20 down, 20 to go!

Well everyone, here we are in week 20, the halfway mark is here and I've been feeling a lot better. I usually just take 1 Zofran first thing in the morning and I'm good all day long, as long as I don't let my stomach get too empty. I've been getting a lot more flips and flutters going on down there, which is really exciting! Just waiting to feel those actual kicks.

20 weeks 5 days

Still, no one seems to be able to see that I'm pregnant. Even if I tell people they always say "You don't look pregnant". When I told my friend John's sister I was 5 months along she said "No way, you can't even tell you're pregnant at all", to which John responded: "you can tell if you saw her before". (smile)

But I have had to move on into mostly maternity clothes (thanks Ellie), everything was just a little too tight and getting really uncomfortable. Even if I don't look that big I can sure feel it. 

Who knows how big I'll be by the time we get to California is February! Danny is putting in for 2 weeks leave and we can't wait to get out there and see everybody. Maybe by then I'll really be showing and our little boy will be kicking up a storm. My 3rd trimester starts February 10th.

So... what's left to do before the babykins comes? For starters, we have yet to start on the nursery, but the Star Wars theme is going to be fun. Danny is really excited about it. I think we're going with a Navy blue, white, and gray color scheme, with really modern fixtures and accessories. Oh, and there's the small matter of giving the little Politoed a real name. Time is ticking... 

The results are in!

So... funny thing happened to me last Tuesday; I was suddenly pregnant. I know, I know, I've been pregnant for more than 4 months. What I mean is, I suddenly felt SO pregnant. It just happened so fast. Monday my stomach was flat and I was wondering when I was ever going to start showing. I still hadn't gotten my weight up to what it was before the pregnancy because of all the morning sickness. But then BOOM! on Tuesday my pants are more than an inch from buttoning. When I bent over to grab my shoes off the floor there was something stopping me, an avocado sized baby. I just couldn't bend normally.

It just kept going that way. On Wednesday night while I was singing with my band I felt the first little flutters of baby Politoed inside! It felt like popcorn started popping in my uterus.

17 weeks

5 weeks

And with my new found baby bump came a new found appetite. Just in time for Thanksgiving I was able to start eating normal amounts of food! (sometimes even more than normal amounts).

I was supposed to be getting a 20 week ultrasound in December, before Christmas, but the ultrasound department at the hospital is booked solid until late January, and I'm not a very patient woman. Luckily Danny's parents, who were in town visiting for Thanksgiving, didn't want to wait to find out little Politoed's sex either. On Monday, the 28th, they took us to an ultrasound studio called That's My Baby and we got to see our baby squirming and dancing around. The tech, who knew I was on the phone with my mom, put the device on my belly and said "Do you want to send your mom a picture of his penis?". It was so fast, i was just shocked. I think i stammered something like, "what? boy? you mean it's a boy?"

"Mama, it's a boy!"

The ultrasound tech was great. She showed us everything, we saw the heart beating away, we saw his little face, his spine, his feet and his hands. She took pictures of everything. She said he looks great and he has long fingers. All the better to play the piano with, I say.

Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma

We are so excited to be having a little boy, even though we only had a girls name picked out. Go figure. I have 3 brothers and no sisters and when my little brother Joseph was born I looked up at my dad and said "I still get to be the pwincess!". After the ultrasound on Monday my mom texted me said 'You know what this means? You STILL get to be the princess.'

So now the name game begins. Danny and I have know our girl's name for years now, but we never really talked about boys names too much. We have a stack of about 20 index cards with different names we like, but nothing is really jumping out at us. It's hard to find something that works for a boy as a baby and as a grown man, and harder still trying to find a name we like that's not on the current top 100 list. If you have any ideas feel free to send them our way. I know we have almost 5 months left, but I like planning ahead...

We've started planning the nursery and decided on a Star Wars theme! Yeah, we're nerds, get used to it. Our baby boy is registered at  Babies"R"Us - Baby Registry and at Amazon.com Baby Registry

Here are the ultrasound photos! Such a huge change from the last pictures we got:

Look that that precious face!

He's waving to us.

Update from the ER

I'm sitting in the ER again waiting for the okay to leave, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to update this blog. I know it's been a while.

Before you get too worried you should know that everything is okay. I came in around noon because I had a little spotting after I peed. Any sign of bleeding is a red flag for me (no pun intended), so I drive down to the ER. Well, first I checked the babies heartbeat with the at home Doppler a friend gave me, and though I was happy to see a rate around 140 I still thought I should head to the hospital. At my 16 week OB appointment yesterday the heartbeat was above 160.

Honestly, by the time I got myself into the waiting room I was pretty much panicking. Danny came down from work to be with me though, which was awesome.

I got some blood drawn and a pelvic exam, but I'm still waiting to get the lab results. I also got some fluids, and they did an ultrasound. They said there was no sign of bleeding, my cervix is completely closed, and on the ultrasound the baby was moving around and looked really good. Danny even saw the face! He said it looked like every other baby.

Unfortunately the Dr couldn't tell us the sex, but I think it might be a girl because I didn't see anything! Maybe it's just wishful thinking. The good news is that next week Danny's parents are taking us to an ultrasound studio to get a gender screening done. Look for an update on Monday, we should know the sex at that point!

I'm really hungry, but I can't leave the ER yet because my blood pressure is too low. 80 something over 50 something. I might need some more fluids. It looks like I'm still not hydrated enough. Also; I'm still waiting on those lab results....

-Rachel (Sent from my iPhone)

UPDATE:
Lab results were all normal, my blood pressure went back to normal. They sent me up to the real OB who did a vaginal ultrasound to check and see if my cervix had opened or thinned out at all. She said it all looked good, cervix was closed and about 4cm thick. They want it to be at least 3cm, so mine was awesome! Still couldn't tell us the gender though.

Ultrasound Pictures and Baby Gear Confusion

On the 12th Danny and I went in for our first real OB appointment. We got to see the little Politoed in action, moving around and kicking it's little arms and legs. It was so strange and exciting to watch. Based on the babies measurements the doctor changed my estimated due date to May 4th, 2012 (Best birthday present ever)!

Now that I'm 12 weeks along we've both stopped feeling so anxious and are really starting to feel like this is real. In 6 months we're going to have a little person to take care of, to play with and stare at and try to keep from pulling the dogs tails or setting the house on fire. (not that a baby could figure out how to use matches anyway, right?).

Now we just have to wait about 8 more weeks to find out if we're having a little boy or a little girl. My next ultrasound isn't until week 20. I've heard some old wives tales that supposedly can predict the gender ahead of time, anyone know of any? It would be fun to see how many turn out right.

We also got the fun of starting the Baby Registry this week. It's more difficult than I thought it would be though. I don't know what we actually need and what will just take up precious space. Do we need a baby tub, or can we just use the sink? A humidifier? A de-humidifier?

And on top of that, with the things we know we need (car seat, stroller, monitor, crib) we have no idea which one is best. Like with the car seat for instance; there are these car seats that have a base that stays in the car and then the seat/carrier thing just snaps in. I guess this way you don't have to wake the baby up to get it out of the car or put it in the stroller. But, it seems like those ones are only good for infants, and once the munchkin gets a little bigger we're going to have to get a whole new car seat? I have no idea what to do...

So, you may be wondering if we're ready for this baby at all? Do we have anything for him or her? Well, yes. Today we bought an adorable box of 6 pairs of tiny socks in every color with little Mickey Mouse heads on them. So, this baby might not have a crib, or be humidified (??), but it will have cute, warm little feet.




Amazon Registry:
http://www.amazon.com/registry/baby/40XX68ZZP6PX

First Ultrasound

I wanted to write a little update to let you all know what happened last night!

I was back in the ER, feeling much better for the most part, but I needed more Zofran and I hadn't been able to get a hold of anyone in the OB clinic. So, I'm sitting in the exam room and the finally doctor comes in. The conversation is as follows:

"So, you're pregnant?"

"yes"

"have you had any work done at the hospital that might show that?"

"yes. I was in here last week and they gave me a blood test"

"hmm... I don't see any labs in your file. Have you had an ultrasound?"

"No I haven't but I would really like one"

"okay. I'll go get a machine and also see if i can find those labs"

....Yay! I'm getting an ultrasound! I text Danny, who was up at work on the 5th floor, tell him they're getting the ultrasound machine and ask if he can come down. He told me later that he just slipped out the back door without telling the nurses he was leaving.

Well the doctor comes back in the room and tells me he found my labs.

"are you having twins?" he asks me.

"no... not that I know of..."

"well I ask because your Hcg levels are very high, and that can indicate twins. It's probably also why you've been so sick. The ultrasound should tell us more".

So he rubs some goo below my belly button and turns on the machine. Just then there's a knock at the door and the doc and the 2 nurses in the room all tell the knocker to hold on a minute.

"it might be my husband" I offer.

"oh, the husband" the doc says, and they let Danny in the room. After a short search they find a tiny blinking white spot on the screen, which they promise is a healthy heartbeat. I'm at a bad angle to see the screen and I keep saying "Danny, do you see it?.... Do you see it?... Danny?" but he never answers me, so I figure he must not be able to see it. When I turn my head to look at him I can tell he sees it though. He's just standing there with his arms crossed and his mouth open.

I did end up being able to see it myself, and there was only one baby, but one is enough for now.

***
I also finally got a call back from a nurse in the clinic and they set me up with a real appointment; Wednesday morning, October 12th. So excited!

Grandma's Words of Wisdom

My grandma once told me; "Rachel, you can't get through life without peeing in a cup", and though this is not my first time doing so, I can't help but laugh about her fortune cookie worthy prophecy while I'm making my way down the hallway of the Emergency Room, towards the bathroom.

Monday Night, September 19th. Danny is at work, I'm laying on the floor outside of the bathroom, trying not to barf. It's been days since I've been able to eat or drink much of anything. Yesterday I was able to keep down a cup of split pea soup; today, no such luck. When Danny calls he can tell how miserable I feel.

"Go to the ER" he tells me, "They can at least give you fluids so you're not dehydrated. Plus, I can come down and visit you".

I arrive at the ER at 11:00pm, and Danny comes down to meet me shortly thereafter. They hook me up to an IV, take some blood, and ask me to pee in a cup so they can run some tests, but I can't yet. They also give me some Zofran, which works wonders on my nausea. After my first bag of fluid I am finally able to pee. When Danny heads back up to work and they hook up my second IV bag I am finally able to drift into a light sleep despite the fact that I am starving.

They let me out into Danny's care around 5am, and we walk over to the Pharmacy to pick up my Zofran prescription. While we wait I spot a vending machine, out of which Danny gets me a Nantucket Nectar and a rice crispy treat, and I might go as far as to say it was the best breakfast I've ever had.

Since then I have been able to eat and drink every day, and with the help of the Zofran I am feeling much better, I still have some nausea, but no vomiting. I also got my Hcg blood test levels back, which came it at a reassuring 150,885 (Yay!).

**
FYI: We have decided to call the little one Politoed (Danny's favorite option). Tomorrow I will be able to schedule my first OB appointment for sometime after October 9th (week 10), soon enough we will see the little Politoed for the first time...

It's time to vote!

First things first: It may interest (some of) you to know that right around noon today I threw up. Yay! I know I probably won't stay excited about this for long, but I take it as a good sign. Danny came in and tried to comfort me, I stood at the sink and splashed cool water on my face, and when I looked up at him we were both smiling. Week 6; Day 2... right on track.

So, this means it's high time we decide on a name for the little bun whilst (s)he is in the oven. What am I supposed to call this thing that is causing me so much (long awaited) trouble? After much consideration, and only one outside suggestion (thanks TeeTee), Danny and I have narrowed down the field of more than 600 possibilities to the following six. Study up, and then cast your vote here on this blog by clicking on a choice to the Left. The Poll closes Wednesday at Midnight, so hurry up.
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Horsea

Horsea is a Dragon type Pokemon. It is cute because it has an attack called Bubblebeam. You have a 50/50% chance of getting a boy or a girl.

Charmander

 Charmander is a Lizard pokemon. His main attack is ember. You have an 88% chance of catching a boy charmander. As he grows up he becomes very strong (and very strong willed).

Eevee

Eevee pretty much looks like our dog Delilah. You have an 88% chance of getting a boy Eevee. S/he has A LOT of evolutionary stages, so you can evolve him/her into whatever you want (and you know it's gonna be cute).

Politoed

Politoed is (obviously) a frog Pokemon, with a 50/50 chance of being a boy. One of her attacks is called Swagger, and is meant to confuse the opponent. Another attack is Hypervoice, a "horribly echoing shout with the power to inflict damage". Sounds like me when I was born.

Poliwag

Poliwag is a tadpole Pokemon, and probably looks the most like the baby right now. Some attacks include: Bubble, Hypnosis, Watergun, bellydrum, and wake up slap. Where do they come up with this stuff?

Tepig

Tepig is from the newest Pokemon game. S/he's a fire type, and wags her tail when she's happy. She is strong and nimble.



So, cast your vote now!

Breaking News!

We are unbelievably excited to be pregnant with our first child! 

On August 31st I took a pregnancy test, which turned positive, very quickly and very unexpectedly. I couldn't believe it. I took the test, set it on the counter top, turned around to turn on the shower, and when I turned back around I saw a dark line. "That is SUCH a line", I said to Danny. In fact, I didn't even believe there was a chance I was pregnant. The only reason I was taking the test was because my period tracking app on my phone (yes, there's an app for that) said I was a couple days late, and it seems to me that every time I get a negative pregnancy test my period starts the next day.

4 years ago...

Danny and I (married 4 years on Sept 8th 2011), have been trying for a baby for years, and have already been through one miscarriage, in October of 2009. The pregnancy tests this early on in our first pregnancy were positive, but faintly colored, so we are feeling much more hopeful about this time around. Over the past year we have tried multiple IUI's (Doctor administered turkey baster method), which never took. We had also started talking about InVitro Fertilization and adoption.

Danny was diagnosed with Testicular cancer last August, and his sperm count was almost non-existent after the surgery (900 thousand). Needless to say, we were not expecting to get pregnant any time soon. In fact, his analysis last month showed only about 10 million sperm, half of the typical number for a healthy guy.

Enough of the negative; the point is I am pregnant again and we are beyond thrilled! is there a better word than thrilled? Whatever it is, that is what we are feeling.

Today we went to Barnes & Noble and picked up a pregnancy organizer/journal, and I've started filling it out. I love checklist, so this little book is heaven for me (The What to Expect Pregnancy Journal & Organizer). After that Danny took me to Baby Depot to look around, which I always wanted to do. We actually used to joke about it when we used to drive by.

Togepi

"Oh look, Baby Depot, let's just go get one there".

Now we are trying to pick out a new Poke'mon character to call the baby before we find out the gender. Our last pregnancy was Togepi (see photo). I'll post the name and a picture of our new Poke'mon when we decide (suggestions accepted).

We are both looking forward to every moment of the next 8 months, and everything we have to experience after the birth we've been waiting for for so long.

I know the Navy keeps us far from home, so read up and follow us on our baby voyage!