it and said "What?" and then "Why are there two lines?" and then held me until we both fell asleep.

I woke up in the morning, while it was still dark, to kisses all over my face from Jaymeson and then he left for work. We didn't get to talk all day, but when he came home he was very happy. He was super excited about our news, and he even told all of his work buddies. I, on the other hand, had turned into a worry wart. I have since, somewhat, warmed up to the idea, but I am still super nervous. I don't know if I am quite ready for this!

I am 6 weeks along, and so far pregnancy has made me one, mean Mama! I am tired (all of the time), hungry (all of the time), although nothing tastes or sounds good, and grumpy (all of the time.) Who came up with this pregnancy thing anyways!? 

We had our first appointment a few days ago, where they took SEVEN viles of blood from me. We did some other normal tests, and then we did an ultrasound.

Normally they don't do ultrasounds that early in the process, but I was having some pain in my left side so they were concerned about the location of the pregnancy. (Ectopic Pregnancy) The ultrasound found my uterus with a teeny, tiny baby in it right away. Thank goodness!

So all is well and Jaymeson and I are in the process of looking for a house to fit our new addition, and I am praying every day that I don't get fat.

A Sad Story

I come from a family of 6 other siblings. Four brothers and two sisters. I stand right in the middle. Number 4 of 7. Number 2 girl of 3. And I also have 2 older brothers and two younger brothers.

I have always shared a room with my sisters. I never had my own room until I was about 14 and we moved into a bigger house that allowed the 4 of us left at home to all have our own rooms.

My sisters have always been my best friends. Although, I annoyed my older sister by stealing her clothes and make up, and my younger sister annoyed me by stealing my clothes and make up. We grew closer and closer as we grow older.

When I got old enough to leave the nest, I had to make a big decision between going off to college only an hour and a half from home, or going off to college halfway across the country. My plan had always been to head off to AggieLand and live with my older sister and be best friends with her forever like one, big, happy family. After lots of praying and meditating, I made the decision to ditch my plans, and head off to ice cold Rexburg, ID... right in the middle of Winter.

I'm getting off topic.

During all of that praying and meditating, something happened. Things changed between my sister and I. Her beliefs and feelings about a lot of things changed, and she distanced herself from all of us.

For four years, we slowly grew apart, which turned into no communication at all. I was blocked on facebook, calls and texts were never returned, and all of the sudden, I no longer had an older sister. I don't even know how it happened.

So, occassionally (and quite often), I think about my sister and wonder how she's doing. I wander onto facebook and the internet and try to find any information I can about her. I search her name to see if I can find a blog, a social network, a picture, anything. Most of the time I have absolutely no luck. But yesterday, I found something.

You see, a big reason why she distanced herself from all of us, was because she changed religions. She went from being a Christian (LDS) to being an Atheist, in what I felt like was overnight. Our conversations turned into arguments about the beliefs of the LDS church, and that was about it. She felt like we had abandoned her because she changed her beliefs. And although, I can't really speak for the rest of my family, I know that I always made it clear that I didn't care what she believed, I just didn't want to be pushed to disbelieve what I have believed and trusted my entire life. She was still my sister, and I loved her no matter what.

So I was searching for anything on my sister and I came across a google link that read "Is it (insert sister's name here)? I don't want to add the wrong person." I clicked and read. The post was from a person who was talking about their facebook account, and how they sometimes write contraversial things about religion to wrile people up. They explained that they lived in Utah County, and all of their facebook friends were devout Mormons and would always get upset about the things he would write. He was asking for people who were less than Mormon to befriend him, or lead him a direction of less than Mormons that he could befriend so that he could have other friends to trash Mormonish with. People commented, and then one person said "Add (insert sister's name here)."

I was devastated. I understand that my sister has chosen a different path than I have. And I understand that things are different. But, how could my sister be associated with such hateful people and hateful talk about something that I love so dearly. I don't understand it, and my heart hurts to think about it.

It's been over a year since my sister last spoke with me. I don't even know if she thinks about me, or wonders about me. And I certainly don't know if she reads my blog, so I may be risking even more by posting this. But I have realized that my blog is a place for my feelings. A place I can express myself, and let out all of my emotions. I just hope that one day, my sister will miss me and wonder about me, so that it may lead her to me again. I miss her.