My TSH level is NORMAL again!!

I received the best news this morning…I woke up to an email from Park Nicollet saying I have new information in MyChart -where you can logon and see all your lab results, appointments, etc. I logged on and saw my TSH was at 1.73. This is awesome news!! Crazy how just 4 weeks ago it was at 15.25!? Now let’s hope it stays this way the whole rest of my pregnancy!

Arizona Bachelorette Party!

Just got back from a weekend in Phoenix & Scottsdale, Arizona for my good college friend, Liz Bramwell’s bachelorette party! Her wedding isn’t until February 2, but this was the time all of us could get together and go. There were 7 of us that flew out from MN, and a few other of her highschool friends that live in Arizona. We stayed at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa. It was a beautiful hotel and the staff was very nice and accommodating to all our specific needs ;) We hung out at the pool both days and relaxed in the lazy river. The weather was beautiful…85 degrees and not a cloud in the sky! As the girls had cocktails all day & night, I drank loads and loads of water, gatorade and my favorite non-alcoholic drink…the dirty worm. It was an oreo ice blended shake with gummie worms. Mmm!

I felt great both days, just got a little nauseous as it got closer to dinner time because our reservations weren’t until 8pm one night and 7:30pm the other. After lunch, I probably should have ate at 4 or 5 and then again at dinner, but of course we were all busy chatting and getting dolled up for the night out. And then the limo driver on Saturday night wasn’t the best at considering there were 12 girls in the back of his vehicle! He made fast stops, starts and turns…I thought I was going to throw up. When we got to the restaurant I quickly got some ginger ale and felt better. I made it out all night with the girls at the bars! But got nauseous again on the ride back to the hotel because I was so tired.

The girls always made sure I was doing okay and asked if I needed anything…to the point where once I had to say, “Hey, I am not handicapped, I am pregnant!” hahaha! I think they thought since they were drinking all day, I had to be drinking all day, which was actually perfect because I drank more fluids than ever and I really need to be! I would have thought the hardest part of the weekend was going to be the fact that I couldn’t drink, but it was actually not feeling comfortable with my ever growing body. Being in a swim suit was tough, but the girls kept reassuring me, “You can really tell it’s a baby bump!” ;) Which I am starting to believe you can...its just hard getting use to it. I wore a couple dresses that weren't tight and hid the belly. It truly was a great girls weekend! And I cannot wait for the wedding!!!

First Trimester Screening

Today Kevin and I went into the Meadowbrook Perinatal Clinic for our First Trimester Screening. It's called “Nuchal Translucency Ultrasound” and is done between 11 wks 2 days – 13 wks 6 days. It is a check for chromosome problems: trisomy 13, trisomy 18 and trisomy 21 (down syndrome). They do an ultrasound to measure the back of baby’s neck fold and if nasal bone is visible. Then a blood sample to check levels of 2 proteins. If all comes back normal, baby is 85% okay. They do another check at 18 weeks to be 95% sure, but the only 100% way to tell would be to take out a sample of the amniotic fluid (with a really long needle through my belly - no thank you!) Not everyone has this screening done, its really for people who are at high-risk and/or will be 35+ when they deliver. But Kevin really wanted to do it, just to see and know, and when he found out the $650 test was covered under our insurance, we thought why not get a free ultrasound by a high-risk tech…

The sonographer spent 45 minutes with us, allowing us to ask tons of questions, showing us every inch of our baby, counting arms, legs, fingers and toes! She measured the fluid behind the neck to be 1.4mm (<2.5mm is normal) and the nasal bone was visual. Baby’s heartbeat was at 154 and crown-rump length at 2.5in. Baby was moving around A LOT! Doing flips and headstands! She said I was growing a monkey break dancer, hahaha! Or as Kevin says, he/she fidgets like me. She said this was normal as baby is just starting to experience its reflexes. At the very end she did a 3-D ultrasound view. Its hands were in front of its face (because they just got feeling in its palms and love to explore their face) so you can’t see the facial features yet, and it kinda looks like an alien because head grows fastest first, but very cool to see!

We brought up my thyroid issue and the comment “hypothyroidism isn’t usually considered high-risk” made us feel at ease. Now let’s hope my labs come back okay at my next week’s OB appointment!

Lastly, we asked if she thought boy or girl? She explained that its still too early to tell because no matter boy or girl, its parts are sticking out right now. Then she went on to explain that there is a little trick though...if its sticking straight out its girl, and up out its boy....she predicted girl! She obviously said its still too early and she cant say for sure, but said she's never been wrong yet in her predictions ;)

UPDATE: 12 WEEKS

How Far Along: 12 weeks
Total Weight Gain: 8lbs (weighing in at 106lbs)
Nausea: I think my nausea is starting to go away! It’s not all day everyday anymore :) It’s just if I go past normal time to eat or sleep. I still drink lots of ginger ale to feel at ease.
Mood Swings: I haven’t been as irritable lately, or at least I don't think so, Kev may say differently. I am beginning to have some good days, where I have more energy to get stuff done around the house...so I am thinking its true that the 2nd trimester does get better!!
Food Cravings: Pumpkin bread, chocolate chip cookies dipped in milk and still of course cereal.
Other Symptoms: For the past 2 weeks I have started to get headaches around 4:30/5pm. One day it was at 2pm and I left work to go buy Tylenol and sat in my car with my eyes closed for 20mins, but it still didn’t really go away. Not sure if it’s a hormonal thing, or certain foods I am eating or the fact that I sit at a desk all day starring at a computer and I have horrible posture. Or maybe I am not getting home early enough for dinner, yet sometimes the headache doesn’t go away after I eat either, so I am in bed early because I just need to close my eyes. I have also started to have some lower back pain. All the way down in my tail bone. Only hurts when I get up to walk. Not sure again if it’s my bad posture sitting at a desk all day, or if baby is pushing on a nerve.
Miss Anything: My flat stomach and my pants fitting comfortably :(
Sleep Time: I am staying up a bit later, 9:30pm
My Exercises: Still nothing :( But I will hopefully start to as I am entering my 2nd trimester and begin to feel better!
Fun Moment Since Last Update: When Kevin and I went in for an ultrasound with my mom to see how baby was growing…he/she waved at us! Cool seeing the hands and feet!!
Gender Idea: I am still thinking Girl…only because I am really into baby’s room being purple!
Maternity Clothes: I bought a belly “Beband” from Target. It allows me to still wear my normal work pants or jeans everyday but am able to have them unbuttoned so I can breathe. It works well, but I love when I get home and can put on sweatpants and really breathe!
Labor Signs: None
Looking Forward To: We are doing the First Trimester Screening this Tues Oct 23, where baby gets tested for down syndrome & trisomys. Not really looking forward to it, because it’s kind of scary, but we have no history of these on either side of our families, so I am hoping everything will be just fine. Then I am going to Arizona for my friend Liz’s bachelorette party (although I can’t drink, I will make the best of it! Supposedly we are staying at an awesome hotel with a really nice pool so I am excited to relax!) Then our next OB Doctor appt is Thurs Nov 1.

Everyone's Preggers!

Last night was our friends Carrie & Craig Marchessault’s couples baby shower. They are due to have a boy December 26th. Super excited for them!! The shower was called baby fest and was a rockstar theme. The girls that threw it did an awesome job. Carrie has been my advisor so far throughout my pregnancy. Because she is a few steps ahead of me in the process, it has been nice to baby chat with a friend going through the same stuff as me. There are two other girls on Kevin’s side of friends who are preggers too…Andy & Lisa Smith are due March 9 and Justin Roehning and Megan Steers are due April 15. I am sure others will get sick of our baby chats real soon…but sorry, this is a life changing event here people!!

We decided we’ll have to take this picture of us once a month to show our growing bellies :)

DECEMBER, MARCH, APRIL, MAY

Baby's First Dance

Tonight I had my first real workout since being prego! My friend Serena invited me to a Cardio Dance Party at the YMCA using her buddy pass. She often takes the turbo class and learns all these fun dances, so I thought I'd give it a try...although I havent danced in a while and am really slow at learning ;) The first hour and 45mins we learned a 1 minute routine and then the last 15mins we recorded so the instructor could post to youtube. Click here to see the dance: Get On The Floor I am in the orange tshirt/black pants, on the right side second row, hiding behind Serena. I guess I am so use to sychronized dance team where you need to stay in formation behind the person in front of you. Hahaha! There is some sexy on the floor part, that I left with bruises on my knees, and at one point I couldnt get up and the instructor said, "What are you doing Grandma, get off the floor!" It was too much bending over, up and down, for my newly added weight on my front side. Being in tight spandex clothing really made my belly buldge out, and I know I am not showing that much yet, but for me I am, and I felt like people were staring, like wow she's really skinny but has a gut. I wished I was wearing a T-shirt that said, "I am not fat. I am pregnant!" :) Seriously! These first few months I am not showing to the point where people know I am pregnant, and people typically know not to ask, and I dont walk around telling everyone, so I need one of those shirts. Hmm, maybe amazon has one for cheap...

Baby Waving Hi

Today Kevin and I went into my mom’s work for another ultrasound. With my thyroid issues and my dosage being raised by 50%, I have felt like I have been having a racing heart and anxiety all over again. So I just wanted to make sure baby’s heart was still beating okay and he/she is growing. It would just make me feel better.

Turns out, all was just fine! :) Baby’s heartbeat was at 156 one time she measure and 164 the second time she measured. Normal is 145-165. Baby had doubled in size since last crown-rump measurement 2 weeks ago and was moving around a lot. He/she arched its back, kicked around and waved to us. Super cool! Kevin got really excited!!!

I was having such a good day, not feeling nauseous for once, I even went clothes shopping after work (just at TJ Max) and stopped at the grocery store to buy the ingredients to bake pumpkin bread (a coworker had made spiced muffins and it made me crave pumpkin bread). I for once had the motivation to bake, but of course Kevin ended up doing most of the work because he’s better at it ;) And then, we thought since all went well with today’s ultrasound, we decided to finally share our news with the public by posting our announcement picture on Facebook.

Vikings Game

Super great seats on the 50 yard line!!! Perfect for me to creep on AP baybeee :)

Thyroid Scare :(

Today I had my first hormonal break down because my OB nurse called me explaining that my thyroid levels have gone way up and that I need to call my Endocrinologist and get my medication adjusted. WHAT!? WHY!? Is baby gonna be okay???

So since finding out in February 2011 that I had hyperthyroidism, which lead to the autoimmune disorder called Grave's disease (like my grandpa Quinn & aunt Wendy had), I had then chose to do the radioactive iodine treatment (RAI) to burn out my thyroid making me have hypothyroid the rest of my life. It has only been a year and a half I have been dealing with this, taking a synthetic every day, often getting my levels check and adjusting my dosage to maintain my thyroid hormone levels. It takes a couple years for people to get their levels to normal. And so when I found out I was pregnant, I wanted to get checked again.

Sept 12 I went in and my Endo said my TSH was at 4.91 and was supposed to be between .2-4.5. Okay, so I am a little high and he raised my dosage from 100MCG to 125MCG. Two weeks later (Sept 28), I was in for my first OB appointment and when I told my doctor I have hypothyroid she said we need to monitor it closer as it could cause birth defects (ie. low birth weight, pre-mature labor, developmental delay, etc). WHAT!? I thought to myself, I should be good because I was just in and had my dosage changed and my Endo's already been watching it. She's like well, we are doing lots of blood work today so I am just going to check your TSH again. Okay, fine with me, test away...

Now I find out that just 2 weeks after my dosage was raised, my TSH has raised even higher, to 15.25!! WTF!? How does it go that high, that fast...it has never been this high before. So I am in tears to my mom on the phone, a.) because I am hormonal and felt like crying b.) because I am scared, is something happening to baby while my levels are so off like this? c.) because I am so frustrated with this thyroid crap, that geez is this going to continue throughout my whole pregnancy? what a nightmare!! And d.) I was leaving to go to Chicago for three days for work and didn't know when and where to get my new prescription.

Anywho...after my Endo's nurse finally called me back (6 hours later) she explained my dosage needed to be raised again, now to 150MCG, to counteract all my hormone changes (hCG & estrogen). She explained this is completely normal during pregnancy, which is somewhat a sigh of relief. But now its just a waiting game until my levels get checked again in 4 weeks. In the meantime, let's just pray for a healthy baby!!