Friday, February 2, 2007

Surprise ending

So last night I decided to go to the Emergency Room because my cramps had been so bad the night before and it was worrying me. I had read that 1 in 100 pregnancies is ectopic and it freaked me out. I just knew something was right, so we went.

We got to the hospital at 6:30PM and we weren't really seen until about 11:30. Wow. It was a really busy night. They did blood work and that was actually quite painful despite my not having an aversion to needles. I thought they were going to take every drop in my body. Hours after the blood work, I talked to my doctor and he told me that he was worried it could be ectopic which would be life threatening for me. He said they needed to do an ultrasound and a "female exam" to make sure the baby was in the right place and that my reproductive organs weren't damaged in anyway.

Hours after talking to him, a woman came in with a computer and a huge rocket shaped thing covered in a condom. When he said "ultrasound" I thought he meant an ULTRASOUND. But no, it wasn't exactly what I thought. I won't go into details, but I'll just say that I laid there counting and breathing and I hope to never be invaded like that again. So they waited on the results while I strained to stay awake. I listened to the patients in the curtain beside me and I could tell you all of his symptoms if you wanted me to.

Earlier in the evening, I had given a urine sample and it turned out that I have a urinary tract infection. Story of my ever- lovin' life. So I got antibiotics for that. Unfortunately, he decided to do a manual pelvic exam and I warned him that I might pee on his hand. Finally, around 2:30AM, we got the results from the ultrasound/sonogram, and blood work. He assured me that the baby was in the uterus where it belongs. I was so relieved. However, the cramping was being caused by a hemorrhage behind my placenta. He said this was really common and most women who experience it go on to carry babies to full term without a problem. So he referred me to an OB/GYN at a clinic and they will have to monitor the hemorrhage for awhile. That probably means that invasion wasn't a one time thing.

In the end, the doctor dropped us a little surprise. He said that he heard a heartbeat. Um... what? We're only four weeks along, the heart should still be developing! He said the heartbeat isn't usually detectable until about the 8th week, but we were a little early with the heartbeat and we're at 7 weeks now. So... surprise! We're about a whole month farther along than we thought. The baby's heart was beating 170 BPM, which is a healthy heartbeat. I was shocked, but so excited to hear that it had a beating heart!!

So anyway, every thing's OK and my level of stress went way down knowing that the baby is sitting right where it should be with it's little beating heart. It was the most expensive mind easing session of my life. But worth every penny.

-Alicia

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

How exciting! :)

Sorry to hear about that invasive exam. It's amazing how once there's a little life growing inside you your body isnt your own anymore, it takes on a whole new purpose and modesty will be a thing of the past!

Please let me know the date of your May baby shower, I can't wait!

-Katie