So, I have been meaning to keep track of our little girl through posts on a somewhat regular basis, but here I am at 23 weeks and I haven't posted once! Life is just too busy sometimes, but I wanted to make some time before she got here! So here are some things I had been thinking in my head of writing down so we'd remember or be able to share it with her later:
Finding Out I Was Pregnant
We knew we were wanting to start a family around age 30, so I spent a lot of time in the last year working on my health. I wanted to be healthy just for me too, so I spent many hours weight training and even hired a personal trainer. The weight training seemed to really work for my body to final reduce my body fat percentage. I had tried different cardio workouts and interval workouts, but the weight training finally helped the most! I'm thinking all that work helped and we were quiet blessed we found out we were having our little girl so soon this last summer. I found out on September 20th that I was pregnant. It was a faint little line on the test, but it was pink! I told Anthony not in any crazy-cute way how some people do. I just came out of the bathroom and marched to the kitchen humming a silly march tune/fanfare and showed him the test. He wasn't so convinced by the little pink line as I was, but I repeated the test with a different brand two days later and it was a solid cross!
First Ultrasounds and HcG Tests
I started with a doctor's office that wanted to do the blood tests to be sure I was pregnant. The HcG tests all came back positive, so they also scheduled an early ultrasound to help verify that I was pregnant and to help solidify how old our baby really was. The first ultrasound was a little nerve racking because you want to make sure there's a baby for sure! They did see a gestational sac and the yolk sac, but no baby yet. That had me even more nervous! But, see the little bright spot at the bottom of the yolk sac? In my mind, that was her!
So, I went back in a few weeks later to make sure there really was a baby. Anthony came with me this time and there we saw her! Her heart was beating and everything was looking okay. That moment of seeing her with that heart beating away even as a fetal pole really made Anthony and me feel like this was really happening. Our first due date had been May 22, but this ultrasound changed it to June 10th.....way farther away!
At this time I was doing research into doctors an decided to switch to a highly recommended doctor by both people in the community and nurses. I also liked the idea of a single doctor and not a team of ten. I felt like the team was too much of a gamble. After we switched to this doctor, they did their initial check up and went over their plan. They often do an early ultrasound at 10 weeks since that is usually the best time to date. We had that ultrasound done on November 5th and I think that was my favorite ultrasound so far! I have loved seeing pictures of her every time, but this was the first time we saw her looking like a real baby. Right when the picture came on the screen she was all there wildly kicking away. It was so cute to see her little legs just going back and forth. At this doctor they also put images onto a CD for you, so we were able to bring home more than one picture including the 3d one! So far, she seems to be a trouble maker when it comes to ultrasounds. She is often facing away or in a tricky spot to be seen, so we got a back shot instead of her face, but I still think it is really cute. At this ultrasound the put her due date to June 3rd and it has stayed there since. That put her at just in 10th week.
Finding Out She was a She
On November 24 we had our nuchal translucency scan. Everything in that scan was looking good and healthy thank goodness, so I asked the doctor if she could tell if it was a boy or girl yet. I had heard that sometimes good ultrasound techs are able to tell around the 12 week mark and I was supposed to be 12 weeks and 5 days. Our little girl kept her legs in the way, but the tech said she was leaning girl, but she couldn't say for sure yet. At this appointment we also decided to do the Panorama genetics test which will also tell if it is a boy or girl since we found out it would only be a max of $25. (They still sent me a bill for $5,000, but I was forewarned of this. I called them up and I send them the $1000 check that insurance wrote to me. I was still really nervous and ready for a fight saying I am not paying the rest of the $4000 when I was told a max of $25. They said though, well lets, look at your discounts, oh, you a patient of this doctor? Okay, if you just send $25, that will settle your account. Crazy,huh?!) Anyway, a week later I got a phone call and learned that everything was looking great genetically and that it was....a GIRL!
I wanted to do something cute to let Anthony know so I went shopping and put this cute outfit in a box for him to open when he got home. He found out it was a girl when he opened the box!
It's a good thing we did do the blood test as well otherwise we would have been wondering for a really long time and would not have received the cute pink baby items we did at Christmas! At her anatomy ultrasound on January 9th, our little girl was sitting in a way that made it really hard to get all the images they needed including being sure it was a girl, but they did say they never had a blood test go wrong in determining if it was a boy or girl. Since she was blocking images of her hands and umbilical chord, I was going to need to do another ultrasound at my next visit. They also wanted to look at her hearts again at the next visit just to be safe since I was born with the slight hole that repaired itself.
We just had that ultrasound done yesterday and everything looked great! She still made it hard to get perfect shots, but they saw what they needed to and everything is looking good. They tried to do realistic images for me too, but the tech said they are usually best at the 30 week mark. It was still really neat to see what images she could capture! This is usually the last ultrasound unless there is a need to check the baby later. It is really neat to see how much she has grown in just a month!
How I Am Doing
It has been interesting to see how I am changing! I was quite the bloater during the first trimester. I looked really big really fast, but luckily that died down during the second trimester. I was really lucky and didn't get morning sickness the way some gals can. I did get really strong food aversions and it was getting to the point where I didn't know what I was going to be able to eat by the end of the first trimester because after I ate something, the thought of eating again was horrible! My belly really started turning into a real belly in December and I have been working maternity clothes all the time since January. I have been trying to keep up with exercise to keep my body strong and becauseit is supposed to be really good for baby. I started having problems with my hips hurting at night towards the ed of December at night. I tried several tricks including buying a more specific knee pillow. That didn't seem to change the hip pain, so I also tried a second pillow (my old knee pillow) under my ankles too. While it felt nice, it didn't help the problem, plus my problem was with the hip I was sleeping on. I finally ordered a fancy pregnancy pillow that raps all the way around you and helps keep you supported in the hips so you don't twist. I think I was twisting. My doctor also referred me to physical therapy to help. He had mentioned it once before if my tailbone was bothering me. So, I have been going to therapy for about a month now and I just started getting a good nights sleep again as a result. I had a month of not sleeping well and I still need to spend some time sleeping sitting up to let my hips rest, but last night I stayed laying down the entire night! So, I think it is finally getting better. I have had to really back off my exercise routine and change how I move through the day. It can be frustrating at times, but I see it paying off, so it is well worth it. My pelvis was just getting so loose that the sides weren't staying in line. Often my right hip would slip backwards, so now I do hip adjustments a couple times a say on top of specific exercises to help with stability of those joints. I also wear a sciatic belt most of the time to help hold my hips steady. The other thing that I was going to write down was that I am feeling her move around! I think I was actually feeling the first flutters around 15 weeks. I remember one night laying in bed and trying to sleep when I felt her fluttering in their. I kept second guessing myself until the end of December when I was sitting on the couch one evening and she either punched or kicked me two times in a row. There was no doubt it was her! It felt like something poked me twice! It made me giggle, it felt so silly. Since then, I have been feeling her more and more. It is neat to see how she gets stronger and moves more. I read that I should start to feel her routine her soon so I can keep track of her movements better. Here are some photos of me (I am photo shy so I haven't been very good about sharing them or even taking them every week, but I know I will enjoy looking back on them later!)
