FEELIN' ALBRIGHT: Pregnancy Update: Weeks 17-20

Yesterday was my 20 week U/S and the good news is the baby looks great and is developing wonderfully. All the very important pieces and parts are where they need to be (we didn't find out the gender but even if we wanted to we wouldn't have been able to; legs were crossed even though the baby was moving and grooving all over the place for the tech) and baby is thriving en utero. Would it be a doc appointment/pregnancy that goes without bumps in the road for me? Of course not.

Bad news is that they found a large exposed vessel blocking my uterus where the baby would exit vaginally that could rupture at anytime. This condition is called vasa previa is VERY rare (1 and 2,000 pregnancies will have this); lucky me!! First off, there are WAY worse things that could happen & the best news is that baby is healthy. The scary news is if I begin to bleed at any time from here until 35 weeks I will need to be on hospital bedrest (I am already on pelvic rest: no gym, no sex, no orgasms, #killmenow). IF the vessel ruptures it is fatal to the baby within minutes so that's why I may have to be admitted to the hospital if at any point bleeding, labor signs, shortening of cervix, etc occurs. There is a possibility that as my uterus grows upwards towards my breastplate the further this pregnancy progresses that will also tug the placenta upwards a bit and that vessel can move away from the opening of my vagina. Please pray that this happens!! I will be monitored every two weeks at this time with more ~~dildocams~~ trans-vaginal ultrasounds so luckily they caught this early and we will be able to stay ahead of the curve. The ideal case here is for the baby to get to 35 weeks then schedule a C-section to avoid the exposed vessel bursting during labor and delivery. Should the baby not make it that far along before I begin to show labor signs, we'll do a C section at that time and be spending some time in the NICU. What I'm most dreading is the hospital bed rest. The doctor said at earliest I will be admitted at 28 weeks, but what they typically see is 32 wees admittance. So, looks like we'll be meeting this sweetie as early as end of March/beginning of April vs. mid May. Hoping and praying for not a second sooner. Trying to stay calm, positive and keep it together when all I really want to do is scream at the top of my lungs "REALLY?!! I CLIMB MT. EVEREST TO GET HERE & NOW I HAVE ANOTHER UPHILL CLIMB?!! REALLY!!!!???"-- then I immediately begin to beg God again to protect myself and my baby. I know he didn't get us this far to abandon us, so I'm just trusting in that for now.

Maternity Clothes/Clothes: yep! and some of these cozies will have to be ripped out of my cold dead fingers PP! Leggings, long tanks, loving being pregnant in the winter.

Weight Gain: 14 pounds.... Its not easy to see the number on the scale, but now that I know I'm MORE than halfway through my pregnancy (if I deliver beginning of April) I'm not as worried about the weight. Especially b/c I'm more worried about a life or death evil vessel monster in the way of my dream vaginal path and no drug induced birth plan. Still trying to wrap my head around the C-section part, clearly.

Stretch Marks: None yet! I've been using true coconut oil- "the black girl kind" thanks to my African American homies that made sure I was hooked up with the good stuff.

Movement: Lots of movement!! Thank God! I love it...such a fun little experience only shared by the two of us (next to Blair feeling it kick and my Mom too the other day). Turn some jams on and this baby starts poppin' it and droppin' it. Yep, it's my kid.

What I'm loving: Ugh, Oreos. Someone take them off the market so I'll stop. Dipped in a cold glass of milk? I die. I've limited myself to 5 each serving, and I only splurge about twice a week on them-- But I still feel guilty. Cereal constantly, cant get enough (also bad)...hmmmm what else? Fruit until I'm about to make myself sick & Chic Filet Chicken Sandwiches-- it's the only way I'll eat chicken.

Sleep: Already starting to get uncomfy now that my belly is actually popped out (wtf, I have no abs to roll over?!) and of course I've had this sinus stuff going around so I cant breathe. BUT, the body pillow is absolutely magical. Best invention yet.

Things I miss: red wine of course, and getting in hard workouts. I also miss feeling rested, already. I'm always tired, it's a part of me now.

Energy: see above. Tired often but god bless naps! Luckily I'm not back to work until 1/5 and lord knows what the rest of my itinerary will look like with this vasa previa travel wise so just playing it by ear and taking it one day at a time.

Workouts: Workouts were great and happening about 3x weekly until yesterday. You may be reading about me in the papers since I now have ZERO outlet for relieving stress. Pelvic rest is a cruel cruel joke-- but hey--i'm not messing around here and will follow doctors orders for the health of this little nugget. It just may require me to be an angry, fat slob for awhile.

Symptoms: The stretching & splitting of my ab muscles is the most noticeable and painful for me, but next to that some days I forget that I'm even pregnant.

Ultrasound, 12/29: Trying to focus on the sweet smiling baby in these U/S pics and not this colorful vessel that's running down my uterus-- prayers that in 4-6 weeks I'm in a totally different seat than I am now and that it doesn't reside in a hospital!

Sweet Baby A smiling en utero!

apparently this is hard to catch on the US so props to my tech for catching it early.... this is Vasa Previa

In other news, my friend Brittany helped me to get started on the wainscoting wall over Christmas break that I've been wanting to do myself, so that was VERY helpful. With my math/measuring skills we could have been in trouble. I'll post the "how to" in a few days for those who may have interest in doing it to a room in your house. It cost $100 and only took a few hours. It was a really easy project with a dramatic look! We put the crib back together and sat it in the room, but we still need to stencil the top of the wall above the wanescoting and get the rest of the decor in place. All of that is currently being sped up a bit (I'm glad I got a head start on this wall now) since we don't know for sure when the baby will arrive now. Here are some before/during/after pics! Stay tuned for the final nursery reveal but here it is at this time.