Its Official!

My doctor just called. Glad I did not wait for them to call me! My official number was 23.33. My next blood draw is 1/12. PRAY FOR ZERO!!

GREAT News Today!

Well, I went in for my 2nd post-op blood work today. My appointment was at 9:30, so I figured that I would have the results back after lunch.

When they did not call by 4:30, I decided to call them. Not the best time to find out your doctors office closes at 4:30.

Being the quick thinker that I am, I decided to text someone who works there, that also goes to my church. I don't like to wait for anything, so having to wait untill the morning, when I can call my doctors office again is torture!

She quickly texted me back..... my numbers were 23. TWENTY THREE!!! Praise God!!

Keep the prayers coming that I am at zero next week, and that my doctor is up on the new research, and lets us try again sooner than 6 months!

Christmas fun

I can't believe the holidays are over! They went well! My In-Laws came in for a few days, then my mom and her hubby came for a few days. I cooked a ham, green bean casserole, yams, stuffing... all the good stuff! We went to a Christmas Eve service, and went to look at the Christmas lights around town. All in all it was a good Christmas.

We got the decorations put away today, and in the spirit of looking forward, I applied to my local college. I have a lot of hours already completed, but decided a few years back that I wanted to be a nurse. It was actually my first choice, and I changed my major a few times. My goal now is to work in labor and delivery and be a lactation consultant. I am a little nervous about going back to school with a child, but I am sure it will be fun! Maybe I will even get to take a photography class or two!

I have my next doctors appointment Monday. Anxious to see where my numbers will be!

Some People.....

Are SO rude!! I had to go to the grocery store today... really did not want to, but I forgot to get chicken stock, and you can't make dressing with out chicken stock. So my mother-in-law and I braved the store. I saw a woman putting groceries in her car in the first spot, so I stopped my car, and put my blinker on. Several cars went around me as the woman started her car, then got out of her car and checked her tires. Just as she was pullng out, (she pulled foward) a woman from behind me pulled in front of me and took the spot!

I honked her, and she just smiled, kinda a smile like "HAHA I got it". So I parked farther down and as I was walking into the store (Mother-in-law and my son were in the car)I passed as she was getting out of her car. I decided that she needed to know that what she did was highly rude. So I said "You know I was waiting on that spot?" and she said "so was I" ... um... yeah right lady... you were BEHIND me... not the way it works. So I keep walking because its not worth getting into an argument in a parking lot on Chrismas Eve over a parking spot. Apparently its too hard to say I'm sorry...

I hope Santa brings her coal! You listening Santa? The lady with the out of state tags deserves coal this year!

Post-Op Appointment.

I had my post-op appointment today. So far all is well. We got a copy of the pathology report, which says they found “blood clot and decidua with admixed chorionic villi showing extensive hydropic degeneration. Note: The histologic features noted may be seen in partial hydatidiform mole” Ok, say what?? That’s what I said, so I turned to my good friend Google, and basically they found a blood clot, and the lining of the uterus mixed with placenta tissue, showing extensive fluid filled sacs.... which is seen in molar pregnancies. They are saying it’s consistent with partial molar pregnancies, but I still think mine was complete, because of the ultrasound. From what I found, the genetic make up is the only way to know for sure if it was a partial or complete, and they did not do genetic testing. From talking to people online that have gone thru this, all of the partial molar pregnancies saw the baby at 8-10 weeks with a good heartbeat, and then started bleeding around 12-16 and ended up miscarrying the child. We saw nothing baby related on the ultrasound, which is another reason I think mine was complete.

My doctor is letting me use a method of birth control known as natural family planning. Its basically where you don’t take anything, just monitor your cycle, and use protection around your ovulation days. I already monitor my cycle from trying to get pregnant, so that should be no problem. I just did not want to start taking birth control, just to have to stop when we are cleared to try again. The doctor did not mention how long we would have to wait until we can try again, but did say I needed to be zero for a few cycles. I have been doing research, and it looks like if your hCG levels drop to zero within 6 weeks of the D&C then you can try again after 3 months of zero. So I am hoping my doctor will follow this new research.

My lung x-ray was clear, which is great news, and the pathology report said that no abnormalities were found, so it was not cancer yet. My hCG was 55,195 on the day of the D&C and 535.24 today, so they have already dropped a ton! Of course, when you take out what is making that hormone, it’s going to drop a ton. He said it was such a good drop, he will see me again in 2 weeks for another blood draw. Im optimistic with the large drop, but I know it could still take a few months to get down to zero.

I am feeling a little better after this appointment, knowing my hCG was not too high to start with, so I don’t have as far to go.

In other news, little man took a tumble yesterday. He was out with daddy while I was enjoying a mom’s night out. He was walking outside, and tripped. His nose and forehead are all scratched up. He is not in pain from it, just looks painful! Here is a picture for ya...



Thanks for riding this crazy train with me. I hope my numbers keep dropping, and I can get off soon!

How Are You Doing?

Isn't that a silly question? I get asked that question several times a day. I know people mean well, but I don't even know how to answer that question right now.

We have a billion questions for the doctors. My first follow-up appointment is Thursday at 1 pm. I want to know what my hCG numbers were at my D&C, so I know how far I have to go to get to zero. I want to know if I am now considered "special" in the pregnancy world... do I get extra bloodwork, more ultrasounds, etc... when I do get to be pregnant again.

I am starting to feel better. I had a few drinks and a good cry the other night, and that seemed to help. I have realized that my health is the number one priority right now. I have found several groups on-line for people that have gone through this, so having them to answer questions is great too. I also met a woman at my playgroup (well- I already knew her- but just found out) who had this same thing, well- a partial molar- two months ago. Having people who have been where I am helps a lot.



If you want information about what this is, and how is happens, click on the banner above. Look at the INFORMATION page.

Thanks for all the comments, emails, prayers and thoughts. I really do appriaciate them, and I would thank each and every one of you individually, but I truley dont have the time.

Then Life Throws You a Curveball...

Well, I always wanted my children close in age. 2 years apart at the most. I was so excited when I got pregnant and found out they were going to be 21 months apart. PERFECT!! Everything was going well, I had early blood work, and my numbers doubled just as they were supposed to. I had started on progesterone because my numbers were low with my son, just as a precaution.

Yesterday was my first official OBGYN appointment. I was excited for the ultrasound. To see that little heartbeat. We get to the office, and go back to the ultrasound room. It was the probe ultrasound, which is vaginally. As soon as the tech put the probe in, I knew something was wrong. I could see nothing. No sack, no baby, nothing. Just white. That's when the tech started asking questions. Were my periods regular? Had I had any bleeding. She then told me what I knew already, that there was no baby.

She left the room to talk to the other ultrasound tech and to a doctor. Turns out I had a molar pregnancy. If you don't know what that is, welcome, I had no clue until yesterday. Apparently a complete (you can have a partial one too, I had a complete) molar pregnancy is when an "empty" egg is fertilized. The cells/tissue that form the placenta then grow out of control, taking over everything inside your uterus. A baby never forms in a complete mole.

I was taken back for a chest xray (because the cells are pre-cancerous, and can travel in your body, growing elsewhere), then sent to the hospital for a D&C (which is where they basically take everything out of your uterus).

I am home now, and feeling ok. I am very tired, and still confused as to why this happened to me. The odds of getting it in the first place are 1 in 1500.

The scary part, and the horrible part, is that now that it is out, I have to go thru twice weekly blood tests, then weekly, then monthly. They have to monitor my hCG levels very closely. Once they go down to 0, I have to then wait 6 months (with monthly blood work) before we can try again. If my levels stop dropping, or start rising, then it could be the cells growing again. Which could be cancer.

I am hoping and praying for the best, that my body gets back to normal soon. I know my physical body will heal faster than my emotional one.

Here is a picture of my ultrasound from yesterday, and a comparison one of my son at 8 weeks.

Sad World We Live In....

So we live in a very gang infested town. It is a rough town. But the east side of town is where most of the crime happens.

Not today. My husband and I were at a local bar and grill watching The Bears game. We noticed a ton of activity (police cars, ambulances, etc...) acoss the street at a grocery store.

Come to find out, it was a murder suscide! At 1 pm on Sunday, at a grocery store in the nice part of our town!!

Aparently two men were fighting for a while. Well, one goes to the store to get some stuff and the other guy was following him. So the one guy is in the checkout lane, and the other guy comes in, shoots him twice in the chest- killing him- then the shooter walks outside and shoots himself- killing himself.

How scary todays world is! When you can't even grocery shop without the fear of being shot! And you can't even eat without seeing the aftermath!

News Photos:

Best Birthday Present EVER

I just got the best birthday present ever. My son just took his first steps! The day before my 28th birthday.

Christmas Already?

I can't believe we are getting ready for Christmas!

Having a birthday in early December, I am not one to pull out the decorations until after my birthday. But this year is different. I have a child, who should be called a toddler, if only he would walk! I feel funny calling him a toddler, when he is not toddling... but that's a different story.

This year, we pulled out the decorations right after Thanksgiving. Put up the tree, hung the stockings, even put some lights outside!

Seeing the lights thru my sons eyes is amazing. His eyes light up as he stares at the tree in amazement! I cant wait until he is old enough to understand Christmas and all it has to offer.

Here is a pic of our tree!



Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to everyone!

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all. We had a great day! Got to spend it with family, which is always great. We are on the road, headed home again. Nothing like home! I am ready to pet my cat, and sleep in my bed!

Little man enjoyed his turkey! Last year he was only a month old, so no turkey for him then. He ate a lot of it yesterday. He also ate the cranberry sauce, not too fond of that. He had squash casserole, and sweet potatoes, and stuffing. He likes most of it. I think his favorite was homemade pecan pie!

Thanks Mr B for cooking for us all!!

Traveling SAHM

So this week is Thanksgiving. Wow. Seems like just last year we were taking our sweet child up to North Ga for Thanksgiving. He did a lot of traveling in his first year of life. We went to North Ga then to Tennessee for Thanksgiving last year. Then for Christmas, we went up to Chicago. After that, it was New York (Albany area) in March. This child has visited more cities in his first year than I have in my life!

We have no family where we live. So hince the traveling family. My husband was lucky enough to get the whole week off this week. So off to North Ga we go again. As I type, I am in the front seat of the mini-van, and hubby is driving. Our son is asleep in his rear-facing car seat. Hoping he sleeps for a while!

I brought my camera, and I am excited about seeing the fall colors up in North Ga this week!

My Favorite Pictures.

These are a few of my favorite pictures my camera has taken in the 2 weeks I have had it.

Golf.


My husbands favorite sport


A pretty flower


Another pretty flower


The river


A train bridge in my town.




I love this bridge!


Me


My son, the pumpkin picker.


Daddy with our son.


My camera.

Hiya!

Ok. Lets try to figure out this blogging thing. I really am looking for a place to give you a glimpse into my life. I am a SAHM to one son, who is 13 months (10-10-07) and I am pregnant again. I am due in July. My husband is in the Army National Guard, and we live in southwest Georgia.

I am getting into photography. I have been digital editing for several months now, and just got a Nikon D60 camera. I am in love with my camera!