36 weeks & appt

36 Weeks!
Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position.
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Had an appt with my midwife today. They did the strep b swab and I'll find out about that. I had a sonogram of my upper abdominal organs last week - a few things were slightly enlarged but they thought it was pregnancy-related and nothing to worry about. My blood pressure was just a TINY bit high at the beginning of this appt, but by the end it was totally fine. Chloe was head down curled around with her back to my left and her feet somewhere in the right of my abdomen. So cute... I love how professionals can tell where the baby is and can feel the different portions!

I also got some awesome news - my midwives want to do a sonogram/biophysical profile and non-stress-test on me at my next appt becuase of my asthma. They aren't worried, they just want to make sure things are on track. And Peggy said "I just am curious about how much this little girl weighs!" SO AM I! And the thing is I didn't even ask. So, I'm kind of glad I had asthma cuz I get an extra sono. is that terrible to say? probably. I'm literally giddy right now at the thought of seeing any of my baby again - even if it's just a foot. It's been so long!!!

Symptom wise, pain is the same in my abdomen/ribs - pretty rough at times, still have avoided taking the pain medication. I feel like a whale and I almost fell over at the doctor's today getting off the scale (which I for ONCE didn't GAIN any weight in a week which was good cuz I've been packing on the pounds). I am having some slightly painful twinges in my pelvis which is normal, bladder is crazy crazy as usual, joints are loosening and I still think I'm getting some Braxton Hicks contractions, occasionally. Brian couldn't make it to this appt but I think it was a-ok. My mom wasnts to come to the next one to meet my midwives. haha.

I CAN'T BELIEVE WE'RE SO CLOSE!!!

17 week appointment

Had an appointment today at 17 weeks. All seems well. Heart rate measured in in the 140s! At 8 weeks we were in the 160s so this is a bit interesting! Now everyone is saying "ah, definitely a boy" because of the old wives tales about slow heart rate = boy.

Well we'll know in THREE weeks! October 20th is the big ultrasound. We're trying to figure out if we want to do something special to make finding out the gender more of a surprise, like have the ultrasound tech write it in an envelope and enclose a picture of "the goods" for us, and then we can take it to my parents house later that night, and get brian's parents on Skype to open it all together! Or, we can open it later, just the two of us, so we can react whatever way we want alone together. lol. Who knows, just fun thoughts.

heartbeat

Had my first physical exam today - relatively uneventful although rather uncomfortable (didn't think I'd have to get a PAP while pregnant). But I did get to hear the baby's tiny heartbeat faintly behind mine. I was so excited because the midwife said she can't always detect it this early, but she likes to try, and she was very persistent until she found it, and seemed as excited as me! :-) Even though I'd already seen it on the ultrasound last week, it was still fantastic and made me smile. Another appt at 13 weeks (a month from now) and Brian will get to hear it too.

Other than that, things have been good. I feel a bit of my energy coming back. I am still queasy in the mornings, but days like today are good, I feel like I can go out and do things and even do dishes and vacuum. I'm glad and hopeful that I'm coming out of the worst of the nausea and symptoms.

Brian and I looked at baby names - top 200 from 2005 yesterday in a book I had. It was interesting how many we DIDN'T like or couldn't even consider, some that we loved but close friends had already taken (like Eli, Mason, Caleb, etc. ;-) Girlwise I think we are less picky and have more choices. Who knows though!

Anyway - that's it for today. Leave me a comment if you even read this!

6 weeks

I guess! That's a rough estimate but I'm somewhere around 6 weeks today, and the baby is the size of a lentil bean. Weird comparison but it helps. Arm and leg buds are forming, the heart is beating, and nostrils and eyes are forming already. How surreal.

I have my first real appt scheduled at 8 weeks - July 27 at 12:45 with Dr. Wise's nurse. So I guess it's not a real real apointment, we'll probably just go over my blood work. We'll see how that goes. And found out that the ACL didn't draw enough blood to process my prenatal screening, so I have to go back and get more drawn; I'll be sporting a nice bruise on the inside of both arms!

I guess I better get used to being poked and prodded!

--Update, they only did a prenatal screening set that tests for things like rubella, blood type, etc... but still no one has drawn any of the blood tests for hormonal types of testing. I thought this was one of the most important things because it could signify any problems with the pregnancy or any chances of twins, etc.., so this is frustrating, knowing I'll definitely have to go back again in the next few weeks and I haven't even been to the doctor yet!

positive blood test results

I have received the confirmed positive from my blood test taken on Thursday. My PCP was so excited she opened the door and told the office I was pregnant! Over the last few days we've told some of our closest friends and family who we are in touch with the most so that they can pray for protection over this new and very tiny life.

I am already feeling symptoms, and considering I'm not even 6 weeks yet... this doesn't bode well. The doctor told me that the symptoms are a good sign, it means good hormones, so I'm trying to look at it as positive. The main ones are that I feel completely and utterly EXHAUSTED... I walk up a flight of stairs and feel like I want to go to bed. Honestly I'm surprised I did as well as I did in Italy because of the exhaustion I am feeling now! This one might be TMI for any men out there, but my breasts have been sore for 3 weeks and its only getting worse! I am definitely feeling more sensitive to smells, and overall I feel a general blah of nausea... not intolerable, but just annoying.

It is funny how soon you can really start to feel different! It is hard for me to not be stressing out over aches, pains and cramps that are relatively normal for me with my IBS condition - when you know there is a life growing inside you in the same general area, it causes me to worry a bit, or maybe not enough!

I told my grandpa yesterday, and we all are happy but cried a bit with sadness... wishing Grandma was still around, as we know this news would just thrill her to pieces. We miss her so much!

I am waiting for my appointment with Dr. Elizabeth Wise, one of the top OB/GYNs in the area recommended by my PCP, so I'll update when I know the date and what it will involve!