Best Morning Ever

We just had one of the best morning's ever.

We just returned from the doctor's office. Scott and I elected to undergo a first trimester genetic screening test - the nuchal fold scan (or nuchal translucency screening). This is an ultrasound performed with a simple blood test. We picked this screening because it's the earliest first trimester screen available, with a lower risk of false positives than the second trimester multiple marker test (or AFP4), and it's non-invasive - the ultrasound measures the fold at the base of the baby's neck and the blood test is looking for proteins common in certain developmental abnormalities - specifically Downs and Trisomy 18.

So, we started the appointment with a 30 minute genetic counseling session with an incredibly friendly and kind genetics specialist with a keen sense of humor. I really liked her. She drew this crazy genetic map with all of these symbols that I think could be related to the final episode of LOST. But seriously, we learned a lot - mostly, that both Scott and I are very low risk of passing anything down to our kid. Whew.

We then moved on to the ultrasound. It was a big kooshy room, with two ultrasound techs, our genetics expert AND a perientologist. Full house indeed. And our little baby is quite the performer (takes after Mom!). We saw a full set of acrobatics, lots of rolling and flipping and swimming about. A dramatic hand raised to its forehead. A foot in the camera (damn paprazzi). The little one was so active for a good 20 minutes that we were having trouble getting a good picture for measurement. Then, almost on cue, the babe chilled out for a few snap-shots. Scott and I were laughing and grinning and it was just such an incredible, wonderful moment. I could have stared at that screen for hours. Amazing.

Everything is looking just great. We should have our screening results within a week.

Afterward we went out for breakfast and talked excitedly about what's to come. Suddenly, this all feels very, very real. And I'm just smitten.

28 weeks, 1 day and counting...

Eat Your Veggies

I know, so many of my posts are about food...can I just say, quickly, how happy I am to be able to eat vegetables again. Specifically: salad. There's nothing more refreshing and satisfying on a spring or summer day than a bountiful bowl of greens. I am now craving fresh veggies and fruit - I must have eaten nearly a whole bunch of radishes today alone. It's a relief.

Very early in my pregnancy when morning sickness was just rearing its ugly head, I had to attend a conference in New York City. Feeling a bit queasy one morning, I set out into mid-town searching for something healthy to eat and came upon a deli that had the most beautiful bowls of fresh berries. Perfect. Or so I thought. A few bites in, I started feeling a bit green. I decided to eat it slowly and took the bowl of fruit with me into my first session. A few more bites and that was it, I had to leave. Quickly, I grabbed my fruit, my bag, and made a bee-line to the ladies room. After I tossed the fruit - in more ways than one - I sent a text message to Scott.

"Baby does not like fruit."

He writes back, "Baby's a boy!"

And so, I've been without copious amounts of fruit and veg for the better part of two months now. I used to be a vegetarian, so this was kind of a big thing. Plus there was the whole meat aversion issue I was struggling with. So, my diet really consisted of carbs in various forms and lots of 'em. No wonder the poundage came on pretty easy.

So it's a nice change to crave a radish or two. And pineapple. And grapes. And salad. And yes, even a big bowl of fresh berries.

28 weeks, 3 days and counting...

Maternity Clothes Deux

Last night, I ventured out to a mall that is evidently the local mecca for all things maternity wear. I discovered the maternity section of Old Navy and Gap and scored a few things from A Pea in the Pod.

All I can say is this: this crap is hellishly expensive! Seriously! I haven't dropped that much cash on clothes in one single swoop since I was a single gal in DC. I shudder at my husband's expression when he views the debits from our checking account.

I will say, however, that it was a super fun treat to strap on the little fake pregnancy bellies and catch a glimpse of how I might look in the next few months. That part was very fun.

There is also a happy ending to this mini-dilemma. Let's call her Saint Teresa. My wonderful, kind, beautiful co-worker brought a huge bag and a giant box stuffed to the gills with maternity duds to work for me today. I heart her. With a few more pieces here and there, I should be able to proceed through my pregnancy fully clothed.

Thank God for that!

28 weeks, 4 days and counting...

Maternity Clothes

Please, someone tell me where the cute maternity clothes are?

My jeans are getting a little tight, and while searching for something to wear to the opera over the weekend, I could find just one skirt that would fit. My books are all telling me this is normal, so yay, but they are also telling me that starting next week, I can expect to start gaining a pound a week. Holy crap!

The anal retentive planner in me has kicked in and today I went to two stores searching for cute duds so I'm "prepared" only to leave disappointed. Old Navy has an online selection, but I couldn't find anything labeled "maternity" actually in the store. Then, Target had a few things, but they either made me look like a house, or had weird fitting issues in spots.

And what exactly can I expect to happen? I mean, I gather that my ass is going to be huge before this ordeal is over, so do maternity clothes take that into account, or should I be looking for a size bigger to accommodate bigger booty?

Thoughts or suggestions for shopping dilemmas are welcome.

28 weeks, 5 days and counting...

Turning the Corner

[whispers]: I don't want to say this out loud and ruin it...but...it seems I am feeling better. The past two mornings, I have risen from my slumber without the urge to puke. TWO DAYS! I have also been eating meals at normal times - and normal meals! We actually ate dinner together last night. And I COOKED! I haven't been able to do any of these things in nearly eight weeks.

It seems I'm turning the corner.

On the other hand, while at the movies last night (Date Night - very cute), I began to weep a little bit during the previews. Of course the preview was for the next Sex in the City. I was just so happy to see the girls together again! So, maybe this is the trade off? I'll take crying over puking any day, though.

29 weeks and counting.

Wish List

I have started to make a little wish list of things I want to do (mostly consume) after the baby arrives. I know, I've got a long road ahead of me, but still, how I long for soft cheeses these days...

1. A deliciously fruity rum drink - like the Jamaican Sunset we drank on our honeymoon.
2. A fresh salad with loads of bleu cheese. And bacon. Because that pairs well with the cheese.
3. A huge hunk of brie.
4. A large, exquisitely made, fully caffeinated cappuccino.
5. A messy plate of eggs benedict with barely poached eggs DRENCHED in hollandaise sauce.
6. A long soak in a hot-tub. Preferably one up in the mountains somewhere above 9,000 feet.

And the big one...I know a lot of women expect jewelry or some other gift from their husband after carrying a baby for nine months. I'd really love a house-keeper and a yoga pass. Please and thanks.

That is all.

29 weeks, 3 days and counting...

Making Room

I am officially now into the double digits - both in pregnancy and in waist size. Officially at ten weeks now, the baby is about the size of a kumquat. The baby has also made the transition to "fetus" which means that all the important good stuff in terms of parts are there and accounted for.

While the baby is the size of an uber small citrus fruit, my waist-line has definitely expanded. Typically, my pant size pre-pregnancy hovered around an 8/10. 8 for work clothes during the week - 10 for the comfy stuff when you want more room. I have two pairs of size 12 "fat pants" for those moments of desperation. Let's just say, goodbye size 8. And the fat pants are seeing more action these days. Granted, my growing belly is more of a food-baby than real baby at this point, but in my defense I must point out that the baby comes with accessories. There's bloat, my ever expanding uterus, placenta (that word grosses me out), amniotic fluid, and of course, that nice reserve of fat - you know, just in case. What I'm saying is there's a lot going on in there. So, it's not JUST the chili dog and tater tot craving, okay? My body is making room for baby - a proper hostess, indeed.

I must say that I am looking forward to the big, round, beautiful pregnant belly full of baby, accessories and all. It's strange to feel so pregnant and not look it...

29 weeks, 6 days and counting...

Hormones.

So, the other day, early in the morning, when I was ready for my second breakfast, I decided I wanted a boiled egg. Needed some protein STAT. Feeling a little queasy.

I went to the kitchen cabinet looking for the small sized, dishwasher safe pot with the glass lid. I knew exactly what I needed. And it was NOT there. Hmm. It wasn't on the stove, wasn't on the cabinet. I opened the dishwasher (which is my least favorite thing to do these days because it makes me gag on a consistent basis due to my heightened sense of smell) and found it there. My pot was resting dirty in the dishwasher with some sort of gross former gravy-looking substance caked on it. Had my husband been home, I shudder to think what obscenities I would have yelled at him.

Instead, my lip pouted out and I kid you not, I started to cry. No, not cry. I SOBBED. I was SO upset that I could not boil my egg in the special pot. I was behaving like a two year old.

Ah, pregnancy hormones. You make me so nutty.

30 weeks, 1 day (well, 6.5 hours) and counting...

Telling the boss

I let the cat out of the bag yesterday at work. I was scheduled for my annual review and it seemed the most opportune time. I have to say, it was a relief to finally clear the air. Everyone seems excited and supportive and I'm glad I didn't wait an extra two weeks for the end of our first trimester. I'm feeling great about the pregnancy and am really bursting to share the news with the world.

30 weeks, 2 days and counting...

Botched

There's nothing worse than receiving a call from the lab that performed your bloodwork and the first sentence from the person on the other line is, "there's a problem."

Your heart drops. You immediately start thinking that you are suffering from some terrible infectious disease. And in my case - that there's SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE BABY!

No.

The problem was the lab made a "human error." Something about mislabeling the 8 vials of blood that they robbed from me earlier in the week. Whatever. We all have bad days and make mistakes. I agreed to come in again and have a complete redraw. It's pretty incredible, actually, that I didn't stick it to them because I do have a big fear of needles - big. Like cannot look at them, must move my feet about while being pricked to try to keep my mind off of what's happening. I am a big baby when it comes to this. So, I was quite impressed with myself that I handled the situation so well.

So, I walk into the lab today, check in and bam. Problem. No orders for any bloodwork in "the system." Tap, tap, tap goes the lady on her keyboard. Frown. Nope - not seeing anything. So, I explain what happened and she nods with a very confused look on her face and then she asks me to take a seat while she calls...someone. They then quickly take me back, examine my arms noting that I have a hum-dinger of a bruise from my draw on Monday, and the nice phlebotomist opts for the other arm. She takes one vial and I raise my eyebrows a bit and explain, "Hmm. They told me they needed a complete redraw and they took like 8 vials last time plus a urine sample, are you sure that's all you need?" She says, "I don't know." Not something you want to hear while someone is sticking you with a needle in the arm. After she pulls out, she has me apply pressure to my wee wound as she tracks down the lab supervisor to try to get to the bottom of all this weirdness. The supervisor and the tech both come racing out with concerned looks on their faces. My heart drops again. Incredibly apologetically, they explain that yes, they do need to take all eight vials, plus a new pee sample and that the little vial of blood that they just robbed from me is null and void - thanks for playing.

My pregnancy hormones kick in and I well up with tears.

They apologize again and again and rub my shoulder and give me the old, "cheer up camper" attitude as they search for another vein. In vain. Because I've got nothin'. They have to go into my badly bruised arm to the same vein they took blood from on Monday.

And tears again.

So, with a painful poke, my feet start tapping as I choke back tears and try to distract myself. 8 vials later, they bandage me up, apologize again, hand me my coat and tell me I'm free to go.

I haul ass out of there. The cold air on my face helped me to pull myself together enough to get into the car and pull out of the parking lot. I'm contemplating picking up the phone to relate the story of my woes to my husband when I realize, "We didn't do the urine sample."

God Damn IT!

I make a u-turn, drive back to the clinic, park, walk my nauseous, pregnant ass back down to the lab to encounter someone I've never seen before only to have to explain the whole damn thing to her.

ARGH!

Eventually someone who has a clue comes out and greets me with a cup. I dash to the bathroom and leave my sample.

You have got to be kidding me. I hope that this is the worst of what I'll encounter in terms of human errors and inconsistencies during this pregnancy. The science alone is scary enough, but to throw fuck-ups in there. I just don't have the strength.

31 weeks, 3 days and counting...

Gummy Bear

There's a little gummy bear living and growing inside me.

We had our 8 week ultrasound today and it was amazing! It's pretty remarkable how many changes have occurred in such a short amount of time. At 6 weeks, the baby looked, well, sort of amoeba like. Or alien-esque. But this time, we saw little arms and legs and spots where the eyes are. Really incredible. Scott managed to stay in the room the whole time (what a trooper!) and we were both so excited and delighted to cast our eyes on this little being.

Our baby is about the size of a gummy bear. And it kind of looks like one, too.

31 weeks, 5 days and counting...

8 weeks...

Made it to 8 weeks! Whew. So we're 2/3 of the way through the much loathed first trimester. Yay! Wheee! I have another doc appointment tomorrow - another ultra-sound on the books and I am so excited to take a sneak peak at that little alien growing in me. I've made my husband promise to actually stay in the room this time so that he can experience it as well. He was a bit weirded out at the first ultrasound. I get it. It's uncomfortable territory for a guy. I mean, there are little gizmos labeled "pap smear" in the room, and a spread eagle view of the female anatomy on a poster on the wall staring you right in the face. If I was a dude, I'd be weirded out,too. Plus, the thing no one really mentions to guys (myself included because I wasn't exactly sure how it would go down, but I did suspect...) is that these first precious views into your belly can only be obtained by going up the vag. Yep. It's an INTERNAL thing. So when the nurse told me to undress from the waist down, the hubs turned a whiter shade of pale.

We're still plugging along. The morning sickness, or in my case, constant nausea if I'm not stuffing food in my mouth, is still lurking. I think I'm learning how to manage it. Pretty much, I need to eat all the time. I was so naieve thinking that going into this pregnancy I was going to be the gold-star healthy eater - lots of veg, nothing bad for me, yadda yadda. Wrong-o. I mean, I'm not diving into a pint of Hagan Daz every night - in fact I haven't had ANY ice cream - but with food aversions and cravings and nausea, the whole eating thing is tricky. Add to the pile the feeling of exhaustion and even though you know that you should take a nice long stroll through the neighborhood after dinner, the couch and tv are just so damn appealing. So, already the pants are beginning to feel a little snug, a bit earlier than I had hoped, but I'm just trying to take each day as it comes and do what I can to muddle through. I'm going to eat what I can keep down, even if that's a meatball sub from Subway.

I also feel a little guilty for complaining so much about feeling so icky. So, I have discovered one pregnancy bonus. My skin is gorgeous! I mean, I never had BAD skin, per-se. I struggled with some blackheads here and there, and my chin was always prone to breakouts. But since getting knocked up, my skin is smooth, and clear and lovely. Thank you pregnancy hormones for this one bonus prize in addition to our little bundle.

31 weeks and six days to go....