I’m having fun tweaking our little site here, hoping for an onslaught of friends and family in the next few days. I mailed the Christmas cards on Friday, so hopefully they’ll start arriving across the country on Monday and Tuesday.
We’re really excited about everyone knowing, and being able to talk about it with anyone we want. :)
So if you’re here because you got a Christmas Card from us: WELCOME! We’re so glad you know our happy news!!
Merry Christmas!
The Christmas cards finally went out today. The stupid little Santa hats arrived this afternoon! So the word will be out within a few days. We’re pretty excited for people to know, if for no other reason than it’s getting hard to remember who knows and who doesn’t. :)
I told my work at our office potluck on Wednesday. They were pretty shocked, but everyone seemed genuinely happy.
I ended up taking today off of work. After a rough night of very little sleep, there was just no way I could go to work. I managed to get a bit of stuff done today but not terribly much. There’s so much I wanna do (like decorate the Christmas Tree) but I’m just too dang tired. I’m really hoping that once the 1st trimester is over, I won’t be so freaking exhausted. I don’t mean to complain though – I just do what I can and am doing a pretty good job of not stressing about what doesn’t get done.
So as of today I am the chauffeur of a Fetus. We bid a wistful goodbye to the 4 weeks of being an embryo, and move with great purpose onto being a fetus. Tiny vital organs are in place (and in come cases, WORKING) and will continue to grow – but the kinda scary embryo time is over. The foundations of all everything have been laid. I am more than a bit relieved.
Also, it’s kicking and wiggling like a little fiend. I can’t feel it yet, but it’s starting to have some motor functions and is just flopping around in there, enjoying the spacious accommodations while there’s still room. (It feels weird to call the little critter “it” but we won’t know for at least a month yet what the sex is. It’s already set as of this week, but the little bits are too small to see on an ultrasound for another 4-6 weeks.)
Today’s doctor appointment was pretty quick, but still satisfying. (That sounds weird, doesn’t it?)
Paul couldn’t come with me, but that was OK – nothing major to discuss today. Next time I’ll want him there if possible. But today was just a check on me and my meds, and a check on the critter. It’s like there’s two exams happening at once. While the tech is doing the internal ultrasound, Dr. Schwartz is quizzing me on my blood sugars and how I’m feeling and whatnot.
I forgot to ask for the heartrate, but I heard it loud and clear when they started the ultrasound. Sounds like a tiny herd of horses in there! The tech was either really gentle, or the critter is getting big enough that they don’t have to go all Cirque Du Soleil to get a good angle anymore. I think it’s more of the latter.
The little critter is now 3.5cm (nearly 1.5″) and has a face! The tech was able to get a couple of profile shots – so finally it looks like there’s a baby in there instead of some weird cyst. :) It’s still pretty alien-looking with the huge forehead and all, but at least there’s identifiable parts! Well, they’re fairly identifiable on the original printout – if you know what you’re looking for.
I’m doing well too. Dr. Schwartz loves my blood sugar webpage, and wants me to add a column for taking my blood pressure too. We talked about my concerns about my sugars still being too high (especially fasting in the mornings) but he kinda got on me to relax about it. He reminded me that the “diabetic rules for eating” don’t exactly apply to pregnant ladies. He’s not nearly as concerned about my ‘high’ sugars as I am, and is more impressed with my attitude and willingness to do whatever he tells me. He said that he spends entire pregnancies trying to get a patient to make slight changes in diet or whatever and that he rarely has ever seen a patient as motivated as me to make necessary changes. So that was nice to hear. I don’t think I’ve ever had a doctor who has validated the fact that I do try to follow the rules and be a good patient. It’s nice to have someone telling me that I’m doing just fine and to relax. :)
My blood pressure is still too high though – it seems that the labetelol that I’ve been on forever isn’t working as well as it used to. (Personally, I don’t think it was really working before.) He upped my dose again and wants to see what effect that has before changing things again. He’s concerned that I’m gonna be passing out whenever I stand up. :)
Also, Dr. Schwartz volunteered to call my pharmacy and straighten them out about my insulin. They gave him the same explanation they tried on me: it’s my insurance that won’t let me have two vials at once. So after he called me and told me that, I called my insurance again. I talked to a wonderful girl who double and triple checked with her supervisors that I CAN indeed have two vials at once and that Walgreen’s Pharmacy is full of crap. She’s having the plan administrator double check why the Walgreen’s system might be kicking it back though. Once they re-confirm everything, someone will call me back and then they’ll call Walgreen’s for me and explain to them how to do their job. (sigh) Having insurance is supposed to make health care easier, isn’t it?
Next appointment is on December 30th at 9:30am. Really hoping Paul can come to that one. They’ll be doing the nuchal fold test then. But in the meantime, things are progressing just as they should. I’m still pretty dang tired, but that’s to be expected right now.
I’m part of a great little private community that we refer to as Fairytales. We all met 11 years or so ago as we were all planning our weddings. We were/are members of an internet discussion board (forum) where we talked about our plans to no end. And here we are 11 years later, with the kid count somewhere above 20. I don’t think any of us thought we’d still be actively talking daily/weekly this far down the line, but I consider these ladies (about half of which I’ve actually met in person) to be some of my closest friends.
It’s been kinda hard over the years to watch them go through multiple pregnancies, but at the same time it’s been a joy to share in their lives and glean the wisdom of 20+ pregnancies. I am the last of the married girls to get pregnant, but all the FT ladies are thrilled for me, and are here now reading this blog.
So this is just a little shout-out to my FT girls. Thanks for waiting for me ladies, and for being so happy for us.