The Beginning of the 2nd Trimester

This week marked the beginning of my 2nd Trimester which is just unbelieveable to me. My friend Sabrina told me that on the first day of her 2nd trimester, when she was pregnant with her daughter Emma, she instantly felt better then she had in her first trimester. So, I woke up on Tuesday expecting to be full of energy and free from the pesky morning/evening sickness that I've experienced here and there. No luck. All I felt was that Sabrina is a very lucky woman!

Ted was in the mood for sushi early in the week, so we went to a Japanese restaurant in New London for dinner. I wasn't feeling well in the car ride there, but I'm really trying my best to be a trooper and not put a damper on any of our plans just because of my occasional queeziness, so I sucked it up and made it all the way through dinner not eating much other then some sticky rice. After dinner, I couldn't "hide it" anymore and I threw up twice in the parking lot and spent the first 10 minutes of being home getting sick. I'm such a fun date, aren't I? The following night I was sick again, spending 10 minutes in the parking lot of my office getting sick into a WalMart bag. My friend Kris Eastman said that I could have at least been a little more classy and used a Target bag. She's got a point and I'll have to work on that....

The last few days have been better, and while I've had some moments of queeziness, I haven't actually gotten sick at all. I do have more energy then I did in the first trimester which is huge. Saturday Ted and I had a condo association meeting in the morning (we were early so we hit Dixie Doughnuts on our way....yum!) and then did some cleaning when we got home. I actually enjoyed being able to contribute more and pulling my weight. Later in the afternoon, I went with Ted to the salon while he got his hair cut and then we went straight to the Westbrook Outlets so I could use some very generous gift cards my Dad and Step-Mom gave me at Motherhood Maternity. I picked out two nice blouses and two pairs of pants for work that I think will be great for the orientations I have to do for work throughout the winter and early spring. The best part of trying on clothes there is that they have fake belly bumps that you strap on around your waist so you can see how the clothes will fit you as your belly grows. I have to admit, I liked the way I looked with a big old pregnant belly!! Weird, huh? Ted didn't get a chance to see it, but I might drag him back there again soon so he can have a little preview of what's in store!

The main reason for the "Shoreline Tour" was to visit with my Aunt Mary Shanley who lives in an assisted living community in Branford. I haven't seen her in a long while, and I really miss her. Aunt Mary used to live in the apartment above us when we lived on Mansfield Street in New Haven until she fell and broke her hip a few years ago. Once that happened, it really didn't make sense for her to go back to the house, so she moved to Branford. It was always nice to have her close by, and now that we live a fair distance from her we really don't see her all that often. I need to make more of an effort to visit more, since yesterday made me realize how much I miss her! She seems excited about the baby and I showed her some of the sonogram photos which she enjoyed.

Once our visit was over with Aunt Mary, we went to Ted's parents house for a visit and for dinner. We haven't seen them since Christmas so it was nice to spend some time with them, too. Mom Lorson gave us some ADORABLE baby clothes and socks that she said she couldn't resist buying; I have a feeling that this kid of ours is going to be very spoiled by his or her grandparents! I'm so happy that both my and Ted's parents are so excited about this pregnancy! We hung out for a little while and then went to Chuck's Steakhouse for dinner. My family used to go to Chuck's all the time while I was growing up, so it was nice to share that with Ted and his parents. We had a great meal ( I was even tempted to get a steak, but ended up with chicken instead....just to be safe) and then Ted and I ventured home (I of course slept most of the way). Thanks, Mom and Dad Lorson for a great evening!

My next doctor's appointment is on the 6th of February and then my second round of testing at UConn is on the 20th and that's when we find out if this baby is a boy or a girl!!!

13 Weeks and All's Well!

On January 14th I had the first of two appointments at the UConn Health Center in Farmington, CT. Because of my "advanced age" my doctor had recommended that I get some various tests done that will help determine the odds that the baby would be born with Down Syndrome and some other birth defects. Scary stuff. But, I agreed that it is important to know what we're up against, and since women over 35 (for those of you who may not know, I'm at the ripe old age of 37!) have a greater chance of having a baby with a birth defect, I agreed to the testing and went forward with it optimistic that everything would be ok, but cautious knowing that my age may very well be my worst enemy right now.



The first part of the appointment was a meeting with a genetic counselor. The woman I met with was very nice and she carefully explained the sonogram and blood work I would be getting that day, and what the various results would mean. Then she asked a bunch of questions about family history both on my side (easy answer: since I'm adopted, I really don't know!) and on Ted's side. Once that was done, she sent me into the waiting room until I was called for my sonogram.



The sonogram (two of the best photos are above) was AMAZING. I had three done already but this one was different in that the previous ones were transvaginal (images taken from inside the vagina) and this one was standard and taken over my ever-expanding belly. This time, I was able to see the little bugger move around and I saw it's little fingers and toes and even some facial features. The sonogram tech was trying desperately to get a good view of the back of the baby's neck since what they were aiming to do was measure the depth of the fluid there, and the baby was being "difficult" and "stubborn" and moving every which way but the way the tech needed it to! She gave it the old college try for 15 or 20 minutes or so, and meanwhile she got some great photos, and at one point the baby even looked straight at the sonogram wand and moved it little fingers like it was waving at me...amazing! But, there was a task at hand and the baby wasn't cooperating (good lord...what do I have in store with this kid?) so the tech brought the doctor in to get the job done. After a few minutes he got the info he needed, and gave me the good news that the measurements of the fluid looked great: they worry if they measure 2.5mm or more fluid and my baby's measured in at 1.25. Whew! I still have to get my blood work results back, which should be Wednesday or Thursday, but so far so good!