My Pregnancy Journey Part 2
Last week I shared my experience finding out I was pregnant for the first time, having a miscarriage, and what it was like to have a D&C procedure. In part 2 of my pregnancy journey I am going to share my post D&C experience and what recovery looked like to finding out I was pregnant for the second time!
I was very fortunate to have time off work to recover after the D&C, although the doctor had told me I basically could return to work the next day. With my schedule and with the kindness of my manager, who encouraged me to take as much as I needed, I was able to essentially have 2 weeks off work. Bryan was also on vacation so we were able to have some quality time to recover and have a mini staycation. It was January and quite rainy so we mostly stayed home, ordered take out, went to the movies, and I picked up sourdough making. I am grateful that we had this time to grieve, cope, and process what had happened and I know that this is not the case for everyone.
After a D&C it is normal to experience bleeding and cramping. Other symptoms may include fever, tender or painful belly, blood clots, or unusual vaginal discharge. You also typically have to take a round of antibiotics to help prevent infection. Pain medications are prescribed to help with any pain or cramps that one may experience. I don’t typically like taking pain meds, but I think I ended up taking one that night when I got home and a 600 mg ibuprofen the next morning more as a precaution than anything. All in all, I didn’t experience any pain or cramps. What I did experience was bleeding that lasted the entire 2 weeks from the procedure till my follow up. I stopped bleeding for 2 days and then starting bleeding again for another 2 weeks. It wasn’t heavy, but more on the light to medium side. It was hard to tell if it was still a result of the procedure or if my period had come back to some extent during that time. My doctor had no concerns as my follow up check looked normal.
I did start tracking my basal body temperature again and observing my cervical mucus, but it was really hard to tell where I was in my cycle. I did start to experience symptoms that reminded me of my estrogen dominance. I was getting headaches and having spotting so I incorporated beets and cruciferous vegetables to help support getting rid of any excess hormones. My period did come back mid March. About a week after my period ended, I believe I had ovulated due to the changes in my cervical mucus. A week later I experienced some spotting, which wasn’t totally abnormal for me, and lasted for about a week. When I was pregnant the first time I did experience light bleeding a few days before I was supposed to get my period, which again wasn’t totally abnormal for me, but then the day I thought my period would’ve started, I suddenly stopped bleeding so I took my first pregnancy test. This time around I tried not to think anything of it but I did take a pregnancy only because we had plans to go out with some friends and I knew I’d be drinking. The test was negative.
It was now mid April and about a month after what I think was my first cycle after having the miscarriage. A few days later I took another test because I still hadn’t gotten my period and my temperature had stayed elevated above 98 degrees Fahrenheit. My temperature is normally in the 97 degrees range, so for it to be above 98 degrees made me think maybe I could be pregnant again. This is how I also knew I was pregnant the first time because my temperature had stayed elevated well above 98 degrees. Progesterone, which is known as the pregnancy hormone, stays elevated to support the early stages of pregnancy. It is a warm hormone meaning it may raise a female’s core body temperature. I took a test and this time the test came back with a second blue line! I was slightly shocked, but also didn’t want to get too excited because of what happened the first time. That was my reality. I held myself back from getting excited out of fear that I would experience the same heartbreak.
Bryan and I alternate planning date night each month and this was my month so I decided to plan my date night around telling him I was pregnant again. I wrote down options on sticky notes for dinner and an activity that he had to blindly choose from. The last option was for boy or girl. When he selected that sticky note he had a confused look on his face and I pulled out the positive pregnancy test. He was so surprised! He thought I already knew the sex of the baby, but I actually just needed a fun way to tell him the news! He picked a girl and we enjoyed a date night in ordering sushi take out and taking the dogs on a walk. As I’m writing this we still don’t know the gender yet!
I called the doctors office and scheduled our first appointment which wasn’t until mid May. You could say I was a bit anxious leading up to the appointment. On the day of our appointment we got checked in and the nurse took my vitals. I got undressed from the waist down while we waited for the doctor. About 5 to 10 minutes later, we were still waiting, and the nurse came back in to say the doctor was stuck in surgery and asked if we could come back later that same week. We obviously didn’t really have a choice, but agreed to reschedule. This was a Monday and the soonest we could get rescheduled was Thursday afternoon. Wednesday morning I woke up to get ready for work and when I went pee I noticed a little pink on the toilet paper. I started freaking out, but tried not to think anything of it and finished getting ready for work. Nothing else happened the rest of the day. I didn’t start bleeding any more and so I tried to not overthink it but couldn’t wait to have our appointment the next day.
Luckily I got done with work early on Thursday so I could leave and go straight to the appointment. The last thing I wanted to do was have to go back to work, regardless of the outcome of the appointment. This time we got checked in, the nurse took my vitals, I got undressed, and we waited for the doctor to come in. As soon as she came in she asked if she could go straight to the ultrasound before we do anything else and we couldn’t agree more. I needed to know what was happening in my body with this baby.
She did the ultrasound. I had no idea what we were looking at, but she pointed out the fetus and turned on the doppler to hear the heartbeat. There was a heartbeat! It was the most surreal moment and something I will never forget. It was truly magical!
I don’t remember much of the rest of the appointment because my emotions were all over the place, but this time filled with happiness, gratitude, and excitement. The doctor did point something else out on the ultrasound that helped explain why I had some pink on the toilet paper the day earlier, but I’m going to save to share in my next post on my first trimester recap!
