Gentlemen May Want to Look Away... Pregnancy Advice

[Ellain]

Thanks Kogarashi!

Which brings me to another bit of advice: hope for the best delivery, but try to get into a mindset where you won't be absolutely devastated if something doesn't quite go the way you plan.

I understand that things will likely not go as planned, but that's life, right? I told the doctor that if at all possible, I'd prefer minimum interventions, but I want to have backup plans. I'm even planning for the eventuality that I'll need a C-section!

And there is a possibility that I'll have to use the hospital, as twins run in my family. The single legal home birth midwife in my area will not deliver twins. This is a bit disappointing, but (when my pregnant brain is being reasonable) I totally understand why.

Ligament pain is pretty common in pregnancy: round, uterine, and sacrotuberous ligaments are the main ones being stressed. But usually (though not always) that sort of pain waits 'til the second or even third trimester to become a bother.

[AlmightyALT]

Thank you everyone for all of your advice. But yesterday I discovered that I had miscarried sometime recently.

There was bleeding when I got up in the morning yesterday (June 21). A small amount but my husband and I went to the ER anyway. When they did the ultra sound they looked for a heartbeat and couldn't find any. The ER doctor was very kind when he told us that I had lost the baby around 7 weeks old. I still haven't passed it yet.

I will keep up with this thread though because my husband and I don't give up so easily.

And I pray that Ellain and Ardra will have amazingly easy pregnancies and births!

[PawnPrincess Ardra]

I'm so sorry to hear, AlmightyAlt. I'm so glad you had a good ER doc that was kind, but I'm sure that the news was no easier to hear. I really hope your body recovers quickly and you have another positive pregnancy test in the near future.

[Der Cute]

Thank you everyone for all of your advice. But yesterday I discovered that I had miscarried sometime recently.

There was bleeding when I got up in the morning yesterday (June 21). A small amount but my husband and I went to the ER anyway. When they did the ultra sound they looked for a heartbeat and couldn't find any. The ER doctor was very kind when he told us that I had lost the baby around 7 weeks old. I still haven't passed it yet.

I will keep up with this thread though because my husband and I don't give up so easily.

And I pray that Ellain and Ardra will have amazingly easy pregnancies and births!

Oh no. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry to hear that. Check with your doctor soon please.

[Ellain]

I'm so sorry. I miscarried my first, and I know it can be rough.

*hugs*

[Mishi]

*huge hugs* I'm so sorry for your loss.

[Kogarashi]

::hugs for ALT:: Hang in there, and good luck.

[PawnPrincess Ardra]

Alright, so I got a letter in the mail from the health authority - my first ultrasound is July 4th at 3:45pm. I REALLY don't know what to expect - any hints/tips/experiences out there that might be helpful? I will finally find out for sure how far along I am, and that's exciting, but I'm nervous because of... well... the unknown. Somehow I'm supposed to drink over a liter of water an HOUR before my appointment and NOT PEE? Is that even possible???

[AnaKhouri]

Oh- you are having a transvaginal ultrasound. Later when they do an anatomy ultrasound they will just wave the wand over your belly.

I had a transvaginal last year for another issue. It's not as bad as it sounds! The worst part is not being able to pee after drinking a ton of water. I have no advice for you there- you just have to try to hold it.

In a transvaginal they place the wand against your cervix to look at your ovaries/uterus. When I had it done at least, the lady was very nice and gentle and the wand was not particularly large; my guess is that if you are not a virgin (and you're obviously not ) it shouldn't be painful, maybe a bit uncomfortable, but it wasn't even that for me. And they do try to go quickly and then send you off to pee! They understand how bad that part is.

So yeah, try not to worry. And hey, you get to see your baby! Which will look like a blob. But it's YOUR blob.

[PawnPrincess Ardra]

The letter I got said it was for an Obstetrical B Scan, and from what I've seen, in BC at the local hospitals here, it's not done transvaginally unless you're quite overweight or if the baby is too deep in the pelvis and they want to see the fetus better. I'm not too concerned about either, I just want it done NOW so I know for sure how far along I am, and I'm soooo looking forward to the heartbeat and.. if it's twins. Yikes LOL

[CoffeeMonkey]

I was scheduled for an ultrasound (before i lost my insurance and had to cancel it) and the way the doc explained it to me was that for a transabdominal, you drink all the water so it acts as a magnifier/conductor thingie for the image. If they couldn't get a clear view on that, then I would have had a transvaginal, and that doesn't need the water.

[PawnPrincess Ardra]

I just think that after an hour of holding that much water... if they're running late, they might want to bring out a mop

[AnaKhouri]

Oooh OK, I just gave you wrong information then. I had both transabdominal and vaginal at the same time so I got confused about which was which. Vaginal I think was to look at my ovaries, so you probably won't get that at least. Just have a wand pressed on your abdomen then. Sorry for the misinformation!

[PawnPrincess Ardra]

No worries- every little bit of insight helps. I didn't even think of the transvaginal until you mentioned it ( I am one who likes order and preparedness, this whole having a child thing is gonna be interesting. I feel sorry for my poor fiancee LOL )

[Der Cute]

You drink lotsa water, get called in right when you're doing the pee dance. Then you lay down, and pull your shirt up. The tech puts some jelly on you, if they're nice it'll be warmed up. Then the tech moves the handheld scanner. It's shaped like a hand held barcode scanner at a checkout. It moves over your tummy to find the wiggling blob. Then pictures are taken with the software running the machine. Multiple positions are found, like sideways, head towards toes, etc. The pics are saved and sent to doctors to review.
You get to hop off table, run to the bathroom and go.
I forget if the pics were printed for me or they came in the mail.
This didn't scare me at all, because I was looking at the technology doing it and was fascinated. Plus, hey, blob's in there, he's not doing anything, this will get a look. Cool. My honey was much more interested in the pics, HE got all snuffly.