Today's weigh-in: 210.2
Not sure yet if I'm legitimately gaining weight, or if I'm just eating poorly. Between the chocolate chip cookies I baked, the birthday cake I made for my husband, and the wedding cake I had at a reception last night, surely it isn't just baby weight. I really need to get back to working out regularly. Probably my best bet at this point would be the walking workout videos I used to do with my coworkers. They're great for getting your heart rate up, but you can vary the intensity with which you workout. I just don't relish bouncing along on my elliptical machine. Boobs are still sore, you know.
We've let a few more people in on our secret. My husband has told a couple of his friends, and I've told three of my best friends, three former coworkers, and my aunt, uncle, and three cousins. Wow, I guess that's more than a few people! Not sure if my mother-in-law has told any other relatives, although I did give her permission to. We've successfully kept it off Facebook, which is great. I'd love to show up to the graduation at the high school where I used to teach and surprise the heck out of my former students.
I've had a couple of doctor's appointments. Had my basic checkup with the OB. She wanted me to meet with a maternal fetal medicine specialist regarding my blood pressure, since I take medication for it. Kind of anticlimactic, really; he decided to keep me on my medication and just keep an eye on my blood pressure. Hello? That's what I do anyway, pregnant or not.
Also had to do what they call a "24-hour urine". That's fancy-speak for peeing in a container for a whole day. They wanted to test my kidneys to make sure I didn't have any damage from years of high blood pressure. I had a little plastic cover for my toilet that my urine would collect in. I then had to take it and pour it into a big orange bottle. I had to keep the bottle in the refrigerator. Thankfully, we have a second fridge in our garage that doesn't really have anything in it. Ew. And I had to be careful to collect ALL my pee and not accidentally spill any (or accidentally collect any non-pee. Hard to remember to move the plastic cover to poo). I was very happy to take it back in to the lab.
But all my test results have come back good. The results from our ultrasound came back very good: our probabilities of genetic disorders are WAY below the average for my age group. Our likelihood of Downs is one in 331, and our likelihood of another chromosomal trisomy are one in 9,000. Pretty good odds, I'd say. The lab analyzed my pee and my blood and determined I had no abnormalities in my kidneys, and the doctor sent me a message that my pap smear (which she did during my checkup) was completely normal.
So I'm pretty hopeful that everything is progressing as it should. Still not feeling the baby kicking or anything yet; at least, I don't think so. I've felt a few little flutters down there, but those could easily be digestion-related. A couple more weeks and I should start feeling more stuff.
Not much else going on. I've got another check-up in May, and my second trimester ultrasound in June. Keep your fingers crossed!
Pool Time
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Some people just can't keep secrets
Today's weigh-in: 209.8
Well, perhaps I shouldn't have eaten a burger AND a bratwurst for dinner last night. Oh well.
On to other things. Last Tuesday I had my "ultrascreen". We met with their genetic counselor, who explained that the purpose of the ultrascreen is to determine a likelihood of genetic problems, such as Downs Syndrome and other trisomy chromosomal defects. Basically, there are always possibilities of chromosomal defects, but since I'm over 35, my eggs are a bit old and stale, so they have the potential to suffer from more defects than the eggs of a younger woman. There's that "advanced maternal age" deal again. *sigh*
Anyway, it was really awesome. We got to see the baby move, a lot (which could bode unwell for me later in the pregnancy), we got to hear the heartbeat, and the tech FINALLY got the measurements she needed (after several HOURS!!! My abdomen was sooo tender afterward). They gave us a couple of pictures and sent us on our way.
At that point, only our parents and my brother knew about the pregnancy. I really wanted to wait until we got the results back from the ultrascreen before we told anyone else, but my husband and I figured that we should go ahead and tell his brother and sister and grandparents. I mean, even a genetic problem won't change the fact that I'm pregnant. We still aren't telling the masses or anything, but we figured if we waited longer my sister-in-law would really be mad. She tends to take things personally.
So we called my brother-in-law and then my sister-in-law (a mistake; should've called her first; she's mad). Then my husband called his grandparents, since they're getting older and we figured they'd appreciate the news (we're not the only grandkids who are expecting; my husband's cousin and his wife are due next month, I think). But no aunts, no uncles, no cousins, no friends or anything like that yet.
EXCEPT FOR three of my mother-in-law's fiends. She and her friends were here for the weekend to do some shopping. We met up with them on Friday night at a nice restaurant for dinner. During dinner, my father-in-law accidentally spilled our secret. We were talking about birthdays, and my father-in-law said, "Well I think it would be neat if the baby was born on your mother's birthday." (I am due the day after what would have been my mom's 67th birthday.) He had no idea he had just dropped the ball. All my mother-in-law's friends shot her looks. My husband and I shot each other looks. And my father-in-law continued in blissful ignorance of what he had done. After dinner I told my mother-in-law that she could go ahead and fill in the blanks, asking her friends to not spread the news just yet. They were really nice about it, and congratulatory to us on Sunday as they headed out of town. So it wasn't really a disaster or anything, but still, we had hoped to keep it a bit more secret than it ended up being.
Anyway, we should hopefully have the results of our ultrascreen in the next couple of days. I had a brief appointment today, pretty much just a checkup with a pap smear (meh), to make sure everything still looks good. They got on the portable ultrasound and looked at the baby (still moving around, always a good thing), so it seems that everything is still on track. The clinic will be scheduling an appointment for me with a fetal medicine specialist to make sure my blood pressure is not going to be a problem (and I get to spend yesterday collecting my urine to check my kidneys for damage from hypertension, hooray), but otherwise I've got my monthly checkup scheduled for May, and another ultrasound scheduled in June. Everything seems to be progressing. Keep your fingers crossed!
Well, perhaps I shouldn't have eaten a burger AND a bratwurst for dinner last night. Oh well.
On to other things. Last Tuesday I had my "ultrascreen". We met with their genetic counselor, who explained that the purpose of the ultrascreen is to determine a likelihood of genetic problems, such as Downs Syndrome and other trisomy chromosomal defects. Basically, there are always possibilities of chromosomal defects, but since I'm over 35, my eggs are a bit old and stale, so they have the potential to suffer from more defects than the eggs of a younger woman. There's that "advanced maternal age" deal again. *sigh*
Anyway, it was really awesome. We got to see the baby move, a lot (which could bode unwell for me later in the pregnancy), we got to hear the heartbeat, and the tech FINALLY got the measurements she needed (after several HOURS!!! My abdomen was sooo tender afterward). They gave us a couple of pictures and sent us on our way.
At that point, only our parents and my brother knew about the pregnancy. I really wanted to wait until we got the results back from the ultrascreen before we told anyone else, but my husband and I figured that we should go ahead and tell his brother and sister and grandparents. I mean, even a genetic problem won't change the fact that I'm pregnant. We still aren't telling the masses or anything, but we figured if we waited longer my sister-in-law would really be mad. She tends to take things personally.
So we called my brother-in-law and then my sister-in-law (a mistake; should've called her first; she's mad). Then my husband called his grandparents, since they're getting older and we figured they'd appreciate the news (we're not the only grandkids who are expecting; my husband's cousin and his wife are due next month, I think). But no aunts, no uncles, no cousins, no friends or anything like that yet.
EXCEPT FOR three of my mother-in-law's fiends. She and her friends were here for the weekend to do some shopping. We met up with them on Friday night at a nice restaurant for dinner. During dinner, my father-in-law accidentally spilled our secret. We were talking about birthdays, and my father-in-law said, "Well I think it would be neat if the baby was born on your mother's birthday." (I am due the day after what would have been my mom's 67th birthday.) He had no idea he had just dropped the ball. All my mother-in-law's friends shot her looks. My husband and I shot each other looks. And my father-in-law continued in blissful ignorance of what he had done. After dinner I told my mother-in-law that she could go ahead and fill in the blanks, asking her friends to not spread the news just yet. They were really nice about it, and congratulatory to us on Sunday as they headed out of town. So it wasn't really a disaster or anything, but still, we had hoped to keep it a bit more secret than it ended up being.
Anyway, we should hopefully have the results of our ultrascreen in the next couple of days. I had a brief appointment today, pretty much just a checkup with a pap smear (meh), to make sure everything still looks good. They got on the portable ultrasound and looked at the baby (still moving around, always a good thing), so it seems that everything is still on track. The clinic will be scheduling an appointment for me with a fetal medicine specialist to make sure my blood pressure is not going to be a problem (and I get to spend yesterday collecting my urine to check my kidneys for damage from hypertension, hooray), but otherwise I've got my monthly checkup scheduled for May, and another ultrasound scheduled in June. Everything seems to be progressing. Keep your fingers crossed!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Dropping the bomb
Today's weigh-in: 208.4
Well, after steak and potatoes on Saturday night and sour cream chicken enchiladas last night, I'm not surprised to be up a few pounds. What I need to do tonight is be a little prudent with what I eat, so hopefully I won't be a chunk when I go into my appointment tomorrow afternoon. I have an ultrasound and blood screen scheduled for tomorrow, to check for possible genetic abnormalities. It's something they recommend for "advanced maternal age" folks like myself (women 35 or older at the time they deliver). I'm so pleased to be of "advanced maternal age". Hooray.
We got to drop the bomb on some family members over the weekend. We were originally intending to start notifying people AFTER tomorrow's appointment, in case there were any problems discovered. But my mother- and father-in-law came in to own on Friday evening and spent all day Saturday with us. My father-in-law is a real DIY kind of person, and he wanted to know what projects we needed to work on around the house. Obviously, with the pregnancy, our priorities have changed, and some of the things we've been planning on doing (putting in a sprinkler system, fencing the yard, finishing the basement) have been pushed back a bit. We figured it would be easier to admit to them the truth, rather than fib to them about why we weren't working on certain projects. So we told them the news on Saturday morning. (They were rather excited, to say the least. I think we'd been voted "least likely to have kids" in some family poll at some point.)
Anyway, after telling my husband's parents, I felt like I should let me immediate family members know. Both my dad and brother are out of the country right now, working as independent contractors overseas. Almost all our communication is electronic, through e-mail and instant messaging. This wasn't the kind of news I felt should be delivered through such impersonal means. But it meant I had to figure out some way to talk with them over the phone. My dad was first. He and I have used Skype several times, but the connection is poor. Instead, we instant message on it. So I hinted (strenuously) that my dad should call me on his office phone if he got the chance. I didn't know if he'd pick up on the hint or not. But he did give me a call, as we were all headed to run some errands. He seemed a bit flummoxed when I told him he was going to be a grandpa. But then he recovered well and said several times what wonderful news it was (and how much he wished my mom could be here for it). This morning (which is evening for him) he instant-messaged me to say that he was still feeling the celebratory "upness". So I'm glad he's excited about it. I just never know how my dad will react to such things. Not that he wouldn't be happy, but when my husband asked my parents for permission to ask me to marry him, my dad's response was "Sure. How's the weather been?" Not the enthusiastic response my husband had expected. So we just didn't know what we were going to get out of my dad. My brother's response was more what I expected, from him. I got my phone set up (after hours of annoyance from Verizon) for international calling, and called his Afghan cell phone, on the pretext of calling him for his 39th birthday. After a few minutes of chatting, I asked him how he felt, being an uncle-to-be. His exact response was: *pause* "Holy f*ucking sh*t. Are you serious?" At which point I responded, "Of course I'm serious, and don't call me Shirley." He was very happy after that, albeit extremely surprised. I mean, I am his little sister. He's had to deal with me having more college degrees than him, getting married before him (he's been dating the same person for like 8 years, but I still don't know how likely they are to get married), and now having a baby before him. He handles it all with good nature and humor, but I do wonder if it bothers him a bit. However, I think he'll be really happy to be an uncle.
We haven't told anyone else yet, not my husband's two siblings. We'll let them know, and probably my husband's grandparents too, after tomorrow's appointment. I hope they aren't miffed (particularly my sister-in-law, who tends to take things rather personally) that they weren't among the first to find out the news. I would guess aunts and uncles and cousins will come after that. We won't make it completely public (no Facebook or anything like that) until the end of April/beginning of May. That will be when I'm out of my first trimester, and out of the time period where most miscarriages occur. I don't want everyone to know we're pregnant and then have to go back and tell everyone that something terrible happened.
So, cross your fingers for my ultrascreen tomorrow, that everything looks OK!
Well, after steak and potatoes on Saturday night and sour cream chicken enchiladas last night, I'm not surprised to be up a few pounds. What I need to do tonight is be a little prudent with what I eat, so hopefully I won't be a chunk when I go into my appointment tomorrow afternoon. I have an ultrasound and blood screen scheduled for tomorrow, to check for possible genetic abnormalities. It's something they recommend for "advanced maternal age" folks like myself (women 35 or older at the time they deliver). I'm so pleased to be of "advanced maternal age". Hooray.
We got to drop the bomb on some family members over the weekend. We were originally intending to start notifying people AFTER tomorrow's appointment, in case there were any problems discovered. But my mother- and father-in-law came in to own on Friday evening and spent all day Saturday with us. My father-in-law is a real DIY kind of person, and he wanted to know what projects we needed to work on around the house. Obviously, with the pregnancy, our priorities have changed, and some of the things we've been planning on doing (putting in a sprinkler system, fencing the yard, finishing the basement) have been pushed back a bit. We figured it would be easier to admit to them the truth, rather than fib to them about why we weren't working on certain projects. So we told them the news on Saturday morning. (They were rather excited, to say the least. I think we'd been voted "least likely to have kids" in some family poll at some point.)
Anyway, after telling my husband's parents, I felt like I should let me immediate family members know. Both my dad and brother are out of the country right now, working as independent contractors overseas. Almost all our communication is electronic, through e-mail and instant messaging. This wasn't the kind of news I felt should be delivered through such impersonal means. But it meant I had to figure out some way to talk with them over the phone. My dad was first. He and I have used Skype several times, but the connection is poor. Instead, we instant message on it. So I hinted (strenuously) that my dad should call me on his office phone if he got the chance. I didn't know if he'd pick up on the hint or not. But he did give me a call, as we were all headed to run some errands. He seemed a bit flummoxed when I told him he was going to be a grandpa. But then he recovered well and said several times what wonderful news it was (and how much he wished my mom could be here for it). This morning (which is evening for him) he instant-messaged me to say that he was still feeling the celebratory "upness". So I'm glad he's excited about it. I just never know how my dad will react to such things. Not that he wouldn't be happy, but when my husband asked my parents for permission to ask me to marry him, my dad's response was "Sure. How's the weather been?" Not the enthusiastic response my husband had expected. So we just didn't know what we were going to get out of my dad. My brother's response was more what I expected, from him. I got my phone set up (after hours of annoyance from Verizon) for international calling, and called his Afghan cell phone, on the pretext of calling him for his 39th birthday. After a few minutes of chatting, I asked him how he felt, being an uncle-to-be. His exact response was: *pause* "Holy f*ucking sh*t. Are you serious?" At which point I responded, "Of course I'm serious, and don't call me Shirley." He was very happy after that, albeit extremely surprised. I mean, I am his little sister. He's had to deal with me having more college degrees than him, getting married before him (he's been dating the same person for like 8 years, but I still don't know how likely they are to get married), and now having a baby before him. He handles it all with good nature and humor, but I do wonder if it bothers him a bit. However, I think he'll be really happy to be an uncle.
We haven't told anyone else yet, not my husband's two siblings. We'll let them know, and probably my husband's grandparents too, after tomorrow's appointment. I hope they aren't miffed (particularly my sister-in-law, who tends to take things rather personally) that they weren't among the first to find out the news. I would guess aunts and uncles and cousins will come after that. We won't make it completely public (no Facebook or anything like that) until the end of April/beginning of May. That will be when I'm out of my first trimester, and out of the time period where most miscarriages occur. I don't want everyone to know we're pregnant and then have to go back and tell everyone that something terrible happened.
So, cross your fingers for my ultrascreen tomorrow, that everything looks OK!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Feeding time at the zoo
Didn't weigh in this morning, but I've been sticking between 206 and 208, so I'm guessing I'm probably still there.
Have two doctor's appointments scheduled in the next few weeks. The first is an "ultrascreen". This is a combination of an ultrasound and a blood screening, both to find possible genetic problems (Downs, fragile x, stuff like that). Unfortunately, we won't be able to tell the sex of the baby, because it's too early, so we'll probably have to have another ultrasound later on down the line (assuming we're going to find out the sex). But we will be able to hear the baby's heartbeat, which will be pretty cool. That's coming up a week from today. Then, on the next Monday, I have an appointment actually scheduled with the doctor herself (finally). That will be for the pelvic exam (oh joy!) and whatever other assorted things she'll do. So, lots of excitement coming up.
Hopefully, after I've had these appointments, we'll go ahead and start telling people the good news. This way, we'll know if there's anything wrong before we start talking to people. I just don't want to tell people prematurely, in case there is a problem.
Read an interesting article on CNN.com today, about breastfeeding. It suggested that a lack of breastfeeding in the United States contributes to a number of infant health problems, including SIDS and other fatal illnesses. Basically, women should breastfeed ONLY for the first six months, according to research. But because some babies have trouble breastfeeding, and women are busy in the home and the workplace, and there are so many formulas available, many women just opt for formula feeding. Apparently, after three months, only 33% of mothers are still breastfeeding exclusively, and after six months, only 14% are still using breastfeeding only.
So I guess I'll need to talk to the doctor about breastfeeding, and see how breast milk can be stored, so I can stock up. Guess I'll need a breast pump at some point. Sounds like fun.
Have two doctor's appointments scheduled in the next few weeks. The first is an "ultrascreen". This is a combination of an ultrasound and a blood screening, both to find possible genetic problems (Downs, fragile x, stuff like that). Unfortunately, we won't be able to tell the sex of the baby, because it's too early, so we'll probably have to have another ultrasound later on down the line (assuming we're going to find out the sex). But we will be able to hear the baby's heartbeat, which will be pretty cool. That's coming up a week from today. Then, on the next Monday, I have an appointment actually scheduled with the doctor herself (finally). That will be for the pelvic exam (oh joy!) and whatever other assorted things she'll do. So, lots of excitement coming up.
Hopefully, after I've had these appointments, we'll go ahead and start telling people the good news. This way, we'll know if there's anything wrong before we start talking to people. I just don't want to tell people prematurely, in case there is a problem.
Read an interesting article on CNN.com today, about breastfeeding. It suggested that a lack of breastfeeding in the United States contributes to a number of infant health problems, including SIDS and other fatal illnesses. Basically, women should breastfeed ONLY for the first six months, according to research. But because some babies have trouble breastfeeding, and women are busy in the home and the workplace, and there are so many formulas available, many women just opt for formula feeding. Apparently, after three months, only 33% of mothers are still breastfeeding exclusively, and after six months, only 14% are still using breastfeeding only.
So I guess I'll need to talk to the doctor about breastfeeding, and see how breast milk can be stored, so I can stock up. Guess I'll need a breast pump at some point. Sounds like fun.
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