22 Weeks!

Here's the latest belly pic taken at 22 weeks. The Other one is a photo of Rob getting in on the belly showing action. (From the look on Jake's face, I think he thinks his daddy has lost his mind)

5 Month Check In

This past week has been very low key, as per Doctors orders. Last weekend, after a particularly stressful week, I started experiencing heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness and some cramping, so Rob and I took a trip to the hospital just to make sure everything was fine. I would rather spend an hour or so in the hospital making sure everything is ok, than spend hours at home worrying that something was going wrong.

Honestly I've never been given such priority service at the hospital. Within minutes of arriving and disclosing that I was 21 weeks pregnant, they had my chart made up, took my vitals and attached to an EKG machines to track the palpitations. My pulse was jumping from 107 to 77 every few seconds. After a minute or so of recording they disconnected me and rushed me upstairs to the maternity wing.

Walking in there was quite the experience. You get off the elevator and hit a buzzer across the hall on the wall. Almost instantly these double doors open in sync to a room of nurses staring at you, as if you were royalty. It was a very odd feeling. They rushed me around to a bed and slapped a fetal heart monitor on my tummy. After recording for a few minutes, they discovered that the baby's heart rate was fine. I wasn't concerned about the baby, because while the nurse was tracking the heartbeat the baby was kicking exactly where she was pushing the probe, as if to say, get this thing off me!

The nurse then took all the information and phones the OB on-call. We waited abut 20 minutes to hear that he was sending us home as the baby was fine. As for the heart palpitations, they had begun leveling out, and the OB told me to go home, and take a week on bed rest/house arrest. His strict instructions were to avoid stress. (A lot easier said then done.) I had a regular scheduled appointment 2 days later with my OB that I was to be attending to re-check on the baby, and if anything got worse between heading home and that OB appt, I should return to the hospital.

When we left the hospital we checked the time and we had only been there for 1 hour. Quick the express service for the emergency department I must say. We returned home and Rob set me up on the couch and made sure I had everything I needed for a relaxing evening.

We decided jointly that in order to enjoy a week completely stress free, I would be giving up my cell phone and the internet just to get some peace and quiet and focus on health and family. I thought at the time that it would be incredibly hard to make it through a week without attachment to the electronic world, but I gotta say it was a welcome relief. I didn't realize just how attached I was to my blackberry (checking it when i wake up and when im laying in bed, not to mention a hundred times in between) and to Facebook in particular. It put things back in perspective for me.

Having a few days without those forces controlling my life allowed me to take time to reconnect with myself and with what was happening inside my tummy. I got to enjoy bubble baths, naps, magazines, books and catch up on some favourite tv shows. I spent some quality time playing cards and board games with Rob, and got to focus some time on Jake as well. Rob was a godsend this week. He took Jake for all his walks as walking to much is what was causing my cramping.

At the OB appointment on the Tuesday, he re-checked everything with the baby and she was still doing fine. All the results had come in from my testing a few weeks earlier so we spent the majority of the appointment discussing those. The blood tests/ultra sound scans that tested for things like Downs Syndrome and Spina Bifida all came back in the extremely low range. There is no guarantee that we wont be the 1 in 50,000 that does acquire the disease, but the odds are definitely in our favour. We already knew the heart scan came back fine, but he confirmed that indeed everything in her heart appeared to be the picture of perfection at this time.

The 19 week ultrasound for measurements also came back perfect. She measured out to be 18 weeks and 6 days, when our early dating put her at 19 weeks, so that's right on schedule. All her parts looked as they should and nothing was out of place. So good news all around.

My OB advised me to continue taking the rest of the week off (as in remain at home taking it easy) and that the remainder of the pregnancy needs to be as stress free as possible.

The big news for us this appointment was that I had finally gained my first few pounds of baby weight. A whole 2lbs. 5 and a half months pregnant and I've gained 2 lbs so far. I'd be concerned if my OB didn't continually remind me not to worry because clearly my belly was growing, and the baby was measuring out just fine. The weight must just be re-distributing from other areas.

I have other appointment scheduled for next week to do glucose screening for gestational diabetes, and to find out if my stress has lowered enough to start getting back to normal activities. Especially important with Thanksgiving coming up. My favourite holiday of all!

Echo Echo Echo.....

As mentioned in one of my earlier blog postings, my older brother was born with a genetic defect called hypo-plastic left heart. Because this could be passed onto any of my children, my OB ordered a Fetal Echocardiograph to be done during week 20 of the pregnancy. Finally the time had come to make our way to Kingston to meet with the Pediatric Cardiologist.

We first met with a female ultra sound tech who would be taking all the pictures of the heart for the Cardiologist to review. Given my previous experience with ultra sound techs, we were slightly nervous that would we be in for another round of the silent treatment and absurd comments, but she quickly put that fear to rest when she invited Rob into the room from the very start and began cracking jokes.

Once the ultra sound got under way she explained everything she was looking at. She showed us the various chambers of the heart, which way the blood was flowing, how open the valves were, what the heartbeat was and even took the time to let us casually watch our little girl swim around., which is basically all our little bun wanted to do. She didn't cooperate in the least. The second the tech would get a decent frame, the baby would block the picture with her arm or decide it was time to roll over.

The tech was remarkably well spirited about the entire thing. She kept cracking jokes about the baby, saying she was gonna win in the end cause she wasn't about to give up. It made for a very enjoyable experience, although she was making me giggle so much that my entire tummy would move and she'd have to try and find the right angle again. Rob found it particularly funny when the tech squeezed a giant amount of ultra sound goo directly into my belly button, because he knew i'd be trying to get it back out of there for hours.

After about 20 minutes she had all the pictures of the heart she needed, so she gave us a few more minutes of watching the baby kick where she was pushing the probe, re-confirmed that it was indeed a little girl, and then she sent the photos to the Cardiologist and informed us that he would be in shortly.

We waited about 10 minutes for him to show up and it literally took him less than 1 minute to tell us everything looked perfectly fine. No signs of hypo-plastic left heart or any other condition and all the pictures showed her in excellent health. That was fantastic news! Now we have one less thing to worry about and can just enjoy the fact that we have an active healthy little girl who will be showing up in a few more months.

Nightly Playdates

Its been quite the exciting week around our household. Between various doctor's appointments and both Rob and I celebrating our birthday's, we've barely had any time to kick back an relax. Finally we made the time tonight, so I thought I'd catch up on my blog.

Earlier in the week I had been lying in bed trying to sleep and my hand gravitated to my tummy. I've been waiting for weeks to feel our baby kick and hadn't felt anything as of yet, or at least not anything. I was 100% sure of. There had been a few twangs here and there but that could be anything from muscles twitching to eating the wrong thing to being hungry.

I've read that the first time you feel the baby kick it would feel like butterflies or popcorn or bubbles popping, so I was completely surprised when, lying in bed, I felt an out and out kick. A little tapping from the inside letting me know she was in there. Making sure I wasn't imagining it, I kept my hand there and then once again, another kick!

Right then, Rob walked in the room and I must have had a crazy look on my face cause he asked what was wrong. I said I think I felt the baby kick and before I knew it, his hands were on my tummy trying to feel her too. It took a minute or so, but she made us both believers when he felt her too! His eyes lit up and he started kissing my tummy and talking to the baby. Such a proud papa he was!

Tonight, around 10pm, she started at it again. While relaxing on the couch her movements became quite regular. Every few minutes she would tap where I was touching on my tummy. Its the most wonderful feeling, finally being able to connect with her on this level. I can't wipe the smile from my face, as I look forward to many more nightly play dates!

Empathy Belly!

Today was the local prenatal health fair sponsored by the Peterborough Health Unit. It was loaded with about 30 booths from local support networks ranging from baby dental care, to breast feeding help, to bring a baby home with a dog in the house, to pregnancy massage and my personal favourite, the empathy belly.

Rob being the good sport that he is agreed to try it on for me. It weighs about 30 lbs and is suppose to mimic the aches and pains a pregnant woman feels near the end of the 3rd trimester. There was a band placed around him first that constricted his ribs so he would have difficulty breathing. Then, with assistance, they loaded the belly onto him, strapping it on like a bulletproof vest, and then giving him a weighted bean bag type baby for him to insert under the belly.

You could instantly see his face change. It definately was heavy. The nurse then had him walk up and down the display area, bend over and pick up something off the ground and then sit in a chair and try to stand up. The funniest part was watching him try to bend over and stand up, as his center of gravity was completely thrown off. With a little wobble, he made it back to an upright position.

Upon being released from his pregnancy belly he did say it was quite the interesting experience. Now he understands why walking up hills make me out of breath and why I get dizzy if I stand up to fast.

The rest of the health fair was extremely informative and we came away with some great information, but the pictures of him pregnant will bring a smile to my face for a long long time.

20 Weeks... Halfway there!

I've made it to the halfway point! Its all a countdown from here :)

Drum Roll Please......

After a very disappointing ultra sound on Monday, (see previous post) a friend of ours suggested we try UC Baby. Its an organization that takes 3D pictures of your baby via ultra sound and will determine the gender if you wish to know. We did a little web research and went through various chat rooms reading what people had written about this company and the type of service they received. No one who has done it appeared to be disappointed, so we thought we'd give it a try. We booked an appointment for Thursday and waited with baited breath.

Arriving in Whitby on a particularly miserable day weather wise, we pull into the appropriately named Mom and Baby depot. Inside we were greeted by a chipper lady who had us fill out some paperwork before sending me into the ultra sound room. We were excited when we entered the room and saw that at the foot of the bed there was a big screen TV that projected the same image the tech would be seeing. By far the best set up we had seen in any of the clinics we had been in.

A very nice lady came in and began scanning. We only paid for the gender determination part, so we wouldn't be getting the entire scan of the baby's face and body since we had just seen that on Monday. She got right to the point and began searching for the area. We could clearly see the baby when she started poking around but the baby was lying sideways, so all we could see was a profile shot. She then proceeded to shake my tummy with her free hand (seriously) to try and encourage the baby to roll over.

Within 3 minutes we had our answer. While the tech is poking around she casually said, "it's a girl I'm just trying to get you a better picture." I was shocked! I shouted back at her, "its a girl!?!" For as long as I've been pregnant Rob has had me convinced that it was a boy and so I had just gotten used to that idea. I was so prepared for the tech to tell me it was a boy that I hadn't even imagined that she would say girl. The tech repeated "yup it's definitely a girl. I knew right away but wanted to get her to roll over so you could see too"

Rob and I both looked up at the TV screen and see our baby, legs spread, showing a lack of boy bits. Rob asked the tech how reliable the scan was and what the error rate has been. She told us that she's been doing it for years and has yet to have anyone call in and tell her she was wrong. She also said she was 100% positive that our baby was in fact a girl. It was on the screen clear as day. Her confidence and the pictures we're enough to convince us. We're officially having a baby girl, and couldn't be happier!

19 week ultrasound with the worst tech ever!

We had our 19 week ultrasound this past Monday and it wasn't quite what we expected. We knew we were going to the fairly new clinic, as its one of only two offices in town that disclose the sex of the baby providing you want to know, which we did. The past couple ultrasounds the tech has allowed me to see the screen the entire time they were checking things out, so I was expecting much of the same and was very excited to see the baby.

Arriving at the room, we were first put off by the fact that the tech wouldn't allow Rob into the room until she was done all of the measurements. Now I can't speak for him, but I would assume that an ultrasound is one of the things expectant fathers look forward to since they aren't involved in much of the goings on until the baby is actually born.

Already disappointed my frustration quickly escalated when I was lying on the table and she wouldn't show me the screen or tell me anything that she was looking at while she was probing around my tummy. For the record, I understand that for OB's and ultrasounds techs, pregnancy is old hat. They deal with plenty of people everyday who ask the same questions and want the same reassurance so it must become frustrating, but as a pregnant woman, especially a first time pregnant woman, I would like to be able to expect that my OB or anyone involved with the pregnancy would make it his or her job to make me as comfortable as possible and reassure me that everything is indeed fine along the way. Well this particular tech did not. She left me in silence for over 20 mins. I would ask if everything was fine, or what she was measuring, or if she was going to let me see the screen, and she would simply grunt or tell me to wait until the end.

Every horrible thought possible was racing through my head. Was something wrong? Was there still a heartbeat? The only reassurance she did give me came near the end when she said "taking pictures of your baby is like taking pictures of my dog".... and to that I said "excuse me!" She clarified by saying that the baby was moving around so much it was difficult to get clear pictures, just like how her dog constantly moves when she tries to take his picture, but the explanation didn't do much to remove the sour taste in my mouth. Did she seriously just liken my child to her dog? What is wrong with this woman. I guess on the one hand it was kind of a compliment, being that you want your baby to be very active, but what kind of class did she take in bedside manner? I took a deep breath and pictured my baby doing somersaults and kicking its legs to help pass the time, since i couldn't actually see what she was talking about.

Finally she got up, walked out of the room without explanation, leaving me on the table and a few mins late returned with Rob, giving him strict instructions to stand on my left side by my head. She finally turned the screen and systematically went through some of the different areas of the baby. We got to see the spine, the hands, the feet, the legs and arms, the head, including the brain and face, the stomach, the heart and then we got the hear the heartbeat. Keep in mind during this show and tell she never did tell us if everything looked ok or not, just simply that it was present.

We had mentioned to her several times that we wanted to know the sex of the baby. She proceeded to lecture us in the fact that she is not a doctor and doesn't want to be held liable. We explained time and time again that we understand and wont hold her liable, we're just curious and she again repeats that she doesn't want to fathom a guess and even if she did it would really only be that, a guess. We asked her to show us anyways, and she finally scanned down to the baby's legs to try and catch a peek. She explained that if its a girl you'd see the lips of the genitalia and if its a boy you'd see his bits between the legs. She showed us the picture and tells us to guess. Seriously! At the same time that I say girl, Rob says boy... turning to her to see which one of us is right, she simply says I can't tell and don't want to guess because its really not clear with the way the baby is lying. I thought Rob was going to slug her right then and there. Pissed, I just wanted to leave. She puts the probe away and tells us she will bring the pictures out in a few mins.

We waited in the waiting room for a good 10 mins when finally she emerges with a CD. We payed and head home. Getting home, we looked at the disc and realized she has given us about 6 pictures. She gave us a few decent profile photos, the hands and the feet, and then gave us the scariest pictures I'd ever seen. I was of the baby's face, but not in a cute, look at his nose kind of way, but in a scary I'm a skull kinda way. It looked like it was straight out of some Halloween movie. What kinda parent wants to see that?? I'm not posting it because its that wrong, so you'll have to take my word for it.

I've never been so annoyed and frustrated with a medical professional before in my life. I will never ever go back there, in fact when I see my OB at my next appointment I will be requesting that he send me for another ultrasound at the other location. At least that way the scan will be done by an actual doctor and not a bitchy tech with her own agenda. We both feel she purposely didn't tell us the sex of the baby. She didn't even try zooming in or spend anytime waiting for the baby to move or roll over.

The only great thing to come out of that appointment was knowing we have a very very active baby. While she was showing us the various parts we did get to see the bun roll over, wave, make a fist, suck its thumb and kick its legs. It was pretty awesome to see that!

Crib Central

Trying to decide on a crib for the baby's room was one of the most difficult decisions we've made so far. There are so many options out there. What colour do you chose? White? Chocolate? Oak? Cherry? The possibilities are endless. Then it comes down to style. Do you go with straight lines or curves? Classic or antique? Drop or fixed sides? One that eventually converts into a double bed or is the crib just going to be used as a crib?

After narrowing it down to lighter colours and preferring fixed sides rather than drop downs, we started our search. For a few weeks we browsed baby stores, flyers, online stores, checked what our friends had and researched the best brands online. We finally came to a decision when the deal of a lifetime presented itself. This couple had bought a brand new crib for their first born, but when the mother in law saw it, she decided she was going to buy them one even better. Being that it was the first grandchild of the family, the mother in law decided she deserved only the best. So the couple needed to get rid of the crib they had just purchased. It was a matter or right place at the right time for us, and we managed to score the crib, the mattress and the change table for less money than the change table alone would cost in store.

I must say we are surprised with how much we love it. Being that its oak in colour, it pretty much goes with everything we have already purchased and it fits nicely into our jungle themed baby room.

Its a party!

I was shocked and surprised when I got my mail today, as I received an invitation to my very own baby shower! My friend Jess has been busy planning a baby shower for me but has been very hush hush about the details. I had no idea what to expect. Needless to say I was beyond delighted when I opened the envelope to reveal a bright, colourful and fun invitation. I can tell she put a lot of thought and energy into the invites and for that, I am very grateful! Some women dream of their wedding days or their honeymoons, but since I was little, my mind has been consumed with becoming a mom. I've dreamt of a baby shower surrounded by my close friends and family and I am so excited that Jess is making my dreams come true. I can't wait until November 6th!