4 Month Check Up

Today I went in for the 16 week check up. My doctor is moving to Lexington!!! That's ok though. I plan to follow her right on over there. It's actually pretty good news considering she's moving to a practice that has a highly recognized high risk OB. She will still keep her privledges at Palmetto Richland for those of us under her care. Phew! Our check up went great. The heart rate was 151 and it was easily found this time. I guess he was resting because last month he was moving so much all you could hear was the movement. It took forever for him to slow down long enough for us to catch the heart rate. I was bummed a little though. I was expecting an ultrasound. At our first visit she mentioned bringing in a blank DVD for ultrasounds so. I woke up in the middle of the night remembering that I didn't have any and needed to buy one before my appointment. Walgreens is my one stop shop. They have everything! So I went bee bopping my way in only to find out that next month is when they will do one. Oh well. I still have my ways of watching Baby Satcher grow! Next months we will do an ultrasound to determine the baby's sex which of course we are pretty sure is a boy.

This weekend Wes is an usher in a friend's wedding. We are driving down to Murrells Inlet, so kind of a little get away. Unfortunately though clothing has started to become a bit of an issue. Tomorrow morning I'm on a mission to find a dress to wear. Odd I've only gained two pounds but the thought of even trying to get into any of my summer clothes makes me want to bury my head under the blanket. Dang I just realized I forgot to ask the doctor my number one important question!!! I wanted to find out if there is a possibility of eating too much fruit. Speaking of fruit, one of our students actually brought me one morning a huge fruit salad because he had heard me talk about my craving for fruit. He works at Publix while he is in school and just so happens to be the fruit cutter person. I was surprised by this enormous container of cantleope, honey dew, watermelon, strawberries, and grapes. I devoured that container in two days. Had I not been at work where I'm running around all day, I probably could have finished it that day! So sweet of him. Hmm. I better put on my to do list to pick up fruit for the trip tomorrow.

Back to pregnancy....ok apparently you have some out of this world dreams. Boy have I ever! A few nights ago I dreamed that I stole a beer truck. Obviously I am craving something I cannot have. The others not so funny but just whack. Ones where you wake up and you ask yourself "What was that all about???" Speaking of waking up, I get up at least twice during the night to pee. Today I had my first real sneeze and loss of bladder control situation. Thankfully I was at home.

That about wraps up this update. Not a whole lot going on right now, but from what I've heard from a friend who is about 6 weeks ahead of me things are getting ready to start happening.

It's A Boy!

Odd how since the start of this pregnancy I've had this feeling I'm carrying a boy. Not sure if it's because of all of the throwing up I've done or maybe the dreams I have of looking down into the face of the sweetest baby boy I've ever seen. Maybe it's some crazy pregnancy intuition. A few weeks ago after Wes brought home a bull frog (and gave it a bath in the kitchen sink....yuck!!!!), I started really praying for a girl, even trying to make myself dream it's a girl. My instincts were pretty much confirmed today when we got the perfect between the legs shot. Yep, it's a boy! Guess I better learn to like things like frogs, insects, and boogers. Our official doctor's appointment is in two weeks. I'm not sure if they'll do another ultrasound then or not. (I forgot to post about the genetic screening appointment. Everything went very well. During that ultrasound though, it was too early to determine the sex of the baby. All of the genetic bloodwork came back great as well.) Below is a picture from today where we measured his length at 9.?? centimeters long. I can't remember the exact number but just last week he was 7 centimeters.




Even though my number on the scale isn't going up any, my waist line sure has started to move. I put on a swimsuit last weekend to go boat riding on the lake and realized that it's already time to invest in a new one. I didn't look so much pregnant as just a girl who could really use some excercise and a good diet plan. I'll eat those words in a few months I'm sure.


Now that I am finally in the second trimester (week 14) the nausea and other symptoms have for the most part disappeared. My biggest craving is fruit. Perfect timing too since there are fruit and vegetable stands everywhere! My other craving would be bacon cheeseburgers :). A few weeks ago I realized how unappetizing deli meat is to me now so having a sandwich at lunch will not work anymore. And oddly enough, the same with grilled chicken. But now fried chicken......pass me the extra crispy!

The first home pregnancy test picture. By the way there were 6 more of these tests taken!




The first ultrasound picture! For some odd reason, it kind of looks more like a crab claw to me than an embryo. But this was the day when it really felt like I was really, truly pregnant. I know there are days to come when I know I will really feel pregnant!

Our Lives Are About To Change

Seven weeks ago today our prayers were answered. The word "pregnant" appeared in the little window. We're having a baby!!! Of course by now our family and close friends have heard the good news. I didn't really know what to expect being pregnant. Oh sure I've heard stories of morning sickness and so forth. Which brings me to one question I've been wondering for the last two months. Why is it called "morning" sickness? For me, it may happen in the morning, afternoon, evening, or middle of the night. Sometimes it may last all day long! Never in my entire life have I ever felt so tired. For the past five or six weeks I have been the biggest couch potato. Speaking of potato, let's talk about food (especially since the thought of it no longer makes me run to the bathroom). It took until the tenth week of my pregnancy to find my cure to nausea. I tried everything ginger, the BRAT diet, saltines, even cottage cheese someone told me. Vinegar was the cure I was looking for. I came to realize that anything with a vinegar base did not make me sick. Now the next time I'll know sooner! Thankfully though, I think I've reached a turning point ... and a snug waistband!

So let's get up to date on a few things. We have had our first OB appointment. Wes went with me to the doctor's office where we first had a discussion with my doctor. Turned out to be a great Q&A session. Then we had our first ultrasound. The experience of watching your baby's heartbeat for the first time is an indescribable feeling. Naturally, I cried, though I'm sure part of that emotion had something to do with watching Daddy's expression as he watched the monitor. Next week we have an appointment for genetic screening. This has become somewhat routine testing to check for birth defects such as Down's syndrome. They will do more bloodwork (oh how I just love being poked like a pin cushion) and another ultrasound.

I guess that about wraps it up for the first entry. More to come next week! Now I'm off to find something else to eat.....