First Perinatal Appointment

Tuesday was our first appointment with the Perinatal (High risk) Specialist. I must admit that I was nervous for this appointment. But it turns out there was no reason to be worried at all! Everything went great!

We were referred by my regular OB to go see the specialist for a level 2 ultrasound. We visited with the genetic counselor first. I thought that this visit was going to be kinda scary because they were going to inform us of anything and everything that could go wrong with a pregnancy and all the risks for abnormalities. I must admit that the conselor was very nice and informative, and let us know that we are at a very low risk for there to be any genetic/chromosomal abnormalities in our baby.

Once we had our conseling session, we got to the good stuff! Looking at our little baby!!! We met the Specialist Dr. G., who I really liked. I felt that he really cared about my case and asked me as many questions as I did him. He brought up some points that we hadn't thought about, which I really appreciated! He said that he had diagnosed a couple of CDH babies (which is the birth defect that I had), but that I was the first adult survivor that he had ever seen/met. Pretty crazy!! He said that I was meant to do something great in life because I was so lucky to be alive!! haha

We started our ultrasound, and we immediately saw the baby!! He showed us the brain with both the lobes. We saw the heart with the different ventricals, too. It was so exciting to see the baby this time looking like a "real" baby. The last time we saw the baby it teeny tiny and looked like a bean/jalapeno. So needless to say, it was super exciting and made it seem so much more real! We got to see the little arms and legs, and we could see the hands move up to the face and open and close. It looked like the baby was waving at us! It was really an experience. Kolby was so cute watching the screen and smiling!

Here's the profile with a little hand

Then came the time for the Dr. to ask us if we would like to know the sex of the baby...Let me give some background on this subject...

Kolby has been the one from day one and I was with him too at first that we didn't want to know what the baby is. As time has gone on, I have kinda wanted to know, but Kolby still wanted it to be a suprise. So to support him, I said if he didn't want to know, I didn't want to know either. Well, on the way to the appointment, I told Kolby that they were going to ask us if we wanted to know what the baby is. He tells me that he kinda wants to know but then again he doesn't. I told him "I don't care, I'm supporting whichever decision you want". So then he tells me "How about if we can see what it is on our own without them telling us, when they ask us if we want to know, we will tell them no, and we will just know on our own." I said that was fine, and the subject was left at that.

Fast forward and we are in the ultrasound, and the Dr. is showing us the legs, and Kolby is about an inch from the screen trying to "see for himself" what the baby is. I'm laying on the table and I don't see anything that resembles boy private parts in that region, so in my head I'm thinking it's gotta be a girl. Next, the Dr. asks us if we would like to know the sex of the baby. It was like someone else was in Kolby's body, when the Dr. asked us, Kolby spun around and practically yelled "YESSS!!! We want to know!" Then Kolby looked at me, and I just shook my head and laughed, and said "apparently we want to know". So we gave our final votes on the gender and Kolby stuck with his boy vote, and since I had seen nothing that resembled a penis, I voted girl. Then the Dr. showed us and said "there it is!" Kolby and I both just looked at the screen in silence. Neither of us could tell what we were looking at. The Dr. said "Do you see it?" Uhh, nooo... and he said......

"There's the penis!!!!"

So there you have it! We are supposed to be having a little boy! But the best news of the day is that he appears to be completely healthy and on track for growth. He weighed 6 oz., and we could see his little heart still beating away nice and strong! And all of his organs appeared to be where they were supposed to be. Praise God!!!

We go back in three weeks to look at the little guy again...and confirm that he's a boy!!!

Definitely looking forward to this long weekend with the family and some relaxing!

Week 16 Survey!!!

Babys now the size of an avocado!!!

Watch what you say... tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean the little one can now pick up your voice. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming. And, if you're interested, an ultrasound might be able to determine gender.

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double their weight and add inches to their length. Right now, they're about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. Their legs are much more developed, their head is more erect than it has been, and their eyes have moved closer to the front of their head. Their ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of their scalp has begun, though their locks aren't recognizable yet. They've even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, their heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

Survey


How far along? 16 weeks

Weight Gain? Haven't gotten on the scale again, I will find out when I go to the Dr.

Maternity clothes? Still in both my normal clothes and my maternity, just my normal ones don't zip or button

Stretch marks? Nope!

Sleep? Not to great this week, waking up a ton throughout the night!

Best moment this week? Going to my first baby shower as a mommy-to-be!!!

Movement? None, yet, but soon!!!! Very soon!

Belly Button: In or Out? In

Food cravings? Nothing new this week, just sticking with my sour candies!

Gender? We are still hoping it's a boy! But we won't know til birth day!

Labor signs? Nope, we've been all good!

What I miss? Nothing this week, it's been good this week!

What I'm looking forward to? Our ultrasound this Tuesday!

Weekly Wisdom: Just enjoy being pregnant!!!

Milestones: One more month down! We are having our first level 2 ultrasound.

Me and my neighbor at her baby shower! She's 37 weeks, due July 20.

Daddy and me comparing bellies

IDK joined in the photo this week, she at least looks a little happier than Moe did last week!

So in this photo my belly already is starting to look crooked!! I think it has to do with my scars and such!

Kolby being goofy as usual!

Week 15 Survey!!!

Baby's now the size of a naval orange!!!

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces. It's busy moving amniotic fluid through their nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in their lungs begin to develop. Their legs are growing longer than the arms now, and they can move all of their joints and limbs. Although their eyelids are still fused shut, they can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, they'll likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but they are forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")

Survey


How far along? 15 weeks

Weight Gain? I got on my scale at home and it said I was up another 3lbs, since my dr's appt!

Maternity clothes? Loving most of them! Especially my shorts!

Stretch marks? Nope!

Sleep? Pretty good this week...

Best moment this week? Nothing to eventful this week, but if I had to pick, I would be setting up our 16 week ultrasound with the specialist! June 29th. Oh, and going to Babies R' Us with Kolby on my birthday!

Movement? None, yet, but soon!!!!

Belly Button: In or Out? In

Food cravings? Still the sour candy and still wanting the mashed potatoes, which I had both!

Gender? We are still hoping it's a boy! But we won't know til birth day!

Labor signs? Nope, we've been all good!

What I miss? Fitting into my cute swimsuit! Guess I'll be looking for a new one very, very soon, cause mine no fit anymore!

What I'm looking forward to? Our next ultrasound in a little over a week!

Weekly Wisdom: Once you've made up your mind, quit looking for other options, because you are bound to find something else that you like and then you will have to try to decide all over again!

Milestones: None this week, I guess it was pretty standard stuff!

Moe Moe thought she would help me with this weeks pictures...she could have at least looked happy about it!!!

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

So yesterday was my Birthday!!! WooWoo!! The big 2-3!!! Gosh I feel old, haha. But really, I've had a good birthday week!! Getting to spend the weekend with my family was fabulous, and very much needed. And I'll be getting to go back in 2 weeks for little Miss Alexis' 1st birthday party and July 4th, CAN'T WAIT!!! So let's recap the week shall we...

Monday:

We drove home from Utopia in a mad dash to make it back for the last half of the day of work because we were supposed to have a department meeting, which I learned upon walking into the office had been postponed to the following day, since another member of the team was out that day too...figures! Oh well...we made it back in one piece, and we needed a vacation to recover from our vacation, but we had a great time!

I went to work for the last half of the day...(which was completely pointless, because I got basically nothing done while I was there!) After work, Kolby and I went to supper and a movie. We decided to do a light supper and get goodies at the movies instead! Bad, I know. We ate at the BBQ place right next to the theater, and for the life of me I can't remember the name of it right now!!! Yummy!! We saw Get Him to the Greek, raunchy, yet funny. A good stupid comedy movie!

Tuesday:

Went to work...as usual! Kolby texts me about lunch time saying: "Babe, I just saw a mouse run through the kitchen!" He then commences to tell me that he didn't see where it went, so he's guessing it is holed up somewhere in our house. I told him to call the pest people and he said he would. That was the last I heard about it for the day...When I got home from work, Kolby said he wanted to give me my gift a day early, so who was I to object??? But first he asked me if I would get him a small glass of water to drink...which I thought was a strange request, because he was being so specific...Well I went into the kitchen and opened the cabinet where we keep the small glasses, and out pops this little fake mouse on a string, complete with squeaking noises and everything!!!! Scared the crap out of me!!! Needless to say I slapped the cabinet shut and went back to the living room to pound on Kolby, finding him laughing his head off, of course!!! I didn't even see my present he had hidden in the cabinet along with the mouse. So he went and pulled it out and here it is!!!

The brand new Canon camera we have been wanting to get for a while!!! I say we...really it's me! I was super excited! Our camera is about 5 years old, and we were due for an upgrade. I love that it's orange too, made my day!!! He also got me a new, bigger memory card to go with it! LOVE it!!!

Kolby had already made plans to go to our neighbors house for a man date to watch Game 6 of the NBA Finals, so I took the opportunity to have a girls dinner! I invited my couple of friends, but in the end only one could go, but it was great, we got plenty of time to catch up. Jen and I went to eat at Macaroni Grill! Yummmmy!!! Great evening with a girlfriend!

Wednesday:

This was my actual birthday day!!! I got Kolby to go with me and do a little looking (no buying, yet) at Babies R' Us. He didn't seem completely overwhelmed! I'm sure it won't be long before he gets tired of that place, haha. We picked up a shower gift, and caught dinner at BJ's Restaurant on the way home. It made for a pretty good wrap up for my big day!

Thursday:

NBA Finals game 7 tonight, meaning we were strapped to the house/tv! Kolby cooked steaks and corn, and I fixed some mashed potatoes. It was yummy! My friend Laura came over to enjoy with us because she couldn't make it to the girls dinner we had Tuesday night. Although the Celtics barely lost it, it was a good evening overall!

That's about all I have to report for this week in the "what's going on in our lives" report. Hope it was as exciting for you as it was for us!

Week 14 Survey!!!

Baby is now the size of a lemon!!!

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, their facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. Their kidneys are producing urine, which it releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process they'll keep up until birth. It can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch them sucking their thumb.

In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, they measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and weighs 1 1/2 ounces. The body's growing faster than the head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, the arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of the body. (The legs still have some lengthening to do.) They're starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over their body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and the spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel the tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

Survey


How far along? 14 weeks

Weight Gain? I haven't weighed myself since the Dr.'s appointment

Maternity clothes? I cashed in on the tons of maternity clothes that my mom found at the garage sales, they were all super cute! Some were still too big, but I'm sure I'll grow into themeventually

Stretch marks? Nope!

Sleep? Still so-so...not the greatest, but I'm getting enough to make it through the day!

Best moment this week? Announcing the pregnancy to all our hometown friends!

Movement? None, yet, but soon!!!!

Belly Button: In or Out? In

Food cravings? I'm definitely partial to any kind of sour candy!

Gender? We are still hoping it's a boy! But we won't know til birth day!

Labor signs? Nope, we've been all good!

What I miss? Nothing I can think of this week!

What I'm looking forward to? Getting started on shopping for baby!!!

Weekly Wisdom: Just don't worry about people petting your belly...they're going to do it whether you want them to or not!

Milestones: Officially done with my first week of the 2nd trimester!

Week 13 Survey!!!

Baby's now the size of a peach!!!

Your fetus is forming teeth and vocal cords... savor this, their non-functional phase. Baby is approaching normal proportions, with a head now only one third the size of the body. Intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy. (Much more convenient.)

Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, their veins and organs are clearly visible through their still-thin skin, and their body is starting to catch up with their head — which makes up just a third of their body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries.

Your baby is 2 1/2 to 3 inches long, the size of a medium goldfish. It weighs about one ounce. Your baby is shorter than a finger, but their face is already showing individual features and characteristics! Their ears are now developed enough that they may be able to hear when you sing, hum, or talk. Your baby spends it's time in your womb flexing their new and developing muscles and joints. Bouts of prenatal hiccups are strengthening your baby's diaphragm, which is preparing their respiratory system for breathing. Less glamorous but highly necessary organ systems for making hormones, absorbing nutrients, and filtering waste are also in place this week. The pancreas, gall bladder, and thyroid have developed, the kidneys can make urine, and their bone marrow is making white blood cells to help fight infection after they're born.

Survey


How far along? 13 weeks

Weight Gain? Officially up 4 lbs...

Maternity clothes? Kolby's mom came to see us and we went shopping and found some really cute maternity tops, and my mom went garage saling this weekend and said she got me some really cute tops and some jeans to try out, so we'll see how those fit next week, when we go see her!

Stretch marks? No thanks!

Sleep? Other than last night, sleep's been better this week. Last night Moe had something that was bothering her face and she wouldn't sit still and kept scratching, I think I was up about every 1-2 hours with her...(I think it was like having a baby!!)

Best moment this week? Hearing the heartbeat at my appointment and giving Kolby the dr's appointment report

Movement? None, yet! I think I'm going to start getting crazy and feeling phantom movement because I want to feel the baby move and I don't want to brush it off as gas and miss it!

Belly Button: In or Out? In

Food cravings? I think I'm going to count mashed potatoes a my craving for the week, I've wanted them alot, but I've been too lazy to make them myself, but I did have some when we went to Boston Market for work lunch.

Gender? We are still hoping it's a boy! But we won't know til birth day!

Labor signs? Nope, we've been all good!

What I miss? We went to Texas de Brazil and I had to eat all my meats well done instead of medium-medium rare, it wasn't too bad...

What I'm looking forward to? Moving into the 2nd trimester and getting some energy back!!! And all the baby shopping that is in the near future!

Weekly Wisdom: No wisdom for this week...I've had pregnant brain pretty bad this week, I'll walk into the kitchen and not be able to remember what I came in for, or be talking and forget what I was going to say mid-sentence....it's very frustrating!

Milestones: 2nd good report at Dr. Appointment!!!

12 Week Prenatal Appointment

This morning was our 2nd prenatal appointment at 12 weeks gestation. Kolby wasn't able to go with me this time, since they have changed his schedule to the day shift. He's now working 5am-5pm, it's nice to have him home at night and have some semblence of a real home life, but I was sad he couldn't come to the appointment. He thought that he was going to miss out on getting to see the baby again on ultrasound, but I assured him that to the best of my knowledge, I wouldn't be getting an ultrasound at this appointment, so he's wasn't as sad that he would miss anything!

My appointment was bright and early at 8:45AM, so I was hoping that they wouldn't be backed up yet. Once I got there and signed in, I may have sat about 10 min at the most. The nurse called me back and took my weight. I was up 4 lbs from 114 to 118. I officially now weigh more than I have ever weighed in my entire life!! Woohoo!!! haha! She got me in a room and did my blood pressure and I had to give a urine sample as well. Then I waited...and waited...and waited! I had probably been sitting there for 30 minutes when the nurse popped her head in and told me that the Dr. was tied up with the patient right ahead of me, that I could see a Nurse Practioner if I wanted, or I could continue to wait. This was to be the first time I met my Dr. as I saw the NP my first visit, so I opted to wait, so I could meet her!

I'm glad that I did wait. She was fabulous and I'm so glad that she will be my Dr. She was so nice, and seemed so knowledgeable and I felt that she was interested in my questions and concerns, and just made me feel totally at ease. We had our Q&A session and I got lots of good info! I'll do some bullets to make it easier. Here goes:

• I will have a scheduled delivery
  
• At about 36 weeks she will change my blood thinner from Lovenox to Heparin, as it is more highly controlled and quicker to come out of your system (since she doesn't want me on blood thinner when I deliver)
  
• She wants me to gain a total of 35-45 lbs since I am considered underweight.
• I will be seeing the Maternal Fetal Specialist at 16 weeks for an ultrasound to get a really good look at the baby and I will be getting the full anatomical scan at 20 weeks, so we'll be getting to see this baby alot I hope!




• As I'm nearing delivery I will have BPP's done which are Biophysical Profiles, you can read more about them here.

She then put me up on the table to take a listen to the heartbeat. I had already told her that I was a "nervous nelly", so she told me not to panic if she didn't find the heart beat right away, that sometimes it takes a minute for the doppler to find the baby. From the time she put the doppler on my belly it wasn't 15 seconds before she found the heartbeat, loud and clear!!! It was a strong 168 bpm!! She said that it sounded great!!

That was the conclusion of my appointment with the Dr., however, I then met with the patient/insurance coordinator. She went over FMLA paperwork that I would need to bring in and how my insurance benefits should work for their office. I must say that I have fabulous insurance! We purposely got the Premium or "buy-up" plan that my company offers, it costs a little more per month, but the difference in coverage is very significant. I am looking at totalout of pocket expenses for the year of less than $2000 for any/all services that fall within this calendar year!!! Awesome!!!

Next appointment is set for July 6!