The scariest evening of my life...

*Warning: This post may be a bit TMI for some people.  Continue at your own discretion.*

Yesterday, January 26th, I ran the Inaugural Town of Celebration Half Marathon.  My friend Kirsten was pacing me and we were aiming for a 2:45 finish.  For about the first 6 1/2 miles, we were doing a pretty good pace.  I think we were averaging around 12:30min/mile, doing intervals of 1:30/1.  Then, I had to slow down.  My legs were tired and I felt like I'd hit the wall.  For the rest of the race, Kirsten and I walked.  Our friend and fellow mama runner Olivia came back after she finished and found us between miles 12 and 13.  We finally finished.  I ran across the finish line and that felt good.  I'll have a post probably tomorrow that recaps the race.

I was so sore yesterday and still am today.  My legs, back, shoulders, arms and EVERYTHING hurts.  Last night, I had to go to Walmart to get some food.  I got home around 8:45 and went to the bathroom.  That's when I noticed the blood.  I was bleeding.  It wasn't gushing, but it looked like I might have been starting my period.  I know that it's common to bleed in the first trimester, but I've never experienced it before.  Suffice it to say, I started freaking out.  I wiped and while the toilet paper wasn't soaked through, the surface was at least covered.  I immediately called the answering service of the clinic in Connecticut since I'm still under their care.  They took my name and number and promised to call me back soon.  I made the decision to go to the hospital because I didn't want to take any risks.  I immediately texted some close friends, including Kirsten and Olivia, and let them know what was going on.  Both ladies said they were on their way to the hospital to be with me.  I also called the mom and left a message on her phone, letting her know what was going on.

I got to the hospital where I will eventually give birth and checked myself in.  It took about 20 minutes for them to even get my vitals.  As they were, the answering service called me back.  Unfortunately, I got very little reception in the hospital and my phone dropped the call.  They got me into a room and I got a text from Olivia saying she had arrived.  Before she did, the nurse came in to talk to me and asked me questions.  She asked me what I had done yesterday and I told her about the half marathon.  She checked me out down there and by that time, I had pretty much stopped bleeding.  That was a relief to me.  She said it was probably the running that had caused it in the first place.  She went out to get the doctor and Olivia came back and joined me in the room.  I immediately felt a lot better knowing I had someone there with me.  It was right around that time that my phone died, so I wasn't able to update anyone.  Olivia was in contact with Kirsten, who actually got lost on the way to the hospital.  While we were waiting, the doctor's med student came in and asked me some questions about the pregnancy and what I had done during the day yesterday.  He then went out to get the doctor.

The doctor came in and was very nice about everything.  He reiterated that it was most likely the running that had caused the bleeding.  They would obviously do an ultrasound just to make sure everything was okay.  They also needed a urine sample from me, but I hadn't had to pee yet.  Luckily, Olivia had brought water bottles with her, so I took one and ended up drinking all of it.  While the doctor was out and we were waiting for the ultrasound to be done, Kirsten arrived.  We had been told that only one visitor was allowed in the room at a time.  So, when Kirsten came back, we knew that she and Olivia were supposed to switch out.  Yeah, that didn't happen.  Trust me, I'm not complaining.  We all had a good time laughing and joking with one another.  They both made me feel more at ease about being in the hospital.  The fact that they would come out and join me without questioning it made me feel so happy.  I know I have other friends that would as well, had they been in the area.  My best friend Kelly would have in a heartbeat if she'd been able to.

Finally, the doctor came in with the med student.  I seriously had to pee at that point, but wondered if they'd be able to do a belly ultrasound if I did, instead of a transvaginal.  I really didn't feel like having anything shoved up there if it didn't need to be.  The nurse told Kirsten and Olivia that one of them had to leave.  Olivia stepped out cause she also needed to use the restroom.  She realized later that would mean missing getting to see the baby.  The doctor told me to go the bathroom and then we would see about the ultrasound.  I went and felt much better after I did.  I came back and we did the belly ultrasound.  The doctor could see everything.  The baby's heartbeat was the same as it was last week when I had my scan.  We even saw the baby move a little bit.  Kirsten got pictures of the baby to show Olivia.  I'll be sending those to the parents as soon as Kirsten sends them to me.  Lol.  They did a check to make sure everything looked good and it did.  I won't go into the gruesome details, but needless to say, Kirsten and I still managed to laugh.  We're not really sure the doctor, student, and nurse shared our sense of humor.

After that, it was just a matter of waiting for the release paperwork.  Olivia snuck back and got to see the pictures.  We continued to joke around.  The doctor told me that I will probably continue spotting for a couple weeks.  I shouldn't run until a week or so after I've finished spotting.  The doctor said, and I quote, "Running isn't necessary to living."  Kirsten and I were just like, "It may not be to YOU, but..."  I don't think he found it as funny.  Once I can start running again, I won't be able to run a half marathon again.  The most I'll be able to do, as of right now, is a 5k, and that will be walking.  Olivia and Kirsten promised to make sure that I follow doctor's orders.  We all left the hospital and went to our cars.  I'm so glad they came out to be with me.  I know I wouldn't've had nearly as much fun if they hadn't.

Today, I'm doing okay.  I worked for a few hours this morning at Macy's.  I've been resting the rest of the day.  I'm so bored, though.  Lol.  Needless to say, moving isn't much of an option since I'm still so sore.  Last night is obviously very much on my mind. I'm doing everything I can to be careful.  The next ultrasound is next Monday, February 3rd.  I'm sure everything will be okay.  I'll be anticipating it, though.

Keepin the fingers crossed

Today, I had another ultrasound and more bloodwork.  My progesterone levels weren't as good as they should've been last week, so I had bloodwork on Monday to recheck them.  Apparently, they were the same, so they had me increase the dosage of one of the medications and that seemed to work. They were happy with my levels.

The baby continues to look good.  It's measuring right at 8 weeks, which still makes my due date September 4th.  The heartbeat is nice and strong, so baby is thriving.  I'm pretty sure I figured that out from the constant nausea.  I've been on new medication to try and control it, but it doesn't seem to be helping too much, unfortunately.  I don't get sick, I just get nauseous.  I'd prefer getting sick cause then it would get out of my system.  On Sunday, I'm running the Celebration Half Marathon here in Florida with some of the other moms from my running group.  I'm pretty excited, especially since my friend said she would pace me for the race.  She's also promised to gently shove me to the side of the road if I look like I'm about to be sick and she'll hold my hair for me.  Lol.  Now, there's a true running friend.  I've got my outfit all planned out, too.  2/3 of it are here.  I'm just waiting on the vinyl now to put on my shirt.  I'll post pictures of it after it's finished.  :)

My doctor sent a letter to Disney stating that I need to be transferred out of food service because the nausea is so bad.  I also need to stay away from heavy industrial cleaners, as per my contract.  Disney is still processing the letter, but I should know something in the next couple days.  I really hope they can transfer me to merchandise.  I'd much prefer it.

That's pretty much it for now.  I'll write a post soon about the cravings, since I've already had questions on those.  Lol.  Thanks for reading and don't forget to ask any questions!

Change in plans

So, today, I had another ultrasound.  I'll have one every week for the next few weeks.  Everything looks good.  The baby had a normal heart rate of 131bpm.  He/she is growing like they should be.  We did discover something, though.  It looks like the baby continues to grow faster than we thought they would.  The due date was supposed to be September 12th, according to the date I got pregnant.  The baby has plans of their own because my due date is now September 4th.  I'm still thinking I'll be spending my birthday in the hospital, but we'll see.

Some people have asked about whether or not I plan to have another c-section with this baby.  The answer is, unequivocally, NO.  My OB doctor told me, after I had the twins, that I would have to have another c-section.  Honestly, I don't believe him.  When we went up for the screening, the doctor there asked me what I wanted.  I told him I want to have a VBAC and he said he saw nothing wrong with that.  If need be, I will be having an honest discussion with my doctor and will seek a second opinion.  I don't want to go through major surgery again if I don't have to.  It was difficult enough the first time.

The nausea continues to be bad.  The doctor called in a prescription for a new medication, but I haven't been able to find out if the pharmacy has actually filled it.  If not, we have issues.  I'll only be able to take the medication at bedtime, but I'm praying it will work during the day cause it's difficult to work when you're doubled over.

I went in and put in for a transfer out of food services at Disney.  I'd love to move into merchandise or work as a park greeter.  My 90 days is next week, so hopefully, I'll get a call soon saying that they have a spot open for me.  Keep your fingers crossed and send happy thoughts and pixie dust!

Race Recap

So, as most of you may have read, I did the Walt Disney World Inaugural 10k on Friday, January 10th.  I felt a little nauseous, but was confident I could do well.  I would run with a few of my friends and we'd all have a blast and it would be a great time.  Well, that was the plan, anyway.  It didn't really happen that way.

I started out strong and ran for a decent amount of time after I crossed the start lines with my friends. Then, we settled into our intervals of 1/:30.  In case you don't know, that means you run for a minute, then walk for 30 seconds.  We got past the 1-mile marker together and then we saw the first water stop.  It was about that time that I realized that I had to stop doing intervals that way.  I was getting dizzy and nauseous, all at the same time.  So, I slowed down.  I ended up walking a large majority of the last 5 miles.  I didn't stop for any characters and there were a few times I wanted to just stop altogether, but I knew I'd regret it, so I kept going.  I passed some of my fellow mamas and got high-fives, which helped a lot.  The humidity was rough, but being pregnant was harder, I think.

My next race is the Celebration Half Marathon on January 26th.  I'll be racing with lots of my mamas and I know they'll help me get through it.  That's what we do.  I'm looking forward to it.  It'll be my second half.  While I'd love to finish in 2:45, I'll be lucky to finish under 3 if I still feel like this.  The doctor is supposed to be calling in medication for me today, so I'm hoping to have it in my system by the time I run.

Here are a few of the official pictures from mine and Matt's races!  You can tell he had a lot more fun than I did!  They only got one decent picture of me, but got a lot of him.  :)

According to Matt, "Mickey's waving bye!"

I love this picture just because I look like an idiot or something.  He's having a blast and I'm worried.  Lol.

That's my baby!

So proud of him!

Action shot!

Another action shot!

The one good picture they got of me.  My legs look pretty good!

Oh, Hallelujah

Today, I had my first ultrasound.  It wasn't a normal ultrasound.  Because I'm not very far along at all, they had to do a transvaginal one.  Let me just say, it's beyond uncomfortable.  But, you do what you gotta do.  Anywho, everything looks fantastic.  It's all normal.  The baby's heartbeat was right on track for how many weeks I am.  According to when I had the transfer, my due date is September 12th.  However, the baby was measuring a week ahead.  It's still really early, though, so that can change.

The best part of today, however, was that I found out I'm pregnant with only one child.  Honestly, I'm pretty happy about it.  I was scared that the egg would split into two and I would have twins again.  I would've been okay with it if I had and I would've carried them.  But, I know what a toll it would have been on my body.  This way,  I'll do surrogacy at least one more time after this.  If I was having twins, this would've been the last time.  No worries, though.  :-)

I got a couple pictures to give the parents and sent them a picture of one of them.  Naturally, they're ecstatic.  I'll more than likely have an ultrasound once a week to make sure everything is progressing normally.  Bloodwork will be once a week, as well.  The nausea can go away any time now.  I'm so over it.  Lol.

Another highlight of today was that Matt got to do his kids race!  He did the 200m dash at the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend Kids Races.  He did such a great job!  He started off strong and never slowed down or stopped.  It's a vast improvement over the last race, when he broke down right before the finish line and dropped down to the ground and started crying.  I'm excited to see the official pictures of today's race.  Here are some pics I took!

Before the race, so excited!

After the race, before heading home.

That's all for today!  Tomorrow, I run my 10k with some friends and I'm pretty excited!  The parents are excited, too.  Their baby gets to run in his/her very first race!  Don't forget to leave any comments/questions!

Newest results

Well, I had more bloodwork done yesterday to make sure my HCG levels were rising appropriately.  They jumped from 404 on Monday to 2382 yesterday.  The nurse at the clinic said they would've been happy if they were 1200.  I just keep getting flashbacks to when I was pregnant with the twins and my numbers jumped really high and really fast.  They're going to contact me Monday to set up the pregnancy scan.  It'll probably be Wednesday or Thursday next week.  Man, I am ready for it!  Lol.  I'll probably be keeping my eyes closed because I'm so nervous.  That's weird, isn't it?  I'm nervous that it will be twins again, although I've already done twins.  Perhaps it's because I know what comes with carrying twins, including early bed rest, lots and lots of tests and scans, and no sex after a certain point.

Today, I think Matt and I will head to Disney World to celebrate me becoming pregnant.  Thank goodness he's too small for any of the roller coasters, except Goofy's Barnstormer.  We'll enjoy nice, quiet rides, like Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and the Carousel.  We'll also stop by and say hi to a friend or two.  I'm ready for it. We haven't been there in a month or longer.  I miss it and so does he.

I'll let you all know the results of the scan once the parents have been notified.  We'll see if there's one or two babies in there.  Lol.