Oh Boy!

Here are the pictures from yesterday's ultrasound!!

Profile Shot:


Close up of his face...look at that little button nose!!


The creepy Halloween picture...


And a little footsie.

If You Don't Want to Know Our Baby's Gender, Stop Reading NOW

Giving you time to navigate away from this page if you don't want to know our baby's gender..
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It's a .................................................................................................












.....boy.

Yippee!!! I have always wanted one girl and one boy, and so my dreams are fulfilled.

My very first baby dream during this pregnancy was about a little boy, so ever since then, I have just had a feeling that this time around, we would be having a boy. Then, when my morning sickness lingered beyond the end of the first trimester, I started to wonder whether my intuition was wrong and I was carrying a girl. However, I started feeling better, pretty darn great, actually, around week 14, so the boy thoughts kicked back in. Turns out I was right!

And there is NO DOUBT that this baby is a boy. Our sonographer was peeking around down near the baby's legs, and we happened to catch one shot in which the baby's legs were spread and there IT was, sticking up proudly as if the baby was saying, "Hey Mom and Dad! Check it out! No hands!" I know with some ultrasounds there is a shadow of a doubt because the sonographer isn't able to get a good view of the baby's goods...there's no doubt with our little guy.

So, we are very, very excited to be expecting a son. Even saying it out loud is unreal to me...I am having a son. How does one raise a boy? I have a daughter and a younger sister--I have no experience with raising boys!!! Luckily, I think my husband might have a clue on this one.

Another piece of good news came out of the ultrasound--based on the measurements taken and the very detailed look the doctor and sonographer had of the baby, our chances of the baby having Down Syndrome were reduced by 50%. Everything looks perfect structurally, and the baby isn't showing any of the soft markers that Downs babies show. The doctor was not able to find any major defects and told us that he didn't think any further testing was necessary. He wasn't able to rule it out completely, saying the only way to tell for sure would be to have an amnio, but he felt secure in reducing our chances significantly. Double yippee!!

I'll post some photos from the ultrasound once I have a chance to scan them in.

Origins

Tonight, on the walk home from school:

Grace: Mama, Aarie grew up in Green Bay.

Me: Yep, he did.

Grace: Know what else?

Me: Hm?

Grace: I grew up in Pink Bay. Really, I did, a long time ago.

I wonder what her favorite color is.

Batman vs. The Penguin

Aaron showed this video to me tonight, and it made me chuckle. Who knew the writers of the old Batman series were so prophetic? Enjoy!

Words of Wisdom

I promise that after the election, my posts will return to dealing with mainly my child and pregnancy and other details of life in general, but until then, I can't help but keep throwing my political opinions and thoughts out there, thinking that maybe I will reach someone. So, here goes another toss...

I was so, so pleased to hear that Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama. I was fortunate enough to be near a TV yesterday morning when Mr. Powell made his endorsement on Meet the Press (R.I.P. Tim Russert) and I was struck by his words and sentiments. Believe it or not, there are a few Republican leaders whom I admire--Colin Powell has generally been one of them (except for that whole Iraq War thing), along with (gasp) John McCain, before this election turned him into Dr. Evil.

See, he has the air quotes down and everything. Totally.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have grown increasingly angry with this whole election. One of the things I admired about John McCain was that during his campaign in 2000 he managed NOT to go negative against George Bush, despite the lashing he was taking by W and Karl Rove and the rest of that pleasant gang. Although I didn't agree with his positions and was a Gore supporter all the way, at least I respected him and felt he was taking the high road. This election, I see John McCain resorting to the same type of fear-mongering and lies that were used against him in 2000, and any respect I had for him is gone. What's worse is that the lies and fear that he and his VP candidate are spreading about Barack Obama are ACTUALLY taking hold--people actually believe and buy into this crap. I see a level of hatred and fear in people that I haven't seen in any election that I can remember, and much of it is due to McCain's campaign unapologetically sowing the seeds of fear and suspicion.

The latest of these attacks on Obama suggests that because of Obama's comments about taxes and "spreading the wealth", he is a socialist. Hearing Sarah Palin call Barack Obama a socialist is enough to make me toss my cookies, but the fact that people actually believe this is even worse. However, I was heartened to hear the following quote from Colin Powell today on CNN :

"...Now I guess the message this week is, "We're going to call him a socialist, Mr. Obama is now a socialist, because he dares to suggest that maybe we ought to look at the tax structure that we have."

Taxes are always a redistribution of money. Most of the taxes that are redistributed go back to those who paid them, in roads and airports and hospitals and schools. And taxes are necessary for the common good. And there is nothing wrong with examining what our tax structure is or who should be paying more, who should be paying less. And for us to say that that makes you a socialist, I think is an unfortunate characterization that isn't accurate.

I don't want my taxes raised. I don't want anybody else's taxes raised. But I also want to see our infrastructure fixed. I don't want to have a $12 trillion national debt, and I don't want to see an annual deficit that's over $500 billion heading toward a trillion. So, how do we deal with all of this?"

Words of wisdom that come during a time when it seems like sense and reason have been tossed out the window. Thanks, Mr. Powell, for speaking up for what is right instead of obediently towing the party line. It was a breath of fresh air.

Anniversary Weekend...Chicago Rocks

Last Thursday was our one year wedding anniversary, and to celebrate, Aaron and I decided to head down to Chicago, one of our favorite places, to relax and spend some quality time together this weekend. When we were dating, our very first weekend trip together was to Chicago, and we have many fond memories of that trip, so we figured Chicago would be a fabulous place to go to celebrate our anniversary.

After dropping Grace off with my parents on Saturday morning, Aaron and I boarded the Amtrak train at the airport in Milwaukee and enjoyed a leisurely trip down to Union Station in Chicago. (By the way, the train is the ONLY way to travel between Milwaukee and Chicago--with all of the construction on the way and gas prices still as high as they are, Amtrak offers a low cost and stress-free alternative.) Once in Chicago, we hailed a taxi to our hotel--Aaron had arranged our hotel accommodations in secret, so when we arrived at the Congress Plaza Hotel on Michigan Avenue, I was both surprised and delighted to learn we would be staying at the same hotel we stayed at during our first trip to Chicago together.

The room we stayed in at the hotel was certainly different this trip than it was during the first trip. During our first time, we stayed in a standard room, which was very nice, but this time, Aaron surprised me (again) by reserving a suite on the 11th floor with breathtaking views of Lake Michigan and Grant Park:

After getting settled in our room, we decided grab some lunch and then to walk over to the Art Institute of Chicago, where we spent a few hours enjoying at the wonderful art collection on display. I was particularly impressed by the sculpture gallery at the museum--I had been to the Art Institute before and missed this part, and I was very glad to have experienced it this time around. Then we browsed the gift shop at the museum for a while, and then decided to head back to the hotel to get dressed for dinner.

Our plan for dinner was to head to the Frontera Grill, which is one of Chef Rick Bayless' restaurants in Chicago. We watch Rick Bayless' cooking show pretty regularly on PBS, and ever since we discovered that he owns two restaurants in Chicago, we have told ourselves that we would check them out some time. I attempted to make reservations at the Frontera Grill before we headed to Chicago, but they were booked up. The hostess did tell me on the phone, though, that we could come to the restaurant and be placed on the waiting list, and that the wait was typically an hour to an hour and a half. Not so bad, we thought.

Well, we took a cab from the hotel to the Frontera Grill, and upon arriving we learned that the wait was going to be two and a half hours. It was already 6:15pm and this pregnant mama was hungry, so with heads hung in defeat, we walked out of the restaurant and decided to try and find something else. Problem was, we were in an area of the city that neither of us was very familiar with, so we walked aimlessly back towards the direction of our hotel in hopes of finding a decent place to eat (luckily it wasn't too cold out).

We did manage to stumble across a fabulous restaurant on Dearborn--the Trattoria Ten Restaurant. The place looks very unassuming from the outside, but once inside, we were pleased to find a fine restaurant with a cozy and intimate atmosphere. The service and the food did not disappoint, either. I savored a delicious meal of ravioli stuffed with asparagus and provolone cheese, and Aaron enjoyed pork tenderloin and marscapone potatoes. We lingered in the restaurant for a while, enjoying the quiet and intimate (and child-free) atmosphere, and then decided to walk back to the hotel for the night. On the way, we encountered an Old Navy store, and I was very pleased to find that this particular Old Navy had a maternity section. Score!!

This morning, Aaron treated me to an extra hour of sleep, which was an anniversary gift in and of itself, and then we ordered room service for breakfast. After we got ready, we took a stroll down Jackson Street to a Starbucks and then made our way to Barnes and Noble for some quick shopping before it was time to head back to Union Station to catch our train. Soon, we boarded our train heading back home and back to reality.

All in all, we had a fantastic weekend. A lot of the things we did this weekend were pretty similar to things we did that first trip to Chicago, but this time, I got to go home with Aaron instead of having to head back to Oshkosh alone, and that made this trip a million times better than the first.

For All of You Undecideds...

Because these two women wrote about this more eloquently than I could ever hope to, please take a moment to read these two blog posts about Wednesday's debate and John McCain's infamous air quotes when talking about abortion:

http://www.alittlepregnant.com/alittlepregnant/2008/10/why-no-one-with.html

http://www.myfunnyfunnyfamily.com/2008/10/httpwww.html

I don't understand how any woman or any one who cares about a woman could vote for John McCain after taking all of this into serious consideration. Anyone who reads my blog regularly or knows me at all knows that I am a Democrat through and through and that there was no way in hell I would vote for John McCain to begin with. However, after watching Wednesday's debate and after some serious thought, I just feel so ANGRY about this and the thought of John McCain possibly becoming our president makes we want to make a run for the border (and I'm not talking about taking a trip to Taco Bell). I am pregnant right now and perhaps that is why this is affecting me so much. As I think about what is taking place inside of me, one thing that scares the hell out of me is the idea that someone else could make a decision about what happens with my baby.

The other thing that I can't figure out is that anti-abortionists tend to oppose government intrusion into other parts of their lives but they think it's okay for the government to control the contents of a woman's womb. Huh? I just don't get it. It seems like faulty logic to me.

Whatever your political tendencies are, I would encourage you to research all of this a little further and consider the real danger that was lurking in John McCain's statements regarding abortion.

One Year Ago Today...

Pretty Fall Pics

Although I'm in denial that Summer is actually over and we are beginning the rapid descent into Winter Ickiness, I managed to pull myself together enough today to snap some pics of the changing leaves as Grace and I joined some extended family members at our cabin in the Northwoods.

Yeah, Fall is pretty, I suppose. :-)

S.O.S. and Other Happenings

Tonight, Grace attended her first peaceful protest rally. The Milwaukee Public School Board in its wisdom (read: stupidity) has proposed merging Grace's wonderful elementary school with another school in the Bay View neighborhood. This is a much bigger school located in a not-so-friendly area of the city and unlike Tippecanoe (Grace's current school), this other school does not have an arts and humanities focus, so that aspect of Grace's education hangs in the balance. And, the building that Tippe is housed in now would be used to house an at-risk school for overage students. I suppose this merger thing isn't all the school district's fault...lack of funding has forced the district to make some tough decisions and many small schools district wide have been forced to merge with other schools in order for the district to survive. It just sucks all around.

There are many reasons why our family (and many other families with children at Tippe) oppose this new merger. As I mentioned, Tippe is a specialty school, focusing on the arts and humanities, and even though the arts program may continue as part of the merger, I hate the thought of Grace not having this as part of her education. At Tippe, Grace gets to participate in all kinds of cool things--she takes regular field trips to see a variety of children's shows, her school has a special partnership with the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Milwaukee Symphony, and in first grade, students start learning to play a string instrument. I have a hard time believing all of those things and the other great things happening at Tippe would survive a merger with another, much larger school.

One of the other great things about Tippe is its size. Tippe is a small school, but it houses children in K4 through grade eight, so each class size is small and everyone knows everyone else. It amazes me every time I pick Grace up at night to see her waving at kids in different grades or to hear teachers in the upper grades calling her by name. It is a very close knit school, and it's a great feeling to know that my child is not just a number...she's cared about and known throughout the school.

Another huge benefit that Tippe offers us is its location. We can literally see the school out of our living room window. Aaron walks Grace to school each morning, and every night, I park my car in our driveway and walk over to school to pick her up. We don't have to worry about bussing Grace across the city, driving her to school in inclement weather, or having to find parking at drop off and pick up time. It's so convenient, and having Grace at Tippe makes us feel like a real part of our neighborhood. If this merger happens and we end up having this at-risk school for overage students a block from our house, you can rest assured that our house will be on the market faster than Sarah Palin can say "maverick".

When Grace and I first moved to Milwaukee, I was hesitant to have Grace attend one of Milwaukee's public schools because I have heard some not-to-great things about the district. However, from the moment we toured Tippe almost a year ago, I knew that this would be the right school for Grace, and I felt secure sending her there. If the district decides to close Tippe, not only will they be doing a huge disservice to the students and the neighborhood at large, but they will be losing one of their families--I'm not sure I could send Grace to another MPS school.

Tonight we attended a protest rally at Tippe that was intended to draw media attention to the merger in anticipation of a vote coming up on October 23rd. My heart broke watching my little girl holding a sign and chanting, "Save Our School."

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Much to my surprise, I am sorta enjoying pregnancy this time around. My pregnancy with Grace was difficult...at this point in my pregnancy with Grace, I will still puking my guts out daily and generally feeling terrible every single day. The first trimester of this pregnancy had me worried that I might have a repeat performance of pregnancy #1. But, although I still have my moments where I feel like crap, I have noticed a pretty significant energy boost within the last two weeks, and I'm actually able to enjoy food again. The key for me has been a combination of eating almost continuously throughout the day and sleeping as much as possible. Turns out this pregnancy thing is actually pretty tolerable. And, I have been feeling some gentle baby kicks over the past week or so, and that makes it all worth it.

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I'm almost ashamed to say it, but I fell asleep during the debate last night. I couldn't help myself...Barack was doing pretty well and I was lulled to sleep by the old dude with the shiny head. The one thing in the debate that stuck out for me was hearing John McCain refer to Barack as, "That one." OMG...could he BE any more condescending and disrespectful? McCain looked like a desperate, angry old man who was hosing down a pesky kid whose was trying to retrieve a ball out of his yard.

And seriously, John, I am NOT your friend. So stop calling me that.

This Debate is Making Me Want to Pull My Hair Out

Either I am going to pull my hair out or lob my lap top at the TV. I've always been a huge Joe Biden fan so I have a bias here, but watching Sarah Palin at this debate is literally making me crazy.

How about actually answering the questions that are being asked instead of telling us what a "maverick" you are.

It's NU-CLE-AR not NU-KU-LER.

Get those bangs under control.

Wipe that contented, self righteous smile off your face. You probably think you look and sound smart. Guess what...you don't.

Yes, Alaska is a big state. GEOGRAPHICALLY. As Aaron just reminded me, Alaska has a smaller population than the city of Milwaukee. Get over yourself.

I think it's so sad that Sarah Palin will be looked at as a success in this debate just because she didn't embarrass herself or her party. It was clear that she was coached on a set of talking points and she stuck to them. But I am left feeling like we deserve more than a set of talking points.

And Joe Biden kicked ass. Just my opinion.

Happy Birthday, Aar

One of the best days of my life happened 35 years ago today, and I wasn't even born yet. Happy birthday to the other half of my heart.

Not That I Want to Sound Like a Fair Weather Fan, But...

...Aaron Rodgers sucks. And, for that matter, the Packers sucked today. The offense sucked. The defense sucked. The special teams sucked.

And, by the by, Brett Favre had one of the best games of his career today. He set a touchdown record for the Jets. Man, we could have used that arm today.

I hate to be one of these people who keeps remembering the good ol' Brett days, but when I see Aaron Rodgers cowering like a little wussy on the sidelines after some little injury, forcing the Packers to throw in some rookie QB (who looks like he's twelve years old), I can't help but remember the MANY times I watched Brett play injured, puking or bleeding or both, and rally the Pack to victory. He has what a lot of players don't have...he has grit. John Wayne grit. And that grit was sorely missed today.

At least the Brew Crew won and the Mets lost today, so the Brewers are in the playoffs. Yeah, baby.

Injustice

One of the greatest injustices about being pregnant is that if you get sick while pregnant (sick meaning something other than morning sickness), you can't take any of the good drugs that the non-preggos get to take. And while you're not getting much-needed relief from said drugs, you're supposed to eat well and rest as much as possible. But you can't do either of those things because your head is so full of snot that it feels like it's being squeezed in a vice grip.

Yeah, I'm sick. I knew it was coming...virtually everyone in my office is sick and since we all breathe the same stale recycled air everyday, I knew it was just a matter of time before the plague would descend on my cube. Sure enough, a couple of days ago, I started with a sore throat which graduated into a nasty head cold yesterday, which morphed into this horrible sinus pain, congestion, phlegmy thing that has me clinging to my couch for dear life today. Oh, and for some reason, there has been a nasty morning sickness resurgence this week, probably due to all of the phlegm and the fact that I can't bring myself to eat anything of substance.

I called the doctor's office today to find out what I could take to find some relief, and the answer was (almost) nothing, even though the nurse was quite sure I have a bad case of the flu that will probably last 7-10 days. Tylenol for the headache/fever. Robitussin for the cough. And that's it. I can't even take Sudafed, because although my blood pressure has been awesome recently, I had blood pressure issues when I was pregnant with Grace, and so Sudafed and any other cold medicine is out of the question for me because it could raise my blood pressure. Ugh. So, I'll sit here with an ice pack on my head to try to get rid of some of the excruitating sinus pain and try to shove some food down my gullet.

(One good thing about being stuck on the couch all day--I got to watch day time TV for the first time in ages, and I also got to see the "English Patient" episode of Seinfeld. Classic.)

Perfect Sunday

Our lives are generally pretty crazy, what with both Aaron and I each working an average of 50 hours per week and spending nearly every weekend on the road, either visiting family or friends, so when we have a day or two during the weekend at home, we tend to take complete advantage of the situation and do something fun around the city. Lately, Grace has been mentioning to us that she wants to go to Apple Holler (since she went there once with day care and loved it), which is an orchard/restaurant/farm/petting zoo located about 30 miles south of Milwaukee, and being that Autumn has been in the air and I have been jonesing for some apple cider, we decided to go to Apple Holler today.

I was surprised at the huge crowd of people at Apple Holler when we arrived, but then it made sense to me when I remembered that the Packers play late tonight. We immediately headed over to the food area to participate in the yummy brat fry that was taking place, and then we headed to the orchard to go on a hay ride. (Hay ride is a misnomer--it was more of a trailer-being-pulled-by-a-tractor ride, but it was fun nonetheless.) During the ride, we were afforded a look at the vast expanse of the apple orchard as well as a tour though an enchanted forest, complete with leprechauns and elves and animals of all kinds (wooden, but still cool) and jugglers and strolling flutists (actual humans). Grace was beside herself with excitement, screaming, "Elf! Leprechaun! Apples! Juggling guy!" I had to laugh.

After the ride, we rented a wagon and headed back out to the orchard to pick our apples. I was so impressed with the size of the orchard and the wide variety of apples that were offered. We started off in a large area of Golden Delicious apples, and for the first time in my life I picked an apple off of a tree and ate it immediately. Grace was just amazed at the apple trees and the fact that we could just walk up to one and pick off some fruit to eat. Good stuff. We spent a long time in the orchard, looking at the different apples and just enjoying some peace and quiet outside. We ended up with a half bushel of apples of all different varieties (I made sure we threw in plenty of Cortlands--my favorite variety) and then when we were tired and full of fresh apples, we pulled the wagon back into the main grounds and spent the rest of the afternoon shopping, sitting on hay bales and listening to live music, and watching Grace play in the super fun kids' area.

(The only thing that made me sad about Apple Holler was the apple cider, which I was looking forward to. Being a preggo, I have to make sure that things like apple cider are pasteurized before I drink them, but when I asked a worker whether or not the cider is pasteurized, I received the very vague answer that the cider is "gently pasteurized". Hmm. When I probed for further information, I was told that instead of traditional pasteurization, Apple Holler used ultraviolet rays to pasteurize their cider. We ended up buying a gallon anyway, but I've done some research tonight, and it seems that the jury is still out on that method of pasteurization. So I'm not drinking any of the tasty cider. Sad.)

On our way home from Apple Holler, Aaron and I chatted about all of the things we wanted to do with our pile o' apples. One of the things we decided to do, along with making apple pies, applesauce, apple jelly, and canning apples, was to make apple dumplings. As soon as we got home and Grace woke up from her car nap, Grace and I made a batch of homemade apple dumplings together. Grace and I haven't done much baking together recently, and I had forgotten how much fun it is to bake with her. And she is so freaking good at it!! I watched in awe as she mixed ingredients and flawlessly rolled out the dough and formed the dumplings perfectly and placed them gently in the pan. And then she helped me clean up with as much gusto as she put into making the dumplings. What a kid.

Grace and I wrapped up the evening cuddling on the couch, watching Sesame Street and talking with Aaron about our fun day. I love my family more than anything, but days like today remind me that life is so fantastic with a family of my own. Yes, it is hard sometimes, and sometimes I need a little break, but the most fun that I have and the most fulfilling moments that I enjoy are with my little family. We had the most perfect day together and I will go to bed with a smile on my face.

Now, if we could just get those Packers to look a little better tonight...

And The Golden Stirrup Award Goes To...

...my new obstetrician, Dr. Fabulous. Ok, that's not REALLY her name, but she's that awesome. And if any of you are in Milwaukee and seeking an OB-GYN, call me, email me, whatever...I'll give you her name. And good luck getting in to see her, because she's so totally booked.

Anyway, today was my monthly prenatal checkup and given the results we received earlier this week from my first trimester screen, I was eagerly anticipating this appointment so that I could discuss those results with my doctor.

After checking the usual stuff at the beginning of the appointment (all of which was fine), the doctor asked us if we had any questions regarding the results. We started off by telling her that at this point, we have decided not to undergo any further testing because we know we would not terminate the pregnancy either way. Dr. Fab told us that based on the results, this approach sounded reasonable. She also suggested that since I have an anatomy ultrasound scheduled on October 28th, perhaps we could take a close look at the results from that study to see if everything looks okay anatomically. She told us that sometimes an ultrasound done at that stage of pregnancy can pick up some anatomical characteristics (or lack of) that Downs babies can have. So if everything looks good on the ultrasound, then we don't need to do anything else, but if something is found on the ultrasound, then maybe we could revisit the idea of further testing solely for preparation purposes. Basically, she said that yes, she would be a little concerned, but she wouldn't freak out at this point. Sounded reasonable to us.

I also asked her about my low levels of the PAPP-A hormone and what dangers that would pose to our baby later on in pregnancy. Ironically, Dr. Fab just attended a conference on this very thing this week, and she told me that about half of the doctors who attended the conference thought the whole PAPP-A thing is bogus (and I had the vague sense that she was one of those doctors) while the other half of the crowd thinks it's a valuable measurement that should be followed closely. She told me that the position at Froedtert, the hospital where I will be delivering and the hospital my doctor is associated with, is that women with low levels of this hormone will have two fetal non-stress tests per week during each week after 34 weeks, one ultrasound per week after 34 weeks to ensure baby is still growing properly, and they will not be allowed to carry the baby past their due date. I should probably start preparing my boss now.

The other thing that Dr. Fab said in regards to the PAPP-A thing is that she has had several patients with the same issue that I have, and none of those patients has had a single problem because of it. Consider me reassured.

The highlight of the visit was hearing the baby's heartbeat. Since my appointment was later in the afternoon, we had to bring Grace with us because keeping her at school till 6pm just didn't seem like a prudent idea. Grace was excited to come with, but she was extra excited when Dr. Fab told her that she would need her help finding the baby's heartbeat. Dr. F had Grace pull up a chair by the table, squirt the doppler goo on my belly, and then together they probed around my belly until we heard Tater's heartbeat loud and clear. Grace's eyes grew wide as she listened, and Dr. F even had Grace listen to both my heartbeat and Tater's so that she could hear the differences in the rates of the two. It was a very cool moment for all of us. Aaron and I have been very careful to make sure Grace feels as included in this whole process as possible, and Dr. F really stepped up to help that happen. I am so grateful.

Anyhoo, it was a good visit. And now it's time for my nightly bowl of Cookie Crisp before passing out on the couch.

Put the Needle Down and Back Away Slowly

Last week Thursday, I had my first trimester screening test done. The test consisted of an ultrasound and some blood work, and the main purpose of the test in general is to find out the probability a baby has of having certain genetic disorders (Down Syndrome being the main one). It's a test that is done to obtain a probability percentage of the baby having a genetic disorder, and based on that percentage, parents can decide whether or not they want to undergo further testing (amnio, CVS) to find out for almost certain whether or not the baby will have some sort of a disorder.

At first, Aaron and I decided that we were not going to have the test done since it's optional. We were so thrilled that we were able to get pregnant again so quickly after our miscarriage earlier this year that we didn't even consider needing any further testing. However, after my first visit with Dr. Fabulous and seeing our little one on an ultrasound, we decided that it wouldn't hurt to have the first trimester screen done. After all, it would give us another opportunity to see our baby via ultrasound, and given the fact that I am only 30 and Aaron and I don't have any genetic disorders in our familites, we figured the probability of something being wrong was relatively small.

The nurse from the Maternal Fetal Care Center called me yesterday with the results of my screen. There were two sets of results. The first dealt with Trisomy 18 (aka Edward's Syndrome), which is a genetic disorder in which the baby has an extra 18th chromosome. The prognosis for these babies isn't very good--the baby can have heart abnormalities, kidney malfunction, and other scary things. Based on the results of my testing and my age, the baby has a 1 in 740 or .013% chance of having this disorder, so those results were very reassuring to me.

The second set of results dealt with Down Syndrome. Given my age alone, the chances of the baby having Down Syndrome is 1 in 490. However, based on the results of the bloodwork and the ultrasound, the probability increased to 1 in 22, or just shy of 5% (4.55%). The reasons that the probability went up so much is because I have a higher than normal amount of hCG in my blood and a lower than normal (but very close to normal) amount of the PAPP-A hormone (which measures the health of the placenta).

When the nurse delivered that news, she kept saying, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," and the whole time I was thinking, "Wait, you just told me that my baby has a 95% chance of NOT having Down Syndrome. Why are you apologizing?" I asked her this, and she told me that having a probability of 5% is considered a positive result for the screening and that further testing is warranted and recommended. She went on to tell me that the two tests that we could consider to find out with almost total certainty whether or not the baby will have a genetic disorder are chorionic villus sampling (a placental biopsy) or amniocentesis. And then she proceeded to convince me with all of her might that I should have one of these tests done. "We can do the CVS tomorrow if you want!" "Or today!" "Anytime you want!" "We can have the results back in one day!" "You can rest easy!" I could almost feel her pulling me through the phone and into the clinic.

Whoa biatch. Put down the needle and step away from my placenta.

First of all, if the baby does have Down Syndrome (and chances are very slim that it does), we wouldn't do anything about it. We would keep the baby. No question. Also, both the CVS and the amnio carry a risk (albeit a small one--about 1/2%) of miscarriage, and I just had one of those, so I don't want to risk having another one when we could lose a perfectly healthy baby. That and the thought of having a needle shoved in either my cervix or my abdomen freaks me the hell out. Some women may jump at the chance for this testing--I am not one of those women.

I am almost wishing that I hadn't had the screening done, just because we knew from the beginning that no matter what the results were, we are keeping the baby, and now we are going to have this miniscule chance of the baby having a genetic disorder in the back of our minds for the rest of the pregnancy. My mom said something very wise when I talked to her about this. She works in an OB-GYN clinic, and she said that sometimes she thinks that there are too darn many tests nowadays. Normally I don't agree with the whole "we used to do things this way and you kids turned out fine" logic, but I had to nod in agreement with her when she told me she had two blood tests done with both of her pregnancies and she's glad that was all that was offered to her.

I have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow and I intend to talk to her about this at length. I am pretty sure (because she is fabulous) that she is going to be supportive of our decision not to have further testing done. The one thing that did concern me and I need further clarification on is the low levels of PAPP-A. From the research I have done (and the information out there is sparse at best), low levels of this hormone can indicate future problems with the viability of the placenta in the third trimester--and this requires increased monitoring during the third trimester--and also can indicate an increased risk of preeclampsia. Since I had high blood pressure when I was pregnant with Gracie and needed to deliver early because of it, the preeclampsia thing scares me a bit.

We'll see what Dr. Fab says tomorrow. More to come...

What Does Eating Almost a Pound of Dried Apricots in One Hour Spell?

D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R

or maybe

G-A-S

or even better

C-R-I-P-P-L-I-N-G N-A-U-S-E-A


One thing that I have discovered with this pregnancy is that as long as I am not hungry, I am able to keep my nausea under control. Another thing that I have learned is that foods that I normally would crave (McDonald's fries, greasy Mexican food, sweets) now make me sicker than sick and as long as I stick with dense foods that are bland and filling, I am good to go. Today, as I choked down some saltines smothered with chunky peanut butter at work, I decided to make a dietary change and give fruits and veggies a try, so I headed down the street to the Fresh Market to grab something healthy for lunch.

I headed straight for the dried fruit section, where I picked up a tub of dried apricots and a tub of cinnamon-coated dried apples. I also grabbed some pita chips, organic fruit roll-ups, lime seltzer water, along with a cup of turkey chili and a Caesar salad for lunch. Good stuff, methinks.

Well methinks wrong. The turkey chili made me gag at the first sniff, and the dressing on the Caesar salad had an overpowering egg smell, also making me gag. I glanced at the rest of my purchases and zeroed in on the dried apricots. Dense? Check. Relatively bland? Check. Filling? Check. I dove into the tub of apricots, and for the first time today, I felt human again.

I brought the tub of 'cots with me into a client conference call I was participating in this afternoon with my boss and her boss. At first, the other two ladies in the room chuckled at my huge vat of apricots and marveled at the fact that I had eaten at least half of them, but when I explained that they were working with my stomach and that I was feeling good, they gave me the, "Yeah, you're so totally pregnant" shrug and moved on.

Then, halfway through the call, I must have started to turn green because my boss's boss grabbed the apricots away from me and hid them behind her laptop where I couldn't see them anymore. I spent the rest of the day doubled over, alternating between painful gas pains and agonizing bouts of nausea. I even left work a little early so I could head home for some couch time. As of right now, hours later, I am still suffering.

I am thirteen weeks pregnant today. I thought this nastiness was supposed to be waning by now.

What's Up, Homey?

Hey y'all, my name is Tater*. Here is my very first picture:


It's a little fuzzy, but this picture was taken last Thursday when my mommy and daddy went to visit the nice ladies at the hospital where I will be born to have my first trimester screening test. So far, everything looks good. I have a nice heartbeat of 167 bpm, I have two arms and two legs, and Mommy thinks I have Daddy's nose. At first I didn't want to cooperate with the nice lady who was doing Mommy's ultrasound--the lady wanted me to lay flat on my back, but I was all nice and cozy, sleeping on my side. Mommy decided to play a trick on me, though...she coughed really hard and that woke me up and made me dance around for a while, and finally I settled back down on my back, and that made everyone very happy.

These days, I am just hanging out in my warm, cushy world, sometimes making Mommy feel pretty sick, but mostly just growing and growing. Mommy and Daddy will have more pictures to show in another six weeks or so, when Mommy has another ultrasound!!

*The name Tater evolved due to the very first baby dream Mommy had after she found out she was pregnant with me. Mommy dreamt that I was a little baked potato, and Daddy decided that until I am born, they would call me Tater. Works for me...the name Mommy and Daddy had originally picked was The Dude, but I don't like that one as much.

Music to My Ears

Tonight, upon arriving home from running errands:

Grace: What are we doing now?

Me: We're going inside to watch Sesame Street then we're going to bed.

Grace: Then what are we doing?

Me: Well, after we wake up in the morning, we're going to school.

Grace: Yay! I want to go to school EVERY SINGLE DAY!!

Needless to say, the kiddo is loving her new big kid school. She comes home everyday singing new songs, telling me all about her "cool new friends", and reliving all of the exciting events that took place that day. I told Grace tonight that I used to love going to school when I was little, and she said, "Oh, me too, Mama. School is SO COOL!!" Music to my ears, kiddo.