A Great Week!

Sixteen Weeks

Lots of fun this past week!

We enjoyed a fantastic jam packed weekend getaway in L.A. with Bill and Doug. Friday night we ventured to Universal Studio’s Halloween Horror Nights (and I survived!) Saturday afternoon we met up good friends Lori and Stephan and saw the sites and sounds of the Santa Monica beach area. In the evening we were treated to a wonderful Italian dinner at one of Bill and Doug’s local fav hang out. All topped off with the highlight (and reason for the trip), watching John Williams conduct the L.A. Philharmonic at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. It was the perfect weekend!

Our Tuesday morning doctor appointment was positive and today I was received wonderful news.

The nurse called this afternoon with our quadscreen results. Everything looks good! Each of the four tests came back with great numbers, and according to the nurse I/we are at less risk than the general population (in my demographic group) for having a baby with Down Syndrome, A true answer to our prayers.

Along with the test results I was able to reschedule my 20 week doctor appointment to coincide with my 20 week ultrasound. So we’ll have the results of the ‘biggie’ on the same day, in person with the doctor. Yippee! And the best part...both are scheduled on Jack’s birthday! Double yippee! The gender reveal and anticipation is (almost) killing us so we will defiantly be quizzing the tech for the sex of our little bean. I can’t think of a birthday gift for daddy!

Taken on the Santa Monica Pier

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Another Fun Appointment!

15 weeks, Four days

Today we had our 15 week appointment. Looks like I passed my first round of blood tests with flying colors...an A+ in fact! Okay.... I’m an A positive blood type, but a positive is a positive and I’ll take it! Everything looked good, including the test to see if I was a carrier of Cystic Fibrosis gene, (I am not).

It was a short visit, more blood tests, a routine pap smear, cervix sample, the ‘quad screen test’ and a fun surprise for us both at the end.

The quad screen is a prenatal test that measures levels of four substances in a pregnant woman's blood:

• Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), a protein produced by the baby's liver
• Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a hormone produced by the placenta
• Estriol, another pregnancy-related hormone
• Inhibin A, another pregnancy-related protein.

Typically, the quad screen is done between weeks 15 and 20 of pregnancy. Results of the quad screen indicate your risk of carrying a baby who has certain developmental or chromosomal conditions, such as spina bifida or Down syndrome.

If your risk level is low, the quad screen can offer reassurance of a healthy pregnancy. If your risk level is moderate or high, you may choose to follow the quad screen with more invasive diagnostic testing — such as amniocentesis — to determine whether the baby actually has Down syndrome or other developmental or chromosomal conditions.

Soon after we sat down with the nurse, Jack asked if we would be having an ultrasound this visit. The nurse said one was not scheduled and they weren’t typical at fifteen weeks but we could ask the doctor.

We didn’t have a whole lot of questions this time. No, I could not overdose on fish oil, 3,000mg per day was okay. Airborne is safe to take while traveling. The Swine Flu vaccine is not yet available (maybe in a couple weeks). And if I do come down with flu like symptoms while we are on our trip to ask for Tama flu asap.

We said goodbye to the nurse, made the gown change and waited for the doctor. Sure enough, as soon as he had the opportunity, Jack quizzed the doctor and asked if we could see the baby today. After a bit of hemming and hawing the doctor reluctantly gave an ‘I’m sorry guys, not this time’. I think we were both were a little disappointed, but completely understood. I asked as a conciliation prize could hear the heart beat he assured us that was a for sure each visit.

But sure enough, once the physical portion of the exam was over, the doctor conceded and said we could take a quick peek at the baby. It’s amazing how fast those lil’ things grow! The fingers were longer and the knuckles defined, elbows were bending and arms waving, we were able to see each vertebra in the spine, and hear the little heartbeat (measuring a healthily 150 beats per minute).

And to add to all the cuteness....the lil’ thing had the hiccups! It was fun to watch the little bean hop around like that, it was a great end to a good appointment.

From The Bump

Continuing the march towards normal proportions, baby's legs now outmeasure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably still can't feel the movements.

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Holy Smokes!

Holy Smokies!

Today was a first, my introduction to a baby consignment sale. Oh my, oh my. I’ll have to admit, I was a bit intimidated this morning at 8:55am when I pulled into the Pickering Barn parking lot and saw so many women sporting crazy wrap contraptions and slings pulling little babies from their car seats. Maybe there were only a dozen or so but it looked like an entire sea of wheeled strollers.

But there I was, me and my 13 week bad dad self was on a mission...and I was ready to dive into Lord only knows what.

I was so happy to instantly spot Meghan a dear (seven and a half month along) co-worker, as soon as I rounded the corner to the entrance. Meghan is the first and only person I’ve directly shared the news with at work. Since then she has been an absolute gem - hooking me up with fantastic books, websites, info and more info. Today she shinned again.

Note to self: Future baby shopping trips should be made with peeps that know their baby stuff (and prices). I had no clue what half the stuff was (or what was a deal and what wasn’t).

Lucky for me Meghan pointed out the hits and the misses, the today must haves, and things to be on the look out for on Craig’s List.

I didn’t push a shopping cart out like some, but I did score three nice new treasures: A Fisher Price vibrating chair thingy with a mirror and hanging bunny, a Jungle play mat with a cool palm tree and happy looking animals, and a oversized ‘C’ shaped body pillow - all in excellent condition for very reasonable bargain basement prices. After loading them up in the car I had to stop for a second and stare. They looked so foreign and unfamiliar.....I wonder how long that’s going to last.

Fun History....
One of my first dates with Jack was a trip to the Saturday morning farmer’s market at the Pickering Barn. It was such a special place for the both of us it just seemed fitting to hold our wedding ceremony and reception there. How fun that the same place we exchanged our vows almost two years ago is the same place I made our first purchase for our new bundle of joy to come.

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