I suppose a pregnancy update is due. I haven't been very good with my blogging - but as soon as this baby comes, I'm going to have to try harder. Might was well start getting in the habit now.
I'm not quite sure where to start....
07/22/11: Positive pregnancy test!
09/2011: Some time in September, I had the blood work done to screen for genetic abnormalities such as Down's, Trisomy 18, neural tube defects, etc. All the markers for those abnormalities came back normal - the risk for any of those defects is about as low as they can possibly go. However, about a week after getting those results, my doctor called to tell me that a couple of the blood panel markers were high which indicates that I am at an increased risk for developing placental insufficiency. This means that there is a chance that the placenta didn't fully develop or didn't develop properly which means that as the baby gets bigger, there is a chance that he won't get enough oxygen or nutrients. To monitor this, I have been having monthly ultrasounds to check for growth and starting at 32 weeks (which is next week), I go to the doctor twice a week: Mondays for a growth ultrasound and non-stress test and on Thursdays for a non-stress test. This is just to monitor the baby and detect if he is experiencing any signs of distress as he goes through his biggest growth spurts before delivery. If at any time during these appointments my doctor feels the baby is in distress, I will immediately be induced. It sounds really scary - and I freaked out for about a day, especially because during this time, we experienced an abnormal increase in full term fetal deaths at the hospital and we were doing a fetal autopsy about once a week for a while. But then I realized that this wasn't caused by anything I did and there is nothing I can do to fix it or prevent it right now. So all I can do is cross my fingers and hope that things go progress normally. I am grateful that we know about the situation and can at least monitor it so if something does go wrong, our baby has the best chance possible. I really have a great doctor and as she told me after I freaked out: "You're paying me to do the worrying - just relax." So far - the monthly ultrasounds have shown our baby's growth to be right on target. At the last ultrasound, he was measuring in the 60th percentile which is fabulous!
10/19/11: 18 Week Baby Bump -
It's A Boy!!!
For the reveal to my family, I had a cake made. We invited everyone over for dinner and when it came time for desert, we cut into the cake for the big reveal. My mom was the first to see a hint of blue and started screaming before anyone else could see what color came out. We are all so excited to add a boy to our family - especially Jim. It's so awesome to see him get excited at the idea of having a boy. They are going to be best friends.
At work, we had our quarterly pathology meeting the day after we found out the gender. We usually have lunch catered at these meetings so for dessert, I made these sandwich sugar cookies with blue icing in the middle, concealed by white icing on the outside. Everyone broke into their cookies at the same time for the big reveal at work. It was a fun way to share the news.
November 30, 2011: Monthly Ultrasound - Everything Looks Great!
December 19, 2011: 27 Week Baby Bump -
December 29, 2011: 28 Week Ultrasound - Measured in the 60th Percentile!
My pregnancy with Kayla almost 10 years ago was a really easy pregnancy. Aside from the occasional nausea and certain food aversions, I didn't have any morning sickness. My biggest complaint was feeling tired all of the time. But other than that - it was so easy and I never understood those pregnant women who complained ALL the time about one things or another.
Well - this time around is paybacks I guess. From the constant fatigue, to the morning sickness, to the excruciating round ligament and sciatic pain, to the chronic back and hip pain - this pregnancy is wearing on my body so much harder than I could have ever imagined. At one point, my doctor sent me to a physical therapist and massage therapist to help with the sciatic pain. But their schedule and my work schedule weren't able to accommodate each other so I had to give that up. Now I just settle for a monthly prenatal massage at Massage Envy which tends to be the best 60 minutes of each month. Since hitting about half way into my second trimester, I haven't been able to sleep. I'm lucky if I can sleep for an hour straight before my legs go numb and start to ache or before my hips start to throb - our mattress just isn't soft enough to accommodate a side sleeper. I recently have resorted to sleeping on the couch which is much softer than our mattress and last night was the first night I was able to sleep for 6 hours straight. It was awesome! So - it looks like I'm going to banish myself to the couch for these next nine weeks in hopes of getting a decent night's sleep before the baby is born. Even with all the pain that is associated with this pregnancy - I could't be happier and more excited to welcome this little man into the world. I'm even more excited to see Jim with his son and witness the bond that they will have from the start. I'm hoping these next nine weeks go by quick!!!
