20 week appointment

I had my 20 week appointment a few days ago. Everything is looking good and our little one is measuring right on track. I'm still not feeling him move that often, or if I am, I'm not attributing it to him. My OB told me not to worry as first time mom's tend to feel the baby move more towards 22-24 weeks. The heart beat was measuring in the 150s and he was being very active as I heard him moving around and kicking through the doppler.

It's hard to believe that I'm past the halfway mark. I'm definitely starting to show.

Here's me at 12 weeks (11/28), with just a tiny little bump and still being able to fit into regular clothes.

And here's me at 20 weeks (1/23), with a much more noticeable bump and definitely not fitting into regular clothes anymore.

It's amazing the difference in just 8 weeks.

School starts up again tomorrow with my last class before I get my paralegal certificate and in just 2 short months, I'll be going from monthly appointments to two times a month. June will be here before I know it!

It's a Boy!

We had our anatomy scan this morning and we found out that we are having a boy! Now comes the fun part of picking out names.

Heart rate was clocked at 142. And he weighs approximately 11 ounces.

I've been kinda selective up until now for the amount of pictures I've posted. Since this is most likely the last ultrasound we'll be getting for at least the foreseeable future. I'm posting all of them. I'll do my best to describe what you are looking at.

 Profile picture - upper body for the most part. His hands are more or less hidden.

He is definitely a boy. Mike was able to quickly guess what we are having based on this shot.

Foot! It's so cool to see all the tiny little bones.

Another foot. He had woken up by this point and was being a little difficult with his moving. So the picture is just a tad blury.

3D picture of his head, plus an arm and a foot. Not sure which is what anymore which is why I didn't label this picture.

Another semi-uncooperative picture. She was trying to get a 3D capture so we could see his whole face but he was having none of that. I labeled his hand which is covering his face. And you can see part of an eye next to his hand.

I find out the full results next week at my monthly OB appointment, which I'll be half baked at that point (20 weeks). But everything is looking good. Everything is where it is supposed to be. Which makes me happy. I still haven't been able to feel him unless we're both in the exact right position. I believe the tech said that the placenta is in front, which would explain why I can't feel him. Plus he still has a bunch of room.

It's hard to believe that in 5 short weeks, we'll hit viability. That will make me much less nervous, gotta love the infertility brain still playing with me.

Anyways, will post another update in a week or so. We are so excited, especially since we can start referring to him as a "him" and no longer as "it."

I received the results from the NT scan and related blood work and everything looks normal! I was pretty sure that would be the case but was still a little nervous till I got my results.

I finally broke down the other day and purchased a bunch of maternity clothes. Surprisingly enough shopping for maternity wear is 10x easier than regular clothes shopping. That kinda surprised me. I'm also officially out at work. So far only my manager know as I'm not going to be able to hide the little bump that I have for much longer.

Mike's and my "job" starting in the next few weeks is to start the researching process on items that we need for the little one. I started a registry on Amazon the other day but so far haven't added anything yet. I'm a little overwhelmed at all the choices and various options but know that once I get started it'll be a lot better. I just have to bit the bullet and take that first step.

I hope everyone has had a happy holidays. Mike and I wish all of you a Happy New Year!

My blood pressure yesterday was normal. So i think it is just nerves that is throwing it off. Also my lab work on Friday came back normal.

I'll finally get the results from the screening that i did a month ago this week as they put me down for the more extensive testing (less false positives) and i got the last blood work done yesterday. So I'm hoping to have that by the end of the week. The good news is that my NT scan looked very good.

A couple more weeks and we'll be having our anatomy scan. Provided the little one cooperates, we will know of we well be having a boy or a girl. Then Mike and I can start discussing names.

12/21 appointment

Went well other than my blood pressure being elevated. Got a bunch of lab work done and am now going back on Monday for a blood pressure check and more blood work. They are being overly cautious, which I'm fine with.

Heart rate sounded good. Heard the little one kicking away. I should be able to start feeling him/her in a few weeks. Still haven't gained any weight.

Now if I could only get rid of this cold/sinus thing that i have I'll be very happy. Have the list of approved drugs and I've been taking them.

More most likely on Monday.

Almost out of the first trimester!

Got a couple more days and I'll be in the second trimester! It seems like my body has gotten ahead of itself as I'm starting to get a few more fun symptoms. The other ones have calmed down but I'm not liking the massive headaches, Tylenol had only barely touched today's. Also didn't like almost fainting while buying my lunch. I didn't and i am okay and didn't fall.

Haven't gotten my results from the first tri screen yet but I'm guessing they will tell me at my appointment in 2 weeks. Will post more after that appointment.

NT Scan complete

Am just waiting for the results of the combination of the scan and blood work. We got to see a lot of arm waving and kicking going on which the tech was doing the scan. I'm also measuring 4 days ahead. So technically today I'm 11w2d but am measuring 11w6d. The measurement from crown to rump is approximately 51.0mm (about 2 inches long). Things are looking good. Here's two of the scans that we got to take home.

Froglett is definitely looking more human. You can see the leg kicking right here. The arms are hidden in this scan.

The tech managed to get a picture while Froglett wasn't moving. You can see the leg better and right about the stomach is the faint little hand.

We got to see the little heart beating away (at about 163 bpm) and they turned on the sound so we got to hear it as well.

To the new people (as we are starting to announce shortly), I recommend that you go back to the first posts and read forward. Also I only tend to update when I've had an appointment or I've been given some results. I have to wait about a week or so for them to tell me the ratio of the ERA test.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We definitely have a lot to be thankful this year.

First OB appointment

I really really like my OB. She got Mike blushing and turning very red. I also got an unexpected ultrasound today as she could tell that I was kinda nervous. So instead of trying to find the heartbeat with the doppler, she brought us into the ultrasound room. Froglett was moving around and the heartbeat is around the mid 150s. So things are still looking good. And my miscarriage risk has dropped to 3-5% which I'm very happy about.

Scheduled a whole bunch more appointments. We have our first trimester scan in Boston on Friday afternoon. It's one of the non-invasive tests to check for chromosomal abnormalities. So I get 2 ultrasounds this week! And we're getting that much closer to the end of the first trimester which hopefully my energy levels will be coming back and I'll be feeling less queasy.

Enjoy the latest picture of Froglett!

10 weeks!

We have hit the 10 week mark! Which means my last dose of progesterone is tomorrow! I'm just a little but excited about that.

I meet my OB next Wednesday, which I'm debating about taking the day off from work as it will be a short day due to Thanksgiving. It would be nice to have an extra day. We will be scheduling an ultrasound for the coming weeks (between 11w1d and 13w) and then the next one won't be until 18 weeks.

We are also planning to announce to more friends, family and possibly Facebook/Google+ within the next few weeks as by the end of this month we will be racing the end of the first trimester and our miscarriage risk goes down even further.

Will update more after my next appointment. I'm trying not to inundate with info and posts.

First NP appointment

It went well yesterday. It was a lot of talking, finish filling out paperwork, including registration for delivering at Beth Israel. They also took a ton of blood (6 tubes). She went over a bunch of stuff and various testing we may or may not want to do - down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, genetic testing on Mike (due to his Jewish heritage). Also went over family history and all that jazz.

I have been told no exercise until I hit the 2nd trimester since I did have a little bit of bleeding 2 weeks or so ago. They are airing on the side of caution with me. Once I do hit the 2nd trimester, they recommend walking or cycling. I guess it's a good thing that we have the stationary bike.

I am staying on the extra progesterone until the 15th as my levels are a little under where they want them to be. That'll take me up to 10 weeks, in which the placenta will be fully formed and will be generating the appropriate levels of progesterone.

After my appointment, Mike and I decided to go out for Indian as I had a Groupon. It was tasty. Of course when we finally got home, I was completely wiped and fell asleep on the couch around 8:30/9pm, Mike woke me up around 11 to have me go upstairs (and take out my contacts) and I finally rolled out of bed this morning around 10:30. I think I was just a bit tired. I'm going to be so happy once I'm out of the first trimester and I get my energy levels back.

Next doctor appointment on the 21st in which I'll get to meet my OB. They'll be able to use the doppler to hear the heartbeat from this appointment on wards! I think my next ultrasound will be somewhere around 16-20 weeks (additional downs scan/testing as well as finding out the gender!).