Sunday, June 23, 2013

Very Different and Yet The Same (ABOUT MY TWO PREGNACIES)

For those who do not know I am expecting my second child (and my last) in mid-August. I have come to learn even though there have been a lot of things alike in each pregnancy they so have been very different all the way down to the way that I conceived each one (GET YOUR MINDS OUT OF THE GUTTER!!!! It is not what you think).

Over six years ago my wonderful husband and I embarked on an infertility adventure that included a lot of ups and downs. With our story it did have a happy ending on Dec 21, 2011 I gave birth to my miracle son Caleb and just over a year later I found out I was pregnant with our little girl Caydance. What makes these two babies already different is the way that I conceived. Caleb was conceived through the infertility treatment known as an IUI (intrauterine insemination) and his due date could not be more exact! I mean come one there is only a two day window that I could have gotten pregnant. Well we were told once we had Caleb that we could do another infertility treatment for two years, which was not a big deal because we knew we were going to try for another one after two years. That is how Caydance's story differs! If you do the math you can realize that we became pregnant before the two year mark of starting another treatment. Caydance is my little miracle baby because I always joked that the only way that it would happen "naturally" for us if the moons and planted aligned just right! Well I guess Caydance got the message and decided she was coming sooner then the two years of wait that was recommended before starting another treatment. What does that mean (Hub's knocked me up! I thought I would never get to say that). With this being said I am not sure how accurate my due date really is and this may be a little TMI but have PCOS I do not have a regular period (I am lucky if I get three a year) and so when my period did not show up it was no cause to check. I found out I was pregnant by taking a HPT before starting a new medication (which is done out of habit because of my lack of period). When I finally got in to see the doctor not only did they confirm I was indeed pregnant but 19 weeks and having a little girl (all in the same visit)!

Now with being towards the end of this pregnancy I realized how much was similar and what has been very different! The first thing is morning sickness. When I was pregnant with Caleb I had only one burst of wanting to throw up and that was it (Lucky I know) but with Caydance I was on and off having bad days which I thought was medicine related of feeling really sick. There was one week I thought I was going to die from straight puking and not being able to keep anything down! The second thing was being physically exhausted. Through my entire pregnancy with Caleb I was beyond tired and never got any of my energy back  until after he was born and my body's hormones and other stuff was getting back to normal. With Caydance on the other hand I got a huge burst of energy in my second trimester and now just feeling really tired. The third thing was my back spasms and pressure points. It was like as soon as I was pregnant with Caleb my back would not stop going in an out of spasms along with the lovely pressure points that come with being pregnant. Caydance has caused no back problems but with her it has been leg cramps (Charlie Horses) and the lovely pressure points that come with being pregnant. What has been similar really comes down to the science and blood work! I am Rh negative so obvious that will not change during any pregnancy, I have developed gestational diabetes with both pregnancies, and being anemic during both pregnancies.

 I did end up going to triage once in each pregnancy but for different reasons. When I was pregnant with Caleb he was measuring big and I had to go through weekly NST (Fetal Non-stress test) and one day at testing Caleb decided to be very inactive. They admitted me to triage for further monitoring and decided to do an ultrasound where they look at breathing movements. Caleb was required to do so many breathing movements within an 45 minute time frame....well he failed and then I was admitted for 24 hours of observation. He ended up perking up and passing the test within 15 minutes the second time they did the ultrasound. I went to triage with Caydance because I had spotting. Everything ended up being fine and it was likely I broke a small blood vessel from being on my feet too long. However, because of Caleb being born early and with the spotting I was identified as being a candidate from pre-term labor and have a whole bunch of new rules I have to follow. My biggest fear is having another pre-term baby and having a stay in the NICU.

What else has been very different about this pregnancy is how I am getting things ready. When I was pregnant with Caleb I was taking weekly photos and sharing a lot of the process with family and friends. With Caydance there has not been a lot pictures and I am not sure there is even going to be a shower! Crazy? I have no clue why that is because I am very excited about having a little girl and being a mother of two!

The one thing that has been the same for me is that I really do not like being pregnant. I had people come to me time and time again tell me that I was must enjoy every second of being pregnant because of my struggles. Well the answer is no! Please do not get me wrong there are things that I do love being pregnant like feeling the little ones move around but when you add in complications it sometimes makes it hard to enjoy all the moments. I personally rather much skip the 9months and be at the end result of being pregnant.

So the next step is giving birth to my little girl!

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