week 33: I need to do some hardcore updating!

I've definitely been a blog slacker for the past couple months. Since the first trimester, everything has been going and growing wonderfully. We are having a baby girl, Penelope Sofia! I've gotten a little crafty and made a mobile and a name banner for over her crib. I'll post those pictures when we actually have a complete nursery! I had maternity photos taken at 28 weeks, here are a couple of my favorite ones.



Since my belly was a little on the smaller side, I'll be meeting up with CK photography in December to take more photos.

I've had to start seeing the high risk OB's twice a week and my delivering OB weekly. Reality is kinda setting in, this little girl will be here soon. Every week at the high risk OBs office, they perform an NST(non-stress test) where they listen to the baby's heartbeat and look for any irregularities. Then they perform an ultrasound to look for fetal movement, breathing, and amniotic fluid measurements. So far, she's been doing great. Next week, they'll do another growth ultrasound so we can see about how much she weighs. From here on out she should gain about 1/2lb a week, so we should be able to estimate how much she'll weigh when she arrives!

week 17:

Nothing too exciting to update on this week. We had an appointment with our regular OB who will be delivering and just listened to the heartbeat. Next week we find out what we're having for sure. I'm starting to get a baby bump, but most of my clothes still fit. My favorite pair of jeans are unbuttonable though and I had to use a bella band for the first time.
We got an amazing deal on a crib, I think that's the most exciting thing to happen yet. My mom had been looking for used cribs on Craigslist when she came across a lady selling her $275 crib voucher for her re-called crib for $150. My mom gave us the $150 for the voucher, I had a 20% off couppon at Babies R Us, and we ended up getting our brand new $350, 5 in 1 convertible crib for $5.35. If only I could find amazing bargains like that for everything else we need!

First Trimester Genetic Screen:

Two days after meeting with my OB, I had an appointment to screen the baby for Down syndrome and othe chromosomal abnormalities. The measure the translucency and width of the fluid behind the baby's neck and check to see that the baby's nasal bone is present. Here's what we saw...

The first picture is the baby from the side, next is the bottom of the baby's foot. The next set are all of the baby's head, paying close attention to the back of the neck and the nasal bone. They said everything looked perfect. They said they didn't see any sign of a penis, so most likely, we're having a girl. They said they have een fooled before, so don't go crazy on the pink. We'll know 100% next month!

week 13:

This week was a busy one! I had my first appointment with my regular OB who will be delivering our baby. They're nice and all, but no where close to as awesome as my reproductive endocrinologist. I met with his nurse, and she was a bit wacky, but just wacky enough for me to like her. We did an ultrasound at the end of the appointment to see how the baby was measuring and everything looked great. The first picture is the top of the baby's head, next is the baby's booty, trying to get a shot of the sex, and last is the baby's heart, beating about 152 bpm. In the next set of pictures, the top is the baby from the back so you can see the spine, next is the profile of the baby, and last is the baby facing you. My Dr said it was too early to tell what we were having, but maybe by next month we'll know for sure.

week 10:

This was my last visit with the reproductive endocrinologist - graduation day. It was kinda sad, I really liked the staff there and my doctor was an awesome Yankee fan.
In 2 weeks, I get to meet my regular OB (he's a ginger) and his nurse practitioner. So, the baby is 4cm big now and had all it's fingers and toes. You can actually see the jaw and teeth are developing, it kinda looks like Jaws from the James Bond movies. The doctor couldn't tell the baby's sex yet, but he was pretty sure it was gonna be a Yankee fan. Two days after my appointment with the OB, I'm getting my 1st trimester genetic screen done, so we may be able to find out then. I'm kinda hoping it's a boy, because we're having trouble compromising on a girl name.

week 9:

Now it really looks like a baby! It kinda waved at me during the ultrasound and it moved around alot. It's just a little over an inch now (with a huge noggin')and it's heart was beating 170bpm. Apparently there is an old wives tale that if the baby's heart rate is above 140, it's a girl and below 140 is a boy. However, low levels of nausea are a sign that it's a boy, so these wives tales aren't helping me out!
I graduate from my reproductive endocrinologist next week and then I have to wait 3 whole weeks before I get to see my regular OB. I'm waiting for my 1st trimester genetic screen to be scheduled somewhere between 11-13 weeks. I have gained 2 pounds already, but it's more likely from adding back some of the carbs I wasn't eating before. It kinda makes me sad that I worked so hard to lose 12 pounds and now I'm gonna gain it all back in no time. It's for a good cause I guess! ;) If anything it's giving me motivation to work hard and lose again after our baby is born!

week 8:

We grew arms and legs this week! the head is to the left, the arms are pretty easy to make out, then the rest of the body. It's legs are kinda tucked in like a frog. It is actually starting to look like a baby now, or more like a peanut with arms! We actually got to see it move it's legs a little bit and we were able to see the spine. Baby's heart is still beating fast at 165 bpm and growing perfectly at 1.63cm. I have still been lucky enough not to experience any morning sickness, I'm just thirsty and tired.
I only have 2 more visits with the reproductive endocrinologists office before I switch to my regular OB, and then my ultrasounds will be less frequent. However, I will get a first trimester screen done to check for the presence or risk of chromasomal conditions between 10-13 weeks. I was told by the nurse that they can often determine the sex of the baby when that screen is performed. I'm not really sure which one I want, but I'm kinda leaning towards a boy. We'll see soon enough!

Week 7:

So, today I am measuring 7 weeks and 2 days. The baby is a little over a centimeter big, it's about the size of a blueberry. This week, it's brain is forming and producing 100 brain cells per minute. It starts to form appendages and gets some kidneys. It's heart was beating 139bpm and it's growing along perfectly. I've still been fortunate enough to not experience morning sickness and I kinda hope it stays that way! I feel like a hibernating bear, I'm just so sleepy all the time. So, this week's picture was kinda confusing to me. The circular thing towards the bottom left is the yolk sac, to the right of that is the baby's head, and then the rest of the body is towards the top.

Our First Ultrasound - week 6

It seemed to take forever for this appointment to come. I haven't really had many symptoms, just fatigue and thirst(so far) and it was making me wonder if there really was a baby there or not! When we showed up for the appointment the nurse told me my HCG count from the bloodwork results were really high, which could indicate multiples. There was a mini freak out going on in my head. She assured us that everything would be cleared up with the ultrasound.

Just one! Our one tiny baby measures 3.6mm. We even got to zoom in and see the flicker of the heart beating. Too cool. But even more amazing was when the doctor turned the sound up and we could hear the heart beat. I had to fight to hold back tears. It's heart is beating 100bpm. The doctor said everything looks great for where we are in the pregnancy; I get to go back to see him next week. Being diabetic, my pregnancy is high risk and he wants to see me pretty often for the first 10 weeks or so.

The results are in:

After 2 weeks of waiting to take a test, this was the result! The first test I took had a very faint line and I wasn't 100% about it, so I went out and bought a digital one. A couple of days later I went and got blood work done at my Dr's office confirming the results. I also had to pay a visit to my endocrinologist to change medications and really regulate my blood sugars during pregnancy. I've had to start insulin shots at bedtime just to bring down my fasting blood sugar levels in the morning. He also had me meet with a dietician to go over pregnancy health and diabetes. I'm supposed to eat 1800 calories a day with a limited amount of carbs. So, I guess I can't be one of those pregnant ladies who gives in to every craving. Anyways, we're due 12/21, a Christmas baby!

Round Two:

We went in to round two with the same game plan as round one. But this time we had to work around my husband's busy work schedule and him being out of town. I started the oral medication and went in for a monitoring ultrasound 3 days later. I had 4 follicles all about 10mm. The next 3 nights I did the follistim injections to help with follicle production. We were a little worried about overstimulation since I am still pretty young and responding well to oral meds. At the next ultrasound, I had 5 follicles: one at 13mm, 12mm, and 3 at 11mm. Five is a bit on the high side, so we were hoping that number would come down by the next ultrasound. Two days later, I had one magnificent 19mm follicle, one at 13mm, and a couple at 10mm that the nurse wasn't worried about. I've been trying not to get my hopes up, but the nurse printed out a picture of my perfect follicle and told me to save it for my baby book. So much for being pessimistic. I was injected with HCG to induce ovulation and we were ready for some baby making. But first I had to drive 4 1/2 hours south to get to my husband and I cashed in some really personal days at work. And the wait begins...

Round One:

Our game plan was to try an oral medication called femara that is similar to clomid, but with less side effects and better response for women with PCOS, injectibles called follistim to help with the maturation of eggs, and a trigger shot of HCG to induce ovulation, with timed intercourse. I started off with a baseline ultrasound to make sure everything was normal and ready for the process to begin. I took the femara a week later and went in for the next ultrasound a week after that. I had 7 "good" eggs between both ovaries. Two days later, another ultrasound showed 4 mautring eggs. We were hoping the number of eggs decreased so that we wouldn't over-stimulate and possibly have multiples. The RE erred on the side of caution and decided not to use the follistim. He said my body reacted perfectly to the femara and injecting follistim would just over produce. At the third ultrasound, I had 2 19mm eggs and was ready for ovulation to be induced. Two weeks after ovulation, we would know whether we were succesful or not. Unfortunately, my period started the day before my doctor appointment to get the results. Big fat negative. On to round two.

The Next Step:

In January 2010, we met with my reproductive endocrinologist to go over a plan. He explained PCOS a little more and went over the importance of a low carb diet, especially for someone with diabetes. Carbs effect the body the same way sugar does, so for someone whose body has trouble producing insulin to lower glucose levels, carbs cause a spike in blood sugar levels which causes an imbalance of hormones. All the body's hormones are linked in some way, so an imbalance in one has an effect on another, and so on, and so on. On our first visit with the RE, he put me on a low carb diet to regulate my blood sugars, which will help regulate my other hormones and hopefully get my body a little closer to normal. Since January, I have lost 10 pounds and lowered my BMI to 24.4. I get blood work done every 3 months for my diabetes endocrinologist. The measurement we pay close attention to is the hemaglobin A1C level, which is an average blood glucose level for the past 3-4 months. In a non-diabetic, the normal A1C is 6.0, putting their average glucose at 136. From my most recent blood work, my A1C level decreased from 6.2 to 5.5, putting my average at 118. Small victory for me!

The beginning of our story:

My handsome husband and I met back in 1999. We dated throughout high school and had an on again, off again relationship in college. We finally got ourselves together and got engaged on New Years 2008 and were married on April 4, 2009. Our plan was to get pregnant right away, like a honeymoon baby. But of course things never work out the way you plan them.
In 2007, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I come from a family of diabetics, so my diagnoses was no surprise. However, I never really fully understood the seriousness of the disease and other than taking oral medications, I never did much to regulate my blood sugar.
So, getting back to our baby journey, I had gone to my gyn in August of 09 because I hadn't menstruated since May and got nothing but negative pregnancy tests. He put me on a medication called clomid to induce ovulation, but it was not successful. After 3 rounds and several horrible side effects, he referred me to a reproductive endocrinologist. In December 2009, I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome(PCOS). My husband was a good sport and also went through testing to make sure we weren't suffering from male factor infertility as well. Thankfully, he's got great swimmers! Now, having put a finger on what our problem was, we were both eager to get the baby making process started.