The past three weeks have flown by! I had every intention of publishing this pregnancy related update on Monday {when I turned exactly 12 weeks pregnant}. I even had it all typed out and ready to go, just needed to put some finishing touches on things. It was a really quick and easy post as there wasn’t too much to report! However, at 12 weeks pregnant, I found out what a subchorionic bleed was.
To celebrate reaching 12 weeks pregnant, I had a snack and gave myself a break from work. As soon as I laid down, I felt the sudden sensation that I was peeing my pants. I couldn’t believe it. As I ran to the bathroom I was embarrassed thinking I was already losing bladder control. However, what I discovered was not embarrassing, but rather terrifying. My underwear and pants were soaked in blood.
Before I get into what came of this subchorionic bleed incident, let me rewind and catch you up a bit.
10 Weeks Pregnant
This was one of the best weeks of pregnancy in my life! Although I was in the middle of my two big bridal show weeks, at 10w4d, I had a check-up. Not an appointment because something was wrong, but just a “normal” person’s check-up. As the nurse checked me in, she said that because I was only 10 weeks, we may not pick up a heartbeat on the doppler. If that was the case, they would just do an ultrasound instead.
Well, of course we couldn’t find the heartbeat on the doppler OR a regular ultrasound. Even though I had been forewarned of this, I still got tears in my eyes and began to panic. However, my OB did a transvag ultrasound and there Cletus was. All big and grown since we saw the baby at 8 weeks. I couldn’t believe how much had changed! We could clearly see the head, body, arms and legs. But, the best moment was when he wiggled and danced around for us. I almost fell off the bed as I shrieked with excitement.
11 Weeks Pregnant
By Monday, my bridal shows were over, but Graham and I woke up to something very displeasing. Graham had a fever of 102.2! Because he didn’t want to get me sick, and because of how deathly terrible he felt, he was actually willing to go to the doctor. They tested him and it came back positive that he had the flu virus. It took a good solid three days for him to begin to just start feeling human again. Luckily, for the most part, I didn’t fully catch what he had. By the weekend, I wasn’t feeling great and had a VERY SLIGHT fever, but a couple of Tylenol, a bit of rest, and lots of liquids were all I needed!
12 Weeks Pregnant – experiencing the subchorionic bleed
Now that I caught you up on the past couple of weeks, I can get back to the week at hand.
Once I discovered the bleeding, I immediately called my OB’s office and they had me come in for an exam and they did an ultrasound. I cried all the way to the hospital and for 90% of the time I was at the hospital.
What they found was that I had a subchorionic bleed (hemorrhage) in my placenta. Long story short, my placenta was tearing away from the uterine wall, for reasons unknown!
But, Cletus was doing fine, had a strong heartbeat at 163, and was even measuring four days ahead {12w4d in size}. The even better part was the 3D picture we got to see! I believe my OB’s office is just testing out this new machine, but it meant we were lucky enough to have it utilized at this appointment. We got to see Cletus’s little eyes, nose, mouth, and the baby’s perfect little hands and feet. And, again, Cletus danced around for us. Seeing the baby’s face on the screen really hit home for me, though. I was still bleeding and there was nothing that anyone could do to stop it. So I stared at this perfect little baby growing away and there was nothing I could do to keep the baby safe. This is why I kept crying!
We didn’t get to keep a picture of the 3D look as the machine’s printer wasn’t cooperating, but I will never forget it!
I was sent home, told to rest, and we would all hope the bleeding would heal on its own.
By the next day, the bleeding had somewhat started to get better, but I started experiencing sharp shooting pain. So, back into my OB’s office I went. At first my OB was concerned it might be my appendix, but without a bit more time {to see if it got worse}, she didn’t want to draw that conclusion quite yet. Luckily the pain went away {with the help of a couple of Tylenol along the way}, so it was chalked up to an irritation caused by the blood in my uterus.
What it was like after the subchorionic bleed happened:
Since then, I have had a couple more “peeing my pants” incidents, but both times the bleeding stopped almost as soon as it came on, which is a very good sign. I was told that with a subchorionic bleed, it can take quite a while to heal, so I am not supposed to worry about more bleeding over the next couple of weeks, just as long as it stops quickly and that it doesn’t become heavier than it has been.
So, that’s where we are at! We have a beautiful 12 week old {and then some} baby, that is still showing it is growing strong, so I just have to let my body rest when it needs some time to repair itself from this tear! I go in on Tuesday for a check-up on all of this mess, so I will make sure to get an update up as soon after that appointment as possible.
All about being 12 weeks pregnant:
How far along today: 12 weeks, 4 days
The baby is the size of a: A Large Plum
The baby is working on: Most of the systems are in place and now just need time to mature. The digestive system is beginning to practice contraction movements necessary for eating and the bone marrow is busy making white blood cells.
Gender: Unknown
Maternity clothes: Just bought my first pair of maternity jeans, only so that I have something to wear other than yoga pants when I go dress shopping with a bride-to-be next week. Although I can still squeeze {technically} into my regular jeans, the bruises from my Lovenox shots cause so much irritation and pain, that I figured I should probably not opt to have that be bothering me the entire day!
Stretch marks: Not yet, but I have to be better about using the Palmer’s Cocoa Butter….things are starting to itch which I was told is a sure sign my skin is stretching
Belly button in or out: In
Sleep: Currently sleeping on the couch so that I am closer to the bathroom….until I get the all-clear that this tear in my placenta is healed, I worry about “peeing” my pants in the middle of the night
Best moments this week: Seeing Cletus’s little face on the 3D ultrasound
Worst moment this week: See above
Funniest {embarrassing} moment of this week: Nothing really, I have been too focused on getting better to really be embarrassed by anything {and it has been a rather serious week, not very much laughter}!
Miss anything: Not worrying every time I go to the bathroom {and thinking I am going to find more bleeding}
Movement: I cannot feel it yet, but seeing Cletus move on the ultrasounds was amazing!
Cravings: I could eat fruit, especially pineapple, all day
Queasy or sick: Just stuffed up still and although the queasiness is gone {for the most part}, I am still pretty finicky with what I think my stomach can handle at any given moment.
Looking forward to: The check-up appointment on Tuesday and I am praying that we get good news!
If you want to get caught up on our four-year-long story that lead up to this pregnancy, make sure to check out my posts as a part of the “Surviving Infertility” category.
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My Entire Pregnancy Story
This post was all about being pregnant with my first son, Laughton. After a complicated, high-risk pregnancy, he was born on Mother’s Day 2014 at 28 weeks with a rare condition and passed away shortly after birth. If you would like to read about what my husband and I experienced during the pregnancy, and as we began the grieving process, here is a list of all the posts in order for you: