21 weeks, 2 days

Let's talk Fibroids.

On Monday at my most recent appointment we got the results back from my big anatomy scan.  The good news?  Muppet is as healthy as can be diagnostically determined!  Everything appears to be in the right number, right location, and working as it should be.  Muppet is right on track in terms of length and weight.

BUT (as you may have guessed from the first sentence) the ultrasound revealed that Muppet isn't the only thing growing in my uterus.  The scan revealed that I have two fibroids on the lower right of my uterus.  This wasn't incredibly surprising or distressing to me.  My mom had issues with fibroids when I was younger, so it made sense to me that they may be an issue for me also.

Depending on what source you look at, between 25% and 75% of all women of child bearing age have fibroids.  Most go undetected because they're symptomless (like mine).  In fact, if I never had an ultrasound, I may have gone my entire life without even knowing.  And there's absolutely no telling how long they've been there.

So what's a fibroid and what does it mean? If you start doing research you'll note that a lot of descriptions of a fibroid is a "benign tumor" which sounds scarier than it really it. A tumor is just when tissue grows in a place it doesn't usually grow.  A fibroid is basically when muscle cells grow where they shouldn't.  Uterine fibroids are when those muscle cells are in/attached to the uterus.

The location of the fibroids plays a large role in both symptoms and potential pregnancy complications.  There are three main types of fibroids, illustrated below:

 The Intramural Fibroids are the most common, forming within the uterine wall.  Depending on their size, they can cause heavy menstrual bleeding and/or pelvic pain.

The Submucosal Fibroids seem to be the most complicating from what I can gather - because they form on the inside of the uterus, they can interfere with implantation and potentially, based on size and location, may lead to an increased risk of preterm labor or miscarriage. Like the Intramural, heavy menstrual bleeding and pelvic pain are also associated with this variety of fibroid.

I've got the Subserosal variety.  This one forms on the outside of the uterus wall.  Because it's on the outside, the main issue here is pelvic pain.  However, if the fibroid is too close to the cervix, it can make vaginal delivery impossible.  It looks like both of mine are high enough where my doctor isn't concerned this will be a problem.

In general, most doctors do not do anything to treat/remove fibroids during pregnancy - more trouble than it's worth.  Although one of mine is on the larger side, it's still too small to "worry about" even if I wasn't pregnant.  According to the Mayo Clinic, most fibroids remain stable in size throughout pregnancy.   My instructions were just to contact my doctor if I started developing pain on my lower right side, where the fibroids are.  And if so, we'll do another ultrasound to do a checksee on what's going on in there.

I'm not trying to downplay fibroids in general - in my mom's case, they were very painful and reoccurring, requiring surgery.  However, I also know the sound of a foreign growth in your body can be a VERY scary concept, and sometimes it's easy to let your imagination run away with you.  So until I start experiencing some complications or pain, I'm not going to worry about the little friends that are keeping Muppet company in there.  Hey - everyone needs friends. 

Total weight gain/loss: +9

Next Appointment: Tuesday, June 21
Maternity clothes? On Saturday I wore my very first maternity outfit - maternity jeans and a maternity shirt.  On Monday I wore all pre-pregnancy clothes.  I can still get away with most of my pre-pregnancy bottoms, it's just the tops that are getting a little short.  So I'm working maternity clothes in little by little. I'm probably going to have a complete GAP Maternity wardrobe by the end of the pregnancy, since I can get most of the clothes I wore pre-pregnancy in maternity wear (like their favorite tees which I live in.)  We're going someplace cold for the weekend, and in packing tonight I realized that pretty much all my sweatshirts and jackets close VERY tightly. Thank goodness for a summer pregnancy!
Stretch marks: nada.
Sleep: It's been okay this weekend at night, still waking up with the sun.
Best moment this week: Hearing Muppet's heartbeat at the doctor this week.  I honestly thought it was mine because it was so loud and strong!  And obviously hearing that everything about Muppet appears to be healthy.
Movement: Fairly regularly.  I told the doctor about what I thought were kicks...and my mom...and my friend L and all of them think I'm crazy.  To me, it feels like my stomach is dropping.  A quick, sudden, jerk.  J thinks it's the baby rolling over, which makes sense, because it does kind of feel like a roll - or a somersault.  Or like a giant bubble expanding and then popping.
Food cravings: Nothing

Food aversions: Nothing
Gender: Tell you in October!
Belly Button in or out: in - but getting shallower.  J thinks my belly button right now is "so cute."
What I miss: After packing tonight I've got to say having a sweatshirt I can wear with clothing underneath it!

What I am looking forward to: Kicks (ones that other people recognize as kicks)

Contractions: Nope. 
Milestones:
- wearing maternity clothes