2/22/2019

Pregnancy Update #1 - sneaky beta and symptoms; wedding progress

Sooo, I kind of cheated last week and snuck in for a third beta. The wait for the ultrasound seemed to stretch out forever, and I was feeling some anxiety and doubts, despite the strong first two betas.

I got the idea from friends on the private FB page for folks going through my clinic's program. They said that they found the wait excruciating, also, and went in for another "reassurance" beta. I still had the order from my clinic, which doesn't have a limitation to number of times or any specific dates, and went down to a nearby Quest lab. Results came back "very" reassuring at 17,368 (5 weeks 2 days)!

That reassurance carried me a few more days; now, the anxiety is creeping back in, despite having increasing symptoms. I guess this must be emotional repercussions (PTSD?) from my years of many failed attempts, or even the last cycle, which ended in a chemical. I don't think I'll fully believe I'm pregnant until I see Popo and Budge (or Pudge :) on the ultrasound.

Speaking of which, the ultrasound is still scheduled for March 6th, 12 long days away. If a spot opens up, the doctor said I could come in sooner, but that's doubtful because both an ultrasound and Obgyn workup appointment would need to open up on the same day.

For funsies, I will share the symptoms I've been having. Please share what symptoms you had in your pregnancy, if you've been pregnant and are willing to share. Thanks!

Symptoms:
  1. Breast soreness: initially off and on, as of the last couple of days, some level of consistent soreness, but not too intense.
  2. Insomnia: wake up most every night around 3 or 4am and am awake for some period of time.
  3. Napping: Due to the above, often take a nap after doing my daily pregnancy meditation (I'm not a napper).
  4. Mood changes: more emotional and reactive; have responded quite harshly to RC several times and had to apologize. Saying things I would never normally say. Also, increased anxiety at times, and my mind is swirling or overly active.
  5. Communication: perhaps related to above, I find myself more "chatty" than I've ever been. I just seem to talk more, in streams of chattiness that is unlike me. Unless I'm in an exhausted place, where I zone out in a semi-stupor. :)
  6. Brain fog: pretty self-explanatory...I feel unfocused and fumble around trying to get organized or out the door, at times.
  7. Food: smoked salmon, salmon in general really, has never sounded more disgusting. Often, the healthy, veggie-heavy dinners RC cooks, sound awful unfortunately. Cooked veggies, in general, sound bad, except for potatoes or french fries. Salads are okay, raw celery. Fruit is great, and hamburgers - or the other day a delicious gyro - are cravings at times. Spicy foods often sound appealing, oddly.
  8. Nausea: I had one wierd incident yesterday, when I was out walking Zoey, where I suddenly felt overheated and BLECH. Not like I was about to throw-up but just gross and I guess you could say somewhat nauseated. I felt like I couldn't make all the way back down our street and home, lol. But, overall, no morning sickness or nausea, which has been a concern because so many women feel this. I just reached 6 weeks today, so maybe I have that to look forward to.
Lastly, despite my foggy brain, wedding planning has progressed, and all the major pieces are in place. Venue and food, check; DJ, check; rehearsal dinner venue, check; decorations and centerpieces, check (found more antique-style table clocks, yay!); officiant, check; wedding party confirmed, check (RC had some struggles around this when one son cancelled last minute, but my uncle stepped in :); flowers, check.

We are super excited for our honeymoon, now, as well. Even though my Dad declined to pay for the wedding, or any part of the wedding, up front, he and the rest of my immediate family went in on the lodging for our honeymoon in Victoria, BC - amazing! Lots of gratitude and some warming towards my Dad around that one, which we just found out about yesterday. We will be staying in a 17-suite Bed and Breakfast downtown, across from a lovely park (Beacon Park?) and near all the sights and activities along the Bay. Yay!

6 comments:

  1. Oh, the wait for the first ultrasound is EXCRUCIATING. Hopefully the wedding planning will make it feel like time is going faster. :)

    You know, I didn't experience much nausea with either of my pregnancies. I had a little more the second time around, but it wasn't really that bad. (I too was concerned about this!) My main symptoms were exhaustion (I'd be in bed for the night by 8 pm) and breast tenderness. I don't remember having any food aversions, but I definitely had some odd cravings. The weirdest was cherry Kool-Aid because I hadn't had it since I was a kid. lol I also could have eaten Thai food 24/7 while pregnant. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, this wait sucks! Interesting you didn't experience much nausea. I guess we'll see if it kicks in for me or not. I love your Kool-Aid craving! :)

      Delete
  2. This is really exciting. And mostly, I want to say that I was about 7.5 weeks pregnant before I had morning sickness. It arrived the day of my wedding! Bad timing, lol. But I started to get nauseated, and quickly following that was severe constipation; so much so that I was in bed for almost all of our honeymoon in Hawaii. :(

    I was bloated from the beginning - my wedding dress fit, but it wasn't as comfortable as it was when I initially was fitted (pre-pregnancy). I craved sugar and cheese/yogurt with Maxine, and with Flora I ate a lot of meat and veggies. I want to recommend that you eat as healthy as possible; it's probably junk-sciencey for me to say this, but I SWEAR my kids eat now the way I ate when I was pregnant with them, respectively. Maxine LOVES sugar and meat (Flora, not so much with the sugar - I cut way back with her pregnancy). Flora eats all the veggies, cheese and meats I ate when I was preggo with her. Oh, and I had to eat all the time during both pregnancies, during the night - I kept crackers on my nightstand and ate them all the time. I was always hungry.

    Sore boobs until about the third tri.
    Lots of cervical mucus, more as the pregnancy went on - this really irritated me, lol.
    I had a lot of anxiety toward the end and postpartum. Toward the end I felt trapped and overtaken with the baby in utero. Postpartum I was scared of dying--me and/or the baby.
    I had some spotting early, but I found if you've miscarried and spot early, they get you in for an u/s ASAP.

    What day are you getting married?

    Congrats again, on both accounts - this is so exciting!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, I am sorry your nausea kicked in on the day of your wedding! It could happen to me, too. I'll be around 8 weeks when we get married on March 9th. It's interesting you craved different things...I have heard women are supposed to crave more meat when it's a boy and more sweets when it's a girl, but you had both cravings with girls. :) I'm eating okay so far but my inability to tolerate much cooked veggies is not great. Eating fruit though and salads, plus carbs. I'm trying on my dress on Monday to see if it needs emergency alterations. ha

      Delete
  3. I can’t wait to see pics from your wedding and hear how the ultrasound went!! Thinking of you!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm 5w4d today and let's see, I've had MASSIVE exhaustion, wicked heartburn off and on and some slight nausea. Today was the first day I went for my coffee and went GAG GAG GAG. And that's an amazing beta!!!

    ReplyDelete