Big Baby Yoches?

Because my fundal measurement jumped so significantly last Friday Doctor Hank ordered an ultrasound to find out the baby's approximate size. After an eternity of measuring obscure looking objects the ultrasound finally settled on something recognizable --his sweet sleeping face. It was enough to make me say, "awwww" even with the weird ultrasound distortion.

So, their guestimate is 8 pounds 13 ounces which puts him in the 86th percentile for weight. Although, he's big they don't classify him as macrosomic (or big for gestational age) until he's over the 90th percentile.

8 pounds, 13 ounces certainly isn't big for my family so I'm not sure what all the hoopla is about. Unless the little-big guy comes soon my next doctor's appointment is Friday where I'm sure we'll discuss the possibility of inducing labor and cesearean.

A Day of Doctor's Appointments

Because of the Gestational Diabetes I now have to have two weekly stress tests and one weekly ultrasound. (Good thing I'm now on maternity leave. How do people work and make babies?!) For the stress test I go to the hospital and am hooked up to a monitor to listen to the heartbeat for half an hour. They also monitor any contractions that I might have. Today's test went well. Baby was active and his heart rate was strong. No contractions, but lots of movement.

Next, I went downstairs for the ultrasound. The goal of the utlrasound is to measure the amniotic fluid levels. Everything was fine there so no worries. The nurse printed out a creepy picture of his face. I thought it was an early Halloween gift and not my baby. I think she could've found a more photogenic angle, but I guess I can't be too picky--a photo is a photo.

In the afternoon I went to my last Gestational Diabetes appointment. My numbers have been great so there's no reason for me to go back. They want me to be checked for Diabetes after he's born and then once a year after that and since Diabetes runs in the family they recommend I lose 10 to 15 pounds.

Prenatal Visit and Ultrasound

Today we had two back to back appointments. The first was for an ultrasound, the second was my usual check up with the doctor.

I was pretty anxious to see the baby--it'd been a whole month since we heard his heartbeat and although I had felt him kick I was feeling a little panicky because I had only felt him kick once and it was days ago. I just wanted reassurance that everything was okay with the little guy.

The ultrasound was crazy. The nurse meticulously went from the head, down his front side, up through the legs and up the backside taking a million detailed pictures of mostly indecipherable objects. Thankfully she called out what she was looking at--kidneys, bladder, etc. They all looked like blobs to me except for his little beating heart which was just so cool to see. When she zoomed back out we could see his hand rubbing his eyes and touching his face. Unfortunately when it came to picture time he rolled over and was laying on his face so we didn't get a great profile or face shot. We did however, get a very clear picture of his foot (as he was kicking me!) and a porno shot that shows quite clearly that yes indeed, he is a boy. :)

The doctor appointment was the usual blood pressure check, weigh, pee in a cup, and listen to the heartbeat. Thankfully my blood pressure went back down from the last visit where it was a little on the high side. I've only gained 10 pounds thus far so that's good news. And my blood sugar and protein levels are all normal. Doctor Hank was cracking me up so I was extra giggly. He made me listen to my giggling through the monitor and told me, "that's what the baby hears...so keep doing that!" Sounds like a good idea.

CVS Test Today!

Today was the big CVS test day. It’s one thing to take a test that will tell you the health of your unborn child, but it’s especially nerve-wracking to know the test will be uncomfortable and could potentially cause miscarriage. It sort of defeats the joy of being a week away from your 2nd trimester. Everything I read online about CVS said the potential for miscarriage increases with the inexperience of the tester, so make sure you go to someone who does more that 50 a year. That’s not very reassuring. What if the doctor had a sleepless night?! What if they were hung over? Or what if they were just having a bad day? There are too many what ifs. Thankfully when we arrived, we were both relieved to see the sheer magnitude of the waiting room and how full it was. This guy OBVIOUSLY did way more than 50 a year—he probably does 50 every two days!

First we went in for genetic counseling where a very nice lady explained the procedure in detail, gave us a list of possible side effects and then drew a family tree to determine if there were any genetic issues to be concerned with.

After that we went into a low-lit room. I laid on the table while Jeremy sat next to me. A nurse did an ultrasound from a million different angles and took a lot of measurements. There was a big screen TV above her head so we could watch. Much of it looked like weird undecipherable masses, but anytime she scrolled by the baby it’s image was quite clear and she would pause to show us. The first time we saw the little thing it had its arm laying alongside the head as if it was chillin’ out. It was so cute…we had to laugh. Yup, that’s our little laid back baby.

The test itself lasted only a minute, but it was extremely uncomfortable. Poor Jeremy’s seat was eye level with my belly—not exactly the bird’s eye view you’d want in a situation like this. I asked him if he was going to watch and he said, “no”. Instead we both watched the TV during the procedure, but it made me so uncomfortable I had to stop after a few seconds. Afterwards they checked the baby’s heart rate and zoomed in to it’s little head which was moving around…probably wondering what the heck was going on! I was glad to have the whole ordeal over with. Now we just have to wait 1 to 2 weeks for the results.

Second Prenatal Appointment

Jeremy’s birthday week meant that we had a lot of plans and very little sleep. We arrived at the doctor’s visit a little late and bleary-eyed. Dr. Hank had delivered a baby the day before and had the follow-up circumcision that very morning so his schedule was all screwed up. We waited an hour and a half! I finally sent poor Jeremy away for food and coffee and a quick work check-in. Of course, as soon as he left I got called into the room. :(

Once in there, it was a quick visit. I had my second sonogram. Dr. Hank was looking for Speck to have grown to at least 15mm. Speck passed with flying colors and came in at a whopping 19.7mm, which put me at an estimated 8 weeks and 5 days. It was amazing to see that as soon as Speck appeared on screen I could quite clearly see a human form. I saw a little head, an arm and even a leg. I wished so bad that Jeremy was there, but got an extra picture instead.

Next up: I’m supposed to go get some blood and urine work done and then I follow up with my next visit on Monday, April 23rd. Dr. Hank said this was the “big” visit and the one that husbands really must make. Apparently, we’re going to get down to the nitty gritty.

First Prenatal Appointment

I wasn’t too sure what to expect, but thankfully Jeremy came along. He was invited into the room with me where I had my first sonogram. We got to see the little blob that we nicknamed Speck. It was a whopping 3.6mm!! We even got to see a flicker that was its heart. It was so unreal. I felt like the lady from the Aliens movie--something was growing inside of me!! :) Dr. Hank printed out several copies of Speck’s first photo and lectured Jeremy on his role as "supportive partner" and then sent us on our way.