A bit more of relief

Just a quick note, I had to make an appointment with the local lapband doctor here.  I'm getting horrible acid reflux at night, which is normal during pregnancy anyway, and I take prescription meds for it even not pregnant.  I can't sleep at night, except in an almost sitting position.  My suspicion is the band is a bit tight again.  So I got .5 cc taken out.  Hoping this will provide enough relief to get some rest at night, for a while at least!

ER visit, but everything's OK!

We had to make a quick trip to the ER last night, but everything is fine.  I was very lightly spotting with no other symptoms, but since it's never happened to me before, I got scared.  There is a specialized ER here in Stockholm, at the same hospital I go for my appointments, for early pregnancy and gynecological issues.  When we arrived at 8 pm, I was told it would be 6 HOURS before they could see me.  There were maybe 4 people in front of me.

N and A hung out for a bit, but N was getting understandably tired after an hour and a half.  I sent them home and waited out the last veeery long hours on an uncomfortable bench.  But I was checked and told that everything looked good and the ultrasound showed a healthy baby.

It's taken me more time to recover from staying up till 3 am and falling asleep with a crook in my neck than I thought.

Nuchal Translucency results

So there's our Mocoso!  Large and well-developed!  Today was the nuchal translucency screening.  It's an ultrasound done between 11 and 14 weeks of gestation, when the nuchal fold is still transparent.  It's performed in conjunction with a blood test to screen for chromosomal problems.

Poor A, he was able to see the very first ultrasound and almost all the other ones when I was pregnant with N.   I've had about 6 ultrasounds already, and A's missed every single one!  He was scheduled to be at this one, but N is really sick with a bad stomach flu.  Now he'll have to wait until the 18 week ultrasound to see Mocoso for the first time.

At my age, (and no, I'm not going to tell you, but it's under 40), chromosomal defects are a 1/175 risk (approx), based solely on my age.  With the blood test and the nuchal translucency ultrasound, where they measure certain parts of the fetus, the risk has decreased to 1/4793.  Which is excellent news, since the baby's measurements all around were very good.  Poor Mocoso was moving around the whole time!  Mocoso looked like it was jumping all around, probably bothered by the ultrasound waves.  I never get tired of seeing it on the screen though.

I AM a little tired of calling it "it".  I would like to know already if it's a him or her!  I forgot to ask at the ultrasound, so now I have to wait.

30% Loaded!

Three months pregnant!  And I feel and look huge.  I don't even want to think about how big I will be in several more months.  But everything is going well, I'm healthy, I feel fine (a bit tired and heavy is all), and N is super excited about Mocoso.  First thing she does in the morning is come straight to me and kiss my belly all over, giving Mocoso his good mornings.  Last thing at night, she talks and sings to Mocoso and then kisses my belly good night.  It's very cute, and I wonder how long it will last before I start hearing the fights between them!

Work Doctor Clears!

Today I saw a Doctor from my organization that confirmed I will not be medevac'ed from Stockholm.  This is good news!  It means I can stop worrying about whether I will have to leave and pack up here at any moment.  It means N will be able to finish the school year here.

I feel a huge weight off my shoulders.  Unlike my last pregnancy where it was hectic and scary to be medevac'ed out of Athens, this one is much less stressful.  For now anyway.  It still means I will be moving transatlantically after I'm 7 months pregnant and trying to fix up and set up house.  But for now, I'm "ohm"-ing my way through each day, just one day at a time.

Prenatal Appt - Feb 2013

I got to see both an endocrinologist and obstetrician at the same time at my prenatal appointment today.  This is something that would be difficult to do in the US, since you usually see one and then the other.  I think it is a fabulous idea to have an endocrinologist that works with the obstetrics department.

I went with A, and we asked plenty of questions and clarified some doubts we had.  When they [finally] took a good look at my sugar levels (for the first time, sheesh!), they were very encouraging.  The doctors agreed the sugar levels were well within normal levels and that no diabetes treatment was necessary.  At least not yet.  They even mentioned I may not need treatment this time around!  I find it hard to believe I will be able to go through my 40 or so weeks without any treatment, especially at the end, but it's good news!  It means I'm healthier and in better shape this time around.  This appointment put a lot of our concerns to rest.

11 Weeks :)

11 Weeks!

Good news, the constipation is slightly better!  For the record, I don't think anything I did improved it, I just think my body moved on to the next phase of metabolism.  Definitely energy levels are up.

The alarming news, I have a noticeable belly.  Ok, maybe not so big here in this photo because of the angle, but believe me, it's large for 11 weeks!  And I realize I wasn't, well, "slim" before, but I can tell where the fat ends and the belly begins.  For over a month now, my jeans haven't fit.  I'm still waiting for the maternity pants my mom hemmed to arrive in the mail.  I'm pretty proud, I've done miracles with leggings!!

Last week I met the midwife (finally) that will mostly be overlooking my case, Camilla.  Adal really liked, and I have to admit, it WAS easy to talk to her.  We explained why we are so concerned with the level of care I will receive and our unfamiliarity with the Swedish system.  Camilla seemed understanding, and spent well close to an hour talking with us.  She explained that next week I will meet with an Obstetrician (NOT the same airhead that saw me first!) and an Endocrinologist together to discuss my case.  I think that sounds good, but I'm still a bit worried over my continuing care.  I guess I'm worried State dept doctors might not deem my care here enough for me and want to Medevac me out.  I want to stick it out here until June!

In the US and PR, most ObGyns want a diabetic mother's fasting sugar level to be below the normal range, which is about 120 mg/dl.  Last time (2005), and during my initial med appts in PR this year, the doctors' goal was for me to be below 100 mg/dl.  Here, the midwife nurse won't even blink until she sees 126 on my fasting sugars.  So we'll see what the State dept doctor thinks of that...

I learned the nuchal translucency test is optional here; you have to ask for it.  Well, it's a good thing I did, as State dept requires it.  This test is in two parts, a blood test and an in-depth ultrasound.  It's to detect the amount and type of fluid in the neck of the fetus (and other measurements) and can help diagnose chromosomal conditions.  It can only be done between 11 - 14 weeks of gestation, as the fluid drains out of this area after that.  I have an appt in a week and a half for my test!

So, this coming week I have my OB/Endocrinologist appt and an appt with a State dept doctor.  I'll update soon!