10 weeks!  Into the double digits now!  I am 25% of the way there!  (Kinda, those first 4 weeks should hardly count, though they have nervous anticipation of a different sort.)  I am starting to feel like this little one is actually going to stick.  It still feels so surreal, but it’s getting a little more real . . . day by day.  There’s actually not a lot to say about today, but rather than try to split everything up this time, I’m just going to tackle one beast of a post.  Because Sunday, and Saturday to a lesser extent, were quite exciting.  And not in a good way.

Saturday afternoon, I noticed a scant bit of bleeding again.  It’s not like it came out of nowhere, and I was grateful to have a pretty good idea of where it came from/what caused it.  And it was just a LITTLE.  But it is just soooo frustrating to think I’m *finally* done spotting and then to start up again.  I had just messaged my doctor’s office on Friday afternoon, since the nurse had requested an update at the end of the week, that I never bled again since Tuesday.  Saturday night after my shower, I noticed that I bled more.

Sunday morning, I was bleeding again.  Still not a lot, but not what I’d call “scant” either.  And it was the first time I truly bled two days in a row.  I was so discouraged.  I contemplated skipping church because of potential weather and I’m extra paranoid about being out in torrential rain with a precious baby in the back and another in my belly.  But we went anyway.  When we finally resolved to go, we didn’t have a lot of time to get ready.  So by the time we were heading out, we felt rushed and cranky.  Plus I was still on edge about the bleeding.

I skipped singing in choir because I didn’t even want to have to stand up that long.  Even in Sunday School (I will probably never stop calling it Sunday School), I was just mentally not there, which is horrible.  Then in service, I couldn’t even stop crying, which I hated, because I really really hate crying in public.  My confidence was failing . . . I was scared.

By the end of the service, I was pretty composed.  There was a light rain, but no big deal.  Nothing like what I’d halfway expected.  We had our usual “what on earth are we going to do for lunch” discussion, and I unenthusiastically agreed to Wendy’s because I didn’t have any better suggestions.  (All food still sounds gross to me, plus we were tired, and we didn’t want to spend the bucks on a “real” restaurant.)  Usually, IF we fall back on Wendy’s, we go to one that’s NOT closest to home because the one by us is not that good (and by “not that good” I mean “even worse”).  But today I told Pete I was going to the one closest to home because it’s the easiest to get home from (rather than going weird ways in the rain to avoid impossible left turns).

So I was driving down the road, just a few miles away from the “restaurant,” when I approach an intersection and the light turns yellow.  I had enough time to stop, so I did.  It wasn’t necessarily a comfy coast-to-a-stop kind of stop, but I would have been speeding through a red light had I tried to make it.  I didn’t stop that fast, and I didn’t have any trouble stopping.  Not sure how much time passed–had to have been seconds–when I saw a car in my rear-view mirror NOT stopping.  I’m not sure what alerted me to the situation–the car approaching me scarily fast, or the sound of her brakes.  But it was not looking good.  (It was apparent that she was trying to stop, but I can’t say when she started trying to stop.)

I crept forward as much as I felt I safely could, but by now the light was red.  My hope was that I could give her enough extra room to stop.  Or at least lessen the blow.  (Yay those physics classes came in handy after all.)  Well, I was not able to prevent it, but I guess it could have been worse.  We experienced some whiplash . . . well, Pete and I did.  S is still rear-facing (yes!), so it was truly no big deal to her.  (Pete said he asked her if she was okay after it happened, and she just looked at him like, “uh, yeah, why wouldn’t I be??”)  I talked to Pete about calling the police since I didn’t have my phone, and my brain must have stopped working for a moment because I totally forgot I was able to drive around to not block traffic.

We spotted the other driver who had already pulled into a parking lot, so we stopped next to her.  The rain had already stopped; in fact, I’m pretty positive it had stopped before the accident took place.  But the roads were a little wet, and it was a lower lying area.  She said she’s sorry and she hydroplaned.  Finally, we called the police, which I wanted to do for insurance reasons.  Felt like a long time waiting for the policeman to arrive, though probably not as long as it seemed.  He asked the other girl what happened, and she told him.  Then he just turned to me and said something like, “She said she hydroplaned, pretty straightforward.”  I was like, “yeah….”  I kept expecting to have a chance to give some kind of statement, but I never did.  It kinda bothered me, but I guess it didn’t matter.  I just didn’t want anything to bite me in the butt later.

In the end, the officer told the girl he wasn’t going to give her a ticket because she hydroplaned and it’s not like she did anything illegal.  In a sense, I was kinda glad for her because she seemed like a nice girl and not necessarily irresponsible.  I wasn’t in her car with her to know what she was doing, so maybe it really was just a bad luck day.  In another sense though, I was concerned that an insurance company would see it as no ticket = no fault = not paying.  The traffic report should have just been available today (oops it was Wednesday when I typed this part), and I haven’t gotten a chance to look at it yet.  But from all my conversations with her insurance company, SO FAR, it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be an issue.  They just accept that since she rear-ended me, it was her fault.

Finally we were all done, so we got our food and went home.  Between the bleeding from earlier that day, and then the incident going home, I ate my food (as much as I could stomach), then put myself to bed.  I called my parents to tell them what happened before I put anything on facebook.  My mom of course was concerned, and my dad was ticked that the other girl didn’t get a ticket.  Then I posted to facebook (I know, insert joke here).  Some friends urged me to go to the ER, but I wasn’t really sure if I’d experienced anything ER-worthy.  It would put my mind at ease, for sure.  But I didn’t know if it was reasonable.  The jolt was similar to some roller coasters.  Not necessarily dangerous to the average person, but still, pregnant ladies aren’t supposed to ride roller coasters.  Plus I didn’t know if it was something that could have exacerbated the SCH.  I called the nurse on call again and mentally prepared myself to wait for what felt like forever for a call back.  It didn’t even get that far though because the last nurse I talked to asked me if I was having any bleeding. Well, I was this morning before the accident, but nothing since.  Any cramping?  Well…yes…not necessarily anything new though….  I was told that cramping meant I needed to go to the ER.  Alright well that made that decision for me.

Pete called my parents and asked if we could bring S over, and they said yes of course.  So Pete got things together for S to spend the night at my parents’ house again (if it took as long as last time, we’d be way past her bedtime getting out), then I pulled together some snacks and entertainment while I waited for the washer to stop (it was 15 minutes and I wanted to be able to put the towels in the dryer rather than have a moldy mess when I got back).  I was getting a little impatient waiting for Pete to get back, and I was debating whether I should chill and wait for him to get home and move the towels…or if I should try to move them so we could leave sooner.  I was getting more restless waiting, so I decided I’d move the towels.  It’s not like it’s a rigorous activity.  I stood up from the couch, and the cramping suddenly got worse.  Not severe, but still worse.  I sat back down and decided to wait for Pete.

Finally, Pete got home and we were on our way.  I was not in the mood to sit at the ER for hours and likely have dinner at 9:30 pm or so.  I could hardly eat lunch, so I knew I’d be starving soon.  Still, I was eager to HOPEFULLY get some very reassuring news.

My memory is not the best at this point (I started this post on Monday, but now it’s Friday), but I think by the time we got to the hospital, and I got off the phone with the other girl’s insurance company to be able to check in, it was around 5:00 pm.  Like before, I told a woman at the front what I was there for, and she wrote it down on a paper.  I thought it was weird that I told her I was pregnant, but all she wrote down was MVA (motor vehicle accident) and abdominal cramping.  This time, instead of having me sit in a small waiting area for check in, they just sent me straight to the desk.  They asked the usual questions (mainly identification type stuff) and printed off my bracelet (which fit a LOT better this time…I even had to cut it off later).  Then they said they’re getting ready for me and that we could just have a seat “over there” (she gestured to the next desk over which no one was working at that time).  I looked around at the waiting room–I could pretty much see all of it from my vantage point.  It was maybe a little less busy than last weekend. I wondered if they would do any of the same bloodwork over because that would be pointless.

I quickly found out that, if you go to the ER saying you’ve been in a MVA and report ANY level of abdominal cramping for ANY reason…they do not mess around.  Someone was around within just a couple of minutes to take us to my room in the ER.  (!!!)  I felt kind of bad like I was cheating the system somehow.  I knew for a fact I wasn’t hurt personally.  I just needed to know baby was okay.

The only lab stuff they did was a urine test, which I think they do on everyone.  And it did make sense to do anyway.  I was somewhat less obsessive about doing a perfect and contamination-free urine sample (necessary precautions taken, just not as extreme)–or maybe I am finally becoming more adept.  So I did that and walked back down to my room and answered the nurse’s questions.  I think it was stuff like what happened, were you wearing your seat belt, etc.  Pete asked if I could have some water because for whatever reason I didn’t make it out the door with one and I was thirsty and trying to stay super hydrated (and I never dreamed I wouldn’t have a chance to hit up a vending machine after I got there).  The nurse said sorry I should probably be seen by the doctor first.  So then we waited for the Dr to come in.  I think it was at this point that I realized that I was in a trauma room!?!?

After a relatively short wait, the ER doctor came in.  I can’t remember his name this time.  He talked to me some more, can’t remember details.  Then he checked stuff like making sure I can turn my neck certain ways, looked in my ears, I’m guessing stuff they need to check after a MVA.  I was glad to have that done too.  But then we talked about baby stuff.  Main thing was going to be ultrasound.

The Dr was nice and brought me some water, then we waited for me to be carted back to the ultrasound room.  It was the same sonographer from last time.  She asked if my symptoms got worse, and I explained that we were there for an altogether different reason.  She didn’t even mention anything but over the belly this time, and I didn’t even really need to pee that bad (yet).  She brought the baby up on the screen, again measured a few things–this time measuring exactly on schedule based on LMP (9 weeks, 6 days).  Then we got to see that beautiful heartbeat again.  I can’t believe I’m failing to remember the exact bpm–I should have gotten around to typing this sooner!  I think it was 176 bpm, slightly faster than before.

The BEST part though was all the moving around baby was doing!  It was truly astounding the difference 8 days makes.  Last time the baby was basically a lump just laying there on his or her back.  But this time, baby was quite active!  It was like we had a tiny dancer in there.  And the little arms and legs were much more prominent.  🙂  It was really, really cute. 🙂  Pete got a phone pic again.  Hard to really see but:

Pete also asked some questions about the SCH.  I wasn’t sure about asking because (this may just expose my ignorance but) I didn’t know if the sonographers were expected to interpret data or just gather it.  I mean I know they know HOW.  But since nothing was said last time until we spoke to the doctor, I wondered how much she could say.  She said it was still there, but still small.  About a centimeter in one dimension (which would be about the same as last time at 12 mm) and about 5 mm in the other dimension.  Which was slightly bothersome to me, but only slightly, because as she pointed out, my uterus has changed a lot in the last 8 days also.  The main thing was that, based on the color, it appeared to be resolving.  I will take that.

I was feeling very reassured.  When we got to the room and saw the doctor again, he said he didn’t see any need to do another internal exam since it was done last time and they established that the os was closed.  I think he said, “if that’s okay with you.”  YES, that is okay with me.  We saw admissions AFTER we saw the doctor this time, and this time they gave us stuff to give to the other driver’s insurance company rather than paying the $150 ER copay.

OH and they hooked me up to the disposable blood pressure cuff and pulse monitor again, both before going to ultrasound and after.  Last time, I wondered if those cuffs were faulty or if it was improperly applied because they didn’t put it on until I got back from ultrasound, and it was pretty low.  This time, before going to ultrasound, BP was recorded at 129/78, which again is kinda high for me, but hey circumstances.  I can’t remember heart rate exactly, but I think it was something like 98 bpm (don’t quote me on that).  After I got back from ultrasound, BP was around 110-115/60ish, so it really is lower after I calm down, I guess.  And pulse was a little higher than the previous weekend, but lower than earlier that day.

Peace of mind really is good for a momma’s health.

Oh and just looking back over my paperwork, it looks like I’ve gained a good 5 lbs already.  Haha right on.  I think it took me the whole first trimester to put on 5 pounds with S.  I can’t remember.  Maybe if I combed through old blog posts I could find out.  But it’s fine.  I don’t even care about weight gain as long as it’s enough and I don’t go nuts of course.

By the time I was discharged, I really DID need to pee.  So we stopped for that, then we were on our way.  We weren’t there NEARLY as long as I was prepared for, maybe a little over 2 hours?  But still it was after 7, so I called my parents to see if it was okay if S stayed.  We technically had time to get her, but we needed to eat, and if we got her, I was afraid she’d take too long winding down for bed on a day when she didn’t get a nap.

We went to a Japanese restaurant that we enjoy.  And for us, that place definitely counts as a date place at dinner prices. 🙂  But it was wonderful.  I think our next date night should not start with a trip to the ER, but it was nice.  And the food actually REALLY hit the spot.

We went home, showered, and crashed.

On Monday, I spent the morning answering a lot of phone calls, mostly about insurance stuff.  Also, when I was about to get online to message my Dr’s office about Sunday’s adventures, I saw I already had a message from them.  It was, in part, to reply to my message from the previous Friday saying I hadn’t bled anymore (at that point), but my Dr’s nurse also saw about the accident and asked if I was okay.  So I wrote up a quick reply, but basically everyone was up to speed.

In the midst of all the phone calls, I was also trying to get my tax checks ready to mail (it was the 14th).  So not very exciting.  Finally I had to go get S though from my parents’ house.  Because 1) I really missed her, and 2) it was lunch time.  Turns out my kid missed me a lot, so I didn’t manage to mail my taxes that afternoon (yay last-minute on the 15th), but I took her to the mall with me.  I got some work done there.   Not stellar parenting, but S was an angel for an hour playing on my computer while I caught up on some paperwork.  Then I took her to Claire’s for the first time.  Without going on a complete tangent, let’s just say I’ve created a monster.

So anyway, 10 week stuff.

New fruit week: baby is about the size of a prune.

Cartoon baby: I started this post on Monday when I actually turned 10 weeks, and now it’s very late Friday night (actually 11:59…how am I still up????)  At least I got it done before 11 weeks.

Since I’m here now, a quick update on the more recent days: Busy with work and such, but a delightfully uneventful week pregnancy-wise!  I haven’t spotted since Sunday morning, so that makes the longest I’ve gone without bleeding since the bleeding began.  Yay!