Second Prenatal Appointment (not high risk)

I went to see my midwife yesterday for my first real appointment after my dating ultrasound. The appointment was much more frustrating and irritating than I had anticipated, but the frustrations had nothing to do with my little Peanut so I am grateful for that!

I had the appointment at 3:40 and got there a little early to find a waiting room filled with pregnant women. I felt a little left out as my bump looked like nothing compared to many of the women rubbing their big bellies. After waiting until until almost 4:00 the receptionist said they were very behind and maybe I should get my labs done first. No problem. I get to the lab and was told I have to get a glucose test and must return promptly in an hour. I explained I was waiting for an appointment and did not know if I could make it back in an hour, but the phlebotomist assured me an hour would be plenty of time so I drank the delicious elixir and off I went.

So I went back upstairs by 4:00 only to wait and wait. Grrr. I finally got called back only to wait some more. Soon the midwife comes in and seems so rushed I am not sure she would recognize me 3 seconds after I left. I told her I needed to get to the lab by 5:00 which made the rushing worse. I got a pap which was just as lovely as it sounds. I asked her about bleeding because my last pap (years ago) I bled after and knew I would freak out if I bled during pregnancy. Thank gosh I asked. The second she was done she said, "Yup, you are going to bleed, but don't worry it is from the outside of your cervix and baby will never know." She then explained that pregnancy can make your cervix very sensitive and more prone to bleeding. She quickly asked me about classes and breastfeeding and CF.

My favorite parts came next. She got the fetal monitor and I got to listen to my sweet babies heart beat. Of course I teared up and and was laughing at the same time. It was the sweetest sound I have ever heard. I love that little heart so much. She then asked me if I wanted to peak and baby. I would never turn a baby peak down so she pulled out the ultrasound machine. She said she was not doing measurements or anything besides looking for fun. She explained that dating ultrasounds are much more accurate than later ultrasounds. I then saw my little Peanut and was on cloud nine because I got a perfect view of Peanut's face!!!!!! I saw two eyes, a nose, ears, and a perfect little mouth that I swear on my life was smiling. I think my heart melted into a puddle on the floor. She snapped 3 quick pictures and turned the machine off. I think the total amount of time I saw my baby was 45 seconds, but it is amazing how much you can fall deeper in love in 45 seconds! I love thinking about little Peanut in my womb smiling!! Technically a fetus can make facial expressions and smile at 11 weeks. I am sure a smile at this point is simply practicing using facial muscles, but I love to think that little Peanut was purposefully smiling at me to let me know that he/she is happy and healthy.

When I write it out the appointment sounds long, but I all those things happened at record speed and it felt like a dizzying whirlwind. Luckily, I have a lot of choices for doctors as well as locations (perks to being in a city) and I love my high risk doc who I will be working with the majority of the time so I am not too upset, but  it was rather annoying.

I then ran down to the lab in the nick of time. The best part...I already got some of my results. Talk about fast- 24 hour results! I went online just in case and sure enough my glucose test was already back....and I PASSED!!!! Yay!!!!!!! So relieved. I will be tested constantly throughout pregnancy and I know diabetes can show up at anytime, but I will take every week or month I can get. I also passed some other random tests- blood clotting, liver levels..all good news. The one I am most anxious for is the first trimester screening (for chromosomal abnormalities) which should be back by tomorrow or Monday. Fingers crossed our little baby passes with flying colors.

Cutest Fetus Ever!!!

Okay, I know ALL mothers say this, but I am pretty sure I have the cutest fetus in all of existence! Seriously, we have one cute baby!

So I had my appointment and it was a LONG one and full of information! When we arrived I was given a mountain of paperwork which took me quite a while to fill out! They asked every medical history question you could possible imagine. I then had to make decisions about prenatal testing. Lots of questions regarding if CF runs in the family and would you like to test the baby for CF...it felt kinda surreal having CF and seeing it all over the paperwork as something for parents with an unborn child to worry about. Of course I never want my child to have CF and my husband was tested before we even started trying, but it was kinda sad to think that some parents fill out the paperwork knowing they would abort a baby with CF considering how much I love my life.

They then did a internal ultrasound. I believe time sat still as we were waiting to see the image of our little one for the first time. At first all I could see was a blob and I instantly started trying to make out a baby and then suddenly out of nowhere there on the screen was a profile of our picture perfect little baby! The doctor then pointed to a little spot in the chest and said, "Can you see the baby's heart?" And there was the lightest little flicker of a teeny heart beating. My whole self melted. There was our beautiful baby with a little flickering heart nestled in my body. The doc took several pictures and said she would give us some to take home. She confirmed there was only one baby (whew), there was a good sac of fluid (yay), the umbilical cord looked good (nice), and that our baby looks great (sheer joy). She then said that I was exactly 8 weeks and 5 days and that my due date would be June 14, 2012. At this point she had to leave to fill out some paperwork and print the pictures of the baby. My husband and I beamed at each other and said a million times how CUTE our baby is. I think I went crazy with joy and couldn't stop saying, "Oh my god our baby is SOOO CUTE!"

Seeing your unborn child for the first time is something I could never find the words to describe. Awe, overwhelming love, pride, peace, relief, and amazement are some words that come to mind. Seeing the little heart beat has to be one of the most moving and amazing moments in my life. To witness the tiny heart of a life I created with my husband was so beautiful and awe inspiring. To think a little person uniquely ours is in my body developing and growing each and every day is enough to make me feel like I have eveything in the world I could ever want.

When she returned she gave us 5 photos of our little one and then had to leave again. We quickly took pics of the sonogram pic and texted the picture to close family and friends. We wanted everyone to see what a good job we are doing on making a baby. I cannot explain how over the moon with pride we are. It feels so much more real now that I can picture our little baby in my body.

I then had set up a bunch of appointments. SO MANY appointments. I realized as hard as I tried not to I am still going to miss a lot of work. I also signed up for a early pregnancy class this December. I have no idea what we will learn, but I figured it couldn't hurt. Finally, I went to the lab and the woman working the front desk asked me how far along I was. I told her 8 weeks and she replied she was 7 weeks. We beamed and shared about our pregnancies together and then I was called back to pee in TWO cups. Which was fine because I pee like a race horse these days and easily filled both cups. I then gave 4 vials of blood and was on my way.

This day may be one of the best days of my entire life!! I am overwhelmed with love for this little life and will sleep much more soundly knowing our little one is healthy and growing tremendously each day.

Tomorrow..dun dun dun

So first off I want to say THANK YOU so much to everyone that gave their input about my sub job. I really appreciate people that truly understand what it is like to have CF. I feel that so many people cannot even begin to understand what our days entail and therefore can't offer relevant advice even though they mean well. So again THANK YOU!!!!

So I have to say that my first trimester is going quite well. No nausea yet. YAY! I do have one very unusual symptom: my normal love for anything sweet has disappeared. Kinda freaks me out. I have a little pile of Halloween candy (the good stuff too- Snickers, Milky Way) that has been sitting on my dresser for weeks and a tub of ice cream in the freezer that I have barely touched. I worry this baby will be just like his/her father and hate sweets. Yikes, then I would be the only sweet tooth in the house. Could be good...more for me!

On to exciting news: I have my first prenatal appointment tomorrow FINALLY!!!!!!!!! It is amazing how little the nurses and doctors care about your pregnancy until you are at least 8 weeks. I am over here so excited that my life has changed forever and want to badly someone to tell me that everything looks good AND I am trying to be a good mom and get prenatal care asap and the appointment center said the docs refuse to see anyone before 8 weeks unless there is an issue. Uh...really? I have to sit here for a month and wait?! I thought the 2 week wait for the positive pregnancy test was hard and now I have to wait 4 weeks to have someone tell me my little raspberry is okay? Sheesh. Well, enough complaining because tomorrow is the DAY!!! I will be sure to give you every detail after my appointment!!! Fingers crossed all goes well.