15 weeks

The big thing this week is at my appointment it turns out my thyroid levels are high. My tsh read 25.91 and the upper limit for where I am in the pregnancy is 25. (Why do I always get so close to the margin?) Now in general this isn't really a big deal. It indicates hypothyroidism which means my thyroid isn't producing enough. As long as it's managed there should be no impacts to the baby. Update which you will see next week- the limit for pregnancy is 2.5 and my number was 2.591. More to that though.

Side note, this can cause miscarriages so it makes me wonder if this is what caused my two miscarriages. That would actually be a relief (to have a possible reason). They SAY that you can't do anything to cause a miscarriage but it's something that I will never stop questioning myself on. And it makes me very very very grateful that I have Neil and that this pregnancy has been ok.

So I'm a little concerned it wasn't identified until now and hoping that there haven't been any impacts. They didn't even test this on me when I was pregnant with Neil, though, so I could have had the same issue and been marginal for what is okay during pregnancy. I have an appointment with an endocronologist on Thursday so I'll find out more.

Now the big thing that is freaking me out. Blood draws. Yes, blood draws. Multiple. From talking to some people and my good friend Google it looks like you really need to be monitored throughout pregnancy since levels are all over the place to begin with. From what I can see it can be between 4-8 weeks for blood draws. I do not know how I will handle this. I'm not freaking out as much as I did when I thought I might have Gestational Diabetes with Neil, because that was 4 blood draws a day and I had to prick my own finger which just drove me over the edge thinking about. But still. I have to admit I've cried several times. And while maybe I've been more tired and stuff than I would have been because of this, and medicine will fix it, that's something to look forward but I'm having some trouble trying to look past additional blood draws. I am so grateful for this pregnancy. I love this baby already. I love Neil. I will do this. But it's going to take some sucking it up and is going to be very difficult for me. 

Yeah I look like a dork. I took this on request.
Taken 10/3 so about 15 and a half weeks.

How many weeks: 15 (9/30/14)

Size of baby: An orange and measures 10-11 cm or 4.0-4.3 inches. The baby also weights 100 grams or about 3.5 ounces. The baby only grew a centimeter in length but his weight doubled within the last week alone. 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Down 5.5 pounds overall. I am the same as last week.

Maternity Clothes: Not yet.

Gender: Boy

Movement: I don't think I'm feeling any movement yet. I still question it at times but it's not definite.

Sleep: I am really tired. See above for maybe why. I was just assuming it was the combination of being pregnant, being older this time, having a toddler at home, and getting up really early for work, but now we'll see I guess. I think I'm feeling a bit depressed about the blood draws. This past weekend I slept a lot and was still really tired (thinking more depression there).

What I miss: Nothing really. I know I'm getting really boring.

Cravings: None.

Aversions: I still go through periods where I just don't feel like eating. I only report my weight weekly but I do weigh myself daily so I know my weight has been fluctuating a lot through the week. I think this is based on how I eat that day.

Symptoms: Just tired and feeling worn down in general.

Best moment this week: Dave's birthday! It was fun giving him presents even though Neil kept taking them for himself and saying "mine."

Looking forward to: I want to get Neil's new room (guest room) picked up and ready for him. I'm not sure when we're going to do this but I'm looking forward to it. I'm also looking forward to a trip to visit my sister in Savannah.

Same this time: I said this last week but I was tired last time too. Sleeping 11 hours on the weekend and I didn't say how many hours above but I slept a lot. (Neil did interrupt my sleep though, especially one night- he's had a cold and his coughing wakes me up.) It looks like I was still struggling a little bit with aversions as well. I can't remember when that really stopped last time. And it's not really aversions it's just a blah I don't feel like eating that.

Different from last time: Last time I was insisting that I was getting bigger. Taking pictures showing how my stomach was getting bigger. Ha! This time I'm insisting I'm not getting bigger. And refusing to admit that in a bit I'm going to need to be changing clothes into things that aren't as tight. Even though I am not showing, my butt is definitely getting bigger. I don't remember that from last time (probably happened) but I was also so focused on my stomach and thinking I was showing that I don't think I paid attention otherwise. Or maybe with this being my 2nd pregnancy I'm growing faster, just in other ways.