Monday, January 29, 2007

19w3d

Today I had yet another prenatal checkup. Everything's going great... I gained 2 pounds since my appointment 2 weeks ago, so I'm pretty much averaging 1 pound a week which is good. :-) That makes about 7 pounds so far. If I keep up the 1 pound a week thing from here on out, I'll be around the 25-27 pound mark. But you never know how things will go. Right now appetite-wise I feel like I could eat a horse, but who knows how I'll feel later on in the pregnancy.

I went over my mom and dad's today, and my mom and I went up to see my cousin and her little baby girl. Holding her baby just made me more excited for my little one to arrive! She is sooooo cute... I can't wait til our little girls can have playdates, and all of us can take little shopping trips together. But that's way down the road yet... :-)

My mom gave me a few things she and my dad bought for the baby... they got her a cute little plush doll with brown hair-- she has little bangs and ponytails tied with little pink ribbons. My mom said my dad picked it out... I KNOW it reminded him of me, because when I was little I had dark brown hair, with straight little bangs and wore ponytails alot. He's all sentimental now that his little girl is having a little girl... it cracks me up. Gotta love him.

Also, they got me a photo album for the baby... it's pink with little ribbons and says "Little Princess" on it. It's adorable... and I'm sure I can never have too many photo albums when this little one arrives!

Yeah, she's getting spoiled already... :-)

Sunday, January 28, 2007

19w2d

Just over the past few days, I've really started to become uncomfortable. The other day, I thought, "Wow, I am feeling so great lately." Then THIS happens. Aching... muscle pains... ugh.

I am uncomfortable sitting AND laying down. When I am just sitting up on the couch (like right now), I get these aches/pains under my breasts, in my ribs. I don't know whether it's because my growing uterus is slowly forcing everything upward or what. My uterus is only at my belly button... can it really do that ALREADY?!?! But MAN it hurts. It's like the ache and pain lightswitch was turned on all the sudden. One day I'm fine, the next I ache all over.

Sleeping has been affected too. Getting comfortable in bed is a CHORE. I have a body pillow which DOES help a little... but it's still hard to find THE right spot. Even when I lay down in bed, I still have those aches in my ribs. I turn to the side,the rib pains go away, but my back aches. I push a pillow under my back, then my ribs start hurting again. I can't win.

It just sucks knowing I have another 5 months of aching, which will probably only get worse as my belly grows... :-/ I keep telling myself "It'll all be worth it in the end...."

Friday, January 26, 2007

19 weeks

Well, today I did it. I bought my FIRST BABY GIRL CLOTHES. I couldn't help it. I saw a sales rack with lots of adorable baby dresses, and I couldn't resist. I bought the little one THE cutest christmas-type dress. It is black velvet on the top and red on the bottom, with tiny rosebuds around the neck and little red baby bloomers. My description doesn't do it justice. And the best part? It was on sale for $7. Also, I got her a few sundress outfits in 0-3months, since it'll be June when she's born. I saw some other things, but figured I'd better stop since I DO have another 5 months of shopping ahead of me yet.

I also bought a Bebe Sounds monitor... it was $20, but I'm not sure yet if it's worth it. The box says that you can hear the heartbeat as early as the middle of the 2nd trimester, but today I heard a bunch of nothing. The only things I heard were the sounds I was making while trying to hold the thing against my belly. Maybe it's just too early... I'll have to keep trying.

Well, that's it for now. I worked lastnight, so I'm off to take a nap.

Oh,one more thing... I keep getting these odd feelings around my bladder. Like a big tap, then nothing. Then a tap, then nothing. I don't know whether it's spasms (never had those before), or whether my little girl is a future karate champion and is somehow kicking me right there. It feels weird though, I'll tell you that.

On that note... nap time.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

18w4d

Today we went to Pittsburgh for Genetic Counseling and my Level II ultrasound. We most definitely found out the sex.

Without a doubt.........






She gave us the "money shot" right away. No boy parts between THOSE legs, I'll tell ya!

The Level II ultrasound was so neat.... the lady measured every little thing on the baby. We got to see the face up close, the hands, feet, and even the ventricles of the brain and the valves of the heart. It was amazing and I could have watched that screen forever. The baby flipped over halfway through the ultrasound and was kicking her little legs... it was so cute! I couldn't feel the kicks at that point, but I can only imagine what I'll be feeling when she gets bigger and stronger!

Well, I'll write more later. It's been a long busy day, and I'm WORN OUT.







Wednesday, January 17, 2007

17w5d

Not many changes to talk about...except for one.

YEEEEEEEEEEEOW, the girls are starting to hurt again! They are sooooooo sensitive!!!The slightest thing rubbing against them makes me cringe. I have told my husband to stay away from them, as he's been obsessed with them lately. (TMI, but hey, it's the truth.)

I didn't feel the baby move much throughout the day yesterday, but wasn't worried all that much. I just figured I hadn't been paying a lot of attention to the little flutters. Yesterday I fell asleep around 10pm or so, then woke up around 2am and couldn't fall back to sleep. I got up and came into the living room and perused all the nursery bedding online. All the sudden, the little one woke up and WOW was he/she moving alot. I'd feel some teeny tiny little taps, as if baby was saying, "Hi mom!I'm awake now! Pick me out some cute stuff!" That went on for about 15 minutes or so, then baby fell back to sleep. It's just such an amazing feeling once you know for a fact that it's the baby moving and not something else! Sometimes it feels like little fluttering in there, other times tiny taps. And you know how your stomach feels all weird when you're on an elevator and it goes to stop? I get that sometimes too... only everything is situated right below my belly button. No matter what I feel, it always puts a smile on my face!

Monday, January 15, 2007

17w3d

Just got back from my doctor's appointment...everything went well! They asked if I've been having any more bleeding or anything... I told them things have been great. (knock on wood!) I really do feel the best that I have since getting pregnant.

The baby's heartbeat was beating strong as ever, though the little one kept moving all around while the lady was trying to count the heartbeat with the doppler! I have a little acrobat in there, for sure! I'm feeling more and more flutters over the past few days, too!!

I've gained 1 more pound since last week... that makes a total of 5 so far. Upon hearing I've gained another pound, the nurse practitioner goes, "Good girl!" hehe... sounds like I'm right on track.

They still don't have my MSAFP result back... it's been a week today. I told them that my husband and I go for genetic counseling the 23rd, and that I'll be having the Level II ultrasound done the same day. They want me to come back in for another appointment in two weeks just so we can talk about how everything went in Pittsburgh, and to make sure things are ok. After that, hopefully I'm back to having appointments just monthly again... I feel like I've been living at my OB doc's office lately!

Well, I'm gonna take a little nap. I worked night turn lastnight, so I've had to force myself to stay awake. Not an easy task for a mommy-to-be! So.... goodnight. :-)

Saturday, January 13, 2007

17w1d

This morning I'm noticing more of those little faint flutters... it pretty much feels like the little one is doing sommersaults in my tummy. I LOVE IT! It is definitely the neatest feeling in the world. :-)

Not much else to write about right now... just wanted to add this in here real quick. :-)

Friday, January 12, 2007

17 weeks

I called the genetic counselor in Pittsburgh and set my husband and I up for an appointment. The lady told me, “You’ve been referred to us for genetic counseling and amniocentesis. I said, “Um… yeah, the genetic counseling, but I’m not sure about the amnio. I’d rather go the conservative route and do an ultrasound first and then take it from there.”

I then told her that I had my MSAFP screening done this past Monday and that I haven’t heard back about the results yet. We then talked about the relevant medical history on my side and my husband’s. She told me that they will be needing medical records from my cousin and our niece so they will know exactly what we’re dealing with. So now I have to get a hold of my aunt and brother-in-law, find out where they went for treatment for the kids, and get them to sign releases of medical info and all that crap. Fun fun.

Anyway… so then she goes, “Ok… so we’ll set up you up for genetic counseling and do a Level II ultrasound.” (One where they go and measure EVERY LITTLE THING.) I asked, “So will both of those be done in the same day?” and she said yes.

So do you know what that means? DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS????

Instead of waiting until I’m 23 weeks (I’m 17w today) to have the “Big Ultrasound” done, I get to find out what the sex of the baby is OVER A MONTH EARLIER!!!! YAY!!!! We go Tuesday January 23rd at 1:45pm. I can’t wait! But like I said, I’m nervous and excited at the same time. I just want everything to go alright with this ultrasound. If some red flags are raised during the ultrasound (God forbid), I don’t know if I’ll go through with an amniocentesis. That’s a bridge I’ll cross if or when we get there.
I just keep hoping and praying everyday that my little one is happy and healthy!!!

(Oh, and I called my OB office today and connected directly to the Nurse practitioner's extension, so I could tell her about my appointment date. I left a message on her voicemail, and said for her to call me back if she has any other questions. I haven't heard anything back, so I'm guessing that's what the message on my machine was about yesterday.) :-)

17weeks

I'm a little worried now... though it might be over nothing.

You see, my OB doc has been asking me and my husband about genetic counseling. We are going to go to a hospital in Pittsburgh to meet with a genetic counselor. Well, I had an appointment this past Monday, and the nurse practitioner asked me if the lady from Pittsburgh had contacted me yet. I said "Yes, I got a message from her before the weekend... I'm waiting on my new work schedule to come out, and then I'm going to give her a call." The NP said for me to call her at the office and let her know exactly when my husband and I are going to go.

Anyway, I got my new schedule Tuesday night, then had to work again Wednesday night. I slept most of the day Wednesday--seems I need all the sleep I can get lately. I talked with my husband a little yesterday, and he goes, "I don't think we need to do that." I told him, "Well, I think I'm going to call that lady in Pittsburgh and set up something for early Monday or something, if she can get us in."

Well.

How I said I worked Wednesday night... I slept from about noon to 4:30pm Thursday afternoon. I called my mom and we talked for over an hour.... I didn't check the answering machine until after that, and noticed it was blinking. When I checked the messages, there was one from my OB doctor's office. It sounded like the secretary's voice. So now I don't know what to think. I don't know whether it's nothing major and they're just calling to check on whether I made a genetic counseling appointment, or whether they're calling me back to tell me about my MSAFP result. I really hope it's not the MSAFP, you know? I'm SO hoping it's negative. I've already braced myself for the fact that it may be positive, just because it happens to so many people.... so I'm not going to worry TOO much. I've made my mind up though... if the result IS positive, I'll go the conservative route and go have that in-depth ultrasound in Pittsburgh to check things out further... but I AM NOT having an amniocentesis. Like I said before, if something's wrong, it's wrong, and no amniocentesis (which could put me at slight risk for miscarriage, no less) is going to change that. I don't want someone sticking a needle in there and something bad happening because of it.

I've just heard so many stories from people who had positive MSAFP's and then had amniocentesis' that STILL said there was something wrong... and the babies came out FINE! A guy I went to high school with had a child who was 'supposed' to be a Down's baby according to the amnio and all that, and the baby is perfect. One of my coworkers was told she should terminate her pregnancy (this was years ago)because her son was going to be born with severe birth defects... and he was born perfectly fine. I'm not going to put myself through undue stress over what might be nothing. If something's wrong, we'll deal with it. Abortion is NEVER an option for us, and I'm not going to rely on some test that might be wrong in the end.

I just hope that this MSAFP result comes back negative. I'm beginning to think I should have gone with my first thought and not had it done at all.

Sunday, January 07, 2007

16w2d

Maybe it's just my imagination, but I *think* I felt a little something last night when I was laying in bed.... I had both hands on my belly, just kinda feeling around. All the sudden, I swear I felt this little tiny tap on the back of my hand. I told my husband and he goes, "Isn't it a little early?" I told him that around 16 weeks you can start feeling quickening, so who knows. I'm sticking with the fact that it was our baby in there!

When I was feeling around on my belly, it seems like the left side is a little harder... I wonder if the baby is more to that side, and that's what I'm feeling. The right side of my belly is alot softer. Maybe it's due to the fact that I tend to sleep on my right side. The baby probably doesn't like feeling smashed in there? heh... you never know. Yet another thing I wonder about.

Not much else to tell about... my appetite is back with a vengeance,though I still have to force myself to eat sometimes. Odd, I know. While grocery shopping the other day, I had this sudden craving for Tostitos and Salsa con queso. A little spicy, yes... and that's not me! I'm more of a mild kinda girl. But darn, I could kill a jar of that stuff right now. Weird. Not to mention, the hubby likes it too, so we're gonna be competing for the rest of the jar. And the pregnant girl better win. haha....

I find myself checking my belly out in the mirror everytime I'm in the bathroom... it's just such an amazing feeling knowing that there's a little tiny person growing in there. It's finally hitting home that "Wow, in a little over 5 months, I'm going to have a baby." I've been checking out the baby bedding sites and all kinds of pregnancy sites... I get more excited with each day.

Well, I'm going to go spend some time with my husband... have a great day :-)

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

15w4d

Today I had my follow-up appointment with my OB doc. Everything went well. Mommy put on a few pounds since the last appointment... that makes 3 pounds total for my entire pregnancy so far. I wore maternity jeans for the first time today, and I must say that they are VERY comfortable! It's a relief not to have my jeans digging into my waistline. I'm finally starting to FEEL pregnant too... my belly is so tender and bending down in the shower to shave my legs this morning was a little uncomfortable... I had to lean to the side a bit!

But back to my appointment...

At the office, the nurse heard the fetal heart tones right away, still beating away in the 150's-160's. We laughed because the baby kept moving around away from the doppler. The nurse had to keep repositioning the doppler again and again in order to hear the heartbeat for a long period of time. My little one must not have appreciated getting poked at by that doppler! I'm still waiting to feel the baby moving around in there... hopefully within the next few weeks I'll start feeling those 'flutters.'

I go Monday morning for my MSAFP. I'm a little anxious about it, just because those come back as false positives so often. It just happened to one of my coworkers not too long ago... her reading came back positive so she was all worried something was wrong with the baby. She went to get an amniocentesis (which I'm hoping to avoid!!)and everything was fine. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed all goes well Monday.

The doctor also wants my husband and I to go to genetic counseling because I had a cousin who died of a severe form of mental retardation, and on my husband's side there is a niece who had a rare form of eye cancer. My husband and I discussed it, and we are a little on the fence where this is all concerned. The way we see it, if something is wrong, it's wrong. Abortion is NO option for us. To me, genetic counseling doesn't make sense right now since I'm already pregnant... it would be better if we were only just planning to get pregnant.

(sigh)

So I don't know. The genetic counseling will be a one-time thing, and they'll just tell us all the 'what if's'... what to do IF something is wrong, how to deal with it, what our chances are of there being something wrong, etc. I suppose that yes, it'll be helpful, but it just seems like something you should do BEFORE you get pregnant. If anyone reading this has had to get genetic counseling, when did you do it? In the planning stages, or during pregnancy?

Well I'm off to watch some tv and relax a bit. Have a good night!