Hello 2nd trimester!! I am so glad that my morning/all day sickness has subsided over the last few weeks. I was so sick with the twins for quite awhile, so this being normal thing is HEAVENLY! I still get nauseated a few or several times a day but I'll take it, ha ha! In the back of my mind I was thinking, "oh no, is this a bad thing I'm not sick anymore??" because my morning sickness faded with angel baby Cannon and we didn't know he/she had passed away from the subchorrionic hemorrhages I had. So it has kind of made me nervous even though I have had no cramping or bleeding or anything else. But we got to see our tiny wiggly little man yesterday at the birthing center! My appointment was just to address any concerns and hear the heart beat on the doppler. But poor Wendy was having a heck of a time finding the baby with the doppler, so much so that she was trying to get me in for an ultrasound somewhere because she didn't want me to worry. But it turned out that my bladder was just too full and the baby was also hiding behind my pelvic bone, ha ha. Once I went to the restroom she was able to see him on the ultrasound (a machine they only use to make sure baby is head down, so it isn't high tech or ideal for earlier in pregnancy, ha ha) and finally found him with the doppler. He was a wiggly and busy little dude from what we could see! His heart rate was in the 140s, she said it sounded great. The twins weren't sure if they liked all the doppler noises or not, ha ha. And they were definitely bummed we couldn't see well on the ultrasound screen because they "wanted to see our baby!" They were pretty good at the appointment yesterday. They talked everyone's ears off, told them I've got a baby in my belly, and that some colors mixed together make other colors 🤣 Such characters. And Claire was in love with all the baby photos on the walls, ha ha.
I don't need to be seen at the birthing center for another 4 weeks. The midwife I saw yesterday wants me to do a 24 hour urine test so that we can get a baseline number for the protein in my urine. We can repeat this test again later after 20 weeks and see if it looks like I'm possibly developing pre-eclampsia again. She is hoping I don't since it is so common with first pregnancies only, as well as multiples pregnancies. So, crossing our fingers that it stays away this time because I can't deliver at the birthing center if I develop it, and that will just upset my whole "natural birth plan" and I'll cry like a big freaking baby, lol. I also refuse to have to wear a mask during delivery at a stupid hospital! That's just plain insanity. I will also start taking one baby aspirin daily now to prevent the pre-eclampsia as well, and continue to eat 80 to 100g protein per day. I also was taking magnesium but that was causing me too many tummy issues so I had to quit. But apparently being deficient in salt can also contribute to it, so I've been making sure to use more iodized salt on my foods instead of sea salt and himalayan all the time. Salt is very important for our health! Not too much of course but we definitely need some. Salt also aids in digestion, blood sugar control, promotes good oral health, helps remove toxins, prevents iodine deficiency and much more!
Wendy mentioned something interesting yesterday, regarding the pre-eclampsia. She said "it can also depend on who the father is..." I was like huh?! Then it hit me...duh, the twins are from Embryo Adoption and have a different biological father (and mother) than this new baby will. We never remember that they aren't from our DNA because they've always just felt like our sweet little babies in EVERY single way! But apparently the father can affect your chances of getting pre-eclampsia too. As well as the sex of the baby. Boys increase your chances. Even though it runs in my family (first pregnancies only) and the twins were a multiple pregnancy, I still found that very interesting so I did some research. I found a lot of info, but here is a little blurb from something I read..." Preeclampsia is a serious complication of pregnancy that has been recognized as far back as ancient Egypt, but its causes have eluded researchers even in modern times. The condition is characterized by elevated blood pressure (systolic >140 mm Hg and/or diastolic >90 mm Hg, detected on two separate readings at least 4 hours apart) occurring after 20 weeks gestation. Along with the elevated blood pressure, there is dysfunction of a maternal organ –usually the kidney, showing up as protein in the urine. Preeclampsia affects about 5 percent of expecting mothers and is an obstetric emergency that threatens the mother and especially the fetus. In extreme cases, it can be a prelude to other, worse conditions. One is called HELLP syndrome and the other is eclampsia. Both can lead quickly to maternal death.
Science has recognized family factors associated with preeclampsia risk for quite a while. If your mother or sister has had it, for instance, you have an elevated risk. Obstetricians and scientists also have known for some time that preeclampsia is more likely if the fetus is a boy, rather than a girl, in non-Asian populations.
Prompted by research suggesting that fathers too can contribute to preeclampsia risk of a pregnancy, the new study shows that a specific genetic sequence in the fetal DNA can trigger preeclampsia. Specifically, it’s a variation in a gene called sFlt-1, and it’s very common; about 50 percent of the population carries the sequence. So clearly, fetal genetics alone cannot lead to preeclampsia. But it is a start at understanding preeclampsia at the genetic level, and it may turn out that the sFlt-1 sequence and the male fetal gender phenomenon work together, through a related mechanism. Whatever the details, it’s clear that something that’s generated in the fetus affects the mother’s physiology –certainly though factors that are heritable (transmissible from parent to child), possibly by affecting the expression of genes in the mother’s cells.
Another implication of the discovery is that, as far as risk goes, it’s not just having a mother or a sister with a history of preeclampsia that should go into the records. Cases of preeclampsia among your male partner’s female relatives –his mother, his sisters, his aunts, his grandmothers– also could be important to the family history."
We bought the kids a water gun 2 pack at Costco and a pack of Bunch O Balloons. They had tons of fun with them when we got home! It has reached 116 here in AZ so far (ugh!!), so water play is always fun and ideal! Uncle Austin and family also bought the kids a fun sprinkler for our trampoline for their birthday, so they've been loving that also. Forget the idea of a nice above ground pool this year, we'll do all this instead, ha ha! I seriously have zero desire to maintain a pool in this heat while pregnant 😩
An older couple at Costco absolutely adored the twins! Cameron told the man he liked his hat (it looked kind of like an Indiana Jones hat and the twins LOVE playing Lego Indiana Jones on Xbox with Daddy) and the man said, "I do actually have one that looks just like an Indiana Jones hat but it's at home..." Cam was highly impressed, lol. The twins are so funny with strangers and always make people's days by being so sweet and cute and innocent ❤ I'm so excited to have another!
I am still struggling with this dang yeast rash!! It is about 80% better but I have had some new itchy areas pop up on my sides and legs, but I am praying hard it'll go away because this hot AZ heat makes it absolutely unbearable, and worse. I really hope I don't battle yeast and UTIs throughout this whole pregnancy 😫 My appetite is getting better and better and I've been able to eat more things. I also feel like I'm getting a little more energy every week, so that has been nice! I didn't die at Costco yesterday, just needed a water and banana break, lol. So that made my day because I was really dreading needing to go. Plus, I was worried about Blake. But we were all champs, including the kids! Yay for not collapsing in Costco! 🥳🤪 Blake did get winded and we had to stop a few times, but he did good. He says he feels like we are in Colorado again, ha ha. We both really struggled with feeling short of breath when visiting a friend there years ago, due to the change in altitude. Today is his first day back to work and I know he's stressing, but I hope he does ok. I told him to just take it easy and not worry because he'll probably spend most of his first days back telling people why he was off for 6 weeks over and over again, lol. And going through the 10,000 emails he has waiting for him of course (not kidding, eek! 🙄). He took his inhaler, pulse/oxygen thingy to monitor his oxygen, his shield (he was able to get an ADA approval for a shield so he doesn't have to wear a mask!), and some snacks. I hope he feels back to his old air breathing self again soon!
Baby boy now has fingerprints and all of his organs are formed and starting to function if they aren't already! His tiny spleen is even making red blood cells for oxygen. So crazy that there is a perfectly tiny little person in there! And even crazier that it didn't cost us over $5,000 to get pregnant, ha ha. I am still blown away that this is even happening most days! Total miracle! Baby will spend the rest of the pregnancy growing longer, stronger, and heavier. I hope and pray that all continues to go well! We are so, so grateful for this little man and the two beautiful babies we already have ❤
