Pregnant!

Well, its been a while since I've updated my blog and a lot has happened in the meantime. I'm going to bore you with all the details of my current pregnancy..... so be forewarned. I took Clomid from June 15th-19th. This is the 3rd time I've taken Clomid. I took it first in 2009 when I got pregnant with my girls on the first round. Then I took one round in March, got pregnant and had an early miscarriage. So, when I took it again this time I really didn't think I would get pregnant a third time on one round. On July 9th I worked a day shift and had been feeling kind of off all day. I also had quite a bit of pain in my left flank. I took a pregnancy test at work which was negative, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I could possibly be pregnant. I took a home pregnancy test later that night and this is what I got.

To a normal, non obsessed person, the vvvveeeeryy faint line may be missed. But no, I did not miss that line. I quickly showed my husband, who said there may be a line there but he wasn't sure. Ughh, MEN! I just don't think he wanted to get his hopes up. So of course I had to buy more tests! I took this one 8 1/2 hours later.

My husband couldn't deny there was a line there this time, albeit still faint. Over the next few days I kept taking tests and the line continued to darken, and I of course had to take the clear blue digital test that says "pregnant" or "not pregnant". It said PREGNANT!! yay!! My heart skipped a beat when I read that.

Now that I knew I was pregnant, I couldn't help but wonder why I had so much pain in my left side... hmmm... My nurse brain immediately thought ectopic pregnancy! On July 11th my HCG was 42. This single number doesn't mean anything as the number has to start somewhere. The main thing is that the number at least doubles in 48 hours. I had repeat bloodwork on July 13th; my HCG was then 105. It more than doubled! Woot!

I had an ultrasound done on July 12th. I was only 4 weeks 1 day pregnant at the time so it was far too early to see any signs of a baby. However, we discovered what was causing me so much pain on the left side. I had an 8cm ovarian cyst, likely caused by hyper stimulation of the ovary by the Clomid. From what I can gather, the average size of an ovary is around 3-5cm. So this thing was around twice the size of my ovary. The ultrasound tech had the radiologist review the findings right away. Within a few minutes I was told to register in Emergency because cysts this big need to be surgically removed. Of course I was freaked out! So I headed on over to visit with my ER folk and waited to see the doc. He consulted with another doc. The consensus was that being pregnant, my growing uterus would push on the cyst not allowing it to twist or get bigger and would eventually dissolve. That was a relief; I definitely didn't want to go through surgery.

I continued to have my HCG checked over the next couple of weeks and it continued to double. I then had an appointment with my reproductive endocrinologist on July 26th. She did a quick ultrasound which found our little peanut was at the perfect size, but no heartbeat yet which we were told was ok at this point. She also had a look at my cyst. She chuckled as she explained to my husband and I that it was like those Matryoshka dolls......there was a mini cyst inside the big one.... awesome.... She also wasn't concerned about it and said it would eventually be reabsorbed.

I had another ultrasound done on August 15th, I was 9 weeks at the time. Our little peanut measured perfectly with a strong heartbeat! Yay!! Everything was going well until I hit about 14 weeks. I started to get the same feelings I had with my twin girls, a lot of pressure and frequent uterine tightening especially with standing. I continued to work, but was finding I needed to sit more often due to these feelings. Its kind of difficult to find time to sit working in an ER, so I knew I was not going to be able to work much longer.

On November 3rd (2o weeks 3 days) I was having increased pressure and a lot of uterine tightening. Given our past experience I was quite worried and went into labour and delivery to be seen. The doc checked me over and everything seemed ok at that point. The tightening was chalked down to braxton hicks. However, due to my history of preterm labour and the fact that my symptoms were exactly the same as with my girls, the doc thought it would be best if I stopped working.

So, I took it really easy from then on. However, on November 18th (22 weeks 4 days) the braxton hicks increased again. Back into labour and delivery I went. This time the monitor picked up the mini contractions and the nurse could feel them. The doc diagnosed me with irritable uterus, which i self diagnosed myself with in my pregnancy with my girls. I was admitted to keep an eye on the contractions and to make sure I wasn't going into labour.

I was just discharged home on Dec 12th. During my 3 1/2 week hospital stay I had at least 4-5 braxton hicks contractions an hour which would sometimes pick up in frequency. At one point they were every 3 minutes for 8 hours straight. I thought for sure that I was in labour, but apparently not!

So, now I'm home taking it VERY easy! I continue to have at least 4-5 BH contractions an hour. This just seems to be the norm for me. Its just physically and emotionally exhausting having them all the time. My belly hurts from my uterus contracting constantly and I always worry about the fact that I could go into labour at any minute. But, I'm 26 weeks 2 days pregnant today and I am so thankful to have made it this far!!

And now, some belly pics....

21 Weeks 1 Day

23 Weeks 5 Days

25 Weeks 1 Day

I'm sorry this post is so long, but I had 6 months of pregnancy to update you all on! My posts from here on out will be much shorter! I have some ultrasound pictures that I will scan onto my computer and post in the next little while.

We would like to thank you all for your continued love and support!

- Amy