Tag Archives: First time parents

It’s a…

15 Wednesday Jul 2015

Posted by in Baby Stew Brew, Baby Stew Diaries

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On Tuesday July 14th we met with the specialist from Oahu. He comes over to the Maui office once a month so I was grateful to be able to get an appointment here rather than having to fly over there. I woke up excited but anxious. I was really excited to see Baby Stew as well as get some actual answers on the condition of my septum but having answers also meant possible bad news so I was trying to keep an open but positive mind set. 

My appointment was at 1:15 and it seemed like the morning took forever to come and go. I was so happy when my last class finally ended at 12:00 and I was on my way (or so I thought). As I left class to go load up my van I noticed the back door wouldn’t open. Originally I thought that maybe it had locked from the inside which has happened before so I climbed around to take a look. Once I got inside I quickly realized the whole inside handle had somehow fallen off and the door was completely jammed, no no no no not today! 

I immediately tried calling Colt hoping he was still somewhere in Kihei and could come help me but his phone kept going right to voicemail so I tried a million different things until the panic finally started setting in. The clock was ticking and I was stuck I needed help and fast. I ran back into my class and asked if the teachers dad who was home could possibly come and help me. Poor guy had just come home from a root cannel but he was sweet enough to come take a look. He agreed that the door was jammed, the handle was unfixable without additional parts but he was able to get it open! I was so happy and grateful to be back on my way! 

When I arrived to the doctors office Colt was already there waiting and ready to look at the door. I had called him flipping out on my way to the doctors and he was well aware of the situation. In true Colt form he was calm and reassuring and was able to fix the door in less then 5 minutes, I was so grateful (my hero). I took a deep breath, let go of the day and we walked into the doctors office ready for anything!

After waiting for about 45 minutes they finally called our name. My stomach dropped as I thought here goes nothing! We walked into the room and we were greeted warmly by Dr. Hirata. I instantly knew I was going to like him and I could feel my whole body relax. I sat down in the chair and we went over all the routine questions and answers, minus when he asked if I had two uterus (umm, I freaking hope not) he then handed me a pair of 3D glasses to watch the ultra sound, lubed up my belly and got started. 

All I kept thinking was please, please don’t let me have two uterus. I didn’t, whew — but I did indeed have an arcuate uterus which in English basically means that although my uterus looks more normal than some other cases it actually has a dip, or slight indentation at the top. It is a more common abnormality, affecting about a quarter of women and depending on how far down the dip goes it can or can not cause different issues during pregnancy. In my case he said it was nothing to get overly worried or excited about. Colt immediately stopped him and said “can you please repeat that for her” he did — it was nothing to get overly worried or excited about. We all laughed and I once again started to feel really excited and relieved.

Once he was finished measuring and taking pictures of the septum he quickly moved on to baby Stew! It was so mind blowing getting to watch everything on those 3D glasses, it truly made me feel like I was inside my own uterus. Within seconds Baby Stew appeared on the screen and was looking cuter and bigger than ever! I squeezed Colts hand as this was the first time he was seeing the baby since our 8 week ultra sound! It was so awesome getting to see Baby Stew together. 

Dr. Hirata was measuring and talking to the nurse as we just sat there in complete awe watching Baby move around like crazy. You could now see so much of the development taking place, arms, legs, fingers, spine, eye sockets, ears and then just like that a SMILE. We froze as I loudly & overly excited asked was that just a smile?!? Indeed it had been, we got to see Baby Stew smile for the very first time. I melted into a thousand pieces and as I lay there thinking it really doesn’t get any better than this — it did, we were about to find out the sex. He asked us if we wanted to know! He had seen it on the screen and he was ready to confirm!  

Baby Stew’s Smile at 16 weeks 4 days

We very excitingly told him that yes we wanted to know and he told us that Baby Stew was a baby BOY! It was the Best.News.Ever! He then showed us to confirm and it was unmistakable our baby was a in fact a boy! Cloud 9, here we come!  

Baby Stew is a Baby BOY!

As he continued on with the ultra sound he confirmed that baby boy Stew’s heart, organs, and growth were all healthy and normal and exactly where they needed to be for 16 weeks and 4 days. He said as of now the septum is not having any adverse effects on the pregnancy or the baby and that things are good. I do however have to continue to see him throughout my pregnancy so that he can continue to keep a close eye on things. I see him again in six weeks to confirm that baby boy is still on track.

The main thing he will be keeping a close eye on is that baby continues to have enough room to grow. Other risk factors at this point are still premature labor, premature birth as well as the baby being breech and me having to deliver via c-section. Or I could carry full term and deliver naturally, we just won’t know until we know and for now that’s ok. 

  

Baby Stew is perfect and I’ve never been better. So today I’m whole heartily enjoying every second of right now and we couldn’t be anymore happy and or blessed! Thank you, thank you for all your love and prayers, we appreciate them more than you will ever know. 

We are having a boy!!  

   
    
   

Until next time….

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