Movement....Is there a human in there or an Alien?

Well this last Friday marked the beginning of week 23 in this pregnancy. It was a total shock to realize that I only have 17 weeks left in this pregnancy....wow! 

Not a whole lot has happened in the past few weeks, it's been a slow passing couple of weeks, but now as I see more people who haven't seen me for awhile, they are saying that the tummy is beginning to show, and I'd have to agree to a certain degree! (I will start posting belly shots at week 25) 

The exciting thing that has happened is that I've actually watched my belly move on it's own, and contort into weird positions and have had one hit way on the left to be followed by another hit in the bottom right corner and makes me wonder what is going on in there, and if it's human or alien. Also if I drink juice the baby moves a lot more than if I just drink water...funny how the doctor was right about that. But each time the baby does move it just endears itself to me even more.

This week will be week 4 of our baby classes, and we will be talking about pain management during delivery, I've already decided two things...1. I'm using the hydro-tub and 2. I will get an epidural when I'm 4 centimeters. Now most people don't like the idea of intervening, but I'm not trying to win a trophy here, I'm just trying to survive labor! We toured the delivery rooms at the hospital 2 weeks ago, and they are state of the art, but what more could you expect from Mayo, and each room has a tub in it, except that rooms 4 and 11 have one in the actual room, not the bathroom, so we are hoping with the birth that I will get room 4 or 11 since it also has a Hoyer lift to get from the hospital bed directly into the tub, and that would be easier on my legs and my nerves.

That was an eye opening experience to see the delivery rooms, not as scary as I thought they'd be. What is more amazing is the different positions the beds get into for delivery than anything else, push this button and the bottom half of the bed goes down and slides in to make it half a bed, and easier for the doctor to catch the baby. Another button brings up the stirrups, and another just makes the bed hover off of the ground..OK so maybe that's a lie, but not by much!  Anyway I look at it I can't help but feel like I'm in safe hands.

We've  still got a way to go, but now that phase 1 of the nursery is complete..taking current stuff out to make room empty to paint...we've bought the paint and will begin in September by painting the walls! Yea! 

Well not much more to report, things are good, I'm feeling good, I could be sleeping better, but oh well, that will come with time, and I figure its just getting me ready for those 2am feedings! But pray for sleep to come in more of a 4 hour increments then in 1 hour increments.  That way I can get a REM cycle in from time to time! 

That's it for now...next doctor's appointment August 17th! Oh, and the flashlight experiment totally works! 

Newest Pictures! 18 Weeks and Counting!

Hello Everyone!

It has been an exciting day so far for John and myself. We were able to have the anatomy ultrasound done and everything looks great! Healthy heart, legs, brain, feet, arms, and stomach! We are still in the dark about what we are having, and we want it to remain that way! While, I might have been going back and forth on wanting to know, John has held me accountable to not finding out! 

The pregnancy has been progressing as it should, about the only bummer thing we found out is that my placenta is on the anterior wall, which essentially means that its attached to the front of the uterus making it harder for me to feel movement or kicking in early pregnancy. I've felt "flutters" but no kicks yet, and while it might be early for those movements, it will now take until weeks 22 or 24 before I feel lots of movement. But at least we got some pictures to show off! 

We also met with Dr Johansen again today, and he says everything is going well, I've only gained 5 ounces for the pregnancy so far, so he's not concerned yet, but is hoping as we progress that it comes up a bit and has no doubt that it will. Blood pressure is really at a good low place, and he had some lab work drawn to make sure that my iron levels are still within normal range. He says that we will probably see a drop in those levels as the body works overtime producing this baby, but until the numbers are in a single digit area there isn't much cause for concern. If for some reason they are that low, then I will be able to have another infusion, and it's totally safe for the baby!

Here are some pictures of what the Christmas Cookie is doing and how it's baking! I hope that you enjoy them as much as we do! 

NT Scan & Trisomy 18

Well here we are again! Sorry for the space between the posts, but there hasn't been a lot report the last couple of weeks. Which I suppose is a good thing, the first trimester is over and done with, and the morning sickness has started to subside...slowly but surely. And for once I'm happy to eat, not just eating to keep us nourished.

We had another doctor's appointment on June 8th at Mayo. We decided it would be a good idea for John and I to have the First Trimester Screening done for Down Syndrome. Since neither John, nor myself know what our biological family medical histories are we opted for this screen.

It's called a NT Scan. Essentially it's a test that is done with an ultrasound and a blood test, and based off of the fold of skin at the back of the neck and the fluid there, they measure it and if there is just a small amount then it's an indication that baby is doing fine, if there is a large area of fluid then it's something to be concerned about. The blood test just measures the proteins and other areas of interest and makes sure there isn't something strange going on.

The other exciting thing, is that we had another ultrasound done! It was intresting to say the least, the baby in my stomach actually looks more like a human then the previous ultrasound where its a cross between a human and a tadpole. Our kid was more content to sit upright with its head resting looking down, and did that for the first 10mins that the ultrasound tech was trying to get it to move onto its side so it would be easier to get a measurement of the neck. She had me flip on to my hip, and then my other hip, and then cough, and then back on to my back, and still the baby refused to switch positions, she then stepped out of the room, and asked me to get up and move around hoping that would make the switch, so I stood up did jumping jacks, and paced the floor, and got back on the table, and we began again.

Well, once the ultrasound picture came onto the screen, it was apparent the baby had moved, but the problem was that it was now head down and feet up, so essentially standing on its head! Again, not what we wanted, so the routine was started all over again, up down, side to side, walk, back on the table, and still nothing, finally after digging to my stomach area, the baby made a half turn and by some miracle the baby's neck was able to be measured! The measurement came in at 1.1 millimeters very, very small! Praise The Lord!

Essentially, I'm 33 years old, and the stats state that my chances of having a child with DS is 1 out of 320 births. In this case, the results you are looking for are the denominator being large. Our results indicated our chance of having a child with DS is 1 out of 10,000. So that is a great number to get back, had the denominator been smaller (i.e. 1 out of 75) then the next test would have been an amniocentesis.

As part of this test as well, they also checked us out for Trisomy 18. (Thank you Wikipedia)  Which is:

Trisomy 18 (T18) (also known as Trisomy E or Edwards syndrome) is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 18th chromosome. It is named after John H. Edwards, who first described the syndrome in 1960.^[1] It is the second most common autosomal trisomy, after Down Syndrome, that carries to term.

Trisomy 18 is caused by the presence of three – as opposed to two – copies of chromosome 18 in a fetus or infant's cells. The incidence of the syndrome is estimated as one in 3,000 live births.^[2] The incidence increases as the mother's age increases. The syndrome has a very low rate of survival, resulting from heart abnormalities, kidney malformations, and other internal organ disorders

If a child is born with this they won't live long after birth, and our results came back with less than 1 in 100 chance that we would have a baby that has this. That is the normal result when there isn't an issue, as far as what Dr. Johansen said. So we are in the clear for that! Yea! 

So now, we wait again and continue to bake, I've started to "pop" and now can see the beginning of a pregnant belly, which is exciting, and I'm looking forward to July 14th,  that is our Anatomy Ultrasound, and we are very excited about that. But until then, here is a blurry profile pic of our baby! And I'm craving a bowl of ice cream, so I'm going to go have one! Ahh...the perks of eating for two!  
 

New Picture & Heartbeat!

Hello Everyone! 

Well Thursday was a very eventful day! We had a doctor's appointment with Dr. Johansen, and what I thought was just going to be a normal check up with no frills, ended up being another photo-op for us to see Baby Milne! 

So far, I'm looking great as my doctor says, and blood pressure is normal, labs are all normal, and I actually lost some weight, so right now doctor says its OK, however going forward not something that I should continue with. Believe me when I say I'm not trying to loose weight, but this morning sickness is throwing me for a loop! So as long as the prenatal vitamins are staying down and I drink fluids that is fine. If the froth continues we will look into something in the future for that issue.

Now for the really cool stuff...we got to have another ultrasound, and now my little one has decided to have a growth spurt, and we are now measuring in a week ahead, at 10 weeks 2 days. So the embryo has graduated to an actual fetus, and looks like a baby with a very big head! (Insert groan here) 

But while the doctor was going through and showing us all of the different features of the baby, the heart, the brain, the arms, the legs, all of a sudden he focused in on one area and then there was sound, it was the HEARTBEAT! It was the sweetest sound and so soothing to hear, and instantly there was a bond there for me! The heart rate was 158bpm. So that is good as well, shows a healthy rate! We couldn't be more excited to hear about that, I wasn't expecting to hear it already, but I'm not complaining! 

We have the First Trimester Screening for Downs Syndrome coming up on June 8th. That is another ultrasound of the neck area, and a blood draw, followed by another doctors appointment with Dr Johansen. Based off of the information then there might be an amniocentesis but it depends on the numbers that come back from those test results. So that is the latest and greatest!

Due Date Confusion (updated)

Hello Everyone! So here I am again with the latest development on our "Christmas Cookie." Some people have asked us, "So, when are you due," (actually a lot of people have asked) the first answer is based off of the LMP which would indicate Dec 10, 2011. However when we went in for the Ultrasound we were told that we were only at 6 weeks 5 days, which changed the due date to Dec 17, 2011. I know what this is all just an estimate of where we are at, but it's confusing when trying to figure out when to have things ready to go, I think John and I have decided that by Thanksgiving everything will be ready and in place, so that when GO time happens, we won't be caught off guard!

My next appointment is scheduled for May 19th, with my OB doctor. His name is Dr. Keith Johansen, he works for Mayo, he went to Medical School at University of Minnesota, his residency was in the OBGYN Mayo Medical Graduate School, and he is currently the Assistant Professor of OBGYN at Mayo, so I feel covered!

He has to be an "old school" doctor, in the sense that his bedside manner and professional skills, really make the patient feel like they are the only patient he has. Seeing as I have lots of "special" issues, he takes the time with each patient to make sure everything asked (no matter how stupid) is answered! I would call him a farmers doctor, just really down to earth!

The next major test will be the First Trimester Screening for Downs Syndrome. It's a simple test, just a blood draw and ultrasound to check and see what the neck looks like. It's not a definitive test, but it shows if there is an indicator of a higher risk. Since both, John, and I are adopted neither of us know what is in our family genes and while we've agreed that if something were wrong we wouldn't end the pregnancy, we just feel that this would be a great way to be prepared if something showed up. Plus it's an extra ultrasound, so that is a perk! We also will be having an amniocentesis in the second trimester. So keep fingers crossed, and prayers going  that neither will show anything wrong, and if for some reason it did, that John and I would be strong enough to handle it!

Other questions that family members are asking me specifically is how is my iron levels and the polyneuropathy or CIDP going to interfere with this. Answer is so far so good. Anemia or iron levels are holding their own at 38. Which is a good sign, so no iron infusions needed in the future, I will be tested again in 3 to 6 months to make sure.

CIDP is going to be another story. Since I take so many medications to help with the nerve pain, and the meds are relativity new, I've stopped them since the day I found out I was pregnant. So far I've been doing OK, and I've got an appointment with a neurologist in June as a precaution to make sure if I needed something, I'd have assurance that it wouldn't interfere with the baby. Right now, I'm feeling good, and just annoyed when it comes to the nerve pain, as I like to say, the bugs are back!  Only time will tell....

That is it for this weeks addition, we will let you know more next week! Oh, and the picture is of my Doctor!

Due Date Confusion!

Hello Everyone! So here I am again with the latest development on our "Christmas Cookie." Some people have asked us, "So, when are you due," (actually a lot of people have asked) the first answer is based off of the LMP which would indicate Dec 10, 2011. However when we went in for the Ultrasound we were told that we were only at 6 weeks 5 days, which changed the due date to Dec 17, 2011. I know what this is all just an estimate of where we are at, but it's confusing when trying to figure out when to have things ready to go, I think John and I have decided that by Thanksgiving everything will be ready and in place, so that when GO time happens, we won't be caught off guard!

My next appointment is scheduled for May 19th, with my OB doctor. His name is Dr. Keith Johansen, he works for Mayo, he went to Medical School at University of Minnesota, his residency was in the OBGYN Mayo Medical Graduate School, and he is currently the Assistant Professor of OBGYN at Mayo, so I feel covered!

He has to be an "old school" doctor, in the sense that his bedside manner and professional skills, really make the patient feel like they are the only patient he has. Seeing as I have lots of "special" issues, he takes the time with each patient to make sure everything asked (no matter how stupid) is answered! I would call him a farmers doctor, just really down to earth!

The next major test will be the First Trimester Screening for Downs Syndrome. It's a simple test, just a blood draw and ultrasound to check and see what the neck looks like. It's not a definitive test, but it shows if there is an indicator of a higher risk. Since both, John, and I are adopted neither of us know what is in our family genes and while we've agreed that if something were wrong we wouldn't end the pregnancy, we just feel that this would be a great way to be prepared if something showed up. Plus it's an extra ultrasound, so that is a perk! We also will be having an amniocentesis in the second trimester. So keep fingers crossed, and prayers going  that neither will show anything wrong, and if for some reason it did, that John and I would be strong enough to handle it!

Other questions that family members are asking me specifically is how is my iron levels and the polyneuropathy or CIDP going to interfere with this. Answer is so far so good. Anemia or iron levels are holding their own at 38. Which is a good sign, so no iron infusions needed in the future, I will be tested again in 3 to 6 months to make sure.

CIDP is going to be another story. Since I take so many medications to help with the nerve pain, and the meds are relativity new, I've stopped them since the day I found out I was pregnant. So far I've been doing OK, and I've got an appointment with a neurologist in June as a precaution to make sure if I needed something, I'd have assurance that it wouldn't interfere with the baby. Right now, I'm feeling good, and just annoyed when it comes to the nerve pain, as I like to say, the bugs are back!  Only time will tell....

That is it for this weeks addition, we will let you know more next week! Oh, and the picture is of my Doctor!

Baby's First Close Up!

That's right folks! We got to see a picture today of the baby! There is only one in there, so sorry to disappoint those who were hoping for twins! But one is better than none, right?  RIGHT!!  


The interesting thing, is that the baby is measuring in at 6 weeks and 5 days! Which is a few days off what we thought we were at 7 weeks. But the due date is the same! The baby was just hanging out but was also flipping around and moved out of the shot a few times, but the most important thing we saw, was the beating heart, we didn't get to hear it, but we did see it, and yes, I did tear up! We've included some pictures of the baby for you to see!



Dr. Harms said everything looks great for what a 6 week old embryo is supposed to look like, and that a chance of miscarriage is now only about 4% so that is a sigh of relief!

Next appointment is on May 19th, and at that we might get a chance to hear the heartbeat! Yea! But until then we are still baking away! I must admit, I was hoping that the baby would be in the shape of a reindeer but oh well, you can't always have what you want!