Firsts for the second time

From 571 to 1226, doubling time of 39.91 hours. Everything is fine.

I asked if I should be concerned about that 571 number and my doctor assured me that I did not have to be. She said that it could have simply been one slow day - since we hadn’t checked betas in 6 days, who knows what happened. She seems to think the beta that tripled was off. She explained how the labs were done and how an error could be made... That no test is 100% and based on my first beta the 571 number was perfect. She emphasized over and over that the one single beta doesn’t matter, there is nothing she has seen to suggest a miscarriage, and that even though that 571 beta was lower than what I was expecting.. It was still within normal range and everything is progressing nicely.

Thats not to say that something couldn’t still happen... It could. And I’m still very guarded over this pregnancy... But I’m going to focus on being happy. I’m going to focus on enjoying this pregnancy. Steve and I worked hard to get here and I need to believe that we will be holding out second child on our arms in 35 short weeks. I cannot focus on the bad “what ifs”, I will not focus on them. I am pregnant and so very happy to be.
..........


My first OB appointment was on Wednesday. It was so exciting and I had written all about it, but when I thought all this was being ripped away from me I deleted it and simply prayed for it all to be okay.

Sitting in the waiting room that morning, waiting for my name to be called, if only for those minutes the reality that I was finally pregnant began to set in. The woman at the front desk (my favorite in the office) greeted me with a huge smile and a congratulations when I first stepped up to check in. I love that three years later everyone in my doctor’s office is still there. Everyone is so sweet and after my last pregnancy, probably since I was there so much (weekly at 23 wks, twice a week at 33), I kind of missed them - not going to the doctor just felt weird.... Well, for all of a day.
I smiled when I saw my chart was blue (for obstetrics) again.... I sat in my char and browsed through the pregnancy magazines and articles instead of looking to the ground. I was just so very happy.

My name was called and the routine was still so familiar... Weight, sample, blood pressure. Every time I go to my Obgyn my blood pressure is always high... White coat effect or whatever. At home and at every other doctor it is always fine. But sitting in that chair, remembering all those bad numbers, the fear... My heart would start to race and my BP would shoot up. Not terribly high, but higher than normal. But that day? The racing heart was gone and my BP was a beautiful 108/70.

I sat down with the nurse in the exam room and went over history, medications, etc. She gave me a huge bag filled with goodies and information on tests, pregnancy in general, breastfeeding, etc. We briefly went over each item - some of it was the same as with Caden, some was new.

My doctor came in next, excited as well. We talked and she answered any questions I had. Discussed my previous complications and what it meant for this pregnancy. I was reacquainted with my good friends little brown jug and pee hat - I need to do a 24 hour urine collection in order to establish baseline. Hopefully it will be the only one I need to do this pregnancy.

I signed the release form for my VBAC.. I will say that document makes VBAC sound pretty scary even to someone who has researched it. My doctor agreed that the wording was pretty harsh but assuming that I have a normal, healthy pregnancy and we don’t face the problems we did with Caden... It will be fine. Obviously if something goes wrong and I need to deliver early they won’t induce like they did last time, but otherwise she said they will monitor me during labor and things will be fine.

After my appointment it was off to the hospital for labs.. Up to 9 vials for this pregnancy. The standard tests were run and then my OB also did an eclampsia panel just for baseline again and everything was normal.

Our next appointment is set for May 12th at 10:30am. Steve took the entire day off and we are so excited - praying to see our baby’s heartbeat.