It's a...

Sorry it's taken a week to update but I wanted to be sure all the Christmas cards made it out and I'm pretty sure they have!  If you can't tell already we are having a girl and will be naming her Madalyn.  When we found out last week I thought it would be fun to announce to everyone in our Christmas card, so that's what we did.

The appointment went well on Friday.  Heart rate 154 and everything looked perfect!  I was told that the elevated number could be a sign of issues later on in pregnancy such as preeclampsia and poor growth.  Since I had an abnormal level I will be going in for ultrasounds every 4-6 weeks!  When I decided to do this screening I was only expecting an extra ultrasound or two and now I'll be going back every month.  I'm hoping that my parents will be able to make the one in January.

My friend talked to a coworker who does the screening at their company and was told that the elevated AFP does not mean there's a higher chance of preeclampsia.  Plus my normal range might be slightly higher than "normal".  It's interesting to hear another person's knowledge.

I also had an appointment with my regular doctor on Monday.  Heart rate was 159 (I MAY have gotten the two heart rates switched, but oh well!).  My doctor is not worried about the elevated number and even told me that artificial reproductive assistance, sometimes those numbers are elevated.  Like I said, it's interesting to hear other opinions and knowledge!  I go to see her again in January too.

I started feeling M move around every once in a while.  Every time I try to feel her from the outside she stops!  Hopefully hubby will be able to feel her soon too.

Elevated screening numbers

This morning I got a message from the Genetics Counselor for me to call her back.  I knew right then something was up because the last time when all my numbers came back great the nurse just left a message saying that everything checked out okay.

Finally, when she called me back the Down's Syndrome and Trisomy 18 went down to a 1:5,000 chance but my AFP numbers were slightly elevated.  The AFP is looking at open neural tube defects, i.e. spina bifida.  My number was 2.87 and the cut off is 2.5.  I was told not to worry because it's slightly elevated and I already have an ultrasound scheduled for Friday.

Today I was told I'm crazy because I'm more excited about seeing my friend on Thursday and getting to eat some BTT for breakfast with her on Friday.  Dont get me wrong...I'm excited about seeing the baby on Friday but I dont care if it's a boy or girl so I'm not on pins and needles waiting to find out.  My friend also gets to see the baby with us!  I cant wait till I can feel the baby moving because then I would know it's still there.

We're slowly working on rearranging the house.  Instead of moving around one room for the nursery we have to rearrange three rooms!  The office is going to become the girls' room, the girls' room is going to become the nursery, and the office is being moved to the dining room.  I also added a small bookcase to our bedroom for my books.  What a pain!

First piece of nursery furniture

Today I was amazed at how quickly I got in for my blood draw.  I signed in and not even 10 minutes later I was called back.  Needless to say I was getting daggers stared into my back!  LOL, or at least that's what the nurse said.  I dont even want to know how long the other ladies had been sitting out there but obviously they needed an ultrasound down or were there to see the doctor.  I've learned in my many visits to the doctor's office, if someone doesn't have to wait very long to be called back it usually means blood work or something like that.  It always takes longer if you have to see the doctor.  It's frustrating but I'm glad it was my turn today to be called back immediately.  The next appointment is at 7:40am so hopefully it wont be a long wait to be called back either!

We bough our first piece of nursery furniture last weekend!  We bought a used short/long dresser and I plan to refinish it.  I have several ideas but first we need to find out if baby is boy or girl.  I have also found the crib online and plan to order it in the next week.  I believe I have found the ONLY crib that does not convert to a full size bed.  It is still a convertable crib but only converts to a toddler bed.  Do you know how hard it is to find a non-convertable crib?!  Nearly impossible!  I am okay with one that converts to only a toddler crib.

So far we only have a girl name picked out.  We've had names picked out for a few years but I no longer like the boy name.  I'm not going to worry about a boy name until after we find out if baby is a boy or girl.  Shawn is hoping for a boy and I dont care either way.  I do hope Shawn can have his son but all the girl things are so cute!  Either way I'm okay.

2nd trimester

I cant believe I'm already to to second trimester!  Actually I'm on my second week in it!  Everyone says it gets better with this trimester but I have to brag and say the first trimester was a breeze!  I only get sick when I'm needing to eat.  I do like my naps but I've always liked my naps, so that's nothing new.

I had an appointment on Monday.  It was a quick listen to the baby and on my way.  Heartrate was 156.  I go back to the specialist for more bloodwork on the 26th and again for an ultrasound on December 7th.  I go to my regular doctor again on December 4th. 

I also found our ornament for this year at the mall!  I like to get an ornament every year and this year was no different.

12w 2d

Today was the First Trimester Screen.  And I even got a see a girl I went to nursing school with because she worked at the clinic!  It's always a nice surprise to see someone you know.

As the Genetics Couseler was talking to me about the screening, she noticed I was referred there bc "I wanted the screening".  I'm low risk for everything since I'm 30 years old but I thought it was stupid that they had that writtin in my chart.  It was offered to me and I thought why not do the screening.  We get more ultrasounds and if something may be wrong we'll be prepared in advance.  Nothing is wrong with that.

Today we did bloodwork and ultrasounds (I even got 3d ultrasounds).  I go back in 4 weeks for more bloodwork and then again 2 weeks after that for another ultrasound.  And we should be able to find out if it's a boy or girl at that appointment.

Today the baby's heart rate was 169 and it was moving all around.  It was kicking it's legs above the body, moving it's arms in front of it's face and would jump up every once in a while.  This is the first time we've been able to see baby move!

Now on to my pictures!  There are two 2d pics and two 3d pics and Sarg's Facebook announcement from Tuesday.  Enjoy!

11 weeks 1 day

I finally had an appointment with my doctor.  We did the normal exam thing, some blood work, and some paperwork.  I learned what to expect during my appointments at what not.  I have to say that I still love my doctor!

During the exam, the doctor wasnt able to hear the heartbeat with the doppler because of my backwards uterus, so I got another ultrasound!  Honestly, I think she really wanted to do an ultrasound so she didnt try to hard to find the heartbeat.  We hoped the baby would move for us but Diamond decided to sleep, the doctor even pushed on my stomach some and it didnt even phase Diamond!  We were able to see the heart beating away at 160 bpm.   We even looked at Diamond from a different direction and it looked like Diamond was just sitting in there.  It was really neat to see because you can see the legs and arms and I swear I can see a face on my picture!

This week is the First Trimester Screen.  I'm not too sure what to expect.  It's bright and early on Friday morning because I'm hoping Shawn can make it to the appointment.

My last shot!!!

Today is the day!  I'm 10 weeks, so that means my last shot is tonight at 9:30!  I'm so excited that I wont have to do anymore after today.  And I'm sure Shawn will be glad he doesnt have to give me anymore.  I started taking Progesterone right after the egg retrieval and my sore bottom will be glad that this is the last dose!

Anyone who goes through IVF has to take Progesterone until 10-12 weeks (depending on the doctor) because all the hormones pumped into the body to make all the eggs messes up the Progesterone production during the beginning of pregancy.  AFfter a certian point the placenta should start taking over the Progesterone production, which is around 8 weeks or so from my understanding.

My next appointment will be with my regular doctor next Thursday.  I hope she does an ultrasound but they werent sure if they would since I had one done two weeks prior.  I will have one done the next week for sure because I am going to have the First Trimester Screening done.