Anatomy Scan

This week we had our anatomy scan ultrasound.  This is the big scan where they are looking for regular growth, and appropriate development of all organs etc.  They look at the bladder, kidneys, heart, lungs, bones, stomach, diaphragm, etc.  Usually this is also when you find out if you are having a boy or a girl.  Since we are impatient and already found out, we used it for confirmation of the sex.  (Yes, we are still having a boy.)

Everything looks great!  Baby is growing big and has all the expected body parts. =)  They are having me go back for a fetal echo cardiogram because I am on insulin, but not because they saw anything concerning.  So there will be another ultrasound in another few weeks!

One thing that they confirmed for me was that I have an anterior placenta.  This means that the placenta is on the belly button side of the uterus.  It doesn't pose any risk to me or the baby, but does mean that I will feel less movement early on.  I had already suspected this might be the case since I haven't felt much movement in the kick/jab/tap arena, but have definitely felt hits to my cervix and big rolls.  Sort of feels like a win to know my body so well that I was able to determine that I had an anterior placenta without being told.

I'll leave the update there since my next questionnaire is coming up!  Twenty weeks (halfway!) this Friday!!!  Feels like it is going fast (sort of).  I have a LOT to get done in the next few months.

Profile 19.5 weeks

pregnancy questionnaire 18 weeks

How far along? 18.5 Weeks

How big is baby? 6 inches, 8 ounces (that's half a pound!!!)

Total weight gain/loss: Still down.  Still not tracking this. =)

Maternity clothes? Exclusively.  I popped this week. 

Sleep: Pretty much can't sleep on my stomach now without a pillow or something angling me.  Other than that, I'm sleeping decently.

Best moment this week: Not sure I really had any pregnancy moments this week.  Amazing how different it is with number two!

Movement: Starting to feel more again.  Lots of big rolls and the occasional jab.

Food cravings: Tonight I suddenly wanted some sauteed carrots (in butter and sprinkle of brown sugar).  So I made them, and they were delicious!  Closest thing to a craving I've ever had I guess!

Food Aversions: none really

Gender: It's a boy!!!! 

Labor Signs: I feel the occasional contraction but so far I understand that is normal.

Pregnancy Symptoms:  I can't lay on my stomach, when I bend over I have to separate my knees for my belly, I can no longer do plies during warm ups at rehearsal, occasional contractions, hungry all the time... that's all I can think of! =)

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Not much.  Just energy I guess.

What I am looking forward to: Getting started on the nursery (once I finish the mountain play)

Upcoming appointments/events:  The anatomy scan is May 29th

Weekly Wisdom: You keep getting more pregnant- it just happens!

Milestones: "popping"

Bump Picture: next time!

Doctors Galore!

Through a series of unplanned circumstances I ended up with three doctors appointments last week!  Usually when I do this, I plan them back to back on the same day, but this was three appointments on three days.  This is my quick recap on each appointment!

Monday I saw my oncologist for a follow up.  You may recall I happened to find out I was pregnant the night before I was scheduled to see her so she was the first to know I was knocked up!  At that appointment she told me she wanted to see me for manual exams every trimester since we can't do the planned MRI's and mammograms during the pregnancy.  That is what this appointment was.  She was completely happy with me.  There are no physical changes of concern and so far the pregnancy has treated me really well.  My doctor even mentioned that in preparing for a talk with a group of OBs that she was giving, she reviewed literature regarding pregnancy in survivors, and came across a couple that indicated it had a sort of protective effect in some triple negative survivors.  They aren't super reliable studies (the numbers just simply aren't there so they are definitely qualitative evaluations) but both my doctor and I said "we'll take it!".  Best of all, she doesn't want to see me again until November, after delivery.  Her confidence gives me confidence.  I also asked her about the insulin I am taking for the gestational diabetes (more on that in a minute) and she said from the cancer perspective, it is a good thing.  So that was a relief!  I will still see my breast surgeon next month for a follow up, but I think after this I will be able to get back on track with my twice yearly check ups!

Wednesday I was at my endocrinologists office for my regular check up.  I am supposed to see them every two weeks to check in regarding my blood sugar numbers.  Now that I have things under control I'm hoping to push it to every three or four weeks providing that things remain the same.  With my first pregnancy I was under the Kaiser model which had me call in my numbers weekly, and I never once actually saw an endocrinologist.  It is a little strange for me to have to actually see a doctor for such a simple purpose as long as things are going, though I do appreciate the ability to have conversations that are a little more in depth than simply reporting my numbers.  Anyhow things are looking good on that end.  I've mostly had great numbers and haven't had to change a whole lot in my diet to get them.  I was put on long acting insulin (slow released over 24 hours) because my fasting numbers were consistently above where they want them.  They want me under 95 and I was between 101 and 95 each morning.  It is a very small amount that I am taking though (10 ius) and I am hoping it will be sufficient as the pregnancy goes on.  Typically you see a hormone spike happen around 24 weeks so if anything changes that will likely be when it happens.  Until then, I will enjoy being easily diet controlled with my little shot each night.

Thursday I ended the week with my monthly prenatal appointment.  I thought I was seeing my regular OB but actually ended up meeting the doctor whose practice it is (my OB is the junior associate in the office).  So I have now met all three "baby catchers" in the office.  The good news is I love all three of them!  No matter who delivers my baby I will be lucky to have them.  I also had the opportunity to chat with her about their policy regarding when they will deliver me.  You may recall from my first pregnancy that it is standard of care to not let women with GD go past their due dates.  There is a laundry list of reasons this is the case, but I have no issue with this.  Unfortunately with Bella I had the added factor that my blood pressure was borderline high towards the end, and as a result they didn't want me going past 39 weeks.  So I was induced at 39 weeks and 1 day.  I know my body was not ready.  It worked out for the best, but it was a long and frustrating process.  Mentally I am much more prepared for anything this time.  My gut tells me this baby will likely come before its due date and I have nothing to worry about.  But if that isn't the case I am totally ready to handle the challenge of induction this time.  The doctor confirmed that they won't let me go past my due date, but her attitude about the induction is very different.  I shared the highlights (??) of my birth story with Bella and she was shocked at some of the decisions they made with me.  I feel confident that many of the less than ideal moments will not happen this time around, not only because my attitude is different, but also because of how my doctors will handle me.

So it was a week full of doctors but all pretty much good news!  I think my next medical update will be our anatomy scan ultrasound!  Hooray for that!  Phew- was that enough info in one post??? =)

It's a boy!!!

I know, this is so crazy overdue but it has been nuts these past couple of weeks!  I've mentioned that I am performing in this year's mountain play and we open this weekend!  We've been in crunch time with rehearsals (mostly up on mount tam) and on top of that, I've had appointments up the wazoo!  So I am backtracking quite a bit to catch you all up on the last few weeks.  First things first, we found out we are having a boy!  This post is all about that, and how we shared the news!

At our last ultrasound (the NT scan) they scheduled our anatomy scan, which is usually when you find out the sex of the baby.  Well for some reason (actually, it was because the ultrasound doctor- not tech, doctor- determined since I am "big"- aka fat- ahem, yeah), they wanted to push the date as close to 20 weeks as possible.  That meant we weren't going to have the ultrasound until May 29th!  I told Nick that and he was none too happy with that idea.  So for his birthday I scheduled an elective 3D ultrasound in St Helena where we would not only get some fun pictures of our little one, but also find out the sex.

Nick had the day off of work for his birthday so we cruised up to wine country for our ultrasound!  The tech was wonderful and we plan to go back when we are about 29/30 weeks for another photo shoot.  Little man was very cooperative giving us some clear shots so that there was no question- none of that "look at me" sort of business, but just not hiding either.  You may remember from my anatomy scan with Bella that she was curled up in a ball forcing us to have a second scan and no reveal!  So here is our sweet boy.

After our ultrasound we wound our way back through wine country, enjoying lunch at V. Satui (delicious!) and hitting up a couple of wineries for tastings.  I should clarify, Nick was tasting, not me. =)  It was still a beautiful day in wine country.

Once we were sure we had a confirmed sex, we invited our local family and friends for a little gender reveal dinner.  Since I didn't really get to reveal the pregnancy in a festive way, I wanted to do something fun for the sex.  We had everyone pick a team and wear a lei with that color (pink or blue).  We made everyone "suffer" through dinner without knowing the answer (though plied them with beer and margaritas, since it was cinco de mayo after all) and finally brought out the cake!

I baked a cake and dyed the batter blue.  Then I covered it up thoroughly so no one could tell if it was pink or blue until we cut it open!

Ta da!  The vote was split pretty much 50/50 regarding if it was a boy or a girl so it was really fun to finally get to reveal the answer.

We are very pleased of course to have both a boy and a girl.  It would have been awesome either way but I think most people want to experience parenting both a boy and a girl and we get the pleasure of doing so!  Now the challenge is picking out the name!  If it had been a girl we would have been all set, but boys names are very challenging!  We have a few contenders but it is looking like this may be a game time decision!  So no promises on name reveals until little man joins us.  I am open to suggestions though!  Share your best boys names with me!

Pregnancy Questionnaire- 16 weeks

I know I am SO late in posting this, but life is crazy.  I will post another post filling you in on the rest of our lives (3 doctors appointments this week!), as well as a post on our gender reveal party and ultrasound, but for now, here is the quick update!

How far along? 16.5 Weeks

How big is baby? 5 inches, 5 oz As big as a turnip!  Or a better frame of reference, the baby would fit right into one of my hands.  Sweetness.

Total weight gain/loss: Still down.  Still not tracking this. =)

Maternity clothes? Nearly exclusively. 

Sleep: Sleeping fine as far as pregnancy goes, though I am about a week out from no longer being able to lay on my stomach.  As it is I have to angle myself slightly to avoid too much pressure on my lower stomach.

Best moment this week: Finding out the gender!  (more on this later)

Movement: Interestingly enough it has sort of calmed down.  I thought I would be feeling a ton of movement by now since it started so early, but now when I feel things it is usually big rolls, or the occasional kick to the cervix.  No taps yet.

Food cravings: No cravings.  Still wanting to eat more often than "normal" but the ravenous hunger has subsided.

Food Aversions: No aversions though I am still very sensitive to smells in foods (like onions which normally bug me, make me nauseous now).

Gender: It's a boy!!!!  Again, more on that later.

Labor Signs: I actually saw a contraction during our gender ultrasound last week- it was crazy.  And will be talking to my OB today because I've been having some cramping which makes me nervous.  I do not need to be placed on bed rest for this pregnancy!

Pregnancy Symptoms:  Round ligament pain, almost can't lay on my stomach, extra tired, and just feeling more pregnant each and every day.

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Not much.  Just energy I guess.

What I am looking forward to: Wrapping my brain around this whole having a boy business!

Upcoming appointments/events:  The anatomy scan is May 29th

Weekly Wisdom: Listen to your gut- I knew I was having a boy but didn't trust it!

Milestones: Finding out the sex

Bump Picture: 16.5 weeks!

That I would be good

I recently rediscovered a song by Alanis Morrissette that I love and could have really used last year.  It was still a good reminder however, even, or maybe especially, in retrospect of the last year.  I experienced many of these things and need to remember that I am still "good".  I wanted to share this wonderful message today.

"That I Would Be Good"
that I would be good even if I did nothing
that I would be good even if I got the thumbs down
that I would be good if I got and stayed sick
that I would be good even if I gained ten pounds

that I would be fine even if I went bankrupt
that I would be good if I lost my hair and my youth
that I would be great if I was no longer queen
that I would be grand if I was not all knowing

that I would be loved even when I numb myself
that I would be good even when I am overwhelmed
that I would be loved even when I was fuming
that I would be good even if I was clingy

that I would be good even if I lost sanity
that I would be good
whether with or without you

A little tease

Today we found out the sex of the baby. Nick didn't want to wait another month to find out at the anatomy scan so we booked a gender determination scan through a 3d ultrasound business. I thought it would be a fun way to spend nicks birthday. We went, we saw, we know!

But I'm not telling! Not yet anyhow. We wanted to reveal the sex in a festive way since the pregnancy took us by such surprise that we didn't reveal that in a fun way.

Don't worry- I'm not torturing you forever. I plan to reveal sometime next week after we have a small "reveal" party this weekend.

Until then- accepting bets! Are we team pink again? Or team blue?