the terror of weaning, and other more or less important matters
Thank you all for your advice on my last post.
Yes, I've considered a doppler. Actually, my dear friend Aub has sent me her doppler. Aub gave birth to beautiful twin boys almost four weeks ago, which brought their household total up to 6 (plus dog!). How she had time to make it to the post office, I'll never know. But I do appreciate it more than I can express! I'm going to use that sucker as soon as I get it.
And yes, I know that sometimes it's difficult to find a heartbeat with them. But, I'll be 10 1/2 weeks by the time it gets here, so I think I've got a pretty good shot of finding the heartbeat.
In regards to telling or not telling... I spoke with my mom last night. Apparently she's already told my aunt (mother of the groom) that I'm pregnant. This means that my cousin who is getting married most likely knows, as well as his two sisters. So, I'm sure they will mention it to me. My mom's other sister's family is who I would consider telling. And I would never do it as some kind of announcement or anything. But, there will be a lot of downtime and casual time (a fish fry the night before, time at the pool the day of the wedding, etc), so I'm sure it will come up.
I understand not stealing their thunder, but that's not how it would be approached. I'm not one for big announcements. I'd just like to tell my aunt while we are catching up, that's all. So, since half of my close family already knows, I suppose the cat is already sort of out of the bag.
As long as I can find the heartbeat with the doppler prior to leaving, I'll tell them (when the time is appropriate).
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Off topic slightly, but... MRS. H AKA NINI: Please email me! My contact info is up in my nav bar. I NEED access to your blog! By the time I saw it was private, it was too late for me to contact you to get access. I tried replying to a post you left on my blog, but you must not have seen it. It's so difficult to gain access to a private blog once it goes private!
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There is some discrepancy online as to how big my baby is this week. I've read anywhere from prune to kumquat to lime. Lime just sounds so much bigger than prune. I want it to be lime-sized. But all sites agree that baby will double in size between now and 12 weeks. Please just keep on growing, little one!
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And finally, there is nothing scarier at this stage in pregnancy than stopping meds. I'm convinced.
Last night was the first night I did not do my Lovenox injection. Dr. Sher has his patients who have antiphospholipid antibodies stop them at 10 weeks, so that's the route I'm following.
I've been weaning off the Dexamethasone, taking one every other day for a week. I think I'm done there. I might take one more tomorrow, but then I'm cutting myself off.
I had been weaning off of the estrace, but I read last night that there is no need to do such a thing. So, I'm officially done with that one as well.
My RE suggested I wean myself off of Prometrium by cutting down to two a day, versus the four a day I was taking before. I've done two a day for a week, and this morning was the first morning I did not do one at all.
And I kind of feel like my baby is just going to fall out. Weird and morbid, I know. But you can't help feeling that the medicine you've been on has sustained you this long. And stopping will have catastrophic consequences.
Where is that fast-forward button again?
Yes, I've considered a doppler. Actually, my dear friend Aub has sent me her doppler. Aub gave birth to beautiful twin boys almost four weeks ago, which brought their household total up to 6 (plus dog!). How she had time to make it to the post office, I'll never know. But I do appreciate it more than I can express! I'm going to use that sucker as soon as I get it.
And yes, I know that sometimes it's difficult to find a heartbeat with them. But, I'll be 10 1/2 weeks by the time it gets here, so I think I've got a pretty good shot of finding the heartbeat.
In regards to telling or not telling... I spoke with my mom last night. Apparently she's already told my aunt (mother of the groom) that I'm pregnant. This means that my cousin who is getting married most likely knows, as well as his two sisters. So, I'm sure they will mention it to me. My mom's other sister's family is who I would consider telling. And I would never do it as some kind of announcement or anything. But, there will be a lot of downtime and casual time (a fish fry the night before, time at the pool the day of the wedding, etc), so I'm sure it will come up.
I understand not stealing their thunder, but that's not how it would be approached. I'm not one for big announcements. I'd just like to tell my aunt while we are catching up, that's all. So, since half of my close family already knows, I suppose the cat is already sort of out of the bag.
As long as I can find the heartbeat with the doppler prior to leaving, I'll tell them (when the time is appropriate).
____________
Off topic slightly, but... MRS. H AKA NINI: Please email me! My contact info is up in my nav bar. I NEED access to your blog! By the time I saw it was private, it was too late for me to contact you to get access. I tried replying to a post you left on my blog, but you must not have seen it. It's so difficult to gain access to a private blog once it goes private!
____________
There is some discrepancy online as to how big my baby is this week. I've read anywhere from prune to kumquat to lime. Lime just sounds so much bigger than prune. I want it to be lime-sized. But all sites agree that baby will double in size between now and 12 weeks. Please just keep on growing, little one!
____________
And finally, there is nothing scarier at this stage in pregnancy than stopping meds. I'm convinced.
Last night was the first night I did not do my Lovenox injection. Dr. Sher has his patients who have antiphospholipid antibodies stop them at 10 weeks, so that's the route I'm following.
I've been weaning off the Dexamethasone, taking one every other day for a week. I think I'm done there. I might take one more tomorrow, but then I'm cutting myself off.
I had been weaning off of the estrace, but I read last night that there is no need to do such a thing. So, I'm officially done with that one as well.
My RE suggested I wean myself off of Prometrium by cutting down to two a day, versus the four a day I was taking before. I've done two a day for a week, and this morning was the first morning I did not do one at all.
And I kind of feel like my baby is just going to fall out. Weird and morbid, I know. But you can't help feeling that the medicine you've been on has sustained you this long. And stopping will have catastrophic consequences.
Where is that fast-forward button again?
I'm glad you figured out a way to tell you family...in fact as you said they most likely already know. Interested to hear what type of doppler Aub sent you I heard good things about the Sonoline B. I'm going to send you an email now.
ReplyDeleteMrs. H - It is the Sonoline B :) I was able to find one hb at about 10.5 weeks and both of them before 16 weeks! I highly recommend it.
DeleteI cried so much the 24 hours after stopping my progesterone. I was convinced that was the end of the pregnancy. Thankfully, it turned out okay.
ReplyDeleteWhen do you get your second dog, I keep expecting to see cute puppy pictures on here? Good luck in weaning yourself, if the docs think it is ok I am sure it is fine, they are usually overcautious.
ReplyDeleteGlad you have a doppler to help with finding the heartbeat. And I wish you all the best as you begin weaning yourself from the medication. Scary stuff, but I have faith.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found a way to tell your family about your news. It sounds like a good balance. I'll be honest, though, and note that thunder stealing is usually not done intentionally (though there are exceptions), so just be mindful when talking with people. I have witnessed people share there news and in all the excitement from everyone around them, the party who they had gathered to celebrate was ignored. Wasn't intentional, but it did lead to more unnecessary drama that everyone wished had been avoided.
Glad that all worked out for you! I hope you find a heartbeat with the doppler and are able to share your good news with your fam. I was scared to stop prometrium too, because my OB said there may be spotting...yikes! I spotted a lot my first trimester and blood in NOT something I wanted to see again. I took it a week longer than they told me to and stopped and all was fine! Whew!
ReplyDeleteGosh, I got confused about the size too! Last week mine was a lime, and I thought it was all curled up in a lime sized ball and this week according to baby center it is the size of a medium shrimp!? How's that bigger? :) I think when they say lime or lemon or anything round shaped, they just mean it is that long from head to rump.
You're doing great! Hang in there!
I found a hb at 10.5 weeks by holding it really low and angling it down behind my pubic bone. There were times where I made myself uncomfortable because I was pushing so hard, but hearing that little chugga-chugga was the most reassuring thing in the world! Happy weaning, everything is going to be fine!! <3
ReplyDeleteWell that's good that the cat is out of the bag already lol. Well hopefully you don't mind at least so that takes some of the pressure off of you to tell :D
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's pretty scary coming off of any med. It's like the logical side knows things are going to be ok, but PFFFT since when do most of us listen to that side lol.
I hope the doppler gets to ya soon and you find that HB ASAP! Just remember to look for it REALLY low, like on or near your pubic bone. It can be a lot lower than you realize.
Oh and remember that a swooshing sound is the placenta, while a more horse trotting kind of sound will be the baby :D
DeleteStopping meds was definitely scary for me. I went off the progesterone and estradiol IM shots at 10 weeks, and went off progesterone suppositories and Lovenox at 12 weeks. Dexamethasone I weaned off after my second ultrasound (around 8.5 weeks?)
ReplyDeleteMy RE does weekly labs, and they continued for a week after I went off everything, which was very reassuring. My progesterone varied from 24-39 while on shots/suppositories, went to 20 (which the RE was fine with) when I went off shots, and then 9 days after ending suppositories was up to 25. Really glad I got that last level.
The thing I can't figure out about all the 'week-by-week' stuff is what range they're talking about. They say '10 weeks', and talk about 'this week'. And I can't tell if they mean 9w1d-10w0d or 10w0d-10w6d. So I read both weeks and figure I'm somewhere in there. :)
Good luck with the doppler! Going off the meds feels scary, but it's such a relief at the same time. Have fun sharing your news!
ReplyDeleteKeep on hanging in there! Going off meds means trusting your body and that's one thing we become conditioned to NOT do. It's scary shit, fo' sho', but your little one will not fall out. S/he and I had a talk. I am very stern and not to be reckoned with, so you're good. ;)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, you're doing great. I loved reading the weekly update - it was my treat every Friday when I "rolled over" a week.
Good luck with the doppler and going off the meds! It took me a bit to get the hang of the doppler but it was a great reassurance.
ReplyDelete<3 Hugs! I know it would be scary going off the meds. Thinking of you. I hope you have a nice time at the wedding! It's exciting that people will know and can support you. Have fun with the doppler - that's awesome!
ReplyDeleteI know its all so hard- m 23 wks yesterday and still nervous beyond nervous- i know that doppler will help (well i hope it does) when i get nervous i have a lil listen to lil mans heart and feel better- do you know what type of doppler it is?? - thinking of you lots
ReplyDelete