Totally unplanned 2nd pregnancy!

[Glamazon482]

I had my son in 2003 when I was 21 years old. I have always been overweight. At the time of conception I was 5'9 and I weighed 300 pounds. By the time I was 11 weeks I had already gained 10 pounds. I found out I was 8 weeks on Christmas Eve of 2002 and my ex-husband and I were ecstatic! I was young and starry eyed and couldn't wait to meet my baby. I took my pre natals but ate anything and everything I wanted. The doc had been keeping an eye on my bp and I went into early labor at 6 months and had to stay in the hospital for 2 days on a Magnesium drip. (Ugh). The doctor put me on nifedipine to relax my uterus, which also lowered my bp. Around this time (sorry, can't remember exact weeks, it was 9 years ago!) I was also diagnosed with gestational diabetes. They put me on glyburide, but I was leery so I only took half doses and I was really too young to take it serious and didn't really monitor my diet of blood sugar like I should have.

By the time I hit my 7-8 months my legs and feet looked like tree trunks. My feet were so swollen that I could feel the tops jiggling when I walked. I put them up every night and eventually the swelling would go down. The day before my son was born I felt absolutely exhausted and swollen (plus it was the end of July and over 100 degrees outside!). My husband and I were out and about and when we came home that night I slept for 16 hours straight with my feet propped up. Only this time when I woke up they were still just as swollen as they were the night before. We headed into the ER around 11:30 that morning and they admitted me, ran a urine test (which I'm guessing came back with protein, I was too frazzled to ask questions), and asked me if I was ready to have my baby. I was 37 weeks and 1 day. They started induction around 12:30 pm. I labored comfortably until I was about 6-7 cm dilated, and then I wanted an epidural. The anesthesiologist came around 6:30 pm and it took about 45 mins to get it in. Not fun, but once it was in I was SO glad. I fell asleep for a few hours until the nurse woke me up around 10 pm and said I was fully effaced and dilated. They set up the stirrups and when she looked again my son was already crowning. I tried not to pay attention to the monitors when they took my vitals because I knew seeing high numbers would freak me out, but I do remember seeing a reading of 178/110 at one point. I only had to push about 4 or 5 times and my son was born at 10:51 pm, 6 lbs, 8oz, 19 inches. His heart rate had dropped right before I had started pushing and when he was born the cord was wrapped twice around his neck and once around his body. When they laid him on me he didn't move or breathe or anything. The NICU team grabbed him and I remember watching them work on him while the doctor sewed me up (I had a 2nd degree tear). He never cried or made any noise. They let me and my ex-husband hold him long enough to have our pictures taken and then they whisked him away. The next 2 days I was only able to see him in polaroids that the nurses would bring me. He had fluid in his lungs from coming out so quickly and they were underdeveloped. I went home 2 days later, but he had to stay in NICU for 10 days. After my son was born my blood pressure and blood sugars went back to normal until a few years later, I graduated from college and started working and having high blood pressure readings. I took 2 different bp meds for 4 years and then had surgery to correct sleep apnea and no longer needed the BP meds, so I havent been on any in over a year.

My (now) husband have been together for over 6 years and we got married on 10/22/11. We went to Jamaica for a week for our honeymoon and I came down with a cold while we were there. We returned home on 10/30/11 and I noticed that I was feeling absolutely EXHAUSTED. Not only that, I also felt depressed, anxious (I have suffered from panic attacks since I was 11 years old), nauseated and queasy. After 4 days of this I decided I needed to see a doctor, I thought maybe I had caught some disease or something in Jamaica or maybe I was anemic. My doctor's office couldn't see me, so they referred me to the ER. I went there on Friday 11/4/11. My BP was 159/100 and my pulse was 110. After tons of tests the doctor came in and told me that my HCG levels showed that I was about 3-4 weeks along. To say I was shocked is a complete understatement. I have totally irregular periods and I havent even had a period since June! How the heck did I ovulate without a period?! In 6 years of not using any protection we have never had any pregnancy scares or anything. I cried all night Friday and most of Saturday. I felt so hopelessly depressed. Sunday was better, we got out of the house and did some shopping. Today I have my first appointment with my OB. I do not want another baby right now. I am still very overweight (323 lbs) and don't feel like my body can handle this right now, not to mention my emotional health. I weigh as much now as I did when my son was born. I am a christian so I have mixed feelings on abortion. I am just SO SCARED of having even more complications than before and this time I have so much more to lose. I keep thinking of what will happen if something happens to me and my son is left without a mother? It is making me a nervous wreck. I have been monitoring my bp at home and when I am up and about its about 160/100, but if I am laying around and totally relaxed its 120s-130s/70s/80s. I am just a big ball of nerves, I can't eat, I can't sleep. I've lost 7 pounds since Friday. I guess I just needed to vent to some other moms out there. But any advice or words of wisdom are most definitely welcome.

[lennoxlm1]

Wow! What an unexpected blessing! As a mom of three now I am so nervous about this pregnancy, I will wake up in the middle of the night afraid something will go wrong with this pregnancy,
I am also overweight, and what has always helped me is joining a water arobic class during my pregnancy, it's low impact on my kness, hips and back but it helped me with my weight gain and my blood pressure, I changed my diet extremly! I have only gained five pound so far and I am 19 weeks along. And the biggest thing for me was finding a good OB and a good MFM who will support and understand my up's and down's.
I will be praying for you and your family!

[Glamazon482]

Thank you! I had my first OB appointment today. The ultrasound showed a sac that was measuring 6 weeks, but they were unable to detect a heartbeat. However, they said that it could very well be due to my size, so I go back for another ultrasound on the 18th. I told the doctor about all my worries, cried some, and even almost threw up because I was so nervous, lol. She said let's worry about this next ultrasound first, to make sure this is a viable pregnancy, and then we will worry about the rest. Thank you for prayers! They are much appreciated! Good to know I'm not going through this alone! Good luck with your pregnancy! Oh and thanks for the water aerobics idea, I am going to check into that! I have been taking walks with our dog in the mornings after I drop my son off at school, but soon it will be too cold for that.