12w3d- OH NO MORE SPOTTING!

After almost 4 weeks with no spotting..... It retuned today (spotting pink with small clot)!  Thank God Mommy found a nice strong heartbeat on the Doppler!  No doubt the OB will recommend another month of modified bedrest! :-(

Update:  the spotting stopped after about 1/2 hour....later that day Mommy pulled out the Doppler and had a hard time finding the heartbeat in her usual spots....after several minutes and a small panic attack, she decided to move the doppler up her belly (about an inch below her belly button) and there you were! Hanging out with a strong heartbeat.  You definitely are a mover and shaker....Mommy found you hanging out down low in the usual spots this morning.

On the Mommy front, she is continuing to throw up once or twice a day.....sometimes lucky to get a day or two reprieve...then all of a sudden she has the urge to throw up!  At least she is not sick 24/7!

12w0d- PREGNANCY GLOW!!!

PREGNANCY WEEK 12!!!!

Dear Baby Thompson, 

According to BabyCenter.com....the most dramatic development this week are reflexes. Your fingers will soon begin to open and close, your toes will curl, eye muscles will clench, and your mouth will make sucking movements! In fact, when Mommy prods her abdomen, you squirm away in response, although she won't be able to feel it. (She does hear you move away from the Doppler each time she listens to your heartbeat! We also hear you kick!). Your intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into your abdominal cavity about now, and your kidneys will begin excreting urine into your bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and  your  brain, synapses are forming furiously. Your face looks unquestionably human: Your eyes have moved from the sides to the front of your head, and your ears are right where they should be! From crown to rump, you are about 2 1/2 inches long (about the size of a plum) and weigh half an ounce.  Your sex organs are developed and distinguishable, however, most ultrasound places like to wait until you grow a little bigger before making a 100% guarantee on whether or not you are a boy or a girl! We will find out at the elective ultrasound when you are 13w4d!  I am still predicting a girl based on your high heartrate.  

Mommy's uterus has grown to the point where her OB can now feel the top of it (the fundus) low in her abdomen, just above the pubic bone (about the size of a softball!).  Mommy is already wearing maternity clothes so she can breathe!!  It is true that you show sooner after the first pregnancy!

Many internet sites show 12 weeks as a milestone!  The risk for miscarriage drops to 3% !!!  By the end of this week, we can comfortably say that Mommy is in her second trimester!

Mommy still has all of the pregnancy symptoms listed before.  Sadly she is still nauseated daily and  thew up a few times this past week.  She is also extremely tired....even on modified bedrest....hopefully she starts feeling better soon!  She laughed and told me that if the OB releases her back to work she is not sure how she will do it without her daily 3 hour nap!  Haha!

We only have one and half weeks until we find out if you are a boy or a girl....either way, we will be happy!  Love you sweet baby!

Love, MiMi

February 4, 2015

This date holds two special memories for me.  First, Mommy is celebrating 12 weeks pregnant with you! Second, it is your Great Grandfather's (my Daddy) 70th birthday!  He can't wait to meet you!!!! 

2nd TRIMESTER?

I am just as confused as Caitlin is when it comes to determining the end of the first trimester....(I don't remember this confusion when I was pregnant...but then again, pregnancy was not counted until conception....now there's an additional two weeks before conception....how confusing!)

This is what I found on the internet:

One way is to look at development. This way, 2nd trimester starts at 12 weeks and 3rd starts at 27 weeks.

Another is by gestation - this simply divides the 40 weeks of pregnancy into three equal stages, which gives 2nd trimester starting at 13 weeks and 3 days. 3rd trimester starts at 26 weeks and 5 days this way.

The third is by conception - take the 38 weeks of pregnancy that occur after conception and divide that into three equal stages. This way gives 2nd trimester starting at 14 weeks and 5 days, while 3rd trimester starts at 27 weeks and 3 days.

The third trimester dates all seem to fall pretty close together at around 27 weeks, which is why I guess the conflict doesn't seem to arise there, but there are vastly different dates for second trimester. Averaging them out gives something around 13 weeks, but information will vary as to which method was actually used to calculate them.  

I think we will go with 13 weeks as the start of Caitlin's 2nd trimester, which will be on February 11, 2015.....I keep saying extra prayers for little baby Thompson !

11w6d- ANOTHER MILESTONE!!!!

3 whole weeks with no bleeding or spotting!!!! WOOT WOOT!!!

PREGNANCY WEEK 11!!!

Dear Baby Thompson,

You are just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a lime and are almost fully formed. Your hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under your gums, and some of your bones are beginning to harden.

You are already busy kicking and stretching, and your tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as your body grows and becomes more developed and functional. They say your Mommy won't feel your acrobatics for another month or two — nor will she notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that your diaphragm is forming...But she thinks she has been feeling tiny pops of movement for about the last week and half!!!!!. She definitely knows you are active because you constantly move away from Doppler every time she catches your heartbeat....she even hears you kick the Doppler!  What a beautiful sound!!!

Mommy is starting to feel better, but still throws up every now and then!  It has been two whole weeks with no spotting!!!!! The next OB appointment is February 9th. Hopefully she gets the green light to go back to work.  Being on modified bedrest makes the days pass slower, makes her feel more fatigued and gives her more migraines than normal.  

In 2 1/2 weeks, we will get to see you again for the gender ultrasound!  Technology is grand!  I am still predicting you are a little girl since your heart beat is around 180! Time will tell!

Love you, MiMi 

10w6d- ANOTHER MILESTONE!

Two whole weeks with no bleeding or spotting!  Woot Woot!!!!

10w4d- KICKS AND MOVEMENTS ON DOPPLER!

Message from Mommy......  Just listened to HB again and I could hear kicks and the movements! I had coffee and eggs for breakfast and the baby was all over my tummy! I caught the BPM once and it said 181!  It wouldn't stay still long enough hehe! I was literally following it all over my belly. This time the Doppler was probably midway between my pubic bone and belly button with hips up on pillow!

DR. GRACYN!

Gracyn wanted to listen to the baby's heartbeat!

10w1d- CRAVING!

Mommy just drove clear across town to Sonic!  She was craving a peanut butter milkshake with a maraschino cherry on top!......sadly it tasted great growing down, but didn't stay down for long!  Poor Mommy!

VIDEO- 10w1d HB

Today, Mommy found your heartbeat in the center, just above her pubic bone.  Typically she finds you more to the left side by her hip bone!  You sure are a mover and a shaker!  Makes us smile!

BELLY PICS

PREGNANCY WEEK 10 !!! DOUBLE DIGITS!

Dear Baby Thompson, 

According to babycenter.com....you're the size of a big prune— a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and  weigh less than a quarter of an ounce, you now have completed the most critical portion of your development!   

You are now swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm.  In fact we got to see you doing this at the 9w3d ultrasound (3d/4d)....Mommy drank something sugary to make sure you were awake during the scan!  Vital organs — including your kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout Mommy's pregnancy.

You are starting to develop tiny details:   like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on your tender skin.  In other developments: Your limbs can bend now. Your hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over your heart, and your feet may be long enough to meet in front of your body. The outline of your spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from your spinal cord. Your forehead temporarily bulges with your developing brain and sits very high on your head, which measures half the length of your body. From crown to rump, you're about 1 1/4 inches long.  In the coming weeks, you will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches!  Wow! Mommy found your heartbeat on the home Doppler, boy did that make her smile!  She has also noticed your first movements with popcorn like feelings this pat week!!!

Mommy has thrown up a few times this past week......but not everyday....her intense sense of smell and aversions to meat don't help the situation any! Her boobs continue to be full and her bras are getting tight!  She has felt round ligament pain and her lower belly is filling out...is it baby or still bloat? Not sure, but maternity pants and belly bands are a must! She is also very tired, experiencing pretty intense headaches and very moody with the increase of baby hormones raging inside her! But these are all great signs that you are healthy and growing on track! 

We love you very much!

MiMi 

9w6d- MILESTONE!

Mommy hit a milestone.....one whole week with no bleeding or spotting!!!!  Fingers crossed this good news continues!!!

ULTRASOUND COMPARISONS!

ULTRASOUND 9w3d

Mommy got to see you do a little dance for her today!!!!  Oh my gosh you are a mover and a shaker!!!!  You are measuring one day ahead at 9w4d with a heartbeat of 186.  I predict a girl....but I kept saying him and he during the ultrasound!  I mentioned earlier that Mommy thinks she starting to feel little movements.  She felt the little popcorn pops two different times today!  WOOT WOOT!!!!

9w3d- HEARTBEAT!!!!!

Mommy found your beautiful heartbeat on the home Doppler!!!!!  Today you are 9w3d.  She found your sister's at 10w1d !!!!!  WOOT WOOT!!!!

9w2d-AGAIN!!!!

Mommy swears she just felt you move again!!!! Same feeling that she had when Gracyn started moving!!!  Similar to little pops of popcorn....nothing consistent, but definitely over the last couple of days!  She also seems to notice it when wearing pants with a tighter waistband!  YAY!!!!

9w1d- FETAL MOVEMENTS?

Mommy is 9w1d pregnant and she thinks she is starting to feel some of your first movements!!!  She is very intune with her body and also remembers those first pops and fish-like flutters with Gracyn!  Is it you or gas bubbles.....time will tell!  Oh and just when Mommy thought the morning sickness was subsiding, she ended up nauseous all day and even threw up!  (Soups, noodles, ice cream and the smell of meat cooking throw her over the edge!)

PREGNANCY WEEK 9!!!

Dear Baby Thompson,

According to babycenter.com at 9 weeks, you are now an inch long — about the size of a grape — and you weigh just a fraction of an ounce. You are also starting to look more and more human and are no longer an embroy....you are a fetus!!!!!  Your essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form . Soon we will be able to hear that beautiful heart on a home Doppler....we heard your sister's around 10 weeks....but your placenta is anterior and in the front....so it may take longer to hear it!  Your  organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. Your external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Your eyes are fully formed, but your eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. You have tiny earlobes, and your mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your basic physiology is in place, you are poised for rapid weight gain!  

Mommy's waist is thickening a bit. She says she is in the "looking fat stage" and not "looking pregnant stage" due to all the bloating!   Her  morning sickness and other physical symptoms (sore boobs, constipation, gas, fatigue, frequent peeing) are on and off....not all the time!  One thing for sure, she is emotional not only due to hormonal changes but also due to the spotting and the first big bleed from placenta previa and SCH. So far, the spotting is every couple of days, rather than everyday, like it was with Gracyn. We continue to pray that your placenta shifts off the cervix and your heartbeat remains nice and strong!  For now Mommy is on modified bedrest. Thank goodness she has short term disability at work! 

Not that I am wishing this week away.......but the next time I post a growth update Mommy's pregnancy will be in double digits!  Woohoo!

Love you! MiMi 

8w3d- BLEEDING SCARE

Mommy had a big red bleed with a clot :-(. The doctor on call sent her to the ER.....by the time she got to the ER, the blood turned from a flow to spotting brown, but she did have a few cramps which may have been tied to her stress and nerves!  You still have a nice strong HB of 175!!!  Thank God.  They measured you 2 days shy of growing on track.....which doesn't make sense since you were measuring 3 days ahead on Wednesday! One thing we know for sure, with a strong heartbeat , a baby doesn't shrink.....the tech likely measued you this time quickly and perhaps without accuracy.  The HCG has risen to 97,400, which is on track with pregnancies in the 8-12 week range  (numbers getting close to plateauing)...... Looking back , Mommy had the same type of bleed with Gracyn at 8w4d!

PREGNANCY WEEK 8

Dear Baby Thompson,
Mommy has had an emotional roller coaster with you this last week.  She started spotting around 7w3d and has spotted on and off since then.  Her OB did another ultrasound to ensure viability and sure enough you made yourself known with a healthy heartbeat of 178 ( I am still predicting a girl) and you are not only growing on track, you are 3 days ahead of schedule measuring 8w3d...the size of a raspberry!  Your arms and legs can move now with involuntary reflexes and your fingers and toes are less webbed like this week!  You even have taste buds!  This week you are growing about 1 mm each day and your tail has disappeared.  In the pictures below, you are starting to look more like a baby!!! The black spot on your head is your brain!  SIMPLY AMAZING!!!!

This pregnancy is mirroring your sister's.....you have implanted on or close to the cervix, which is called Placenta Previa in the anterior position.....as you grow bigger, they will closely monitor the degree to which you are on or near the cervix.  Hopefully the placenta will migrate away from the cervix as the belly grows. She also still has a very small subchorionic bleed close to the cervix, which should resolve itself.  Spotting is expected and she doesn't have to worry unless she is bleeding enough to fill a pad or passes clots or has period-like cramps.   For now, Mommy is on modified bedrest until her next appointment in 4 weeks.  If the spotting has stopped, she can go back to work since she is in an administrative nursing position, which allows her to sit a lot rather than working the floor with direct patient care.  With Gracyn she was released back to work at 20 weeks.  Hopefully she does not have to be on bed rest that long. Time will tell.

Mommy's week started off rough with vomiting after each meal, but the week ended with her feeling much better....slightly nauseous at times due to her noise being in overdrive with her sense of smell.  And when she isn't nauseous, she is starving!  Her boobs are sore on and off....not everyday.  She is tired and can take 2-3 hour naps when Gracyn naps. She has also noticed light pregnancy cramps due to her abdomen ligaments stretching with her growing uterus.  She has even noticed a change in her belly button....even though your home is still down low in the pelvis.  The progesterone definitely has her bloated!!!!

I love you soooo much already!  Love MiMi

7w6d- MORE SPOTTING

More spotting- red when she firrst wipes, but then pink or brown on and off..... Not constant and no cramps.....hopefully its the sub chorionic bleed and the baby is fine. Doctor put her on bedrest until she can make it in to another appointment and ultrasound to check on viability of pregnancy!  Prayers needed!

7w4d- ULTRASOUND- SPOTTING SCARE!

This has been one nerve wracking weekend!  Yesterday, Mommy called me about 5:30pm crying because she was spotting pink blood when she went to the bathroom. (once red, but more pink- when she wiped).....after experiencing two miscarriages and one placenta previa, she panicked!  We went to the ER, since it was a weekend.....First off, cervix closed, no cramping and spotting did wane....HCG was in the 85,000 range (perfect range for 7-8 weeks) and low and behold, we saw your beautiful heart beating at 150bpm, measuring right on track at 7w3d!  They did find a very small subchorionic hemorrhage at the bottom of the uterus near the cervix, but told us likely it may bleed a little or resolve itself.  Highly unlikely to hurt the baby due to small size and location!  What a relief!  Unfortunately we did not get any pictures from the ER, but their ultrasound was awesome and the baby looked awesome with an internal exam.

We had already scheduled an elective ultrasound to track your growth weekly (because we are ultrasound-aholics)!  If we could buy one for personal home use like we can with dopplers, we would have one!  Haha.....Anyways, back to my story....we kept the elective ultrasound prescheduled for today!  Their ultrasound is not as good, but gives us peace of mind!  This time, we were able to see your beautiful heatbeat via an adominal (not internal) ultrasound!  WOOT WOOT! You measured on track 7w4d with a heartbeat of 160!!!!  I predict you are a girl!  Time will tell!!!!

In the picture below, 6w4d was internal and 7w4d was taken externally!!!!