8 week scare

December 13th Happy Birthday Mom! Marty, Collins, and I had invited my mom over for a special salmon dinner to celebrate the big 5-4 :) I had an appointment to get my hair done beforehand and had just gotten home right when she walked into the door. Marty was preparing the fish and sides and Collins was excited that Nonna had arrived.

I on the other hand had just finished using the restroom. Crap I'm spotting. It is what I look for each and every time I use the bathroom. Having had a miscarriage before all my children I knew what it was like. This was different in color but still I was concerned and didn't want to just wait it out and see, my nerves are shot as you can imagine and unfortunately I wasn't taking any chances.

Sorry mom, can you watch Collins while we go to the hospital instead of eating this delicious salmon. Thanks and oh Happy Birthday :)

Marty and I just went across the street to the Edward ER since it was so close. All I needed was an ultrasound. All I needed to see was a heart beat and my nerves would be calmed. Well it isn't that easy. They don't know me, and they certainly don't know my story. I needed to have blood drawn, get an IV. Be checked by the on call OB vaginally, drink tons of water to be "full" for the ultrasound finally. 

After you see your baby's heartbeat you send a selfie :)

Marty and I sat in that ER room and just tried thinking happy thoughts. I remember being in a similar room right before I delivered Knox thinking he's fine, we just can't find his heartbeat. I looked at Marty and I said we need to pray together. I have prayed before to myself and Marty and I had together said something like "Please god let our baby be ok" each and every time something went arise with Sloane, Collins and Knox. However we've never really both prayed together. So we did. And it worked :) Four hours later the ultrasound tech took us back. I said to her please just show me a heartbeat and then do whatever else you need to do, I just need to see that flicker. Sure enough 154 beats there was our little gummy bear measuring one day ahead...

Our ultrasound tech was AMAZING! She showed up everything. Where the brain was forming, where my placenta was starting to form, the little legs and arms etc. How I have a cyst on my right ovary that is producing progesterone for the baby too! She was great. I couldn't believe it, everything was fine. They ended up not being able to tell me where my bleeding was coming from and it was more brown than anything so more than likely old blood, possibly from surgery or from an old period.

My HCG was a whopping 124,021. Between 7-9 weeks it should be between 7,000 and 229,000 (quite a difference) however I was more than enough so we were happy! I was told to be on pelvic rest (which duh we are) and to take it easy. I called Dr. Khater that Monday and he didn't seem too worried. I understand regardless at 8 weeks there isn't much that could have been done but to know that my baby was doing great was all I needed to keep me a little calm :)

I also did a little side by side of all the babies right around 8 weeks, except for Knox he was 10 weeks :)

From top left: Sloane, Collins, Knox, baby 4.0