Ultrasound Report & Baby Names

Good Evening Humble Readers...

The ultrasound went okay today. 

I actually did alright with the amount of water I had to drink.  It's always delicate balancing act... enough water early enough so that the tech can do their job, but not so much so early that I'm in agony while they do the scan. 

Why in the world do they tell you to have finished drinking your water an hour before your appointment?  That's when I started drinking my water, and I had 8oz less than what they 'require', and I was still feeling my back teeth floating about halfway through the scan.

One funny moment... the technician asked me to go and empty my bladder 'by about half' because she was having some problems seeing the placenta.  I'm sure I looked at her like she had two heads.  By about half?!?!?  Who the hell can do that?  I can't do that on my best non-pregnant day.  When I gotta go, there ain't no stopping the flood waters.  As a result, I don't know if she was able to get a clear look at the placenta or not, so this may have been yet another 'inconclusive' scan. 

**sigh**

(As an aside, I was fully prepared for the tech to have to do an internal scan.  And as much as I dislike 'Wanda' I would rather that she have done that and get a conclusive answer about where the placenta is situated.  Oh well.)

We didn't get any new pics of the Halfling, and we didn't get to see much when the tech turned the screen our way (we saw the skull, the heart, the spine, one arm and one leg).  Even so, my mood did improve a bit after the scan was done.  I think it was just a relief to see him/her, and presumably all is well.  I'll be calling Dr. W's office on Friday to get the low down.  I expect, if the tech wasn't able to get the info she needed, that I'll be going back to the medical imaging center in another couple of weeks.

*****
You may remember that I have had our children's names chosen for quite some time.  At least their first names.  I graciously let my Beloved choose the middle names (*snicker* as if I haven't vetoed some of his suggestions).  I have some pretty strict criteria for our kids' names...

1. They will be gender specific.  (both my Beloved and I have gender abiguous names, and it has caused no ends of problems for both of us all our lives)
2. They will not have bizarre spellings.  (I remember trying to find keychains and other personalized items as a kid and never being able to find things for girls with my name and spelling.)
3. They will be old-fashioned sorts of names, not anything terribly trendy. (I was always one of at least three people in my elementary school with my name.  I hated being referred to by my last initial.  Even in my Beloved's family, they always add my middle name when referring to me, as I share my name with one of my BILs.)
4. They will start with a vowel.  (Just a personal preference)

So, obviously, for those who are newer around the hobbit-hole, Ginny's real name isn't Ginny (if you go back to the post on November 27, 2010 you can find her name).  Our angel babies... Emily Hope and Olivia Noelle were named just before their names became super popular, but they had been in my heart for a long time. 

Why do I mention all this now? 

Well, we've had our names for this Halfling set in our minds for well over a year (the boy's name was actually chosen several years ago).  Earlier in this pregnancy, a rather big name celebrity used one of my chosen names.  Until then, I hadn't heard of anyone using that particular name in quite some time.  Now it's popping up on tv shows (character names).  I'm afraid that it's going to be a trendy name in the next couple of years.  On top of that, I just recently saw the list of last year's most popular names in Alberta... and our other name is now in the top 25. 

Okay, I know I'm being ridiculous.  I should just name this Halfling whatever I want, and not care about how many other kids have the same name.  But it bugs me just a bit. 

Yes, I know I'm neurotic.  Forgive me.

20 Weeks: Halfway to the Halfling

Hey Humble Readers...

I hope that you all are having a great start to your new year.  Things here at the Hobbit-hole are still a little rough as we attempt to recover from our travels.  Sadly, and not surprisingly, I have picked up another bug.  This time it's a bug of the chest cold variety, so I'm coughing up a lung and trying not to pee my pants while I do.  *sigh*

Can you tell that I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired?

Anyway, onto happier things... yesterday was my 20 week ultrasound.  It went really well, except for being terrified that I was going to wet myself while lying on the table.  Halfling 2.0 is measuring right on track, and was sucking his/her thumb which was adorable.  Ginny was really cute, waving at the screen and saying 'baby, baby!'.  The only 'huh?' moment was when the technician asked me if I had a fibroid, which to my knowledge I never have.  I'm going to make sure that I ask Dr. B about that next week.  Here's some pics for you all...

Profile - Sucking thumb

Left Arm - sucking thumb again

Top of the head and two little arms

Obligatory scary wraith-face

And speaking of doctors, I still haven't heard from my new OB.  (For those who need a refresher, my wonderful Dr. U moved to Australia this past summer and his practice was taken over by someone new.  When I got my bfp this time around and called to book my first appointment I was informed that I would have to be referred again, and Dr. B has been dragging his feet on the matter.)

How far along? 20w3d

Maternity clothes? Oh yeah.  I went shopping at a maternity store in K-town during Boxing Week and got some great deals.  There's not many places where I can go into a store and try on plus size maternity clothes, and to get awesome deals at the same time... awesome!  And it was great to be able to buy clothes that I didn't have to make fit a dress code for work. 

Body Oddities? dry skin, periods of extreme fatigue (getting better), alternating constipation and IBS flares, acne, bruises from insulin injections, back ache (I'm going to see my chiropractor next week), cracking joints, super sore & slightly leaky boobs, increased earwax (happened last time too), dry/itchy eyes

Sleep? Actually better.  I think I might be past the insomnia!  Yay!  Now if only Ginny would go back to sleeping through the night, things would be great.

Best moment this week? Seeing our little Halfling 2.0 yesterday.  It went a long way to making me feel that this pregnancy might just be going the distance.  (I hadn't realized just how nervous I was about everything until I saw that little heartbeat)

Worst moment? Waking up the other morning and knowing that there was another cold bug taking up residence in my body.  I really hate to complain so much, but I feel like sh!t more than I feel healthy these days.

Movement? Absolutely.  He/she seems to like to do a lot of flip flops right now.  My Beloved is anxiously awaiting when he'll be able to feel it from the outside.

Food cravings/aversions? Not anything in particular, just really hungry the last few days.  I'm terrified of the scale at the doctor's office next week because I have been eating a ton lately.  Oddly, raw ground beef made me a little gaggy yesterday while I was making supper. 

Rings? Still on.  I'm wondering if I'm going to make it to the end with them on like I did last time.

Gender? I was really tempted yesterday to say yes when the u/s tech asked if we wanted to know the gender, but I said no.  I'm super strongly leaning toward girl.  I think of this Halfling in terms of the girl name that we have picked out, so I could be in for a very big surprise. 

Intense Dreams? I seem to be dreaming a lot more these days.  Perhaps it's because I'm sleeping a bit better?  Most notably there was a dream I had in which I was doing scientific research with Sheldon from Big Ban Theory. 

Medical Concerns? Gestational Diabetes (insulin 5 times a day... made it through the holidays with relatively few highs.  Pretty proud of that.), High blood pressure (on 100mg of lobetalol 3x daily), continued heartburn (on 150mg of zan.tac 2x daily), kidney stones.

What I miss? Energy, feeling healthy, my sex drive

What I look forward to? Getting the Christmas decor down from around my house, getting started on my ever growing pre-Halfling to do list.

Emotional State?  Varies depending on my energy and health status.  My poor Beloved has been so patient with me, he deserves a medal.

Such A Relief

Humble Readers, I am a very blessed hobbit! 

Halfling 2.0 is very much a reality!  The heartrate (at 7w1d) was 141 bpm, and is measuring right on track.  I feel like I'm able to breathe again. 

I was so anxious this morning, I almost burst into tears while we were driving to the medical imaging center, and then again when the tech called me back to the room. 

The clinic is a pretty large, and it's like a maze of little exam rooms, curtained changing rooms, and bathrooms.  Normally I end up having to wander around for quite a while before I get shown to a waiting room.  This time, the tech took me into the very first room off the main waiting room (and I didn't have to wait more than 3 minutes before he called my name to take me back). 

Everything about the scan went in hyperspeed.  Seriously, it was the fastest ultrasound I've ever had.  He was taking his pictures, and telling me to hold my breath, turn this way and that way for a look at my kidneys.  Before I knew it, he as asking for my Beloved's name and getting up to go get him.  Being a little flabbergasted, I asked "So there IS a baby?"  The tech was rather surprised at the question, but he said "Oh yes, why?  Have you been bleeding?"  I told him no, but with my history this is a very important and scary ultrasound.  He just shrugged and said 'Oh". 

As soon as he left the room I started to cry.  It was just such a relief. 

My Beloved came in with Ginny, and we got a quick look at the little blob with the flickering little heartbeat.  He printed off a pic for us...

Such a pretty little blob!

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers.  I felt you all with me today.

Up From The Depths

Howdy Humble Readers...

I'm finally beginning to feel like a real person again (as opposed to a snot-filled slug).  I'm still tired, but overall feeling much better. 

So, this week is the busy busy week.  Or at least the jam-packed with appointments week. 

Yesterday was the diabetic clinic, to go over my insulin program.  They have me starting really low, but increasing by a unit every day until we get things balanced.  The nurse was great, and reminded me that in the second trimester, when I'm off the prometrium, my insulin needs may drop a bit before they start to go back up going into the third tri.  So, two different kinds of insulin (one for meals, and one that's long-acting to help with my baseline sugars). 

Today was Ginny's well-baby check up.  It was technically her 9 month check up, but it had been rescheduled a couple of times.  She's doing good (will give you a complete update in a day or two as I need to do 'Ginny @ 10 Months) and other than being made to wait for more than an hour for a 7 minute appointment, things went well. 

Tomorrow... the ultrasound. 10:45.  To say I'm nervous would be a bit of an understatement.  I want to be able to say that I am 100% confident that all will be well, but really it's more like about 60% to 40%.  After much internal debate, I have decided that Ginny will be coming with us.  I figure, if things go south, then I'll have my wee sweet girl to cuddle.  And if things go well, I want her there even if she has no clue what's happening.  I'll post about that as soon as I can afterward. 

Thursday... Must Clean The House!  It's not terribly messy, but for some reason I thought black furniture would be great, never considering how much dust shows on it.  Duh!

Friday... I have another Dr. B appointment.  Follow up on the u/s and to discuss what happens next.  I am really going to push for a decision on an OB referral.  He's been holding off every time I ask (altho he seems to be open to it), but I want to get the NT scan booked asap, and that request needs to come from an OB. 

Then comes the very busy weekend... this weekend is Thanksgiving here north of the 49th parallel.  We are having turkey dinner at my MIL's on Saturday, and then I'm having 11 people for dinner on Sunday.  Considering our kitchen table seats 4, ths could be a challenge.  I'm doing roast beef (a huge costco sized roast), oven roasted autumn veggies (parsnips, carrots, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, onions, and maybe some asparagus for some green), mashed taters, gravy and rolls.  My mom has said that she'll bring dessert (pumpkin cream cheese pie)... YAY! 

Then Monday, we crash.  Thank heaven for long weekends! 

Hobbit-ish Potpurri: The Crud is Back

Hey Humble Readers...

I hope that you all are having a great early autumn.  The weather here on the flatland has been remarkably good, including getting our hottest summer temp on the second day of fall... Crazy!  It's been a busy few days, and I have much to catch you all up on.

*****
As the title of this post suggests, I am once again under the weather.  This is the second cold I have had THIS MONTH!!!  Ugh!  Sinuses, ears, throat... just gross.  And I think that Ginny might be catching it, she woke up snarfly this morning.  I'm praying that we are both feeling okay tomorrow night, as we have been invited out to dinner with a couple of couples from church. 

*****
I had an appointment at the diabetic clinic on Tuesday morning.  It really was just a refresher on the dietary stuff and setting a game plan.  I'm testing my blood sugar before and after each meal (2 hours), and I have to send in my log sheet tomorrow.  The nurses will look at it and if my numbers are screwy (which they are), then they will call in a recommended rx to Dr B, and I'll be on insulin beginning next week.  The challenge over the last few days has been trying to eat the way I should when I feel like total crap.  The m/s pukies combined with this cold has left me craving a ton of carbs, and sadly I have been giving in. 

*****
I had more blood drawn on Tuesday as well.  Five vials from my finicky veins.  Thankfully, one of the other doctors in Dr B's practice called me yesterday and let me know my beta numbers.  (As an aside - In looking at my O chart, it appears that I may have o'd a day later than I thought, and if that's the case then my DPO are all different.)  So, taking that into account...

13DPO - 34    20DPO - 442    27DPO - 3215

Not as high as I had hoped, but still doubling within normal parameters.  I'm still below average, but I'm feeling a little more confident. (I've come across a website that I love... http://www.betabase.info/  It's a collection of beta numbers from viable pregnancies and shows the variants in numbers.  Very reassuring)  My symptoms have been slightly more intense so that's also helping me feel a little better.  I've decided that I'm not going to go for another blood draw next week as I have my u/s on Wednesday.

*****
The other day I spent the afternoon/evening with a couple of my girlfriends.  We went to the Big City two hours north of us and hit Ikea, Olive Garden, and an event for 'employees' of my former bookstore.  We got to attend a presentation from one of the biggest publishers in the country about all the new books coming out this fall.  So many great books... I can't wait!  Ikea was so much fun... I was a good girl and limited myself to the few things I had in mind when we first walked in.  It was hard not to be impulsive, but I stayed strong!  It was a great day and had a lot of laughs. 

*****
I've decided that I'm going to do one or two projects each day until Wednesday.  Things like going through closets, making soup, and sorting through my crafting stuff.  I'm hoping that it will help me not fixate on the u/s.  I also have a big pseudo-Thanksgiving dinner to plan (more on that later). 

*****
There are a ton of other things that I want to tell you about, but they will have to wait for now, as I'm fading.  Ginny is napping and if I'm lucky I might be able to catch a solid half hour of sleep.  Woo hoo!

Hobbit-ish Potpurri: Making Progress

Hey Humble Readers!

Things here on the flatland are pretty quiet these days.  We've finally had a bit of a stretch of nice weather.  It feels like autumn should, and I have always loved this time of year.  (mental note: I must remember to clean up the balconey before the rain starts again)  I've been slowly making some progress on my to do lists.  Just a few things a day, but I'm getting there. 

*****
The ultrasound earlier this week went very well.  I know that these things are notoriously wrong, but the Halfling is measuring in the 90th percentile (I can't figure out what that means in practical terms).  At least I can stop worrying about the baby not gaining weight as I lose it.  I was nervous beforehand, but then I always am until I see that little heartbeat.  I know at this point it's silly, but I truly keep expecting the other shoe to drop.  I have this fear that one day there won't be movement, that I'll go see Dr. U and the baby will just not be there anymore.  He/she will just have vanished.  That this will all have been something I made up in my head. 

*****
Speaking of weight loss, I am starting to get a little concerned.  I'm dropping weight like mad.  I'm down 6 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight (according to my scale... the doc's scales weigh me a least three pounds lighter all the time), although I did go up about 6 pounds in the first trimester, so all totalled I've lost 12 pounds.  Dr. U isn't concerned, but this is just so unexpected.  I have always expected that I would gain at least a bit when pregnant.  I'm eating all the time (three meals and at least two snacks a day... way more than I normally would). 

*****
Thanksgiving is this weekend for those of us north of the 49th parallel.  I want to do something different this year, so I'm thinking about making a sausage stuffing.  Any suggestions?  I normally just do the usual bread, celery, onion mix.  I have also become obsessed with pumpkin desserts.  Well, desserts of any kind, but I really want to find a good pumpkin dessert that I can make with Sple.nda.   It's only going to be the two of us, so I'm planning on freezing a bunch of the leftovers for next month.

*****
I'm thinking that I might put up our outdoor Christmas lights next week.  I know it's early, but I think I want to do it while it's still nice out.  I won't plug them in of course, just get them out there.  One other piece of Christmas planning that has recently been taken care of... we are getting a free (artificial) Christmas tree!  Our last tree was a cheap-ie that we bought our first Christmas together, and it dropped more needles than a real tree would.  We tossed it last year after the holidays, fulling intending on buying a new one this year.  With the hit our finances took last month, we were thinking we were going to be going without a tree this year.  I mentioned it a couple of weeks ago at work, and one of the new girls told me that she and her husband had bought a new tree last year, and were wanting to get rid of their old one.  She wants to give it to me for free!  It's a 7' tree, only a few years old.  I'm stoked!

Week 32: So Sleepy!

Hey Humble Readers!

Today has felt like my first real day of leave.  Up to now, I have been doing a lot of racing around and going to a lot of appointments.  We had our maternity info session at the hospital last night, which wasn't quite what I was expecting, but still informative.  I was really rather surprised at how many women were due around the same time as me in this little city.

I've had a couple of questions about how I can be on mat leave this early, especially without having to be on bed rest.  In Canada, we get a year (50 weeks) of government funded (through employment insurance, 55% of my income) mat leave that can start any time after 28 weeks (it can also be split between both parents, if we wanted or could afford that).  I decided to go early for many reasons (it's easier on my store with not having to replace me in the middle of the run up to the crazy Christmas season, my doctors didn't want me on my feet 8 hours a day in the craziest time of the retail year, and with the possibility of increased complications due to my blood pressure and GD), but mostly it was just very apparent that I was going to need some extra time. 

Here's the pics from the Halfling's latest photo shoot... I'll tell you all more about that tomorrow.

Little Hands



Little Profile


How far along? 32w2d

Maternity clothes? Yeah, of course.  But now I get to wear my jeans whenever I want!  Yay!

Body Oddities?  Other than the expected, I am sporting a ton of very ugly, very colourful bruises on my stomach from the insulin. 

Sleep? I wish I had some sort of normal relationship to sleep.  It doesn't seem to matter how much sleep I get at night, I need to nap during the day at least once. 

Best moment this week? While not exactly baby related, it is kind of mat leave related.  I know I've mentioned the literacy foundation that my company founded a few years ago.  Once a year, for a set amount of time, each store gets to partner with a local school and all funds raised go directly to that school's library (rather than to the national grant fund).  My last three weeks of work were our Adopt-A-School program.  I have been very passionate about this whole program in our store, and on my last day of work, one of my staff presented me with a gift card for $500 to be donated to our partner school in my name.  She had raised the money by selling fudge and other goodies to the staff for two months.  She presented the gift card to me at our morning staff meeting, and I ended up blubbering like a baby.  Overall, I think $6000+ was raised for our partner school.  So amazing!

Worst moment? Nothing really bad, just feeling guilty about my total lack of energy for the last couple of weeks.

Movement? Very often throughout the day.  It's fun to watch my belly move... The Halfling has somthing against the lapdesk I use with my laptop.  He/she kicks at it like crazy.

Food cravings?  Chocolate, seafood, dairy... I also can't seem to get through the day without eating a tomato

Rings? I think they just might stay on for the duration.

Gender? Not going to find out, but I think it's a boy.  Oddly enough, when I try to think of the Halfling by the names we've chosen, I always end up thinking of the girl's name.  Strange.

Intense Dreams?  Until the last couple of nights, the last few weeks have been seemingly dream free.  In the last couple of days tho, the travel dreams have started again. 

Medical Concerns? High blood pressure (on 50mg Trandate/Lobetalol, 3 times a day...  now getting my bp checked every week at the hospital before my OB appointment.  They have the right size cuff for this plus size gal), Gestational Diabetes (closer to getting it under control), on prescription Zan.tac for heartburn.  I will probably be induced in week 39... holy crap, that's soon!

What I miss?  Having the energy to do everything I need to get done. 

What I look forward to? My first baby shower next week (people from work), my next ultrasound, and getting to meet this little one.

Emotional State?  Content for the most part, but frustrated at the tiredness.  I'm feeling a bit of self-imposed pressure to get some progress made on my to do lists, and the lack of energy is really compounding that.

Check.. Check.. Is this Thing On?

Hey Humble Readers...

Are you still out there? 

I know it's been a heck of a long time.  Two weeks since my last post. 

I wish I could say it's because my computer had died, or that we had crappy internet service.  But nope, it's just been plain old exhaustion.  The last two weeks of work just about killed me.  I was falling asleep on my lunch breaks.  I barely had the energy to get to work and to my doctor's appointments... let alone spending time online.  My poor Beloved has put up with a groggy hobbit-wife, and has hardly anything homecooked for days and days. 

I'm sorry I haven't been around.  Now that I'm done working, I'm hoping that I will see a bit of an increase in my energy levels again.  I slept almost all morning today, and I'm actually feeling a bit more human. 

Stories that need telling...

The GD GD: getting better, but it's taking a lot of insulin to do it.  My before meal sugar levels are pretty good (except for breakfast, although it's getting better too), and most days I'm doing pretty good with it.  I've had very few meltdowns about it lately.  My stomach is showing a lot of not so pretty bruising from the needles, but it's the easiest place for me to inject. 

The Nursery:  still in progress.  We now have all the decor bits I ordered from Esty, and half the furniture that needs to be painted is at my MIL's house waiting to be sanded and refreshed. 

The Ultrasound:  Got a good peak at him/her today.  I'll post the pics tomorrow.  Got to see little waving hands and it looks like the Halfling has my nose (poor kid!).  He/She is head down, facing to the right.  His/Her hands were in the way so we didn't get a lot of really good pics, but there's one pretty good one.

Pregnancy in general:  not too bad.  Other than tired-ness, things seem to be going okay.  I'll be doing my week 32 update tomorrow sometime.  Tomorrow we have our tour at the hospital, and we start prenatal classes on the 13th. 

I hope you all are well.  It will take me some time to catch up, but I wanted you all to know I'm alive up here on the flatland. 

The Ultrasound, The Nursery, and A Cake

Good Morning Humble Readers!

The ultrasound was a tad bit anti-climactic.  When we got to the medical imaging clinic, it was pretty busy, so I expected to be waiting awhile.  Oddly enough, I got called in right away.  Like the last time I was at this particular clinic, they made my Beloved wait in the waiting room for the first part of the scan. 

When I got into the room, I immediately told the tech that we did not want to know the gender of the baby.  She told me that she would take all her pictures, then show them to the doctor on site.  Then my Beloved would be called in and we would get to see our Halfling. 

I spent the next 20 minutes or so staring at the ceiling and trying not to think about my ever shrinking bladder.  The tech didn't say anything during that 20 minutes, so I was starting to get just a tad concerned.  Then she handed me a strip of three pictures of the Halfling and said that she would go talk to the doc and then bring in my Beloved.  I couldn't see much in the pics she gave me because it was so dim in the room,  She was gone for almost 10 minutes, so I really started to get worried. 

But when she came back in with my Beloved, and started scanning again she immediately said that all that she could see looked great, and that our little Halfling had been playing shy.  Talk about a sigh of relief.  She turned the screen toward us and we got to watch the baby twist around and wave at us.  Halfling gave us some great views of his/her spine and hiney, but kept turning away from the u/s.  We finally got a quick view of the head, then the arms and legs flailing about.  And that was about it. 

Like I said, anticlimactic. 

When we got out of the room, we were able to get a better look at the pics she gave us, and honestly I have to say...

they are the CREEPIEST ultrasound pictures ever!  No cute profile for our Halfling!  No way!  :)  Take a look for yourself...

The first is of Halfling's face... nice skeletal look huh?  Maybe we should have called the baby a Wraith instead.  The second shot is of his/her spine.  Crazy!

It was great to see the baby, to know that all is well.  When we left, on our way out my Beloved looked at me and said, "We made a real person!".  It was really cute.  I think it's starting to become a bit more real for him. 

*****
After the u/s, we stopped at the paint store to pick up some paint chips to help us decide on the perfect shade for the nursery.  Tell me what you think...

I'm trying to decide between the top three colours.  I want a soft grey.  Trim and furniture will be white, and the accent colour is going to be a bright apple green (curtains, bedding, etc).  

*****
In other news... You remember that recipe that I mentioned yesterday, the one from Kristin at Dragondreamer's Lair?  The one for a Blow the Diet cake...  Yeah, well, it's frickin' outstanding!  I wimped out and used a chocolate cake mix (my scratch cakes never ever turn out), and the next time I make it I will double the peanut butter filling.  I don't pretend to know how to ice a cake properly, so it turned out looking a tad sloppy, but it tasted sooooooo good!  It's calling my name right now, but I am successfully resisting. 

The Wonderful Dr. U

Good morning, Humble Readers!

Well, I just got back from my OB appointment. 

Have I mentioned how much I love my OB?  He never makes me feel like I'm taking up too much of his time, he knows I'm a nervous pregnant woman and he does everything he can to put me at ease.  The fact that he's got a really cool South African accent doesn't hurt either. 

Again, it wasn't a typical prenatal appointment.  No blood pressure, no weigh-in, no peeing in a cup.  Dr. U wants me to get my regular prenatal care with my PCP, Dr.B, at least for now.  Dr. U will oversee the extra stuff. 

So, the extras... I'm going to have the nuchal translucency screening.  To get it done, though, I have to go to Edmonton, to the big fancy-schmancy hospital with the women's care center.  Dr. U has also recommended some form of genetic screening.  I expressed my concern about amnio and cvi, and the potential for m/c, so he's fine with starting with a blood chemistry work up.  If there are any concerns raised from that testing or the nuchal fold screen, then we will discuss futher tests.  I am to be expecting a phone call from the hospital in Edmonton in the next couple of days to set up the screening.   And I am continue taking the prometrium and to go back to see Dr. U in a month.

We also talked about the big GD.  Because of my pre-pregnancy weight issuses, I know I am at much higher risk for gestational diabetes, and potentially type 2 diabetes.  I am to go for two GD tests, one at 20 weeks and another at 28 weeks.  I am to closely monitor my weight gain (like I'm not obsessed about it already) and I am going to work hard on increasing my fiber intake, while trying to cut back on fats and sugars. 

But the best part of the appointment today... we got to see another quick peak of the Halfling.  S/he was floating and waving his/her arms and legs around!  Woohoo!

Houston, We Have A...

HEARTBEAT!

171 beats per minute!

I'm exhausted, elated, and actually feeling like I can breathe for the first time in weeks!  That little blob with the flickering heart in the middle was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

All my other u/s have been done at the hospital or the (evil) fertility clinic in town.  This place was so nice and comfortable and didn't feel clinical.  They made my Beloved wait in the waiting room while I was taken back.  I was directed to sit in a changing room and wait for my technician.  I sat there and prayed and tryed to relax my quaking nerves. 

I heard the girl in the change room next to me get called in to one of the u/s rooms.  Only a moment later she was being escorted out and the tech with her was telling her in a rather grumpy voice that she needed to drink her water down as quick as she could.  I hoped that I wouldn't get the same tech, because I didn't think I could handle a grump today.  Of course it was that same tech who called me less than two minutes later. 

I followed her into the room, and put down my purse and water bottle where she directed.  She asked about my LMP and then about my previous pregnancies.  I laid down on the bed and she didn't say anything as she got started.

Now, there is something particularly challenging and potentially humiliating about an abdominal u/s for a very plus size woman.  Namely the parts of my anatomy that hang over.  When I was being scanned during my first pregnancy the tech was actually pretty mean about it and told me there was too much fat in the way for her to get a clear picture.  So, today, with a grumpy tech I was preparing myself for some form of mean-ness, and I laid there trying to hold my stomach in and out of the way.  But I was pleasantly surprised...

She told me to relax, breathe normally and let her do her thing.  It seemed to take forever as she was taking picture after picture, and pressing that sensor thing into my painfully full bladder.  I was laying there, staring at the ceiling, praying my heart out.  Then she stopped and she smiled at me and said, "Well, it looks like there's a little person in there".  She turned the screen toward me and and showed me the Halfling and the flickering heart.  I started to cry... tears running down the sides of my face and into my ears (remember I'm still laying on my back).  All I could say was "thank you" over and over and over.

She spent some time getting some shots of my ovaries and my kidneys.  Then she suggested that I clean my self up a bit, and go out and get my Beloved while she did her paperwork, and we could introduce him to his little one.  I practically ran out to the waiting room to get him, mostly out of joy and only partly out of need to pee.  We dashed back to the room and my Beloved cried right along with me as she got me situated again, and then showed us a closer shot of the Halfling and his/her heart. 

I'm sorry that this post is so rambling and long, but it feels like the biggest event of my life.  Now I can breathe, allow myself to dream, and get some much needed sleep.  But before I go for a nap, I want to leave you with this... our lovely little blob of a Halfling.