17 1/2 weeks

We went to Iowa City for our monthly doctor's appointment yesterday. I'll be relieved next month when we don't have to make the 2 hour drive for the 15 minute appointment. :) We saw Dr. Ward instead of Dr. Elson because Dr. Elson had to take care of her sick daughter. I liked Dr. Ward, which made me feel a lot more comfortable with the UIHC in general. I know that the chances of Dr. Elson actually being the one who delivers our baby is really low because it really just depends on who is there. Meeting Dr. Ward made me think that all the doctors at UIHC are really nice so I could have any of them deliver the baby.
It was a really quick appointment. I got my vitals checked which were all ok. I'm up to 106 pounds now so the little one is definitely playing his/her part in that. I'm right where I need to be on all my measurements so that made me feel good. Thumper's heartbeat was good and strong at around 153. Dr. Ward told me that my pregnancy seems to be running on autopilot - which I think is probably a good thing. Andrew made sure to ask Dr. Ward about the legitimacy of "pregnancy brain" because he evidently had doubts that that was a real thing. She assured him that it was and that it gets the worse during the third trimester. So I guess I won't be doing anything too mentally straining during that time because it sounds like it won't turn out very well for me.
Other than that, things continue to go well. I'm feeling Thumper move everyday - today in particular. He/She doesn't seem to want to hold still today. It's really exciting to feel that little tickle and know that everything is still ok. We have an appointment for an ultrasound on June 10th and we can find out the sex of the baby if we want to. We still talking that one out. :)

Second Trimester!!!

So I am OFFICIALLY in the Second Trimester! 15 weeks and 2 days - to be exact. I am no longer sick - which is awesome! I'm still tired from time to time and I am definitely suffering from "pregnancy brain" because I can't concentrate on anything it seems. But I'm happy that things are still progressing normally and I am constantly looking to what the next day will bring.

Andrew and I bought a home doppler so that we could hear the baby's heartbeat. We just got it tonight so we HAD to try it out. It took a little getting used to and it took us a couple minutes to find the heartbeat...but we found it! :) We heard a little "swish swish swish". The monitor put it at 120 - which is still great and normal...although I'm wondering if we had the settings right - plus it kept getting interference from my stomach which was annoying. :) Nonetheless, I was relieved to hear it because I was definitely having an "I don't feel pregnant" day. As opposed to Tuesday when I was having a "I feel like a blimp and I want to eat anything that holds still" day.

I had Andrew take a picture of me to capture my "15 weeks!" I also weighed myself and I'm a healthy 103.5. :)So I've put on about 5 pounds so far in my pregnancy. :)

13 weeks!

April 23, 2010 - Prenatal Testing

We took a quick trip today to IA City to do the first part of the prenatal testing (the later part can't be done until later in the second trimester). The first round of testing pretty much just consisted of an ultrasound and getting more blood drawn (I'd hardly recovered from the last draw!). The ultrasound was once again amazing. Thumper is enormous now! He looks like a human baby now. He was being difficult and moving around so the technician had a hard time getting him to hold still long enough to get a good picture for us, but she managed to get one. She said that everything was looking great from what she could tell. Even though I'm only 13 weeks and 2 days, Thumper is measuring 13 weeks and 6 days!! I guess he's in a hurry!
We won't find out until all the testing is done what the results are - which makes it hard. But Andrew and I are optimistic that things will be fine.

April 8, 2010 - 1st Dr.'s Appointment

Today Andrew and I traveled to Iowa City to meet with our new OB/Gyn, Dr. Elson. I don't think I've been to the UIHC in about 15 or so years so it was a new experience for me. We did all the preliminary stuff with the nurse and then got to meet the doctor. She was absolutely wonderful! I felt so comfortable around her and she answered all of my questions. She did a physical examination (which was NOT the fun part) and we got to hear Thumper's heartbeat again. She said he was in the 160s. She said that as long as the baby didn't get too big, I should be ok to do a natural birth, which is what I want. (Actually, what part of me wants...the other part of me was like, "What? You mean you aren't going to just knock me out and wake me when it's over?") Dr. Elson's last piece of advice was for me to get an H1N1 shot because it was "making a resurgence." I'm not sure if that was true or not...or if they just had a surplus of vaccine that they were trying to get rid of. Either way, I got an H1N1 shot - which hurt...a LOT...for DAYS.
And if that wasn't enough, I had to go do lab work. They took 4 BIG VILES of blood to run tests on. I don't think I've ever had that much blood taken at once!

So, that was our first visit. I'm very happy with the doctor we chose and am happy to be having the baby at the UIHC. Our next step is to go in for the prenatal screening on April 23rd. I'm excited for that because we'll get another ultrasound!

March 23, 2010

Today was our follow up ultrasound with Dr. Young. We took a red eye to get home from Hawaii so we were both EXHAUSTED! Andrew actually suggested that we reschedule but I was like, "NO WAY!" So back we went to the clinic...and back I went on the exam table. The nurse was looking at the screen, then she smiled and said, "Everything looks great." I couldn't believe how big Thumper was! He somewhat resembled a baby! He was still measuring right on and had a strong heartbeat of 168 bpm. I laughed really hard after I saw the heartbeat which must have excited Thumper because he started dancing for us! All of a sudden it dawned on me that, "Oh my god, that's inside of me!"
We met with Dr. Young who looked at our pictures and said that everything looked great and sent us on our way. :) So we left MidIowa Fertility. I'm so grateful for everything that they did for us. They were so wonderful and accomodating to what our wishes were for our family!

March 9, 2010

Today we went for our first ultrasound after the blood tests. I was so nervous because all we had to go on was the blood tests but, stupid person that I am, I went on the internet so I had a plethora of things in my head that could possibly be wrong. We got in the exam room and the nurse did her thing and was looking at the screen. She took a little bit looking which made me nervous and then turned the screen so I could see. She said that there's one baby and everything looks just how it should. Evidently, "how it should" mean a little grain of rice that looks nothing like a baby. She measured "Thumper" and he was measuring right on and had a heartbeat of 121 bpm. I was amazed to hear the heartbeat. It was only a couple of thuds but, wow.

So far, so good. Now we're off to Hawaii for 10 days and then we have a follow up ultrasound when we get back.