Tag Archives: first pregnancy

We survived our first (and hopefully our only) visit to the ER! 

13 Monday Jul 2015

Posted by in Baby Stew Brew, Baby Stew Diaries

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We had our first official Baby scare last Sunday July 5th.

I woke up and like every other morning lately my allergies were already flaring out of control. I rolled over and sneezed and as I did the muscles in my stomach got really tight and painful. I laid there in pain for a few minutes and then the pain gradually lessened. I got up and went to the bathroom, I could still feel the pain but I figured I must have just pulled a muscle.

We had breakfast plans at Anu & Joe’s so I took a shower and got ready to go. We got to breakfast around 8 and Anu had a wonderful spread of strawberry and banana crepes. They were delicious and even though I was still in some pain and having discomfort I was able to eat. I was hoping eating would help but unfortunately it seemed to make it worse. I started thinking maybe I just had some really bad indigestion and that going to the bathroom would help — it didn’t!

We got home around 10 and I figured a nap might just do the trick! So I went and got all cozy in my pillow and passed out. I woke up around noon and the pain was gone. I was so happy and relieved until I got up to go pee. 

As soon as I went to the bathroom a huge amount of pain and pressure instantly washed over me but this time it was much stronger then before. I called for Colt who told me to call the doctors office.

Of course it being a Sunday my primary doctors office was closed but luckily I was able to get in touch with the on call nurse. I explained my situation from what had happened in the morning until now and she pretty much immediately suggested that I go to the ER and get checked. Her main points were one being the obvious that I was 15 weeks pregnant but also that since it was pain on my right side it could be anything from my appendix to gallstones to kidney stones. I hung up terrified and told Colt to get ready that we were going in.

The ride to the ER was the absolute worst not only because I was in a great deal of pain but also because at that point I was scared out of my mind. It was probably the most scared and out of control I’ve ever felt in my life. I just sat there crying and breathing and praying that the baby was going to be ok. 

We got to the hospital and of course it was packed. Not only was it the day after the 4th of July (I swear there was at least 5 people waiting with broken arms) but it was also a Sunday. I took a deep breath and prepared for the wait, I knew it was going to be a long one. As we waited to be called the pain was pretty constant between about a 4 to an 8 with the worst of it coming every time I would pee. 

After what seemed like forever (2+ hours) they finally called my name. We got in the room and went over everything with the nurse. She took my vitals and said the doctor would be in. At this point my pain had lessened and for that I was grateful. The doctor came in and ordered blood work, an IV hook up (just in case) and an ultra sound. 

They took me to the ultra sound area and wheeled me in. Unfortunately they wouldn’t allow Colt to come in the room with me. I was so anxious and panicked and just wanted to hear that the baby was ok. Whatever else it was with me could wait. 

The tech was an older lady. She was nice enough but still rough around the edges. She didn’t say much besides the usual small talk, “how many weeks was I,” “where was the pain,” “when did it start,” “any history of stones or appendicitis” I lay there still as she started and waited for her to confirm something, anything…what did she see. 

After looking for at least 15 minutes and not saying a word I was in a full blown panic attack so I finally asked if my baby was ok, she replied “she hadn’t even gotten there yet” she was making sure my appendix wasn’t going to burst. I took a deep breath as the tears started to flow pretty uncontrollably and my anxiety hit an all time high — I just kept thinking please, please dear God please tell me that my baby is ok, please!!! My baby HAS to be ok. Nothing…

As I lay there waiting I hit my point where I knew I just couldn’t take even one more half a second without knowing, I was losing my mind and I knew I was about to pull a Vovo Manny (my very Portuguese grandfather) on this lady when suddenly there it was the most magical sound in the whole entire world, our babies heart beat — everything else fades away. 

She continued on for awhile without saying much. The whole ultra sound took over an hour. An hour doesn’t seem very long until your in pain and having extreme anxiety in which case it feels like 10 years. She eventually told me that the culprit of my pain was an enlarged ovary. She said it looked like it might also have some fluid around it which would have been consistant with a ruptured cyst which would explain the escalated pain. My appendix, kidneys and gallbladder all looked normal. She also said that the enlargement of the ovary, the pain etc., did not have any affect on the baby (thank you Lord) and then she flipped the screen and there it was my baby with big eye sockets, right there in front of me! 

Baby Stew was moving around like crazy showing off all kinds of new moves! I could see that the spine had developed as well as full eye sockets, arms and legs. She also showed me that Baby Stew had 5 fingers on each hand! I could not believe how clear the scan was and that I could actually see the tiniest, cutest and littlest thumbs ever! 

After letting me gawk and giggle for a bit she finally wheeled me out of the room where I was reunited with Colt, who at this point looked way worse than me. Poor guy had been sitting outside the ultra sound room just waiting to hear if we were ok — we were. I slowly watched as the blood come back into his face. 

Once the scans were read the doctor felt comfortable that the enlarged ovary was indeed the cause of the pain and he requested that I follow up with my doctor on Monday. We left the hospital exhausted but happy. Our baby was going to be ok! 

I followed up with my doctors office the following day but since I wasn’t in any more pain and I already had a scheduled appointment on Wednesday they said we could just go over everything then. 

Wednesday came and went and the appointment went well. It was another routine check up with no ultra sound (boooooo). She did order a blood test for my quad screening though to check for Down syndrome along with all other chromosomal abnormalities and neural tube defects like spina bifida. We also went over my ultra sound results from Sunday. She said she agreed with the fact that my ovary was enlarged but she thought the pain was most likely being caused by round ligament pain which is common in the second trimester especially in active pregnant woman rather than a cyst. She said either way she was just happy that the pain was gone, the baby was ok and that I had went in to the ER because it’s always better to be safe.

My next appointment is tomorrow the 14th with the specialist. I’m looking forward to finally getting some information and answers on the septum and condition. I just want to know every second of every day that our baby is ok. I never thought it would be possible to be so in love with someone that you’ve never even met! Or that it was possible to feel so happy and excited and scared and terrified all at the same time every single day for that person. We love you so much Baby Stew and we are so blessed to be your mommy and daddy! 

Until next time…  

July 4th beach bumming with the fam

  

The Spot

27 Wednesday May 2015

Posted by in Baby Stew Brew, Baby Stew Diaries

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On Tuesday May 26th I went in for my second ultra sound. I was now 9 weeks and 4 days and anxious to get this appointment over with. All we knew was that my doctor had found a small spot on my uterus during my 8 week ultra sound and that she wanted to get a better look at it. She wasn’t sure what it was so she told us not to get too worried or upset especially since all my tests were normal and the baby looked good with a strong heartbeat.

I went in with an open mind knowing that anything was possible but hoping for the best. The ultra sound tech was an older lady who was very nice. She explained that she would be performing an external and internal ultra sound to get the best reading and pictures possible and that it would take about an hour. I prepared myself mentally as she lubed up my belly. I knew I probably wasn’t going to be able to hear the baby’s heart beat again but I was hoping I could at least sneak a peak to see how it was going. 

As she got started it seemed like forever before she spoke. I swear my heart didn’t beat for a solid mintute as I waited for her to say something… anything! As I laid there still and worried she finally said there it is, that white light flickering is your babies heartbeat. (Whew, exhale, heartbeat, sigh of relief..)

She continued on with the ultrasound only making small talk about how far along I was and confirming that my due date was spot on for Christmas Day on December 25th, asking what I did for a living, if the pregnancy had been planned. It was a good 15-20 minutes in before she turned the screen to me and said “there is your baby” as I looked up I couldn’t believe my eyes. Baby Stew had literally doubled in size from a week and a half ago! As we zoomed in to take a better look the tech started laughing and said “it looks like you’re going to have a gymnast like yourself, look at the legs they haven’t stopped moving!” I couldn’t believe it Baby Stew’s legs were kicking like crazy! The baby was actually moving! It was like dance dance fever in there and my heart melted into a thousand pieces. 

I came home from the ultra sound feeling extremely happy and excited at how big and cute Baby Stew had gotten but I was also nervous and anxious. I had gotten a weird vibe from the tech and I just knew in my heart that the spot was going to be something more than just “nothing”. 

I called my doctor that Friday since I hadn’t heard anything and the receptionist told me the scans were in and my doctor would call me if anything was abnormal. If there wasn’t anything abnormal then she would just go over them with me at my next appointment that following Friday on June 5th. I waited all week anxiously by the phone and by Friday when I hadn’t heard back I went into my appointment feeling relieved, clearly it was nothing major since she never called. 

I got to my appointment at noon and I met with the nurse. There was so much paperwork and health history to go over and once all of that was finally done I waited on my doctor. She came in and we went over the usual. How was I feeling? Any new symptoms? Anything that was concerning me? Umm yea what the hell was that spot! I asked her about my results of the ultra sound and waited as she delivered the news. 

The spot was a uterine septum — a what? A uterine septum — english please. 

Basically a uterine septum is a common type of congenital uterine anomaly meaning that when the uterus is formed during embryogenesis by the fusion of the two Müllerian ducts something goes wrong in the process and it causes incomplete absorption. The reasons for this happening is not known. So basically in English and to the best of my understanding I have an abnormal shaped uterus and depending on how big or small the actual uterine septum is it could cause different problems / complications with my pregnancy. 

I’m pretty sure my heart stopped beating again while my doctor delivered all this news. Part of me couldn’t understand what the hell she was saying while the other part was so scared I didn’t want to understand it anyways. As I caught my breathe I finally asked so what’s next? 

I have to see a specialist from Oahu next month to see if the septum is minor or more serious. So far my doctor thinks it’s very minor but she wants to take a better look at it. If it goes more than half way down then that’s considered extreme and I’ll be considered a higher risk pregnancy which means I could be at risk of delivering the baby early or for the baby not having enough room to grow and being breech in which case I would need to have a c-section to deliver. In extreme cases the baby can actually implant on the septum and if that happens it would most likely cause you to have an early miscarriage because the baby can’t get enough blood and nutrients to survive. My doctor does not think this is the case with me since all my tests have been normal and my ultra sound shows the baby is growing. 

She did say however that this was most likely the reason we did have a harder time getting pregnant and it was also most likely the cause for my irregular periods. She also said that she still felt safe that we could announce our pregnancy at 12 weeks if we chose to since as of now the baby was fine. 

After all that “ugly news” she had me lay down and she did an on the belly heartbeat ultra sound. It was instant, Baby Stew’s heart was beating strong.

My next appointment is on July 6th and then I’ll see the specialist on July 14th. I’m nervous and scared and anxious but mostly hopeful. At this point I need to believe that everything is going to be alright and that Baby Stew (and my pregnancy) are going to be happy and healthy! 

For now we only ask that you please add us to your prayers or send positive vibes, light or love our way as we continue to hope for the best. I just know in my heart that this is meant to be. 

 
My best friend Kristen sent me this amazing & thoughtful framed scripture for Baby Stew’s nursery. The moment I opened it something in my heart went still as it was just so powerful & reassuring to me. We are so grateful to have such an amazing and strong support system as we journey into this next chapter. 

 

Until next time…