Welcoming the 2nd Trimester!

Today, I’m 2 days shy of 14 weeks in the pregnancy land. We had an appointment with OB and praise God, the results of the Harmony test (also called NIPT) and other bloodwork are normal. That was my greatest fear due to our advanced age where the chance for chromosomal abnormalities increases. You would not believe how stressed out I’ve been in the past few weeks anticipating all these tests. And I think I've been pampered while I was still under the care of the fertility clinic before where I had weekly ultrasound until week 10. After I graduated from that place, the regular OB only does it once every 4 weeks.

I do feel stupid worrying for nothing. I can start relaxing now that I’m finishing the first trimester. But as my husband said, I’ll probably find something else to worry about.

My blood pressure remains stable (120 over 70) despite the fact I’ve been having anxiety attacks.

And my OB also checked the heartbeat via fetal doppler and we heard it! He said it was fast enough and not to worry. I bought my own fetal doppler and been trying to listen to the heartbeat since week 12 and it was very difficult to hear anything. That just added anxiety. He said not to use it again because it’s not as sensitive as the ones they use in the clinic.

We also found out the gender but I’ll keep it a secret for now okay? I’ll reveal it at week 20.

As far as pregnancy symptoms, nausea comes and goes especially in the afternoon. And headaches and moodiness still hangs around.

I’m really over the moon with the results today and I know this is indeed a miracle! I’m so looking forward the second trimester. I've heard it is the easiest trimester.

My next OB appointment is in 4 weeks.

Just one day shy of week 12

Just a little background, last Sep 1, I went to the ER when I couldn’t empty my bladder in the middle of the night. It was very painful and I had the urge to pee but nothing came. I was put in a catheter while at the ER but was removed before I left as I didn’t really want to bring it home. I thought I was doing fine a few days later but I was wrong. On Sep 6, I went to the same ER with the same issues. I came home again without a catheter. I phoned my OB last week about the issue but he has no availability to see me that week. I’ve been told to go to Mt. Sinai if it happens again so I did on Sep 9. At that time the OB on duty insisted I wear a catheter as it is more dangerous to have urine retention. 

Today, I had my Prenatal Screening blood tests and  Nuchal Translucency ultrasound in the morning and finally saw my OB to check my catheter. He decided to remove it. Thank God! I feel like human again. I had the catheter for 5 days and I was not a happy camper. Having a foreign object down there that pokes you if you walk or sit a certain way was horrible.

My OB also discussed the result of the NT test and it is normal. The sonographer was having a tough time finding the right position to capture the baby. I was still on catheter in the morning when the ultrasound was being done and she had to do transvaginal scan because she cannot see the baby on my belly. She had the probe inside me for what seemed like half an hour.  It was getting uncomfortable down there as she was adjusting the “wand” in different angles while tapping my belly in an attempt to get the baby switch to the right position.  She had asked me to cough hard and drink fruit juice.  It took so long but finally the baby cooperated and she got the right scan.

Well, I’m still waiting for the results of the other blood screening tests. And I think I’m feeling a little bit relaxed now that the ultrasound result is normal today.

Unexpected visit to the ER

On Sep 1, I went to bed at 10 pm and made a mistake of drinking about 2 glasses of water as I was thirsty. At around 2 am, I woke up with the urgent need to pee but nothing came out. I tried squatting in the tub and different positions and nothing. The pain became excruciating when I walk so I went to the emergency and they put a catheter to drain the urine. Boy that was a big relief! The OB at the hospital didn't think it's related to pregnancy as I'm only 10 weeks and the urine tested normal so no infection. She doesn't really know why it happened so I'm being referred to a urologist. But I've googled and noticed that it's common for women with tilted uterus which I have.  I'm hoping this is just a one time event and I think I will avoid drinking water 2 hours before going to bed.  So far my peeing seems to be back to normal, still more frequent but at least a steady stream first thing in the morning. So maybe I've just held it too long.

Week 10 Ultrasound

Today, we officially graduated from our fertility doctor and I had my last ultrasound at week 10.  I'll definitely going to miss the place.  The nurses are caring and my doctor is thorough, charming and sometimes emails me directly to let me know things are all taken care of.  Some of the nurses and sonographers already know me by name as I arrive to check-in.  I will miss their pampering.

As usual the couple of days leading to the ultrasound day is always nerve-wracking.  I always worry whether my baby is still growing normally.  I also worry when the feeling of queasiness disappears.  But the ultrasound turned out normal.

Baby has a heartbeat of 174 bpm and pregnancy size is 9 weeks 6 days.  Here’s how he/she looks now. Looks more human!  Hallelujah!

Week 10, heartbeat of 174 bpm

Last August 22, I completely stopped my PIO (progesterone-in-oil) injections.  What a big relief as I was having muscle pains on my bum all the way to the back of my lower leg.  I’m glad my fertility doctor ordered to stop it after seeing my bloodwork that weekend.  I’m still on Prometrium suppositories and Estradot patches.  But I have a feeling I will be stopping them soon.  I have to wait for the doctor’s order on Tuesday as Monday is a holiday.

Overall, I really don’t have dramatic pregnancy symptoms like vomiting.  I get headaches and nausea from time to time but I’ve been having that symptoms from the very beginning of this IVF journey due to the high dosage of hormones medications I take.  I guess I’ve been feeling the symptoms of pregnancy for so long that I don’t even notice it when I started becoming pregnant.

I finally got referred to an OB/GYN in Mt. Sinai Hospital.  I requested from my family doctor that I wanted to have an OB/GYN from that hospital and that’s where I intend to give birth.  I heard great things from the nurse at my fertility clinic who gave birth there.

So I had my first visit with the OB/GYN today.  What a long wait time! We arrived 5 minutes before my appointment and filled out a bunch of paperwork, then we waited for an hour and a half before being seen by the doctor and nurse.  When we finally got to talk to the doctor, he was very concise and explained the need to take various blood tests.  One of them is NIPT (non-invasive prenatal test to assess the risk of Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome), 18 (Edwards syndrome), 13 (Patau syndrome).  It is due to my advanced maternal age.  This test is also called Harmony prenatal test.  This phase is probably the most stressful so far. (Okay, I keep saying that each time I hit a milestone.)  Glad this is covered by OHIP.  I pray daily that this baby will be chromosomally normal.

Well, there’s still weeks 11 to 13 to go through before I finish the first trimester and after that I probably will be able to relax more.  And this is very nerve-wracking because this embryo is not genetically tested.  It’s of the lower grade (4AB) but the one that has progressed this far compared to the other perfectly graded (5AB) and PGS normal one that ended in miscarriage in 5 weeks 5 days.