20 Week Ultrasound and OB appt.

After checking in with the main office, I was sent to the u/s suite. I met Kevin there and we actually got called in about 5 minutes early. The whole ultrasound part took about 45 minutes. We got to see a lot of GV moving around and Kevin kept asking me if I could feel it. Then came the time for the u/s tech to ask us if we wanted to know. We said yes and she looked in that area. It's a boy!! He was lying on his tummy and didn't want to move.  The u/s tech tried moving him by pushing in but he wouldn't budge. She had me flip onto my left side and then my right side and still nothing. Then she told me to empty my bladder and still nothing. He was not budging from his tummy. Kevin said he was already acting like me because I'm impossible to get out of bed in the mornings. Everything looked great - two arms, two legs and a nose. We got to see the heart beating and it was in the 140s. He's actually measuring ahead when they measured - usually in the 21w range. He's 14oz already and in the 75 percentile. Since he didn't want to move we didn't really get good shots of him till later on in the ultrasound.
Here he's got his arms up in front of his face.

And then a sort of profile shot we were able to get (that circle above his tummy is his fist).

Then we got to watch him move his arm up over his head and turn away from the "camera."

The OB appt went well. They have my weight gain as 10lbs which is right on target for the first trimester. All my tests came back okay and no blood drawn at this appt. Oooh, I have to go back in a week for another u/s. Because he wouldn't roll over they didn't get all the measurements of his heart. They said nothing was wrong with the measurements they did get, but they have to have a complete set before they'll sign off on him.

20 Weeks

How far along: 20 Weeks 1 Day
Total weight gain/loss: +5.5 lbs. Yesterday was a big eating day. After mass, we stopped at I.HOP and then we had a late dinner. Speaking of weight gain though, when Les went in for her teeth cleaning she was 39.6 lbs! Two weeks ago when she went in for her yearly appt, she was 36.2 lbs! And last month when she went in for her rabies shot, she was 34.8 lbs. That dog is gaining weight faster than I am!
Maternity clothes: Normal clothes, although my maternity jean are really comfy. I think another couple of weeks and I'm going to have to switch over completely.
Sleep: I'm torn between sleeping with the L-shaped pillow and without. With is easier and more comfortable when I am asleep but since I toss and turn at night I wake up more when it's around. Without it I don't relax completely because I'm paranoid about sleeping on the tummy, but I don't wake up as much.
Food cravings/aversions: Nothing major or different from last week.
Gender: 2 days till we might find out.
Movement: So I think I'm feeling movement in the mornings before I get out of bed, in the evenings while watching TV and sometimes when I settle down for the night in bed. It's strange because I want to feel GV so much and then when I do feel something I'm like "oooh, what was that" and then like 5 seconds later I realize that it was probably GV and then I'm sad because I didn't realize it when it was happening.
Best moment this week: Movement!
What I miss: Nothing.
I am looking forward to: Seeing GV!
Weekly wisdom: Nothing here...
Milestones: 20 weeks! Half way there. In Kevin speak - 50% downloaded!
Special Request: Kevin's job is most likely going to be outsourced this summer (great timing, right?!?) but they're not being told for sure yet. He has decided to go for another position in the company that isn't in danger of being outsourced. His interview is today so please please if you could spare a little prayer for him, we would really appreciate it!

Updating...

Yesterday Les got her teeth cleaned. Apparently her gums were really inflamed. They put dogs under when they're doing deep cleanings. When I got home (Kev and Dave were at agility class) she greeted me at the door but she wasn't her usual jumpy excited self. Her tail was down, her ears were down and she had these big glassy eyes looking up at me. So after I put my stuff down, we had a bit of a cuddle. Which was nice because she isn't usually a cuddly dog. Anyways she was kind of out of it the rest of the evening. Hopefully she'll be more like herself today. They put an IV in her so she has a shaved bald patch on her leg. Her skin is very spotty! Like a dalmation! Who knew she had spots under all that white fur.

Less that a week to go till I see GV! I'm excited but a bit apprehensive. Before our first ultrasound we saw Marl.ey & Me on TV. Yeah, the ultrasound scene really scared the crap out of me...that's what put the whole blighted ovum thought in my head. Then last night we were watching the latest episode of Ugl.y Bet.ty and it was the same thing! While we're watching it, Kevin tells me "Don't pay attention!" because I think he knew just how crazy M&M got me.

Most mornings after we wake up and I take my levothyro.xine, I usually have to pee. Afterwards I get back into bed and Kevin and I lie there listening to the radio station. Sometimes if I'm very still I think I feel GV moving. I'm not sure if it's real or just my stomach rumbling but I'm choosing to believe that it's Garden View.

19 Weeks

How far along: 19 Weeks 3 Days
Total weight gain/loss: +3.5 lbs, although I feel much heavier lately...
Maternity clothes: Normal clothes. A little snug but technically they still fit.
Sleep: The L-shaped pillow is working for the most part - preventing me from going on my tummy. However it's annoying to switch from side to side because you have to move the whole thing and it's super bulky under the covers.
Food cravings/aversions: Still like potatoes, still avoiding beef for the most part. Although I do like spag and meatballs so we have them every week! Good thing Kevin is running a 10K in March!
Gender: 1 week from today Kevin and I will be standing there trying to decide if we want to know...
Movement: Nothing yet. Chicken tells me I shouldn't worry because she wasn't sure of movement till she was 21 weeks. The other morning I thought I felt two "flutterings" but I still think I might be making it up.
Best moment this week: Les titling!
What I miss: Not having a sore ute. Especially since I've been moving around more because of indoor soccer and agility. Last night Kevin had to take over at agility class because I couldn't run comfortably.
I am looking forward to: Feeling the baby move!!!
Weekly wisdom: Nothing here...
Milestones: My ute has reached my belly button! Hopefully I'll start looking pregnant soon!

Trial #4

Sunday night Kevin, Dave, Les and I headed down to Cary/Raleigh, NC for our fourth agility trial. It was a three day trial but we decided to only compete on Monday. After the fiasco that was Day 2 at our last trial (too long to explain), we decided against a second (or third!) day. Les was signed up for her usual Standard, Jumpers and Snooker events as well as a Pairs course (first time without Dave!) and for the first time a Gamblers course. Dave did Standard, Jumpers and Snooker.

First up Snooker. Dave ran first, she wasn't too distracted so we managed to score 18 points but we didn't finish the closing so no qualification for us. She did finish 4th in the class, one place away from a ribbon! Les did well, scoring 45 points, but another team scored 46 points and a second team was slightly faster than Kevin and Les so she ended up in third. But she qualified and it was her third qualification, so she titled!

Les is now a Performance I Snooker dog! This means that she'll move up to Performance II Snooker courses in future trials. The courses will be a little more difficult and the time will be a little shorter for her to do it in.

Next up was Gamblers. This was a Les only event. Kevin and Les did well in the opening (and Kevin learned how long 25 seconds really isn't) but couldn't finish the gamble in the time allowed so while she was able to score 13 points, it wasn't enough to qualify or place.

Then we had Standard. Dave was the second dog to run and she did really well! She had a bit of a problem laying down on the "table" but her weave entry was really good and she did all 12 of them first time through! We finished strong but she was 3.08 seconds too slow so no qualification. She did place third though. Les went a little later and also had a good run. A little hiccup at the weave poles though but luckily she finished well in time and so she qualified again! This is her second qualification. Only one more to title!

Pairs was the fourth event of the day. We decided to retire Dave from Pairs competition because we thought it was taking too much out of her to do so many events. So Les paired up with a cute Chinese Crested dog we met at the trial. Les was first up and for some reason jumped off the teeter before it had hit the ground so she was marked off for that. The other dog ran well too, but since this course is scored by time + faults, they were over the qualification mark. They did come in first though! Of course that's because they were the only dogs in the class.

The last event of the day was Jumpers. Since Dave and Les were the only dogs in their class we thought for sure that we had locked up first and second. However half way through the course Dave got the zoomies and ran out of the ring. Luckily she stopped quickly and we were able to get her back on her leash. Next was Les. She ran it perfectly (could have been a little faster though) and so she qualified! Her third one too! So she's now a Performance I Jumpers dog!

Kevin is trying to figure out how to officially change her name to Les, PKI, PJI. We had to wait around half an hour after her run so that we could collect her ribbon and certificate, thus the empty arena behind her.

Hypo, Not Hyper

So at my 13 week OB appt when Dr. P was going over my blood work she said that my TSH levels were kind on the high side of normal, but my actual thyroid levels were normal. She said that it wasn't anything to be overly concerned about but that we would want to do another thyroid check at 16 weeks and then again at 28 weeks. This didn't really bother me because my mom has hypothyroidism so I know it's manageable.

This past OB appt, they took blood at the end. I thought it was just to check the thyroid levels again but I somehow ended up agreeing to get the alpha-fetaprotein test as well. Not that I didn't want to get it but I had to look it up afterwards because I had no idea at the appointment what they were talking about. Anyways, they called me yesterday with the results.

The alpha-fetaprotein test came back negative so the baby is healthy so far. However my TSH levels were over the normal range. So Nurse J told me I had hyperthyroidism. NP/Midwife C was gonna call in a prescription for me and I was to start taking it right away.

When I got to the pharmacy (which was suprisingly efficient) and saw the name of the drug(Levothyro.xine) I texted myMom. She replied that she takes the same stuff. So I was confused. Because if my mom was hypo and I was hyper, why were we taking the same stuff? I even looked it up on WebMD and it said that drug was used for hypothyroidism. So this morning I called Nurse J back to ask her and she tried telling me that hyperthyroidism was not enough and hypothyroidism was too much. I knew this was wrong and so I kept arguing with her until eventually she got NP/Midwife C on the phone right before I was going to ask to speak to her. NP/Midwife C goes into detail the test and how high TSH levels mean that I have hypothyroidism. So I asked her to repeat herself and then told her that Nurse J was saying the opposite and that is why I was confused. But seriously, you're a nurse and you don't know the difference between hyper and hypo?

So anyways now I'm on a new drug and hopefully everything will be okay with the baby. I was reading this article and kind of freaked myself out about the developmental delays and lower IQs for the babies seen in mothers with hypothryroidism but then on the next page it said that the baby takes over thyroid function at 12 weeks. I was normal pre-pregnancy and was tested at 8 weeks and was still normal so hopefully GV will be okay. NP/Midwife C thinks it's pregnancy related and that I'll be fine again after birth.

18 Weeks

How far along: 18 Weeks 1 Day
Total weight gain/loss: +1 lbs according to my scale. Kevin is starting to freak that I'm not gaining weight. We took a belly picture of me yesterday and compared it to when I was 12 weeks and it looks the exact same. I think I'm kind of freaked too.
Maternity clothes: Normal clothes still. I wore some maternity pants to church yesterday and I felt like a fraud. I totally don't need them at all.
Sleep: I finally broke down and bought an L-shaped pillow. It worked, kind of. When I didn't throw it off the bed.
Food cravings/aversions: Potatoes! A craving finally! I can't get enough of them. Fried, baked, roasted or boiled, it doesn't matter, I want it. Hashbrowns, fries or tater tots work too.
Gender: 2 weeks ... still waivering.
Movement: I think I was overreaching on the quickening post. Although a few nights ago I was on my back when I first got in bed and then moved to my left side. Shortly after I felt a weird thing. It felt like I was being poked from the inside out. Soft, gentle, quick but deliberate.
Best moment this week: Thinking that I felt movement.
What I miss: Not having a sore ute.
I am looking forward to: Feeling the baby move. Especially now!
Weekly wisdom: Everything happens in it's own time.
Milestones: A lot of the blogs I browse/lurk had miscarriage news on them. I think I read like 5 or 6 different ones on Friday from 5 weeks all the way to 18 weeks. That's kind of scary. So my milestone this week is that I made it to 18 weeks.

Run Baby Run

Kevin has decided that he wants to run a 10K the last weekend in March. He has 11 weeks to train. This past weekend, we went to the mall to get him new running shoes. He just started on Tuesday. As a former long distance runner, I've been offering lots of tips and tricks. I've warned him that even if he doesn't want them, he's gonna get them. And not just from me, but from myDad and Wiki too. See, myDad was a long distance runner. In high school he was the best long distance runner at school. He won races all the time. He won city races, county race, tri-county races. Had he not given up his running career because he got married and had a kid, who knows what he would have done in his Junior and Senior years of high school. Wiki was a long distance runner. She ran road races with myDad from a very young age. In high school she was the 2-mile state champion in track her Sophomore and Junior years. Her senior year, an injury kept her off the team. Wiki is also very small. She'd be around 4-6 inches shorter than her competitors but none of them could keep up with her.

And then there was me. I was a long distance runner. I ran my first race when I was 7 years old. My PE coach, who was also Wiki's PE coach, realized that I might be a runner after she saw Wiki win a race. So she recruited me to the track team. A track team made up of 4th-6th graders. I was in the 2nd grade. But I could keep up with them. Then when I got to the 4th grade, I was placed on the middle school team (then 7th & 8th). Every year I competed in 1500m races as part of a school team. In high school I was a miler. And a pretty good one. I wasn't state champion level but I was always the best on the team. Then I got recruited to the cross country team. That's when I really started running. Some days I'd clock between 8-10 miles a day. I went running in the morning before school, went running after school at practice and then when my dad got home around 8pm, went running again. Always with my dad right next to me. The bane of my dad's existence at that time was that I ran just to run. I wasn't focused on being the best. After years of training Wiki he had me to deal with (polar opposites). Finally after a year in college I retired. I've gone running occasionally since then, but I haven't run a race in over 13 years. Which shows. Since I quit running I have gained 80 lbs, most of it in the 3 years after I quit. Yeah, I still ate like a runner.

So add this all up and Kevin has joined a family of runners and then decided to run. Oh, and have I mentioned that we're all coaches as well? Good luck Kevin.

A New Post!

And one that isn't a weekly update. I've sort of fallen off the wagon when it comes to posting lately. Part of that is due to setting up a new blog. This one is for friends and family. It isn't nearly as interesting as this one (or will be once I start posting again).

So when I read blogs that are on my blog list, often I'll look at other's blog lists and click through to a few of them. I've found some interesting ones and have been tempted to leave comments. However I don't know if I should. As a pregnant IFer, is it cool for me to comment on someone still going through it? It's one thing if I've always commented on their blog, but another if it's my first comment. I feel like I should just stay a lurker. I'm not sure why though.

So I think I might have felt quickening. It felt like when your tummy rumbles but instead of being a series of pops, it's just one, maybe two pops. With no noise. And I'm not necessarily hungry. I felt some two nights ago when I first got into bed. Some more last night as I got into bed and then some today at work. They are in the area of where my stomach growling usually comes from, I thought it would be much lower. Of course I might be imagining it all as I'm very anxious to feel GV move.

Last night I was putting away all the Christmas decorations (which I didn't finish, bad me!) and realized that I can't bend forward if my legs are in front of me. When my belly tries to go into my legs, it can't and I feel all sorts of uncomfortable. I still don't think I'm showing yet though. The only time I can feel a bump is when I'm lying on my back (only for short whiles!) and the area below my belly button doesn't sink down. It still sticks out like I'm standing. So I have a nice rounded bump. But that's the only time you can really tell.

I have been feeling my uterus more. It's sore a lot. Especially after I've been standing or walking around. It started a few weeks ago while we were in Florida. But it's okay because since it started that's when my lying down bump showed up. I'll take it.

17 Weeks

How far along: 17 Weeks 2 Days
Total weight gain/loss: +2.5 lbs according to my scale. +7.5 according to my OB's scale but +4.5 if you consider that their original weight of me was off by 3 lbs.
Maternity clothes: Normal clothes. I'm building up my maternity section. I'm going to have to concentrate on shirts & sweaters. Also I'm going to need a new coat.
Sleep: Les got a new bed for Christmas which means that she sometimes doesn't sleep on our bed. On some nights. Sometimes.
Food cravings/aversions: It seems that I have gone off beef and pork. And sometimes chicken. Which means more beans for me! Yay! Pfft!
Gender: 3 weeks till we might possibly find out...yes I'm waivering here.
Best moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat and getting to set my next appt. for 3 weeks instead of 4.
What I miss: Not having mood swings.
I am looking forward to: Feeling the baby move.
Weekly wisdom: This pregnancy is going to throw us for a lot of loops. It's best just to go with it.
Milestones: According to Kevin I'm 42.5% downloaded.

New Years Day +1

Hope everyone had a great New Year's! We didn't do much of anything. Kevin doesn't really like going out(side) for NYE and we didn't get invited to any parties this year :(. But seeing as I only lasted until 11:15pm it was probably a good thing. Kevin made it all the way to midnight and woke me up to let me know but then I fell straight back asleep.
We did some shopping yesterday and I bought maternity jeans! Can you believe it?! Now I own three pairs! Anyways I tried them on at the store and I was kind of surprised how low the belly band came down. I don't think I'll be able to wear my regular shirts/blouses with them. I saw some cute stuff on sale but pessimistic me didn't want to commit to anything other than the jeans until after Monday's appt. I find right before my appts my doubts and fears get even stronger. Especially since I still have no outward signs that I'm still pregnant. Even the hunger has subsided for the most part even though all the books say it should be growing.
Today I had our first indoor soccer game. We lost 6-3 but I had three different girls scoring so that was nice. Also the girls I had in goal aren't usually goalkeepers, but they both played really well. So did the whole team actually. Next week's game is at 7:00 AM! Yikes!