Another week down

Every week seems to bring something new, sometimes good, sometimes bad.  This last weekend could definitely be categorized as bad.  I suffered a terrible bleed, I really thought the end had come.  Thankfully, not all was doom and gloom.  The baby is doing great and growing right on schedule, oblivious to the turmoil and stress around him/her.   Though this is wonderful and to be celebrated, we did find out a bit of bad news at today's ultrasound.  The hemorrhage in last week's scan had shrunk to 2.5 cm x 2.5 cm, but because I decided to make a few beds, get ready and unload the dishwasher on Saturday, I suffered the consequences with hemorrhaging more than ever before.  (I really cannot do anything, so incredibly frustrating!)  The scan today, revealed the hemorrhage is the largest it's ever been, measuring 5.4 cm x 2.7 cm.  It's terrible to regress instead of progress, those beds and dishes were definitely not worth it!   I'm sorry for everyone who reads this and is completely bored by the same news and posts (not to mention all the ultrasound pictures!), but I must keep it up for my family and those faraway friends who want to stay updated!  One of these days I hope to be a SCH (sub-chorionic hemorrhage) graduate and have a happy, healthy pregnancy!  Until then, I'll have at least another month of watching movies, crocheting my baby afghan, working on picture books and watching lots of football with John. :-) 

This is a bottom up shot, literally!  You can see the legs and the bottom, though it's hard to make out on an ultrasound.  I asked the ultrasound tech, if she could make a guess at to the gender, but she said all babies pretty much look alike at this stage.  And to eliminate any confusion, the arrow is pointing to the leg!  I have my guess as to the gender, but what do you think?  

Another Superhero

In a previous post, I spoke of Caleb, my little superhero, with superhero underwear.  I now speak of a larger superhero, who does not necessarily wear any Batman or Flash Gordon underwear, but has nevertheless been a super man these last few weeks.  Amongst all the super heroes of late, the one who has felt the impact most and soared to fill the void, has been super John.  With late nights at work, YM's, food to cook, groceries to buy, clothes to wash, a house to clean, fetching things for me and having to do everything for Caleb when he's home, the man has showed his super human qualities and long lasting endurance.  I've always thought he had super powers (who runs a marathon in 2 hours and 49 minutes, with only 3 weeks of training?!), but he has definitely shown that power extends to many other capacities.   He has been a great sport through it all and want him to know how much I love and appreciate my own personal super hero! 

Below is a picture of the ultrasound I had today (the baby was moving so much, it was hard to get a good shot!) the hemorrhage has not shrunk, but it has not gotten any bigger.  Baby is doing great and growing right on schedule, here's to 11 weeks!  

-Update-

I wrote a big long post the other day and was waiting to scan my other ultrasound picture, when yesterday came...  Not a good day.  Let's just say this time, the scare happened at McDonald's.  But, let me back track a bit.  Momma Young had Caleb for a whole week, I missed him tons!  He came back looking older, I swear.  I had an ultrasound during the time he was gone, taking advantage of being baby free.  Caleb had gone with me to my first ultrasound, and if he wasn't traumatized by doctors already (big long story from back in Ohio), he was now!  I will never take him again if I can help it.  According to this latest ultrasound, the hematoma had gotten smaller, hurray!  I came home in high spirits, thinking I could watch Caleb on Thursday and Friday.  Whew, the problem is, Caleb is a very energetic little boy who loves to play.  I only wish he was fine to play by himself sometimes, but he always needs someone right there with him.  So yesterday, we spent the day building his castle Imaginext toy, puzzles, Legos, hide-n-seek, looking for frogs (there seems to always be a frog hiding in the outside garbage can, as you can see we found in the above picture) and eating lots.  Caleb never eats meals, but snacks all day long, this can be very frustrating!  He is the most finicky child ever, still only eats about 6 things.  Thursday, seemed to go okay, I was tired and knew I needed to rest.  Friday, was beautiful, so I thought we'd go to the park, thinking I could sit and watch him play.  That would have been nice, except that he wanted to swing, go across the monkey bars and play hide-n-seek the whole time.  The park was not working out like I had hoped!  So I went to plan B:  McDonald's.  The one by us has a huge play place and always lots of kids, perfect for Caleb, who LOVES to play with other kids.  We went and had a great time, up until episode number 2 happened.  Why do these occurrences always have to happen when I'm out in public?!   I knew what was happening and hurried home to lay down.  So that's where I'm at, with another fresh bleed, I think the hemorrhage/hematoma has gotten bigger.  It has been so difficult.  I want to be a good mom with Caleb and be with him, yet I cannot do anything besides sitting/laying around, anything else brings on bleeding, ahhh!  I have had the hardest time taking a back seat with Caleb.  I wish I didn't have to find arrangements for him to be watched by others,  I want to watch my baby!  I keep telling myself, we have been blessed to be pregnant, so we have to do all we can to keep this pregnancy going.  It's such a struggle at the moment...  Anyways, I don't want to be completely depressing, so I'll end on a lighter note.  Below is a picture of the good ultrasound from Tuesday and part of the post I had written that day.   I'm 10 weeks now, at least I've made it this far!  I have another ultrasound on Friday, I will post the news...

So with all this worry, I have been blessed with lots of pregnancy symptoms to slightly ease my fears.  I hear people who have a miscarriage often stop having any symptoms, so every day of intense nausea, is a day I'm grateful!   At first, eating lots helped with feeling sick.  I had already gained 5 pounds!  Eeek!  Funny those pounds crept up, since nothing sounds appetizing at all.  I definitely cannot eat anything with onions or garlic, seems the taste lingers and becomes extra powerful while I'm pregnant.  Anything spicy is crossed off the list as well.  Everything must be completely bland.  

The other night, I decided to try a few Doritos, nacho cheese kind.  I was desperate for a snack, being Sunday and not a day John could run and get me something, I had to settle for what was around.  Because the Doritos did not look repulsive (as most food is right now), chips it was!  The first bowl tasted quite good, so did the second and the third bowl.  Afterwards, I realized my mistake.  The nacho taste would not go away.  For a normal, non-pregnant person, a lingering flavor would have been fine, but not for me!  The horrible taste made me even more nauseous than before.  All I wanted to do was throw-up those gross Doritos, but couldn't!  I writhed in bed for hours that night, not able to sleep for the taste was ever present, I was being punished for my rash decision!  How could I have thought nacho cheese chips were an exception?!  The taste stayed for 9 hours, from the time I first ate a chip, sealing my doom.  Finally, at 3 in the morning, I fell asleep.  I awoke so happy (though tired from the long night), to find the taste was gone!  Has anyone else felt like this when they were pregnant?

Thanks to the momma's & the pappa's!

Just wanted to let my mom and Randall know, how much I appreciated them taking care of us this last week and a half!  I know you guys were expecting a vacation when you came up, but instead slaved away making meals, watching Caleb, sewing pillows and cleaning until your hands were raw!   We were so fortunate to have you come when you did... Thank you!

Momma Young is also taking a big part, she has taken Caleb for the week (I will miss my baby!), so I can rest and hopefully let this hemorrhage heal.  There seems to be a direct correlation between bleeding and activity, so I'm taking it extra easy.  Momma Young has graciously offered to take Caleb, every week for most the week until I get better, so nice!  Thank goodness for family!  I love and appreciate you all!