Wow!

Tonight, we did a 3d/4d ultrasound for fun. And it was really fun!!

We invited our moms and my sis-in-law to join us at a place not too far from the house. When you walk in, it looks like a baby shop, with the cutest baby clothes, keepsakes, etc. I stayed away from all of that, otherwise, I might have purchased everything!!

When you go into the ultrasound room, there's the typical table with the computer, but then there's a lot of seating and a big screen TV hanging up in the corner. Perfect viewing angle while you're laying on the bed, so you don't have to strain your neck to see. Plus the guests can easily see, too. When the tech started, it looked the normal ultrasounds we've seen, but then she popped over to 3d, and wow! It was the coolest thing. This was the first time I was seeing our baby in 3d, and I have to say... so adorable! :)

The funny thing is - s/he had BOTH her feet up by the forehead most of the time. At one point, the feet were in the eyes! Quite the flexible baby!! There was a point where s/he was waving, then it looked like s/he was cuddling the knee (which was next to the head). It was really just amazing to see!

We ended up with a DVD set to music, a CD of about 25 pictures in color, and then some of those u/s pics in black and white printed out.

Meet our little one (hand is on the side of face, knee is up against the other cheek):

Waving:

Sleeping:

I'm in love!

I passed!

Woo whoo! My nurse just emailed me - I passed the glucose test and all the other bloodwork looks good. I'm sooooo relieved. I guess the working out and fasting before the test helped me out!

Heading home to eat a bag of M&M's!!! :)

26w tomorrow!

Time seems to be flying, but also standing still.

I'm amazed that I'll hit 26 weeks tomorrow, only 14 more to go. Right around the corner from the third trimester. My ticker showed 100 days to go yesterday - that seems pretty wild! It seems like my to-do list is growing and growing, and I'm not crossing things off as quickly as I'd like. Will I get everything done???

But on the other hand, I can't wait to have our little baby in my arms, and it seems like it's taking FOREVER! I'm enjoying every moment, and really keeping a positive attitude, but there is a tiny part of me that still thinks what if.... There are still many things that can go wrong. I'm doing a pretty good job not dwelling on any of it, but I think I will only feel true relief when I hear my baby cry for the first time and we're told everything is "normal".

Meanwhile - some of the things going on....

• Still haven't found a place to get the flu shot. I don't want to wait until my regular doc appt at the end of Oct, so my OB said to go to Walgreens. (OB will have the swine shot when that comes in). They do it from 10-4, so maybe one day this week during lunch...
• I picked the cord bank we'll use, but need to sign up
• I'm narrowing in on a photographer to do maternity and newborn photos in our home. Need to nail that down.
• I created a Maternity Leave Plan for work - mapping out my time off, and activities I'll do before, during and after to make the leave as smooth as possible. I run a regional division and will not really be able to completely disconnect from work while I'm gone (even though legally, you're not supposed to work on disability). So I'm trying to set boundaries. Sent it to 3 bosses, yesterday, have heard nothing back... :(
• DH and I (mostly him) is making great progress on the house. The gym has been mostly moved downstairs, freeing up the playroom. I'm amazed at how hard he's working and how much he's getting accomplished!
• After all kinds of issues with my bedding (going out of stock, ordering somewhere else, that went out of stock, ordered somewhere else...), I ended up finding a pattern I loved even more! So I ordered it, plus all the accessories, then found out the third place was sending the original pattern!!! Oh well. I think I will use the accessories from the original pattern in the playroom, and try to sell the extra things I don't need on ebay!
• I've hit the 10 pound mark - up 10 pounds total with the pregnancy (ok), 27 pounds since infertility treatments started (ugghh)
• Still working out about 3-4 times per week, and generally feeling good, although I notice I am getting more tired
• Took my 1-hour glucose challenge test this morning. Very anxious for the results.
• REALLY looking forward to the 3d/4d ultrasound next week! Our moms will come along - so much fun...

And that's about it for now!

Hiccups!

Had my OB appointment this morning.

At 24w6d, the heartbeat is in the mid-150's, the fundal height was 25, and I'm up 8.5 pounds. All right on track. I now have to go for a bunch of blood tests including the TSH check, and also my 1 hour glucose test to see if I have gestational diabetes. I really hope I don't - I love sugar too much!!

We spoke a lot about timing for c-section if that's needed, inducing if it's not. I have have a big work project that will wrap up at the end of December, and I know I will miss some key meetings, but the more I can plan my leave, the better. Obviously, I know the baby can always decide to make an early appearance, but I like having a definite "no later than" date. Then I can back in 2 weeks of pre-birth disability (the doc says 4 weeks is standard, but if I'm feeling OK, I'd rather just take 2), and have a reasonable estimate of which meetings I might be able to attend, and which I definitely won't.

We also discussed cord blood banking. I have been doing a lot of research on private vs. public. Private is very expensive, but it's reserved for you only, and public is free, but if you ever need any, you have to hope there's a match in the bank. The chances of ever needing it is very small, but I would hate to take that gamble and lose, knowing we have the money to do it (initial cost is about 1500-2000, and then 100-200 per year after). The deciding factor for us is that there is a lack of minority cord blood in the public banks. My husband is a combination of Black, Asian and Jewish, and I'm also half Jewish, so we have a unique mix of ancestry. It would be unlikely we could find a good match in the public bank if we ever needed it, so, with the doctor's recommendation (and usually they advocate public donation) we've decided to go with private banking.

But the best part of the visit was when she listened for the heartbeat. I think I've mentioned that I feel the baby kick all the time, and sure enough, s/he was kicking when the doc was listening. Well, it turns out those weren't kicks, they were hiccups!!! How funny!!! DH and I thought that was pretty cool. I'm not sure I can tell the difference, but the doc knew for sure. She said if they are more rhythmic, and it feels like the whole body is moving, instead of just one spot, then it's a hiccup. She also said that's good, hiccups indicate that things are developing well.

So a good visit all around!

Life is good! 24w2d

I have to say, things are continuing to going really well for me! (knock on wood)

They are absolutely right when they say that the second trimester is the best. Now for me, I didn't have any sickness in the first, so that was pretty good, too, but I was tired. Lately, I really haven't been tired at all, back to my usual self. I have no significant aches or pains, yet, and I'm not so big that it's hard to bend down or move around. It's a really good stage of pregnancy!

And I love that the bump is obvious now. No mistaking for weight gain, it's definitely a pregnancy. Over the past month or two, people are congratulating me when they see me, there's no wondering if they shouldn't say anything. And I continue to feel the kicks every day, as does DH. That part is so much fun!

I've also noticed that my skin is looking and feeling really good! I've even gotten comments from friends and family about this. No more little breakouts or bumps anywhere, which I had before pregnancy. Maybe it's because I rub moisturizer on every single day when I'm done showering (I was not so consistent before!), but I think the hormones have something to do with it, too.

My only complaint is that I am very sore after I exercise. Sometimes, it's hard to walk! It's all in my hips - the doctor says it's just the ligaments stretching and the muscles are very sensitive. I guess my hips are going through a lot of changes now! But I love to exercise, so I won't give that up. I've already given up running and heavy weightlifting, and I've never heard of walking being harmful, in fact, everyone says it's especially good for you while pregnant, and helps recovery after a c-section go smoother (if I need one).

Oh, I'm having a blast watching things get purchased from my registry (shower is now a month away), and I even went ahead and ordered all my bedding and matching accessories. I had put them on my registry, but then they became discontinued. Yikes! I freaked out for a minute, since all my decorating was coordinated with the bedding style, but then I found it somewhere else online for 20% less! So I just snatched it up, along with even more accessories (why waste that 20% savings!!), and it's on its way to me now. Everything else that hasn't been purchased yet are things that I'm OK with switching the model or style if it becomes discontinued.

Meanwhile, I've pre-registered at the hospital, made an appt for a regular physical so I can get the swine flu vaccination and signed up for the regular flu shot at work. We're gearing up for the all the inside renovation, organizing and decorating that we have planned, and picking out things like paint colors, furniture for the playroom, lighting, etc. My lists are ridiculous! Basically, things are rolling along really well. It seems like time is flying in some ways, as well as standing still in other ways.

My next OB appointment is on Tuesday. I can't believe it's been a full month since my last one, with no screenings or other appointments, and I've been 100% calm. It's definitely the kicking - feeling my baby every day is the best reassurance! After this OB appointment, I have my 3d/4d ultrasound, my doctor's ultrasound to check on the fibroid, and then the OB appointments go from monthly to bi-weekly.

So that's about it - no major updates, just continued happiness!

-----------------------------------

Sep 11 - always a day of sadness and reflection. I was in NY 8 years ago, right across the street in the World Financial Center, and saw horrible things that will always stay with me. My heart goes out to all those affected directly and indirectly by the events of that tragic day.

Doulas and doctors

Well, we chose a postpartum doula this week.

I had contacted 3 of them over the past few weeks and spent some time talking over the phone. They all sounded knowledgeable and experienced, so I setup and interview night on Tuesday - I had them each come visit for about 45 mins to an hour each. I didn't really have a lot of specific questions, but got them talking about their philosophies on breastfeeding, what a typical day would be like, what tips they had for me, etc.

One had the tendency to ramble, and her voice was a little loud and shrill. She would bug the heck out of me! Another was more grandmother-like, and a little too "granola" for me. She said she supported a mother's decision to breast or bottle feed, but you can tell she only REALLY supported breastfeeding. And I fully intend to breastfeed, and I very much hope it works for me, but I don't want to feel guilty or like I've failed if it doesn't. I also asked her if I would need to continue to restrict my diet when I breastfed. For example, I'm not eating deli meat now, but can I eat that once I deliver and am breastfeeding? Well, she said I really shouldn't be eating it anyway since it's so unhealthy. OK. Next!

The third was just right. She was confident but not aggressive, sort of a quiet calm about her. She seemed like an aunt, not a grandmother, and did not seem opinionated at all. Basically, she'll be making sure I'm eating and drinking, helping take care of the baby so I can sleep, do laundry and light cleaning, run errands, cook dinners, teach me how to bathe, burp and care for the baby, and a bunch of other helpful things. I know our parents will be around to help and support us a lot, but I like the idea of having someone objective and who's around babies all the time that can help us feel more comfortable with how to do things! We're going to start out with 3 days a week, then see how it goes from there.

Tonight I'm going to an open house meeting for expectant parents at a pediatrics group. It's only 1 block from my office, 1 block from the daycare, and 10 minutes from our house. Plus they are affiliated with the hospital I'll be delivering at. I hope I like them because then I'll look no further - it couldn't be more convenient! Luckily, I just happened to call them yesterday to setup a consult (finding a pediatrician was on my to-do list for Sep), and they told me they had this open house today. Great timing!

I feel like I'm keeping on top of everything I need to do, making good progress against my list. And so is DH. Poor guy - there is so much to do! He's almost finished with all his outdoor projects (pressure washing the house and deck, staining the deck, painting shutters, installing railings on the front porch...) and now he can focus on the indoor projects (finishing the basement, moving the gym down to the basement, and getting the playroom and nursery ready). This will be the fun part! I can't wait to start picking out paint colors and decorating. :)

But after today, we're taking a break from everything for 4 days!! We're heading to the shore house for a nice, 4-day weekend of beach time, golf, nice dinners with friends and hopefully a lot of relaxing! We have tenants coming on Monday who are renting from Sep through May, so we'll turn over the keys and head back to our massive to do list on Monday night. But meanwhile, I'm so happy the weather is great for the last weekend of summer!