Holidays

Well, we certainly wish everyone a very happy and healthy holiday and New Years! We have just returned from a worldwind tour of family and friends. Lynn had a little trouble napping and eating in busy places--but otherwise she did great. She flies like an experienced traveler. It was wonderful to see everyone we did and we wish we had more time with each person than we did. It is hard with our work schedules and the amount of people to visit to do it differently. I will post some great pics later...I'll try to include something special now.

Isn't she just the cutest! Diana and I love playing with her. And she clearly loves playing with us too. :)

Silly quiz

You scored as C.G. Jung. You are more of a spiritualist than would be immediately apparent. Some of your notions are questioned by the cynical, but deep down you know the human consciousness is more than the flesh and tissue can account for. You tend to take a scientific observationist look on matters the average person wouldn't even begin to analyze. You personally are responsible for most of the ideas that are floating around in modern psychologist's/psychic's paltry little skulls. On the down side, you tend to be associated with that asshole Freud. C.G. Jung 92% Dante Alighieri 67% Friedrich Nietzsche 58% Mother Teresa 50% Elvis Presley 42% Sigmund Freud 42% Steven Morrissey 33% O.J. Simpson 33% Charles Manson 25% Stephen Hawking 25% Miyamoto Musashi 25% Jesus Christ 25% Adolf Hitler 8% Hugh Hefner 0% What Pseudo Historical Figure Best Suits You? created with QuizFarm.com

Time flies...

it is already five weeks after delivery. I am returning to work on Friday and see the doc for my six week check-up on Monday. I find that amazing that I am coming to the end of my leave from work. Of course it has been really seven weeks since I went on bed rest, so no wonder I feel like it has been a while. I look forward to returning and yet I miss Lynn too. I am very glad I am returning part-time for a while first so I won't miss seeing her change and find new skills. She is as cute as ever and is growing bigger all the time. Took her in the Baby Bjorn yesterday food shopping. She was very content and sleeping most of the time. But when it was dinner time for her, only my thumb in her mouth keep her happy. It was nice of the woman in line behind us to help put our stuff on the belt--funny people have been very helpful and I am always so surprised. I am going to try to take a shower as she is sleeping in her bouncy seat--hopefully she won't wake up too soon. We shall see what happens. Today's big trip is to my haircut appointment. She is sure to be showered with attention there from Mandy and the rest of the staff.

Oh...I have been busy!

Most of you already know that my little bundle of joy, Lynn, arrived on Sept 5 and I have been busy with her and getting the hang of being a parent. She is amazing and I have spending time with her. The birth story is worthy of posting, but I don't have the time or energy to record it now. Let's just say--I labored all day on Labor Day and delivered at 1 AM the next morning. I was right she came early as I suspected. And I was wrong--natural delivery was not for me. Pain meds are a-okay by me. I tried natural and then begged for meds--delivery itself was smooth with the pain meds and Lynn was ready--as she wiggled her way into the world with hardly three pushes! I can't believe she is three weeks old today. It feels a lot longer than that! Heehee. I will try to post some pics before she needs to eat again. And I will try to fix the time things at the bottom of this blog as well. Later...

Second doctor visit this week...

Went to doctors again on Wednesday since my bp was high on Monday. I was so stressed that morning and my feet were a little more swollen than usual. My bp? 120/70. Goes to show ya, stress is not the cause of my bp rising as it does. Dr. figures the practice labor on Monday caused the bp to rise. Did intern exam again and he found I was 1cm dilated--so some progress. So to help things along, he helped separate the sac from the cervix called stripping my membranes. It sounds worse than it really is. I had more cramping last night but they were more of the practicing ones which are different from Brickson Hicks, which have been with me for a while. I am hopeful my body will be ready to deliver--she seems ready at the "door" and knocking often enough! My emotions and energy level was all over the place yesterday, so I believe I have entered a transitional stage of sorts and I need to just keep focused on my body and my baby's needs. My doctor called today to report my urine test came back without signs of protein which is good news. So the waiting continues. Had a friend, Leslie, from work come over today. I talked her ear off--poor thing. I loved the visit though, I really needed the company. And tonight, Cora is coming for dinner and I think the company will be good for both Diana and I. Plus it is fun hearing the news from work. Tomorrow I go to the doctors again for another bp check, so I will keep you updated.

38 weeks today

Well, it is 38 weeks today and I have started having some prelabor signs. Sunday started cramping a little which lasted a couple of hours and then stopped. Yesterday the cramps came back much stronger and then had contractions with it. The contractions were coming every 7 minutes so we got excited. But they stopped after about 3 hours. Just long enough for us to get excited and work on finishing the packing of the hospital suitcases. Oh well. The practice labor will come and go, but it does mean I am getting closer to starting real labor. I have not dilated yet but am 50% effaced and the baby is engaged in my pelvis already which is a good sign. My blood pressure however has gone back up despite my bed rest--142/82. The doctors warned me that my pressure might go up even on rest. So now there are watching my urine again and I am to go back to the docs on Wednesday to check my blood pressure, labor progress, and results of my blood work. Hopefully, my blood pressure will be normal again and/or I will be in labor within the next couple of days. The waiting just got more interesting!

Still have twigs and now can see veins in my feet!

As my blood pressure continues to go down with the bed rest, I can now see veins in the top of my feet as the swelling continues to go down. I have lost another 2 lbs between Monday and today. At the doctors, my blood pressure was 110/70--where I normally am. The doctor even said it was lower that hers! Ha! This doesn't mean I can come off bed rest, it just means keeping my feet up is necessary to keeping my pressure down. And I am very happy to do so if it keeps labor and delivery from becoming dramatic and scary. We met yesterday with the Rabbi about the baby naming ceremony and I am so excited about it. The service is beautiful and deeply meaningful. We hope to have it on the eighth day but that will depend on when she arrives. My brackinson hicks (spelling?) contractions are getting stronger and more frequent and today I had minor cramps like a period coming on--these are good signs that the baby will come soon. Don't get too excited--soon equals anything from very soon to a couple of weeks. I am still hopeful for an early delivery as I am eager to meet her face to face.

Good news, bad news, and better news...

Well, a lot has happened in the last few weeks. My blood pressure was up two weeks ago but as I watched it at work I came back down which I was happy about. But by the following Wednesday, my pressure was back up and I was worried. The doctor made me come back on Friday for another check and to see what my blood tests revealed. The good news during that exam--the baby is doing great. She is still a she and is still head down! Her heart tones are in the health range and she is active as she should be. The bad news is I was put on bedrest on that Friday, the 18th since my pressure was up again 130/88. I have never had the bottom number so high before. It was so hard to go to work and tell everyone and pack some of my things up. My next doctors appointment I was worried about what they would say--my ankles looked good but I was still worried. The better news is my blood pressure was back down to normal 118/70. I also lost 5 lbs of fluid over the weekend too. Amazing. So I am playing in the computer a lot and working on my student's final evaluations from home. It is only 20 days due my due date but I am still hoping to deliver early rather than late. This week, I go again for a check on my pressure come Thursday. I am glad they are being so cautious which is helping me relax and trust that everything will work out. I am okay mood wise and am glad I got clearance to do some small things around the house like the dishes and clothes--meaning I don't have to be off my feet 100% of the time. I am still to be lying down and not active--but being allowed a little bit helps me feel productive around the house. Even when I visit the doctor, I can see how being on my feet for a short time causes them to start swelling again. I look forward to having my body back once she is born on many levels. :) I will try to post pictures later from our last couple of showers, as well as an updated picture of myself.

Almost 35 weeks or 1 month

On Tuesday, it will be 35 weeks till the due date and by Saturday is will be 1 month. I have been busy with work and the interns for the last month. Plus Diana and I have been busy with classes: childbirth prep, infant CPR, and breastfeeding. We keep working on the baby room and setting g up as much as we can. And we checked at the firehouse on our installation job of the child seat in both our cars. Found we did great with Diana's car but not 100% correct with mine, so we are glad we had them checked by professionals. Tomorrow is my work's baby shower and I am so excited to party with my co-workers! In a couple of weeks is Diana's work baby shower which will also be a blast. It is not the gifts that make it fun--although they often are so cute!--just to be able to celebrate what is happening with my body and how close she is to being born!!

More photos...

Photo with other preggie cousins

Here is a picture from White Lake of the three latest preggie women. Clearly I am on the left. Gabs is next to me and her due date is three days after mine! And the last woman is due in two weeks, but getting a scheduled C next week. Gabs and I are experiencing our first pregnancy and for Sari this is her second. We had a lot to talk about which was great fun!

Another preggie picture

Here's a picture from 6/29/06 that we have been meaning to post. Tummy is getting bigger with that babygirl! I will post ones with me in my bathing suit and with to two other preggie cousins when I get them from family members.

Vacation so far...

Well, we only have a few days left of vacation. It is amazing how quickly it goes by. Diana and I both did some work today. I am trying to write up notes so that when I need to write up my final evals for my interns I have started something on each one so it wouldn't take me forever. I want to finish them before the baby comes which leaves me only three weeks after the unit stops. Other supervisions generally take longer to get them all done--so I figure I really need to be diligent and focused to accomplish my goal. So I have written quiet a bit for one student so far and then decided to take a computer break. The baby continues to be active and squirming around off and on throughout the day and night. I feel her more at night now than I did in the past. I had a major leg cramps last night, but am glad it was only in one leg and not both like the last time. And I am glad for the long span between the last cramp and this one. I have been taking an extra iron supplement as the blood work showed my iron was low but my sugar was good. So I am glad for not having gestional diabetes! But sad that I have been so tired lately and didn't need to be if I only knew my iron was so low. I have hardly napped at all on vacation since upping my iron. I have even been able to stay up late, which will be difficult to readjust when it is time to go back to work. :) My proposals seem to have been approved at work. I will carry over any vacation days I have left (up to 5). I will take 10 days paid vacation and then the rest of my 6 weeks of leave as unpaid time. The whole fall unit, Sept to December, I will work part-time. This will be difficult financially, but I think I will need to time with the baby before jumping right back into work full-time. Plus I think she will like being taking care of at home better those first few months by Diana and I then the day care center. :) Come Jan, I will return to work full-time and babygirl will attend day care hopefully through Diana's job. The one affiliated with Northside is a little too expensive, so that is our back-up plan. I have enjoyed swimming and using a friend's bathing suit. I enjoy the feeling less of the baby weight when in the water--it is a bit of a drag when I get out and feel how heavy she really is. (She just kicked me as I wrote that--I guess she has something to say about that!) Today is breezy and too chilly to swim, hopefully tomorrow will be warm enough to go in again. Okay--I guess I better go this computer break has been longer than I planned, plus I have to goto the bathroom again. Heehee.

Time is flying by!

I knew it had been a awhile since I lasted posted, but didn't realize it was a whole month already! I have been very busy with the new intern students of mine. My group of five have been a pleasure and challenge as they went through orientation and worked on settling into the process. I was surprised at how much energy it took from me and how little free time I have at work. Combining this with being 28 weeks pregnant--I have been very tired. I feel fine with the pregnancy overall and have had no new dizzy incidents. Let's see, how can I best update you on the progress. Four weeks ago, started sleeping with a body pillow borrowed from a new mommy friend. Very nice, does limit bed space. Diana is very understanding. :) Three weeks ago, the baby started kicking and punching harder--Diana can feel it much easier. Two weeks ago, the baby moved around much harder and I can see the movement as my stomach moves! Holy mackerel! That is weird! This week, I put on my overall shorts that I previously "swam" in and they now fit with only a little bit of room left. I have expanded more than I realized. Had my 28 week prenatal appointment on Friday. Found out the baby is already head down and will most likely stay that way being my first baby. Took my second basic sugar test as well and haven't heard anything so I am hoping I have passed it again. I was worried my sugar might be off, so I am very happy that I haven't heard from the doctor with bad news. Now we start going to the OB every two weeks. But with vacation, we will put it off until three weeks--it will be at 31 weeks. My weight again has been great and I have gained mostly in my tummy region and look like I have an almost perfectly round basketball. People at work are confused with my not sharing the baby's name, especially the new interns. They are trying to trip me up so I will blurt out the name--very funny! Our showers are coming up soon now. During vacation will be our first with family and friends at White-Lake. I am so excited to see people there and see their amazement in how I look. How exciting. And to swim and have cooler temperatures then down here will be great too. It is often too hot for me and I can't stay outside for long. I think I will try to take MARTA next month but I think August I need to drive myself, it will be too uncomfortable on public transportation for me. People at least are willing to offer their seats to me now. But it is often too crowed and too hot. Plus the walk to and from the station is getting harder on me too. My feet and pelvic bones hurt with too much walking or time on my feet. I am definitely in my last trimester and feeling the effects of being pregnant and in the last stage. I will try to keep you better updated with the progress.

5 1/2 months and cruising along

Had our 24th week check-up today. Baby's heartbeat around 156--sounds strong! Everything's going well. I have gained more weight than expected the last two weeks, so I will start watching my carbs better again just to be on the safe side. Blood pressure was fine today and no recent dizziness. Work has been going better--less stressful. New interns start on Wednesday so I will get busy soon, but it will be fun and give me energy.

Doing fine.

I have been fine and enjoying no more overnights. No more dizziness or any other problems. The week has been busy, but I have taken time to rest whenever I needed to. Nothing else special going on. Relaxing this weekend with Diana's student over for lunch and then dinner with co-workers. Tomorrow work in the yard and rest--sounds perfect!

Strangest On-call...

I wasn't sure what to title this note--I want to draw in the reader but not scare ya to death either. I worked part of my last on-call last night. Around 8 PM, I almost fainted while talking to a patient. After I composed myself and the dizziness and nausea past I went and had my blood pressure checked. It wasn't crazy high, but it was high enough for me to scare me. I have been scoring around 112/60 throughout my pregnancy. At 8 PM, I was 143/73. I had it taken again twice later and it was similar 141/80 and 134/78. I tried to visit another patient call after the dizziness before I got some medical attention--I felt responsible to fulfill my duty. However, I did call my doctor's hotline and my supervisor right after that to find out what to do and get a replacement for me at work. Turns out, my insurance sent me to my own hospital to get checked out by the doc on-call. I didn't need to be admitted but it was weird to feel like as patient in an area I am usually ministering to people in. The doc and nurses were great. Diana met me and took me home since I wasn't sure I should drive at that point. Went to my usual doc this morning instead of work--pressure is back to normal and they said no more on-calls. The whole thing freaked me out a little--I am not used to this new version of me and it's limits (and blessings). Baby is fine, they checked last night and this morning and she is still thumping away.

We are at 22 weeks--almost 5 months!

Friday is 5 months and we are surprised how much I am showing. I seemed to pop a little more this weekend. My tummy is now bigger than my chest! The babygirl is quite active throughout the day and sometimes I feel her at night. Most days I am happy to be pregnant, a few days I feel slight uncomfortable aspects of pregnancy, and then there are other days I absolutely love being pregnant. I am really falling in love with this baby and am eager too hold her and see her face and kiss her little toes and nose! Time is flying by, so I want to treasure each step of this process. It is easier to not worry as much when I feel her moving around so much now--what a treat for me to feel her move around!

20 week visit went fine

We had our 4 th prenatal doctor appointment this morning. Everything is going fine. The baby's heartbeat is strong and regular. My weight is good and increasing as it should. The doc approved traveling in July so we feel comfortable making plans for traveling to White Lake this summer. I can't believe how much she moves around when I am sitting down. Since I am 20 weeks, she is already 10 inches long and 10 ounces. It seems that I would have felt her moving before this weekend. We can't wait till Diana can feel her too, but the doc said we have several weeks before that may happen. Drats. Oh well, we will keep trying and hoping. Work is going fine. I have been working on what topics I want to cover during the summer group and the schedule as well. I am also working on making a proposal that supervisors in training be made employees that are eligible for insurance and taxed properly. We shall see what happens!

Things are changing!

Since Friday, I have had more and more thumping and squirming feelings inside--our baby girl is very active. Today, she is really active. It is so amazing to feel the baby now, it is so weird and wonderful at the same time. This pregnancy thing is really wild and exciting! Our next doctor appointment is Wednesday--we are looking forward to hearing the heartbeat again! And you should see my belly now--I have done well in not gaining too much weight--it is all baby.

Part II: The Trip North to See Family

The day after getting our good baby news, Diana and I headed up north to see mostly her family and to celebrate Passover. With two seders, a birthday party, and a trip to Connecticut--we stayed up late every night. I therefore had to sleep until 11 AM most of the mornings there since I was up so late for my pregnant self. It was great to see so many of Diana's family, especially her cousins. There is always so much to catch-up on with each other. As for my side of the family--I called my father the week before and he didn't return my call. I called again and then he did call me back. However he was unable to commit to whether he could get together with me or not. So Diana came up with a good plan. She suggested we mail a card to both he and Nancy and see if that helped him make plans. Diana was wondering if it is hard for my father to make plans that aren't normally part of his regular schedule. Why it worked we are not sure, as he doesn't seem to be impaired as much cognitively as we were beginning to think. But nevertheless, we drove up and had a chance to visit with him at his home. He and Nancy built this house a few years ago and I had never seen it before. The house was very nice but it appears like no one lives there as it is not only spotless but void of any personal items or touches. The cats they have even match the entire color scheme of the house. It was weird, really. My father was the same--looks happy enough on the outside but is not easy to engage him deeply or emotionally. Neil and Wendy stopped by which saved the visit and that was when I realized how flat the conversation really had been with my father. We had a great visit with them and then went out to dinner together. My father didn't come with us as he and Nancy had dinner planned already. And frankly it seemed Nancy was staying away until we left. And my father was worried about going against Nancy and coming to dinner with us. It was very strange. The dinner was great as we had a chance to catch up with Neil and Wendy and also time to talk about my father and our weird experiences. Now I know that my father, whom I have known for a while was a narcissist, is married to an even bigger narcissist! This seems like there is justice being served already--and am not sad for him to be miserable with her--he deserves to know what he does to others with his self-centeredness. I didn't have time to see others, (my aunt and uncle, cousins, or friends) like I wanted to during this trip. We hope to be able to travel up again in the summer for a week vacation like usual, but it will depend on how I am feeling and doing with the pregnancy.

Part I: The Results are in!!

Well, it has taken me some time to update you all. Diana and I were away most of last week and we needed to tell some people the news before we told the whole world. The genetic test results are in--they are great. I am at such low risk of any birth defects that we are skipping the amino test, and I am thrilled with that. Truly, our appointment could have ended with that news and I was so overjoyed I had what I needed already. But the good news continued. We had a long extensive ultrasound where we got to see the baby move around a lot and see all the vital organs working well already. Amazing--we could see different parts of the brain and heart. It was amazing to see the changes that have taken place and how much bigger the baby is. We could see the teeth and little toe bones in the feet! And the gender of the baby....well, I think that they are cautious in giving their opinion when it is not clearly a boy--so since no penis could be seen at different angles and with jiggling the baby around as well--the opinion was the baby is a baby girl! We are thrilled and surprised since the odds were in favor of a boy. In the moment I heard I was both excited and a little sad and I am fairly sure I would have felt the same way no matter what the gender was. I am happy with a healthy baby and either gender brings fun and amazement. And regardless of the gender, the baby will have it's own personality that defies labels--which is wonderful! It has been fun to share the news with family, friends and co-workers as well. I went out and bought two outfits. One was a pink onies and another white with brown outfit. I was a little silly and put one on the front door so Diana would see it when she first came home and the other in the hallway in front of the baby room. I couldn't resist buying something to mark the occasion and found some good bargains at Ross, a local department store.

I think I must look pregnant to strangers now...

I was wondering if I looked pregnant to people who didn't know I was pregnant--now I know...I stopped at the local food store for what else but ah...food. I asked if the cashier could ring up my water without my having to lift it out of the carriage. This with my appearance seems to have tipped off the bagger that I was pregnant. The bagger take my carriage out to the car and helped me put the bags in the car. How nice! I wasn't expecting the help and don't really need it--except for the 2 1/2 gallon water jugs. How strange. And surprising.

I had BUBBLES!!!

While sitting and trying to pay attention to a co-worker reading intentions this morning-I became quite distracted with a new sensation. I had bubbles in my tummy that lasted 2 seconds maybe. I don't think I have ever felt that before, so I figure it is the first sign of the baby moving that I have been able to discern. Hey to bubbles!! Go baby, go!

I passed--I am now a Supervisor Candidate

I will be able to run groups without my supervisor being present in the room. What fun I will have this summer, with my own summer intensive interns! Of course, I will have work to do with coming up with didactics and working on the next step of writing theory papers. But I feel no rush and can spend my days and nights thinking about the group and our baby! In a week and a half we will know where we stand on the genetic testing and the gender of the baby too!

3rd doctor visit

We loved the doctor we got today. What a difference when you have someone who is confident and comfortable in her own ability--you automatically feel more comfortable. She was very friendly and comfortable with Diana and I. She even had Diana do the doppler thing to find the baby's heartbeat. Diana did great and found it right away and we got to hear it swishing and thumping away!!! I am so glad and relieved. We did the triple screen today and will have genetic testing in two weeks so we are moving along nicely. In a couple of weeks, we hope to know the gender of the baby too!! Now, I can turn my focus to the committee meeting happening tomorrow morning and keep myself calm. I think I will pass but I am still nervous about it. I am thrilled Diana is coming up tonight too to offer her support and backrub if my muscles are all knotted up. My wife is trully so amazing. Thank G-d, she and I found each other when we did--changed my life forever. I couldn't be happier making a baby with her!

Doing fine...

I am doing fine and thought I just should update everyone. I hate when others don't update their blogs and yet I am just as guility. I feel better--headache was definetly due to allergies and continues to plague me daily. Did I tell you the great bargain I got on Ebay? Well, for $40 including shipping, I found maternity clothes--3 pairs of pants and 8 tops. I am wearing one of the new pairs of pants. They are a little big on me but they won't be for long and they are more comfortable than my usually pants with my "squirt" sticking out of my belly already. It is more noticeable to people at work that I am pregnant. So these days I am happy to be showing and don't feel fat at all. I am also getting excited about my meeting next week. I hope to get the approval to move to the next level in my training and be able to run groups without my supervisor present in the room with me. Very cool if it goes well--that would mean the summer intern group would be my first group! Anyways...I better go, I have a meeting across the street and need to get ready to head over.

Just know I am okay...

I started to feel sick on Thursday and tried to sleep it away which usually works. I had a very bad headache, sensitive skin and muscle/joint aches. Went to work on Friday morning feeling a little bit better, but it got worse all morning, so I went home early. Slept all afternoon and then felt worse by evening. Finally, I took my temperature and found I was running a low grade fever. Since it didn't seem to be going away, I called the nurse medical line and they told me to take Tylenol and call back if anything got worse or if it stayed the same for several days. I didn't feel good all day Saturday. The pain reliever helped bring down the fever and take away the aches, which I was glad so we didn't have to cancel the game night planned for Diana's birthday. I slept all day, basically--so I was able to have fun with our friends. The pizza and games were fun and I think Diana had a good time. I feel much better today so we went out for breakfast--which was very good. And we strolled around some stores we needed odds and ends at and came home. I read a little and then fell asleep while Diana did some work. All and all a good weekend. I am just so glad to be feeling better and to have the assurance that the low fever should not affect the baby at all. It did scare me a bit but we are good now. No fever since Saturday morning. This week is not too busy for me--the weekend has lots of fun stuff coming up. Although I will be glad to get my haircut on Thursday. The weekend plans include brunch with Diana's cousin and then baptism at our friends house. Fun! Fun!

Just Quick Update

Nothing new to report. Baby is growing and making my tummy pop out quite a bit. I needed to start wearing my maternity pants this week and all my shirts untucked as well. I am 14 weeks now or 3 1/2 months along. It feels so slow day by day and yet also feels like it is moving so quickily--I am afraid it will be over too soon. I want to enjoy each aspect of the pregnancy. My anxiety is lessened which helps me enjoy the pregnancy more. I am excited about Diana's birthday celebration this weekend and then on Monday her actually birthday as well. Talk with you soon!

2nd prenatal appointment

Well, my iron level is good which is great. I took the glucose test today since I have the insulin resistance thing going to keep a check on my sugar levels. It wasn't as bad as I expected. The mid-wife seems better on the phone than in person. She really wasn't bad today--I just find these appointments to be somewhat frustration when I hope for them to be so meaningful. We were hoping to hear the heartbeat and we did for 5 seconds before the peanut moved. The little sweetpea won't sit still long enough for us to get another listen. That was disappointing to me. Then she pulled out the ultrasound but she really isn't good with it and then had an allergy attack--so we got a quick look and then it was over. Oh, well...I am struggling with my anxiety and wanting to believe the baby will be okay. I was hoping the doctor's visit would help reduce my anxiety. But it didn't really help much, expect she did seem to understand it and talked to us a bit about it. We go again in three weeks for the triple screening test, so the time will go by quickly. I want to enjoy the pregnancy more than I have lately, but sounds like it won't happen till we know the baby has no birth defects. We will know that after our visit on week 18 with the perinatologist.

Feeling better now that 2nd trimester is here

I am less nauseous for the past week, which is wonderful. I really have been lucky my "morning sickness" hasn't been that bad to begin with. I am still sleepy a lot but also not as bad as a couple of weeks ago. Diana is home from the latest conference and we plan on doing some yard work. Although, I feel sleepy after a big breakfast. :) Maybe later I will nap. We hope to go window shopping this weekend for baby things. And the next highlight is Wednesday we have our 2nd prenatal doctor visit and hope the heartbeat is audible! Anyways...I am off to get ready to go work in the yard now...I want to enjoy the sun and 60 degree temps--we haven't seen the sun on a weekend for weeks now. Plus I want to check out that huge bunny that is sitting in our backyard sunning itself!

Here's a good look at the baby.

It's amazing to see the bones of the face and the spine too. Those white patches are hands and knees! How adorable!!

Preparing for the 2022?

We got a good look at our next ultrasound on Friday, the 24th. The baby is already 44mm long and has a heartbeat of 163! Not only that--the baby has jumping around in his/her water bubble! Is this a gymnast in the making? It was amazing to see the pulsing umbilical cord just above the baby's body as well. I love ultrasounds--they are hard to see anything it at first, but then it becomes clear. We could see the baby's face, spine, little legs and arms moving about. And tomorrow is the beginning of week 12 and we enter the second trimester--how exciting!

Told the news to my father

Well, I decided it was time to try to call my father to let him know about the baby. I wasn't sure what would happen, since when I call and leave a message--he doesn't usually call me back. But surprisingly, he did just a few minutes after I left him a message. So I told him that come September, he will be a grandfather. He was surprised and then wanted to know who was carrying the baby. He also was surprised to hear it was me. It was good to talk with him--I think that last time we talked was on Father's Day. I was glad to hear that he was excited about it and thought it was important enough to write down. It is also good to know he is trying new things to help with his memory. It will be interesting to see if he wants to come visit when the baby is born--I can't even guess what he will want to do.

We seem to have a verdict from today's look

Well, we had our first prenatal appointment today. Although we were not impressed with the midwife, the appointment was good. The baby that was only 5mm two weeks ago is now a whopping 22mm--almost an inch! And the other possibilities, well seem to be gone as best as we could see today. So, we are indeed having one healthy baby, which is great news! We are not having twins or triplets which is good news as the dangers would be very high for me and the babies too. It is also a little sad as it was fun to daydream about having more than we ever expected. But overall, we are relieved. We were not sure how we could swing having three kids so quickly and me having to miss work before the birth and for some time after the birth. Last week, it was hard to feel connected to the baby(ies) as I wasn't clear who was inside growing. Now it will be easier to focus on just our one peanut. Pregnancy symptoms: desire for milk--alot, some nausea, very tired, bloated, and did I mention tired?!

Interesting news

The ultrasound was amazing this morning. The baby's heart beat could be seen and even counted! I am amazed that at this early stage to be able to see the baby's heart as a flicker on the screen. 136 beats which is great! Now the weird part and this is the part we are not telling everyone but I need to talk about it somewhere. We knew there was a possible second follicle when I ovulated, but weren't sure it was a healthily one. Well, in today's ultrasound we could see two sacs. One clearly had what is called a fetal pole and the strong heart beat. The other was harder to see as it is behind the other sac. So we couldn't see the flicker long enough to see if it really is there and beating properly. The waiting will be hard. I don't know if we can be excited about having twins or not, since we don't know it that second sac is viable and my next ultrasound will be two weeks from now. More waiting. I think this might be a pattern this waiting stuff. Oh, and the real kicker. That second sac has two yolks in it as well. The fetus lives off a yolk sac until the placenta is ready. So that twin b might be twins themselves which would make me having triplets not just twins. :) Oh, my gawd--can you say it with me--oh, my gawd! So Diana and I are trying to not get ahead of ourselves, because jumping from one baby to three is a huge leap. There is a high chance the twin b (which might be twins in of itself) will not be viable and will vanish before the next ultrasound. It we can be healthy, me and the babies we are game for anything (with God's help). Remember how I couldn't tell if the baby wanted to be called sweetpea or peanut? Well, maybe now we know. And when I posted this morning before the test, I thought about squirt as another possible name--so who knows-0-maybe we will have a sweetpea, peanut, and a squirt!! Oye!!

Ho, hum...I'm sooo tired.

I worked an overnight last night and was busy during the night. Only 3 hours of sleep! Yuck!!! I can't wait to get home to crash and sleep the day away. The good thing is before I sleep there is the stop at the docks office to get an ultrasound and see the little sweetpea or peanut. We might even be able to see the heart beating at this point too! That is way cool! I'll post later when I am up to it what the news is for the day. P.S. Take note of the countdown at the bottom of my blog too if you haven't seen it yet.

Things still going well

I am sorry I haven't written much for the past week and some. I have been busy at work with overnights and presentations too. As far as the pregnancy--I am feeling pretty good. Less gas and bloating--which is nice. No stomach sickness only very light nausea when my stomach is empty and it is the middle of the night. So the only troubling side effect is the sleepiness. I am usually fine with it, until overnights mess with my night sleep. So the last few nights I have had trouble falling asleep. Very frustrating. The good part is next month I won't be on many overnights and can get back to a normal routine. Sunday night I am on-call again which I am not happy about, but Monday we get our first ultrasound and hope to see the baby's heartbeat! Yippee!

Continued good news...

Well, I took my second blood test yesterday to check on the HCG levels. I am well within the healthy range so the seedling is doing fine as best as we can tell so early. I am only 5 weeks preggie. Next week or so, we will get our first ultrasound to see how the little sweetpea is settling up shop which will be very exciting. I am so sleepy today as I was wake for quite a bit in the middle of the night last night. I can't wait to take a nap in the backroom after lunch. I am working on-call tonight so I need to try to get rest before everyone else leaves the hospital and I am the only one here to cover anything that comes up. I hope the night will be boring so I can rest and not be worried about running around the halls all night. I am still very excited and am still at times unbelieving that I am pregnant--what an amazing process this is to have a little person inside of me and yet it is only the size of a sesame seed! Later it will be a million times that and running round talking, walking, driving, working....I am getting ahead of myself now. :) Anyway...I should eat lunch now. Talk with you soon.

THE Call finally came!

Just before noon, I got the call we are pregnant. We are only 4 weeks so it is very early. Next week I will have another blood test to confirm the baby is growing as it should. And then in a week or so from then--I can get my first ultrasound to be sure baby is in the right place. The news is still sinking in and we are amazed. We are very thankful and feel very fortunate to have made it to this stage. Happy New Years! Here is the picture of the unrine test kit with the "pregnant" phrase you might be able to see, our pregnancy calender, our first baby stuffed animal, and our baby' first knitted hat too! Now you can see how silly we were this morning!

Still waiting but have some good news...

It's before 9 AM and I am crazy with waiting for THE phone call to tell us the results of the blood work. In the meantime, I said I had some good news. Diana and I did another home test this morning and it still read "pregnant". We will post a picture later. I know it is silly--should have seen us running around trying to find the camera at 6:30 this morning. :) We are goofy right now. Hopefully soon, I will post again with more info.

Very interesting news....and more waiting

Well, Diana and I were told we had to wait until Monday before we could get a blood test to see if I was pregnant or not. Of course with the holiday, the lab was closed and Tuesday would be the first day to get blood work done. And we were told not to do a home test until Wednesday since I had the hormone shot. Well, my cramps were so strange as I mentioned in the previous blog, that we decided to do a home test and we understand there was a higher chance of getting a fake positive. We figured if the test was negative, then I really wasn't pregnant and could stop the hormone and my period could then start. (I hope you all can follow this logic of ours). Anyway, the test was "positive", we didn't chance anything and tried to remember that it could be a false positive as it was earlier than we were instructed to try. This morning it was also "positive", we decided to do some research on-line and to get the blood work done today afterall. The results won't be known until tomorrow. The internet talked about being able to test by day 14 after the shot, which was on Sunday. The clinic we work with seems to be conservative in their advice, so we are hopeful right now. Actually, I haven't been able to get much done at work since I went for the blood work and even Diana was been quite silly as well. We even looked up when the possible due date might be--how silly of us!! And the funny this is, my cramps are better today. I am still having weird pains and tightness in my stomach, but not as bad the cramping--so weird. Diana found someone in her office who had a similar experience thinking she wasn't pregnant since she was cramping like with PMS. So tomorrow, I have warned my supervisor--I may be flying on the ceiling or laying low on the floor depending on the test results. I can't help but get excited at the possible news.

New Year and a new look!

Well, I decided on a whim to change the look of the blog. I am at work once again while everyone else gets to be home playing. So I am playing at work. I have the phones in case there is an emergency and am letting Karen get some sleep--too bad she is sick with cold too. I have paperwork to do but am having much more fun changing my page around. I am still have cramps which started last week, so I don't think I am pregnant. The problem is the hormones I am taking in case I am keep my period from coming and I can't test until Wednesday to see if I am pregnant or not to then stop the pills. So I am stuck in perpetual PMS for a few more days. Yuck. And the hormones, make my period heavier and the cramps too. I would love to take Advil, but can't in case I am with baby. See the lovely cycle I am stuck in. :( Oh well. I worked overnight again last Friday night. I had three baby losses and one very premature baby be born. The three losses were 6, 12 and 26 weeks along. The premie was breach and 23.4 weeks along. I am amazed the baby is still alive today, but he is so far. I was thrilled to be able to go into the OR to watch him being born--very cool even with all the complications. My first time in the OR and first time watching a baby be born. I am so tired from 3 overnights in a 1 1/2 weeks and traveling during the holidays too. I can't wait until I feel caught up. But I have another overnight this Saturday, so I am figuring the catching up won't come anytime soon. Oh well, by the weekend I will either be happily pregnant or done with my period and drinking wine again. :) Talk with you soon I hope. And don't be shy--leave a comment.