Growing Sideways!

Well, it's official. Our little monkey is growing sideways. It's kind of funny. I've always had love handles...but these are out of control! And my belly just looks kind of chubby. I don't suppose the chicken wings I just ate are helping the cause. But that is not normal to eat such crap. We were eating salads for dinner, and Dave had put buffalo sauce on his. On the back of the bottle, was a picture of hot wings. I made the mistake of telling Dave they looked good. He's been itching to get Mulligan's garlic wings for weeks! Well, that was all it took. He would pick them up after dropping some movies off at Jodi's...which is right by Mulligan's.

They were delicious:) I didn't need them though.

I looked at some pictures of other people that are 16-weeks along(http://tinyurl.com/4jqt6c), and they are huge (click ahead to week 16). I mean way pregnant. I don't look like that. Just chubby looking with bigger "girls". I would feel better if I looked like them. Then I wouldn't look like I was a puffy person.

If he wants to grow sideways then so be it. As long as he's growing. I did start adding veggies to my meals. At my last appointment, the doctor said I really should. I made mention of my bland eating habits, and she said to add more veggies.

Our next BIG appointment is our BIG structural ultrasound on May 1st. Keep us in your thoughts for this one. We're going back to Dr. Muise. This is where everything when to shit last time. Pardon my language, but it's the truth. If we can get through this appointment (on Dave's birthday), we'll have a new milestone. A great big ultrasound.

Here's what is going on this week..
How your baby's growing:At 4 1/2 inches long (head to bottom) and 3 1/2 ounces, your baby is about the size of an avocado. In the next three weeks, he'll go through a tremendous growth spurt, though, doubling his weight and adding inches to his length. His lower limbs are much more developed now. His head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved toward the front of his head. Your baby's ears are close to their final position, too. Some of his more advanced body systems are working, including his circulatory system and urinary tract. His heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, circulating his total blood volume through him body many times. (By the end of your pregnancy, this will increase to about 190 quarts.) The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his hair isn't recognizable yet. Although closed, his eyes are moving (slowly), and he's even started growing toenails.

Really Long Time

Wow. It's been a really long time between posts.

I celebrated my 30th birthday on March 28th! That was a lot of fun. We had a little get together at Marinko's Saturday the 29th that David organized and it was so great to have our families and friends there.

Last weekend, one of my best friends, Jenny, got married. I was the matron of honor, and had an absolute blast. By the time Sunday morning rolled around, I felt like I had been through a grinder and/or ran a marathon. Kind of pathetic. I was up Saturday at 6:30 AM and didn't get home until 1:30 AM. I felt like the Energizer Bunny. Every muscle in my body was sore. It was ridiculous. My shoulders hurt the most though from wearing a strapless dress. I was so afraid of slouching while standing next to Jen at the altar or in all of the pictures, and now I'm paying for it.

As for the monkey in my belly, he's doing great. I feel great, and I'm finally caught up on the lost sleep from the weekend. My mom told me to stop dancing and to sit while I was at the reception, but I ignored her and danced the night away while sucking down one water after another. It was so much fun and worth being tuckered out. I'm so jealous that Jen is in the Bahamas now.

I'm in the second trimester now. That's good. I guess that starts around week 14. Today I'm 15weeks and 1day.

I still don't have a huge appetite, but I eat. Dave likes to remind me that "the boy" needs protein. Whatever. Cheez-Its are good too. He's seems to be growing via my love handles instead of my belly. That's annoying. But hey, if he's growing, and comfortable, I'll take it.

Since we've been telling a few more people, we've received some really nice cards and emails. Lots of love is coming our way, and offers for prayers. We're taking them. Never will you hear the Shafer's turn down a prayer. That's one of the advantages of telling people. After the excitement and congratulations, people immediately tell us they'll keep us in they're prayers.

I found a really funny link on my babycenter.com website. I haven't been too diligent about adding the food comparisons, but they have a cute picture slideshow that compares all the weeks of a pregnancy to a size of a quarter. Check it out.
http://www.babycenter.com/slideshow-baby-size
This might default to the size of an apple picture, because that's how big he is this week. But, click the first picture that compares a poppy seed to a quarter. It's really a fun little illustration.

OK. I'm off to watch American Idol and put the laundry in the dryer. Fun stuff. I'll get back to posting more regularly. Our next appointment is on Thursday, so hopefully everything will continue to be fantastic.

One last thing. The week 14 information says that "His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth". How can he keep peeing in the fluid that he's growing in. I've got to ask my doctor about that. It's kind of gross, but really interesting. Did you know that?

Best News Ever (so far)!!!

Yesterday, we received the best news! First from UH that the NT Scan went great. To quote the doctor, he said "textbook perfect".

Then, when we got home, Sheila from Metro called to give us our CVS results :) The chromosome picture came back great! The DNA test for the OI came back negative! And...we're having a BOY!!!! I'm just stunned!

The news was so overwhelming at first. I swear, weeks of stress just melted right off of me, and David and I cried. We just hugged each other and smiled. It was the best. The best!

David, the one who has been "Mr. Patient" was telling me he had to shower. We were trying to figure out dinner, and I was like, "I'll still bake the chicken, etc."

Now, he was then "Mr. Impatient" telling me, "Oh no, we gotta tell people today!". I loved it. I was so excited because I was ready to go. So, we grabbed Subway, made the rounds (I'll write about that later) and didn't get home until 11:00 PM.

I didn't sleep last night. Just so excited. Kept waking up to having dreams that I was telling people it was a BOY.

We are obviously realistic enough at this point to realize that all these good results don't guarantee us anything. And that until we have a healthy baby in our hands, there will be some nerves. But, we're taking the highroad today and celebrating our excitement :)

I'll post the pictures soon. He was moving around like a sea monkey yesterday for the ultrasound! It was great!

11W3D -- Appointment Today

We had a good appointment today. Unfortunately we had to wait almost an hour. This is a disadvantage with our new doctor. She's popular. I scheduled her first appointment of the day for our next one in April. Hopefully this means it will start on time.

We heard the heartbeat today. It took a few minutes (literally) for her to find it which was stressful. While she was looking, we at least heard that "swoosh" noise of the baby moving around. I was ready to break out the ultrasound machine that was next to me. I was able to record this baby's heartbeat on my phone too. I have Angela's recorded and saved.

I have gained four pounds. I don't believe this to be true because I barely eat! And, the other day I was down two pounds! Well, I need figure this out because I'm in a wedding in three weeks!!!! As I'm typing this, I look like I have a fat gut. Maybe I did gain weight. Crap!!!

Next Tuesday is our NT scan. And all the other results from last weeks testing should be in by the end of next week. Telling the family in only a matter of days!! That will be fun.

I asked the doctor about my headaches. She said that 1) I need to eat and 2) I need to drink. And that by the time I'm thirsty, it's already too late, and the headache might kick in. So, I'll be drinking more water starting tomorrow. I thought I was already drinking enough. A side from chocolate milk (low fat) and gingerale, it's all I drink!

Oh, and the other dumb question I asked her was if I could use a tanning lotion before Jen's wedding so that I'm not the pasty white girl. She said I could, but didn't really seem keen on it. She just said I should make sure it's ok or read the ingredients. So I asked her if there was one she recommended, and she said "No." Dave thought that was so funny because my doctor is "brown" as my co-worker Bridget would say (Brig is brown too!), so why would she recommend a self-tanner. Well, my response to him is that I'm sure she has a rainbow of patients, and I'm a pasty girl! I can't fancy I'm the first person that has ever asked this question in the history of the world. Bridget will get a chuckle out of this one when I can finally tell her.

So that's that. I'll try to figure out how to post the heartbeat video/audio.

Two of our three March appointments are over. Looking forward to wrapping up early next week and then letting the good news flow!

Tired.

So, yesterday, Dave said to me, "you know...you've been tired a lot more this pregnancy then before". I don't know why this truth made me feel so defeated, but it did. I have been tired. I've taken some more naps. And honestly, I don't always feel that great. I seem to get a doozy of a headache more often, the kind that feels like a pebble just sitting on a brain vessel and throbbing. Naps seem to help. Silence is good. And I know I can take Tylenol, but I choose not to. I had to take a lot of stuff when I had the sinus infection, and that really was warranted. This, this feels manageable.

Food most often doesn't sound good. Poor Dave. My idea of dinner is a baked potato. My sense of smell is so keen that at Giant Eagle today, the smell of one of the samples almost sent me out the front doors. If I do eat, it's not much. Or, it makes me nauseous.

The things I want to eat, are crap! For example, the ultimate pregnancy craving for me is potato chips with cream cheese. YUM!!! This was a childhood snack and has made it's return for both pregnancies! Or, Pillsbury crescent rolls :) Or the Hershey's Take Five that I bought and ate on the sly today :) Like I need to hear it from Dave that I keep saying nothing sounds good, and then I eat that :)

Right now, I am attributing the tiredness to stress, or the relief of stress. The test last week just took the wind out of my sails. Not physically, but mentally and emotionally. This past week my friend Gretchen's son Sam had surgery. It didn't go as well as expected, and now he's in the hospital for 7-10days. This just broke my heart for them. Gretchen and I had the same due date, which makes Sam extra special to me. Sam has had so much trouble eating and crying and in pain. And I hurt for them that it got this far before someone properly diagnosed it. Than God they were relentless in seeking care. And while I am devastated that Angela is not here, I never saw her in pain, and Gretchen has only seen Sam in pain for almost 4-months. I know the sun is around the corner for them, and the good days will be coming, and that hopefully a few weeks from now, Sam will be comfortable and the happy little boy he is. I just wish my friend did not have to go through this. Like I know she wishes the same for David and I. She will be so excited when I tell her we're pregnant! On the phone today, I mentioned how I didn't feel great yesterday, and she said all excited "ooh...maybe you're pregnant?". Of course I wanted to scream "Oh YES I AM!" but I refrained.

A bachelorette party that I had helped plan was supposed to be last night. But you can thank the lovely Cleveland weather for dumping 20"+ of snow over the weekend for cancelling that. I think this contributed to my stress headache. Fortunately, we have been able to reschedule for next weekend, which will be a lot of fun.

And finally, today is March 9th. A year ago today I took my first positive pregnancy test. When I think of the year that has passed. All the good and bad, well, that takes the wind out of my sails too.

We are so lucky to have the lives we do. To be pregnant again. To know the excitement our families will feel when we tell them. To be healthy.

Two Weeks +/- a Few Days

Today was a big day. I actually slept well last night. This was a surprise for me considering how poor I've been sleeping, and how anxious I've been about this test. When we had the amnio, it was within 24-hours of knowing we needed it. This appointment has been scheduled for two-weeks, and we've known we would get it since November.



The day started just fine. We were getting ready to go and vote early, and my sister called. I stopped in my tracks thinking "How does she know?". She just called to tell me to turn on Fox News because they were at Ohio University for election coverage. This brief conversation calmed my nerves. It was like an angelic intervention that made me think, "OK. She doesn't know, but she called...so that is a good luck sign".



We got to Metro early. At about 8:20 AM. Our appointment was at 9:00 AM. We met with our counselor, and she just covered the basics and told us what we already knew. At this time, I was told to drink 20 ozs of water. Which I was. You need a full bladder to do the ultrasound. So, we wrapped up with her at 9:20 and then went back to the waiting room. By this time, I had to pee. Metro is a unique hospital. Half the patients in the waiting room should have been in high school study hall...but I digress.

So, they called us back at 10:00 AM. The did an ultrasound on the bean, and boy was s/he moving all over the place! It was hilarious looking. It was such a relief to see that s/he was moving and still had a heartbeat. I guess that was the first hurdle for the day. After they were were assured that the bean was over 10-weeks (minimum age for this test), our doctor came in. She had to do the ultrasound before they got started. And this was funny because I really had to pee, but I didn't want to complain. I had even said to Dave that between the cold gel on my belly and them going up my "Who-who", I was bound to burst. Two seconds after she looked at the ultrasound, she gave me a cup and told me I could pee until the cup was full. She said my bladder was so full (hey, I follwed the directions!) that she was afraid I would pee on her!
So, I filled the cup, and felt much better. It's not easy to start peeing, and then stop midstream. I dare you to try it :)

The procedure wasn't bad. Dave was great as usual. He was so supportive all week when I told him my nerves were getting to me. Sometimes, it was funny, because he knows more then most men should know. I had told him at one point that a girl on the boards described it like getting a Pap. So, Dave reassured me and said, "this will be a walk in the park. Like getting a Pap. You just had that done. No big deal." Or, I would say, "they are going to stick a needle up my who-who", and he would just reassure me that I would be fine. This man is terrified of needles! But, he was great. He told me what I needed to hear. He held my hand, said he loved me, and you cannot ask for more then that.

The good thing is they took two samples. One to do the chromosomal testing. One to do the DNA testing. By taking both, they are able to run the tests in parallel versus one, then sending the genetics to Seattle. Our doctor used to play doubles with the doctor in Seattle, and she called him "Brilliant". That's always reassuring. She also was going to hand deliver my samples to UH today. She had an appointment over there. She actually told us she'll be joining UH in May as the director of fetal imaging. So, if we ever do this again, we can stick to UH.

Dr. Corteville has the best statistics in Cleveland. She's wonderful, and extremely nice. We both like her a lot.

Metro is a special place though. After the procedure, I had to go get blood drawn. This is done in case the bean is a girl. They need to make sure that they are testing her DNA and not mine. Well, the waiting room smelled like an ethnic party, and that's being nice. I felt like I was on Disney's "It's a Small World". To make the situation even more "special", there was the mother of a 13-year girl (and she only turned 13 in December) that was 25-weeks pregnant. Dave and I were like Oh My God! This lady is broadcasting it to the world on the phone about how her daughter is pregnant, etc. Yeah, the mom is only 30. I'll be 30 in 24-days, and the thought of having a 13-year just about sent me over the edge.

So far I feel great. I have to take my temperature twice a day for a week to make sure I don't get a fever (infection). I can't lift anything more then 5-pounds. And no running for a week. But, she did say I could do the bike in a few days.

Once we got home, Dave made lunch and then I took a 3-hour nap. I was pooped. I woke up to Dave making dinner, isn't he wonderful? He made chicken parm from scratch! Then we watched the Disney movie "Enchanted".

It's 8:30, and I'm going to call it a night. Back to work tomorrow. So excited to know that we will have so much information in just a few weeks! Then, we can spill the beans :)

A letter to our Angel

Dear Angela -

Tomorrow is a big day, and we need all of your strength. I'll be wearing you close to my heart tomorrow, and holding you close over the next few weeks. We have thought about you so much. Being pregnant again is a daily reminder of what we have lost...but we are making the most of it, and really are happy. We know we are blessed to have you as our guardian angel.

You've been with us for our first two appointments, and we plan to keep you close for all of them.

Loving you always...