Why We Chose To Get Tested

After my visit with the obgny today, I went to the lab so they could take out what seemed like all of my blood to get the lab work done for two tests. One was to test to see if I'm a carrier for cystic fibrosis. It's recessive, so Jessie and I would both have to be carriers for there to be any chance of our baby having it. So if I'm not a carrier, then end of story - everything good on that front. If I am a carrier, then Jessie has to get tested, and if he's not a carrier, then everything still good on that front. Neither of us has any family history of cystic fibrosis that we know of, so I'm not really worried. I just think it's a good idea to get tested to be absolutely sure.

The second test is the AFP or 'triple screen'. It tests for things like neural tube defects and chromosomal abnormalites, genetic defects, like Down Syndrome and Spina Bifida. Alot of women choose not to do these tests. Since there's no family history on either side, and since I'm not considered high risk, it wasn't absolutely necessary for us to do it either, but we wanted to make sure. Of course we would NOT terminate the pregnancy either way, but it always helps to be prepared, so we want to know.

Third Obgyn Visit

Today was the third visit to the obgyn and my first one without Jessie, who was out of town working. The doctor checked the baby's heart rate - still in the 140-ish beats per minute. Still healthy and going strong. Great! He also told me that he recommended I get the regular seasonal flu vaccine and also the H1N1 flu vaccine, whenever the injectible kind was available. I had been wondering how I was supposed to 'prove' I was pregnant to get towards the top of the list for the swine flu shot whenever it was available, but the doctor said I can get both right at his office when they come in, so that works out great. I went to the lab to get blood taken for some testing. I'm surprised I have any left.

Cranky? Who's Cranky?

That would be me. I don't know what my deal is. Is it hormones? I have no idea. Everything annoys and aggravates me. And I mean everything. On top of that, I'm aggravated that everything annoys me. I know it's driving poor Jessie insane, but I can't seem to help it. I feel bad for him. I pick fights for no reason, and of course I always win them. The main reason - Jessie is handicapped by his need to make sense. I, however, do not see the need to make sense, hence he never wins. I hope this crankiness ends soon. It's driving both of us crazy.

Does This Make Me Look Fat?

Of course it does! I'm at that in-between stage where it doesn't look like I'm pregnant to people who don't know me, it just looks like I'm fat and have a gut! The good news is that thanks to a tip from my friend DeAnna, and a little help from a rubber band, I'm still able to wear my pre-pregnancy jeans. Yay! Some of the shirts, however, are another story. And not just because of my stomach - my much bigger boobs are contributing to me not fitting into some of those shirts anymore also. I can't wait until I'm noticeably 'pregnant', so people will think "aw, she's pregnant" instead of the "aw, she needs to cut back on the ice cream" which I know is what they are thinking! Of course, I'm pregnant and irrational so maybe I'm just being a little paranoid as well.

A Week of Contradictions

This has been a strange week for me. I have gone from the highs of happiness to the lows of sadness in just a matter of hours. From speaking of birth to speaking of death. It really puts the transient nature of life in general into perspective.

My best friend's mom died of Lou Gehrig's disease this week. Anna Marie and I have been best friends since high school, going on 14 years now. I've known her whole family, including her mom, that long too. I was at her house alot and I remember her mom made the best bread and would usually send some home with me. I was a bridesmaid in Anna Marie's wedding and she was a bridesmaid in mine. Her mom came to my wedding and I remember that even with the disease, she looked beautiful all dressed up. It was the last time she would ever get dressed up. She died in her sleep sometime late Sunday night/early Monday morning. She simply didn't have the energy to continue breathing and quietly slipped away.

Wednesday morning we heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time and I cried a little because I was so happy. It was an affirmation of life. Wednesday evening we went to Dana Dorotik's viewing and I teared up a little there too when I saw her laying in the casket. It was an affirmation of death. This morning my mom and I went to her funeral. It was a beautiful service, if such a thing can be said of a funeral, and I don't think there was a dry eye in the church. There was a graveside service afterward, which we did not attend. Anna Marie later told me that each of them - her dad, herself, and her sister and brothers - took a white rose from the arrangement my family and Jessie and I had sent and laid it on their mothers casket for a final farewell before she was laid to rest. That made me cry a little too. I have their family in my prayers.

Second Visit to Obgyn and a Small Heartbeat

Today was the second visit to the obgyn office and the first time Jessie and I got to meet with Dr. Meyers, who will be delivering our baby. He's short, slightly pudgy, and has a great sense of humor along with alot of years experience doing what he does. He delivered my sister, Tammy's, babies so I know he'll be great. Jessie and I really like him, which I think is an important part of the process.

I got an exam first thing and then after that was finished he went over all of the results from the labwork I had done last month. Apparently I'm super healthy. Great news! I also found out my blood type. I know it may be kind of weird that I'm 31 years old and never knew what my blood type was, but maybe it's a good thing that I never had to know - no major trauma events. In any case, now I know. Also, I'm rh positive, which means no extra injections with a needle later on in the pregnancy. This is also great news! More great news - I didn't have to get any lab work done, so no stabbing me with sharp instruments causing a mini-panic attack to ensue! The news just keeps getting better!

The best news of all - we got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time! It was a healthy and normal 140-ish beats per minute. It was so great that I teared up a little bit. And I'm not a crier. Jessie and I were both so happy.

I have another appointment scheduled in three weeks, and I'm going to have to get lab work done then. But that's weeks away and I'll think about that when it gets here!

One Down, Two More to Go

Woo hoo!!!!! First trimester is officially over today!! Only two more to go! Even though I didn't experience morning sickness like a lot of pregnant women do, the first trimester still kinda sucked. I think morning sickness was the only pregnancy symptom I didn't have. This is also the most tired I have been in my whole life and I can't wait to experience all that second trimester energy burst I have been hearing about.

Irrational Fears

I have these constant irrational fears that something I'm doing or not doing has hurt the baby. I think this constantly, almost every day. Like "omg, I forgot to take my prenatal vitamins yesterday and the baby has brain damage now thanks to me!!!" Of course, intellectually, I know the baby is perfectly fine and my thoughts are completely irrational. I'm eating healthy (somewhat), not smoking or drinking, very very limited caffeine intake (seriously alot less that what the doctor says I can have), not taking any medications - not even over the counter ones, and avoiding the foods I'm supposed to avoid. So, like I said, I know my fears are somewhat irrational, but who said a pregnant woman was ever rational or made sense?!

Heat Wave!

I HATE TEXAS SUMMERS! A freakin' cold front came through and DROPPED the weather down to 95. You know it's bad when the temperature DROPS to 95. Ugh! I need to move to a cooler climate. Somewhere where a cold front actually means something.

Thank god I'm not in the heat flash part of the pregnancy, and my heart goes out to all those expectant mothers who are. Being giant pregnant in the stifling heat of a Texas summer has got to absolutely suck. No question about it.

Everything is Different But Still the Same

How long is it going to take before it really sinks in that we're having a baby? I know I'm pregnant, I've seen the ultrasound. It just hasn't really sunk in yet. Maybe it's too early and it'll sink in sometime soon. I sure hope so. I haven't really had bad pregnancy symptoms like nonstop morning sickness, so maybe that's contributing to it. Maybe it's because nothing has really changed - everything is the same. Maybe the more time that goes by and the more it feels like I'm 'pregnant', the more I'll realize "hey, we're having a baby!"

Morning Sickness? What Morning Sickness?

Well, it turns out that I don't actually have morning sickness. I'm just stupid. Phew! I already knew that! And I get the added bonus of not being disgustingly sick for 3 months. Yes!

I noticed a pattern after a few days - take the prenatal vitamins in the morning = sick - take the prenatal vitamins in the evening = not sick. I know you're not supposed to take them on an empty stomach, and I haven't been, but probably 2 pieces of toast wasn't really cutting it. I'm not a breakfast person, never have been, so that toast was me actually putting forth an effort, which apparently wasn't good enough. I eat more in the evenings, so my stomach wasn't quite as empty when I took the vitamins, and that fixed the problem. Problem solved and no morning sickness!

The First OBGYN Appointment

Our first obgyn appointment was this morning. We didn't actually meet the doctor, we just met with the nurse. Our appointment was at 10:00am. When the nurse came out into the waiting room to call us back, she called out "Alicia Perry" and I just sat there. It didn't register that was me. Still not used to the new last name thing. It finally clicked when Jessie started getting up.

We went into one of the patient rooms and sat in chairs while the nurse asked us a million questions about us and our medical history, including what we knew of our family's medical history. She gave us a lot of packets of material and pamphlets and articles on what to expect, some of the different testing that will done, paperwork to be filled out for the hospital delivery, some other things that we might want to consider, and some pregnancy magazines. Then she gave me the paperwork to go get my labwork done (i.e. blood tests and urine tests - gross), and called the sonogram place to schedule an appointment that morning for our first sonogram (yes! the only thing I'm excited about!).

So off we went to get the labwork done. The place was just down the street. We walked in, I went to the back with the lab lady, got all the tests done, had my mini-panic attack quietly, and then it was off to get the sonogram!

The place to get the sonogram was only about 5 minutes away. They usually do the sonograms at the obgyn office, but the sonogram tech had fallen down and broken her arm the week before and was unable to do them, so they sent us to a different sonogram place. We were in the waiting room for about 20 minutes while they verified insurance information (they said if we didn't want to wait, we could just pay in full for the sonogram, and then we could get reimbursed later from the insurance company. no way. those things are expensive. we waited.)

So finally, insurance information verified, and we were able start! The sonogram tech first called me back while Jessie waited in the waiting room. At first, she tried to do the sonogram like you see on tv, you know, where they put the jelly stuff on your belly and move the wand thing back and forth to get a picture. Well, she wasn't getting a very good picture at all, so she had to do it the other way she said. "Other way?" I thought. What other way. I've never seen another way on tv.

She left me in the room with instruction to get undressed from the waist down and to hop on the table when I was finished, while she went and got Jessie. They came back, and then she got ready for the 'other way' to do the sonogram. She pulled out the thing that looks like a giant machine-penis (not to get graphic or anything, but that is exactly what it looks like). And she puts it exactly where you would think. She explained that this way, they can get closer to the uterus and get a clearer picture of the baby. I was completely horrified. But I really wanted a clear picture of the baby, so I dealt with it. I think Jessie was laughing the whole time.

The room is mostly dark, I'm lying on the patient table while Jessie is sitting in a chair, and there is a monitor right by my head with the first pictures of our baby! Jessie and I see the first pictures of our baby! He/she looks like a blob right now, but we saw the heart beating and everything. It was completely awesome!

The sonogram also allowed the tech to more accurately pinpoint the expected due date. She said I was 8 1/2 weeks along and our expected due date is March 13, 2010! I was thinking only 8 1/2 weeks? Mine and the nurse's calculations put me at about 10 weeks already. But the sonogram is more reliable, so that's the one we go with. Timetable adjusted. I hope I'm not 3 days late - March 16 is my birthday!

Hormones, My Mortal Enemy

I'm not gonna lie to you, so far being pregnant sucks. Not the part about having a baby - that part is the absolute best and I can't wait to meet him/her! The part that sucks is everything happening to my body and the hormones involved.

A rundown on what's happening so far: my boobs are bigger and they hurt, I have to pee constantly - I think I'm in the bathroom more often than not, my emotions are all over the place and I cry for no reason whatsoever, I'm constantly exhausted and never feel rested, I can't sleep at night which adds to the fatigue I already feel during the day (and caffeine is off-limits), I get nauseous during the day for hours at a time and sometimes at night, I feel bloated all the time, and I feel like I have a never-ending flu.

On top of that, my clothes are starting to fit just a little more snug. I know it looks like I'm gaining weight, even though I'm not - my scale weight is exactly the same. I know part of snug-clothing issue is due to the bloating (I know, pretty gross), but even in the mornings when the bloating isn't that bad, it's like I'm starting to get a little 'thicker' around the middle. Does that happen this early in the pregnancy or am I just imagining it?

Apparently pregancy is not agreeing with me. I thought pregnant women were supposed to get that 'pregnant glow'. I missed the boat on that one. I get about 3 comments every day at work about how pale or worn out I look. Of course I'm worn out people! I'm building a life support system 24/7 thankyouverymuch! Let's see how good you look doing that!

Dear Bathroom

No offense, but I am sick and tired of visiting you. I do it about 500 times a day, all day long, and quite frankly it's getting old.

That is all.

Sincerely,
Alicia

To Sleep Perchance to Dream: Ay, There's the Rub

7 weeks now. Wow.

Last night was the third night in a row I hardly got any sleep. It started on Sunday night. I climbed into bed around 11:00pm and fell asleep, only to wake up about 3 times to either go to bathroom or for no reason at all, and then woke up at 5:00am and couldn't go back to sleep at all. 5:00am! Ugh! I spent all day Monday at work in a zombie like state. I don't think anyone noticed.

I thought for sure that I would sleep better on Monday night since I was tired from not sleeping the night before. Nope! It was pretty much an exact repeat of Sunday night. No sleep and once again spent Tuesday at work in a zombie like state. At least one person noticed this time. She said I looked white as a sheet. Great.

Last night was the worst. I really wanted to go to bed around 7:00pm because I was SO sleepy (unless you've been pregnant, don't judge), but I thought it was better to wait until closer to 9:00pm because that might help me sleep longer in the morning. Wrong again. I fell asleep around 9:30 pm last night - great start. But then I woke up at 11:00pm, 1:30am, 2:00am, and then finally at 3:30am and couldn't go back to sleep after that. This is insanity. If I looked white as a sheet yesterday, I don't even want to know what I look like today.

I did some internet researching and apparently the culprit is the hormone progesterone. Not only is it responsible for my constant bathroom visits, it's also the cause of my constant fatigue all day long as well as responsible for keeping me awake at night. I don't really understand that. How can the same hormone make you tired and keep you awake at the same time? I have so many questions to ask the ob-gyn when I visit.

The Doctor is In

I made my first ob-gyn appointment yesterday for my first prenatal visit. It's going to be on August 5 in the morning. They are going to do the very first sonogram. Jessie is going with me and we get to see the very first pictures of our baby! So excited! I'm having the sonogram first, and then the prenatal appointment afterwards with the nurse where I will get all sorts of information about prenancy. Sounds great because I have no idea what to expect. I guess at some point I will meet the doctor too. Maybe at the next appointment.

I took the whole day off of work, because I've also been told that I'm supposed to go across the street and get lab work done. Lab work meaning they take alot of blood and do alot of tests on it. Gross. I know alot of people don't have a problem with needles and getting stuck - I am not one of them. It's not like I faint or anything, it's more like I have a mini-panic attack. I don't like anything jabbing or slicing into my skin. Blood is your body's natural way of saying "hey, something's wrong here" and I'm inclined to agree with that. Shots and having blood taken is not natural. I'm actually getting the heebie jeebies right now just thinking about all of this. And I have the entire rest of the pregnancy to have blood taken and get shots. Yea me!

To Tell or Not to Tell, That is the Question

Okay, lame blog title, I know. We wrestled with not only when we were going to tell everyone but how we were going to do. The first trimester is uncertain territory regarding miscarriages, and lot of couples choose to keep it secret until the second trimester, when the risk of miscarriage is greatly reduced. But this was our first pregnancy and we were so excited we decided we would tell everyone and risk it. At least that way we would have a support system in place in case something happened.

But how do we tell everyone? My family already knew and were super excited. We told them on July 4, the Saturday that came with 2 'not pregnant' results on the digital tests. Since my mom and sister both already had kids, they were good sources of information, and I really needed to talk to someone about the mixed test results. But we were adamant about not telling any of our friends or co-workers until Jessie's family knew as well. We really wanted to do it in person, but with his mom living 3.5 hours away, the rest of his family living in Georgia, his traveling for 2-3 weeks at a time for his job, and the financial burden, it was really just impossible. So we decided to tell his family by phone.

Jessie called all of them on Thursday of this week individually and put each one on speakerphone, with me sitting beside him on the couch, and told them all the good news. Everyone was really excited and we got the biggest kick out of everyone's reactions. Then we told our friends and co-workers who were also really excited for us. The main comment we received from everyone "You guys didn't waste any time!" No we sure didn't!

Whoa, Baby!

"So are we having a baby or not?" This was basically the gist of the entire conversation at the Perry household for the entire Fourth of July weekend. We've been 'trying' since the wedding because both of us are in our 30's, and let's face it, we're not getting any younger and one of us hears her biological clock ticking like it's a nuclear bomb.

The first thing I noticed was that my boobs were starting to get bigger and wondered for a couple of seconds if I could be pregnant, then put the thought out of my mind as my being paranoid (or wishful thinking). Mainly because I thought it was going to take longer to get pregnant than just a couple of weeks of trying. I also didn't really think anything of it when I didn't get my period because I'm pretty irregular anyway. But putting the two of those things together, we thought we should go get a home pregnancy test and check it out, just for kicks and giggles.

Last week, we bought a 3-pack home pregnancy test, the kind that has a plus if your pregnant and a negative if you're not. Pretty easy, huh? Not so much. The first test was negative. Okay, not pregnant, but I decided I was taking another one a couple of days later, you know, since we bought the 3-pack and all. Maybe I tried it too early. The second test: very faint blue vertical line. How blue does it have to be before it's officially a 'positive'? So I took the third and last test a couple of days later: faint blue vertical line, but darker than test 2. What the hell? Enough with the blue line deciphering! So last Friday, we decided to go get a digital home pregnancy test - the kind that says "Pregant" or "Not Pregnant". Easy enough we thought. Wrong! We bought a 3-pack of the digital tests. First one on Friday night: pregnant, second one Saturday morning: not pregant, third one Saturday morning: not pregnant. WHAT?!?! Well which is it? Are we having a baby or not?

So on Monday I called the ob-gyn to figure out what to do. I was told that the home pregnancy tests are really accurate (I'm doubting this one) and pretty much what the doctors use when you go to their office. Since I got mixed results (that's putting it mildly) they decided to treat it as a positive pregnancy, since it's rare to get a false positive and pretty common to get a false negative. Okay, we thought, pregnant! Awesome! Over the course of the rest of this week, I took 5 more digital pregnancy tests that we bought and all of them came out positive. Pregnant! So we're pretty excited to say the least! From my calculations, I'm about 6 weeks pregnant right now.