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My Pregnancy Story
This blog is a look back on my pregnancy, I have a healthy almost 1 year old now but it was a hell of a ride to get here! So back to the start .
25-07-11 Im pregnant!!!
How do you feel when you see that first positive result, even though it was planned?
I guess a little shocked even though you expected it and then your mind runs wild! Were gonna be parents!! We are so excited and talking names already!
Early pregnancy although a huge blessing doesnt feel great, even before i had my first positive test I was feeling like my period was going to come on and I even had cramping in my lower belly.This was a huge worry because you automatically assume that these symptoms can only mean one thing and I didnt feel particularly pregnant or sick at this stage nor my breasts sore..convinced something was wrong I went to see my GP.
After reassuring me that the symptoms of very early pregnancy are pretty much the same as PMS and that I shouldnt worry myself too much, he booked me for a reassurance scan at my local hospital.
My husband and i sat anxiously waiting to see our little bean on the screen as the sonogropher pressed the ultrasound scanner over my tummy, we couldnt see much.
See that black circle there, that is the amniotic sac. But Im afraid theres not much else to see at this stage! said the lady casually . about 5-6 weeks development wise, we will have to see you again in 2 weeks.
Part of me wondered if this was normal, but tried to get it out my mind for what would be a long two week wait. Meanwhile my tummy was still cramping up and I was having frequent bloating episodes where my stomach would fill with wind bubbles and it was most uncomfortable. ( a symptom that I now recognise as how i feel at the start of a pregnancy)
At scan number two, I was hoping and praying there was a healthy baby in there! The sonographer showed us the tiny baby on screen although to me it was massive, that was OUR baby! It didnt really look like a baby though, it was shrimp like with no arms or legs! She pointed to the flickering inside our little baby Thats the babys heart beat, Congratulations, your measuring about 8 weeks
Elated, overjoyed and feeling almost like a little weight had been lifted, we skipped out of the hospital that day.
The next few weeks sort of flew by as we looked forward to our 12 week scan, a milestone in pregnancy. I felt great, I wasnt ever sick or nauseated. You had to opt out of neonatal testing rather than opt in so we werent really sure what tests were being done at this ultrasound but were aware they would be looking for things. Being young and healthy we werent concerned.
It was a different sonographer this time and he didnt really say much just pressed the scanner to my belly and our baby appeared on the screen. It looked a lot different this time, it was a proper little baby and I remember exclaiming to my husband that it had actual arms and legs now, the development over such few weeks left us gob-smacked!
Again not saying much, the man repeatedly measured our baby mmmiing, aaahing and moving his head from side to side peering at our baby. Anxious, I asked what he was doing. He told us that he was measuring our babys neck fold as part of the nuchal translucency test, and although he didnt tell us about any figures or what they meant, I could clearly see that our babys nuchal fold measured 2.8mm as he did it for around the fifteenth time!
We were guided round to see the midwives for some routine blood testing that the midwives had said was the second part of the nuchal translucency test but didnt say anything about our scan, so we left assuming all was well although I must admit, I was a little worried!!! My husband was trying to reassure me but I just didnt feel that things were right! Straight onto google as soon as we got in to the house. We all know that googling about healthcare situations never brings up anything good, or what we want to read, or I suppose even what were looking for but all that was coming up was pages to do with genetic defects, downs syndrome, chromosomal abnormalities, autism and various other health problems.
We tried not to think about it but about ten days later a letter landed on our door step which changed everything.
High Risk for Downs Syndrome 1 in 8. We need to see you for an urgent appointment it read. The appointment was at one of the bigger hospitals in the area not at our local one so that immediately placed a bit more stress on the situation. The appointment was within the next two days so we barely had time to think about it but we both agreed not to worry until we had something in stone to worry about; otherwise our minds would run away completely.
Im 23, my husband is 25, there is no family history how can our odds be so high was one of the questions on our minds!
We arrived in the special ultrasound department and it was here they explained that my blood tests were normal but the nuchal fold had measured high. They explained that with our ages our risk would normally be 1 in 1200 or greater, but it wasnt; somehow we were 1 in 8. They said at this stage we would be offered amniocentesis or Chorionic Villus Samplin and that the reason for our visit would be to discuss these steps in more detail.
They went over the pros and cons of having each test and not being a huge fan of needles I wasnt really up for either of the tests!
Having talked it over with my husband we agreed that because I am a natural worrier I (and very much we) wouldnt enjoy my pregnancy if we didnt know if something was wrong and in any case give us chance to prepare; so we had to do something. We never talked at that stage about what we would do if something was wrong, we wanted to wait and see what the results said before contemplating anything else. We already had so much love for our growing baby.
But Amniocentesis or CVS? The risks were about the same 1-2% of miscarriage, the higher rate of miscarriage being with the CVS simply because its done earlier in the pregnancy. Amniocentesis is done from 16 weeks onwards, I was 13weeks and two days, could I really wait another three weeks for the test??
I had the CVS done that day. It was guided by ultrasound so they didnt harm the baby. The whole procedure took less than 10 minutes and I didnt feel a thing except prodding and probing because they use a local anaesthetic. I had my eyes closed the whole time! It was uncomfortable afterwards and I had a small plaster on my lower abdomen, the same small round ones they use after blood tests (yes that small!!!) I had a few days off work to rest up and was feeling back to normal in a few days.
I got provisional results the next day by phone . All of which didnt make much sense at the time.
The baby has a chromosomal defect but its not downs syndrome as your bloods might have initially suggested . I could already feel her voice fading as I took in the first few words .
A balanced translocation of chromosome 3 and chromosome 8, and we THINK the baby is normal but the geneticist would like to meet with you both.
Would you like to know the sex of the baby she asked,
I quickly glanced over to my husband, who gave a quick nod.
Yes but how can you tell me im only 13 weeks I enquired .
Because we did a full genetic karotype, your baby is XY which means its a boy
The appointment with the geneticist was the next day, it was all happening so fast which looking back was great because although I can tell you it was stressful, I cant really explain the thoughts that were going through my mind because there wasnt much time to process all the new information.
The meeting with the geneticist went well and things were beginning to look up after about 2 weeks of solid worrying. He explained that the baby had balanced chromosomes of 3 + 8 but it was a straight swap; there was no genetic material lost or gained at the point of the swap. Basically we inherit 23 chromosomes from each parent and they match up from 1-23 at conception. Our baby has a chromosome make up of 3+3/8 and 8+8/3, the norm being 3+3 and 8+8. Less than 2% of the population have a balanced translocation but it so happened that either me or my husband was a carrier in this minuscule range.
He explained that we had to have our blood tests done to identify which of us, if any of us, was a carrier this because if it was a new thing starting in our baby then it could mean something different; but if it came from one of us, then the baby would be absolutely fine.
We had our bloods checked that day and had another anxious two day wait, although hopes were starting to rise!
The phone call came
Your husband also has a balanced translocation of chromosome 3+8, and he is healthy your baby will be the same. But we need to see you again in the genetic clinic to go over a few more things but rest assured your baby will be healthy
PHEW! Thats all I can remember thinking at the time and the huge smile that erupted that day and kind of never left! We never really considered what we would do if our baby wasnt healthy as we agreed before any further testing that we would only make a decision with our results. Thankfully we never had any decisions to make!
At our follow up geneticist appointment we met with a pleasant doctor who went into balanced translocations in a bit more detail. He went over the chromosome pairing again and explained that our future fertility might be at risk. There would be 4 outcomes to any future pregnancy
1) The baby would inherit normal chromosomes at conception.
2) The baby would inherit balanced chromosomes (like my son) and be a carrier.
3) The baby would inherit unbalanced chromosomes and this pregnancy would fail probably in the early stages.
4) The baby would inherit unbalanced chromosomes and have too many copies of either chromosome and have various severe difficulties and deformities. If this pregnancy made it past the early stages, there would be a risk of late miscarriage, still birth or the birth of a severely handicapped child.
In essence, were going to go through a lot with any future pregnancy and require further testing each time but focussing on the current, our baby boy is on his way and he is just like his daddy!
We didnt even had a week of non worry when i was about 14.5 weeks I had a bleed and was sent in for another scan. The baby was still doing great but a little bit of the sac had come away from the uterine wall and caused a small bleed, they reckon from the CVS but to be on the safe side, no sex throughout the rest of the pregnancy! Fine by me, but what about my husband?! Trivial in the sense that we had to protect our baby. Our relationship is strong and sex didnt matter in the scheme of things.
To me, every week was a milestone because I had so much worry from my very first pregnancy test; it seemed natural to worry until I had my boy in my arms.
The weeks progressed quickly. I had another scan at 17 weeks to make sure all was well after my bleed (just precautionary to make sure the area of separation had rejoined and it had.) On this scan it was confirmed that we were indeed having a boy, the evidence was clear. Our boy was getting bigger by the week.This was really the first time I noticed my bump too as I lay on the table.
I had my 20 week scan routinely and this was really the first enjoyable routine scan we had. The baby was growing well, sucking his thumb and again had his genitals on show! I even have a scan picture with him giving us the thumbs up thats when we knew everything was fine, a small signal from him meant the world.
I grew bigger, as did our boy, as did my husbands protection over both of us and our love for each other. We sorted out his room and began preparing things with a new found enjoyment.
I felt my first kicks around 22 weeks and I loved that feeling, I miss it now.
The rest of my pregnancy sort of passed with total enjoyment, I took weekly pictures of my growing bump, which I still cherish. I will say I was kind of obsessive over the babys movements and was worried he wasnt moving enough but the midwives were always good inviting me up the 4-5 times I called them between 28 weeks and 37 ish weeks to have him monitored. All was well and rest assured the moment the heart monitor belts were applied hed start jumping around.
One particular day I was bouncing on my ball, I was 37 weeks, I felt a gush of fluid between my legs. Its happening I told my husband phoned the unit and went in, he always remembers this night because it was the night Fabrice Muamba died on the pitch playing for Bolton. (He was revived)
They concluded that my waters were still intact although I maintain I had lost at least some however; Iwas allowed home and wasnt in labour. I had painful braxton hicks from this time onward, felt my body getting restless and our son pressing down in to my pelvis from this point preparing for birth.
I didnt enjoy the last few weeks of my pregnancy as it was getting painful on my small frame, I wasnt sleeping well due to frequent toilet trips during the night and the pressure of him bearing down was becoming so painful. I was also fearful of our babys impending birth and the unknown that comes with birth.
3 days before my due date, I was awoken in the early hours around 2 am, I really had to go to the toilet to pass my bowels, and I did so. I woke up my husband to tell him I wasnt tired any more and was going to catch up with some TV. I had barely sat on the sofa when i felt a HUGE gush of fluid .there was no mistaking it this time we were going to meet our son soon!
This blog is a look back on my pregnancy, I have a healthy almost 1 year old now but it was a hell of a ride to get here! So back to the start .
25-07-11 Im pregnant!!!
How do you feel when you see that first positive result, even though it was planned?
I guess a little shocked even though you expected it and then your mind runs wild! Were gonna be parents!! We are so excited and talking names already!
Early pregnancy although a huge blessing doesnt feel great, even before i had my first positive test I was feeling like my period was going to come on and I even had cramping in my lower belly.This was a huge worry because you automatically assume that these symptoms can only mean one thing and I didnt feel particularly pregnant or sick at this stage nor my breasts sore..convinced something was wrong I went to see my GP.
After reassuring me that the symptoms of very early pregnancy are pretty much the same as PMS and that I shouldnt worry myself too much, he booked me for a reassurance scan at my local hospital.
My husband and i sat anxiously waiting to see our little bean on the screen as the sonogropher pressed the ultrasound scanner over my tummy, we couldnt see much.
See that black circle there, that is the amniotic sac. But Im afraid theres not much else to see at this stage! said the lady casually . about 5-6 weeks development wise, we will have to see you again in 2 weeks.
Part of me wondered if this was normal, but tried to get it out my mind for what would be a long two week wait. Meanwhile my tummy was still cramping up and I was having frequent bloating episodes where my stomach would fill with wind bubbles and it was most uncomfortable. ( a symptom that I now recognise as how i feel at the start of a pregnancy)
At scan number two, I was hoping and praying there was a healthy baby in there! The sonographer showed us the tiny baby on screen although to me it was massive, that was OUR baby! It didnt really look like a baby though, it was shrimp like with no arms or legs! She pointed to the flickering inside our little baby Thats the babys heart beat, Congratulations, your measuring about 8 weeks
Elated, overjoyed and feeling almost like a little weight had been lifted, we skipped out of the hospital that day.
The next few weeks sort of flew by as we looked forward to our 12 week scan, a milestone in pregnancy. I felt great, I wasnt ever sick or nauseated. You had to opt out of neonatal testing rather than opt in so we werent really sure what tests were being done at this ultrasound but were aware they would be looking for things. Being young and healthy we werent concerned.
It was a different sonographer this time and he didnt really say much just pressed the scanner to my belly and our baby appeared on the screen. It looked a lot different this time, it was a proper little baby and I remember exclaiming to my husband that it had actual arms and legs now, the development over such few weeks left us gob-smacked!
Again not saying much, the man repeatedly measured our baby mmmiing, aaahing and moving his head from side to side peering at our baby. Anxious, I asked what he was doing. He told us that he was measuring our babys neck fold as part of the nuchal translucency test, and although he didnt tell us about any figures or what they meant, I could clearly see that our babys nuchal fold measured 2.8mm as he did it for around the fifteenth time!
We were guided round to see the midwives for some routine blood testing that the midwives had said was the second part of the nuchal translucency test but didnt say anything about our scan, so we left assuming all was well although I must admit, I was a little worried!!! My husband was trying to reassure me but I just didnt feel that things were right! Straight onto google as soon as we got in to the house. We all know that googling about healthcare situations never brings up anything good, or what we want to read, or I suppose even what were looking for but all that was coming up was pages to do with genetic defects, downs syndrome, chromosomal abnormalities, autism and various other health problems.
We tried not to think about it but about ten days later a letter landed on our door step which changed everything.
High Risk for Downs Syndrome 1 in 8. We need to see you for an urgent appointment it read. The appointment was at one of the bigger hospitals in the area not at our local one so that immediately placed a bit more stress on the situation. The appointment was within the next two days so we barely had time to think about it but we both agreed not to worry until we had something in stone to worry about; otherwise our minds would run away completely.
Im 23, my husband is 25, there is no family history how can our odds be so high was one of the questions on our minds!
We arrived in the special ultrasound department and it was here they explained that my blood tests were normal but the nuchal fold had measured high. They explained that with our ages our risk would normally be 1 in 1200 or greater, but it wasnt; somehow we were 1 in 8. They said at this stage we would be offered amniocentesis or Chorionic Villus Samplin and that the reason for our visit would be to discuss these steps in more detail.
They went over the pros and cons of having each test and not being a huge fan of needles I wasnt really up for either of the tests!
Having talked it over with my husband we agreed that because I am a natural worrier I (and very much we) wouldnt enjoy my pregnancy if we didnt know if something was wrong and in any case give us chance to prepare; so we had to do something. We never talked at that stage about what we would do if something was wrong, we wanted to wait and see what the results said before contemplating anything else. We already had so much love for our growing baby.
But Amniocentesis or CVS? The risks were about the same 1-2% of miscarriage, the higher rate of miscarriage being with the CVS simply because its done earlier in the pregnancy. Amniocentesis is done from 16 weeks onwards, I was 13weeks and two days, could I really wait another three weeks for the test??
I had the CVS done that day. It was guided by ultrasound so they didnt harm the baby. The whole procedure took less than 10 minutes and I didnt feel a thing except prodding and probing because they use a local anaesthetic. I had my eyes closed the whole time! It was uncomfortable afterwards and I had a small plaster on my lower abdomen, the same small round ones they use after blood tests (yes that small!!!) I had a few days off work to rest up and was feeling back to normal in a few days.
I got provisional results the next day by phone . All of which didnt make much sense at the time.
The baby has a chromosomal defect but its not downs syndrome as your bloods might have initially suggested . I could already feel her voice fading as I took in the first few words .
A balanced translocation of chromosome 3 and chromosome 8, and we THINK the baby is normal but the geneticist would like to meet with you both.
Would you like to know the sex of the baby she asked,
I quickly glanced over to my husband, who gave a quick nod.
Yes but how can you tell me im only 13 weeks I enquired .
Because we did a full genetic karotype, your baby is XY which means its a boy
The appointment with the geneticist was the next day, it was all happening so fast which looking back was great because although I can tell you it was stressful, I cant really explain the thoughts that were going through my mind because there wasnt much time to process all the new information.
The meeting with the geneticist went well and things were beginning to look up after about 2 weeks of solid worrying. He explained that the baby had balanced chromosomes of 3 + 8 but it was a straight swap; there was no genetic material lost or gained at the point of the swap. Basically we inherit 23 chromosomes from each parent and they match up from 1-23 at conception. Our baby has a chromosome make up of 3+3/8 and 8+8/3, the norm being 3+3 and 8+8. Less than 2% of the population have a balanced translocation but it so happened that either me or my husband was a carrier in this minuscule range.
He explained that we had to have our blood tests done to identify which of us, if any of us, was a carrier this because if it was a new thing starting in our baby then it could mean something different; but if it came from one of us, then the baby would be absolutely fine.
We had our bloods checked that day and had another anxious two day wait, although hopes were starting to rise!
The phone call came
Your husband also has a balanced translocation of chromosome 3+8, and he is healthy your baby will be the same. But we need to see you again in the genetic clinic to go over a few more things but rest assured your baby will be healthy
PHEW! Thats all I can remember thinking at the time and the huge smile that erupted that day and kind of never left! We never really considered what we would do if our baby wasnt healthy as we agreed before any further testing that we would only make a decision with our results. Thankfully we never had any decisions to make!
At our follow up geneticist appointment we met with a pleasant doctor who went into balanced translocations in a bit more detail. He went over the chromosome pairing again and explained that our future fertility might be at risk. There would be 4 outcomes to any future pregnancy
1) The baby would inherit normal chromosomes at conception.
2) The baby would inherit balanced chromosomes (like my son) and be a carrier.
3) The baby would inherit unbalanced chromosomes and this pregnancy would fail probably in the early stages.
4) The baby would inherit unbalanced chromosomes and have too many copies of either chromosome and have various severe difficulties and deformities. If this pregnancy made it past the early stages, there would be a risk of late miscarriage, still birth or the birth of a severely handicapped child.
In essence, were going to go through a lot with any future pregnancy and require further testing each time but focussing on the current, our baby boy is on his way and he is just like his daddy!
We didnt even had a week of non worry when i was about 14.5 weeks I had a bleed and was sent in for another scan. The baby was still doing great but a little bit of the sac had come away from the uterine wall and caused a small bleed, they reckon from the CVS but to be on the safe side, no sex throughout the rest of the pregnancy! Fine by me, but what about my husband?! Trivial in the sense that we had to protect our baby. Our relationship is strong and sex didnt matter in the scheme of things.
To me, every week was a milestone because I had so much worry from my very first pregnancy test; it seemed natural to worry until I had my boy in my arms.
The weeks progressed quickly. I had another scan at 17 weeks to make sure all was well after my bleed (just precautionary to make sure the area of separation had rejoined and it had.) On this scan it was confirmed that we were indeed having a boy, the evidence was clear. Our boy was getting bigger by the week.This was really the first time I noticed my bump too as I lay on the table.
I had my 20 week scan routinely and this was really the first enjoyable routine scan we had. The baby was growing well, sucking his thumb and again had his genitals on show! I even have a scan picture with him giving us the thumbs up thats when we knew everything was fine, a small signal from him meant the world.
I grew bigger, as did our boy, as did my husbands protection over both of us and our love for each other. We sorted out his room and began preparing things with a new found enjoyment.
I felt my first kicks around 22 weeks and I loved that feeling, I miss it now.
The rest of my pregnancy sort of passed with total enjoyment, I took weekly pictures of my growing bump, which I still cherish. I will say I was kind of obsessive over the babys movements and was worried he wasnt moving enough but the midwives were always good inviting me up the 4-5 times I called them between 28 weeks and 37 ish weeks to have him monitored. All was well and rest assured the moment the heart monitor belts were applied hed start jumping around.
One particular day I was bouncing on my ball, I was 37 weeks, I felt a gush of fluid between my legs. Its happening I told my husband phoned the unit and went in, he always remembers this night because it was the night Fabrice Muamba died on the pitch playing for Bolton. (He was revived)
They concluded that my waters were still intact although I maintain I had lost at least some however; Iwas allowed home and wasnt in labour. I had painful braxton hicks from this time onward, felt my body getting restless and our son pressing down in to my pelvis from this point preparing for birth.
I didnt enjoy the last few weeks of my pregnancy as it was getting painful on my small frame, I wasnt sleeping well due to frequent toilet trips during the night and the pressure of him bearing down was becoming so painful. I was also fearful of our babys impending birth and the unknown that comes with birth.
3 days before my due date, I was awoken in the early hours around 2 am, I really had to go to the toilet to pass my bowels, and I did so. I woke up my husband to tell him I wasnt tired any more and was going to catch up with some TV. I had barely sat on the sofa when i felt a HUGE gush of fluid .there was no mistaking it this time we were going to meet our son soon!
