19w3d and doing fine :)

It's been a while since I've come around... But, with this being the end of the school year, things have continued to be hectic! I am definitely looking forward to Summer break and a little R&R. Still, I will be very busy getting the nursery cleaned out and starting to prepare that, as well as helping with Baby Shower plans and everything in between...

Here is what is currently going on:

How far along: 17 weeks, 3 days!!

Total weight change: +6 total, based on Doctor's office scale. We have no scale at home... Have to wait until my next weigh in, which will be tomorrow!

Maternity clothes: Same as last time... The only thing "maternity" I have purchased has been a belly band, which I use with most of my jeans... I have one pair of jeans left that fit comfortably, because they were huge on me pre-pregnancy... but ALL others are either too tight or don't close at all. I feel most comfortable in leggings, stretchy pants and dresses. I need to do a little shopping...

Stretch Marks: Yes, same as before, unfortunately :( I bought some "Bio Oil" which has come highly recommended for this "issue", and I am hoping it works. It does smell nice, though :) So far, so good!

Movement: None, that I've noticed... But I have a feeling these gasses and other little funny feelings may be the start of some noticeable movement ;)

Sleep: Still love my Boppy Total Body Pillow! :) :) :)

Best Moment This Past Week: Finding out that our integrated screenings all came back normal, and getting to see our little boy again :) the anatomy scan went really well, and apparently he was already weighing 10oz!

Most Difficult Moment This Past Week: Tossing my ENTIRE breakfast this morning, and then continuing to feel like garbage afterwards. Thank you to saltine crackers and sprite!

Belly Button In or Out: Still in, but not as deep as it used to be...

Cravings/Aversions: Pizza from this place nearby called "Roman's" and strawberries :)

Symptoms: Occasionally tired, but I blame that on things being so hectic... MS has died down a bit (aside from that episode I had), so I am hoping it is gone for good. Boobies are currently not sore, but huge!

Here are some shots from our last ultrasound at 8w4d :) next one is on June 20th!!!













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(21 week check in) It's a ...

credit: http://a-wings-tale.blogspot.com/2011/06/its-boy.html

Boy!!!  We had out Anatomy scan at 20 weeks last week, and were very excited to find out that we are having a cute little boy.  All of the first-borns on Mr. Teacher Bud's side of the family have been boys, so I was not surprised.  The little guy was not shy about showing us that he was a boy.  We had a good view. 

We've ordered our crib which should come in the next few weeks, and we're buying a dresser off of a friend for next to nothing.  I've also been buying cloth diapers on daily deal sites like crazy.  Some of Mr. Teacher Bud's co-workers have a 3 month old that they have been cloth diapering, so we are going to have dinner and talk to them about it as well. 

Summer school started today, so the past week has just been a blur of lesson planning.  and I'm sure the next few will be as well.  I'm sorry that I've been a little lax about updating.  I'll try to be better. 

21 week update! 
Belly Measurement/Weight: Still the same at my last appt.  1lb below my pre-pregnancy weight.  My midwife told me to eat more, and specifically to eat more protein.  I'm trying. 
Physical Progress: At 21 weeks, my uterus was measuring 23 weeks.  But duing the anatomy scan, the baby was right on track, so I'm not concerned.  Mr. Teacher Bud and I were both pretty little (of course he was a premie!) so hopefully Baby TB will be around 6lbs too.
 How I am feeling about my body: Today the way I feel can pretty much be summed up as "oh come on!"  My stretch marks just keep growing, I had to get up twice in the middle of the night to pee, and when I went to put on dress shoes today - none of them fit anymore.  It doesn't help that I think we are going to get rain, so my JRA is acting up and making my joints all swollen and achey.  Ce La vie. 
Energy Level: We'll see!  Today is the first day of summer school and so far so good.  I'll check in again after I've done a week of this! 
Baby Movement: Oh my goodness he's a little wiggle worm!  I feel him all the time now which is awesome! Little rolls, flutters, and lots of kicks.  I wish Mr. Teacher Bud could feel him.  I can't wait for that. 

Anatomy Scan

We had our anatomy scan on Thursday and it went great! Everything with Baby BB was measuring perfectly! He/she was a wiggle worm so it took the tech a few times to get all the measurements. Mr. BB almost caved and decided to find out the baby's gender but he didn't. It looks like we really won't know baby's gender until November...sigh.

Baby is very active and the other kids have enjoyed feeling him/her move around in my belly.

I think Mr. BB and I have settled on for sure boy/girl names but I don't want to share just yet!

My back has been hurting so bad the past few days. Today I caved and took a Tylenol. I haven't been sleeping well either because I can't get comfortable. It seems too early for all of this!

This is short, Mr. BB and I have a wedding to go to today and in order not to be a lame-o I want to nap!

Best,

20 Weeks

So excited to be halfway there to meeting Baby BB! I had my 20 week appointment yesterday and everything went well. Here are a few updates:

Belly Measurement/Weight: I gained 2 1/2 pounds so I am up a total of 6 1/2 since I got pregnant.

Physical Progress: I wear maternity clothes all the time and definitely look pregnant. I am pretty sure my boobs are still growing! They are so heavy too.

How I am feeling about my body: I feel great about my body, I love looking pregnant!

Cravings/Aversions: None really.

Energy Level: I am starting to get tired more again. It takes effort to go up and down the stairs. I get tired after going on walks as well. I haven't been sleeping well because I have been uncomfortable so I feel tired all the time. I definitely sleep whenever I can.

Baby Movement: Baby BB moves all the time! He/she is very active. I love it, baby moving gives me reassurance that everything is ok in there.

My anatomy scan and fetal echocardiogram is tomorrow. Originally my midwife had it schedule for July 6th but I expressed some anxiety in waiting so she moved it up! I am excited to see my baby but nervous that we will have a similar situation to my scary NT scan. I am hoping and praying that everything is normal with baby so I can stop worrying. Hopefully baby's measurements and everything are perfect and we won't need any more tests/procedures. My midwife told me that because all my other tests, the CVS and bloodwork, came back normal there is really nothing to worry about.

I keep having dreams that my baby is a girl! The last two dreams someone has taken her away from me and I spend the entire dream trying to get her back. I always do get her back at the end of the dream and she knows I am her mom. I am not sure why I keep having these dreams, I always wonder if it is a sign that we are going to have a girl since baby is always a girl. Since we are Team Green we will not know until November whether I am right or not.

I will definitely update after my scan tomorrow. Wish us luck!

Holy Crap 19 weeks!

First things first - I'm done with school for a few weeks!  Yay!  I'll be teaching summer school in July, which part of me thinks I'm crazy for, but until then, I have time for baby things (oh yeah, and planning a new class!)

Starting in mid-May, Mr. Teacher Bud was working like crazy (we're talking 95 hrs in one week at it's worst) and since then has been out of town for work a lot.  So I've been itching to get going on daycares, registering, etc. but we haven't done much yet, because obviously I want his input.  He's almost done with his last trip, and then we will be diving in head first.  My goal is to have a daycare selected, a registry most of the way complete, and furniture ordered by the time I start summer school on July 6th.  Wow, now that I write that out it seems like a lot!  *Gulp*

We have looked at 2 daycares, already, and I have a list of other ones to look at, so that is a step in the right direction.  We also want to cloth diaper, and I have a small but growing diaper stash.  We have so far 2 newborn fitteds, 3 small covers, 2 adjustable size pockets, and 3 newborn pockets.  I know we need a lot more, so we need to get on that too!  So far, I've just been buying CDs when they show up on babysteals or zulily.  I also found the 3 covers at a garage sale!  I was surprised, but so happy to get them for only $2 each!  I've also been uying some clothes at garage sales too.  Here's a picture of my haul one day - only $12 for all of it!

credit: me

I'm still buying mostly gender neutral stuff, because we don't know the gender yet.  But we have scheduled our ultrasound!  Our ultrasound is at 8am a week from tomorrow!  I am so impatient and can't wait! 

Belly Measurement/Weight: Still not really up to pre-pregnancy weight.  It has me a little worried, but I'm trying to think it's just my thyroid medicine doing it's job.  My belly is definitely getting bigger!  I had my 1st stranger ask when I was due this past week.  At my appointment they said that my uterus is now up to my belly button. 
Physical Progress: We're up to Mango!   It's pretty strange though, I bought a doppler from a woman on a pregnancy message board that I frequent, and baby is always, always on my right side.  It seems strange. 
How I am feeling about my body: I am mostly done puking!!!!  I hardly ever vomit anymore, smells still get to me, but I'm off the zofran, and doing soooo much better.  I'm using a pregnancy pillow most of the time, and do have some lower back pain. 
Cravings/Aversions: Tomatoes - I love them, but I just cannot eat raw tomatoes.  It's sad. 
Energy Level: The same.  My mom walked me all over the earth yesterday running errand, and I was so exhausted afterwards that I almost went to sleep at 8:30!   
Baby Movement: I think so.  Not from the outside yet though. 

Impromptu Anatomy Scan

I feel a little weird doing two posts in a row, but I don't want to leave people hanging after the last post.


Yesterdays appointment with a specialist turned out to be A LOT more than just a consult. I'm so incredibly thankful my husband was able to get out of work in time to join me.


Not only did we get a consult, but we also got an impromptu anatomy scan. They did a Level II u/s looking specifically for the markers of Downs Syndrome, but also did a general check to see how the little one was doing overall. Since I'm far enough along to tell if baby is a boy or girl, we got to find that out a couple weeks earlier than expected as well.


Baby BOY did not have a single marker detected on the ultrasound for Downs Syndrome. Not one. I was especially relieved to see the heart looked perfect given my previous experience with Downs babies.



However, since only 50% of Downs babies have detectable markers in ultrasounds AND our risk ratio was so high (1:10), we did an amniocentesis yesterday. That's really the best way to get a conclusive yes or no answer at this point in the pregnancy. Results of the amnio should be back in a couple of weeks. Yeah, the wait will stink...but I'm feeling so incredibly much better about the situation after seeing Baby Boy pass yesterdays ultrasound with flying colors.


The anatomy scan itself was pretty neat. They looked at everything it seemed. Head measurements, heart, kidneys, toes...you name it. I'm kind of bummed the images of the little guy sucking his thumb didn't make the cut for the CD we got. Also there was one of his little leg and foot that was precious that we didn't get a copy of either. Its really amazing to see how much he's changed in the last month. He's gotten a lot bigger and has a lot more meat on his bones. Finding out the gender was just a bonus, but we're absolutely thrilled. My intuition was right!


The amnio was nerve wracking, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. Once I told them we were going to go for it, they whipped out a pre-sterilized kit and got right to business. Everyone gloved up. I got swabbed down. From there they took the ultrasound wand and found where baby was. They got him turned so he was facing away from where they were going to poke and pinned him there by keeping pressure on the ultrasound wand. I didn't watch the needle go in, just kept my eye on the ultrasound screen. The needle prick didn't hurt much more than any of the bazillion blood samples I've given this pregnancy. It was kind of scary seeing a needle in the same tiny space as our little one, but they did really well to stay away from him. I'm under doctors orders to take it easy the next couple days and to go to Labor & Delivery if I have any signs of infection, fluid leaking, or possible miscarriage. Thankfully I've had none of that thus far, just some discomfort at the needle site on par with any other time I've been stuck.


This picture sums up how they did the amnio better than I probably did. (Photo credit: http://modernmedicalguide.com/amniocentesis/.)



Funny moment after the amnio yesterday: As they were decanting the sample from the needle into vials after the procedure was done, I blurted out, "Wow, it really does look like pee." Classic.

Anatomy Scan & Baby Sassy Bud has a name!

First things first- our anatomy scan results were perfect. Baby Sassy Bud weighed in at a half a pound and all the measurements were great. I'm always relieved to hear good results. I think IF has left me waiting for something bad to happen, but so far we have been so lucky to have a perfect baby and I have had a perfect pregnancy. Mr. Sassy Bud's parents went with us to the scan. I wanted them to be able to be a part of this since he is an only child and this will be their first grandchild. They were beyond thrilled to be there and I think they really enjoyed being able to see the baby "live" for the first time.

Now on to the fun part! Baby Sassy Bud was not super cooperative, but the tech was able to get a clear shot:

We are having a baby girl! I can honestly say that the moment those words appeared on the screen was the best moment of my life so far. I finally feel like this is real and that we will have a baby of our own in a few months.

Before our ultrasound, we had not discussed names at all. I had one in the back of my head for a while, even before IVF, but I didn't feel comfortable discussing a hypothetical baby so although I had mentioned it to Mr. Sassy Bud, I never asked his opinion of it. I think we were both too nervous. After we left the anatomy scan, I asked Mr. Sassy Bud what he thought and he said he loved it too, so we have a name!

Introducing "Brynn Atarah":

Keeping with Jewish tradition, she is named after Mr. Sassy Bud's grandfather's first initials. Her middle name is Hebrew and means "crown."

After our anatomy scan, we went withe Mr. Sassy Bud's mom to a few stores and she bought tons of baby clothes for her first granddaughter.

My only complaint lately is a backache and lots of bad headaches but I am seeing a chiropractor in hopes that I can get some relief for that.

"Big" Ultrasound!!!

Hellllloooo 19 weeks!!! I feel like time is dragging by so slowly!! Speed up already, I'm ready to meet this kiddo!

We had our anatomy ultrasound this morning. Baby is still a beautiful boy and healthy as can be!! He was incredibly active, moving all around and rarely stopping. Everything looked absolutely perfect. Heart looked great, brain looked great, spine, kidneys, etc. He's a big boy, already in the 62nd percentile at 11oz. Heartbeat was steady in the 150's.

We loved watching him move around in there. He was constantly touching his face and putting his hands in his mouth. And stretching his super long legs out as straight as he could get them! That's not going to feel very good in a few weeks...

Dr. M said that we should start feeling him on the outside in around 3 weeks. That will be so awesome!

A little concern about the Braxton Hicks I was having yesterday. I was averaging around 4 an hour all day long. They weren't painful, but they weren't very comfortable either. She said it was a little early for that to happen that often so she wants me upping my water intake to make sure I'm as hydrated as possible. If they still continue, I'm to call.

There is also some concern about my pelvis being too narrow for a VBAC so when I go back in 4 weeks, they want to do some exams/tests to measure it. And Dr. M said they will also be monitoring baby boy's head size towards the end of the pregnancy since Little Sunflower Bud's head size was the reason I ended up with an emergency c-section.

For someone who was initially upset when finding out it was a boy 3 weeks ago, I was panicked at the thought that it might be wrong and be a girl after all. I couldn't love this little boy more and I'm so proud of be the mother of a son.

We decided against the bedding we used with Little SB and I instantly fell in love with the Giggling Turtles set from Baby Gap... only to discover it was discontinued!! But a very dear friend from high school found it at a local consignment shop in perfect condition!!!

I'm so excited. My mom is coming up this weekend to paint the nursery. We're going to do green walls and I ordered navy and dark green turtle decals from Etsy.

We ordered our dresser and glider as well and they should both be here by Monday. My mom is taking me shopping this weekend and she's going to buy us a new travel system. Our infant carseat is pink so we need a new one and Mr. Sunflower Bud doesn't love our Jeep stroller as much as I do so he wants a new stroller.

~ Sunflower Bud ~

16w4d

I know everyone says this, but this pregnancy really is starting to fly by. I feel like just yesterday I was celebrating 6 weeks and then 8 weeks and now I am moving right along in 2nd tri!

I have had a rough week. Last Monday, I had my monthly OB checkup. I told her about some vision issues I had and my blood pressure was very elevated at the beginning of my appointment. I don't have any real doctor anxiety so I can't attribute it to that. My b/p went back down by the end of the appointment but she wants me on weekly appointments until we can get it in check.

On Wednesday, I had to make an emergency appointment with the OB's office because I was showing symptoms of developing mastitis for the 3rd time since my IVF cycle. This is very unusual and almost unheard of for a non-breastfeeding woman to develop. In fact, both this OB and my previous OB had never seen it in many years of practice. I was noticeably upset at my appointment, so the OB offered to have a breast specialist come in to look at me. He just happened to be working out of their office today. He made me feel a little better about things and he thinks the infection is probably related to the amount of hormones I was on during my IVF cycle. I have to go back for a follow up check after the infection is gone.

On a good note, we scheduled our anatomy scan! It s scheduled on the first day they would see me, 18w (March 9th). We cannot wait to find out what we are having. I am very excited that the u/s office is letting Mr. Sassy Bud's parents come to the scan with us. This will be their first grandchild and they are really looking forward to finding out with us. After the u/s, we will be doing some shopping! I have really resisted buying anything up until now (except for the few great deals I posted about previously).

I'll report back once I know if we are pink or blue!

Newsflash - I Have a Stubborn Child

We had to know from the beginning right - from the hell we went through getting pregnant, to finding out about the lost twin, to the bleeding hell with the subchorionic hematoma... nothing about this was going to be easy, right?

Well, my 12 ounce child isn't making it ANY easier.

Smudge continues to be the most stubborn and uncooperative child there is.

We had our anatomy scan today. S/he's frank breech, which means i have a head, 2 hands and 2 feet at the top of my uterus and a butt at the bottom. I gave a stern warning that s/he has 18 weeks to flip around, otherwise, we'll be meeting for the 1st time in the OR, and I'm not planning on that. There's plenty of time yet for said flippage to happen, so I'm not remotely worried about it. My placenta has also shifted to be more anterior than posterior now. It's actually right at the fundus. So, that might explain why it took so long to feel consistent movement, what with all of the hands and feet at the placenta.

45 minutes later - we got to see a hand!

The sonographer couldn't get all of the views they needed to check everything, but what they did see was absolutely perfect. We have to go back in 2 1/2 weeks to try to finish the anatomy scan, and we're also going to get a fetal echo, which is a specialized heart ultrasound, because apparently with the type of IVF (ICSI) we had to do, there is a miniscule risk of cardiac issues. We're not remotely worried - but if it's just an ultrasound, why not make sure EVERYTHING is okay... so they'll do it at the same time.

20 week belly

Meanwhile - we found out our risk categories for downs syndrome (1 in 880) and Trisomy 13 and 18 (1 in 10,000), so we'll happily take those odds. Apparently the average downs risk for my age group is 1 in 300 and once we finish the anatomy and fetal echo, he anticipates our risk dropping even more. (I already knew my results were "normal", but I'm glad the perinatologist told us the ratios.)

Smudge chewing on a hand

Since Smudge was incredibly uncooperative, we got awful pictures today. With the ones the tech gave us, she had to explain what we were seeing. I begged the one with the open hand from the perinatologist himself, since the tech didn't give it to me. I figured it was the only really clear picture the whole scan, and I wanted just one i didn't have to explain. He laughed at me when I asked, and happily handed it over.

Hopefully we'll get better ones in 2 1/2 weeks.

Anyway - here's Smudge at 20 weeks 1 day and my big ole 20 week belly. Its starting to get in my way now. It's so funny. I love it. 20 weeks and less than 10 pounds gained (7 the last time I got on a scale). I'm really proud of myself.

Riverdance!

It's about freakin' time.

Last night, after a terrible day at work, I was treated to about 15 minutes of baby movement. We pulled out the doppler, and sure enough, every movement we heard, I felt. Smudge really seems to be the midnight party animal.

Photo Credit

Then again this morning, when I woke up, i got 2 little thumps to let me know s/he wasn't danced out yet.

I can't wait until our anatomy on Thursday... hopefully we'll see an example of what was going on last night.

I'm so happy that I could finally feel Smudge. Even though Mr. DB knew he couldn't feel yet, he was really excited and put his head on my belly and kissed it.

Almost at the half way point - and we can't wait to meet Smudge.

Its a...

We have 18 weeks more to go! I can't believe how fast it has gone. It seems like just yesterday I was peeing on sticks trying to see if that line was real or not. I really can't believe it.

Last week, May 11, 2010, we had our Anatomy Scan. Boy, were we in for a shock. We first saw little Jelly Bean moving away in there. Showing us her/his fingers and toes. Then you see him/her touching her nose with her little finger.

Mr. OB has highlighted the special features of the ultrasound so you can see what he thought was going on:

Yes thats right folks, My husband thinks the little one is picking its nose! Silly boy!

And for the big reveal...

Its a GIRL! I think at first I was in shock. I started bawling. Not because I didn't want a girl just so many emotions came over me. What do I do with a girl? I hate shopping. I'm so not a girly girl. I know more about football than I know about makeup. I hate the color pink. She is doomed.

Then I realized all the little fun things we can do together. Baking (Yum!), Pedicures, Having Tea Parties, Playing Dress up, Dance Recitals, Gymnastics, Getting her ready for her first date (This will not come until she is 18 maybe 19), Sending her off to college (She will NOT go to a party school...Sorry that includes LSU. Just kidding Mr. OB, Just kidding), watching her walk down the aisle with her Daddy, Having her first child. Amazing.

Who knows what a do with a little girl or boy? No one really knows right? Its their first child. You have no idea. They don't come with instruction manuals. One thing I know for sure is that I will promise to never make her do anything she doesn't want to do. I will be the best mom I know I can be. I will love her unconditionally and be there to pick her up when she needs picking up. I know we will butt heads and this is where her father will come in and save the day. Her father will keep me in line. I promise to always be there for her whenever she needs it. I promise to make her own decisions and choices (within reason). We will be best friends but at the same time I will also be her mother. She will be wrapped around her father's finger and when I say no, she will run to him. I'm sure of it. She will have to get a job before she gets a car. And if she wants that expensive purse (which her mother NEVER gets) she will buy it herself. (I know I'm evil).

We will make it. We will survive. There isn't anything better than a mother daughter relationship and now I get to experience it.

Almost 19 weeks....

This past week was our anatomy scan. It went really well :) I was a little nervous going in to it just because I obviously wanted everything to be great and thankfully it was.

Baby LB is still measuring a week ahead of schedule and it weighing in at 10 ounces.
All of his parts were present and accounted for....except for his feet! See, my son loves to sleep and much like his father has no interest in participating in any sort of activity while he is doing so. This happened at our first NT scan @ 11.5 weeks (hence having to repeat it). The tech (who was really nice , btw) got all his measurements and the last thing he needed to check was the feet. Baby LB was tired. You could tell from the moment he started because he was in a little ball. When he was checking out his face he had his arms up covering it, rubbing it, and yawning.
When it came time to check his piggies he had his knees up to his chest and was curled up in such a way where he couldn't get was he needed. The tech was poking and prodding trying to get him to wake up for a couple of minutes....nothing. So he suggested I lay on my side for a few minutes to see if that would help get him to move....nothing.
So we get to go back in 4 weeks to try again. :)

We have an u/s schedule at our 20 wk appt. so if my OB wants to check for them there than we won't have to go back. I'd rather not have to since @ the perinatologist we have to pay a co-pay because it's a specialist and at the OB we pay nothing because my insurance covers it all 100%.

Other that than, feeling Baby LB is becoming a little easier. The kicks are a little more noticeable and sometimes I can feel it from the outside. Mr. LB has yet to feel it. Hopefully he will soon!

This week MIL is taking us to order Baby LB's crib. SIL is in town so we'll be making a family date out of the whole thing.

It's been a good week :)