Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Into the 6th Week!

Rupert celebrated being 5 weeks yesterday so I'm officially in my sixth week. Rupert is now the size of an orange seed. Starting to feel the nausea a little more and intense tireness. Imagine having a lunch full of carbs and having that crash mid afternoon - now, times that by 100 and that's what it feels like for me from around 10am until I go to bed. The nausea only happens in the morning at the moment and generally goes by mid morning, once I've had something to eat. I've been a little tight with my band over the past couple of days so haven't been able to eat much, so the nausea has lingered a little. Today I'm going to eat little and often and see how that goes.

Still petrified that I'm going to lose the little tiny thing thats growing inside of me. I've heard of so many people having miscarriages right up to week 12, I still have over half way to go until the end of the first trimester when the threat of miscarraiges drops by 98%!! Half of all miscarraiges happen before the woman even finds out she's pregnant, so fingers crossed this little guy (or girl) is stuck in their nice and good and is growing well.

Over the next few weeks is when most of it's organs grow, so it is extremely sensitive to toxins etc.. So I'm being extremely cautious about eating artificial sweetener and caffeine..

Hope everyone is well!

LBG xx

Saturday, October 24, 2009

HCG Levels are Positive!

Had a blood test yesterday to test for the pregnancy and the results have come back saying that its positive! I still can't believe it, so surreal! according to the levels it puts me at between 4-5 weeks pregnant which is true as Rupert is now 4 weeks and 4 days old. Almost the size of a sesame seed now. My little bub is growing so fast!! hehe

I have to book in for a 6 week scan in a couple of weeks, that will hopefully show a heart beat. Then it's back to the doctors for another chat and a referral to an OBGYN. I've already selected who I am going to go with, a family friend of my dads who he used to work with. And I've already booked in with the hospital I want to give birth at.

We haven't told many people yet, and we are going to keep it private until Christmas. I'll be nearly 14 weeks then. We're going to let our families know on Christmas day... not sure how we're going to tell them but I don't know if I'll be able to keep the secret that long!!! Good thing is, is that we'll have a proper ultrasound pic which we can copy and give to everyone as chrissy presents! Maybe attach it to a "Keep this date free" card.

Lapband wise - everything is fine. I'm going getting any Morning Sickness yet, just really hungry. I've been trying to eat as healthy as possible although the snacks are getting in there a little. The restriction comes and goes... yesterday I ate 2 bread rolls!!! CRAZY! I'm also very very low in iron, so I've started taking iron supplements.

Have a great weekend :)

LBG xx

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

4 weeks 1 day

That's how old my little poppy seed sized embryo is right now. Well that's what I've estimated it to be. It's name is Rupert... such a cute name. DH says it reminds him of the cartoon teddy bear, a name we would never give a real child though... but cute for a tiny ball of cells :) This week Rupert is starting to form 3 layers which will eventually become a neural tube - this then develops into the brain and spinal cord. I'm diligently taking my folate and iodine to prevent any defects

I hardly slept a wink last night which didn't help that I was flying to Adelaide for the day today. I'm so tired. I have felt slightly sickly this morning, but nothing major. Also have felt more twinges down in my uterus... so I guess things are happening down there. I'm petrified that Rupert won't stick... so I'm trying not to take much notice of the twinges, but they are pretty constant now.

I rang my fertility specialist this morning and told her I was pregnant. She was thrilled. She said that my progesterone was really high for somebody who just ovulated, so she had an inkling I may have fallen pregnant but of course couldn't tell me that. So now I'm off to my local GP on Friday for a confirmatory blood test. Not sure how long that will take to come through... pray this weekend goes fast!!! Just to clarify, I didn't take ANY medications to help me with this pregnancy... this is o'naturale... but I was supposed to start ovulation stimulating medication this month!! Clomid was the name of the drug.

Band wise I'm doing OK. Just can't get full. Feeling the restriction, but always hungry. Am very conscious of what I can and can't eat now... so no soft cheeses... which I love :(

Thank you for all your beautiful comments. They mean so much! :)

I'll be keeping you all well informed of Ruperts progress :)

LBG xx

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

I'm Pregnant!!

I'm in SHOCK. Complete Shock. Here I was thinking that it was going to take months to get pregnant and 2 pregnancy tests have confirmed. Now I just have to get to the doctor to get a blood test done to confirm...

So pregnant with a lapband... this will be interesting! I'm due for a fill on 4th November, but now I don't think I should get one... especially if I've got morning sickness.

No symptoms so far... except for some funny feelings down there... kinda like twinges... but not uncomfortable.

Here's to a happy and healthy pregnancy!!!

I am 4 weeks pregnant! Due 29th June 2010 (according to my calculations... I could be wrong!)

LBG xx

Thursday, October 15, 2009

So What's Next??

I saw my specialist today and was pleased with the session. With PCOS I have a strange FSH:LH ratio.. which is one of the symptoms. FSH and LH being two femal. The other symptom being irregular periods. Which I also have. I also had a glucose tolerance test which told me whether or not I am insulin resistant. Good news is that I have absolutely NORMAL GTT results, which means I am not at risk for diabetes. The other good news is that I potentially could have ovulated because my oestrogen levels were higher... actually at a level that meant I could have ovulated last week... YAY! So I had further blood tests done today to see what's happening with my hormone levels at this point in time to see if I've ovulated or not.

So where to now? Well, my specialist discussed ovarian stimulation - giving me medication (clomid) to stimulate ovulation and then having timed intercourse around the time of ovulation (hubby is pleased that we have to do the deed at least once every second day, but preferably every day around ovulation.. hehe). Then I have a blood test on day 21 to see what my hormone levels are like (to see if I've ovulated) and if I have, then it's fingers crossed to see if I'm pregnant... OR... if I haven't ovulated then the next cycle the clomid amount is increased... I will start my first cycle at the beginning of next month! :)

Seems simple right?

And on the lap band front, nothing much is happening. Bread is on the menu which is a no no, so I think when I go back to fill doctor I'm going to get more fill put in.. Am loving the extra veges and fruit and salad I'm getting in me, but I'm getting hungry in between meals... which isn't good. But I've almost had a mind switch where I want to eat well for a potential pregnancy... my specialist said that she didn't want me restricting my food intake too much... but I definitely still want to continue to try to lose weight in the meantime.

OK that's it from me for now... will keep you updated!

LBG xx

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Trying to eat more carbs

I'm truely trying to eat more carbs, but I'm struggling. Even the wrap that I had for lunch didn't go down and I only ate half. I've got the other half here, which I'll try and attempt in a couple of hours time... managed to get an apple down though!

Will let you know how tomorrow goes!

LBG xx

Monday, October 5, 2009

Carbo Loading?

On Wednesday I have to go for blood tests and a Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT)... all to do with getting a better idea of what's going on with my and my PCOS. The laboratory where I am getting my bloods done has told me that I need to "Carbo Load" for 3 days prior to my GTT, I guess so that they can get a good idea of if I am insulin resistant (one of the symptoms of PCOS). So tell me, how does one with a LapBand Carbo Load? Seriously? I can't eat bread or pasta and I very rarely eat rice or potatoes... Those foods just don't like my band.. but I don't want to go and eat simple carbs such as sugar, biscuits, ice cream etc (well, I would, but I know that would be absolutely no good for my weight loss..).

I'm going to make a wrap tomorrow for lunch as I made a wrap for lunch today and it went down great, and tomorrow night I'm going to make fish and mashed potoato. I've also bought a crapload of fruit today - mango's, kiwi, watermelon, rockmelon, blueberries - so I'll try and get some fruit in me tomorrow as well. But other than that, that's all I can really think of!

Anyhoo, wish me luck for my tests. I find out the results next Thursday 15th October when I have my next visit to the specialist. I'm hoping that she'll talk more about my ovulating drug option - taking clomid to induce ovulation and hopefully pregnancy. Will keep you posted!

In other news, I've been severly jetlagged from my trip to Germany. it's 8pm and I'm completely wiped and I've been home two days already! I've just been too exhausted to get to the gym - but I will go tomorrow morning! Trip was great, but I totally got fat on European stodge... damn cheese and liverwurst! But, that's OK... I'm OK with it all. I'm now back, and my focus is on eating well for the possibility of falling pregnant in the next few months...

Actually, to tell you the truth, there is a slight (only a very very slight) possibility I could be pregnant now... I've never felt this tired before and I had some "twinges" down there... not sure what it all means, but lets just say that we haven't been careful over the past month... But trying not to read too much into it.. lets just see what the doctor says! :)

(it could just be jet lag and wishful thinking... )

LBG xx

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Travelling and the Band

Siepie posted a comment about travelling and the band. How do I cope? what are my experiences?

Well first of all, I didn't get any fill out. I've had this band in long enough to know what I can and can't eat.

When I travel, especially overseas, I am usually lucky enough to travel business class because of work. This means that I get access to a lounge and nice comfy chairs on the flight. When I fly I never feel hungry at the right times so I generally try to eat regularly and I definitely try to drink loads and loads of water. I always have an aisle seat as I have had times where I have needed to PB because I am in a weird sitting position when I eat. Usually on my flights I get offered a 3 course meal. Generally I just have a few bites of each course and a baileys on the rocks to finish (which normally knocks me out cold and I get a bit of sleep!!).

I've had some good flying experiences when having the band. I thank god for my band when I'm in conferences for 5 days as they seem to want us to eat every 2 hours! The band really does help me limit my eating, especially because I LOVE trying new foods.

Hope this helps all you other travellers out there! Feel free to ask any other questions you may have.

LBG xx

P.S Jet lag does suck. I was hungry at 3am so I got up and made myself some mashed potato!! Crazy!