Second Pregnancy Update: 15 Weeks

15 Weeks, and looking quite pregnant!

This has been a very full week, and there are tons of things for me to share! I'll get to the interesting stuff in a second, but first I will go over the weekly symptoms.

Fatigue: Mild
I no longer have to take the progesterone pills now so my energy levels are higher, but I've still been sleepy in the mornings. I'm sure some of that is caused by the business of this week, so maybe I won't be quite as tired now that things are slowing down. I feel like I say that in every update, though!

Food Aversions: None
All food is like a delicious nectar sent down to me from above.

Cravings: Mild?
Yes, I know. There is that dumb question mark again. I should probably just leave it out and say that I'm having really mild cravings. From now on, no more question mark. Anyway, pasta is always a favorite, and yesterday I thought that ice cream and sweet desserts sounded pretty tasty. So far, there haven't been any full-blown I-have-to-have-this-or-I-am-going-to-stab-you-in-the-hand-with-a-fork "cravings," but lots of things sound really yummy.

Nausea: None
This was surprising because I had anesthesia in my body for a little while (I'll get to that in a minute), and have always heard that nausea is a common side-effect. I assumed I would have to deal with it, but I didn't feel sick at all!

A Few Thoughts
Earlier in the week, G and I sat down and poured over a large list of baby girl names. We have several boy names lined up that we picked out last time, but girl names have always been harder for us. It took a long time to decide on Adelyn Jane for Addie! We don't know what we're having yet, but we want the baby to have a name by the time we find out. Just like with Addie, G and I are keeping the baby's name a secret until after the birth, but we've managed to narrow down the girl's list to two full names. Hopefully we'll be able to decide on one of them soon, just in case we're having another little girl. Last time, I was certain we were having a boy. Even G thought that's what we were having, so we were both surprised to learn that Addie was a girl. This time I feel certain it's a girl, but it's probably just wishful thinking, since we didn't get to keep Addie with us. Since my "motherly intuition" clearly can't be trusted, I'm probably having a boy!

(Source)

I went into my OB's office on Tuesday to have blood drawn so that they could run some more tests on my thyroid levels. While we were there, we heard Baby's heartbeat - which was very "robust" according to my OB - and were able to ask some questions. Most of the questions I had were about labor, delivery, and birth plans. After discussing some of my hopes with her, my OB assured me that as long as Baby and I are happy and healthy at the end of the day, that's all that matters to her. After talking to her, I felt like a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders and that any remaining stress over the labor and delivery process had disappeared. Before I ever got pregnant the first time, I did a ton of research about hospitals, birth centers, home births, standard OBs, and midwives. At the time, it seemed like anyone who talked about their hospital experience had only negative things to say. There were so many horror stories about the doctor or hospital staff being pushy or threatening if a mother wanted to opt out of certain things, or had a particular preference about her labor/delivery positions. That research led me to choose the midwives for my first pregnancy. When I switched from the midwives to a regular doctor and changed hospitals for this pregnancy, I was afraid I would constantly be at odds with my caregivers over what I felt was best for my baby. Now I know this isn't the case, and I am so grateful that the Lord directed us to this OB and the hospital we are going to use. All of the fears I had have been alleviated, and I have absolute faith in my doctor and the hospital staff to treat me respectfully and to properly care for me and Baby. In other news, my OB wants me to remain on pelvic rest until the cerclage comes out, which would be at 36 or 37 weeks. I expected this to be the case, so I'm okay with it (even though it means I'll be on pelvic rest for almost my entire pregnancy).

Thursday rolled around, and I was admitted to the outpatient facility of the hospital for the cerclage procedure. My family and I arrived a little before 10:30am, I got registered, and a little while after that I was shown back to a room to prepare for the procedure. The nurses really impressed me because they were so friendly and positive, and made every effort to make sure I was comfortable and that all of my needs were met. The anesthesiologist came in to give me the different options, and I decided to go with general anesthesia as opposed to regional anesthesia. This meant that I would be given medicine in my IV to make me go to sleep while the perinatologist installed the cerclage, rather than being injected near my spine and remaining awake, similar to an epidural. I chose this route because the recovery time was significantly less, and I honestly had no desire to watch while they stitched my cervix. I can't handle medical TV shows, so I knew I probably wouldn't be okay with watching a medical procedure being performed in real life! After the anesthesiologist left, my family came in to hang out until they took me back, and the perinatologist I've been seeing came in to say hello. He left to prepare for the procedure, and I said goodbye to my family members. Then a nurse came in and wheeled me to the operating room, where I eventually drifted off to sleep with some music playing in the background.

Side note: Why is it that medical procedures on television shows are always so quiet and intense? It's dark, except for the bright light hanging over the patient, and the doctors and nurses speak in hushed, gloomy tones. That wasn't my experience at all! The operating room they used for my procedure was bright and spacious, had upbeat music playing over the speakers, and had a very relaxed feel that really put me at ease. End side note.

When I started waking up later, I felt like I had been a sleep for a long time. To my surprise, I had only been out for about 20-25 minutes. I assumed beforehand that I would be very disoriented and unable to think clearly but even before I had fully awakened, I was thinking clearly and remembering where I was. Within a few minutes, G - who had come from work so that he could be there when I woke - and Mom were allowed to come back and see me. I felt normal, except for a little sleepiness caused by some of the anesthesia still being in my system. I also felt a bit stiff and stretched, probably because of the way I was positioned on the operating table. My nurse brought in some apple juice and graham crackers, which I was grateful for considering that I hadn't had any food or drink since Wednesday night! The perinatologist came in to check on me and said that it was good we did the cerclage procedure, since my cervix had already gotten really soft (I believe the medical term he used was "floppy"), so it seems like cervical incompetence is likely the cause of what happened with Adelyn. Based on this info, it wouldn't surprise me if I go into labor very quickly after my cerclage is removed. I guess we'll have to wait and see! The perinatologist will be doing an ultrasound at the follow-up appointment on the 25th, so I asked him if it would be possible to find out the sex of the baby. He said we could definitely do that, so if Baby cooperates, we should know whether we're having a girl or a boy in just a couple of weeks! I guess we'd better figure out those baby names.

The hospital discharged me very quickly, and I was able to go home to rest. Mom stayed the night so someone would be with me while G was at work yesterday, and we relaxed while binge-watching Fixer Upper (one of my favorite shows). I'm going to take it easy for a while, and hopefully get a good report at my post-op in two weeks. Initially I felt like I had done an intense ab workout, and that my lower abdominal muscles were sore as a result. Today, I feel quite normal again and the bleeding (which was minimal to begin with) has completely stopped. Yesterday, a nurse from the OB office called to tell me that the thyroid tests results came back and everything looked great. I was very glad to hear that, because it means I won't have to take additional medication. Perhaps getting rid of the soy products helped after all.

Feel free to share your guesses about the names we've chosen and what the sex of our baby will be!