Why Do I Have a Fever?

Things have been going really well. No problems. No spotting. The nausea is increasing, which doesn't feel good but it's a good sign.

Then last night I went to the bathroom and there was a small spot of pink on the toilet paper. My heart started pounding. I had also been feeling a little achy, so I checked my temp. I checked it several times. It got up to 99.2 at the highest.

Today it has continued to be anywhere from 98 to 99.1.

But thankfully there has been NO MORE spotting - just that small amount last night!!

But anyone who's ever miscarried knows that spotting and a fever are not a good combination. :( I just keep praying and trying to leave it in God's hands. Otherwise, I would be sick with worry.

Maybe I just have a virus or something... And the fact that the spotting has not continued is cause for celebration!!

Has anybody else experienced anything like this? Could it be that my temp is a little higher during pregnancy and it's normal?

Oh yeah, and a stray cat scratched me on Thursday. That hasn't eased my mind any either!!

Again..... I'm trusting You, Lord! I'm not going to worry!!!

Thanks again for all of your sweet comments. I have also had several comments from new followers which have made me feel so good. Thanks for reading!!

Welcome!!

I want to say a big Welcome to all who have recently started following my blog. As always, I'm humbled to know that you are interested in my journey and want to follow along with me. And I'm blown away by the wonderful support I've received from both old and new followers alike! Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!

I love reading your comments, and I am always encouraged.

So far I am still doing well. I am praying every day that this pregnancy will be normal and that our baby will be healthy.

Little Guy is also doing terrific!

Thanks again for all your support and especially your prayers! May God bless you!

Two Babies on My Mind

I'm praying for this sweet baby all the time. This is our darling 3 month old foster baby that I love as my own. One of my blog friends asked if we ever hear from his parents. Yes, we stay in contact with his birth mother. We have never met his birth father. Right now, it looks as though adoption is likely, but it's still too early to know for sure.

Little Guy is smiling all the time and on the verge of laughing out loud. He loves to play with his toys and read books. He is also a very good sleeper. Last night he slept over 10 hours!!! And he's only 3 months old!! He also is a great eater. Sometimes I call him my little piggy. :) I am so in love with him! I SO wish I could show you his sweet face. Several friends & family have commented that he is one of the prettiest babies they have ever seen. Of course, I agree wholeheartedly! :)

L-->R = Sun, Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri (the day I was supposed to start my period),....and Today

Okay, so don't tell me I'm the only one who's ever continued to take pregnancy tests daily to make sure the line keeps getting darker! :)

I don't think I'll go back this week and have more blood work done (b/c of the spotting I had). Unless I have problems, I want to stay out of the doctor's office as much as possible. After having 4 miscarriages I've learned that, in my experience, in the early weeks of a pregnancy there is just not much that can be done to prevent miscarriage. You are either going to miscarry or you aren't. (In MOST cases, but I know that some women can benefit from progesterone and other meds. However, I'm already on progesterone, and I've tried other meds that didn't work for me in the past.) So I've decided that with this pregnancy I am going to do everything I can do such as using my progesterone daily, resting as much as I can, not doing heavy lifting, drinking plenty of fluids, going to all my scheduled appointments. But beyond that, it is in God's hands. And I just can't worry myself sick!!!

Believe me, I have worried myself TERRIBLY in the past!!!!! I have just about made myself frantic with worry, constantly checking myself in the bathroom, researching everything on the internet, panicking at every cramp or funny feeling in my abdomen. And what good did it do me? None! It just made me miserable. So I am praying for peace and calm during this pregnancy. Help me not to worry, Lord!

And for those of you out there trying to conceive, I was able to conceive very quickly this time. I'll tell you what I used in case you want to try it too.

FertilAid for women http://www.amazon.com/FertilAid-Women-Female-Fertility-Supplement/dp/B0002G2M9Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1300111819&sr=8-1

Ovulation Test Strips http://www.amazon.com/Combo-Ovulation-Tests-Early-Pregnancy/dp/B000GI00GA/ref=pd_sbs_hpc_5

Mucinex 12 hour Expectorant (It's the one in the blue box.) http://www.amazon.com/Mucinex-Strength-Expectorant-Bi-Layer-28-Count/dp/B000V83X6Y/ref=sr_1_4?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1300111888&sr=1-4 I took it morning and night starting around ovulation and continuing for about one week total. Make sure that you DON'T get the decongestant b/c that will have the opposite effect that you want!

This is the 2nd time I've immediately gotten pregnant when taking Mucinex.

I hope this helps someone out there! God bless you all on this journey to motherhood! And God bless all of our sweet readers and supporters along the way!

No More Spotting + Answering Questions

The spotting has stopped! I'm staying encouraged. I'm not freaking out and doing bathroom checks constantly as I have in the past. However, one reason for that is that I am so early. My last 2 miscarriages were around 7+ weeks after hearing the heartbeat.

Another reason I haven't been worrying is because I've got our sweet foster baby on my mind so much. He is almost 3 months old now. We've had him since he came home from the hospital at birth. I am so so so in love with him. I feel as if he is "mine". And we are so hopeful that we will be able to adopt. I have been praying daily, hourly, almost constantly about this!

And the last reason that I haven't been freaking out is because I know that God is giving me peace. It's nothing short of a miracle of God that I am not sick with worry. Thank You, Lord, for giving me the strength I need!!

So back to the spotting....

It lasted about 24-36 hours. It was never bright red but always brown or pink. It was always very light and nothing like a miscarriage or period.

Implantation bleeding? I don't know. I read that implantation bleeding usually occurs about a week before your expected period. This spotting started the night before my expected period.

I can't remember if I ever had implantation bleeding in the past or not. But it would be interesting to know if I bled this time b/c now the septum is gone. Remember, septums don't get good blood supply, so if the baby implants there maybe there would be no implantation bleeding??? Just a theory! I may be way off!

Whatever the case, I'm just so thankful that I am no longer spotting. I'm trying not to lift anything too heavy, taking it easy and trying to drink plenty of fluids. I continue to use the progesterone suppository every night. My first ultrasound is not for a couple more weeks.

One of my sweet blog friends asked me if I'm using aspirin with this pregnancy. The answer is no. I took aspirin with my last pregnancy just as a precaution in case I had a clotting disorder. However, I still miscarried. I have not tested positive for a clotting disorder. In fact, on one lab my blood was slightly too thin. So with this pregnancy I will not be taking an aspirin. I do believe that some doctors prescribe it as a "just in case" treatment.

Another sweet blog friend asked me how many days past ovulation I am. To tell you the truth, I don't know. I used to keep up with my ovulation days. But after all the miscarriages, I got so tired of calculating and keeping track of all that stuff. So I just stopped. The only thing I have been keeping up with is the first day of each period. Then I would use ovulation test strips (which are VERY useful if you are trying to conceive!!!). But I stopped writing it down.

If anyone would like to contact me directly, please feel free to email me: creek jc @ nctc. com

xoxo,

Birdie

The Results Are In

I got the results of my HCG and progesterone today.

Wednesday

HCG = 95.6

Progesterone = 43.8

Friday

HCG = 252.1

The results are great! (Thank You, Lord!) But I'm spotting. It started yesterday evening. It's brown to light pink. So I may go back in next week for another HCG just to make sure it's still rising.

I'm cautiously optimistic!

Anyone else have any experience with early spotting like this? Of course, I automatically wonder about miscarriage. But I have heard of other spotting and not miscarrying.

First Lab

I LOVE all these encouraging comments!!! Thank you!! There are a couple of questions that you asked, and I will try to answer them soon! For now I just wanted to say that I got my HCG & progesterone levels drawn today. Hopefully I'll know something by tomorrow!

Picture of the Line

Well, here is the promised picture. I said that as soon as I thought you might be able to see the line that I would post the picture. This is my test from the this morning. Again, the line showed up slightly darker and a little faster this morning. And I didn't have to hold it up to the light and study it like a slide under a microscope! It was obviously there, though faint. My husband saw it right away when I showed it to him.

I still don't know if you'll be able to see it in this pic, though. You may have to click on it and see if it will enlarge so you can get a closer view.

Look closely. It's to the right of the dark pink line.

Let me know if you are able to see it!!

Also, thank you for your continued support!

xoxo,

Birdie

A Tiny Bit Darker

Can I first say that I love love love all your comments? Thank you!! It's so encouraging to know that y'all are reading & cheering me on and praying for me! I love reading every single one!

A couple of you also said you want to see a picture of my pregnancy test! :) Well, to tell you the truth, I tried to take one this morning. And you can't even see the line on the pictures!! It was hard to get it to focus correctly. And then you seriously need to zoom in or have a magnifying glass to see the faint line! But I promise you that in real life there truly is a very faint second pink line. And this morning it showed up a little quicker and was slightly darker than it was yesterday. I promise to post one as soon as I can get a good shot!

I'm still way early in my cycle. I'm not even supposed to start my cycle until this Friday, and I already had a positive on Sunday! I know the facts. I know about very early miscarriages and all the advice about not testing too early b/c so many pregnancies are lost to early miscarriage. But, as most of you probably know from experience, it's just too hard to wait!

This weekend has been SO emotional!!! First of all, we said goodbye to Big Guy Saturday. We haven't seen him since. (Thanks for asking, Erin B.) He was sick, so we didn't even ask about taking him to church with us. Maybe next weekend, I'm hoping.

Then on Sunday I got the positive pregnancy test. For those of us who have been through recurrent pregnancy loss, that brings a lot of emotions - both good and bad. It brings a lot of hope and excitement for what the future might hold. But it also brings a lot of memories of the past lost pregnancies, and fears try to creep in.

And being a foster mom is generally a roller coaster. Little Guy is on my mind a lot. I can't imagine life without him, but we know that he is not adopted yet.

So.... all that to say that I've been going through a lot emotionally lately. BUT I still hang on to God and know that He is in control!! He reminded me of that fact so sweetly today. I can rest because I know that He is in control. I don't have to worry and fret. I've just got to trust Him.

One of my best friends sent me her favorite Scripture today: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow has enough worries of its own" - Matt. 6:34

Isn't that so true! Today Little Guy is with me. Today I am (I think!) pregnant. I'm not going to worry. I'm going to trust in the One who holds the future!!

I hope that y'all have a blessed day and also put your hope in Jesus!

Very VERY Faint Line

Could it be??????????? This morning I had a very faint line on my pregnancy test. You practically have to have a microscope to see it! ha! I'll be retesting in the morning and probably every single day to follow!!!!

We told Big Guy goodbye yesterday. Jay & I both broke down at their home when we told him goodbye. It was much harder than we anticipated. Then when we came home and saw his little empty room it was so heartbreaking. But I'm SO incredibly thankful that they want to stay in touch. Thank You, Lord!! He is healing my broken heart and giving me strength. I am relying on Him to get me through this.

Saying Goodbye to Big Guy

Thanks for all your comments on my last post. I took the Mucinex. I wasn't really sure how long to take it, but I did make sure that I took it during my most fertile time plus several days after. Pretty soon it'll be time to start pulling out the pregnancy tests again!

One of my sweet blog friends also asked about what a uterine septum is. I had a uterine septum that my RE removed surgically. He thinks that may have caused my miscarriages. Basically, a septum is extra tissue that extended across the top of my uterus. I was born that way. The extra tissue doesn't get good blood supply, so when the babies implanted there they couldn't get the blood flow that they needed to thrive and grow. It causes recurrent pregnancy loss. My doctor estimates my chances of having a baby at 75% after the surgery. I'm hoping and praying that he was right!!!

We are spending our last couple of days with Big Guy. He's our 3 year old foster child - our first foster child who came to our home almost 6 months ago. Now he is returning to his parents. God continues to give me strength and peace. I can see that his parents love him, and I know it is time for him to go. But I will miss him. I'm sure there will be many moments of wishing I could see him and hold him again. He will always hold a very special place in my heart. He has taught me so much - about myself and about children. He has the best sense of humor and is so smart!! He has brought so much joy and happiness to our home. He is one special little boy! I do hope that they will stay in contact as they've said they will.

I am still praying daily for Little Guy too... The picture below looks a bit silly. But I'm not allowed to show his face. Therefore, I have to be creative! ha! Trust me, he is a living DOLL!!! I love him so much!

I hope you all are doing well. Thanks for checking in on me and reading my blog! :)