Prenatal Visit #2

OK, I've been a delinquent blogger. Work has been absolutely insane (we've been working 10-11 hour days) and, as a result, my freelance work has been painfully back-burnered, and my blog is suffering for an update! OK, enough with the "whoa is me" dramatics:

Back up three weeks... Mike came along with me to my second prenatal visit. It wasn't too eventful, so I'll try to keep it brief: check in at front desk; wait in uncomfortable chair (both our butts fell asleep); get called by nurse; step on scale and try not to look; pee in cup; almost spill entire said cup on bathroom floor but recover quickly and spill only a few drops (yes, I cleaned it up!); go in exam room and hop up on table; blood pressure; wait for doctor; "Any questions or problems?"; just a couple (can I use my topical acne products: yes; what can I do to get some more sleep: Tylenol PM) and nope.

And then, came the good part... well, pretty good. We got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. It wasn't quite what I expected. At 12 weeks along, the uterus is just beginning to come over the top of the pelvic bone, and man, did that make it hard for my doctor to pick up the heartbeat! It took her a little while (and a lot of breathtaking pressure with the doppler on my abdomen), but she found it - for a couple seconds. A little anticlimactic, but it was reassuring to hear it, nonetheless. Things are good. See you in four weeks.

About a week and a half ago, I also had my first-trimester combined screening. It's basically an ultrasound and a blood test (this one was just a finger prick and 6 drops of blood, thank God!) where they are able to determine your baby's risk for Down syndrome and other possible chromosomal abnormalities. We heard on Friday that the tests came back negative. I honestly wasn't too worried about the test results, since neither Mike nor I have a family history of Down syndrome or other abnormalities, but the results do lend us some peace of mind. Next we decide if we would like to have AFP testing - a second trimester screening that also checks for Down syndrome and other abnormalities - but at this point, I think we are going to decline this next round of testing.

My pregnancy has been progressing well, as far as I can tell! My friend Meagan who is expecting a baby girl on December 1st remarked that I've had a pretty easy pregnancy so far, and despite all my complaining that I'm sure Mike would attest to, I've got to say I agree.

I made it out of my first trimester without throwing up (although we were on a boat in the SF Bay yesterday, and I thought I was going to lose it!), I'm not quite as tired as I have been, and my queasiness is all but gone - and on that note, I no longer have to have a full tummy to keep from feeling nauseous! So far, I've gained about 5 pounds (depending on the day of the week, it's either 5 or 7), and my cravings for processed cheese aren't as strong as they used to be. Hopefully I'll start showing soon, because I've got to admit, I'm feeling a little self conscious around people who don't know I'm pregnant but can tell I'm carrying a little extra weight. I'd say the only unpleasant addition to my second trimester (so far) has been pretty regular tension headaches in the afternoon, but nothing that can't be solved with a couple regular strength Tylenol. Oh yeah, and forcing myself to sleep on my side, ugh.

Hopefully next week, we will find out what we are having so we can start to pick a name and stop calling the baby "it." Mike has decided he's not going to offer up any suggestions until we know if it's a boy or a girl so he can save himself the extra work of thinking of two names. Pretty funny if you ask me.

Our first wedding anniversary is next Monday, and it's kind of odd to think it'll be the only one for quite some time that we won't have to worry about finding a sitter. *sigh* I promise to enjoy every minute of it.