Just a little bit longer

Mid December proved to be a bit different at the weekly doctor visits. What used to be a perfectly normal and healthy visit - so healthy that my doctor has said I was the last to be seen because all has gone so well! Now my visits have shown some significantly high blood pressure. There are no other symptoms of pre-eclampsia, but the doctor is still monitoring me and I have been told to take it easy ... whatever that means after the school shooting in CT, two lock downs for security reasons at my school, a major special education evaluation, another child with daily difficulties remaining in the classroom, and the Christmas holiday to prepare for. Hopefully two weeks of winter vacation is good for my blood pressure. 

The baby seems to have dropped a bit, as I feel his body weight and pressure low in my belly. Even his movements seem different lately, as he is no longer as jumpy and kicky, but just shifting and floating around. I can feel his foot under under my right rib/side and feel like the poor kid just needs a little more room. The car sure is one of his favorite places as not a single car ride goes by without feeling him move. Not sure if that is the movement or the music that he is enjoying (or telling me to turn it off!). I thought that once he "dropped," this was supposed to ease my heartburn, but apparently not. We are definitely prepared for a full head of hair - maybe with a few curls!  

We are making final preparations before bringing him home. The nursery has been cleared out, painted, fresh trim and ready for new carpet. The dresser and rocking chair have been ordered. Our bags are packed, as best as they can be. Just a few short weeks left until we meet our little guy.

Showered with Love

We had two baby showers within a week of each other. It was a busy time but our little guy is certainly spoiled! We are very lucky to have such wonderful friends and family to gift us nearly everything we need to be comfortable bring a baby home.

The first baby shower was hosted by my Grandma and Aunt Trudy and it was a beautiful family gathering. The second was hosted by my sister in law Missy and my father in law Larry. This was a larger party with Jeremy's side of the family as well as many of our friends.

Finally, I was quite surprised to have a mini celebration at school, with a cake and a very generous gift card from my new co-workers.

Our cakes - the first provided by my friend Angie, the second by Missy.

Opening gifts at my grandma's house - with my niece's help!

One of Missy's amazing diaper cakes - there were five total between the two parties!

My niece Mckayla - busted touching something she shouldn't!!

Play doh babies

34 weeks

Time Flies

Crazy to believe I am already 32 weeks along and this little guy will be here just after the holidays. The kids at school are so excited and constantly asking questions - are you having a baby? is it a boy or a girl? when will he be here? how do you know it's a boy? are those xrays of your baby? My fav - a little girl commented on the belt I was wearing and told me to be sure I wasn't squishing him!

We had another ultrasound at 28 weeks and all is well. He is still a boy (US tech confirmed those parts haven't changed!) and growing healthy, strong and big! He was estimated to be at 3 pounds, which is the 75th percentile and about 1-2 weeks ahead of the average pregnancy. We are wondering if he will come a week or two early and are planning work schedules around this!

Yep, pretty sure he is sucking his thumb!

His hands were by his face throughout the US

His profile, when he finally moved his hands out of the way

Still a boy!

We are getting the house ready to bring home the baby - and all the things he comes with! The nursery will be in the small room off of our bedroom - which is currently the home office. It's been quite the project, but his room is coming along.

Door County Babymoon

We spent our anniversary weekend in Door County Wisconsin. This is our preferred camping location, but thankfully we decided not to camp this time around! We were worried about the weather being too cold, and I didn't really want to sleep on an air mattress on the ground. It turned about to be a chilly weekend so the hotel was perfect! We have enjoyed the first year of our marriage and are ready for the excitement our future holds!

Anniversary dinner at Alexanders 

View from Peninsula State Park

About to embark on our scenic air ride!

View looking south on Door County

View looking northwest from Door County (Michigan UP is in the background)

Shipwrecks!

Cana Island and southwestern Door County

Why do you have such a big belly?

One would think I would be used to the comments kids make, after years of working in a school. The comments have slowly changed from, "You have a big belly!" to "Are you having a baby?" I like the second comment much better - it confirms that I have gone from just looking fat to clearly looking pregnant!

Four weeks - 5/19/12

Eight weeks        Twelve weeks         Sixteen weeks        Twenty weeks

Twenty four weeks 10/11/12

It's a Boy!!

We received the results of the blood test on Monday, and that was "negative". This was quite a sense of relief for both of us! That meant there was no leakage of spinal fluid from the baby, so our odds of having a spinal deformity were low.

The ultrasound was scheduled as early as we possibly could - 18 weeks and 1 day. Both the sonographer and the physician saw no signs of spinal deformity. Apparently the brain is one of the first things they look at, and this baby has a perfectly formed brain! The physician went down the spine vertebrae by vertebrae and said with 99% confidence that the baby had a closed spinal column.

The ultrasound revealed a baby boy that is growing rapidly - his measurements place us ahead by 4 days! He is also breech at this point in time, but has plenty of time to move into position as he has plenty of room to move around. I have an anterior placenta, meaning it is in between the baby and my belly, so no baby movements yet. He is only 9 ounces and needs to be stronger to kick through all of that before I can feel him!

Baby Belly

I am officially filling out my maternity pants. I have been wearing these shorts almost exclusively all summer just because they are so much more comfortable than a button digging into my gut. My regular shirts are also starting to get tight/short/small so it might be time to make a permanent move into mommy clothes.

We have completed the first round of blood tests, carrier screenings, as well as the 12 week screening and ultrasound for Down syndrome ... all have returned to be considered in the normal ranges. Next week is the final portions of the Quad screen. Obviously the most important for us is the alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels. 

A baby produces AFP throughout gestation and a certain amount of it should cross the placenta into the mother's bloodstream at each stage of pregnancy. Normally, low levels of AFP can be found in the blood of a pregnant woman. High AFP levels can indicate multiple conditions, including carrying more than one baby or that the baby is farther along than expected. However, it can also indicate an abnormal opening in the baby's spine (spina bifida), head or abdominal wall that is allowing AFP to leak out. This screening detects about 85% of babies with spina bifida. 

We also have a Level II ultrasound scheduled for 18 weeks with the same high risk doctors we worked with in February. This anatomy scan is scheduled about two weeks earlier than most in order to determine any birth defects as early as possible. Below are images from the twelve week ultrasound. (The baby's heartbeat at 12 weeks was in the 160's...old wive's tales indicate that is a girl!)

These two images show the baby face down, including the back of the head, neck and shoulders. 

The top picture I think shows the baby face up(?)  and belly, with the arm by the head. Not exactly sure what the second image is, but the hemispheres of the brain are visible. 

Baby Red's First Photos

This ultrasound gave us an exact measurement of the baby - Baby Red is officially 6 weeks and 4 days old in these photographs, with a due date of January 25, 2012. The baby is so tiny - less than a centimeter - so there isn't much to see. We could see the heart beating (somewhere just above and to the left of the "B") but not much else! I can definitely feel my uterus at this point in time, just barely popping out above my pubic bone. But I'm so bloated and constipated that I'm sure I look much further than 7 weeks at the end of the day! Next doctor visit is six weeks away - that would put the baby at twelve weeks along. We will have another ultrasound (part of the Downs Syndrome screening) and hopefully there will be more resemblance to a baby at that time!

Follow up visit

So there was some question about my due date and how far along I am. By taking the date of my last period, that puts me about a week further along than I thought I was. Last Tuesday at the doctor my hcg was at 469. That would put me at about 5 weeks, not 6 weeks. This Tuesday the reading was 4623, which is five and a half to six weeks along. I think my due date is January 23, 2012, although the doctor originally said the 17th. I still have an appointment next week for an ultrasound next week. She did not push that back a week, even though I will only be 7 weeks instead of 8. Hopefully it doesn't turn out to be a waste of our time!

Is that a line?!?

We took two pregnancy tests last week. The first was a very faint line, but I kept reminding myself that one cannot be "a little bit" pregnant - either it's there or it's not!

May 14, 2012

The second test had a much more definitive line, but neither one of us was quite ready to believe it. Of course we were thinking, let's wait til the doctor confirms it. I don't think the doctor confirmation was really necessary as I had already been feeling some "morning" sickness, even the week before. Thanks to Christine for the jolly ranchers - the green apple flavor seems to be very helpful!

May 17, 2012

Why is it that we wait for the doctor to confirm, and even then it still seems so unbelievable. I do feel we are blessed to have this happen so quickly, when others wait years and still need the help of modern medicine. The doctor visit went well, but I need blood drawn and my levels checked again next week. It's weird how they calculate the due date based upon the last menstrual period, and assume all cycles are 28 days. Since mine have been 33 days, I knew I was more like 5 weeks than the 6 weeks the doctor calculated.

Then comes the question of telling people - it feels strange to be holding this secret, but the pressure is on to wait until after the first trimester. Apparently my husband can't keep a secret because he has told more people than I have! So many of his friends knew that we were trying and they asked - or saw that I continue to drink water when we are out at night. So that must have been rather obvious! My closer coworkers knew when I left early to go to the doctor. I am a little nervous about the end of the year party when the drinks are flowing. Plus I am rather emotional and am afraid I will be a sobbing mess as I am being forced to find employment elsewhere!

Here is a funny....had an end of the year transition meeting with a parent. I sat in the meeting and had a panic attack as I realized this mother is a maternity nurse ... a family that I needed to report to DCFS. I couldn't stop thinking about what she might do if she happened to be assigned to me during labor! Thankfully she currently works at Condell. Keep your fingers crossed she doesn't find a new job!

I am continuing to work out and am quite self conscious of the bloated belly I now have. Exercising is already different. Apparently my blood volume is increasing, along with my resting heart rate. Instead of the blood rushing to my muscles while exercising, it is going straight to my uterus. What used to be an easy bike ride has become quite the workout. I can tell that gaining weight is going to be difficult to manage. 

Four weeks, one day

It still seems to be quite unreal - either I am in denial, scared to what changes are to come, or just in awe of the miracle that is developing within in my body. Here's to a healthy and happy 35 weeks to go!

How did we get here?

Our pregnancy journey started a few months ago. Because of the family history, we had to be very careful and planned every moment of this pregnancy. In late January we visited my ob/gyn to discuss our options. She sat down and talked with us for quite some time (which is highly unusual with today's doctors!) - and then referred us to a specialist for more information.

A few weeks later we visited a neonatal diagnostician, otherwise known as a genetic counselor. We learned a lot of information in this meeting, including our risks, how to prevent birth defects and a little bit more about why Jeremy has to go to the bathroom all the time (who knew it was due to his spina bifida?!?)!

We are at in increased risk of having a child with spina bifida. Not only does Jeremy and his daughter have spina bifida, but he has an extended family history with this birth defect as well. Our risk is anywhere from 4-50%. This is such a wide range for two reasons: 1) Jeremy's mom's side of the family is the carrier and he has lost touch with many of those family members (including extended aunts, uncles and cousins) and 2) sometimes people will have spinal deformities and not even know it. Spina bifida can range anywhere from deformed vertebrae with no symptoms, to an exposed spinal column with physical and mental deformities.

There is good news, and the counselor stated that, of all birth defects, this is the best one to have! With research and the latest medical technologies, it is well known that neural tube defects can be prevented by increasing folic acid. Typical prenatal vitamins contain 400mg ... it is recommended that I take 10 times this amount. It is also important to take this vitamin in the early stages of pregnancy as the spine is fully formed in the first 28 days of pregnancy - which means it is often completely formed before a woman even knows she is pregnant.

Luckily, the increased vitamins have no side effects on my body and I have been successfully taking the folic acid since February (just in case!). We have shared this information with a few people and I think this has taught us one of our first pregnancy lessons. It seems as though everyone has an opinion and has no problem sharing that opinion with us. People are quick to judge us in our genetic decisions and although they always mean well, it is not easy information to hear. We believe in today's technology and knowing as much information as we can. If we can prevent a lifelong battle with medical, physical and mental struggles we definitely will. It would never be an easy decision to make, but we are going into this with an open mind and are willing to accept all options and possibilities. We know some decisions might be very difficult to make and have life long implications. We want our child to have the best quality of life possible and are willing to make some difficult decisions along the way.