Half Baked

So today we had our 20wk ultrasound! I can't believe we're halfway done already! If you don't know what happens at this ultrasound, they look at all of the internal organs (kidneys, bladder, stomach, heart, brain) to make sure they are all developing properly, and there aren't any defects that can be seen. They also look at the umbilical cord and placenta, spine, make sure there are ten fingers and toes, make sure there is a nasal bone, eyes spaced correctly, and a fully formed lip. They also take measurements of the femur, humerous, and circumference of the head and stomach for dating purposes (It's probably the longest appointment in most pregnancies today).

And our little boy did AMAZING!! All his internal organs looked amazing, he was flipping and kicking and moving around the whole time, and it's looking like he's going to be a long little boy (his arms and legs were measuring ahead of the average)!

I was weighed this time at the appointment, and it looks like I'm down another couple of pounds, so now I'm close to 9lbs under my pre-pregnancy weight. I decided to try on some pre-pregnancy jeans that I hadn't been able to wear in awhile, and lo and behold, they fit (wouldn't zip or button because of baby, but they definitely were comfortable everywhere else)! I will say the positive to all this morning sickness is that I've only had to buy 1 pair of maternity shorts (for work). My normal wardrobe is still functioning wonderfully otherwise. :)

On another note, we have decided to make the nursery Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit themed. We're thinking about painting mountains and trees on the walls (or decals) along with some quotes:

"Even the smallest person can change the course of the world"
"Courage is found in unlikely places"

I'll post pictures once we have some of it done. We just decided on it, and have now emptied out the upstairs bedroom for the nursery, so we'll be working on it in the near future.

Until next time!

Journey to a Baby on the Way

This has been a long hard journey to get to this place, of being 19wk 5days pregnant.

Over the last 8 years we've been through three miscarriages, in which the last one I was finally diagnosed with PCOS and insulin resistance. We tried temping, clomid, injectables (NOT fun), and an IUI to no avail. I've worked on eating a low carb diet and being on Metformin for my insulin resistance, and have lost about 85lbs from when I was my heaviest.

I moved to NC to work on a PhD, and was there for two years (I hated every second away from Tony, and was not a fan of the program or most of the people). During this time I decided I would try to get as healthy as I could so when we were back together we could start trying again if we felt ready.

Apparently it worked, because I got knocked up the day I moved back from NC! It's kind of funny because we had talked about how we weren't going to try right away, we were just going to have fun being us for a little while before I/we felt ready to try again.

Me being me, I ignored the signs of being pregnant until I started feeling nausea and motion sickness...not normal things for me. I talked to a friend about it, and she had wise advice, "You won't know for sure until you take the test," so on my way home that night (June 6th), I stopped by the grocery store, picked up a box of pregnancy tests, and made my way home. I couldn't sleep all night, so when I had to go to the bathroom, around 2am, I took a test. It was positive! I was shocked. I mean, I had an inkling, but seeing those two pink stripes next to each other is still a shock, I think, no matter how certain you are. Now I really couldn't sleep, I was freaking out, and what does a librarian do when she's freaked out? Research. I researched the areas best high risk OB/GYNs, and found one that I felt comfortable with.

We had our first appointment June 10th, and got to see our little baby bean at 6wks. Because I was considered high-risk, we continued with weekly appointments. It was a good thing too, because our baby wasn't growing at the rate it should. Around 10wks we found out after a lot of blood testing that I have extremely high inflammation, and a blood clotting disorder (MTHFR gene mutation caused). My doctor put me on twice daily injections of Heparin, and a whole bunch of other vitamins and such.

We were praying for the baby to start growing rapidly to get back on track, if not, then there were probably chromosomal problems with the baby, which would end in miscarriage.

We were in luck! The heparin once in my system seemed to be doing the trick! Baby was catching up quickly to where it should have been growth wise! :D

During this whole time I was battling hypermesis gavardium (extreme morning sickness) as well. I was on all the medication for it my doctor wanted to proscribe (8mg zofran every 6hrs, B12 and unisom, and pretty much eating only toast and rice). I ended up having to go to the hospital twice to get fluids because I wasn't able to keep anything down.

At this point, I've lost about 4-5lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight, and baby is doing extremely well! I still have morning sickness (unfortunately), and will have to take heparin throughout my entire pregnancy, but at this point, baby is back on track, and we are extremely excited for the new addition to our family!

We have our 20wk a/s on Thursday (Sept 12th) and are just hoping our baby BOY continues to do amazing!

Here's some photos: Me at 6wks

 Me at 18wks

 Our Facebook announcement

Stay tuned for more info on baby Daltoso. :D