The Anatomy Scan That Wasn't

Yesterday afternoon, I got a voice mail from my OB's office saying the sonographer was looking over Thursday's appointments and noticed that I would not be far enough along in my pregnancy to do my anatomy scan.

When I called back to reschedule my appointment, the lady asked why I had pushed up my appointment from March 6 to February 27. I replied saying I had to change it because my husband was going to be out of town all that week and he wanted to be there for the scan. She then suggested moving the appointment to the 6th, and again I had to tell her that Keegan would be out of town all that week so it couldn't be done that day. Due to him being out of town, the earliest we can get the scan done now is March 13.

I know in the grand scheme of things, this isn't a big deal. I know I still have a baby cooking away and that truthfully, waiting a few more weeks is probably best so that s/he can chunk up a bit more and we can get better pictures. I know all of these things, and I'm truly grateful to be in this position, but I'm upset.

I am more upset about the fact that this wasn't caught 3 weeks ago when I made the appointment. I'm upset that I wasn't called about it until the day before. I'm honestly confused because most elective ultrasound places will do a gender scan as early as 14 weeks. My friend A goes to the same OB and had her twin anatomy scan done at 17 weeks, 2 days. I know babies change quickly, especially during this time, but I'm not sure how 5 days makes that big of a deal (I am 16 weeks 4 days today.)

The more I deal with this OB practice throughout my pregnancy, the more I dislike them. They constantly drop the ball, make mistakes, and there have been numerous times that I've felt like I know more than the doctors. A has said she's felt the same way.  Both of us went to the same RE in Alabama, and we'd both go back there in a heartbeat if it wasn't 3 hours away. Unfortunately it seems that I'm stuck with this OB. All the other ones have had horrible reviews and stricter policies on attempting to have a natural birth. I just hope that if/when we have another baby in the future, we're away from this town and I can get a new OB.

We did try and get an elective ultrasound done in Atlanta on Friday, but most places wanted a written consent notice from your OB, were too far away from where we were going to be doing our shopping, or both. We did  find one place that just took the name and phone number of your OB and would call if they found anything strange in the ultrasound, but the earliest appointment they had was March 8 which doesn't help us much.

Even though I'm sad, I'm not going to let this ruin my weekend. We are still going to Atlanta tomorrow to register and see Alton Brown's show, as well as going to Ikea for the first time and eating at the Cheesecake Factory (I haven't been to one since I was in my teens!) Honestly, we don't need to know the sex to register for breast pumps or strollers; we want big ticket items like that to be as gender neutral as possible in the hopes there will be a second baby to occupy them. If we find something that we want to be gender specific, we'll put it on the registry, and then take it off/change the color if Breadcrumb ends up being the opposite sex.

So if any of you were holding your breath (HA!) to see what Breadcrumb ended up being, sorry to disappoint. You'll just have to wait with baited breath like Breadcrumb's grandparents and my boss who looked more disappointed than I was.

Breadcrumb Week 16

How far along: 16 weeks, 1 day

Total Weight Gain/Loss: -7 pounds from prepregnancy weight. 

Symptoms:

• food aversions, specifically chicken (unless in buffalo wing form.) I had half of a burger twice this week, so I'm getting some protein in!
• tiredness - I have good nights and bad nights. Typically during the week we're in bed by 9, but on the weekend, I can stay up til 11 or so.
• Loss of sex drive
• sneezing, although not as much as when I was sick!
• constipation - back to being somewhat of a problem.
• getting winded easier - I feel like such a weenie for getting winded just from vacuuming the living room!
• sugar lows - ever since coming off the Metformin, I've noticed my blood sugar dropping randomly. I get shaky, sweaty and week and have to eat something to feel better. I brought this up to my friend who is having twins after IVF who also has PCOS, and she said she's noticed having sugar lows as well after coming off the Metformin. 

Maternity clothes: Wearing maternity jeans all the time; as soon as I get home, I'm either in yoga pants or PJ pants. Still can't wait until it's warm enough to wear maxi dresses.

Stretch marks: Nothing new here thank goodness

Sleep: Still up a few times a night to reposition myself, thankfully sleep on my sides is more comfortable. In fact, it's gotten quite uncomfortable to sleep on my stomach, but I unconsciously roll to my stomach while sleeping. Some nights I'm up twice to pee, others I can wait until the morning. 

Best moment last week: We received our dresser and crib on Wednesday and spent Friday night putting it together while watching the Olympics during a tornado. 

That box was just the crib, the two behind Keegan were the dresser

The nursery went from:

to 

Remember how I said in my last post that we were worried about the furniture matching because we ordered two different colors? Well, we lucked out! The crib is slightly more red, but they match really really well, the pictures don't do it justice.

We're still looking for a chair for the corner next to the crib, and we'll be refinishing the bookshelf depending on the sex of the baby. Of course we need some decorations, but it's a start! 

I also received packages from Sarah and Ladybug this week. Sarah sent me a sweet card, necklace, and frame, and Ladybug sent me a cloth diaper and Good Night moon. Thank you so much ladies, you're too sweet! 

Movement: I thought I might have felt a few pops here and there throughout the week, but not sure if it was from Breadcrumb or gas

Food cravings: Still loving cheesy spuds and lemonade from McAlisters. I've noticed that I'm craving water more often lately, I seem to always be thirsty! Even though I wasn't a big drinker before pregnancy, a frozen alcoholic drink sounds amazing.  

Gender: We find out on Thursday (assuming Breadcrumb cooperates) 

Labor signs: Zilch, thank goodness.

Belly button? In, getting shallower 

What I miss: Coke! I've been staying away from caffeine, but I've been craving a cold fountain Coke like none other. I told Keegan that's the one thing I want in the delivery room. 

What I am looking forward to: Finding out Breadcrumb's gender on Thursday and our Atlanta trip this weekend. I'm going to Ikea for the first time! Speaking of our Atlanta trip, any mommies have any must have baby product suggestions? I feel like I've been researching for weeks, but I'm still so clueless! 

Baby Buys: Nothing this week. Been trying to not buy clothing until we find out the gender.  

Milestones: Holy crap we have a nursery!

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On Saturday, Keegan texted me to let me know his mom had called with news that his cousin's wife (cousin in law?) is about 13 weeks pregnant with twins. After hearing the news, I was surprisingly upset for a few hours. I knew they had been trying, and we suspected they were having trouble, so it shouldn't have come as a shock to me, but it did. My biggest fear is that Breadcrumb is going to be forgotten. Cousin lives up in KC with a lot of Keegan's extended family, so they get to see each other a lot more often than the one time a year we do. Since Cousin is also having twins, it's a safe bet to assume that she's going to deliver earlier than I am. I don't want to come off as a bitter infertile; I am truly truly happy for them, and as Keegan pointed out, Breadcrumb will have (second) cousins to play with whenever we visit, but when you honestly think about it, what's more exciting, twins you get to see every week, or a singleton who lives 14 hours away? I suppose I just feel pushed to the side. 

After a few hours of moping, I'm a lot happier about the news. It'll be great for Breadcrumb to have cousins so close in age, and perhaps Cousin and I could have a joint baby shower. I know that I'll love the twins so much and I'm thrilled to see the next generation growing even more. I've just warned Keegan that baby news isn't delivered best over text.

Breadcrumb Week 15

How far along: 15 weeks

Total Weight Gain/Loss: -10 pounds from prepregnancy weight. 

Symptoms:

• food aversions, especially meat
• tiredness - this has gotten better. We've stayed up until 11 a few nights this past week watching the Olympics as apposed to going to bed at 8:30
• Loss of sex drive
• sneezing - especially since I've been sick this week!
• constipation - back to being somewhat of a problem. I think I'm going to have to take Colace once a week to make sure it doesn't become a bigger problem. 
• getting winded easier - that might be attributed to the cold I had over the weekend. 

Keegan was super sweet and gave me his cold for Valentines Day, so I've been fighting that over the weekend. Stuffed/runny nose, sore throat and a small cough made for a rough few nights of sleep, but I think I'm on the recovering side, thank goodness. 

Maternity clothes: Wearing maternity jeans all the time; as soon as I get home, I'm either in yoga pants or PJ pants. Loving my maternity shirts, they're so long and comfortable! I can't wait until it's warm enough to wear some maxi dresses, I have a feeling those will be my go-to for the summer. 

Stretch marks: Nothing new here. Anyone have a recommendation for a lotion/cream to try and combat any that will show up?

Sleep: Still up a few times a night to reposition myself, thankfully my sides have started to become more comfortable. I can normally go until about 5 before having to pee, and Keegan gets up around 5:30 for work, so I've been able to kiss him before work each morning. Only problem is, it takes me about an hour and a half to get back to sleep, so I only get another hour of sleep or so before I have to get up for work. 

Best moment last week: We purchased our dresser and crib today! Keegan got a nice bonus at work, so we used some of it to purchase the furniture. We purchased both from diapers.com because they have free shipping and no tax. 

DaVinci Kalani Combo Dresser in Espresso

DaVinci Parker 4-in-1 Crib in Coffee

Unfortunately they're in two different colors, but we realized that after we had already ordered the dresser. The colors seem pretty close on the designer's website, but if they end up being too different, we'll return and order a different crib. 

Movement: Too early.

Food cravings: No real cravings. I have been liking McAlister's cheese spud and lemonade a lot, I may have had it three times this week. 

Gender: We find out on February 27!

Labor signs: Zilch, thank goodness.

Belly button? In, maybe getting shallower 

What I miss: Getting a full night sleep without having to wake up to pee. Even though I was never a big drinker before pregnancy, a cold fruity alcoholic drink sounds amazing right now. 

What I am looking forward to: Finding out Breadcrumb's gender on the 27th and our Atlanta trip.

Baby Buys: The crib and dresser above. We also went to Build A Bear and made Breadcrumb's first lovie, a super soft bunny. 

Milestones: Holy crap we purchased nursery furniture! 

Didn't realize that was the only front view picture Keegan took, so that's what you get! 

Breadcrumb Week 14

How far along: 14 weeks and 4 days. I'm a bit late with this one.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: gained another pound which means I'm still -9 pounds from pre-pregnancy weight.

Symptoms:

• food aversions
• tiredness
• Loss of sex drive
• sneezing
• constipation - this has gotten better this past week, thankfully. Hopefully I can stay on top of it so it won't be a problem much longer.

Thankfully my nausea has decreased a lot. I only get nauseous if I smell something really funky, or I eat too much. I can't eat a lot of the same type of food; if we go out to eat, I either have to get an appetizer sized portion, or an appetizer sampler, I can't stomach the same type of food long enough to eat an entire meal. 

Maternity clothes: Wearing maternity jeans all the time; as soon as I get home, I'm either in yoga pants or PJ pants. Loving my maternity shirts, they're so long and comfortable!

Stretch marks: Nothing new here. Anyone have a recommendation for a lotion/cream to try and combat any that will show up?

Sleep: Sleep is ok. I'm waking up in the middle of the night to pee almost every night. Most nights I'm waking up throughout the night to reposition myself. I've really been trying to sleep more on my sides, but my stomach and back are still my favorites.

Best moment last week: Even though my OB appointment was a bit disappointing, it was nice to hear Breadcrumb's heartbeat again and to be reassured that everything is going ok. I scheduled our anatomy scan for early March, but then had to change it due to Keegan going out of town for work, so we're now having it on February 27, the day before we go to Atlanta!

Movement: Too early.

Food cravings: No real cravings. I did buy the supplies to make s'mores, so I've been having one (or three...don't judge) each night. Simultaneously the best and worst decision I made all week.

Gender: We find out on February 27!

Labor signs: Zilch, thank goodness.

Belly button? In, maybe getting shallower

What I miss: Getting a full night sleep without having to wake up to pee. I know a full night won't happen until the kid(s) are in college, so I better get used to it!

What I am looking forward to: Finding out Breadcrumb's gender on the 27th and our Atlanta trip.

Baby Buys: More cloth diapers

Milestones: Officially being in the second trimester no matter who you talk to.

13 Weeks, 4 Days OB Appointment

I hate to sound so...annoyed/bitter/upset, but to be honest, this appointment seemed completely useless to me.

It may have been the fact that the office was running an hour and a half behind that put me in a bad mood, but it seemed like a waste of my day to have my OB talk with me for all of 7 minutes.

I got weighed, got my blood pressure taken, peed in a cup, and got the forms to do my first round of genetic testing. I learned that my OB doesn't do the NT scan at 12 weeks because their ultrasound technicians are not trained to preform it, and no one in the office is trained to read the scan. If Keegan and I were really worried (which we're not,) we could be referred to a maternal fetal specialist an hour away who could do the scan, but I doubt we'll make the trip.

I did learn that if anything is wrong with our anatomy scan, then we'll be referred to the specialist anyway. The way Dr. L was talking, it seemed like they refer many women, so we may be making the trip anyways.

I also learned that the genetic testing we're doing will not tell us the sex of the baby. Dr. L said that that type of genetic testing is new on the market, and insurance normally doesn't cover the test for the sex, so we'd have to pay out of pocket.

I was asked if I had any questions or concerns, so I brought up the cramping I've been having. Apparently Dr. L was never told about it, even though I was assured she was when it first occurred, but she just brushed it off as normal stretching pains. She even went so far to ask if I held my urine too long which could cause similar pains. I know that this is my first pregnancy, but I know the difference between having-to-pee pains and what I've been experiencing.

I did get to hear Breadcrumb's heartbeat on the doppler which was nice. It took Dr. L a good three minutes to find the heartbeat, but I wasn't too upset because I had found it myself a couple of days ago on our home doppler.

I then drove to the outside lab to do the genetic testing and they took 5 vials of blood. I really, really hope that my insurance wasn't lying when they said they'd cover the cystic fibrosis test, because if they don't, we're out $800.

All in all, a 10 minute appointment took over 2.5 hours. I scheduled our anatomy ultrasound for March 6, but while driving back to work, remembered that Keegan will be gone that entire week. I emailed the office to see they could move the appointment up a week, so we'll see what happens.

Ladies farther than me / with kids already: are all appointments (besides the anatomy ultrasound) like this? I know that it's important to check a woman's blood pressure and urine for preeclampsia, but the entire appointment felt like a waste of time. Perhaps it felt like that because I was used to doing something during our TTC appointments (ultrasounds, blood work, talking about our next steps.) I just felt really...rushed and pushed out the door with this appointment and didn't really get much out of it.

Oh, also, either my home scale or the doctor's scale is broken. I weighed myself on our home scale before I left this morning and I weighed 191 pounds. A 10 minute drive to the OB clinic and I suddenly weighed 203 pounds. I was chugging water so I could provide a urine sample, but I doubt it was 10 pounds worth!

Breadcrumb Week 13

How far along: 13 weeks

Total Weight Gain/Loss: -10 pounds, looks like I'm finally gaining some of the weight I lost! 

Symptoms:

• Periods of nausea 
• food aversions 
• tiredness 
• Loss of sex drive
• sneezing (can sneezing be a symptom? I sneeze like 10-15 times a day!)
• constipation - I mean to write about this last week, but let's just say that I've gone from a "once a day" kind of girl to a "once a week with the help of medication" kind of girl. I've been taking Colace when I've noticed that it's been too long since I've gone, but I'm going to ask my OB on Thursday if there's something better I should be taking.   

Maternity clothes: Wearing maternity jeans all the time; as soon as I get home, I'm either in yoga pants or PJ pants. I bought a few maternity t-shirts from Old Navy and Kohls which are nice to wear because they're so long. Most of my shirt still fit me, but a few of them are getting on the short side. 

Stretch marks: Nothing new here.

Sleep: Sleep is ok. A few times this week, I've woken up in the middle of the night to pee. Most nights I'm waking up throughout the night to reposition myself. I've really been trying to sleep more on my sides, but I always wake up on my stomach and lately I've been waking up on my back.  

Best moment last week: We bought tickets to see Alton Brown's tour in Atlanta at the end of February, so we decided to spend the weekend there and register since there are more, and bigger, stores than what's around us. We won't know the sex of the baby yet, but we can register for things like a stroller and breast pump that doesn't depend on knowing. 

Movement: Too early.

Food cravings: I'm still having some nausea and food aversions so I ate anything that sounded good which apparently worked since I gained 4ish pounds. 

Gender: Don't know yet, though I have my suspicions.

Labor signs: Zilch, thank goodness.

Belly button? In, maybe getting shallower 

What I miss: Nothing, really.

What I am looking forward to: Seeing Breadcrumb at our next appointment on 2/6, starting to plan the nursery and baby shower. 

Baby Buys: Bought a few more items for our cloth diaper stash. 

Milestones: Making it to 13 weeks. I know this is a topic of discussion, but I'm saying I'm in the second trimester! 

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Last night, I was giving a Facebook friend some advice on wedding planning. I realized that during our planning, I had no problem doing the research and dropping money on what needed to be bought. However, with this pregnancy, I'm feeling very overwhelmed with researching and purchasing anything larger than a onesie or cloth diaper. I'm constantly fighting with myself between anxiously wanting to start the nursery and being too scared to actually purchase a crib and dresser. I'm not sure if it's because I'm still nervous about this pregnancy having a happy ending, or if I'm subconsciously waiting to find out the sex of the baby before making any big decisions, but it's a strange feeling. I was perfectly comfortable shelling our $1,000 for food during our wedding, but I can't seem to pull the trigger on a $200 crib.

 
   

Just for fun, 6 weeks verses 13 weeks.