Sick and Bleeding from Everywhere

First of all, there is no need for concern. The title is a little misleading.

Last week I traveled to Dallas for work. While there, I started feeling congested and just generally yucky. I couldn't sleep a couple of days because I had to get up ever few minutes to blow my nose. It was no fun.

I assumed it was just allergies. I don't normally have bad allergies, but do get them mildly in the spring. I was hoping the congestion would go away when I got back to Georgia.

No such luck. I'm not feeling as bad as I did in Dallas, but I'm still congested and now have a bit of a cough starting too. I don't want to take anything because 1) even if it's supposedly safe for pregnancy, it's still an adult dosage, which isn't good for a human being that is only half a foot long and half a pound heavy, and 2) a child's dosage wouldn't work well enough for me.

Yesterday, I blew my nose, and tons of blood came out.

I don't ever remember having a bloody nose before. I remember Amy having them often growing up in Ohio, but I wasn't ever a victim. I may have had one here and there and just not remembered, but it sure didn't happen often.

So now, I'm spotting off and on, bleeding from my nose when I blow it hard, and bleeding when I poop.

I really don't like this whole having double your normal volume of blood thing.

Running truly is the cure

So yesterday I was still spotting. It had been two days. Sure, the doctor had pronounced me healthy and said I was fine, but when it happens you still wonder.

So last night I decided to go for a run. It worked last time to stop the spotting, so why not test the theory again.

Rob was kind enough to walk me down to the basement to make sure the boogie man wasn't there. Yes, until we get an alarm system, I'm scared of the basement. The basement and the laundry room are the easiest places for a burgler to access our house because they are hidden from the road and easy to get in. Hopefully we'll get the alarm system put in by the end of the month.

Anyway, so I went downstairs and ran five miles on the treadmill my in-laws were so very kind enough to give me.

Today I have no spotting.

At my next doctor's appointment, I am going to make them put that in my records. My theory is that exercise stops spotting. I'm sure this has never been tested, because when I called the advice nurse, their advice was to take it easy, put my feet up, etc. If they knew anything about me, they would know I wouldn't do that anyway.

I bet they tell everyone that, so they have never tested the theory that exercise is actually good for you when you're spotting.

My thoughts are, if you are having a miscarriage and that is the reason for the spotting, there's nothing you can do to stop it anyway. By the time you have the spotting, it's a done deal. So why make yourself more depressed by sitting around doing nothing?

Spotting again

So Monday afternoon, I had a little bit of spotting. I know this happens frequently during the first trimester, but I didn't know how common it was during the second trimester. I didn't have any other symptoms (cramping or anything), so I wasn't too concerned about it, but thought that perhaps I should call anyway to find out.

I called the KP advice line yesterday during lunch. After waiting on hold for 30 minutes, the OB nurse finally came on. She took my information and asked me a bunch of questions. She said the doctor would look over it, and someone would call me back.

They called back and said that the doctor wanted to see me within 24 hrs. I still wasn't too concerned, because the spotting was light and I had no cramping. But I agreed to come in right after work.

I was about 15 minutes late for my 4:30 appointment (gotta love Atlanta traffic). They took all my vital signs and brought me to the ultrasound room. The doctor came in, asked some questions, and did an ultrasound. The baby's heart was beating just fine, although the baby wasn't moving around at all - must have been sleeping. She examined my cervix and said that it was swollen and had some blood streaks on it, but nothing to be concerned about. She pronounced me healthy.

I don't think I would call this a scare. I was really not that worried the entire time, since I didn't have any pain or cramping. But I did get to see the little one again. I also found out that I needed to schedule a separate appointment for the 20 week ultrasound with the radiology department prior to my next OB appointment. So the ultrasound is now scheduled for April 5th and the follow up exam for April 6th.

MIA lately

So, I've been a little busy lately.

Last week was my first major travel since finding out I was pregnant. I went to Dallas for our departmental strategy meeting. That wouldn't have been a problem if I hadn't just moved the weekend before. And I still haven't been sleeping well. I wake up in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep.

On February 19th we closed on our house. We moved the stuff from our apartment to the new house on February 20th. So I spent two nights there before packing my bags and flying to Dallas for a long week of meetings. To top it all off, our flight got delayed due to mechanical difficulties, and I didn't arrive home until 11pm on Friday.

After spending a week out of town, the last thing I wanted to do was unpack the stuff at my house, so instead I went for a 12.5 mile run and stayed out of the house as much as possible.

Last Monday, it finally caught up with me. I woke up dehydrated with a headache and was more exhausted than when I went to sleep the night before. I ended up staying out of work and sleeping most of the day. I felt much better on Tuesday.

Tuesday, yesterday, was our doctor's appointment. We got to hear the heartbeat for the first time. Last time the doctor looked for five minutes and ended up not finding it. This time the doctor pressed on my stomach a little ahead of time and it seemed like as soon as she put the Doppler to my stomach she had found the heartbeat. The doctor said it was 140, which she was very pleased with. It was a nice little "whoosh, whoosh" sound.

So all is good thus far. We scheduled our 20 week ultrasound for April 6th. We should find out the gender then. I can't wait!

Belly Bands

Today was the first day I had to wear a belly band to work. For those of you who don't know what a belly band is, it is a tube-top looking thing that you wear around your waist over your regular pants to cover the fact that you don't have your pants zipped and/or buttoned. You can also use it if you buy maternity pants too early and need help holding them up.

I was able to get my regular work pants on just fine this morning, buttoned and all. But after I finished my breakfast, they were so uncomfortable that I had to unbutton them.

In general, I still don't look pregnant with clothes on (especially in the morning). But after a meal, my belly is sticking out so much, I could be five months pregnant. There is just no room for the food to go, I guess.

In other news, we close on our house tomorrow and move on Saturday. My next OB appointment is March 2nd, where I'm hoping to hear the heartbeat for the first time.

It all happened faster than I thought

Well, all of the parents and grandparents know about the new baby now.

On Saturday, due to inclement weather, the Myrtle Beach marathon was cancelled. I was still able to ride in the bike race on Sunday, but since I didn't run the marathon and wasn't super sore, we decided to head home early. We met the Simons and Mom for dinner on Sunday night at Steak n Shake. We got their reaction on video, which I will post soon.

I had sent Dad his package on Thursday night. I thought that since I didn't get a call from him on Saturday, I wouldn't hear from him until at least today due to the holiday yesterday. Well, it must have come on Saturday and he just didn't get the mail until yesterday, because he called me late last night.

After my Dad's call, we called all of Robby's grandparents and our best friends to tell them over the phone.

So now the secret's out. I'm currently 13w0d today. If you count months, the first trimester ended yesterday. If you count weeks, the first trimester ends on Saturday. Hopefully everything will still be okay at our next appointment on March 2nd. It seems like so far between appointments, and even though I'm around the beginning of the second trimester, I'm still nervous that something is going to happen and we'll have to tell everyone the baby isn't coming afterall.

Told the Boss...and the office

My boss came into town yesterday. He is based out of Dallas, so he comes every other month or so to check on how things are going in the Roswell office.

Since I am nearing my second trimester, and won't see him in person for two more weeks (at which point I will definitely be showing), I decided it best to tell him while he was in town.

He was supposed to stay three days, but when the storms started rolling in, he cut his visit short. I decided to catch him right when he got here, so that I wouldn't miss the opportunity.

Well, he is thrilled! He's so happy for us and didn't even want to talk about how we were going to deal with me being out for two months. He said we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, and proceeded to give me all kinds of advice as to how I need to eat and stay away from microwaves.

He was so excited that he couldn't keep him mouth shut. Once he started asking me a bunch of questions and telling me to name the baby after him, I pretty much had to tell the rest of the people in the office.

There are only three other people in our office area, but now they know before our parents know. I'm not exactly thrilled about that, but such is life.

Amy, Sam, Mimi, and Matt will be the next to know. I will be so glad when the secret is finally out, and I don't have to worry about hiding anything anymore.

I just hope the baby stays healthy through the rest of the six months.