40 weeks 5 days

Yup, still pregnant.  Getting some signs labor could start soon.  I pray that it's true.

Had to go to the doctor yesterday...I was a little worried I was leaking some amniotic fluid.  Turned out to be a false alarm, although the doc didn't provide any explanation as to what I WAS experiencing.  (I really don't think they know what's going on 75% of the time in any case.)

I've thought and wondered and prepared for this baby to come into the world to such an extent that I'm starting to lose the excitement.  I'm just tired of it all spinning in my head!!  My brain is getting tired of the topic.  It's ready to move on.  Does that make sense?

I just pray to God daily...multiple times daily...that He will give me the patience and peace I need until this baby arrives.  One day at a time...

40 weeks 2 days again

Just got back from a doc appointment. I am now 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. Whoo hoo!!!

Apparently I was her third overdue baby today.  Must be something in the water. :)  She asked if I wanted to be induced, and I said not until necessary.  So then she said she would schedule me for an ultrasound and nonstress test for Friday, and I can schedule an induction date (probably for next week) at that appointment.  However, she also said that she doesn't think I'll need to go to the appointment on Friday based on the progress I've made in less than a week.  She thinks he'll arrive before then.  She also said that his head is very low and that she thinks he's an average-size baby, maybe a high 7 lbs or low 8 lbs.  (How can they tell this stuff??)

I've been having some good contractions lately, so I'm so glad to hear that they're finally serving a purpose.  I've also had various other signs of impending labor, but I'll keep the details to myself so as not to gross anyone out.  :)

Ah I feel so excited now.  Not much longer!


Now working from home, so I get to stay in my sweats all day. Sooooooo much more comfortable. :)

39 weeks 4 days

Went to the doc yesterday.  Had the awkward exam that every pregnant woman sort of wants but really doesn't want.  And the results?  I am a whopping ZERO centimeters dilated.  Yes, that's right folks.  His words were, "Nothing yet.  You're completely closed."

COMPLETELY CLOSED???  SERIOUSLY????  So all this horrible cramping and back pain and contractions have done NOTHING???  Oh, this is just stupendous.  Just wonderful.  Labor is going to be awesome.  I don't get to skip the first 3 to 4 centimeters like the majority of my friends.  Nope, I get to go all the way from 0 to 10 in one shot.  Sweet.

Then I mention to the doc that the baby hasn't been moving near as much as I'm used to.  The doc asks, "Have you been doing your kick counts?"  I told him that yes, I had, but that that is what actually concerns me.  In the past, the baby has always been so incredibly active that I haven't had to do kick counts.  And now all of a sudden I do need to do them.  The doc asked if I got the proper number of kicks when I did do the test.  I said yes.  But then he said he still wanted to do some fetal monitoring.

So then they hook me up to this machine with two belts around my stomach.  One measures the contraction level of my uterus, the other measures the baby's heart rate.  They also gave me this little stick with a button on the end and told me to push the button every time I felt the baby move.  The nurse said, "As long as baby cooperates, you'll be on here for about 10 to 15 minutes.  If baby doesn't cooperate, then you'll be on here a while longer.  After that, if baby STILL doesn't cooperate, then you get to go to the hospital so THEY can do the monitoring."  I responded, "Well, let's hope he cooperates, then!"  (Hospital! I don't want to go to the hospital!!  But cooperate?  What exactly comprises a baby on a fetal monitor "cooperating"??  Come on Krewson, COOPERATE!!)

So I sat there.  And sat there.  The nurse brought me some juice and I guzzled it down.  Then I sat there some more.  The baby didn't move.  No budge, no nothing.  The doc came in after about 15 minutes and looked at the chart that had been printing out from the machine.  He responded, "Well, it doesn't look bad, but it doesn't look as good as we'd like it to."  Great.  "Just sit there a while longer."

Well at this point I started getting a little anxious.  I'm like, ok baby, you didn't cooperate for the first 10-15 minutes.  You now get one more shot.  If you don't cooperate now, we have to go to the hospital.  PLEASE COOPERATE!!!

After another 10 long minutes of waiting, he finally started to wriggle and roll.  I was like, oh, thank goodness.  He did a roll here, a roll here.  A couple jabs at the belts on my waist (like I've mentioned before, he does NOT like things protruding into his space).  I got to push the button quite a few times.  And then the doc came in, took a look, and said, "Ah, that's what we want to see.  It looks good."  Thank the Lord.  He stopped the machine and unhooked me, then told me I am to do kick counts three times a day, and if at any time I feel concerned I am to come back into the office for more monitoring.

Needless to say, I left the appointment feeling a bit frazzled.  Zero centimeters and one long half-hour of waiting to find out if my baby is ok are a but much on the pregnancy hormones.  I went home and cried to Dave for a little while, then I felt better.  He acted really goofy and silly to cheer me up.  As much as I hate it and get annoyed while he's doing it, it usually works.  It's hard to keep crying when your husband is bouncing around saying insanely stupid things.

Ah, the drama of being pregnant  And soon I will leave it to join in the drama of being a parent. :)

38 weeks 4 days

Yesterday when the doc walked into the exam room for my 38 week checkup, he took one look at my belly and his immediate words were something along the lines of, "Well, you're just about done cookin', aren't ya?!"  I thought to myself, "If you are referring to the size of this gigantic thing protruding out of the front of me, commonly referred to as a 38-1/2-week pregnant belly, then YES, I am just about done cooking.  PLEASE GET THIS THING OUT OF ME."  But instead I smiled and provided my typical, cheerful Kara response of "Yup!"  Internal sigh.

The doc appointment went well.  I've gained 37 lbs and seem to be holding steady there.  Not bad.  He said it's a couple pounds over what they recommend but I look fine so he's not worried.  He said he thinks I've got a "good-sized baby in there" but that my body "looks good" so he's not worried about the fit during labor.  (What exactly does that mean, that my body "looks good"?  That my pelvis has appropriately expanded to the point where I'll never fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans again?  That I look fit enough for a 36-hour labor marathon to get this "good-sized baby" out of me?  Huh?  What does that mean??)

But really, it was probably my favorite doctor's appointment so far.  It was with a doc I'd never seen before, and he really was soooo cheerful and put me completely at ease.  When looking at my chart, he even looked at my job description and asked what I do, sounding as if he really cared.  I was like, holy cow, how many doctors actually take the time to even pretend to care what I do for a living??  Ummm....NONE.  This guy was probably the first one ever.  Which immediately shifted him into the position of Kara's new favorite doctor.  He is now my top choice for the delivery of my baby.  Not that I get to choose.  It's luck of the draw...whoever is on call that day/night, that's who I get.  And there are 8 doctors.  Which puts my chances at 1/8 = .125.  Hmmm...not great.  But one can be hopeful. :)

I didn't get any tips as to whether he thinks I'll be on time, early, or late.  In fact, he didn't check my cervix or anything.  Which, I must be honest, I didn't really care about.  First of all, those type of bodily "checks" are not overly fun or comfortable.  Especially with a male doctor.  Second of all, even if I am dilated or effaced, I've read and heard enough to know that it doesn't tell you much in terms of when your labor will occur or how long it will take.  So I don't really understand the point of the cervical exams anyways.

Things I can tell you are that I am cramping daily, some days much worse than others.  Back aches come and go.  Lots of Braxton Hicks contractions that are getting stronger and stronger.  But no pattern to anything yet.  So we'll see.  Hopefully this lil' Snoke doesn't plan to stay in there TOO much longer. :)


38 1/2 weeks

34 weeks 2 days Ultrasound and Doc Appt

We had our ultrasound this morning!!  It really wasn't that exciting, because Krew was so big that you could only see sections of his body on the screen.  No cute profile picture like last time.  The ultrasound tech did print out a couple shots of his face for us to have, which was much appreciated.  But, as you can see below, even they don't show much.


A side shot of his head.


His face, looking straight on.

She confirmed that he is indeed a boy, which I was very very glad to hear. :)  He's definitely head down, which is good news.  And, although I'm still measuring 2 weeks ahead of schedule, Krewson appears to be right about on target.  His estimated weight was 5 lbs 10 oz, which is in the 54th percentile.  The doc later told me that it may just be the way he's laying inside of me that is causing my uterus measurements to be larger than normal.

I asked for a copy of the ultrasound results as we were walking out, then I looked everything up online to see what it meant.  Here are his stats:

BPD (diameter between two sides of head): 85.0 mm, 44th percentile
OFD (diameter between front and back of head): 113.6 mm, 64th percentile
HC (head circumference): 320.7 mm, 59th percentile
FL (femur length, longest bone in body): 67.0 mm, 42nd percentile
AC (abdominal circumference): 310.9 mm, 70th percentile
EFW (estimated fetal weight): 5lbs 10 oz
Estimated gestational age based on ultrasound: 35 weeks
Fetal heart rate: 170 bpm

Put all this information together and you can deduce that Krewson is short and fat with a squished head.  Spectacular!!! :)  (Don't worry Krew, we'll love you no matter your body proportions.)

I asked the doc if I could start working out again after what happened with the contractions two weeks ago.  He told me to wait two more weeks.  He said something along the lines of, "We'd really like him to stay in there a couple more weeks.  Give it two more weeks, and then you can work out.  Your weight is right on target, you don't NEED to work out.  I know you WANT to work out, but you don't NEED to.  So just wait two more weeks, then go ahead."  In other words, they want me to get to about full term, and then if I work out and Krew pops out, all is good and well.  Which I guess makes sense.  Doesn't thrill me, but makes sense.

Alright, that's about all for now.  Don't forget to check out our nursery pics, which I posted this morning.  Dave did an excellent job. :)

32 weeks 4 days

My marathon of Braxton Hicks contractions finally ended mid-afternoon on Monday.  I averaged about 10 contractions per hour all day up until that point.  Suddenly they began to wane and I went back to having the occasional contraction once every hour or two, if that.

I went to the doctor yesterday for my 32 week checkup and talked with her about what had happened.  She asked if I had called while the contractions were occurring and I said yes, but that the phone nurse had suggested I wait to come in until my scheduled appointment.  She checked my cervix and I was not dilated at all and my amniotic sac did not appear to be ruptured, so that was all good news.  The baby's heartbeat sounded great.  She put me on a prescription for no strenuous activity "until this issue is resolved", for at least a week.  She said she doesn't even want me running up the stairs.  I'm not allowed to do my elliptical machine, either.  (Which means I'm going to need to be more careful of what I eat.  Boooooooo.)  She told me that if the contractions start to occur again, she wants me to drink a bunch of water and lay down on my left side for an hour.  If they continue after that, I'm supposed to call again.

Ironically, after being home from the appointment for just a couple hours, another contraction marathon began.  They lasted all through Bible study, and then after the Bible study girls left I laid down and they seemed to decrease a bit (to about every 10 minutes).  I went to bed after that, with plans to call today if they continued.  When I woke up this morning, I had several in a row, and then suddenly they stopped again.  I've only had a couple since then.

So we'll see what happens.  It would be nice to have a reason for all this, but it may just be one of the body's many mysteries.  I must admit that I'm a little worried that if I call again they'll do something crazy like put me on bed rest.  I definitely do not want that.  I was whining and complaining last night for the 30 minutes I was laying down due to the contractions before bed.  There were just so many other things I wanted to be doing. Don't get me wrong.  I love reading, playing on the computer, and watching movies with my hubby.  But I had a to-do list that was calling my name and there was nothing I could do to check off a single item.  So frustrating.

Anyways, on another note, my uterus was again measuring large yesterday, so the doc requested that I get an ultrasound at my next appointment to see how big the baby is.  Yay!  I can't wait to get another view of Krew. :)  The appointment is on Jan 18th, so I'll have some pics to share after that point.  Dave and I are also excited for one more confirmation that Krewson is indeed a little man and not a little woman.  :)

Alright here's your weekly picture.



32 1/2 weeks.  I didn't have a half-finger, but you get the idea. ;)

Thanks so much to everyone who has showed concern over the last couple of days!  I really appreciate all your thoughts and prayers. :)

30 weeks 4 days

Krewson continues to grow and grow!

I went in for my 30 week checkup yesterday, and everything looked good.  When the doc listened for his heart beat, the strongest signal was in my lower-left abdomen.  I asked her if she could tell which way Krew was laying, and she said she was pretty sure he was head-down already, with with his back curved on the left side of my body.  She said the bump I've been feeling in my upper abdomen is probably his butt.  So cute. :)

She also said my uterus is measuring almost 2 centimeters larger than average at this point.  Apparently they'll keep a watch on it, and if I continue to measure large a little later in the pregnancy then they'll do an ultrasound to make sure he's not getting too big.  She didn't say what comes after that, but I'm assuming that if he does look like he's getting too big then they'll induce me early.  Which would just be crazy.  You always focus on that 40-week mark and assume that's the end, but in reality you have no clue.  It could definitely be earlier, and I need to keep that in mind! :)

In the meantime, as long as he's healthy and growing then I'm content. :)

Here's my 30 1/2 week pic:

And here's what the baby websites have to say about Krew this week:

He's about 16 inches long head-to-foot and weighs about 3 lbs.

From this week on, your baby will continue to gain around 1/2 pound a week until shortly before birth. So he will gain about two pounds this next month. (Remember the average size of a newborn is about 7 ½ pounds and 19 to 21 inches long.)

Chances are your diaphragm is feeling a little cramped these days. Okay, a lot cramped. That's because your uterus is pushing up against it, crowding your lungs and making it more difficult for them to expand fully. The result: Your body is spare on air, and will be until your baby drops near the end of pregnancy in preparation for birth. Your baby, however, is happy as a clam since he gets all the oxygen he needs through the placenta.

He now almost fills up your entire uterine cavity and his arms and legs have grown much plumper, thanks to the continued growth of subcutaneous fat.  Your abdomen may be aching as it swells and your rib cage and pelvis may be sore as the baby gets bigger and fills up all the space you have available. It's a wonderful thing that your baby is growing so well, but it may not feel that way. You will find yourself with lots of aches and pains from the pressure and the decreased amount of room in your abdomen.

If you are feeling uncomfortable sitting, try to be more aware of your posture.  As your baby is becoming bigger and bigger by the week, you will find yourself slouching more.  Trying to maintain proper posture will help relieve some pain.

He's now processing information, tracking light, and perceiving signals from all five senses.

He's also putting in longer stretches of sleep, which is why you're probably noticing more defined patterns of awake (and moving) periods and sleeping (pretty still) periods.

Some babies suck their thumbs so vigorously while in the womb that they're born with a callus on their thumb.

Until next week!  Merry Christmas!

28 weeks 3 days

The third trimester has begun!! I am now 28 weeks and 3 days pregnant. Crazy.

I had my 28-week checkup this morning. I ran through the bagillion things that have gone wrong with my body over the last month (random stabbing and cramping pain after urinating, pelvic/groin pain, sudden severe UTI last Friday night...) and the doc seemed less than concerned with all of it. So I guess things are just fine. :) I also gave blood for my glucose tolerance test...prayers that my slice of toast and cup of cottage cheese this morning didn't mess it up, because I sure don't want to go back for a 3-hour exam. (And just for the record, the doc's office told me to eat a normal breakfast...but I still have this fear that it is going to mess up my glucose levels somehow and then I'm going to be stuck there with them sticking needles in me every 10 minutes for 3 hours.)

My uterus is measuring 28 cm now, which is right on target. And Krewson is wriggling around like crazy. The doc seemed somewhat surprised by how much movement he was making during the exam. She made several comments about what an active baby he was. As she was trying to listen to his heartbeat, my stomach was bumping all over. After her remarks, I felt a twinge of pride in my unborn child...like it's my first glimpse of his personality, ya know? Of course I may not feel so joyful about his never-ending energy when he's mobile and ripping our house to shreds. But for now I will cherish it. :)

On another note, Dave and I finally got the baby room painted this past weekend. We also put up the valance that my mom made and put on the cushion covers for the glider, and I really like how the room is looking. :) I will have to take pictures and share. Dave is in the process of selecting supplies from online so he can make his design on the wall behind the crib. I can't wait to see the finished product.

Speaking of baby rooms...for any of you moms out there...any suggestions on how to sort baby clothes? I've got a dresser and a closet. And no idea what to put where. Every time I go in to organize it, I get frustrated after about 5 minutes and have to leave the room. And this isn't normal for me. I'm normally quite the efficient organizer. But these baby clothes have me stumped. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. :)

And for anyone interested in Krewson's growth stats, the baby websites say that at this point he is probably around 15 inches long head-to-toe and weighs around 2.5 lbs. Pull out a tape measure and check it out. He's getting big!

24 weeks 4 days

Well I'm over 6 months pregnant now!  How crazy is that. :)  I had my 24-week prenatal appointment yesterday and everything was fine.  Krew started moving around during the dopplar, and we had trouble hearing his heart because all we heard was the "swoosh swoosh gurgle" of his movements. He settled down after a bit and the doc got a good listen.  After my next appointment, I start going to the doctor every two weeks.  It makes me excited, because that means we're on the definite home stretch. :)

Our friends Emily and Sion are due to have their baby girl tomorrow!!  Last I talked to Emily (this morning) there was no word of Ellie making her appearance, but I know that Sion and Emily are quite anxious. :)  I can't wait, either!  Here's a pic of me and Emily this past weekend...her at 9 1/2 months, me at 6 months.

Some information on Besido Krewson's latest developments, based on various sources:

* He's about a foot long head to foot and about 1 1/2 lbs.  (I'm thinking our Besido might be a bit bigger than that. My uterus yesterday measured 26 cm, which is 2 cm bigger than average.)

* He may put on as much as 6 ounces this week. That is 1/3 of his total body weight. That is comparable to a 130 lb. woman gaining 43 pounds in one week!  (Pretty impressive.)

* The lungs are gaining blood vessels now, preparing them for taking over the task of getting oxygen into the blood stream.

* He is working out his own waking and sleeping periods, and they won't always coincide with yours. That explains the tap dance routine at 2 am.  (Ah, yes.)

* Unborn babies respond to music, so go ahead and expose yours to lots of different types. See which ones your baby likes the best. (I think we're set in that department...he's been listening to music for quite some time now.)

I also wanted to share some pics of some items friends/family have purchased for us lately.

First, there's the little onesie that Jaclyn got me from Target.  (You can read about that shopping trip here: 22 weeks 4 days.)


Isn't it so cute??

Then, while we were in Florida for Dave's ultimate frisbee nationals, my grandma gave us two more outfits.


So sweet.  I like the hat. :)

Finally, my friend Vanessa (you can check out her blog over at Blue Ridge Baby) made us a little cap to keep Krew's head from getting cold.  She knitted it herself, which is pretty impressive. :)



Thanks so much to everyone for all the gifts!!

I've also made some personal purchases for Krew as I've seen things on sale online.  I'll have to share those in a future post. :)

18 weeks 5 days

Well, now that we know Besido is a boy, I guess we can start calling him by his real name...Krewson. :)  Dave had picked this name out for his son long ago, probably before we were married.  It's his mom's maiden name.  I was happy to comply, as I think it's a pretty cool name.  We're going to use Krew for short. The middle name is still to be decided on.  We're having a hard time finding something that flows the way we want.  I'll let you know when a decision is made. :)

Yesterday at the doc's office, I weighed myself while we were waiting to be called back for the ultrasound.  I've been ravenous lately, so I was a little nervous about what I might see on the scale.  To my shock, I hadn't gained any weight since my last appt.  Nothing in two weeks.  I'm like, "Holy cow, where has everything I've been eating been going???"  The only thing I can come up with is that our little boy requires an insane amount of food.  Just today, I had a giant glass of milk and a piece of high fiber toast in the morning.  By 10 am my stomach was growling horribly (and I was actually hungry far before that).  So I ate another piece of high-fiber toast with peanut butter.  Still hungry.  So I ate another piece of high-fiber toast with peanut butter.  Still hungry.  I'm like, this is ridiculous.  I'd been drinking tons of fluids all along, too.  I didn't let myself eat anything else until 11am, at which point I gave in and pulled out some soup and chips and salsa.   I'm eating these items slowly, hoping they'll last me a little longer than the bread.  I'm about halfway through the bowl of soup and I think my stomach is finally starting to feel full (which will last for about, oh, 5 minutes).  At least I'll feel satiated for a short while.

On another note, this pregnancy also appears to be killing my teeth.  I'd heard that women tend to start getting more cavities when they're pregnant, but I never worried about it happening to me.  Until I went to the dentist on Tuesday because of tooth pains.  Lo and behold, I have two, possibly three, teeth that need fillings.  I'm not exactly thrilled about this.  I barely ever get cavities.  I had one when I was really little, like third grade, and then I had a bunch at once when I was older because my sealants on my molars leaked (which means the cavities were unavoidable and had nothing to do with my personal hygiene or brushing habits).  So I wasn't sure whether to be disappointed in myself or not when I found out on Tuesday that they need to drill into my head in several places.  I think I'm going to vote no, that I shouldn't blame myself.  If anything, I've been healthier lately in regards to my teeth.  Less sugar, less coffee, stringent brushing.  So I think I'll blame the pregnancy.  Yay for raging hormones and a baby sucking all the calcium out of your body.  Pregnancy is AWESOME!!!

But really, now that I've seen Krew and we know his gender, I feel like I can identify with him more.  He's more real now.  And now I just want him to come out and be born.  I want to see him again and hold him.  I feel like 5 months is forever to wait.  I'm sure it will fly by, because there is tons to do before then, but man I wish it was closer.  If anything, I wish I could go have an ultrasound every week so I could look at him and watch him grow.  It's like you get this little peak at what's coming, then you just have to wait.  And wait.  You have a baby, but he's unreachable, because he's stuck inside of you.  How bizarre is that.

At least I have his kicks to give me a little pick-me-up.  They're getting stronger and more frequent now.  Definitely not all the time, but I usually feel him at least once or twice a day.  Sometimes there will be a whole series of kicks and I get really excited.  He's actually quite the active kid.  He was moving all around during the ultrasound, making it hard for the technician to get good pictures.  So once he's stronger, I'll probably be feeling a lot of movement.  Which will probably be fine with me. :)

17 weeks 2 days

Well it's been an eventful past week.  I got a killer cold virus that scared the crapoly out of me (because I almost passed out) and had me calling my OB and rushing to the (regular non-OB) doc.  I just wanted to make sure that the sickness wouldn't hurt Besido.  I apparently had really low blood pressure (like 105/53) among a myriad of flu symptoms.  The doc did a flu test, and thankfully it came back negative (which means probably no risk for Besido).  (By the way, have you ever had a flu test?  They shove a super long q-tip-looking thing through your nostril all the way to your brain.  Quite traumatic.)  Then the doc sent me home with a prescription for rest, fluids, food, Tylenol, and saline spray.  The rest and saline spray were probably my favorites, as they were the only two that really seemed to make a difference.

But that was last week and this past weekend.  Today I'm feeling better, and anxiously awaiting the next time I feel Besido moving.  (It would just be reassuring right now.)  I didn't really notice any movement since I've been sick, but I'm assuming that's because my mind's been a bit focused elsewhere (moving into our new house, in-laws in town, Dave's ultimate sectionals, Jessica's bridal shower, church, etc.).  Hopefully I'll feel another kick soon. :)

In the meantime, here are a few tidbits I read today about this week:

• The baby will make purposeful movements now. You may notice that every time your midwife tries to use the Doppler to listen to the heartbeat, the baby 'runs' away from it. This is because the sound waves used by the devise are audible in the uterus. One study measured the decibel level as being the same as a helicopter hovering over your house. (Wow, I would try to run away, too.)
  
  
• The taste buds are developed enough now for the baby to distinguish sweet and bitter. If a bitter substance is injected into the amniotic fluid she will grimace and stop swallowing. (How cute.)
  
  
• My, it's warm in here. The average temperature within the amniotic fluid is 99.6 degrees F.  (Holy camoly.  My baby is living in a hot tub.)
  

16 weeks 3 days

I had my 16-week appointment today, and it went well. :)

The doc said my uterus was measuring right in line with what would be expected for this time...it was about 16 cm long.  (Supposedly the number of centimeters should approximately match up with the number of weeks pregnant you are.)  I got to hear Besido's heartbeat, and it was just beating away.  The doc said it sounded very good, and she said she thinks Besido is a girl.  I asked why, and she said because the heartbeat is faster, between 160 and 170.  I had read online that some people claim that girls have faster heartbeats, but I was surprised to have the doc suggest the same.  In any case, I was just very happy to hear a healthy heartbeat and hear that Besido is growing well. :)

The doc asked if I still wanted to opt out of the screening procedures for abnormalities such as down syndrome, and I said yes.  There is no way that Dave and I would be willing to abort the baby, no matter the results, so I didn't see the point of getting the tests done.  But then I asked if any of the findings could be fixed.  She said the only thing would be that if I showed positive for spina bifida, then they would do a planned c-section and be prepared to do surgery on the baby immediately after birth.  Well, I definitely preferred that over not being prepared.  I asked how they would do the screening and if it would cost me any money, and she said they would just do a blood test and that insurance would cover it.  So I decided to have them do that screening, only.  I'm really not concerned, I assume Besido is fine, but if it was free and safer for Besido, I thought it'd be best.  So I let them stick me and take some blood.

The other exciting news was that the doc said I could come back in two weeks for my ultrasound instead of waiting for my next appointment in four weeks.  I was pretty psyched.  That means we can find out Besido's gender in just two weeks!!  (That is, of course, as long as he/she doesn't sit with his/her legs crossed the whole time.)  So mark your calendars for September 30th...it'll be a big day. :)

*********
Update to this post:

About 5 minutes ago, just about 30 minutes after I wrote this initial post, I felt the baby move!!!  I was in Kristin's office talking to her and her boss, Jessica, and all of a sudden I felt this little bump-bump across my lower belly.  I looked down and sure enough, it was right where my uterus would be.  I completely interrupted their conversation and was like, "Oh my gosh!! I think I just felt the baby move!!!!!!!"  I described it to Jessica, and she was like, "Yup, that's it."  I was soooo psyched.  It was the coolest experience ever!!

Way to kick, Besido. :)

12 weeks 3 days

Today I had my 3-month checkup, and I got to hear Besido's heartbeat again. :) As the doctor was getting the doppler ready, she said, "Ok, now be aware that it sometimes takes a while to find the heartbeat." I said ok. She squeezed some jelly on my belly then stuck the doppler down and turned on the little speaker. Right away the heartbeat came pounding through. She was like, "Oh! Well! There it is!" I think she found it much quicker than expected, which was fine with me. :)

It was pounding along in the 150s. She said there's not a completely consistent heartbeat yet...that won't develop until the baby is closer to birth I guess. But she said it sounded very good. I got to listen for a while and enjoyed it quite a bit.

She also measured my uterus, which is about 12 cm long now.

Just thought you'd like an update on Besido's status. He/she seems to be growing quite nicely. :)

11 weeks 4 days

I had to call the doctor again today.

Last week I had to call because I'd been sick for over a week and I was concerned that it was turning into an upper respiratory infection. (I went in, and they basically told me that unless it turned into pneumonia, they wouldn't give me any medication for it. I was like, wow, so glad I took an hour and a half off of work to drive over here for you to tell me that.)

This week I've been waking up at about 4am or 5am to severe lower cramping from my bladder being overly full. I've been assuming it's just round ligament pain. Then today I decided to check online to see if other women had experienced anything similar. Much to my dismay, many talked about similar pain and then said it turned out to be a bladder infection. Then I read some more and it said that untreated bladder infections can travel into the kidneys and possibly cause miscarriage. Well, this really didn't make me happy...pretty panicked, honestly. So I called the doc and left a message again. I'm so glad the nurses respond quickly. A nurse called back about 10 minutes later, and had me describe the pain in detail to her. She reassured me that she believes it's just round ligament pain and that I don't need to worry. I was sooooo relieved. Dave and I are leaving for Seattle in a few hours and I have no idea what I would have done if I gotten there and found myself with a full-blown UTI. Well, ok, I do know what I would have done. I would have freaked out.

Luckily at every prenatal visit they take a urine sample and check for things such as UTIs. My next appointment is Tuesday morning, so I know it will be double-checked then. That gives me some relief.

On another note, I took a couple measurements of myself this morning. I have now gained 2 lbs and measure 3 inches wider around my waist at my bellybutton (compared to when I first found out I was pregnant). This was this morning, after just a glass of milk. By evening time I always look about a month more pregnant than I did in the morning, so I would assume the measurement is a lot greater then. But for now, the morning measurement is +3 inches. :)

Alright, as I mentioned, we're heading to Seattle for 5 days, so I won't be writing for a bit. Give me a call if you need any updates. :)

Love,
Kara

6 weeks 4 days

I had my first prenatal appointment this morning!!

Luckily I had been forewarned by my fellow pregnant friends that it wouldn't be an exciting appointment. Sure enough, all they did was make me pee in a cup, sit me in a chair and talk to me, then draw half of the blood out of my body and fill it into bunch of little tubes.

I still enjoyed the appointment though. :) They gave me a tentative due date of February 25th, which is two days earlier than what I'm saying it is. (They're calculating based on first day of last period, I'm calculating based on day of ovulation, so my estimate is a bit more precise. Most times women don't know the day of ovulation, so the doc can't use this date.)

What I'm really excited about is that they're having me come in for my first ultrasound next Wednesday. It seems a little early to me (7 weeks 6 days according to their due date) but I'm fine with that. The sooner I get to see little Besido, the better. :)