the size of a lime... hmm...

I always find the things to which pregnancy literature compares an embryo's size very interesting... This weeks comparison is a lime. I kinda like it, I get it; but, oddly, Nugget seems so much bigger than that to me. I can feel Nugget moving around in there now, and even though this is not a new feeling to me, it still feels like I have been inhabited by an alien... a very cute, lime-sized, alien. See:


Did you ever think that a baby the size of a lime would have so many distinguishable features? I didn't. We didn't get ultrasound pictures of Leigh this clear until much later in the pregnancy. At this stage she seemed to still resemble a bean (thus the nickname).

I have had three appointments since my last post. The first was my regular check up and first glucose testing (which I failed... with a big fat F). It was on the 21st and it was the first time I actually felt Nugget move. Doug and I were on the way to the appointment, and I was downing the very disgusting, insanely sweet, glucose drink. About halfway through the drink, it felt as if Nugget was doing cartwheels in my belly. I was stoked.

The appointment started with the norm... urine check, weight (18lbs loss from my first appointment; gotta love morning sickness), and blood pressure. As soon as we got in to see the doctor (my favorite one of the practice; her first name is Africa) she started trying to hear Nugget's heartbeat and couldn't find it. Nugget had stopped doing cartwheels by this time, so I was no longer feeling any movement and I started to get nervous. Dr. Stewart said she needed to wait for my bladder to fill again to find the heartbeat (I guess an empty bladder doesn't carry the sound waves so well.) She sent us out to the waiting room, to wait for a fuller bladder and for the hour to be up after finishing that horrendous drink.
As soon as we sat down, Nugget started doing cartwheels again and I felt much better (though light-headed from the insane amount of sugar rushing around in my body). They drew the blood after about twenty minutes, and took us back to Dr Stewart's office. This time, she found Nugget's heartbeat with no problem. I wonder when these appointments will get less nerve-racking.

The second appointment was Friday morning. It was the three-hour glucose test. I had to fast from midnight on, so by the time I arrived at the office, I was really nauseated and completely not looking forward to another of those disgusting drinks. They took me back to the lab right away and drew the first blood sample. Then they gave the orange flavored sugar nightmare drink. I downed it as quickly as possible just to get it over with...ugh!

I went back to the waiting room to wait an hour until they drew the next sample. I had brought "The Host" with me and was enjoying reading it for about a half hour until my eyes started going blurry... really blurry. Then I just sat there trying not to ralph (they had already warned me that if I couldn't hold it down, that I would have to do the test again).

They finally brought me back to the lab again and I really had to concentrate to keep from falling over. I felt like I was drunk. They drew my blood again and asked how I was feeling. When I told them I was dizzy, the two nurses took my arms and led me to another room to lay down. It was about another half hour before I started to feel a little normal again. The blurriness finally went away and they drew blood two more times. Each of the four spots where they drew my veins blew and I now have larger bruises. I know that I also failed this test and will get the results next week. I know because I remember feeling this way when I was pregnant with Leigh before I went on the insulin injections. I wonder how long it will be before they make me start doing those again.

My third appointment was that afternoon with the high-risk specialist. I have to see a specialist due to my propensity to miscarry. The appointments are sort-of required by my insurance company and completely covered (so awesome). We had tried to work it out so that Doug could go to this appointment with me, but it was the last day of school and getting a baby-sitter for the girls was impossible.
The appointment started the same as my regular appointments... urine, weight, blood pressure. Then the nurse, who reminded me of one of my really good friends in VA, took me in and started an ultrasound (Doug was so upset that he missed this). She informed me that the ultrasound was to check for the possibility of Downs Syndrome. I am only 32, and do not fall in the category for high-risk for Downs, but I figure the testing is free, and it would be nice to know... The ultrasound was fantastic! Nugget was super active which was so interesting to watch. The ultrasound lasted 15 minutes (I watched the whole time, fascinated), and she gave me five picks up my sweet little lime-sized alien; the beautiful profile above, and these:





After that the doctor came in (Dr. Ho, seriously; wonder what it does to one's personality to go through junior high school with a name like that). She reviewed the measurements of the neck fluid to see if it indicated Downs which it did not. Then she began going over my history with me. That was all fine, until she informed me that aspirin was just not going to cut it this time.

Aspirin is what made it possible for me to have Leigh. It is probably what has made it possible for me to get pregnant this time. This is due to an auto-immune disorder that I have. It's called Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome and causes my immune system to attack my red-blood cells which causes blood clots.

Dr. Ho advised that it would be much better for me to go on Lovenox . Then she told me that I would have to give this to myself as injections. I tried pretty hard to keep my face from showing my thoughts, but I'm sure she knew I was horrified. After the appointment that morning, I was fully aware that I will soon be going on insulin injections 2-3 times a day, and she was telling me I had to do another. To make it worse, Lovenox is not injected in the arm like insulin; it's injected into the abdomen. I guess it's good that I don't fear needles.

The rest of the appointment went fine. I will be going back to Dr. Ho on July 17th for another ultrasound and few other checks, and I will go back to my regular doctors on July 1st for the check up and July 9th to find out Nugget's gender.

I pick up my "At Home with Lovenox Kit" on Monday from the pharmacy. I am not looking forward to it, but it is worth it.