16 Week Midwife Appointment

Hello Everyone!

Today we had our 16 week appointment which was brilliant. When we arrived it was a bit strange as we were in a communal room with other pregnant couples and a lady (who weirdly, was also pregnant) was testing our wee samples and blood pressure, which were fine. Then after a short while we were called in to see the midwife.

She went through our notes, asked us a few questions about test results and whether i had all the appointments booked that i needed. Then she said that she was going to see if she could find Dave's heartbeat. Before she used the Doppler she warned that she might not be able to find the heartbeat straight away, and that it could take a few minutes. Then she put the Doppler onto my tummy, just below my belly button and there Dave was! Beating away like a trouper! Ha ha ha, Phil and I did laugh, i felt so proud of my baby for being good.

Then we had a general chat about things, she asked if i had any questions, so i got out my bit of paper (so organised!) and said to her that i am still being sick every day, i haven't put any weight on and that i was experiencing a lot more discharge in the last week. She put our minds at ease and said that it was all perfectly fine and that she wasn't worried.

After the appointment we went to Tesco as they have a baby event on at the moment and picked up a few bargains, including 576 baby wipes! Ha ha. That should keep us going, well until we look into Asda's baby event in a few weeks...

Then when we got home i went through the various clothes that Robyn had sold to me a few years back, unfortunately a lot of them are unsuitable because her babies were born in the summer and mine will be a winter baby. Never mind... it will just mean we have lots of lovely shopping to do!

Speak of which we are going to go and look at more prams this weekend which we love to do! Phil said it is just like buying a car, typical of him, but i am so glad he is as excited as me!

Other than all of that going on what is really wonderful at the moment is that i finally have a reason to wear maternity clothes! I love them! I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to even buy those type of things, and seeing myself in the mirror with my ever expanding belly is enough to make me cry with tears of joy.

So just before i go i thought it might be nice to show you all a little bump photo i took last week:

Take Care All x

100...

Hello Everyone,

 

We are now just over 14 weeks into our miracle pregnancy and have hit 100 days in! I can not believe how quickly this is all going. Soon we will be 15 weeks and then we will only have 25 left to go! Plus we all know how quickly Christmas comes around!

 

Things are going so rapidly and the appointments keep coming in thick and fast! This is my schedule so far:

 

27th June - 16 Week midwife appointment.

 

23rd July - 20 Week scan! Eek!

 

1st August - Consultant appointment.

 

Then my brother is getting married in September, Phil's birthday in November, plus I expect there will be more and more appointments along the way. I would like to organise to do Antenatal classes and Aquanatal swimming classes. So before we know it December will be here and Baby Dave will be on his way!!!

 

Oh god...

 

Since my last post we have received the results of our Down's test and I am so happy to say that we are very low risk. The bracket for high risk is anything lower than 1:150, our risk is 1:46108! Phew... obviously these tests are not 100% but it gives us a better chance that Baby Dave is well.

 

We have an AngelSounds Doppler at home so we could detect Dave's heartbeat and I had tried to find it a few times before without any luck. However, on my birthday Dave decided to give me a little treat and we found it! It was so wonderful! He was very low down, practically under my pelvic/ pubic bone so no wonder we couldn't find him before! Anyway... about 5 days after that I seemed to have suddenly ballooned, it isn't fat because I have actually lost a couple of pounds again, so I thought I would investigate and realised that Dave and my uterus/ womb have moved up out of my pelvis and are now about 2 inches higher!

 

As a result of this is will now need to go and get a few maternity clothes, which we will be doing on Sunday! How very exciting! I have already ordered some shoes for work, they do have a slight heel as I am very short but they are wedges so will be ok.

 

Other than that my symptoms are the same. I am still being sick every morning, my breasts are still becoming very blue and I am still very sleepy a lot of the time. Tonight is the last night of using the Crinone Gel though, and I will be so glad to see the back of that stuff! It is awful.

 

I will now sign off with a little note to tell you all that we are getting fish and chips for dinner tonight and I am so excited about it! Ha ha... love a bit of a craving!

 

Take Care All x

13 Weeks!

Hello Everyone!

 

I thought it might be an idea to let you all know how our scan went!

 

We had it last Friday in the afternoon and it was wonderful. Whilst we were waiting to be seen I started to feel quite nervous, Phil was ok though! Ha ha. Then we were called in, I got on the bed/ couch thing and prepared myself for the cold ultrasound gel. I don't know if they have changed things, or if it had been in the sun, but it was hot! It threw me off a bit!

 

After about a second there was the wonderful image of our little miracle baby on the screen, heart beating away and looking perfect. The sonographer then proceeded to check everything was in the right place, brain, heart, spine, kidneys, legs, arms etc... We then listened to our baby's heartbeat, which was beating away at 167bpm! Madness!

 

Dave was moving about the whole time, we could see his/ her arms and legs waving away, it was so beautiful.

 

 

The sonographer then put our dates back by 1 day, so we are now due on the 10th December, my friend Lauren's birthday!

 

It was then time to check Dave's probability of having Downs Syndrome, this is done by measuring the liquid that is behind his/ her neck. Our measurement was 1.7mm, which is a good size, but I have also had a blood test which will be combined with the measurement result and give us a percentage as to whether Dave will have the condition or not. I expect we will get the results in a few more days.

 

After the scan we went to Mothercare and ordered Dave's crib and mattress, and got a few things to help me be more comfortable. It was really exciting to be able to go into Mothercare and actually order something for us and our baby!

 

Then when we got home we told the world about our miracle via Facebook. The response we received was amazing. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful support network or friends and family. Dave is going to be the luckiest baby in the world, Phil and I love him/ her so much already...

 

 So now it is just up to Dave to keep growing and getting bigger and stronger, 3 weeks now until my next midwife appointment, and the 4 more weeks after that until our next scan?!

 

It is going so fast, but I for one am loving the ride...

 

Take Care All x

Out of the Danger Zone?

Hello Everyone!

According to our first scan which dated us at 7 weeks and 1 day we should now be 12 weeks pregnant today. Of course this date could be wrong, and I expect that our due date will be changed at our scan on Friday, but for now we are assuming that we have finally reached that magical date.

Now is the time that not only our risk of miscarriage is significantly reduced, but also my delightful pregnancy symptoms should be getting easier to manage. There is no use expecting that to happen right now though, as my body happily showed me this morning (note to self, breakfast should be eaten after you have thrown up, not before!). Still, after 6 weeks of morning sickness now I will be grateful for even just a little break now and then...

I feel like a bit of a hermit at the moment. I don't want to go on about it all the time but it really does interrupt my life. I haven't really been able to go out and see friends or family. I can't tidy my home (which really gets me down) and I can't cook dinner for Phil. It is like I am stuck in some kind of limbo and I can't wait to break free of it! Imagine if I wasn't on the anti-sickness tablets... what would it be like that?!

Anyway, that's enough of that doom and gloom... our scan is on Friday! It is at 3pm and we are so excited! Nervous... but excited all the same! I don't really know what to expect but I am sure that it will be brilliant and we are taking lots of change so we can get a lovely picture of Dave. Then when we get home we will be announcing our pregnancy to the world! I don't know why but I am so nervous about telling everyone! Mad isn't it! Still, it will be brilliant!

Before we come home though we will be going to Mothercare and (hopefully, if all goes well) buying Dave's crib. I know that it is still early days, but we have waited for years for this moment and I am not waiting anymore! I can't! We have done well not to buy anything so far as it is! It will be so fantastic to actually be able to buy something for once.

Loads of wonderful things to come, bring on Friday!

Take Care All x

10 Weeks Down!

Hello Everyone!

 

Well... what a whirlwind these past few weeks have been! I can not believe how quickly this is all happening. It seems like only yesterday we were getting our head round the idea that we will be having IVF. Now, after a short while it seems, we are pregnant with our little miracle.

 

You may recall in the earlier days of this blog I said something along the lines of 'I will not moan throughout my pregnancy'. Well I can tell you that I have moaned... a lot... ha ha! It is only really because of the morning (midday, afternoon, evening, night-time) sickness though. The tiredness I can deal with, I love bed! It is purely just this constant feeling of nausea and the fact that I am now, without fail vomiting every morning. Nice...

 

I hope I am one of the 'lucky' sufferers of morning sickness (or Hyperemesis, as it has been written on my notes) that stop feeling this way once the 12 week barrier is passed. I have just about had enough of it now, considering it started at 6 weeks exactly! I have become a bit of a recluse really, but I am hoping that once the nausea stops I will be able to get on with my life as normal again!

 

Amongst that symptom I still get tired a lot, I have dizzy spells and the odd minor headache. I also have a lovely roadmap of veins that are appearing all the time, not just on my breasts but also my legs. My tummy feels as though it is starting to stretch, although I am yet to have a visible 'bump'. My hair and nails are growing rapidly, and my bottom often 'pipes up' throughout the day! I guess my least attractive symptom is the fine hair that is growing on my tummy. How disgusting!

 

Our meeting with the midwife was brilliant, although she did say that I was probably dehydrated, and my blood pressure was quite low, but that is normal. It was just so lovely to finally get my 'bounty pack' and notes. It made it so much more real somehow. I even had to take it with me to a blood test and it probably looked like I was displaying it with pride, ha ha!

 

As the days pass this pregnancy is becoming more and more real. Sometimes I am still caught by the awe of it all. I am pregnant... I can't believe it! Phil and I are still in shock I think? We are both incredibly happy though. To think that in just 30 weeks (this number may seem a lot, but it really isn't!) the child that we have been waiting for will be here. Madness...

 

We are soon to have our 12 week scan, it is booked for the 31st May, when I will (should) be 12 weeks and 2 days. We are really looking forward to seeing baby Dave again, and seeing how he/she has progressed since the 7 week scan. I do find myself worrying that something will go wrong, or be wrong with Dave, but Phil keeps on telling me that it will all be perfect so I should try and hold on to that really... it is hard though.

 

Still, I must be positive! There is a lot to look forward to, and I want to just put it in writing now that I think baby Dave is going to be a girl... just a feeling!

 

Take Care All x

We're Pregnant!!!

Hello Everyone!

Well i think my title says it all! Ha ha! I was going to be vague about it at first but then i thought, why not shout it from the rooftops!

Our scan was so wonderful, whilst Phil was a bit nervous for some reason i wasn't? Strange... We arrived at the clinic and went to sit in the waiting room. It was quite funny really, we were sitting there, relaxed, reading magazines and drinking tea! You wouldn't think we were about to see if we were pregnant or not!

We were called into the room and i got undressed and got myself sorted (it was an internal scan, i guess as it is still early days a normal ultrasound is not good enough?) on the chair and we got started. It must be so hard for the nurse when the scan results in bad news, i for one would not like to be in her shoes.

I think she quickly flashed through my uterus/ womb to try and see the embryo before we did so she could prepare herself, but we saw it! In all its glory! Then satisfied with her check she showed us our lovely little baby. Just 1 in there thankfully! Baby Dave (our embryo's nickname) was beautiful, and what was even more lovely was watching his little heart beating away. That is all we wanted to see, that our little one was in the right place and that he was alive.

Then she went through all the other parts of the scan, including checking the speed of his heartbeat, which was 133 beats per minute, and then she printed us off a picture of Dave:

So there is our lovely little baby, who was on the day of the scan 7 weeks and 1 day old and was almost 1cm in size! Also what is really lovely is that our due date is 11/12/13! What a fantastic date! Maybe Dave will be born at 9:10 and weigh 7lb8oz? Wouldn't that be easy to remember?

I don't think it has sunk in yet, although my symptoms are doing their best to inform me of his presence! I am constantly nauseous, and have actually vomited a fair few times too! My stomach has grown already, although i think that it is just bloating! My breasts are huge too so after the scan we went to Mothercare and bought some new bras. Still i am looking on the bright side of things and i am glad that i have symptoms, it gives me confidence in this pregnancy.

I was then told that i am still to continue with the Crinone Gel (grrr) for another month and also that i needed to contact my doctor from now on as we were finished with Bourn Hall (which is so sad...), so naturally i called my doctor straight away and have an appointment with a nurse on Wednesday (1st May)!

As the days pass by we are both getting more and more excited about our little Baby Dave, Phil is looking after the both of us really well, cleaning my bucket out for me and helping me relax. He is really excited about being a daddy. My sister in law said to me 'i am going to be an auntie!' and i replied 'i am going to be a mummy!' Wow... i have never said that before, and to be able to say that was just wonderful to me...

Phil tells me that i need to stop blaming Dave for everything, 'baby Dave wants another biscuit, not me!' and 'baby Dave keep's farting!'. Ha ha! I love that we are more relaxed about it all now and that we can start to enjoy our pregnancy.

Exciting things are coming for us, let's all keep our fingers crossed!

Take Care All x

Not Long Now!

Hello Everyone!

We now have less than 48 hours until we have our early scan to see if our first attempt at IVF has miraculously worked and we are feeling very excited (but still a bit cautious of course) about it!. This past week has thankfully gone relatively quickly, which we are really grateful for.

My symptoms are getting progressively worse, especially the tiredness and sickness/ nausea. I can deal with the tiredness because quite frankly i like sleeping! Ha ha! The nausea and sickness is beyond ridiculous now though. I am unable to do anything as i am constantly reaching for my orange bucket. Even then it isn't a huge amount of sick but it sure does feel like it will be at the time!

The nausea is waking me up in the night, at least twice a night for the past couple of nights, Meaning that i have to sit up in bed, cuddling my bucket, slowly eating a ginger biscuit. Poor Phil wakes up too and feels bad as there is nothing he can do, bless him. I guess all i can do is wait for this phase to pass, i only hope it will be sooner rather than later!

I am really enjoying reading the 'what to expect when you are expecting' book. It really is an excellent read and i would recommend it to everyone! It is giving me lots of brilliant tips, as are my family and friends!

Tonight is going to be interesting! I will be going to go for a nap shortly because at 10:20pm tonight a taxi will arrive to take me to the BBC radio station in Chelmsford as i am going to be talking live (with other pregnant ladies too) on the BBC Radio 5 Live 11pm show 'Bump Club'. They are going to be talking about IVF tonight and i am really looking forward to doing it. I am also a bit nervous about saying something silly, but i am sure i will be ok. I will probably fall asleep in the taxi on the way home though! I just hope i don't have a long period of nausea throughout the show. That would be horrible... i must remember to take my ginger biscuits!

So now it is really just a case of getting through tomorrow and then travelling up to Bourn Hall on Thursday to hopefully have our long awaited dreams come true.

I really do hope they do...

Take Care All x

Count down to Scan Day!

Hello Everyone!

So it has been a fair few days since my last post and quite a lot has happened. I have wanted to write a new post for over a week now but to be honest i have been absolutely knackered! Sometimes i have had to have a nap in the afternoon and most nights i am in bed by 9pm. This might sound normal to some people but i don't usually fall asleep until after midnight!

My second test date was on Monday (15th) and as i expected it came back positive (the numbers are days past transfer):

I have done quite an amount of testing this past week, including a Clearblue one and all of them have come back positive, the most recent ones turning very positive (the test line has been stronger than the control line) the minute my wee (TMI, he he) hits them!

What was really nice was the Clearblue test showing me this:

It was so lovely to see those words 'Pregnant', and the 3+ weeks showed me that my HCG levels are rising, which the increasingly strong lines have been proving too. I couldn't stop looking at it! Luckily the result disappears after about 24 hours so i could carry on with the rest of my life! Ha ha.

So after my positive on Monday i called to clinic to let them know and they confirmed that my scan will be on the 25th April (next Thursday) at 2:15pm! It is very exciting but nerve-wracking at the same time! We are counting down the days that thankfully so far are going quite quickly. Just over a week to go until the time where we will see if our first attempt has worked. We will be so lucky if it has! As long as there is at least 1 little baby growing in there we will be incredibly happy, if there are 2 then that is great too!

My symptoms continue to increase in severity and i am not complaining (well... maybe a little bit). I am glad that i am feeling this way because it must mean that someone is in there, making me feel this way, creating all of the changes inside me.

The worst still is the tiredness, especially when i am at work... but a close contender is a lovely change to an old symptom... nausea. So now not only do i feel sick pretty much the whole day i have for the past few days actually been sick (only a little bit though), and because i am a bit different to most people, my 'morning sickness' only occurs in the evening. Usually whilst i am eating dinner, how lovely.

Amongst other things my breasts are showing me a lot of changes too, my areolas are definitely different, they seem to be darker and also slightly bigger. I also am still growing lots and lots of huge veins across my breasts and my nipples are still tingling at times.

So now it is another wait until our scan next week, we are still remaining cautious but we can't help but get a little bit more excited as the time goes on. We did buy a copy of 'what to expect when you are expecting' and i have been reading a little each day, which has been lovely. It is nice to know that the things that i am feeling are all normal.

I just hope that we can continue to be lucky and are blessed with a perfect, happy and healthy son or daughter in around 7-8 months time...

Take Care All x

Official Test Date (OTD)

Hello Everyone,

First of all a little apology, i noticed that yesterday i had over 80 views on my blog, all of those probably looking to find out the result of my OTD test. I am sorry but i was at work yesterday and last night i was falling asleep at 8pm!

So the result is... BFP!!!

We can't believe it! We are so happy, it is truly a miracle! People keep saying that the lines are really dark but of course i am still worried. I know that a BFP doesn't always mean a baby, so we are still excited but cautious...

I called the clinic to let them know of the outcome and they said that i am to do another test next Monday (the 15th) and if that is also positive they will arrange a scan for me. They said the scan is usually done around day 35-40 after ovulation, today is day 19 so i would estimate that the scan will be in the last week of April.

I am still having lots of lovely symptoms. I say lovely because i would rather have them than not have them. The one that is most noticeable is the constant tiredness, i am literally falling asleep most nights at 8pm-9pm! It is ridiculous, especially as i am a night owl and usually don't even feel tired after midnight!

I have no new symptoms to record, just a few changes... my nipples have become more sensitive and i swear my boobs are sprouting new veins daily! I also had a lot of cramping a few days ago (i am hoping it is the embryo getting nice and snuggled!).

Phil and i are slowly getting used to the idea that we are pregnant. Of course we are still aware of the problems that could arise, but i am keeping my lucky pants and bracelet nearby and we are keeping a positive mind for a positive outcome. There are times when we are really excited, i have caught Phil looking at my tummy a few times and it is hard to get Embie Dave out of our minds. We just really want this to be our chance to be a family.

It is nice to imagine the progression of my pregnancy, significant dates, like the 20 week scan, embie's due date etc... it is nice to look at prams and cribs, baby clothes and car seats. It is what keeps us going and helps us to remain positive, we deserve this little bit of luck.

We can only keep our fingers crossed that we continue to get BFP's and that when the scan date does come around there will be a tiny little fetus (or 2 of them!) all snuggled up and growing nicely in my womb.

The waiting game continues...

Take Care All x

12dp2dt

Hello Everyone!

As you know we are in the 2 week wait (although technically it is 16 days long... yes... too long!) and i am doing ok, i think...

It is a bit strange really, and i find myself  1 minute thinking 'this is going really well, nice and smoothly, no problems' and then the next minute i am going mad, 'it's not worked, AF (period) is coming, no baby for us'... nightmare.

Whilst i know that 'symptoms' can be fabricated by your mind, they can be a result of both AF and pregnancy, plus they can also be due to the Crinone gel that i am using daily (for progesterone support) i am still going to keep a note of them, you know... just encase...

So this week has seen the arrival of many symptoms, some old (that i have had in previous months) and some new which i will go into detail about below.

Old Symptoms:

Fatigue: although never as bad as this, i have been almost falling asleep as early as 8:30pm! I am a night owl usually, and often don't fall asleep until past midnight so this is a really noticeable difference.

Nausea and Vomiting: in the past i have had feelings of nausea but this is much more constant. Plus i have had a few episodes of random vomiting, not enough to require my head down a toilet but enough to notice that it isn't normal.

Breasts changes: i usually have very painful boobs for the week before AF arrives, so much so that it feels like i want to just cut them off! I have had mild pain but nothing like what i usually have. They do seem bigger than usual and my areola's do seem to be slightly darker, but this could be related to AF also.

Cramping: a few days before AF is due i usually get a few cramps throughout the day, these are very dull and can last for quite a while. The cramps i have been having are very different to that though, these feel sharper, and are only on one side. I think that they could possibly be due to constipation too though.

New Symptoms:

Dizziness: almost every time i stand up i have to be slow about it as i can get very dizzy, very quickly!

Smell: i don't know if i am just more aware of things or if i really can smell things easier. For the last week i have been not only smelling perfume/ deodorant etc on people but also B.O is very obvious to me, which makes me feel quite sick. It was quite shocking really! Everything just seems to be stronger smelling.

Headaches: i have pretty much had a headache for the whole of this week and it is not letting up.

Mood: i haven't had my usual happy 1 minute, angry the next mood swings. This time though i am crying a lot, and i mean a lot! I cried at a radio advert, TV programs (someone made a really nice dish on Masterchef and i cried my eye's out for her!), things i have read that i wouldn't usually cry at. Sometimes i just start to cry and i have no idea why!

Constipation: i have been really constipated this week, but that could be a result of the progesterone.

There have been a few more 'symptoms' i am sure but i can't really remember them all. Should of written them down... oh well! Of course even with these symptoms we are still sticking to our 'positive but cautious' outlook.

We now have 4 more days until out OTD (official test date) and they are not passing quick enough! I am trying to keep myself busy, seeing family and friends, sleeping (ha ha!) and this weekend my friend Robyn and i are going to a craft show at the Excel in London, we can't wait!!!

So until Monday... fingers crossed!

Take Care All x