Friday, February 22, 2008

The details of the the appointment



I've been a little tired (read: lazy) for the past few days, but after a relaxing Friday night on the couch and a good nights sleep followed by an early Saturday morning nap, I'm finally going to give more details on the appointment on the 20th.


I worked in the morning and left around 1130am to pick Ted up at his office. I went up to get him, met a few of his co-workers, and then off we went to Farmington. I felt like I was absolutely going to burst! A lot of people have been asking me why I would want to know the sex of the baby, and my response has been, "Finding out I was pregnant in the first place was enough of a surprise...now I want to know everything!"

First we were brought into the examination room by an ultrasound tech. I got comfy on the table while Ted sat in a chair next to me and we anxiously looked at the flat-screen monitor hanging on the wall in front of us. In the beginning of the exam, the baby was very still and the tech seemed to be able to get the measurements she needed: the top of the noggin, the length of the body, the thickness of the placenta, etc. A few minutes into the exam, she asked if we wanted to know the sex of the baby to which I said "YES!!!" and she said, "Well, this baby is a boy!" Sure enough, she showed us a shot of the baby, taken as if the "camera" was underneath the baby looking up at his butt, and there was his "equipment". I cried (of course) out of happiness and Ted was just beaming.






Ok, I really don't want to scar my poor boy for life, so as he grows older PLEASE don't tell him that I posted the photo of his stuff on this blog, please. You can see it just to the left of where the tech wrote "BOY".


Aren't I awful?????



Ok. Next the tech showed us some really cool things, like the four chambers of the heart, his leg bones, spine, fingers, toes, lips, and of course the top of his huge head. Below are two of the most amazing photos:





Once the tech was finished, the doctor and an intern came in to look things over and talk with us. He said that the chances that our boy has any kind of birth defect or Down Syndrome are very limited which was great news. He offered an amnioscenthesis still, though, saying that it is always an option for me, but also saying that the chances of the amnio causing a miscarriage are greater then the chances of them finding a defect from it. So, we walked out of the Health Center happy about having a boy and even happier about hearing that everything seems fine!


The next installment of this blog will be the baby's name and how we came up with it, so stayed tuned!



Thursday, February 21, 2008

NEWS FLASH!!!


IT'S A BOY!!!!


Wednesday, February 6, 2008

16 Week Check-up Report

This morning I had my monthly OB check-up, and Ted was able to join me for this appointment which was great. The Doctor on duty today was Dr. Briggs who is a nice, young guy and very patient and thorough in answering questions. He went over (in great detail) the results of my UConn tests and also what I can expect from the next round of testing there. The basic gist here is that, although the test results were very promising, it doesn't mean that we're out of the woods for anything being "wrong". It is still possible that the Quad screening (a maternal blood screening test that checks for four specific substances that can be evidence of birth defects) will show less then desireable results. The test results from the Quad screening will determine whether or not I'll get the amnioscenthesis done which I'm obviously hoping to avoid.

The best part of the appointment was having Ted hear the heartbeat for the first time. I had told him that the first time you hear that "Wow-Wow-Wow-Wow" of the baby's heart beating away (ask me to do the imitation next time you see me....it's pretty good if I do say so myself!) it was amazing, and I think he agreed with me. We heard it right away when the doc put the instrument to my belly and then we heard a lot of swooshing which was explained to be the baby moving around. Seriously, this kid is VERY active!! In between all the swooshing, we also heard a few "whumps" which was "something hard" as the doc said, "like an arm or a leg". Crazy.

So, we have an active baby on our hands, it seems. Hopefully I can keep up! Next update on the baby's progress will be on the 20th of this month when we'll hopefully find out the sex of the baby! Stay tuned!

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Groundhog's Day and Superbowl Sunday

Yesterday was Groundhog's Day and also my Dad's birthday, and the official start of my orientation season for work. My co-workers Theresa, Sabrina and I headed off to White River Junction, Vermont (jealous?) in the morning in a fancy, red Chevy Aveo (NOW are you jealous?) while my immediate family celebrated my Dad's big day by participating in the Essex, CT Groundhog's Day parade. Here's a photo that Ted took of my Dad and his Grandkids Jack, Julia and Olivia. Notice my Dad's snazzy, custom-made Groundhog hat:






I wish I could have been there, but I needed to be at the orientation since I pretty much re-vamped it this year and I needed the practice with the new transitions and some new info I've added. I also wanted Theresa and Sabrina watch me go through the presentation before I send them out on their own to do them. I think the orientation went well and we were able to hit the road to return home a little after 3pm which worked out fine.



When I got home, Ted came right outside and we headed to my Dad's house so that I could at least see him for a little while on his birthday. Glenna fed us well, as always, and we had a great chat about politics, my work, and of course the baby! They gave Ted and I some great advice about naming the baby once we find out whether it will be a boy or a girl, and loved the names we have in mind. (More on that at a later time...stay tuned) I showed them all the updated sonogram photos and they just seem genuinely thrilled about this baby. Thanks, Dad and Glenna for a great evening!

Sunday was Superbowl Sunday, and we had a lazy day for the most part. Ted fired up the smoker and cooked up some ABT's (jalepenos stuffed with cream cheese and pulled pork and wrapped in bacon) and some chicken wings so we could pig out during the game. Now, I usually only watch the Superbowl for the commercials (typical chick move) but I had a real interest in seeing the Giants win this one and watched mostly the whole game, taking only a half hour break to talk to Karen on the phone. It was such an exciting game at the end, and I had fun spending the time with Ted and he was very patient answering all my silly "what does that mean" questions. In the last few minutes, I even felt a few flutters in my belly that I'm sure were the baby...this kid will be a Giants fan for sure!