Perfect.

This was how the perinatologist described the baby this morning. Perfect. He was happy to hear that my blood sugar has been under good control. I had an endocrinologist appointment last week and my A1c was 5.5. I have never had such tight control and as much as the continuous glucose monitor drives me nuts with it's contstant alerts I have to attribute the control to that.

I didn't take any video this time because I was by myself and they really just looked at and measured the body parts and organs. I was asked if I was finding out the sex but I was strong and said no. It was very tempting but I think it will be more exciting to find out on the big day.

There was only one problem that I saw with the ultrasound. I'm not big on reality tv and I absolutely hate Jersey Shore. I think that those people are an embarrassment to America. The problem is this:

16 weeks 1 day

I've got a fist pumper on my hands. Apparently it's big in Jersey.

Ugh. Just looking at that picture makes my skin crawl. Not sure how to fist pump? Well, here's an instructional chart so you can practice at home:


Consider yourself informed.

Better late than never

So, I meant to do a post about my perinatologist's appointment a few weeks ago. Whoops. Everything was fine. They did an ultrasound (including a 4D one as well...creepy, but cool!) to measure the nuchal fold on the back of the baby's neck. They tried an abdominal ultrasound at first, but the baby was head down and she couldn't get a view of the back of the neck. So, a vaginal ultrasound was done instead. I think the vaginal ultrasound is clearer anyways so I was happy to oblige. She had no trouble getting several measurements that way. She said that a measurement over 2.0 (mm, I'm assuming) would be an indicator of Down's Syndrome and all three measurements she took were under. They also took some blood to run more tests for Down's Syndrome. They called me last week to tell me that my chances of having a baby born with Down's Syndrome when I walked into my appointment were about 1 in 400 but after the ultrasound and the bloodwork my chances were now 1 in 6,000 or so. Insert sigh of relief here.

Courtney was able to come with me for the appointment so he took a couple of videos of the ultrasound. This first video is of the abdominal ultrasound. You can kind of see it squirming around in there. I think it looks like a shrimp in this video. :)


12 weeks 2 days (but I measured 12 weeks 4 days)

This video shows some of the 4D ultrasound. You can hear the tech saying that a part of the placenta was right over the baby's head so either it blocks it or when she moves it she loses part of the head. So, the baby does indeed have a fully intact head. This was the vaginal ultrasound and I think there is a huge difference from the other one.

We got a bunch of pictures from this appointment but the best one was this one:

It's a picture of a picture, so it's a little blurry...sorry!

A couple people said it looks like the baby is giving a peace sign or a thumbs up but I have different opinion. Do you remember the show "The Kids in the Hall?"

Loved that show. Anyway, there was a sketch on that show about a guy who crushed people's heads with his thumb and forefinger.

My baby is going to be a head crusher.

Stevie Wonder

I love the movie The 40 Year Old Virgin. I've seen it a million times and it always makes me laugh. I love Steve Carrell and am a huge Office fan. And he is so perfectly awkward in this movie. Anyway, there is a scene where they are playing poker and sharing sex stories and he tries to make one up, without much success. They want more details so they ask him to describe the woman's boobs and then go on to describe different types of nipples. As seen here. Just a little warning....there is graphic language in the clip. One of the types they describe are the "bumpy-braille nipples" and you can hear Seth Rogen call them "Stevie Wonders."


I now own a pair of those.


I swear, I have a short story, written in braille, on my nipples.


I know it's normal in pregnancy but it still surprised me nonetheless. There hasn't been much else to report other than that. My fatigue has started to improve and my tummy is getting a little bigger. I can't fit into most of my clothes anymore, unless they were a little big to begin with or if they are stretchy. I'm starting to get a little heartburn after eating certain foods but antacids solve that problem.

Everyone at work now knows I'm pregnant. I announced it at the staff meeting this past Monday. It feels good to have it out in the open now. I was so nervous about announcing it though! My heart was beating a mile a minute, like I was about to give a speech or something. I just really hate talking in front of large groups. But everyone was happy for me.

Quite a few "stars," and I'm being quite liberal with that word, have announced they are pregnant recently, which is kind of neat.







Anna Duggar (she married the oldest of the 19 Duggar kids...love that show!) is due after me, in mid-June. I was impressed that she was so open and honest about her recent miscarriage. Kudos to her.











Pink just announced she is pregnant. I couldn't find anything about when she is due but they seem to believe it's a girl so I'm going to guess April or May?

Mariah Carey shared the news (which wasn't much of surprise if you've seen recent pictures of her...hello boobies!) that she was pregnant. She didn't say when she was due but I'd guess March or April?

And last, but not least, Skeletor....errr, I mean Rachel Zoe. I've never watched her show, nor do I really know anything about her but seriously? This woman? I can see her sternum for crying out loud! How is she even able to menstruate? I seriously hope she decides to eat for the baby's sake.

And finally, I have an appointment with the perinatologist (high risk OB) tomorrow morning. I've heard really good things about this doctor from some of the ladies I babysit for, including the fact that he is super handsome. ;) We are having some first trimester screenings done, including the nuchal translucency test. I believe that will include a detailed ultrasound. I really cannot wait to see what our baby looks like now. I will be sure to post the details tomorrow.

Graduation Day

Today I have officially graduated from the fertility doctor and have been released to my regular OB/Gyn! We had our final appointment with Shady Grove Fertility today for an ultrasound. It was amazing. It actually looks like a baby now. Last time it looked like a fried egg but now you can clearly see little arms and legs as well as a head. The flickering heart was still visible and the little one was squirming around in there.

Check out the video:




My doctor forgot to mention what the heart rate was but you can see it on the video. It was 180.



And of course, a picture!

8 weeks 6 days

Before leaving they gave us a nice little photo holder card that had another copy of the ultrasound picture in it. I let Courtney bring it to work with him. I gave him the ok to share the news with whoever he wants. Which isn't too many people. I think the only people he hasn't told are a few friends of his back in California.

After the appointment my mom (who came with us) and I went out to breakfast. She started telling me that my dad was starting to stress out about how much money she was going to spend when she finds out what were having. I told her he shouldn't worry too much because we aren't going to find out. She asked if just she could find out but again, the answer was no. We have waited 4 years to have a healthy pregnancy. We can wait another 7 months to find out what's growing in there. I'm not saying I won't be tempted. It would make certain things a lot easier but I'm really looking forward to that moment in the delivery room when we finally find out. 7 months isn't that long.....right?

Video!

Everything went well! It was not a thorough u/s or appointment. I think it was just to check that it was a viable pregnancy (which we are!!!). Everything looked good and there was only one and he made sure to check twice. You can hear him in the video saying that he asked Hope (the u/s tech) twice. The heartrate was 138, which he said was normal and would be beating much faster at our next u/s, which is scheduled for Thursday, October 28th at 9:30 again.





Without further ado, a picture:

6 weeks 5 days!

And a video:

So, lots of appointments coming up in the next few weeks. On Tuesday, October 19th I meet with my endocrinologist (I've had to adjust the settings on my pump quite a few times because my body needs a lot more insulin than normal now). On Thursday, October 28th I go back to my fertility doctor for a second and final ultrasound with them. On Tuesday, November 2nd I go to my regular OB/GYN for a routine OB exam (and hopefully another u/s!). I called the high risk OB and left a message with their nurse (the one who got me the new pump) so I'm sure I'll be going to see them soon as well. That's an appointment a week for the next three weeks. I'm wondering if this is a trend for the next 8 months? We shall see.

Ask and you shall receive!

Ok, so since several of you asked about my DELICIOUS (yes, I am partial) macaroni and cheese I thought I would bless you with my recipe.  I originally found it online but tweaked it a little.  Without further ado, here is my recipe for macaroni and cheese.

The Best Mac & Cheese EVER!

1 Tbs  Olive Oil

1 (16 oz) package rigatoni

8 Tbs butter (1 stick)

4 cups shredded cheese (any kind you like)

1 1/2 cups half and half

16 oz Velveeta cheese

2 eggs, beaten

salt and pepper to taste

Optional:  Seasoned bread crumbs and extra shredded cheese for topping

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)

 

Bring a large pot of slightly salted water to a boil.  Add olive oil.

Add the pasta.  You can use any kind of pasta you want.  Cook according to package directions.  

I like rigatoni.

While the pasta is cooking I make the cheese sauce.  You can do it this way or just make the pasta and then make the cheese sauce after it’s done.  Either way, cube up the Velveeta.

In a medium saucepan melt the Velveeta cubes.

Next you will add your shredded cheese.  I used Cheddar and Cheddar Jack.  You can be a little fancier and use Mozzarella, Monterey Jack, Muenster, etc. 

Dump all 4 cups into the saucepan and stir occasionally.

Add the half and half.  Keep stirring.

Add the eggs.  Keep stirring.

Add salt and pepper to taste.  Once all the cheese is melted the sauce is done.  Set aside but stir occasionally.

Once the pasta is done cooking, drain well and return to the pot.  Cut up the stick of butter.

Toss it in the pot.  You can leave the heat off since the heat from the pasta and the pot will usually melt the butter fairly quickly.

Once the butter is melted put it in a 13x9 greased glass baking dish.

Although the cheese sauce looks good enough to eat as it is it will need to be poured over the noodles.

Like so.  Mix up the noodles and cheese so everything is nice and covered with the cheesy goodness.

If you want to you can sprinkle some extra cheese and breadcrumbs on the top.

Like so.  Now it’s ready to cook for about 35 minutes.  It should be hot and bubbling and you will have to have someone hold you back because it will be too hard to not jump in the oven and eat it.

Like so.

I just finished making mine and it is nice and cooled off so I’m outta here!  Enjoy!

Playing catch up

It seems it’s my favorite game.  Since I’m always playing it and all.  It never feels as if I’m ever caught up.  In my head I have quite a few posts that never quite materialized on here.  I have over 500 pictures on my camera that haven’t made it onto my computer.  There is money in my bank account that hasn’t quite made it to my credit card companies yet.  I have paperwork to mail out but it sits on my coffee table gathering dust.  What is my deal?  I don’t know if its lack of motivation or what but I seriously need to get my butt in gear.

So, in an effort (small as it may be) to get caught up here is a catch up post on what’s been going on with me.  There will be no rhyme or reason to any of it, just what spews forth from my fingers as I type.  So here goes:

• I think I am depressed.  I’m afraid to see anyone about it because I think it might affect me negatively if we pursue adoption in the future.  It was on the medical form that had to be filled out for the foster care application.  Lately I’ve been feeling pretty good but there have been some really low points.
• We are this (imagine my thumb and forefinger about an inch apart) close to mailing off the foster care paperwork.  I just need to fill in some credit card info (what debts we have) and I need to find out if my insurance will cover an adopted child with special needs.  I’ve been putting it off (mailing it) for various reasons.  One was because Courtney was out of work for awhile (he’s back now, thank goodness) and the other was me just holding out hope that we wouldn’t need to mail it in.  I’m not holding out hope for that anymore.  It WILL be mailed out this week.
• We’ve talked about going back to the infertility clinic to do an IUI.  I’ve been playing phone tag with my previous OB/GYN to have my medical records (all the infertility tests I had done) to my new OB/GYN (they only have records of my pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage).  I finally have the correct form to fill out and mail back.  Once the new doctor has my medical records I can have them call my insurance for authorization.  Can this be a bigger pain in my ass?  I think not.
• Tonight, at work, I registered the DUMBEST person I think I’ve ever met in my entire life.  On the form there are two lines for your address…Address Line 1 and Address Line 2.  Someone with an IQ of at least 75 or higher would probably be able to figure out how to fill it out but this genius had to ask what it meant.  Once I explained it to her she asked me how to spell her street name.   She then had to ask her friend what city and state she lived in.  Yeah, this person is going to be responsible for a human life.  I pity her unborn child.
• I cooked Thanksgiving dinner for the first time this year.  It was just me and my husband (long story about a fight with my brother) and it turned out perfect.  I gave myself a huge pat on the back for that one.        This turkey sat in our freezer for two years but let me tell you, it was delicious!

Courtney carving the bird.  I made the jammie pants he’s wearing.  He’s a carpenter, hence all the tools.

Our table.  The flash really washes out the pretty green walls in the kitchen.  Well, I think they are pretty.

Homemade mac and cheese.  My favorite.  I made this instead of mashed potatoes.  If I had the ingredients I’d make this right this second. SOOOOO GOOOD!

Stuffing from scratch.

I’m thinking about keeping a tray like this in the fridge at all times.  Better than chips and cookies I’m sure.

Homemade gravy.

Cornbread from scratch. 

Canned cranberry sauce.  I can’t help it.  I prefer the canned stuff.  I was going to make it myself but the store didn’t have any cranberries.

 

The plates were off our wedding registry.  I absolutely love them.  Each one has a different image on it.  The angel hitchhiking to heaven is my favorite while the Golden Gate bridge is my husband’s favorite.

• For Christmas we called a truce and went over my parents house to open some presents and eat dinner.  I didn’t really talk to my brother but everything went ok.  I got Beatles Rockband (the only thing I really wanted) and I got my husband Just Dance for Wii.  Such a fun game.  And good exercise I might add. 

Our dogs love Christmas.  They open presents.  Seriously.

Courtney playing Just Dance.

My dad couldn’t get enough of this game.  Way too funny.  And my mom told me he was sore as hell the next day.

My mom tried it once.

My youngest brother (not the one I haven’t been getting along with) even did it once.  I couldn’t talk him into doing it again.  I think he got video on his phone of me doing it but hopefully I’ll never see that footage. 

 

Well, that’s about as much as I can think of right now.  I don’t think I’m fully caught up yet but I’m closer than I was an hour ago.

Keeping my sanity

People have many ways to maintain their sanity.  The constant waiting and wondering you experience during infertility is a true test of patience. 

 

Some people do yoga.

Some people go running.

Some people meditate.

Me?

Well, I draw beards and mustaches on the kids in my class.

We were calling him Hobo Joe.

So, when we were outside, I told him to go under the rock climbing thingy and hold his hand out.  How could you not give your spare change to a hobo as cute as this???

And so today, I stayed sane.  Overall, a good day.