The part where I try to have patience.

I had my 38 week appointment this morning and my first internal exam.  The OB actually suggested I not have an internal since I haven't been having any contractions (Braxton Hicks don't count).  I asked to have one anyway because I wanted to know.  Well, now I know that I've made zero progress.  My cervix is completely closed.  No mention of effacement. 

I've been telling myself all day that it really means nothing and this is probably why the OB suggested I not have one done yet.  He'll come out when he's ready, and he's just not ready yet.  However, I spend too much time online reading about women who are several weeks behind me and already dilated 2+ cm.  I'm not sure which would be worse - walking around dilated for weeks with nothing happening or not having made any progress at all.  

Maybe I should go for a walk tonight.  I do vow not to turn into one of those women who starts doing things like drinking castor oil though!

How far along: 38 weeks

Next appointment: Next Wednesday

Any new aches/pains: Nothing new.  OB told me at my appointment this morning that I can expect to start having contractions, generally after midnight, anytime now as my cervix starts to dilate. 

Maternity clothes: Nothing new here.

Sleep: I've been having major insomnia and I'm not sure why.
 
Best moment this week: Having my mom stock our freezer with food!

Movement: Still a lot of movement.

Food cravings: Nothing healthy.  Anything sweet.

Belly button: Still in.

What I miss: Not constantly bumping my belly into things.

What I'm looking forward to this week: Getting a pedicure on Sunday.

Weekly wisdom: When the OB suggests there's no reason for an internal exam, she probably knows what she's talking about and you should listen to her.

30 week appointment

30 week appointment went well. I only gained 1 lb from the 28 week appointment, so I'm proud of that. My blood pressure was slightly higher than normal (129/80 when it's usually 110/70), but I blame that on having to see the OB in the practice who I'm not fond of and who makes me nervous. I might check it at CVS or Target sometime this week. I had my thyroid tested again at 28 weeks and got the results from that today. TSH is down to 2.27 so I shouldn't need to increase my Synthroid dose. Since it's down below 3 again I can stop worrying about it being too high to affect milk supply after he's born.

We were supposed to start our childbirth classes last night based on the email confirmation I got from the instructor when I signed up for the classes in June. However, she called yesterday afternoon to confirm that the class actually starts this coming Sunday. Oh well. P's boss and his wife recently finished the classes, and we are a little worried she's going to be way too crunchy for us. P's boss's wife is considerably more of a hippie than we are, but if she was put off by the woman's attitude (the typical stuff - anti-epidural, go natural, etc.) then I can only imagine what we're going to think! Hopefully we will actually get something out of it, and since this is our only option for classes in Williamsburg there's not much we can do abut it.

How far along: 30 weeks 5 days

Next appointment: September 7 - 32 weeks

Any new aches/pains: Nope.

Maternity clothes: Except for one or two tops, it's all maternity clothes now.

Sleep: Last week was good, and now I'm back to waking up all night long.

Best moment this week: Having a weekend with nothing planned.

Movement: It's party party party all day long.

Food cravings: Homemade peach ice cream from Handel's (it's a local ice cream shop in W'burg). We went by last night, but they were out of peach! I'd been looking forward to it all weekend, but I settled for chocolate peanut butter brownie ice cream instead. If this is all I have to complain about, things are ok!

Belly button: It's still in!

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach.

What I'm looking forward to this week: A week of weather in the low 80s during the day and mid to upper 60s at night.

Weekly wisdom: If at first you don't succeed in getting homemade peach ice cream, try again later. Which I will be doing sometime this week after I call ahead!

28 week appointment

I had my 28 week appointment this morning and go every 2 weeks from now until week 36 when it switches to weekly. Wow, that's really going to make time fly!

I had to drink the glucose drink 30 minutes before the appointment, and it wasn't nearly as bad as I've heard. I had the fruit punch version and it tasted like Kool-Aid to me (or what I remember Kool-Aid to taste like, haven't had it in years).

The appointment was one of the more eventful ones I've had. They did an internal exam (don't listen to the horror stories, the cervix check did not hurt one bit) and measured my belly. The NP didn't seem to think I was too large, unlike the mean woman I encountered at TJMaxx who told me I was too big for how far along I was and then proceeded to look at my belly like I've done something wrong! The NP also suggested we buy a carseat soon. Interesting comment - definitely a suggestion rather than an indication she thought I'd go into pre-term labor. We'd been planning to buy it soon anyway, as soon as the Babies R Us gift card we cashed in credit card rewards points for arrives in the mail.

Cross your fingers I don't get a call later this week and have to go back for the 3 hour test!

How far along: 28 weeks 5 days

Next appointment: August 23 - 30 week appointment

Any new aches/pains: Nope. Some hip pain at night, but that's about it. It goes away as soon as I roll to the other side.

Maternity clothes: Except for one or two tops, it's all maternity clothes now.

Sleep: Some nights it's good, some nights I'm up with heartburn and hip pain. I'm still feeling generally rested though, so I can't complain too much.

Best moment this week: Shopping and brownie sundaes with Shannon and Heather. And no, we didn't share the sundaes.

Movement: All the time. Some days it's a full on dance party and then he seems to need to rest a bit the following day.

Food cravings: Nothing really at the moment.

Belly button: Still in! Woohoo!

What I miss: Being able to sleep on my stomach and go shopping for regular clothes.

What I'm looking forward to this week: Shannon's baby shower and getting in the pool afterwards.

Weekly wisdom: If your a/c breaks for the 2nd time in 6 weeks, just go to a hotel and don't think about the cost.

Viability!

I made it to 24 weeks and viability! Very exciting! I had my 24 week appointment today which was boring (a good thing, I think). We listened to the heartbeat and they gave me the nasty stuff to drink for the 1 hour glucose tolerance test at my next appointment.

My mom recently ordered the fabric for the crib skirt and bumper - it's a gingham seersucker in green and white:


We've ordered the crib, mattress (which should be delivered today), and glider (which should be delivered Monday). It feels like Christmas! We're hoping to get the nursery as done as possible, minus the furniture of course, by the end of this weekend.

How far along: 24 weeks 1 day

Next appointment: August 9 - 28 week appointment

Any new aches/pains: Nothing new, just hips occasionally at night.

Maternity clothes: Except for one or two tops, it's all maternity clothes now.

Sleep: I'm still getting up at least once a night to use the bathroom and if I end up on my back I wake up with heartburn.

Best moment this week: Hitting the viability point! Obviously I would never want to go into labor this early, but it's nice to know that his survival is greater than 50% now.

Movement: Off and on all day and it's getting stronger!

Food cravings: Last night I really wanted a milkshake, but satisfied myself with chocolate milk instead.

Belly button: It's still in, but getting flatter by the day.

What I miss: Bud Light Lime on these hot days we've been having.

What I'm looking forward to this week: Furniture being delivered.

Weekly wisdom: Always make a pee plan because you don't want to end up stuck without a bathroom.

Putting my mind at ease.

I had the Quad Screen done at my 16 week appointment last week. My OB's office uses that, the 12 week blood work, and the NT scan before they give you the risk assessment for various disorders (Down's, Trisomy 18, etc.). A nurse called me this morning and said that the test results are negative. This translates to the baby being low risk for Down's, Trisomy 18, and neural tube defects. The doctor should go over all the results at my next appointment and give us our actual risk (ex. - 1 in 1000).

They tested my TSH again and it's down to 3.36 from 4.05 at 8 weeks. Yay! I'm not feeling any symptoms, so at this point I'm not pushing my doctors to up my dose. As long as I stay around 3 and under, I'm happy.

2nd attempt at NT scan was a success!

I went back to the doctor's office on Friday so they could try the NT scan again. This time we had a cooperative baby and the tech could get the measurements she needed.

Crown-Rump Length: 7.43cm (was told under 8 is good)
NT measurement: 1.5mm (under 3 is good)
Heart rate: 159bpm

I also had more blood drawn and should get our risk assessment at the next appointment on May 13. I got the blood work results back from my first appointment. Not that I was surprised, but it's always good to hear you don't have HIV, syphilis, herpes, and every other STD out there. I'm also not a carrier for Cystic Fibrosis. This is a relief to Patrick because he's very concerned he's going to have to get blood drawn for something baby-related!

My reward for getting blood drawn was a trip to Prime Outlets afterwards. I kept my promise to the ultrasound tech and did not go into the baby outlets, but I did hit up Motherhood Maternity. I bought a pair of black work pants, black capri pants, a skirt, a black shirt to go with the skirt, and 2 collared work shirts. Not too bad!

Now for the fun part - 3 more ultrasound pictures! I got to see the baby flip over, swallow, and wave. Pretty neat!

***Pictures removed 9/1/10 for privacy***

How far along: 13 weeks 5 days

Next appointment: May 13. 16 week appointment is standard weight, blood pressure, pee in the cup. I'll get more blood work done too.

Any new aches/pains: Nausea seems to be gone for good! (Let's hope I didn't just jinx myself.) I have occasional heartburn and some back pain.

Maternity clothes: I'm wearing maternity pants at work for the first time. I have no shame.

Sleep: Still waking up to pee in the middle of the night and having vivid dreams, but I wake up feeling rested. I can feel the 2nd trimester energy building!

Best moment this week: The 2 ultrasounds last week were fantastic! I also found out that 2 very close friends are pregnant and we're all due before the end of the year. Baby Fest 2010!!!

Movement: Not yet, but I've heard it can start at Week 14. I'm not holding my breath.

Food cravings: Mexican food. I've been good about not giving in to cravings as much.

Belly button: Still in.

What I miss: Right now, nothing.

What I'm looking forward to this week: Hitting 14 weeks on Wednesday. Making plans to visit Rebecca in Hawaii.

Weekly wisdom: TBD

First ultrasound!

We had our first ultrasound yesterday! I really expected to cry when I saw the baby and heard the heartbeat, but I must admit that my first reaction was that it looks like an alien. The baby was slightly uncooperative and was facing the screen the whole time, so it was hard to get a good profile shot. We got to see the little guy for a good 15-20 minutes and it really was the most amazing experience. He was flipping all over the place and kicking up a storm!

Baby is measuring a week ahead of where I thought I was, so the due date changed to October 27. We're hoping for a Halloween baby at this point!

The sonographer guessed that it's a boy, but made us promise not to run out and buy anything. I'm excited about that, and also interested to see if it changes at our anatomy scan.

Since the baby was not cooperating she couldn't take the NT scan measurements, so I'm going back on Friday for one more try. Oh darn, I have to see my baby again. :)

All in all, it was a great day. My blood pressure was way down from the previous appointments which makes me very happy. I think they key is to have them take it after I've been there awhile and not when I first walk through the door.

Can't wait to go back on Friday!!

Time is slowly ticking by.

Nothing much to report here. My first ultrasound is scheduled for April 20. I'll be exactly 12 weeks and will have the NT scan done. I'm sooo nervous to finally see the baby and confirm that he/she is growing.

I had a 2nd appointment last week which was a physical exam and pap with one of the OBs. He agreed with my chart and ovulation date, and changed my EDD back to what I think it is rather than having me be 2 weeks ahead. Glad that got straightened out!

My symptoms have faded a bit, except for the exhaustion. I'm generally only nauseous in the evenings now rather than all day, which is fine with me. If only I could sleep 12 hours every night I'd probably be feeling great!

I'll be 10 weeks on Tuesday. Double digits! I hope week 12 hurries up and gets here so we can finally tell people!

OB Confirmation Appointment

I had my OB confirmation appointment this morning. P came with me, but overall it was not very exciting. I peed in a cup, filled out some paperwork, we gave our family histories, and they took 7 vials of blood. They are basing my due date on my last missed period rather than my ovulation date (which wasn't until cycle day 30), so as of right now I'm 10 weeks along and due October 18. However, I predict that will change when I have my first ultrasound. If not, then I was a failure at charting and OPKs lie.

The practice I'm going to does 2 ultrasounds - one at 12 weeks and one around 20 weeks. Since they think I'm farther along than I do, I should be getting an ultrasound sooner. I have another appointment on Thursday morning which is my first physical. I'll get to meet one of the OB's, but will see a different one at each appointment until I pick the one I want as my primary. At my Thursday appointment the doctor will schedule my ultrasound. The nurse couldn't schedule it today because apparently that throws Tricare into a tailspin, so the doctor has to do it. I also had to sign a form saying I understand that Tricare may decide not to pay for any ultrasounds (why? because they suck). Good thing we've got the Baby Fund.

I'm hoping my appointment on Thursday is more "exciting." I think I'll get more info since I'll get to see a doctor. My blood pressure was higher than normal today (135/89), but according to Google it's technically not too high for pregnancy. Hopefully that was just nerves and not the start of something serious.

First appointment scheduled!

I had my yearly exam scheduled for next Tuesday. I called the office and told them I recently found out I'm pregnant. They canceled my yearly exam and scheduled my OB confirmation appointment for 3/22! I can't wait!

The nurse asked for the date of my last period, so I told her but also told her that I ovulated late. She didn't seem fazed by that, and just added 4 weeks to today's date to figure out when to schedule my first appointment. I was afraid she'd think I was significantly further along that I really am.

I didn't think to ask if they'd possibly do an ultrasound, but I'll call back closer to the appointment date to confirm. I wouldn't want P to miss out on that.