Part 1
Allo, Allo!
When I went in for the ultrasound two weeks ago I also had to give blood to determine the likelyhood of the baby having Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21) or Trisomy 18, which is more rare and potentially fatal. (It's a standard screening test for all pregnant women.) At my checkup today the doctor said the baby has a 1 in 7800 chance of being born with Down Syndrome, and a 1 in 10,000 of being born with Trisomy 18.
So if any of you play the numbers and you win, remember me ;-)
The fetus has survived to its second trimester, and we heard its heartbeat in the office without the ultrasound machine. The doc says it's a strong heartbeat. It sounds like a tap tap tap tap (it's very reassuring to know its still alive in there). I'm not gaining much weight, but I suspect there'll be plenty of time for me to blow up! If doc is not concerned, I'm cool.
Flu season is upon us. I am not a fan of needles. I think getting the flu shot is unnecessary since I'm not elderly or have a low immune system. But because I'm pregnant the doctor ordered me to get one. She also warned me that next checkup (in four weeks) I give more blood to test for spina bifida.
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At this point if you're one who is uncomfortable with conversations about bodily functions, you may go now. I promised my friends I'd be honest but not graphic about the goings-on of my pregnancy. See ya :-D
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Part 2
I complained about the prenatal vitamins I was prescribed today. I don't care that they're big assed pills (so if you can't swallow pills you may want to warn your OB about that, if and when the time comes).
They made it difficult to have BMs. I would feel like I had to go, only to sit for five minutes or more for these dark little pebbles to pass. (So maybe that's a little graphic, but everybody poops, and I'm about to spend the next two years looking at someone else's poo!)
It's the extra iron they put in, I guess my body needed time to adjust. That annoyed me because I didn't have that problem when I took a multi-vitamin with iron! It wasn't really constipation, but close.
Books suggest eating lots of fiber. My mom suggested drinking milk and eating applesause. None of those worked for me.
Should this difficult BM thing happen to you when you take the vitamin I would say be patient with yourself in the bathroom. Don't force anything out because the strain may cause hemroids. If it takes you ten minutes to go, then it takes you ten minutes to go. I did read in a book that you should use this opportunity to practice pushing because the difficulty making BM is not unlike pushing the baby out. So I waited until I felt like the poo was coming, bared down, and pushed steadily, not hard. Hey, you asked for the details, don't get mad at me! Thank God, no hemroids yet.
I complained once about the BMs and the doc gave me a stool softener, which I didn't take. Then as I started to get the all day sickness I couldn't take the vitamins. I had to wait a half hour before eating, or two or three hours after eating, couldn't lay down after taking the pill. General bullshit I didn't have the patience for. The doc gave me two options: restart the vitamins in one month, or take children's chewable vitamins.
Of course I bought a bottle of the chewables! I'm so excited :-D I'll let you know how that goes.
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UMMMM Yeah, the BM thing happens. It's all the joy of pregnancy. If you think the heartbeat was exciting wait until you feel movement. Pot pies got Nathan excited and Ava liked music. Try the vitamins with some dairy (whatever you can stand). Milk or a cheese sandwich, that helped me whenever I would take one. And can I just say how amazing it is that we pregnant women are made to pee and give so much blood and we and our children are still alive? Just a thought.
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