P17 Round 2

Today marks the start of a new week of pregnancy and yet another 17P injection.  I had the utmost faith in my husband since he did so well the first time.  We walked through the steps together and I was highly cautious about making sure he wasn't going to stab me with the 18g needle.  That thing is seriously scary looking.

We got started.  I got into position.  The opposite cheek this time so it was a bit more awkward for him to do since he is so dominant with his left hand.  The stab wasn't the bad part, it was the injecting.  He injected it much more slowly this time.  It was absolutely agonizing.  I had to lay my head on the counter to stop myself from passing out and/or throwing up in the bathroom sink.  He actually admitted that he felt bad which stuns me, especially coming from the man who has been counting down the days until he got to wield that needle.  He came my cheek a nice deep rub, since it was the only thing to give me some relief, and then I went to lay down for a minute on the bed to get the blood back to my brain.

I'm a bit sore right now.  We'll see what tomorrow brings with how I am feeling.

The nurse suggested a thick bottle, like a Gatorade jug to put my needles in, but I didn't have any with lids before recycling went out.  We ended up using a Vlasic pickle jar. 

Team Pink or Team Blue?

I know you have been sitting there asking yourself.... so what is she having?  Then refreshing my page again and again to check back.  Okay, probably not, but here is the well deserved update.

The most important news is that my cervix is super long and closed right now, averaging 5.05 cm.  I also found out that I am the talk of the OB office.  LOL.  I guess there are not that many high risk patients there and my name gets passed around a lot.  I might have met the NP when I was pregnant with DS, but don't remember her.  But when the OB came in to do the cervical check (I am certain that I never met her before), she said she knew about me and my situation.  Should I feel flattered, concerned, or annoyed?

Now the fun news!  We had a fantastic ultrasound.  We went to see Ms. Lisa at Living Images http://www.livingimg.net/  She is absolutely fantastic.  She takes her time and does her absolute best to get the perfect shots.  We also went to her to find out the sex of our DS.  She started out with some great shots of the baby's face.  Baby had one hand up to their face and sometimes sucking on fingers.  We then moved south and then I got a glimpse.  I knew right away exactly what I saw.  She pulled off right away as if teasing us to check from another angle.  Sure enough, we are having another GIRL!  She has so much attitude already.  She was kicking and moving.  She was giving us tons of facial expressions.  Her favorite one was a lip pursing, both our son and daughter do it when they are angry.  She would also cover her face so we couldn't spy.  We are a bit surprised that what we thought was a he, turned out to be a she.  We don't quite have a name stapled down yet, but hopefully it won't be too hard.

 

Our next cervical check is in 2 weeks and then the Level II scan at my MFM 2 weeks after that.  The weeks have been absolutely flying by.

First 17P Injection

I feel like a champion and I only flinched a little.  I'm so proud of my hubby for being such a great sport and I bet as the weeks go by this will get much easier.

We started out by going over all of the pieces and how tos.  It took about 30 minutes and then the real tense stuff began.  I pulled down my pants... he counted to 3 and away we went.  It was surprisingly not that bad.  The stuff is thick and I could see DH having some difficulty forcing it in.  I feel like a have a constant butt Charlie horse now, but I'm sure it will get better.  Rubbing it seems to make it feel better though.  I'm hanging out on the couch now, letting my leg and booty rest. 

Excited for our next cervical check and big goods reveal on Wednesday.  :)

 

As of Tuesday, the shot now feels like I received a TDaP!  It's so sore and achy.  I hope that tomorrow it's not so bad.

Week 15

Now that we're up to date.

Tuesday:  I am very anxious to get a call from the pharmacy about my 17P injections.  For anyone with questions on what it is and does, here is the website:  http://www.makena.com/  The nurse ordered them last week Monday, but because of the holiday and it being a military base, everyone had a long 4 day weekend.  I was told that they should call on Monday, but here it is Tuesday and I have still not heard if it has made it into the office.  I'm going to see what tomorrow brings before nagging the ordering nurse.  DH gets to give me my first injection in office on Monday.  I'm so very nervous that he's not going to be sweet about it.

Wednesday:  Still no 17P.  Gah.  Sometimes I wish we could just have a "normal" pharmacy where you take your piece of paper, wait an hour, and then pick it up.

Thursday:  I have 5 weeks of 17P in my hands.  The pharmacy "forgot" to call me and tell me it was in.  The nurse in OB apologized for the inconvenience.

Wives Tales

In anticipation for our elective ultrasound in one week.  What can be more fun than a comparison of wives tales?  We would love another boy, but I am starting to get an inkling it's a girl.

Carrying High or Low?
Average >140bpm or <140bpm? >140bpm
Craving Sweet or Salty?  Sweet
Chinese Birth Chart?  Boy
Mayan Calendar?  Boy 
Acne - More or Less?  More
Ring Test - Back and Forth or Circle?
Intelligender?  Boy
Morning Sickness - Tons or Little?  Tons
Moodiness or Happiness?  Happiness
Middle or Heel of Bread?  Middle
Craving Fruit or Protein?  Protein
Leg Hair Growth - Slower or Faster?  Faster
Urine - Dull or Bright Yellow?  Bright Yellow
Feet - Same or Colder?  Colder
Breast Bigger or Same?  Same
Psychic Medium - 1:2

Girl:Boy
6:11

Week 10-14

Last update before regular posting. 

We met with the MFM at 12w for an NT scan and to discuss our options for treatment this time around.  Baby looked fantastic and measured right on track.  We have less than a 1/10000 chance of the major trisomies and Down Syndrome.  He had me start taking a daily baby aspirin, I will be starting the 17P injections at 16w-36w, ultrasound of my cervix every 2w starting at 14w through 24w, if my cervix starts to shorten at all a cerclage will be placed.  I weighed in at 111 lbs and blood pressure wasn't terrible, but borderline.

I had my first cervical check at my OBs office at 14w.  I was very worried since for a couple days before I had been contracting painfully.  He took his time measuring and was showing off everything to the student nurse in the room.  Baby measured 2 days ahead.  I got a quick potty shot, I did not see a turtle, but I didn't see a hamburger either.  I guess we'll just have to wait 2 more weeks to find out at our private ultrasound.  The cervix was a good length between 4-4.8cm. I got back my 24-hour urine collection and my baseline is 86.

Next appointment is on the 17th.