10 Weeks

Pregnancy, the loveliest and scariest thing a woman has to endure in their life as a mother. On December 24, 2019. That’s the day I ventured and took three different pregnancy tests. They were all positive! I was so excited I could give my husband the best Christmas present. I wasn’t ready back then to tell anyone else. I put together a funny Christmas card with Santa showing his butt. I taped the different tests on one side of the card, and bam!

After the new year we went to our first doctor’s appointment. At least in the US you need an appointment for them to confirm you’re pregnant, and then you can see a midwife or OBGYN. We went to the clinic on January 10th, and we were thrilled. Then, it all started. By “all” I mean the worry, the feeling that something is not right, the fear of losing our gummy bear. If your pregnancy is not a textbook perfect one, I guess you know what I’m talking about. That same day, during sexy time with le husband, we noticed I was bleeding. I ran to the bathroom, wiped, and the bleeding stopped. I stopped being too worried about it, because well, I bled for around the first 16 weeks of my previous pregnancy.

Fast forward a week, and le husband and I tried again to have sexy time, this time there was no penetration; 4h after the deed, I had a cramp on the left side of my uterus that lasted like a minute, and that night I started having tons of brown and light pink discharge. I didn’t worry a lot, I thought it was because of my uterus contracting, etc. That night I woke up at around 1am, and I was sweating like a pig! Soaking! I was feeling weak, and I went to the bathroom to just see more mucusy stuff coming out that was brown. I was so worried. I woke up the next morning, and shoved the two pregnancy tests I had left under the sink, and dipped them in my pee. I lost my strength when I noticed they both were very faint. I called the emergency line of my clinic, and after talking to the OBGYN, I was asked to go to the lab to get my HCG levels checked (​human chorionic gonadotropin),​ and to go back the next working day, which was a Tuesday due to a bank holiday. Long story short, my levels did go up, but were “too high”, and I was booked an appointment to get an ultrasound to make sure everything was OK.

The Day of the Ultrasound

The day of the ultrasound I was pretty nervous. We went together to the hospital, and we told Robbie we were going to see if there was a baby in my belly. He was excited. I go in the room on my own, and I can hear Robbie outside singing to the top of his lungs “Yellow Submarine”. It made it easier. Then the technician puts the warm gel on my belly, and starts looking at the screen and moving the wand on my belly. She tells me she’s looking at my ovaries, the left one, the right one… it seemed like an eternity. Then she switches to looking at baby, and she lets me see the little gummy bear. I can see that little flicker on the screen, which I know well it’s the heartbeat. Tears came to my eyes, and I felt so happy. That, believe me, it’s the moment when it feels real. There’s a baby! Baby was actually measuring a week older, so I was 8 weeks and 4 days pregnant that day.

After a little bit the technicians decided they needed to do a vaginal ultrasound. They don’t tell me why, they aren’t allowed. They said to each other they see something, and that they needed to have a clearer view. They just say they will send everything to my doctor, and that they will let me know.

They asked my husband and son to come in to look at the screen. That moment I just stared at their faces, and took a photo with my eyes in between tears. My husband’s face lost the hardness it had because he was also nervous. My son’s face was a mixture of surprise and fear. He’s almost three, haha! I assume it’s hard to grasp the whole idea of a little baby in his mom’s belly. Then he said the cutest thing, that the baby was washing their hands. They kind of are washing their hands at around 8 or 9 weeks.

The same day of the ultrasound, my OBGYN gave me a call to let me know they see a small subchorionic hematoma, and that that is what is causing the bleeding and discharge, and to give it a couple weeks. Am I worried about this? Not too much. I guess I’m a subchorionic hematoma maker. I had one with my son, and that’s the reason why I bled during the first 16 weeks of that pregnancy. This time it’s more brown discharge than anything else, luckily.

I’m 10 weeks exactly today. I just had my first midwife appointment last Friday, and we talked about a lot of things. With my last pregnancy I ended up having a premature birth, so they will be administering progesterone shots starting on week 16. Also, we talked about ICP (Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy), and got the corresponding bloodwork done. Last but not least, by the baby’s due date I’ll be 35, so I’m also considered of Advanced Maternal Age. Yay!

I’ll keep you posted! Michelle.

Author: Michelle Stephen

Michelle is a Mexican mom of a preemie little monster, Robbie. She is married to her best friend, Robert. They are so happy to be welcoming a little one to their family this summer! Michelle is a plant hoarder, baker, love maker, worrier. Michelle is also a volunteer for ICP Care and for Chicago Public Library. Michelle and her family live in Chicago. Follow Michelle on Instagram @monstruitomom & visit Michelle's blog at https://linktr.ee/monstruitomom View posts by Michelle Stephen