The Big Ultrasound 11-17-09

I just never get tired of seeing our baby!!! Today was the big ultrasound, the anatomy scan. They take a crazy amount of measurements-most of the time we couldn't even tell what we were looking at, lol. But when we did get to see Peanut as a whole, it was so awesome. And it's confirmed-we're having a GIRL!!!! We already were told it was probable, but it was still a big YAY! to get confirmation. She's just as cute as ever. It's crazy to look at her the last couple times. Since there's no real fat built up yet, you can see the bones so clear. It's amazing to stare at her spine! The tech said they didn't measure the length of the body-which I thought was odd. So I don't know how long she is at this point, but she was measuring around 12 ounces. Almost a pound! Wooh! The doctor said she was measuring on target and everything looked good right now. He through me through a loop though because he turned the subject to my diabetes and how he didn't think my sugars were where he'd ideally want them to be. I'm like...what!?!?!?!? I'm 5 months pregnant, I fax my sugars to my endocrinologist weekly. Why am I just NOW getting new goals. It was kind of scary to me, knowing the complications my diabetes can contribute to. I felt like he was setting me up for bad news. But he assured me that Peanut is doing just fine, so I guess he was just being diligent, being he's a high risk doc. But I'll tell you, my A1c, which is a 3 month average of blood sugar, has been ideal. The doctor's wanted it at at 6.5 before I could get pregnant. My last one was a 5.5! I just can't see how my sugars could be hurting the baby when I think they've been pretty damn good! I do struggle with my fasting numbers in the morning though, and regardless, I'm going to talk to my endocrine to make sure we're all on the same page.

I had an appt. with the OB's office tonight (the ultrasound was at the hospital's Maternal Fetal Unit). Typical appointment. You sit in the waiting room for 45 minutes for a 5 minute meet and greet with the doctor, lol. He did find peanut's heartbeat with the doppler, and told me she sounded really happy I guess he could hear her wiggling around and her heartbeat was great. That brought a smile to my face. I've gained 6lbs so far, which I don't think is too bad for being 20weeks.

Here's our beautiful baby girl!

Oh boy I've fallen behind!!!

Wow, I'm a total slacker It's been 2 months since I've given a Peanut update, I'm so sorry for being so horrible.

I think our little one has made it so easy for me to slack off, since this has been such an event free pregnancy so far. I've skipped all the bad stuff-no morning sickness, no heartburn (yet), no (tmi) constipation. I've just been a happy, sometimes moody, preggo. It's still hard to believe, really surreal, I keep waiting for the ball to drop. I'm so excited to be a mother, and I'm reminded more and more the closer we get to the holidays. I can't wait to bring Santa back to life through my child's eyes!! I just can't wait to hold our baby in my arms.

Week 13 started a little eventful for me. As far as I'm concerned, it began my 2nd trimester, so that was a great feeling. I found the baby's heartbeat at home with my doppler, yay!!! I had a little scare that week. I hadn't been feeling well, so I decided to take a day off on 9/30. I noticed I was spotting a little, and called the doctor just to make sure everything was ok. I wasn't too panicked, but you can't be too careful. They had me come in, did an exam, and of course, everything was fine. I continued to have occasional spotting for the next week or so, but it tapered off. What a way to start my 2nd Tri!

16 weeks brought our 2 year wedding anniversary, our 9th year together, and another ultrasound We got to see our little peanut on 10/20, our 9 year "dating" anniversary, and I begged the tech to give us her guess on the gender. We got our guess, but decided to hold off on the shopping spree until we get confirmation at our next ultrasound. Sadly, she only printed us 2 pictures, and they were not very good, so nothing to post here But we have our BIG ultrasound on 11/17-only a few short days away! So hopefully we'll get some great pics, and find out for sure what we're having-as long as peanut feels like cooperating, lol.

We got the results from the Sequential Screening, everything looked good. We screened negative for all 3 things, and my risk percentages looked good. So why it certainly doesn't rule out Down's, Trisomy 18, or Neural Tube Defects, it is a relief to know my chances are low.

My belly is starting to fill out, so I'm beginning to look a little pregnant, and not just fat. Well, in my opinion anyway. I can still wear my regular pants-if I cheat a little by looping a hair tie through the button hole and around the button to give me a little more room in the waist. Really, though, the maternity clothes are so much more comfortable! I still haven't felt any kicks, just some stretching pains so far I think. But I listen to the heartbeat every night, and I swear the doppler picks up the baby's movement as well. It's so cool!

That's about it for now. Here's my 19 week belly pics, and I promise to post again after our ultrasound on Tuesday!

Peanut update

It's been so long since I've posted, but honestly, it's been an uneventful few weeks. I seem to have avoided the brunt of morning sickness altogether. Aside from the obvious fatigue, I haven't been feeling pregnant at all, which of course keeps me nice and worried, lol. We went on vacation 8/31 to 9/7, no alcohol, no hot tub, and only 1 day of sun, but it was still nice to get away! We made our very first baby purchase, which I'm absolutely in love with. I had my first OB appointment, which was basically a consult and normal exam. Pap Smear, breast exam, and attempted ultrasound that didn't show much on the outdated machine.

I went for the 1st of 2 appointments for Sequential Screening tonight (9/15), which consisted of an ultrasound and a finger prick blood test. Basically they're looking for anything indicating a higher risk for Down's Syndrome, Trisomy 18, and Open Neural Tube defects. The abdominal ultrasound was a bit blurry, but it was amazing just the same. Our little peanut had eyes, a nose, a mouth, a chin, arms, legs, he's looking like a little baby for sure. He (or she) was wiggling around like crazy and waving his little arm at us. Peanut wouldn't sit still!! The heartbeat was 161bpm, so still going strong, and everything looked great so far!

I bought a Doppler off of Ebay, so hopefully I'll be able to listen to the little reassuring heartbeat on my own soon! I can't wait

Our First Baby Purchase

11 week 1 day Ultrasound

3rd Ultrasound 8-21-09-My little peanut

We went for the last of my weekly ultrasounds today, I'm not sure when I'll get another one. It's so amazing to see how my our little one grows in just 7 days. I'll really miss getting to see the progress. Hopefully I'll get another one soon. The baby is 14.14mm now and measuring 7 weeks 5 days. (S)he actually looks like an unshelled peanut now, though obviously much smaller. The little heartbeat was pounding away-up to 158bpm. The stupid doctor never turned the monitor to me so I could see, but Brad was able to. I just had to settle for the new picture and hearing the heartbeat again. Still absolutely wonderful It still blows my mind that I have this little life growing inside of me. I've wanted this for so long, it's very surreal. I've still managed to avoid morning sickness, by the grace of God. Pretty much I'm just really tired all of the time. The breast tenderness comes and goes (it's back today), and I still pee more than I used to. Other than that, nothing to speak of, and no complaints either way!

2nd Ultrasound 8/14/2009

We had such an amazing appointment today!!! Our little one has grown so much in only a week (S)he is 6.8mm and is measuring 6 weeks 4 days. The Dr. gave me an estimated due date of 4/5/2010. As soon as the probe was settled in one place and the picture was clear I could see the teeny tiny flicker of the heartbeat...it was so incredible!! Even better, we actually got to HEAR the heartbeat, I was/am overjoyed. It was such a relief to see our baby's heat just beating away, I wish we could have listened longer. It came in at 127 beats per minute, which the doctor said was good. I get to go back next Friday for one more ultrasound at the fertility center before they "graduate" me back to my regular OB/GYN. It will be so cool to see how much more the baby grows by then. So far, everything is going great!

Here Come the Symptoms! Week of 8/10/2009

Ok, so maybe not the bad and horrid ones that most women complain of, but this week I did start to feel pregnant. Granted, it's worse on somedays than others. I still have the frequent peeing I think I mentioned in an earlier blog. This week started the fatigue. Please understand, being overweight and diabetic, feeling tired is nothing new for me, but the last few days it's been more than usual. I like to go to bed early, but passing out on the couch at 7:30 is a bit much, even for me. Work is like endless torture. I envy all the women that get to take naps throughout the day, God, I wish I was that lucky. But please, don't think I'm complaining. I'm so happy to be pregnant, I'll take the good with the bad. I vowed to be the happiest pregnant lady ever-come what may-as long as my baby is healthy.

I think my food cravings and aversions are starting to kick in now too. I made tacos the other day and was nauseous as soon as I sat down to eat. I got through 3 of them, but I definitely didn't feel good after. Sometimes, I just stare at the food options around me and can't find anything that looks or sounds good. As for cravings, well, I'm not sure if they're real or just normal fat girl wants, but there's definitely been a few things I thought of and had to have. Brad's been really sweet about it. Yesterday I was running through different things that sounded good in my head and my thoughts landed on a Friendly's Chicken Parm Melt with french fries and buffalo sauce to dip the fries in. I actually emailed poor Brad a picture of it in an effort to make him see my point. I pretty much wrote it off though since we really don't have the money for take-out right now, so I was overjoyed when I asked Brad what he wanted for dinner. I was about to run off the list of his options when he said "I thought you wanted Friendly's?" What a good hubby!!

I've been pretty lucky in that the morning sickness has stayed away so far. I get a few instances of dizziness occasionally, but I think that could just be the fatigue. I've also avoided the dreaded constipation so far, yay! My breasts are only mildly tender these days and I don't feel bloated or anything. All in all, I feel great.

I guess the only downside to not succumbing to all the horrid symptoms is the fear the the baby is not growing or something is wrong. But I'm not cramping or bleeding, so there's no sign of any catastrophe as of yet. Hopefully our ultrasound on Friday will show some progress!!

1st Ultrasound 8-7-09

Brad and I went for our first ultrasound today. The doctor prepped us on what to expect, she said we could see a fetal pole and heartbeat, but that she wouldn't be at all concerned if we didn't. I could be anywhere from 5 1/2-6 weeks, but I was still disappointed to only have the gestational and yolk sacs. Doc said this was absolutely fine and it looked great. We go back next Friday for another ultrasound, hopefully we'll see more then. Grow baby grow!!!!!!!!!!! I'm sure everything's fine, but I'll feel so much better once I see that heartbeat! Anyways, here's a pic of the ultrasound and my first belly pic, also taken today.