So, no belly picture yet. But soon, I promise. I mentioned the possibility to my husband and he got really excited, like, "Let's do it right now!" And I mumbled an excuse and fled.
The truth is, I'm kind of having a hard time getting used to the whole belly thing. I know this will only be greeted with eye-rolls, but I've never had a belly before. Sure, my tummy had gotten sort of soft over the years but it didn't stick out. It does now. Suddenly, I have a belly and, though I know it contains a baby (or my poor displaced bowels because of the baby), it just makes me feel fat.
R is sure that once the belly gets bigger, and more obviously filled with baby, I will change my tune. I try to agree, but mostly the idea of a bigger belly does nothing for me. Though R is grinning ear-to-ear every time he sees my belly pushing out against my shirt...which, I admit, helps.
The insecurities I'm wrestling with because of my changing body have done absolutely nothing to reduce my libido, however. I sort of wish it did, because WOW. This lady is horny. Not like, "wink wink, nudge nudge" horny, either. More like, "I hope no neighbors were outside to hear me shouting naughty things" horny.
TMI, I know. But when it's all you think about, well, let's just say I could be a lot more explicit and didn't. Thus, I am a role model of self-restraint. (There you go with the eye-rolling again.)
In other baby-related news, we got to hear the heartbeat on Tuesday. Then R wanted to go look for baby furniture. He's so dang eager about it, it's so cute, I could just rip his clothes off....oops, there I go again.
Okay, I need to eat lunch and get back to work. These days I am pretty much stuffing food into my mouth at all times. The work happens less frequently. It has to be scheduled around more pressing hedonistic concerns.
*P.S. If you didn't notice, the title of this post is innuendo. *swoosh* The more you know.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Making a Baby: Week 13
Hello again, Internet. I hope you have been well.
I for one am doing pretty good, especially because I did not have a big needle stuck into my abdomen. Yes, that's right, the long anticipated CVS did not happen. Why? In short, because we chickened out. As I mentioned before, CVS (a DNA screening of the baby) is highly accurate but poses some risk to the fetus. After talking to the doctor, we decided to take an alternative route to testing, one that does not carry any risk to the baby. When it came down to it, knowing for sure that our baby was perfect wasn't worth the risk.
Instead, we opted to do a CFFDNA test. That stands for cell-free floating fetal DNA. Basically, my blood is drawn, a search is conducted to find which of my red blood cells has gone through the placenta, and those cells are scrubbed to get the tiny bits of the baby's DNA off them. That DNA is then tested for three chromosomal abnormalities that are the most likely to occur.
We'll also go back in at 20 weeks and have a partial Quad test done to look for neural tube issues. It's then that we'll find out the baby's sex. We are disappointed that we have to wait that long, since the CVS would have told us a whole month earlier, but that just gives my mother-in-law that much more opportunity to insist that we are having a girl - she just knows it.
BUT, while we were there, we got a 4D ultrasound and R got to see the baby and we got to hear its little heart beat! It was crazy active (as expressed by the technician who said, 'Wow, your baby is crazy!'). It shoved its hand in its mouth, yawned, did back flips stretched, rolled over, and basically showed us that it is already super-talented. A damn genius child, I tell you! The quality of the ultrasound was amazing, and we got to see its hands, profile, kidneys and bladder (they were gray dots pointed out to us, so not readily identifiable, but still - they were there!). R kept grinning and grinning.
In mostly not-baby-related news, we went to Tacoma for Thanksgiving and stayed with friends. It was fun, even if everyone else was drinking alcohol and I was the person having to pee every 15 minutes in between staring longingly at forbidden tasty mixed drinks. While there, my friends two year old demonstrated his complete infatuation with me by insisting I pick him up and declaring his desire to give me 'smooches.' He refused to allow R or any other male besides his dadda to hold him, which made R super jealous. At one point, after R's offer to hold him had again been refused, R said, "Fine, I'll have my own baby and it will love me." [ladies, insert awwws here]
That basically sums things up since I last posted. I was planning on posting a picture of my emerging baby bump, which popped out last week, but I left my camera in Tacoma. It should arrive in the post soon, and I'll upload a pic then. But right now I've got to go. I have another OB visit. Though they have no reason to do so, I'm hoping that they do another ultrasound.
I for one am doing pretty good, especially because I did not have a big needle stuck into my abdomen. Yes, that's right, the long anticipated CVS did not happen. Why? In short, because we chickened out. As I mentioned before, CVS (a DNA screening of the baby) is highly accurate but poses some risk to the fetus. After talking to the doctor, we decided to take an alternative route to testing, one that does not carry any risk to the baby. When it came down to it, knowing for sure that our baby was perfect wasn't worth the risk.
Instead, we opted to do a CFFDNA test. That stands for cell-free floating fetal DNA. Basically, my blood is drawn, a search is conducted to find which of my red blood cells has gone through the placenta, and those cells are scrubbed to get the tiny bits of the baby's DNA off them. That DNA is then tested for three chromosomal abnormalities that are the most likely to occur.
We'll also go back in at 20 weeks and have a partial Quad test done to look for neural tube issues. It's then that we'll find out the baby's sex. We are disappointed that we have to wait that long, since the CVS would have told us a whole month earlier, but that just gives my mother-in-law that much more opportunity to insist that we are having a girl - she just knows it.
BUT, while we were there, we got a 4D ultrasound and R got to see the baby and we got to hear its little heart beat! It was crazy active (as expressed by the technician who said, 'Wow, your baby is crazy!'). It shoved its hand in its mouth, yawned, did back flips stretched, rolled over, and basically showed us that it is already super-talented. A damn genius child, I tell you! The quality of the ultrasound was amazing, and we got to see its hands, profile, kidneys and bladder (they were gray dots pointed out to us, so not readily identifiable, but still - they were there!). R kept grinning and grinning.
In mostly not-baby-related news, we went to Tacoma for Thanksgiving and stayed with friends. It was fun, even if everyone else was drinking alcohol and I was the person having to pee every 15 minutes in between staring longingly at forbidden tasty mixed drinks. While there, my friends two year old demonstrated his complete infatuation with me by insisting I pick him up and declaring his desire to give me 'smooches.' He refused to allow R or any other male besides his dadda to hold him, which made R super jealous. At one point, after R's offer to hold him had again been refused, R said, "Fine, I'll have my own baby and it will love me." [ladies, insert awwws here]
That basically sums things up since I last posted. I was planning on posting a picture of my emerging baby bump, which popped out last week, but I left my camera in Tacoma. It should arrive in the post soon, and I'll upload a pic then. But right now I've got to go. I have another OB visit. Though they have no reason to do so, I'm hoping that they do another ultrasound.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Making a Baby: Week 12
So, tomorrow is the big day. I get my CVS to screen for chromosomal abnormalities. The CVS will involve a giant needle being pushed into my abdomen. Doesn't that sound nice?
As if that doesn't make me nervous enough, I got a message Friday evening that they wanted to reschedule me for the following week. Ummm....no. I've had this appointment for a month, my appointment was later in my 1st trimester than I had hoped for*, the day she suggested to reschedule conflicts with other doctor appointments, many peoples' schedules were altered so R could be come with me, etc. etc. Also, don't leave this kind of message on a Friday evening and make a pregnant woman freak out all weekend long. Thankyouverymuch.
*There is research indicating that the minuscule complications to the fetus are decreased if the CVS is performed earlier. I'm not trying to be all, hey, I'm important and get me an appointment when I want because I want it.
Anyway, I returned the call. Everything is fine. Tomorrow a big ol' needle will be punched through my stomach and into my uterus...uh, hooray, I win?
Am I nervous? Yes. I have a high pain tolerance and have many piercings; needles don't generally scare me. BUT, for some strange reason having a big needle go straight through my abdomen and into one of my organs is a little disconcerting. I don't know why. I guess you just can't plumb the depths of the human mind.
Oh, and guys, get this. Our baby is humanish now!
In non-baby news, the high school drama team that I've been volunteering with participated in Divisions on Saturday. The team did awesome and the pieces I have predominantly coached are all going on to State. That was a great feeling! Not that I can take credit for their success - the kids worked hard and pulled off great performances. But, it does make me feel like I'm not a detriment to the team, so that's nice.
The husband and I are taking off this week to Seattle to visit friends for the holiday. This means I'll be away from the computer for a while. But don't worry, I'll be back with more inane baby updates soon. Happy Thanksgiving people of the Internet. I hope you have much to be thankful for!
As if that doesn't make me nervous enough, I got a message Friday evening that they wanted to reschedule me for the following week. Ummm....no. I've had this appointment for a month, my appointment was later in my 1st trimester than I had hoped for*, the day she suggested to reschedule conflicts with other doctor appointments, many peoples' schedules were altered so R could be come with me, etc. etc. Also, don't leave this kind of message on a Friday evening and make a pregnant woman freak out all weekend long. Thankyouverymuch.
*There is research indicating that the minuscule complications to the fetus are decreased if the CVS is performed earlier. I'm not trying to be all, hey, I'm important and get me an appointment when I want because I want it.
Anyway, I returned the call. Everything is fine. Tomorrow a big ol' needle will be punched through my stomach and into my uterus...uh, hooray, I win?
Am I nervous? Yes. I have a high pain tolerance and have many piercings; needles don't generally scare me. BUT, for some strange reason having a big needle go straight through my abdomen and into one of my organs is a little disconcerting. I don't know why. I guess you just can't plumb the depths of the human mind.
Oh, and guys, get this. Our baby is humanish now!
 |
| Look, it has eyes and a liver and everything! (source) |
In non-baby news, the high school drama team that I've been volunteering with participated in Divisions on Saturday. The team did awesome and the pieces I have predominantly coached are all going on to State. That was a great feeling! Not that I can take credit for their success - the kids worked hard and pulled off great performances. But, it does make me feel like I'm not a detriment to the team, so that's nice.
The husband and I are taking off this week to Seattle to visit friends for the holiday. This means I'll be away from the computer for a while. But don't worry, I'll be back with more inane baby updates soon. Happy Thanksgiving people of the Internet. I hope you have much to be thankful for!
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