Melon Head: What the Ultrasound Had To Say About My Monster's Dome.

Let's kick this off with a little "Cuteness To Remember", via Facebook:

Todd: You're hot.
Me: Say whaaaaaaaaat??
Todd: I just think you're hot. Sexy. BEAUTIFUL.
Me: Awwwww, thank you. I love you : )
Me: You know how to make a round gal feel good!
Carol: Get a room, you two!!
Me: Carol, I'm in our room...watching Law and Order SVU alone. Hubba hubba!
Carol: Whoa! Careful! This is too hot for Facebook!

And a little "Cuteness to Remember" from Todd that I forgot about, pre-ultrasound:

"I hope our baby is as beautiful as you".

So here we are, post our 4th appointment. It seems like there were so many more, maybe because we saw her when we were trying to get preggo and I had an additional appointment when I blacked out, plus there has been blood work and an outside ultrasound. Regardless, appointment number four had a little bit more meat than previous appointments because we got to go over the ultrasound results.

But our doc was running 50 minutes behind so there was some waiting.

Yep. He's reading a picture book about Surgical Menopause. Yeeeesh. Anyway, I peed in a cup so my sugar can be monitored,  weighed in (up 3 more lbs. so anyone who thinks I'm too small...I did that for YOU), and then we heard Spencer's heart rate ( a steady 141) before the doc came in.

When she did, she confirmed that after comparing the Integrated Serum Screening with the ultrasound, she feels confident that we can rule out Downs and the tube defects, etc.  She said 2 out of 100 women will get the wrong results but that I'm not one of them. Thank Buddha, Jesus, Zeus, Mother Nature, whoever.

She said that according to the ultrasound, Spencer is in the 44th percentile. Basically, out of 100 kids his age, 44 are smaller and 56 are bigger. So he's "average". Not too big, not too small. Just right! The only thing the ultrasound picked up was that the circumference of his melon is a little big in comparison to his body ("I wonder where he gets it from" - my father, a man with a large head that makes buying hats difficult). But she doesn't think he has a big head, if this makes any sense. She thinks his head is normal and that his body is small.

"He has my lean swimmers body", according to Todd.

Anyway, it looks like he's trucking along smoothly per usual. We made it another 4 weeks without anything horrific happening. I'm beginning to think that maybe this is my reward. After being so sickly my entire life, I'm having an uber-easy and happy pregnancy. I'll take it!  From this point on, she measures me  from pelvic bone to the top of the uterus and I should be a centimeter for every week I am a long. 21 weeks on Thursday, 21 centimeters today! Right on schedule.

Speaking of schedule...

We go back on May 2nd and get paperwork for my next round of blood work. Once we hit 28 weeks, the appointments go from every 4 weeks to every 2. Just another sign that it's getting cloooooooser! The shower being officially schedule for June 26th helped make time winding down a reality, too.

We did find out that we can have 4 additional adults in the delivery room. Why would I want 4 additional people in there watching a horror movie take place in my junk??? Maaaaaaybe if I really freak out, I might want a woman with me. My sister is a nurse so maybe her. And Tessa is usually incredibly calm, so maybe her (she can tolerate a horror show). But still...4? This ain't no Sock Hop, people!

So that's THAT. The update on my ever-squirming little squido!

Butter & Mangoes: Almost Half Way Done Cooking.

Since the due date was bumped up, we're hitting our next weekly milestone early. We're 19 weeks preggo today and Spencer is the size of a mango..."My little maniac mango!"...and weighs the same as a stick of butter (we were told that by the ultrasound tech at our appointment Monday but I forgot to mention it). He is JUST delicious!!

Arms and legs are in proportion, neurons between the brain and muscles are connected so he can make some moooooooves, and cartilage is morphing into bone. A lot is going on right now which helps him make "more choreographed movements". Totally true! He's been going bananas in there. We saw it with our own eyes at the ultrasound. And he just doesn't move when he's being poked in the face with a medical instrument or when I'm coughing. He also squirms for awesome reasons:

After Todd called to play a Hall and Oates song to me over the phone:

Todd: Ur kiss is on my list.

Me:  : )

Me:  Spencer wiggled which means he likes H&O.

Todd: No he was freakin out.

Me:  Freaking out with joy.

Todd:  Nice try.

After this cuteness, some good news came our way. As you may remember me blathering about, we opted out of an Amnio. Instead, we had screenings via blood work during the 1st and 2nd trimesters and the results would be combined and the averages...yadda yadda yadda. Integrated Serum Screening. It looked for markers of certain birth defects and the odds that Spencer would have them. The results were within the normal limits so no Down's Syndrome or open neural tube defects, like Spina Bifida. HOLLA!

I agree with my mom, "...we love him no matter what". But we still feel thankful!!!

We can't WAIT for Spencer to get here. Even Dr. Nightmare, who uses his bump as a pillow.

Read All About It: Awesome Developements After a Dry Spell.

SO. MUCH. TO. TELL.

So I'll start by giving you your dose of text book information on the little monster right up front, starting with him or her being the size of an avocado this week (Holy Guacamole!, according to Todd).

And the weird thing is when you look at my ever-morphing body, it LOOKS like I have an avocado in there. Or a football. My pooch is pointy and weird but I like it. I am 16 weeks (and 2 days) and I've gained 3 pounds total. Todd was worried about this but the doc said not to fret. I was losing in the beginning so 3 lbs. = success. Not to mention that a lot of broads don't bulk up until the end, so no need for weight gaining milkshakes just yet.

Monster has eyebrows and lashes, and fingerprints. No crimes in utero.

And back to the doc...we had our 16 week appointment on Friday and our doc told me that I'm doing GREAT. She received back all my blood work results and while she didn't say anything about markers for Downs, etc., she did say everything was thumbs up. Even the Round Ligament Pain was dubbed utterly normal.  I'm NORMAL! Well, outside of my Kindergarten vaccine for Rubella being unequivocal a.k.a. weak (17 years go by and they can tell that??? CREEPY!). So as soon as the monster debuts, she'll re-vaccinate and all will be gravy.

The heartbeat was 154 beats, which you can hear HERE!

We received paperwork for my next round of blood work (vampires in lab coats, I tell you) AND the ultrasound we've been so impatiently waiting for. AND I CAN'T WAIT ANYMORE! It just makes it so much more REAL. I mean, I have no symptoms, the existence of my bump comes and goes (a guy at work even asked my nephew if something was wrong because I don't look preggo at all)...the more I know about the little monster, the more I attach and become mom. I'm nervous to get served with bad news, but more excited over all!

March 21st at 10:00. The moment of the big reveal.

Aunt Sharon

Me a.k.a. Mommy

Do you know what else makes it more real? Feeling the little monster MOVE, which I think I did yesterday morning! I can't say for sure and it hasn't happened since but I was laying in bed and felt this weird little...I don't know. Stronger than a swish or a flutter but not quite as strong as gas moving around. Just three little thumps.

Three, little, awesome, bad ass THUMPS!

So the ultrasound is March 21st and our next appointment is April 5th. Trucking along.

Hello Stirrups: Keeping It Low Key At Our First OB/GYN Appointment.

Yesterday was our first trip to the OB/GYN since the pink plus sign appeared in our lives. I had read all about how intense and in depth the first appointment could be. Yeah, no. This appointment was borderline boring. But it was nice to spend some bonding time with Todd. It was even nicer to be greeted in the parking lot with, "Hello babies" and a hug.

So after filling out a hand-numbing amount of paperwork and plunking down a credit card for the monster's expenses, I was weighed in (no weight gain yet) and gave a urine sample...which was MUCH darker than the other samples lurking around. I was definitely more apple cider than apple juice. Todd said it's because I don't drink enough water but I've been trying. It's like drinking POISON! But moving on...

Both our nurse and doctor were pumped to hear we didn't need the Clomid after all. From that point on, we just chatted a bunch. I got a list of all the OTC meds I can take, some tips on battling nausea, and a preview of some things to come in the next few weeks. Had a quick pelvic to swab for STDs...yes, I hate the word swab and YES, I did this back in September but they're being cautious. I'm cool with that.

I was really disappointed to find out we weren't getting an ultrasound though. I was counting on hearing the heartbeat to put me at ease. I wasn't that little bonding moment to FEEL like a mom. Not until the next appointment, which sounds much more entertaining. They'll draw blood, check out the heartbeat, and do the 1st trimester ultrasound to gather the odds of Downs and other birth defects < - - - -we opted for the 1st and 2nd trimester ultrasound screening methods rather than the Amnio. That's far too creepy with far too high odds of something going berzerk. No thank you.

So I guess we'll have to wait until February 10th to know the monster is A-OK.

My doctor is super calm so that keeps me calm. She had 6 women in labor while I was there and was totally relaxed so I have no excuse. She congratulated us, hooked us up with 2 bags full of loot, and sent us on our way. AND the date of the monster's (potential) debut was confirmed by actual medical professionals and not the interwebs:

AUGUST 20th!

Which just go happens to be Olivia's original due date!! RAD.

Post-appointment, my husband took me to lunch and I actually handled it pretty well. The restaurant didn't smell fishy at all (the nose knows) and I managed to eat a little soup, some salad, and 2 potato skins. That's the most I've eaten in weeks. In was nice to spend time with Todd that didn't include me being in a coma. It was a cute way to commemorate our first appointment. I'm glad he's so involved and not a dead beat. There was a newborn behind us at the restaurant and he had staaaaaaars in his eyes.

After that it was right back into the coma to rest the baby machine. Consistency.

Not sure what will happen between now and the next appointment, besides our 10 week photo shoot, but you better believe if there's news, I'll be blathering it.