Tomorrow at noon is my appointment with the doctor. Unfortunately, she doesn't have ultrasound technology right there in her office and I'm not sure exactly when she'll be able to get me in at the hospital for one, which is the real key to finding out how things are progressing with the subchorionic bleed. I'm hoping to have an appointment by the end of the week, but I don't know if that's unrealistically optimistic or not.
Even so, tomorrow we will see how much I've gained (a lot!), the measurement of my fundus (much bigger!), and how the baby's heartbeat is (I'm guessing it's pretty good since I've been feeling movement the past 2 days). Daniel and I were very generously lent a Doppler a couple weeks ago so we could check the heartbeat ourselves, but I must say that we're both too afraid to use it. We figure that if we don't find a heartbeat, we won't know if it's because there's actually a problem or if it's because we don't know how to use the thing!!
In all my free time of late, I've discovered online gender prediction questionnaires, based on all sorts of ridiculous old wives' tales. (I'm sorry, but I don't think my mother's hair color has much to do with whether I'm having a boy or a girl, right Beth?!) The results all say girl, but I think I'm having a boy and I'm sticking to my story. I have a feeling my mother-intuition is a better predictor than whether or not my leg hair is growing faster than before pregnancy.
In other news, potty-training has begun again with Bronwyn. She definitely seems ready this time (at least she's not crying in absolute fear the minute she's told to sit on the potty now). Potty-training her is so different than potty-training Gabriel. My confident little girl is much more capable of getting herself on and off the potty (start to finish), changing her pants when they're wet, and cleaning the floor when she's had an accident than her somewhat-insecure older brother ever was. However, this confident little girl also tends to be far more impulsive and distracted than her perfectionistic, attentive-to-detail brother, so the number of accidents she's had in three days is probably higher than Gabriel's lifetime total. Whoever said potty-training girls is easier than potty-training boys needs to visit my house!
So-I went and took the first two tests and answered what was accurate when I was pregnant with Mariah (except for the needle thing- I have no idea!) and they both said I was having a boy! So as I sit here and type- with my daughter on my lap- I say that mom's instincts are best! (Even over the old heart rate test--Mariah was always around 140 or lower.)
ReplyDeleteSo far I'm 3 for 3, although I usually don't know what my own instincts are until my first visit to the baby gap. Picking out baby clothes seems to clue me in to whatever I'm not admitting to myself!
We're gearing up for another round of potty training with Seth here. Joe and I were just discussing it last night, in fact. We're trying to get him used to the idea before we start by talking about it a lot. (We'll see how that works!)
We'll look forward to hearing the latest from your doctor, but my guess is that if you can feel baby moving around this early, he is getting what he (or she) needs! (Joel, in particular, has been praying for you all.)
I had a doppler but could never figure out how to use it. What I would do... after your appt today (when you have just heard that nice strong heartbeat only hors before), try it and see if you can get it to work! I think mine was justtoo old or something -then again, it could be the operator!!
ReplyDeleteMy mil is always asking me how I am feeling and what is happening with my body (or if a needle hung on a string over my belly goes to the right or left!) and guessing what we are having. I find it amusing...
Potty training... Ashlyn is much like Bronwyn! She will go everytime I remember to ask her but she has only asked to go (or gone by herself) a handful of times. Her accidents end up being because of my forgetting to ask her. I had a terrible time training Austin though -in the end, Dale was the one that trained him!
I knew that I was having a boy the first time I saw the "peanut like" baby on the monitor at 7 weeks. It is weird how you just know. I am HORRIBLE with guessing other people's babys though. :)
ReplyDeletePotty training...I laugh. That isn't even a thought yet in our home. Logan was 2 in January (actually the day before Jackson) and we haven't even started. I take that back...I did TRY one time and you would have thought I was trying to push him into the bowl. He starting screaming. That was it. We are going to wait until we get back from Disney World this summer. Potty training on vacation doesn't sound like fun to me.
I, too had a doppler and became obsessed with hearing Logan's heartbeat. I loved having it, but I shared the same fear that you and Daniel share. "what if I couldn't hear it?" Plus, I have to say...it took the "fun" out of hearing it at the Dr. All I had to look forward to was the scale. Ugh.
I'm laughing. When I was on bedrest at Crouse, the standard orders were to record heartbeats for both babies at least twice each day. By the end of the first week, the nurses learned that they could just leave the doppler with me and come by to get the completed forms when it was convenient for them. I guess the other thing that makes me laugh is that when the orders said to get a 20-30 minute strip each night of both babies on the fetal monitor, anyone who knows anything about those machines is laughing now, too. What sounds impossible actually came to be a fun challenge for me and (again) by the end of week one I was able to hook myself up, position both electrodes so as to get a good 30 minute strip, and sterilize the parts for the next victim. It was so much better for me to just do it, since I knew throughout the day where both babies had decided to move, and if they were very active (which is the goal with this kind of monitoring) then I could easily move the electrodes to follow their little heartbeats. Oh, and it's not like I had anything better to do! The nurses would always say, "If the Dr's find out we're letting you do your own strip they'll surely kill us! Anyway- going to the cafeteria- want anything?"
ReplyDeleteDon't diss the leg hair wives tale!! I am a firm believer in it. Shell and I both had our hair stop growing for a long time. Then again, we've both only had girls so I guess we can't be 100% sure on the theory until one of us has a boy and we have data to compare.
ReplyDeleteSo I have to ask- is it growing faster or slower?
Thanks for a fun afternoon yesterday... despite me half falling off your couch with sleepiness. Sorry! I napped quite well when I got home. :) We'll have to do it again sometime soon. I'll be praying for your appointment and always for little baby paladin.
ReplyDeleteThose old wive's tales are so funny. I had so many people guessing on the sex/sexes of my twins, until we had it verified twice. I had funny with the wedding ring on a string over my belly but I never put any stock in it. Lol-I would just get bored sometimes!
ReplyDeleteYou can probably get an ultrasound by the end of the week. I was (for all my kids) scheduled within 1-3 days of my appointment, generally. I am anxious to hear the good news!
I'm so glad that you're feeling movement. I was feeling Ada around 14 weeks also. Maybe it's the bigger they are the faster your able to feel them move??? I also had a heart doppler with Maygen. I used it all a lot but I was also very fearful to try it. I was afraid of the same thing. Is it me or is there really no heartbeat? I agree with the above post. Try tomorrow after you get a good read from the docs. I hope your sonogram is soon so you can have some peace of mind. I'm praying for you. Please update asap!
ReplyDeleteOh-I can't believe you're tackling potty training while on bedrest!
I took the tests just for fun. I put in the answers assuming I was still pregnant with Ada and 2 out of the 3 said girl.
ReplyDeleteOh-and too agree with Sarah, the leg hair thing has worked for us. I was at Panera this summer, around 12 weeks, saying to Stacie and Sarah, "well this one's a girl too b/c my leg hair has stopped again!" And voila, girl number 3!
I, too agree with the leg hair. I was a hairy beast when I was pregnant with Logan.
ReplyDeleteI will meet again next Tuesday morning with the whole care team. I'm pretty sure at this point she'll be admitted into the program. The stay can last up to 4-6 weeks though. I'm allowed to visit as often as I want. I'm toured the unit today. I'll find out more next week. The doc has to make the final call. I know the nutrionist and feeding therapist agree that the inpatient is the way to go at this point. I agree. She has to learn to eat at some point.
ReplyDeleteCall or email after your apt tomorrow. Praying for you:)