Well, our wee chickadee has been very busy! After the last ultrasound, I expected it to measure just past 8 weeks. Well, the tech surprised us, measuring it at 9. Then, I got a call from the doctor, saying it actually measured 9 weeks 5 days, moving our due date up to August 19! That was a week and a half ago, so we are now 11 weeks along, and looking forward to an actual OB visit! I have an intake appointment on Tuesday, and will beg for a quick doppler listen. Hearing that amazing flutter will help me immensely.
Along with my elation, I am terrified. We willingly are creating another human being? To be responsible for? What were we thinking? It's hard to imagine how Chickadee will affect our family dynamic, how Sofia will react, if I'll be able to find the time to give them both the attention they deserve. I know people do it every day, but that doesn't make me any less nervous. As a second child myself, I really want to make sure that this little one gets the same love and devotion Sofia did (and does). I want to make sure to take just as many pictures, write down just as many details, remember just as many dates, actually fill out a second baby book. I'm so excited for our family, but so anxious at the same time.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
She Makes me Smile
Just a quick entry so that I remember this moment...
Sofia has on a pink, sparkly tutu on top of her pink cargo pants, and a green owl shirt. Tucked inside the top of the tutu is a cloth Dora doll. Sofia is jumping around the living room, and I just heard her say, "the mama kangaroo is Sofia, and the baby kangaroo is Dora."
Man, she makes me smile.
Sofia has on a pink, sparkly tutu on top of her pink cargo pants, and a green owl shirt. Tucked inside the top of the tutu is a cloth Dora doll. Sofia is jumping around the living room, and I just heard her say, "the mama kangaroo is Sofia, and the baby kangaroo is Dora."
Man, she makes me smile.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
9 weeks
We are proudly in posession of a grainy black and white photo of what could convincingly be made out to be the Loch Ness Monster, or Big Foot, or perhaps that other sock that is always missing. But rest assured, it is the nine week ultrasound of our beautiful baby, and let me tell you, it is perfect. And not at all monster-like.
In order to get a more accurate due date, and because my doctor is nice to me, we had another ultrasound today, to measure that baby again, and make sure it is growing appropriately. This little guy or girl has been busy; before, we couldn't quite differentiate the body that housed the beautiful flicker from the lining of the gestational sac, but now, the perfect flicker is directly in the center of the sac with a nine-week baby surrounding it. The ultrasound isn't all that sensitive, and viewing it live, we could hardly tell north from south, but we saw a perfect heart, beating at 175 beats per minute. I've been having a tiny bit of spotting, and we pinpointed the source of the blood; a tiny subchorionic bleed, which the tech reassures me is quite normal and not at all harmful. I will, of course, have to consult Dr. Google before letting my anxieties lie, but I'm not all that concerned.
I still can't believe it is there.
Since Julio was so excited when we first found out, he spilled the beans to Sofia that very morning. She was certain that when we got home today, they would have taken the baby out, and she could hold her baby sister. Sofia will officially think that pregnancy lasts an eternity. We are also going to have to have a good, long conversation with her if we find out at 20 weeks that this child is a boy. She is certain, CERTAIN, I tell you, that she will have a baby sister. She might be right. We tend to make girls in this family.
Anyway, I promise I will blog more often, and perhaps about more things than all-pregnancy-all-the-time, but for today, that's all I can think about.
In order to get a more accurate due date, and because my doctor is nice to me, we had another ultrasound today, to measure that baby again, and make sure it is growing appropriately. This little guy or girl has been busy; before, we couldn't quite differentiate the body that housed the beautiful flicker from the lining of the gestational sac, but now, the perfect flicker is directly in the center of the sac with a nine-week baby surrounding it. The ultrasound isn't all that sensitive, and viewing it live, we could hardly tell north from south, but we saw a perfect heart, beating at 175 beats per minute. I've been having a tiny bit of spotting, and we pinpointed the source of the blood; a tiny subchorionic bleed, which the tech reassures me is quite normal and not at all harmful. I will, of course, have to consult Dr. Google before letting my anxieties lie, but I'm not all that concerned.
I still can't believe it is there.
Since Julio was so excited when we first found out, he spilled the beans to Sofia that very morning. She was certain that when we got home today, they would have taken the baby out, and she could hold her baby sister. Sofia will officially think that pregnancy lasts an eternity. We are also going to have to have a good, long conversation with her if we find out at 20 weeks that this child is a boy. She is certain, CERTAIN, I tell you, that she will have a baby sister. She might be right. We tend to make girls in this family.
Anyway, I promise I will blog more often, and perhaps about more things than all-pregnancy-all-the-time, but for today, that's all I can think about.
Monday, January 3, 2011
A New Beginning
We haven't offically shared the news yet, and probably won't for awhile, but I'm pretty sure the only people who still check this blog already know (hi Johanna and Missy!), and I want to keep a journal for myself.
We are expecting a baby! I got a positive pregnancy test on Wednesday, December 15, but didn't tell anybody, not even Julio. It was several days before I expected my period, and I just didn't believe it. On Friday, I took another test, this one a dark positive. I crawled back in bed to tell Julio, and just beamed about my news. Because of all the miscarriages, and because we supplemented progesterone with Sofia, my new doctor had me come in for a progesterone test. Sofia and I trudged in on a snowy Saturday, and had my blood drawn at the inpatient lab. The tech was so friendly, and gave Sofia three (!) princess stickers. She thought she won the lottery. On Monday morning, I got a call from my doctor, that the progeterone level was low. Not dangerously low, but lower than they like to see. Normal varies from 9-47 in the first trimester, though they like to see it above 20, and my level was 9.7. Not terrible for just 4 weeks, but not great either. I was prescribed an oral progesterone pill, and have been taking it twice a day. We scheduled an ultrasound for January 3, which seemed years away. I had myself convinced that things could not be okay, that I wouldn't get so lucky again to have a healthy pregnancy.
Today, this morning, we saw another beautiful flicker, the best kind of flicker there is. Hard to see the actual baby, but the heart was beating at 131 beats per minute, with a gestational sac and yolk sac the correct size. Nothing out of the ordinary! Woo Hoo!
Nothing is for certain, though, and I'm still reserved. Things could still go wrong. But this was an important first step. With a lot of luck, we could be welcoming a new little one at the end of August! Yikes!
We are expecting a baby! I got a positive pregnancy test on Wednesday, December 15, but didn't tell anybody, not even Julio. It was several days before I expected my period, and I just didn't believe it. On Friday, I took another test, this one a dark positive. I crawled back in bed to tell Julio, and just beamed about my news. Because of all the miscarriages, and because we supplemented progesterone with Sofia, my new doctor had me come in for a progesterone test. Sofia and I trudged in on a snowy Saturday, and had my blood drawn at the inpatient lab. The tech was so friendly, and gave Sofia three (!) princess stickers. She thought she won the lottery. On Monday morning, I got a call from my doctor, that the progeterone level was low. Not dangerously low, but lower than they like to see. Normal varies from 9-47 in the first trimester, though they like to see it above 20, and my level was 9.7. Not terrible for just 4 weeks, but not great either. I was prescribed an oral progesterone pill, and have been taking it twice a day. We scheduled an ultrasound for January 3, which seemed years away. I had myself convinced that things could not be okay, that I wouldn't get so lucky again to have a healthy pregnancy.
Today, this morning, we saw another beautiful flicker, the best kind of flicker there is. Hard to see the actual baby, but the heart was beating at 131 beats per minute, with a gestational sac and yolk sac the correct size. Nothing out of the ordinary! Woo Hoo!
Nothing is for certain, though, and I'm still reserved. Things could still go wrong. But this was an important first step. With a lot of luck, we could be welcoming a new little one at the end of August! Yikes!
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