Newsflash - I Have a Stubborn Child

We had to know from the beginning right - from the hell we went through getting pregnant, to finding out about the lost twin, to the bleeding hell with the subchorionic hematoma... nothing about this was going to be easy, right?

Well, my 12 ounce child isn't making it ANY easier.

Smudge continues to be the most stubborn and uncooperative child there is.

We had our anatomy scan today. S/he's frank breech, which means i have a head, 2 hands and 2 feet at the top of my uterus and a butt at the bottom. I gave a stern warning that s/he has 18 weeks to flip around, otherwise, we'll be meeting for the 1st time in the OR, and I'm not planning on that. There's plenty of time yet for said flippage to happen, so I'm not remotely worried about it. My placenta has also shifted to be more anterior than posterior now. It's actually right at the fundus. So, that might explain why it took so long to feel consistent movement, what with all of the hands and feet at the placenta.

45 minutes later - we got to see a hand!

The sonographer couldn't get all of the views they needed to check everything, but what they did see was absolutely perfect. We have to go back in 2 1/2 weeks to try to finish the anatomy scan, and we're also going to get a fetal echo, which is a specialized heart ultrasound, because apparently with the type of IVF (ICSI) we had to do, there is a miniscule risk of cardiac issues. We're not remotely worried - but if it's just an ultrasound, why not make sure EVERYTHING is okay... so they'll do it at the same time.

20 week belly

Meanwhile - we found out our risk categories for downs syndrome (1 in 880) and Trisomy 13 and 18 (1 in 10,000), so we'll happily take those odds. Apparently the average downs risk for my age group is 1 in 300 and once we finish the anatomy and fetal echo, he anticipates our risk dropping even more. (I already knew my results were "normal", but I'm glad the perinatologist told us the ratios.)

Smudge chewing on a hand

Since Smudge was incredibly uncooperative, we got awful pictures today. With the ones the tech gave us, she had to explain what we were seeing. I begged the one with the open hand from the perinatologist himself, since the tech didn't give it to me. I figured it was the only really clear picture the whole scan, and I wanted just one i didn't have to explain. He laughed at me when I asked, and happily handed it over.

Hopefully we'll get better ones in 2 1/2 weeks.

Anyway - here's Smudge at 20 weeks 1 day and my big ole 20 week belly. Its starting to get in my way now. It's so funny. I love it. 20 weeks and less than 10 pounds gained (7 the last time I got on a scale). I'm really proud of myself.

More info on Placenta Previa

Last week in my post I was so excited to announce that Baby Hopeful Bud is a girl that I kind of glossed over the fact that the ultra sound tech said that my placenta is lying too close and slightly over my cervix. Which is why I get to have another u/s at 28 weeks to monitor it's placement then. So I thought I would give you a little more information on what Placenta Previa is.

According to Babycenter.com, placenta previa means that your placenta is lying unusually low in your uterus, next to or covering your cervix. The placenta is the pancake-shaped organ — normally located near the top of the uterus — that supplies your baby with nutrients through the umbilical cord. Placenta previa is not usually a problem early in pregnancy. But if it persists into later pregnancy, it can cause bleeding, which may require you to deliver early and can lead to other complications. If you have placenta previa when it's time to deliver your baby, you'll need to have a c-section.If the placenta covers the cervix completely, it's called a complete or total previa. If it's right on the border of the cervix, it's called a marginal previa. (You may also hear the term "partial previa," which refers to a placenta that covers part of the cervical opening once the cervix starts to dilate.) If the edge of the placenta is within 2 centimeters of the cervix but not bordering it, it's called a low-lying placenta.

Here are some pictures to illustrate the above description.

Photo Credit

From what the tech could tell, my placenta wasn't lying completely over my cervix, just too close to it. Our doctor told us that in 9 out of 10 cases the placenta moves out of the way on it's own. In the case where it doesn't, a C-Section is performed. Our doctor also told us that bleeding is often a symptom of placenta previa, so if I do start spotting at all to call the doctor's office and immediately tell them I have a low lying placenta. Luckily, I haven't experienced any spotting. We are praying that no spotting continues and that the placenta moves out of the way.


That's about it. I don't know what I'll update you on next. My next appt. isn't for another three weeks, so there isn't much to report. We have started looking for bedding and cribs, which is an adventure.


Take care and stay hopeful!!

Baby Hopeful Bud is a girl!!

It's amazing how much my life, outlook, thoughts, perception on things has changed in the last 24 hours since finding out we were having a baby girl. In some strange way seeing her on the ultrasound yesterday for the first time made it all the more real. I'm sure the same change in attitude would have happened if we saw that we were having a boy too.

So yesterday when we went for our u/s, I think both Mr. Hopeful Bud and myself knew that we were having a girl, but we both wanted a boy so badly that we never really admitted to each other that we thought it was going to be a girl. :) Wishful thinking sometimes has a way of clouding intuition. When we went into the room with the tech I told her that I didn't want to know the sex of Baby HB until the very end, that we wanted to spend as much time with our baby as possible and just wanted to enjoy every moment. So the tech went about her business of finding the kidneys (good!), finding the bladder (good!), beating heart (a beautiful 138 bpm), perfect sized brain, good blood flow through the umbilical cord, everything looked great! Baby HB wasn't moving around much at all, so the tech kept pushing and shaking my belly with the wand saying "wake up little one!" Finally after the fourth shake, she started to wake up, but not before giving the biggest yawn ever. I know I'm biased, but I'm pretty sure that yawn was the most spectacular thing that any baby has ever done before. :) After her big yawn she started kicking and wiggling all over. The whole experience was just precious!! After about 15 minutes of just watching her, the tech said "are you ready to find out what you are having?" We looked at each other and said "yes". Without any hesitation she said "It's a girl!" Of course I was already crying, but started to cry even more upon hearing those words. I guess I never realized how much I really wanted a girl. The tech said she weighs approximately 12 ounces and is measuring right at 20w1d, which is just one day difference then my due date.

The only cause of concern on the ultra sound is that my placenta seems to be too close to my cervix. So the tech requested that I get another u/s at 28 weeks to make sure that my placenta is moving away like it should be. Our doctor said that in 90% of cases, the placenta moves away normally on it's own. My understanding is that if it doesn't move away, this could lead to Placenta Praevia. I guess we will see in 8 weeks. I'm just excited that we get to see our little girl again!

Well, that's about it. Telling friends and family was so much fun. Now we get to start narrowing down name, bedding, thinking about registering. So much to do and so little time!!

Take care and stay hopeful!!

Blighted Ovulm...

is the cause of 50% of first trimester miscarriages in which the baby either never develops or stops growing in the first trimester and then reduces to tiny pieces. A woman’s body recognizes abnormal chromosomes in a fetus and naturally does not try to continue the pregnancy because the fetus will not develop into a normal, healthy baby. This can be caused by abnormal cell division, or poor quality sperm or egg. Unfortunately, in most cases a blighted ovum cannot be prevented, however it is very rare for a women to experience a BO twice in her lifetime.

This is how the placenta and Embryo should begin to look like:

A perfect sac at 5 wks 4 days:

A sac at 6w 3days, but the embryo is developing at a slower pace:

Same embryo at 8 weeks:

and here is how a Blighted Ovum sac looks like... empty:

I would have never suspected that there was anything wrong with my pregnancy since I had all the pregnancy symptoms from increase in appetite, peeing like a race horse, dead tired by 4 in the afternoon and how can I forget the cravings for food that I never eat... cucumbers!! At times I am kind of relieved that this occurred early in the pregnancy where we never heard the heartbeat or saw the embryo, because I do not know how I would accepted the fact that my unborn baby was not developing and there is nothing that we can do to help it being further along in the pregnancy.

My heart goes out to those woman who have suffered a miscarriage in their 11th, 18th even in their 20th week. You ladies are so strong and I wish nothing but the best for you.

We are praying to start trying again next month and hoping to have a sticky baby.