The Shirodkar Cerclage in 2 days

So here we go again... it's time to stitch this baby up! Let me take a step back before I get to this. So we saw the OB today and got a final OK for the cerclage. Our baby boy (yeah he thinks we're having one too ), is holding on nice and strong. So here's something interesting - he said my cervix is 6 cm!! I have to admit that's ridiculously long. I don't think mine reached over 4 cm last time. But I guess this is a good thing. Of course I've been Dr. Googling to see if it's an indication of perhaps reduced cervical incompetence but I can't find anything.  I even wondered if having only one ovary has reduced my PCOS and therefore my body's ability to suppress my progesterone? Anyway - I'm just glad he has plenty of cervix to work with.
So I'm scheduled to do my cerclage on Monday.  One thing that stands out is how much cheaper medical care is here. This whole procedure is coming to $1400 on the high end. My ultrasounds used to cost $1200 in the states...  and my cerclage came to $9000 in the states. Oh well! So the doctor is doing a Shirodkar stitch. I had a McDonald stitch last time. I had to ask the nurse 3 times to confirm that this wasn't a permanent. Doctors out here LOVE c-sections - so I wanted to make sure he wasn't setting me up for one. Anyway - from what I've Dr. Googled, the two are pretty equivalent and both can be taken out in a doctor's office - however, the Shirodkar is placed higher up and is harder to remove. Sometimes you have to get a spinal to remove it  ... and sometimes it's done in an operating theater. The idea of doing a second surgery to remove this stitch does not appeal to me. However, that's roughly 15 weeks from now - so we'll cross that bridge when it comes to it. Oh how I envy women who can have normal pregnancies. Instead ours is filled with endless online research about medical procedures, risk factors, and constantly watching for signs of negative changes. Anyway that's all I have for tonight. I'm still battling pregnancy insomnia - can't wait for this to pass!

Team Blue ... NT Scans .... Pre-Cerclage Thoughts

Yep - we are Team Blue - with a 96 % accuracy caveat - guessed at 13 weeks + 2 days! We just had our NT scan yesterday and it went great. Being 35 and having PCOS - I won't pretend like I have any confidence in my reproductive system. So I was mentally preparing myself for less than stellar numbers. However, we saw no defects and our combined bloodwork + ultrasound risk was set at 1 out of 4775 - which is just fine in my books! The tech also said my cervix was long and closed - which was comforting. I know cerclages are most successful when done between weeks 12 and 14 - so as I'm approaching the start of week 14 next week - I'm eager to get stitched up so I can calm down! Needless to say DH is beaming from ear to ear. I'm kind of excited. It makes me wonder about the whole thing of different genders affecting you differently pregnancy. I doubt there's any truth to it - but I will say that the morning sickness this time was simply insane. I'm still not out of the woods- but at least I don't feel miserable anymore!

Been quiet but all is still well.

Yes I still feel just like this - combined with the insomnia pic in the last post. Truthfully  - I'm struggling to stay functional. I don't know if it's because I crossed the magical 35 years old but this pregnancy is kicking my butt and I'm barely through the first trimester. I'm constantly fatigued but it's difficult to sleep. I get voracious hunger but want to hurl if I eat too much. I've got insane cravings for the strangest things - today was buffalo hot sauce with a greek salad ! Yesterday I ate 4 portions of greek salad - no dressing - for dinner! I'm actually just dying to have one day where I feel normal. I'd even settle for semi-normal. Add to that the international move planning and I just feel like a total wreck. I won't post much today - I'll just sign off saying - I found the baby's HB on the doppler.... so that should hold me through till my next scan on Wednesday!

zzzzzzzz......NOT!

I'm writing this at 5:30 am..... been up since 3 am. I woke up at 3 am for NO REASON. Actually that's not true. Since falling pregnant I wake up for any reason. Need to pee - wake up. Arm falls asleep..... wake up. Got gas - wake up. Thirsty - wake up. Hungry - wake up.... I'm so over this. A few weeks ago I was falling asleep during conversations..... now I'm up at 3 hours before the crack of dawn :(

I also think I'm hungry .... but I don't have the energy to forage for food. This is just a reminder of how I'm going to be sleep deprived for quite some time! Changing thought streams..... I also have made huge strides with our move. We have secured pet shipping. We're still waiting for our shipping company to come back with estimates for the shipping. We found a car storage company and have identified 11 potential places to rent. DH is also researching cars since he will have to purchase one a few days within arriving. Man oh man ... so many details and so little time...

Ok delirious woman signing off.....

I'm a little piggy sloth

I cannot begin to describe the magnitude of the fatigue I'm battling. This is almost as bad as when I had the PIO shots. I simply cannot stay awake. I feel like every time I put my head down - I wake up 2 hours later. Apparently I fell asleep talking to my nanny - SMH! I struggle to concentrate, I struggle to do my work, and I'm feeling like a total failure of a mother because I just don't have the energy to care properly for my little one. I haven't even had the energy to take her to a play date in over 2 weeks! Even picking her up from daycare is becoming a colossal chore. My days are actually filled with dread that my DH might ask me to do something I don't have the energy to. I'm feeling like such a slacker too - which just sucks. I know he wouldn't judge  - but I've always tried to pull my weight. Sigh.....

Now onto the eating!

I have to be honest - this is what I feel like - minus the belly. I don't understand it - I'm only 10 weeks - so it's not like I should need a huge caloric intake - but some days the hunger is literally unbearable. I feel like I have to eat hourly not to feel nauseas. It's simply madness. I didn't have this last time - so the idea of eating like this is so foreign. Also - I've lost 5 lb in 2 weeks eating like this - so I'm even more baffled. There's no joy in my eating right now - simply attempts to avoid bad feelings. I don't feel comforted or gratified by my food. I'm just always bleh.....

I know I shouldn't complain but today's my pity party ! Oh and whoever called morning sickness "morning sickness" - clearly has NEVER been pregnant!

9 week ultrasounds

Yep this is still definitely sticky bean territory

So do you see the other 2 sacs? My OB suspects I may have had as many as 3 eggs try to implant but only 1 took. DH nearly went white faced when he heard that. I still think it could be a sub chorionic hemorrhage. Either way he said there's no blood supply there - so we will see.....

Must fight the urge ....

To use the Doppler! I saw the baby on Friday - it's been only 3 days!

Going on week 2 of an off stomach

Ugh, yeah .... this ain't pretty. Fine I thought I had a stomach flu before I got pregnant. Now I know that was just pregnancy. The problem is I'm @ 9.5 weeks or so - and probably have another 3 - 4 weeks of this. I'm not complaining as such, and I haven't vomited THAT much but seriously .... I'm getting tired of constantly feeling like I may hurl in the next few minutes. Add to that the intense grogginess - and I'm just a hot mess.
This is so different from my last pregnancy where I had a bit of nausea, but nothing to this extent. I feel like I'm in a constant haze - and a total sloth. I have to eat hourly or the nausea comes back. The plus side is 2 weeks of this and I'm down 4 lb LOL! Anyway  not too much to report today - except - I'm not too far away from the second trimester - wooooohooooooo!