Is all kinds of wiggly. My I.F. isn't going to name her until she's born, and since it's not my place to give her a proper name, I have dubbed her "Princess Wiggle-Worm." My I.F. finds this amusing, so perhaps it will even stick! Wouldn't that be hilarious?
I developed a birth plan last week, and showed it to my I.F. for his approval. We're going to go over it in more detail later on, but for now it sounds as if he's alright with most of it.
Oh! So the second round of plague turned out to be a systemic allergic reaction to the erythromycin I was administered by my regular doctor. Was it my regular doctor who discovered this? Nope. It was the obstetrician. I went to his office the Friday following our ultrasound looking like I had lost a boxing match with a kangaroo. Fun. Anyway, it's mostly cleared up now, but I have now developed two blocked lubrication ducts in my right eye. I suspect this may have something to do with the fact that I had to spread vaseline around my eyes while I was recovering from the allergic attack, so that the skin around my eyes wouldn't crack and bleed. That was fun. Hopefully these will resolve themselves soon and it will be life as usual again.
Hopefully.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Illness and Better News
Last Wednesday night I went to see the doctor for itchy, puffy eyes. Of course, I thought that it was conjunctivitis (pink eye), so the NP gave me a prescription for erythromycin to treat it. On the way home I was suddenly attacked by several different forms of The Plague. The battle was short but hard-fought. I tried to summon my immune system to provide backup, but it was being kept busy in the general area of my navel, protecting the little bun in my oven. And so my defenses fell and The Plague took over. For five. Freaking. Days. Over the course of these five days, what was left to me of my Immuno-Forces was able to slowly beat back The Plague, with the help of Robitussin DM, Vicks Vapo-Rub, Sleep, My Mum, My Hubs and My Munchkin. I'm still a little plague-ridden, but it's on the run. During the course of this epic battle, I discovered that the erythromycin was not fixing my eye problem. So I sent Hubs out to contract with the forces of Claritin, to see if that might help, and fired the eye goop. This helped. A visit to the doctor again last night provided an extra antihistamine and a prognosis of "stop using the blanket your mother-in-law gave you, as it seems to be the only variable since you left home." My eyes are currently looking like they're about 90 years old, but at least I can see through them now!
Today I got to go to the big hospital for the final ultrasound! This was the anatomical one where they check to make sure the baby has all its bits and that those bits are working as they should. It's also the one where they can tell what the baby's sex is! HUZZAH! Thankfully, my I.F. wanted to have this information, so I can now safely tell all that IT'S A GIRL!!! The doctor said she's in perfect condition, is exactly the right size for her date (which as of today is 18.6 weeks), and all her bits are working perfectly. (He said "perfect" a lot.) This means that the chances of chromosomal abnormalities is down to no more than 1%, which was a relief to I.F. He was more worried about that than finding out the baby's gender. He didn't really mind which sex the baby was, just so long as she was healthy.
Don't bother asking me about names for the baby. She will be named after she's born.
P.S. Hubs and I are thinking we'll start trying to get pregnant for ourselves around December, 2011-January, 2012, barring other people's needs (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!) or unforeseen circumstances.
Today I got to go to the big hospital for the final ultrasound! This was the anatomical one where they check to make sure the baby has all its bits and that those bits are working as they should. It's also the one where they can tell what the baby's sex is! HUZZAH! Thankfully, my I.F. wanted to have this information, so I can now safely tell all that IT'S A GIRL!!! The doctor said she's in perfect condition, is exactly the right size for her date (which as of today is 18.6 weeks), and all her bits are working perfectly. (He said "perfect" a lot.) This means that the chances of chromosomal abnormalities is down to no more than 1%, which was a relief to I.F. He was more worried about that than finding out the baby's gender. He didn't really mind which sex the baby was, just so long as she was healthy.
Don't bother asking me about names for the baby. She will be named after she's born.
P.S. Hubs and I are thinking we'll start trying to get pregnant for ourselves around December, 2011-January, 2012, barring other people's needs (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!) or unforeseen circumstances.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
It's Holiday Time!
And that means going to visit the in-laws! While this may seem a daunting concept for some, I'm really freaking excited!!! I love spending time with Mom and Dad, as well as my sisters-in-law, brother-in-law and nephew! XMas Eve is usually a good time with the hubs' paternal aunts, uncles and cousins, and then XMas Dinner with his maternal family (after opening presents and all that) is generally a good time. We even got first-class train tickets to get there! HUZZAH! No trying to sleep during the 16-hour overnight trip in cramped seats that don't fully recline!
As for the little one: It will be 15 weeks tomorrow. We have another ultrasound and blood test to complete the chromosomal abnormality screening on January 11th, and a follow-up with the OB on January 14th. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! This ultrasound will be the one that tells us (as long as the baby isn't overly modest, as my own munchkin was in-utero) what sex the baby will be! I can't wait!
As for the little one: It will be 15 weeks tomorrow. We have another ultrasound and blood test to complete the chromosomal abnormality screening on January 11th, and a follow-up with the OB on January 14th. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! This ultrasound will be the one that tells us (as long as the baby isn't overly modest, as my own munchkin was in-utero) what sex the baby will be! I can't wait!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Ultrasounds and Blood Tests
As of November 9, I was not quite ten weeks pregnant. The hubs, my IF and I went to the big hospital for an ultrasound and our first OB appointment. The baby's shape wasn't yet fully defined, but it had little arm and leg buds and a fairly clearly defined head. It also had little finger and toe nubs and did a little "dance" for us while it was on-screen. It was pretty cute. I think my IF got a kick out of that. He seemed very excited when we got out into the hall.
The doctor ordered a glucose tolerance test for me that day too, which honestly I found kind of insulting. Yes, I'm a bit overweight, but I don't look like what the scale says I am. Anyway, I failed that test, so the doctor ordered a three-hour glucose tolerance test for me, which I was able to do locally. They took a vial of my blood to get a baseline for my sugars, then made me drink ten ounces of yuck (I now fully understand what a diabetic feels like when they try to drink non-diet soda. ICK!). Then they drew my blood three more times: once each hour after I drank the glucose crap. The results came back perfect. Huzzah!
So yesterday, we had another appointment. This one was an ultrasound as well as blood draw, as part of what the doctor called an "integrated test." It's a three-part test to determine chromosomal abnormalities. Yesterday they measured the nuchal fold at the back of the baby's neck to make sure it isn't too thick (both the ultrasound tech and the doctor assured us that the nuchal fold measurement is not alarming, but that the results of the ultrasound have to be coupled with the results of the blood work to come up with a number which dictates risk factor for chromosomal abnormalities. In other words, we won't know for 2+ weeks.)
Anyway, the baby has ten fingers, ten toes, a head, a nose, a mouth, etc. It really is a little wiggle worm. It was squirming and opening and closing its mouth (practicing gulping and breathing with the amniotic fluid). It even yawned and waved its little hands around! It also did a 180-degree flip while the ultrasound was going on! The heart rate was 150 (smack dab in the middle of the range they dictate as "normal"), and the tech said it measured at 13 weeks, 1 day.
The doctor also said I am "perfect." In other words, he couldn't find anything wrong with me or the baby so far, and officially marked me down as a low-risk, normal pregnancy. It was also suggested, during our visit, yesterday, that a baby's size at birth tends to have more to do with the carrier's history than the baby's biological parents' genes. Which, if this is true, means that my IF can expect a good-sized baby, since my munchkin was 8lbs, 10oz at birth; 21 inches long, with a honkin' 13.5" head! Can we say level two episiotomy, folks? Whew!
Fortunately, they no longer let expectant mothers go more than 7 days over their due date, so this one will probably be closer to the 8lb mark if it does go late. Speaking of which, my due date is JUNE 8, 2011!
Also, for those who are curious: As far as we outsiders are concerned, the baby is still an "it" for now. Sex organs do not become apparent until about 18 weeks, so you'll all have to wait for our January 11th appointment to find out the gender. This also assumes that the baby is less modest than my monkey, who was determined not to show us her bits in-utero. Modest little bugger. :P
The doctor ordered a glucose tolerance test for me that day too, which honestly I found kind of insulting. Yes, I'm a bit overweight, but I don't look like what the scale says I am. Anyway, I failed that test, so the doctor ordered a three-hour glucose tolerance test for me, which I was able to do locally. They took a vial of my blood to get a baseline for my sugars, then made me drink ten ounces of yuck (I now fully understand what a diabetic feels like when they try to drink non-diet soda. ICK!). Then they drew my blood three more times: once each hour after I drank the glucose crap. The results came back perfect. Huzzah!
So yesterday, we had another appointment. This one was an ultrasound as well as blood draw, as part of what the doctor called an "integrated test." It's a three-part test to determine chromosomal abnormalities. Yesterday they measured the nuchal fold at the back of the baby's neck to make sure it isn't too thick (both the ultrasound tech and the doctor assured us that the nuchal fold measurement is not alarming, but that the results of the ultrasound have to be coupled with the results of the blood work to come up with a number which dictates risk factor for chromosomal abnormalities. In other words, we won't know for 2+ weeks.)
Anyway, the baby has ten fingers, ten toes, a head, a nose, a mouth, etc. It really is a little wiggle worm. It was squirming and opening and closing its mouth (practicing gulping and breathing with the amniotic fluid). It even yawned and waved its little hands around! It also did a 180-degree flip while the ultrasound was going on! The heart rate was 150 (smack dab in the middle of the range they dictate as "normal"), and the tech said it measured at 13 weeks, 1 day.
The doctor also said I am "perfect." In other words, he couldn't find anything wrong with me or the baby so far, and officially marked me down as a low-risk, normal pregnancy. It was also suggested, during our visit, yesterday, that a baby's size at birth tends to have more to do with the carrier's history than the baby's biological parents' genes. Which, if this is true, means that my IF can expect a good-sized baby, since my munchkin was 8lbs, 10oz at birth; 21 inches long, with a honkin' 13.5" head! Can we say level two episiotomy, folks? Whew!
Fortunately, they no longer let expectant mothers go more than 7 days over their due date, so this one will probably be closer to the 8lb mark if it does go late. Speaking of which, my due date is JUNE 8, 2011!
Also, for those who are curious: As far as we outsiders are concerned, the baby is still an "it" for now. Sex organs do not become apparent until about 18 weeks, so you'll all have to wait for our January 11th appointment to find out the gender. This also assumes that the baby is less modest than my monkey, who was determined not to show us her bits in-utero. Modest little bugger. :P
Friday, October 29, 2010
Work and sleep and puke
Well, not all the time anyway. Just once in a while. The nausea is getting old, though. I can't wait for the first trimester to be over with.
Had an ultrasound on October 21st to check on the baby's size and heart rate. The doctor said the Little Bean is right smack-dab where it ought to be as far as growth goes, and it has a good, solid, healthy heart rate of 129 beats per minute (as of that day. It increases as it grows, of course.) It was so cool to watch it wiggle with each beat. Unfortunately my I.F. wasn't able to make it to that appointment, but the IVF doctor has released me into the care of a regular obstetrician with the expectation that this will be a normal, healthy, singleton pregnancy.
So our first OB appointment is going to be November 9th. It's so much fun getting two completely separate people's schedules to coincide enough so we can both make it to the appointment. And the hubs is going to come, too. I wonder if the OB staff will think the two men are gay, since I made it clear that I'm a surrogate? :P Probably not, as hubs is very affectionate (have I mentioned that I LOVE that?) The OB is going to try to squeeze us in for another ultrasound that day, which will be nice for my I.F. since he wasn't able to make it to the seven-week one.
Had an ultrasound on October 21st to check on the baby's size and heart rate. The doctor said the Little Bean is right smack-dab where it ought to be as far as growth goes, and it has a good, solid, healthy heart rate of 129 beats per minute (as of that day. It increases as it grows, of course.) It was so cool to watch it wiggle with each beat. Unfortunately my I.F. wasn't able to make it to that appointment, but the IVF doctor has released me into the care of a regular obstetrician with the expectation that this will be a normal, healthy, singleton pregnancy.
So our first OB appointment is going to be November 9th. It's so much fun getting two completely separate people's schedules to coincide enough so we can both make it to the appointment. And the hubs is going to come, too. I wonder if the OB staff will think the two men are gay, since I made it clear that I'm a surrogate? :P Probably not, as hubs is very affectionate (have I mentioned that I LOVE that?) The OB is going to try to squeeze us in for another ultrasound that day, which will be nice for my I.F. since he wasn't able to make it to the seven-week one.
Monday, October 4, 2010
PREGNANT!!!
As of 3:00 Wednesday afternoon, I have confirmation of pregnancy! My hCG (pregnancy hormone) levels were at 89. This is a good number. I was asked to go back in for a second blood test three days later (Saturday). I was looking for hCG levels around 180+. They were at FIVE HUNDRED SIXTY THREE! A rise this dramatic in my hormone levels could mean either a ridiculously healthy baby or... *drum roll please*... Multiples. (No, I do not get to keep surplus babies.) My IF is still nervous and doesn't think he'll settle down about all this until after week 12. Admittedly, the first trimester is the most tentative, but I have faith in my bits. :)
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Transfer Complete.
Saturday 9/18/10 the hubs and I drove down to the Fertility Clinic for the embryo transfer. Everyone says it went very well. Personally, I think they could have been a LOT more gentle with the speculum (aka. COLD MEAN DUCK LIPS!) but if it results in a healthy baby, I can live with a little roughness in the girl bits.
Of course, now we play the waiting game, at which I am terrible. Every symptom, real or imagined, means something to me, and I will not be settled until 9/29/10 when I go up to the Big Hospital to have my blood drawn for pregnancy testing.
KEEP FINGERS CROSSED AND SEND ME LOTS OF STICKY VIBES AND BABY DUST!!!
Of course, now we play the waiting game, at which I am terrible. Every symptom, real or imagined, means something to me, and I will not be settled until 9/29/10 when I go up to the Big Hospital to have my blood drawn for pregnancy testing.
KEEP FINGERS CROSSED AND SEND ME LOTS OF STICKY VIBES AND BABY DUST!!!
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