9 Vials

Well I had my hematologist appt this morning, and they took 9 vials of blood from me. I am being tested in regard to my platlet dysfunction as well as to see if I have (or am a carrier of) hemachromatosis, which my father has (and it's a genetic condition). The dr did tell me that maternal blood is very different in terms of coagulation. He said it quickly turns into something that resembles jello (thank goodness I don't usually eat jello as I don't want to connect it with blood in my mind, lol). He said the estrogen has this effect on coagulation. He made some comment about otherwise how would the cave women have survived (and not bled to death when giving birth). Well I will attribute to the wisdom of our Creator. Anyhow that was reassuring. He said that it would be wise to be prepared to give me a platlet transfusion if necessary, and he suggested that I talk with my OB to see whether a c-section usually involves less bleeding. He said if that's the case that it might be wise to go that route. Of course if the placenta doesn't move I won't have a choice in that matter. He wasn't sure though which type of delivery typically involves less bleeding. I have another appt with him in 4 weeks to go over the results. He said he might have me come in for more testing between now and then. He wanted to get input from a coagulation pathologist prior to selecting which tests I should have done, but he wasn't available when I was there this morning.

At this appt they also took my temp, weighed me, took my b/p, listened to my lungs, etc. I was curious about my weight. I was concerned since several weeks ago I had gained 3 lbs in 1 week. I also was nervous since I've been "on the road" more lately (in MD and GA) and therefore eating out far more than usual. For example, I usually have a yogurt and either English muffin or small bagel for breakfast and that's not the sort of breakfast I was eating while away from home. Anyhow in the last 3 weeks I gained 3.5 lbs. Since they said to aim for 1 lb a week that's pretty close to being on target. The RE never weighed me in the 1st trimester, but since my first OB appt (11 weeks ago) I've gained 13.5 lbs. So that's 2.5 more than "ideal" but not too far off the mark. It doesn't help that I have been forbidden to exercise and to take it easy as much as possible. It would be easier to keep the weight off if I was being more active. Well that's one appt down and 3 more to go in the next 8 days. Wednesday I see the pediatric cardiologist at 8:45am and then the high-risk OB at 9:15am, and next Tuesday I see my regular OB at 3:15pm. Paul is disappointed he can't go to the ultrasound appt on Wednesday. Hopefully they'll give me more than one picture this time! :-)

24 Weeks!

It feels like a big milestone to reach this point since it's often considered the point of viability, although of course I hope she doesn't come out for another 3 months as I don't want her to spend a long time in NICU if at all possible! She has been moving earlier and earlier in the day. She now starts kicking even when I am just first getting up in the morning so I won't call her a night owl any more, LOL. I'll have Paul take some belly photos in the next few days as I think it's been 4 weeks since the last ones were taken.

I am glad to be going home today as I miss my hubby!!! Plus I can't say eating almost all my meals alone at restaurants is that thrilling of an experience. I ate lunch with three friends from other colleges yesterday, but other than that I've been on my own. One thing I will miss from down here are the temps. On Tuesday when I arrived the difference wasn't that large between PA and GA, but since then the temps have gone down about 10 degrees in PA and up about 20 degrees here in GA so now the difference is about 30 degrees (75 down here and only in the low 40's in PA). Hopefully though the warmer temps will come to PA soon also. I love spring, especially when it's in the 60's and 70's.

Hello from Atlanta

Well I arrived in GA about 5:15pm. The trip was uneventful, thankfully. I am staying at a hotel near the conference hotel but not at that actual hotel as the rates there were so high. I wanted to be able to fly out of a closer (smaller) airport which made the trip down here shorter for me, but the airfare was much more than if I had flown out of BWI. I am staying on the 10th floor which is the floor of this hotel designated for women only. I don't recall ever staying on a "women only" floor before. As we were riding in the shuttle from the airport, the driver pointed out all the windows that were missing from many of the hotels and skyscrapers from the tornados they had here recently. I am speaking twice tomorrow at the conference.

Paul has a big presentation tomorrow at noon. Each of the grad students are supposed to give a sort of practice thesis defense that all the chemistry profs attend as well as a fair amount of grad and undergrad chemistry students (the free pizza probably helps the attendance, lol). Paul's is tomorrow. I know he's nervous; I'm praying it will go well! It cracks me up that he's doing a practice defense before he's even written one paragraph of his thesis (that's next on his to do list as the real defense will be in July).

The house was shown once today; it was scheduled to be shown twice tomorrow but one couple said they need to reschedule. If they do reschedule then they'll be the fifth family to view our home. I'm hoping maybe one of them will want to make an offer. Time will tell.

Next week I have two doctor appts. First I see the hematologist on Monday to discuss my platlet dysfunction in relation to L&D. Then on Wednesday I get to see my daughter again as I'll have an u/s with a pediatric cardiologist and also meet with the high risk OB again. I am hoping the placenta is no longer on my cervix; it would be nice to no longer need to be on "pelvic rest", but of course if I need to stay under the restrictions for 3 more months I will gladly do so.

23 Weeks!

Well as of today I'm 23 weeks pg! I'm hoping soon that her movements will be strong enough to be felt from outside my belly so that Paul can feel her move. If you remember how far along you were when this happened for your dh, feel free to share. :-) Some days I hardly feel her move at all, and other days I feel her many, many times throughout the day. Yesterday was one of those really active days. I should also add that she's starting to move earlier in the day which is a relief to me as I'm not really wanting her to be a night owl, LOL!

My university has traditionally been closed on Good Friday/Easter Monday for what they termed "Spring Weekend" so as to be politically correct. This is the first year we have classes both days because of a move towards a common calendar within all the schools in the state system. Students are allowed to be excused for a variety of "major religious holidays," and Good Friday is on that list of holidays. Well I think I should have just cancelled my classes today as I am guessing I will have less than 50% attendance. We shall see, but I have received a flood of emails from students (just got 20 more emails since I went to bed last night) stating they won't be in class today for religious reasons. Now call me cynical, but I am doubting ALL these students are actually going to church today. If they are sick they have to show a doctor's note in order for the absence to be excused. Maybe they should have to show documentation that they were at church? I'd love to think this many of my students are attending a Good Friday service, but I just don't believe it. I think they see it as an easy way to have a long weekend that won't hurt their course grade. If this happens across the campus, maybe the university will find a way to make this a day off next year.

This afternoon we are driving to MD. First we are headed to Annapolis to have dinner with a former roommate of mine at Cafe Normandie and then we're headed to my parent's house. I can't wait to see all my family (minus one bil) again! When we were all together at Christmas we thought it would be 18-24 months until that happened again; so this is a very pleasant surprise! I have packed pink, purple, green, and orange nail polish so I can paint my nieces' fingernails and toenails (the orange and green are just for them - they aren't colors I personally ever wear!). We won't see Wendy & her 2 kids again until October. I am sure we'll spend time with Yvonne's family at least once more before they go back to Turkey (in early June), but once they leave it will be probably be about a year until we see them again. Wendy is in town not because of my mom's bday or Easter but rather she has a concert tomorrow night. Yvonne and her family are still in the US due to Josh's surgery and follow-up care. We'll be with my family until Sunday afternoon when we'll need to drive back home as we both have school on Monday. Tuesday I'll be flying to Atlanta for a conference as I'm speaking twice on Wednesday.

Back when I had the 20w u/s a student in one of my classes had made two signs (boy/girl) and when I said baby is a girl she handed me the "It's a girl" sign and said I should put it on my office door. I did, but I was a little concerned someone might think I already had the baby as usually that's when a sign like that is posted. Then I thought if anyone has seen me they will know I wasn't looking 9 months pg yet. Some still say I don't look pg at all for Pete's sake (which I find absurd as my belly has never been anywhere near this big before). Well it turns out the sign did confuse at least one person. On Monday a professor saw me in the hallway (whose office is next to mine) and said something like she didn't expect to see me up and about already and Congratulations! I was on my way to class so I didn't have time to clarify that I haven't already had the baby yet (thank goodness as usually viability isn't til 24 weeks and I don't want her coming that early anyhow as I'd rather avoid months in the NICU!). I did however move the sign to somewhere inside my office so hopefully no one else will be confused, LOL.

Well I wish all of you a very Happy Easter!

Worst Baby Names

A friend sent me a link to a site that listed some of the worst baby names such as "Harry Pitts," "Holly Wood," and "Candy Kahne." Some parents give their child a first name which is a profession such as Cook, Governor, Mayor, Editor, Doctor, Lawyer, or Judge; I guess they are hoping their child will end up in that profession? In the 1800's some parents gave their child a name of a disease for a first name like Leper, Cholera, Rubella, Typhus, and Mumps! Oi vey!!! In 1930 there were 463 babies named "Lucky." Well although we haven't picked a name for our daughter yet, I can guarantee she won't be given a name which is a profession or a disease!!!  Every time we hit the 18th of a month I think only x more months til the EDD! So yesterday was the 4 month mark and now it means we are under 4 months (presuming she doesn't come after the EDD that is).

22 Weeks!

Our daughter received her first two pink outfits today! I own a few gender neutral outfits, but these are the first GIRL clothes (aside from the t-shirts from Hawaii from my handbell choir director) I have owned. The three piece outfit on the left is for 3-6 months. The shirt has a cute little pink heart in the center. The pajamas on the right are size 9 months. Aren't they just sooo precious! I love clothing for little girls! I can't wait to see her in them. :-) They were a gift from my friend, Joyce. She used to teach at the school where I was principal. I had a 4 hour mtg in Harrisburg today (where she lives) so I stopped and visited with her and her two kids before heading home.

Finally, I have to share that Paul made a comment a few days ago that ladybugs would make a nice nursery theme. I was shocked that he would give it any thought! He wasn't asking me to switch from butterflies. I thought it was sweet of him to give it thought. I had decorated a nursery in our old house (in 2002 when we started ttc). That nursery (wallpaper border and bedding set) was going to be a teddy bear theme - Boyd's bears in particular. I thought that was a good gender neutral theme, but since that nursery was never used I certainly didn't want to go with teddy bears this time around. Plus I wanted something feminine since we know baby is a girl!
P.S. Speaking of the butterfly theme, if our daughter's first name ends up having any of these letters in it (p, u, i, c, g, f, x, n) then I'd like to order these letters to use as a wall decoration in the nursery. No, we won't take this into consideration when selecting a name. It's already a difficult enough task without hoping that certain letters are in her name, LOL!

L&D Tour

Well last night Paul & I had our L&D tour. I know it seems a little early for that, but they aren't offering a tour in May or June, and the April tour is also on a Tuesday night when I am usually teaching (but since this is spring break I was free last night). The building entrance to use is VERY familiar to us since it's the entrance right by the RE where we've gone since July 2004. And actually the elevator to L&D is right after the RE clinic. There is a special elevator just for the L&D ward since it's a secured area. If we think I'm in labor, first we go to the triage room which can handle up to two women at once. If they agree that "it's time" then I'll be admitted to a private room. The rooms seemed pretty nice. There is a rocking chair in every room, and there is a chair that converts to a bed (which Paul would use). If a c-section is necessary, they use a separate OR that is right in the L&D area, and if NICU is needed for baby (hope not!) the entrance to NICU is at the end of the L&D unit. There's a bassinet in the room for baby, and there's another unit for baby for the first 4 hours after birth (to keep her warm). I am glad she can stay with me in the room. I wouldn't want her to be in the nursery. They went over the rules of how many visitors at each stage, etc. I am thinking it will just be Paul & I. I am allowed one person to be with me 24 hours a day the whole time (Paul) and up to two more can be there for L&D. Then after birth I think it's 4 guests at the most at one time - none under the age of 12 (they make an exception for siblings but our daughter's siblings are in heaven so that doesn't pertain to us). I believe that our youngest nephew (who lives nearby) just turned 12 so I think all of Paul's family can come visit in the hospital if they want to. The most significant thing I learned on the tour was that 4 of the rooms have jacuzzi tubs in the bathroom, and they can put a monitor on you that can be worn in the tub while in labor. I have read/heard that is a very good thing to do if you are trying to avoid using an epidural. They said when you are being checked in you can request a room with a jacuzzi if there is one available. I hope that is possible, but who knows since most of the rooms don't have one. I haven't decided for sure about the epidural, but I am leaning towards trying to go without. If you have any thoughts on this issue from your experience, I'm all ears. :-)

I felt very old on the tour yesterday. All the other couples seemed to be on average at least 10 years younger than us. One woman exclaimed "Dr. Kennedy" and then introduced me as her former math professor (summer 2005 - I remember that class well as I had the ectopic pgcy while teaching that class). Another woman was amazed as she had attended a conference yesterday at which I was one of the speakers (so much for spring break, lol - I was at school for 7 hours yesterday) so she was surprised to see me again on the same day in a totally different setting. The other women were definitely farther along in their pgcies, but as I explained this was the only tour we could attend unless we waited until a couple of days before the EDD in July which might be too late! I know that most women aren't having their first baby at the age of 36 so I guess I should expect to feel old, but of course I'm not the oldest first time mother either (for example, the nursing prof will be 40 when she has her first baby next month by c-section). She's having an elective c-section to avoid the whole L&D process.

Yesterday was the earliest in the day that I felt my little girl move - 11:15am. I still don't think that qualifies her as a morning person though, LOL. What seems to make her move the most are music (she LOVED one song at handbells on Monday night in particular) and sugar (such as chocolate).

10 Minutes

Well my 3rd prenatal appt was my fastest one. It was the first appt I've gone to w/o Paul since my first u/s (15 weeks ago). He didn't miss much, LOL. From the time I entered the waiting room until the time I exited after making my next appt was only 10 minutes. I was weighed, peed in a cup, had my b/p taken (100/70), and then the OB came in for a quick exam and h/b check. I asked if the pp was partial or complete, and he said it was listed as complete previa which was what I suspected since Dr. Maslow had said the placenta was on the cervix.

No one said anything about the weight gain so I guess I shouldn't be upset, but according to today's measurement I gained 5 pounds in the last 4 weeks. :-( The more alarming thing is that if there isn't any discrepancy between the two scales - I gained 3 lbs in the last week! EEK! (Comparing what my weight was at the other hospital last Tuesday to what it was today) I have no idea how that could have happened. I don't feel like I changed my caloric intake in the last week. Well according to their scale, I've gained 10 lbs in the last 8 weeks. So I guess I'm not too far off what they say is the ideal of gaining 1 lb a week. The most important thing is that baby is healthy. Although it's more special to see her on the u/s, it was still nice to hear that beautiful sound of her h/b. Today was the first time they had NO trouble finding it. A med student found her h/b immediately whereas the previous 2 times it took some time to find it.

The appt with the realtor went well yesterday although it lasted almost two hours which I wasn't expecting. There were only a couple of things she thought we should do to prepare the house for being shown. Paul will be busy again this weekend working on the house. I keep reminding him that the sooner we sell the house then the sooner his commute becomes shorter (and mine becomes longer). The realtor suggested a listing price much higher than what we were thinking so that was a pleasant surprise. She showed me comparable properties that had sold recently in our area, and I then agreed with her assessment. So that was good news! I will be very happy if the house sells for the asking price or even 5% less than that. So we shall see how long it takes to sell it. Hopefully not too long as I don't like always needing to keep everything "just so" as you never know when strangers will be traipsing through for a tour. I am looking forward to touring 5 houses with Paul on Thursday. Maybe one of them will be "the" one that will be our next home.

Spring Cleaning!

Well this weekend and again this morning Paul and I were doing spring cleaning. Paul completed a few small projects in light of the realtor coming this afternoon to give us any idea as to what price to list our house. For example, he painted the ceiling in one bathroom. I have to say he's a great painter. He actually painted for a living for a brief period of time when he lived in New Mexico, but I think it's more about the fact he's a perfectionist. He did most of the work this weekend with vacumming and cleaning a couple of windows and such. What a great hubby! He doesn't want me to overdo it for our daughter's sake. Hopefully we'll get good news today from the realtor as far as a reasonable asking price. We haven't decided yet whether to try to sell it on our own for a few weeks or just list it with a realtor right away. It would be great to avoid the 6% commission but there are other factors to take into consideration like we'd really like to move prior to our daughter's arrival if possible. So we're praying our house is under contract by the end of April if possible.

This Thursday we are looking at 6 houses in the area where we are thinking of moving. They range in price from about $30K less than what we paid for our current house (4 years ago) to $55K more than that same amount. So there's a pretty big gap between the cheapest and most expensive house that we are looking at. It's times like these when I am glad we live in a rural area as I know these homes would go for FAR more in other locations. The first home I bought (in January 2001) cost about $72K or something like that. In the area where my parents live there is NO way to buy a 3 bedroom ranch with a basement and one car attached garage for that price! One of the homes we are going to look at has a photo tour online if anyone wants to check it out. I think it might be my favorite. Naturally it's the most expensive one, LOL. We don't need a separate detached garage since there's already a 2 car attached garage but I wouldn't avoid buying the house just bc it had too much garage space, LOL. I also think it's nuts that the playhouse has running water, electricity, and cable, but the playhouse DOES look really cool! We shall see what we think of the 6 houses after we tour them on Thursday.

Tomorrow is my 3rd prenatal OB appt. I haven't been counting down the days like I was for the first two OB appts in light of the u/s appt last week. It doesn't seem like as big a deal to hear the h/b after getting to watch her move around. Also, now that I feel her move many times a day every day, I am not needing the reassurance like I wanted before from the h/b check. I have no desire to rent a fetal doppler now that I feel her move every day. Paul gets a kick out of the fact that she's a night owl like him. :-) She doesn't seem to wake up until after about 12pm. Tomorrow at 6pm we have our tour of the L&D areas at the hospital where I'll give birth (the same one where the RE is not where my OB is). It's the first of three "classes" that I signed up for. This one and the infant CPR one are both free. The only one I'll have to pay for is the b/fing one.

Blowdryer

Well I brought two unusual items to church this morning - a brush and blowdryer. I got there at 7:30am and promptly went to the bathroom to dry my hair. Our power went out at 9:30 last night and didn't come on until 10:30am (which considering we lost 1 hour last night = 12 hours).  It was hard to get up this morning since we had lost an hour of sleep and I hadn't slept well as I was worried about oversleeping without a clock. I had a flashlight by my watch, and that was how I checked the time. At 6:00am I was trying to decide whether to take a shower here at home, call someone from the handbell choir and see if I could take a shower at their house, or just go to church w/o washing my hair. In the end I opted for a super quick shower at home (thankfully I did get hot water). It was interesting doing my makeup by candlelight, LOL. The bedroom was fine temperature wise, but the main floor of our house was FREEZING - there was frost on the kitchen floor! I usually curl my hair with a curling iron, but I decided to go with straight hair this morning rather than also bring a curling iron to church. The handbells played at 8:00 and 10:45; one of the two songs we played was a flute solo for me along with the bells. I really struggled to stay awake during the first service, but I ate a couple of chocolate chip cookies during the "coffee hour" in between the first service and Sunday School, and the sugar woke me up thankfully. I know I'll sleep well tonight though as I got less than 7 hours of sleep last night and I've been averaging 9-10 hours lately.

Yesterday at the shower I was again grateful that we opted to learn baby's gender at the u/s. Noreen wants to be surprised; so there were lots of yellow and green receiving blankets, outfits, etc. yesterday. I think gender specific clothing is MUCH cuter than most gender neutral stuff. I didn't know many of the people at her shower so in that sense it wasn't the most fun party I was ever at, but it was the first time in a very, very long time that a baby shower didn't bother me At All emotionally. It also helped knowing she is 40 years old and ttc for 8 years for this baby. The only downer at the shower was that one woman told me I didn't look pg at all. :-( Why tell a pg woman that especially as she knew I was 21 weeks pg??? I was wearing my 1 pair of maternity pants with a maternity shirt. Well trust me I won't be wearing that outfit again any time soon, LOL. There were 3 guests (including myself) who were pg, and ironically we are all due in July. One is due the week before me, and the other is due the week after me. One of the door prizes was for the woman with an EDD closest to Noreen's. I was given the prize (some kitchen towels) since the woman due 7-11 helped make the door prizes. It's true that the other 2 looked FAR more pg than I did, but in neither case is it their first baby and women seem to pop out faster with 2nd and subsequent pgcies. Plus one of the women is "fluffier" than me to begin with so I think that was part of it. Thankfully a few people today at church commented on my pg belly. My belly shows a lot more in maternity skirts. :-)

I am curious to see in what ways our daughter will take after me and in which ways she'll take after Paul. For example, I hope she has her Daddy's teeth as he's never had a cavity, never needed braces, etc. Well I have found one way that (so far) she takes after Daddy and not me. She's a night owl! She rarely kicks me in the morning; I feel her move the most in the afternoon and evening -even during the night. I am by NO means a night owl. I think 9pm is a lovely time to go to bed and staying up until midnight can only be described as painful, LOL. I can't wait to meet her and learn about her personality and talents and interests as time goes by.

Butterflies!!!

Well I have picked a theme for the nursery - butterflies! At the shower today you could tell the theme of Noreen's nursery is bunny rabbits. If we don't move prior to her arrival, I will turn the purple bedroom into the nursery (light purple walls and darker purple carpet). I will switch dressers as the dresser in the yellow/blue bedroom is the height that will work well as a changing table whereas the dresser that is currently in the purple bedroom is very tall. I wanted to pick something feminine, but I also wanted to pick something that is not SO "babyish;" I think that butterflies will work well for several years although if we live in that house longer than expected (4 years) I might need to redecorate once she feels she's to an age that she's outgrown or is tired of butterflies. Shopping for girls is sooooo much fun! I added some butterfly items to both registries. I tried to keep the expensive items to a minimum, and I think I did well with that as there is only one thing over $40 on the Babies R Us registry, and only two things over $40 on the Walmart one (activity mat, crib mattress, and high chair). I tried to include many items that were $10 or less. I get frustrated when I am shopping with a bridal or baby registry and all the items are really expensive. I guess the one nice thing about putting say $200 items on your registry (which I didn't - everything is under $100) is that several people can go in together to get it.

Driver's License

On my way to the baby shower today, I plan to stop and have my photo taken for a new driver's license. They are renewed every 4 years here in PA, and I moved to PA in 1996. Here's the ironic thing. Presuming that we move sometime in the next few months (ideally we'd move in May or June before our daughter is born), my driver's license will be incorrect for most of the four years it's valid. I'll be needing to also carry one of those change of address cards in my wallet along with the license. This means that from April 2000-March 2012 my license would have been accurate for only about 15 months as I moved in January 2001 (9 months after renewing my license) and July 2004 (3 months after renewing my license). My license from 2000 was incorrect both with name and address (as I also got married in 2001); at least it's only been the address that's been wrong since then, lol. To add to the irony, Paul will hopefully complete his PhD in May 2012 which means we'll likely be moving again that summer. So if we stay in PA, it means from April 2000-March 2016 my license will have been accurate for about 18 months total! We seem to move shortly after getting my license renewed every time! Our hope is that the move in May 2012 will be the last one for a very, very long time. Actually, I remember saying when we moved into THIS house in July 2004 that I sure hoped we lived here for decades not years, but that was when we assumed Paul would keep working in the family business which he actually left in December 2005 to go back to school for his master's degree and since then he decided he also wants his doctorate. Probably the only scenario that would mean we would NOT have to move in 2012 would be if he was hired by the university where he is now working in his master's degree OR the university where I am currently teaching. I guess that's not impossible, but probably not something to count on either!
I also have to say again how much I LOVE feeling my daughter move within me. Yesterday it just about brought me to tears (happy ones of course) as I thought of all the years I had looked forward to experiencing this very thing and had awhile ago come to the conclusion I would never experience. It also makes me want the next few months to fly by as when I feel her move it makes me long so intensely for the moment I can hold her within my arms. Last May was such a low point for me as my hopes of adopting in the US through Lifetime and in the Ukraine through Ukrainian Angels were being dashed. Well now of course I see that God had a different plan in store for us - a wonderful one indeed. I am thinking today of those who completed their dossiers around the same time we did (last spring). Although each of us might have FedExed our dossier to the same translator - the outcomes were so different for each. Some had theirs submitted before they expired, some had to redo their dossier before it was submitted, and of course we opted to not redo ours. The outcomes were also very different for each one who traveled to UA. Kathy & Matt came home not that long ago with a beautiful little girl, and Rita & Drew are coming home soon empty handed after being in UA for about a month and visiting three different children. I can only imagine the heartache they are going through right now. I am praying that in time they will discover what plan God has in store for them instead of adopting from UA.

Caroline?

Yesterday, Jo sent me a few name suggestions to me. I ran them by Paul, and there were two that we added to our list of possibilities. One of these was "Caroline." I had never thought of that name, but I have to say I like the sound of Caroline Kennedy. I also think it works well with some of the other names we both like such as "Caroline Sophia" or "Caroline Nicole." So I have two questions regarding Caroline. #1 Do you think people will shorten Caroline to Carol? Neither of us want our child named Carol. #2 Will the "i" in the name be pronounced as a long or a short vowel? I really prefer it with a long "I" sound.

21 Weeks!!!

That means that if she goes full-term only 19 more weeks to go! YAHOOO! I still am so amazed at this miracle. Every life is a miracle, but when you wait as long as I have to become a Mom - it REALLY feels like a miracle. Plus I have to admit the fact she was frozen for 3 months still blows my mind. I know it's not a new procedure, but it's still mind boggling to me! I cannot wait to hold her in my arms!!!! This little girl better love lots of hugs and kisses bc this Mommy has been waiting for years to lavish such love on a little one of her own! I have been feeling her move every day now, and the movements are getting close to being strong enough that I think soon maybe Paul might be able to feel them as well. Does that sound about right? When did your hubby feel baby from the outside? I think others have said 21-23 weeks or something like that for feeling kicks from the outside. I can't wait for him to feel her move!!! We did discuss girl names again yesterday, but we still haven't made a decision. I think he's waiting to have a moment of inspiration like he did with "Ian Alexander" which he come up with 100% on his own. It's the right/left brain difference between the two of us. He says I'm being too methodical about selecting a name, LOL. :-)

I called the OB office yesterday and asked for a nurse to call me back with more details on what restrictions I am under in light of having placenta previa. No one called me back; hopefully someone will call me today!

Hematologist

Well the hematologist's office called and my appt has been scheduled for March 31. I haven't seen one for about 20 years. I am curious to see if they can more precisely diagnose my clotting problem now. I am glad this is being looked into as I know there is bleeding involved in delivering a baby. While I'm there I am also going to be tested for hemachromatosis which is a genetic condition that my father has. One of my sisters has been tested for it, and she was found to be a carrier. So I have several appts lined up in the next 4 weeks - OB next Tuesday and then the hematologist and pediatric cardiologist 3 weeks after that. We have a choice of health insurance at my university, and I picked the HMO option which I know is surprising. I am sure most choose Blue Shield (either traditional indemnity or PPO). I chose Geisinger HMO because that was the only one that covered anything related to infertility. Well my primary care office called me today and was giving me a bit of a hard time about the hematology referral since I hadn't been seen by them for 14 months (when I had a physical for our 3rd home study and also for the form for the Ukraine dossiers). I told the receptionist that I am pg and being seen at least monthly by an OB so did I really need to have a physical? Thankfully she said they would make an exception since I am pg.

I bought some Zantac this morning. They had two different doses, and I picked the lower amount. I am hoping it helps. Of course my daughter is SOOO worth having heartburn, but if there's a way to relieve that without hurting her at all, then it's worth a try! My OB gave me a list of approved meds, and Zantac was on the list.

Placenta previa

Well it was fun telling my students last night and today that baby is a GIRL. One student in my 12:00 MWF class had printed out two different signs - one that said "It's a girl" and one that said "It's a boy." She gave me the girl one and told me to put it on my office door. So I did. :-) Of course now everyone has suggestions for names since they know we don't have one picked out. Maybe Paul and I will have time to work on that this weekend.

Yesterday I talked to one nursing professor about the placenta previa (I'll just use pp for short) and she was saying I might need to go on bedrest and mmight not be able to teach this summer, etc. I admit I was a little freaked out especially after having heard Dr. Maslow use the "miscarriage" word. I've talked to a few women who had it and have gotten a full range of responses from that they were given very few restrictions to very strict restrictions (one was told no cleaning - not even using Windex). Post transfer when I was on pelvic rest I was told not to vacuum so I assumed that is now a "no no" in light of the no lifting over 10 pounds rule he gave me.

Today I talked to the nursing prof who teaches the courses dealing with pregnancy/childbirth. She was more laid back about it and said it usually corrects itself and that I should only be concerned if I have spotting (which I still haven't ever had and I know to look out for as if I have any I have to have the Rhogam shot ASAP). She did say it was best to put as little pressure on the cervix as possible. She said driving isn't great she was glad to hear I have a short commute to work. She said if I can sit in a lazyboy at home or in any position which decreases the pressure on my cervix that would be good. Since I am uncertain exactly what is meant by "take it easy," I am going to call the OB office tomorrow and ask to talk to a nurse there and get more definite answers of what I shouldn't be doing the next 4 weeks. I am hoping that the 24w u/s will show the placenta is no longer on or near the cervix. It's not that the placenta moves but rather that the uterus grows and so where the placenta is in relation to the cervix changes.

I looked online for the causes/risk factors for pp and most don't apply to me (smoking, having had a D&C, having had a c-section, using cocaine, or having had 5 or more pregnancies). The only one that applies is my age. Among women 19 and younger, 1 in 1,500 develop pp and for 35 and older it's 1 in 100. Still that's just 1%. I wish I was in the other 99%! But I keep reminding myself that my daughter is healthy and likely this problem will correct itself. I don't mind being restricted, but rather I just don't like this little nagging fear of a miscarriage.

Yesterday prior to the appt I had actually done a fair amount of lifting. Of course I have stopped! I had made an appt for Salvation Army to come and pick up some stuff on Friday - some furniture we hadn't used in years that is in the basement, some clothing, some items that were gifts that we haven't ever used, etc. I am trying to do a big clean up before we put our house on the market and also figure I don't want to go through the hassle of moving items that we don't actually need or want. So I'll let Paul do the rest of the moving of items from the basement to the family room where I'm storing things until Friday when the truck comes. I had planned to do a lot of cleaning this weekend - spring cleaning intensifed by preparing the house to show to potential buyers. Things like washing the windows which I don't do very often but it would be good to do. So I need to talk with Paul about whether he can help me with these items (I am dubious only because we had already created a list of tasks he was going to work on this weekend to prepare the house), whether we should just hire a college student to help me for a few hours, or whether we should ask if maybe his mom could come up and help (she lives 30 minutes away).

The realtor is coming on Monday to give us an idea as to what our listing price should be. We are still trying to decide whether to use a realtor right away or go the "for sale by owner" route at first. We have an appt to see a few houses in the area we are thinking of moving to on Thursday as next week is spring break for both of us. I am really glad that I have tomorrow as a day at home. Last week I was at work all 5 days (which was a contrast from the week before when I only went to work M-W). The last 3 days have been hectic. I was up at 5:45 am today grading papers for example. It's midterm time so there's lots of grading to do. Anyhow that's my task for tomorrow - stay home and get all caught up on grading. I'll probably do a little more sorting through items in closets too but will make sure I don't do any lifting over 10 pounds.

In closing, I have to say how thrilling it is for me to hear/say the word "daughter." It just seems so much more personal than "baby." Part of me wants to ask someone to pinch me to make sure I'm not dreaming. Then I look down and see my protruding belly and know yep it's for real! :-) The heartburn is also reassuring; however, I think it's time to buy something stronger than Tums since my OB does allow me to take more than that.

We're thinking PINK!

Well the minority was correct - baby is a GIRL! My parents will now have 3 grandsons and 3 granddaughters. The funny thing is that both of my sisters had a girl first too! So baby is NOT Ian Alexander; she's nameless at the moment, but at least we know which pronoun to use when we refer to her! The doctor only gave me one u/s pic. I'll post it. She looks like an alien, LOL! She weighs 13 ounces and measures within 2 days of my EDD. All the measurements were good (no sign of downs syndrome, spina bifida, etc.). I will have a follow-up ultrasound on April 2 with a pediatric cardiologist (their standard protocol) to check out the heart. Her h/b today was 147. She was curled up in a little ball. The only "concern" was that the placenta is on my cervix (placenta previa) so I have a bunch of restrictions I am now under such as not lifting anything over 10 pounds, etc. He said the placenta might move so this condition might be temporary. But the main thing is she's HEALTHY!!!!!!!!!! PTL!!!

I told him about my "platlet dysfunction" which was diagnosed about 20 years ago at NIH (sometimes my platlets don't function properly and I have bleeding issues). Maybe now the condition has a name? They want to know more about it in prep for L&D. Also, I told them my dad has hemachromatosis which is genetic, and I haven't been tested for that yet. So the hematologist will also do that testing.

Paul said we have plenty of time to pick out a girl's name, but there's no way I want to wait 19 more weeks to figure that out! Hopefully we'll come up with one soon that we agree on so I can call baby by name! :-) I am going to have SO much fun dolling my little girl up in pretty little dresses. YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

As for me, by their records I have gained 2 pounds in the last 3 weeks. So according to them I've gained 10 pounds in 20 weeks (6 pounds since my first prenatal appt which was 7 weeks ago). My b/p was 110/70 today. My next OB appt is a week from today.

Today!!!

Today is the long awaited day to see our little one again and find out if we have a son or a daughter!!! The u/s appt is from 2-3 and the appt with the high-risk OB is at 3. We'll both be there (but drive separately) as Paul will be coming from school and I'll be going to school after the appt as I am giving a midterm exam at 6pm and have office hours before that. I'll post as soon as I can! There is a scanner in my office so I should be able to post pics during my office hours unless a lot of students decide to come visit me today. :-) I polled my students in two of my classes yesterday. In the first class 2/3 picked boy and 1/3 picked girl (about the same results as on this blog) and in the second class it was very, very close to 50/50. If baby is a girl, I wonder how long it will take to pick a name? A friend in handbell choir gave birth to her first baby on Sunday, and she had a girl. They had wanted to be surprised so they didn't know the gender until after baby was born. They were thinking it was a boy and didn't have a girl's name picked out so as of last night (24 hours after baby was born) the baby still didn't have a name yet! I definitely don't want to wait that long to select a name!

Yesterday was just a GORGEOUS day. It felt like spring! I love spring! Spring and fall are my favorite seasons in terms of temps and also the beauty of everything in bloom (spring) and of the leaves changing colors (fall). All the snow melted away which is fine with me! Kids have fun with snow.

Baby likes music!

Well yesterday was the first day I was *sure* that I was feeling baby move. Boy was it a case of feast or famine though as I felt baby move many times yesterday afternoon and evening!!! Friday I had thought that I felt a little kick. That happened while I was singing along with the radio as I was driving home from Harrisburg on Friday afternoon. I stopped singing and thought - I am pretty sure baby just kicked me!!! It was on the right side of my belly which is where the h/b had been found the last 2 times plus is the side where I thought maybe I had felt movements earlier. Well baby was on the left side yesterday. First it started in the afternoon about an hour after having eaten a Blizzard from DQ (maybe baby also likes sweets, LOL). But it happened soooo many times yesterday - most often during choir practice at church last night which is why I am thinking maybe baby is responding to music. Mommy of course would be thrilled if baby likes music!! I can't believe TOMORROW is the day when we get to see baby again. I can't wait although a little part of me is nervous. I seem to get a little nervous before every appt.

All shopped out!

Here are two belly pics. Ask and ye shall receive, LOL! These are taken in mat skirts. Unlike the previous photos, I am not pulling my shirt taut. That's just "as is." The baby belly is growing! :-)

I know some people love to go shopping. I am not one of them although I don't dislike it like Paul (with the exception of books - he could spend hours in Borders or B&N). We have lived in this area for almost 4 years, and this was my 2nd time at the mall I went to today. This mall is 45 minutes away from our home. I did make a quick stop into Motherhood (didn't buy anything or try anything on), but other than that I just shopped in Macy's. The clearance selection wasn't as great as at the other mall (especially in the children's dept). Anyhow today I spent $47.35 on 10 items (3 for my sisters, 1 for me, and 6 for a niece). Yesterday we were using a 20% coupon Cheri had on top of the other discounts, so if I had that today the total would have been $37.88. The total for the original prices of today's items was $247. They also removed the security tag from the one item I bought yesterday. I have no desire to go to another shopping mall any time soon, LOL. I got quite a bit of bday and Christmas shopping done though, and after I lose the baby weight I have a few new outfits for myself also. If I had to do it over again, I would have bought more yesterday. I am kicking myself for not buying more of the snowmen sweater vests! The vest is sooo cute and only cost $2.39. Why did I only buy one of them? I wouldn't mind having one myself for example! The original price was $60 so I thought it was going to be $12 (most of the items were 75% off and then we had the 20% off coupon on top of that), but for whatever reason it was only $2.39. I don't want that vest enough to drive all the way back there. We were smart with the one skirt for my mom that also came up as $2.39 (that was originally $89). We went and got two more of them (one for Cheri and one for me). My best bargain today was a shirt that was originally $28 that I got for $3.49. I bought two of them (one for each sister). I have never been this far ahead with Christmas shopping before. It's only March 2 for Pete's sake, LOL!

Today I found out that the situation which had me VERY upset on Monday has been resolved favorably! HUGE sigh of relief on my part!!! It had to do with an article that had been accepted in December and then I was told on Monday it was being rejected (for what I considered a ridiculous reason). Well today I was told it's being published this spring after all. Whew... She apologized for the "idiosyncrocy." That's not the word I would use, but the bottom line is that all is well. Since I had another article accepted on Monday, I am now up to 6 refereed articles in 3 years! This is very, very good news as in higher education it's a case of "publish or perish."

In conclusion I have to say one more time that choir robes were not created with pg women in mind. I thought I was going to die up there in the choir loft, and I purposefully wore a short sleeve sweater (even though there is snow on the ground). I might not be able to sing in the choir all the way until May. It's just TOO hot up there with the spotlights and a choir robe on.

Leap Year

Jo had a good question for me. She wondered if the EDD calculators take into account the extra day this year. I have no idea! I do know that July 18 will be the day I reach 40w so I think it's correct but who knows. Well baby will come when he/she wants to regardless of EDD. I can't wait for the u/s in part as I am tired of saying he/she, him/her, etc. Only 3 more days and hopefully we're down to just one pronoun! :-) I will post some new belly pics soon maybe as early as tomorrow. The photos I really can't wait to post though are the u/s ones!