A Scary Morning

I woke up this morning to excruciating pain in my lower left side. It was a deep, aching pain in my lower belly, all the way through to my back, and I even hurt in my hip and down into my groin. I got out of bed and went to the bathroom, the pain getting worse with each step, then began pacing around the house. The pains reminded me of labor pains, but they were only on one side and I could tell my uterus wasn't contracting. Brad had gotten up with his alarm a little while earlier and was in the living room, laying on the couch and trying to get himself awake. I went in a told him what was happening, how I couldn't get relief from this pain, how it was taking my breath away, and so after several more minutes of debating whether we should, we started getting ready to go to the hospital.

We woke Aiden up and took him with us to Baylor Garland, jammies and all. He was wearing his Superman jammies with the cape on the back, so everywhere we went, nurses and doctors were exclaiming how cute he was and how lucky they were that Superman was there. I didn't have to wait at all and was taken back quickly. The pains had lessened somewhat, and would feel better for a while, then come with a vengeance. The doctor did a pelvic exam, some blood work and sent me for a sonogram. Everything came back normal--Ms. Bean (and yes, the sonogram today still showed it was a girl) is growing exactly on track and was kicking around and showing off for the camera today. We even got to see her try furiously to get both of her thumbs into her mouth to suck--too cute! She kept rubbing at her face and trying to get that thumb in, and I think she finally succeeded.

As far as why I'm having the pains, the doctor's thought is they are muscle and ligament cramps from my uterus stretching, but I'm not convinced. I have had round ligament pain plenty of times before and this is definitely different. They sent me home with some strong painkillers to take and told me to follow-up with my OB-GYN tomorrow, so we'll see. But at least we know baby is doing well and all of the really scary things (problems with the placenta, etc.) have been ruled out.

Here are the sono pics from today. The pain is coming back, so I'm off to drug myself. I'll keep you posted!

14 Week Sonogram

Today was the appointment with the high-risk OB, and although we still don't know what caused the illness in Mommy and how it is going to affect The Bean, we did get some great news. The Bean is growing right on track, is perfectly formed, and is quite active! The Bean jumped around, turned and looked at us and waved, and spent the sonogram kicking and showing off. Brad and I were so relieved to see the baby. With everything going on, our worst fear was that we'd show up for an appointment and there wouldn't be a heartbeat or baby would have severe complications. And although we're not out of the woods, this good news is exactly what I needed to help lift my spirits and get me through this wait.

We even got to learn the sex of The Bean today! Although it is still a little early to be certain, it appears that The Bean is... A GIRL!! Both the doc and the sonogram tech agree. (Mom--no rushing out to stock up on pink just yet--it is still early, so they could be wrong!)

Brad and I are ecstatic! However, we're not quite sure how Aiden is going to take the news. He has been adamant that this is a boy--"That's my brudder in there," he tells everyone. We've decided to hold off on telling Aiden the sex for now--we figure we'll wait a few more weeks until we're certain before bursting his bubble. In the meantime, we'll be trying to wear down his defenses. "You know, it could be a little girl in there..." and the like.

My cousin, Quinn, will be happy to hear that the baby is a girl. Quinn has accurately predicted the sex of 4 or 5 pregnancies now! When we were in Oklahoma for Mother's Day, he touched my belly and nonchalantly announced that it was a girl. Looks like Quinn has a gift! That's one talented kid!

We'll keep you posted as we hear more news. Keep praying that all goes well and that The Bean stays healthy.