To Diane's Pregnancy Journal, Page Two!
November 3rd, 1999
I had a really rough week last week. I was back to keeping nothing down and feeling awful. :( I think this time it was a stomach virus or something, because both my son and daughter were sick, too. And we all had fevers. (It was a FUN FUN week at my house, let me tell you!) My doctor finally convinced me to go on an anti-nausea medicine called Phenergan. Ooooohhh, that was a BIG mistake. I just couldn't tolerate it. It gave me horrible intestinal cramping! So I stopped taking it. We're all feeling much better now, so hopefully the worst is behind me. I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. That went really well. The baby's heartbeat is really strong and still fast! They drew blood for the triple screen test (AFP) which tests for most neural tube defects and Down's Syndrome. I should have the results back in a few days. I always get a little nervous waiting for that result. But, I will just leave it in God's hands! I'm 16 weeks along now. I should start to feel the baby move soon! This is my favorite part about being pregnant! :)
November 6th, 1999
It seems like all I do in this journal is complain! Well, I have another ailment! I have had a migraine the last few days. At first I wasn't sure if it was a bad headache or a migraine, (because I have never had a migraine before) but after describing the symptoms to the nurse, she said it was indeed a migraine. :( I guess they're pretty common in pregnancy. The doctor prescribed a painkiller, but it didn't do much. The only thing that would make me feel better was to take a hot bath and to lay down in a dark quiet room (which is hard to do with two toddlers!) It's much much better today. Hopefully this is the last of my complaining, and I can get down to the business of enjoying my pregnancy! :) Oh, before I forget, read this funny e-mail that my friend Cindy sent me. It's so funny and so true!
November 11th, 1999
I felt the baby move! I felt the familiar "butterflies" last night as I was going to sleep. It's funny, when I'm not pregnant, I forget what that feeling is like, and I really miss it! But now that I'm feeling it again, I'm so excited! It really makes the baby very "real" to me! :) I got the results back from my AFP test and they were "screen negative." So that's good. The Doctor says that this test will detect 60% of the cases of Down's syndrome, 90% of the cases of anencephaly, and 80% of the cases of spina bifida. Oh, and I have to go in Monday and have a very thorough ultrasound. My doctor usually does one around 20 weeks, but they want to do it early with me because I've been having some menstrual-like cramping. It's something I've never experienced with my other two pregnancies. So hopefully, everything is ok. I will be about 18 weeks then. I'll update after my appointment Monday.
P.S. Welcome to the world Carleigh Lauryn Grace! Carleigh arrived November 8th. Congratulations John and Andrea, and big brother Nicky! My prayers are with you.
November 15th, 1999
I just got back from my ultrasound! It was so fun! I love being able to see a little preview of the baby! He (or she!) was soooo cute! He was asleep when they first started, and then he just woke up and started dancing around! :) We decided not to find out the sex of the baby even though they could tell today. I think it would be more fun to find out when the baby is born. There are very few really fun surprises in life, and we want to cherish this one! :) Everything looked normal on the ultrasound. They couldn't find see any source of this cramping that I'm having. They want to give it a couple of weeks, and then have me come back. Also, I have ketones in my urine sample, so they want to check that again too. The doctor said ketones in the urine could mean that I'm not eating enough, or that I am developing gestational diabetes. Yikes! Anyway, it was a pretty good appointment. I'm still experiencing the cramps, but hopefully the doctor is right and they will go away soon!
November 17th, 1999
I scanned the ultrasound picture! Would you like to see it? Click here! :)
November 29th, 1999
I'm 20 weeks along now -- halfway done!! :) There's not a whole lot to report. I'm still having these weird cramps. It gets pretty bad if I stay on my feet. The doctor wants me to "rest as much as possible." That is pretty hard taking care of two very active toddlers! :) The good news is that the nausea is GONE and I haven't had another migraine! Yea!! :)
December 10th, 1999
Well, it's been a rough couple of days. :( Tuesday night we had to go to the ER. My cramps suddenly got worse, and I was afraid I was losing the baby. So some good friends came over and watched Gage and Lexi until my husband's Dad could come, and we went to the hospital. Once we got there, they monitored the baby and determined that it was just fine. (Thank God!) And they also monitored me to see if my cramps were contractions or not. (They weren't!) So they gave me some pain killers and kept me overnight. The next day, I saw several doctors and heard several theories -- a bladder infection, gall stones, fibroids, and one doctor even suggested that this was in my head! (We were NOT too happy with him.) After my labs came back and they saw that something indeed was wrong (duh!) they called a specialist. He examined me and said that he has seen this before (FINALLY someone who could help me!) He said my uterus was in a constant contraction. It was all hard and solid sort of like a clenched fist. So he prescribed some medication that would relax the uterus (it is actually anti-labor medicine) and I finally got to go home! Yea! Now I'm taking the medicine and we're just watching to see what happens. My pain is definitely better than it was when I left for the ER. Hopefully it just gets better and better! I'll keep you posted! Other than that, things are going along fine. This baby sure is a mover and a shaker! Especially at night! :)
December 14th, 1999
I had another appointment today. The doctor is having me come in weekly while I'm on this anti-labor medication because the amniotic fluid needs to be checked on a regular basis. Occasionally this medicine can reduce the fluid levels, and if that occurs, they would have to take me right off the drug. Anyway, everything looked good today. I still have the cramping, but it is definitely better. And the baby is doing great! The heartbeat is still nice and strong. And FAST! My urine sample was normal today, too. No more ketones. And I'm not sure, but I might have seen some "boy parts" on today's ultrasound?!! I don't know. It was very hard to know what you're looking at! My husband thought he saw boy parts too! (Maybe wishful thinking on his part!) We'll have to wait and see! :) I go back to the doctor next Tuesday.
December 21st, 1999
I had another appointment today. The baby looks great! And the fluid level is good, too. They're really pleased with how the drugs are working. My pain is still there, but manageable. The doctor thinks that as soon as my uterus grows out of my pelvis, the pain should subside considerably. I hope so. I'm 23 weeks now, so that should be any time. According to my "Pregnancy Week By Week" book, the baby weighs nearly a pound now and is the size of a small doll. Wow! :) I followed some "old wives tales" just for fun, to see if I am having a boy or a girl. Here's what I found out: According to "Is it a Boy or a Girl" quiz, I have a 50% chance of having a girl and a 50% chance of having a boy. Duh! No help at all there! :) According to the Ancient Chinese Birth Gender Chart, I am having a boy. Anyone know of any other old wives tales to try? :)
December 24th, 1999
There's something I didn't mention about my last appointment. I didn't think it was important because we weren't going to open it, but now we are, so I better tell you all! The ultrasound tech had me turn my head during my ultrasound and she took a picture of the baby's "parts in question" (or "lack of parts" as the case may be!) and wrote down the sex of the baby and sealed it all in an envelope just in case we wanted to open it on Christmas Day! We weren't going to, but now we are, so tomorrow we'll know! I know it will be the best present we will ever open! :)
I want to wish everyone reading this a very Merry Christmas! And happy birthday, Jesus! :)
Oh, and congratulations goes out to my very good friend Karen and her husband Pete. They had a baby boy this afternoon! Welcome to the world, Benjamin Peter! Can't wait to meet you tomorrow! :)
December 28th, 1999
We know the sex of our baby! Would you like to know, too? Click here! :)
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"We're Expecting" graphic is a special gift from Camille of Country Graphics By Camille. Please do not take it! Thank you so much Camille!!