25 Weeks Today!

Please excuse the use of headings and bullets for this post - my allergies are a bit out of whack so getting words to flow into sentences is just not going to happen today.

OB Updates
Had my regularly scheduled OB appointment last Wednesday.  I am starting now to rotate through the other physicians in the practice at each visit, so saw Dr. P this time.  Here are the highlights:

• I asked about how to prevent/stop the yeast infections and she suggested I start taking a probiotic - apparently what is "good for the digestive tract is good for the vagina."  Had never heard THAT before, but at this point I'll try anything!
• Reviewed my visit to the hematologist, who was not terribly concerned about any excess clotting risk due to my MTHFR mutation, but wanted to leave the decision of whether or not to continue me on baby aspirin up to my OB.  Dr. P said she would discuss with my primary, Dr. E, and someone would let me know how to proceed.  Got a phone call later that day from Dr. E saying okay to stop taking the baby aspirin for the time being.
• Discussed whether any further testing would be necessary to determine the cause of my extreme fatigue.  Since my thyroid panel and blood counts were normal, there is nothing to be concerned about.  Dr. P's recommendation:  exercise more!
• Found out I have now entered the phase where any travel plans require a "travel check" prior to departure.  We were leaving that afternoon for our anniversary trip to Michigan, so Dr. P wanted to check my cervix.  She proclaimed it "closed up like Fort Knox!" and gave us her blessing for the drive, along with strict instructions to get out and walk/stretch every hour of the trip.
• Did my glucose tolerance test.  I had heard so many horror stories from friends about the test, but honestly it was not a big deal.  I actually tried some of the orange stuff they make you drink back when I was going through my phlebotomy training (we all did since we were learning how to perform those tests on patients).  It isn't pleasant to have to chug the whole bottle, for sure, but I survived and never really felt dizzy or hyper or any of the other stuff my friends have mentioned.  Maybe that's a bad thing?  Who knows.  The lab called Friday to discuss my results, but they were closed by the time I got the message.  Usually they just leave the results in my voicemail, but this time they said to call back Monday.  I am trying not to read into that as far as bad news, but with my strong family history of diabetes, it's hard not to be a little concerned.

Symptoms & Side Effects
As far as symptoms go, nothing new really, just varying degrees of things I've already been experiencing:

• I did have a random nosebleed last weekend, which was weird for me, but totally normal from what I've read.  
• I've also had some pretty fierce heartburn lately.  I can handle it during the day but when it hits at night is the worst.  
• I have had a bit more of the fuzzy brain feeling, but that again could be attributed to the fatigue/exhaustion.  
• My lower back and hips are also hurting a lot more.  I'm hoping now that we're home again and sleeping on our lovely new mattress this will go away.  
• As mentioned above, my allergies are kicking my butt this weekend.  I don't usually have a hard time with them, so maybe they are worse due to pregnancy?  
• I'm also out of breath a lot, especially with any kind of activity (i.e. walking up the stairs).  I know this is normal but it feels ridiculous!  
• In the category of "not sure if it is real and therefore new" I do suspect that I've been having a few Braxton Hicks contractions here and there.  It hasn't happened a lot, but enough that I've noticed it.  It's similar to the round ligament pain I was having a few weeks back, but with a bit more of a "sting" to it.  I'm not 100% sure about this, but I did mention it at my OB appointment and they said that it certainly could be Braxton Hicks.  I'm also entering the stage where it's important to be on the lookout for pre-term labor, so they went over the differences between Braxton Hicks and actual contractions.  

Goals & Plans
Between the work craziness and being out of town for two short trips in less than a week, I've had a hard time following any kind of routine lately.  Now that we're home for a bit, my goals, in terms of pregnancy health, include:

• Walking (at whatever pace I can manage) for 30 minutes each day.
• Doing at least 20-30 minutes of yoga each day.  I got a new DVD that I like much better.  It's still a little yoga-esque for my taste, for lack of a better word, but the actual movements and poses are more like an extended stretching routine and it actually feels pretty good.
• Continuing to take my probiotic.
• Figuring out a counter-attack plan for dealing with the heartburn.  Tums are not cutting it (and I hate the way they taste too) so I need to find something else.
• Making an appointment with my acupuncturist.  I haven't been in several weeks, and I think I'm overdue for a "tune up."

Flash & The Bump

• Flash is doing well, as near as I can tell, and is quite active.  Sometimes I can see the movement on the outside, which is strange and fascinating.  One day I was reading something and had my forearm kind of resting on the upper outer quadrant of my belly and Flash kicked it off!  That was pretty funny.  Paul can feel it a lot of times now too.  I haven't had anyone else try yet, mostly because the best spot to feel him/her is pretty low down on my abdomen, which would be a little weird to have someone other than Paul feeling around in that zone. 
• I think we went through a bit of a growth spurt last week - I felt huge and had that sore/stretchy feeling for several days.  It seems to be over now, but I still feel huge.  I know I have a ways to go still, but there's definitely no hiding the bump at this stage!  
• Things I'm noticing:
• It is getting more difficult to tie my shoes.
• Movements such as sitting up, rolling over in bed, and standing up from certain seats (like our futon upstairs) are rather challenging!
• I can no longer see my feet when I look straight down.
• I'm up anywhere from 9-11 pounds from my "baseline" back in January, most of which has appeared over the past 4 weeks.  We'll see where it goes from here...
• Casual and/or work acquaintances, and even complete strangers, are commenting now and asking when I'm due.  It's kind of fun!  I definitely enjoy answering that question as opposed to "So, do you have any kids yet?" or "When are you going to have kids?"

That's about it for updates right now.  I do want to post more about our anniversary trip and some other bits and pieces, but will do so in another post.  In closing, I will leave you with a bump pic that Paul took during our trip (he also took a full-length shot of me, but this one he said was specifically a picture of Flash):

Here's Flash, on the beach on Lake Michigan, at 24 weeks 5 days.

Home

This past weekend we went back to my hometown.  Paul had another continuing education course in the area and I tagged along.  Overall, it was a pleasant and (mostly) relaxing weekend.  I spent quite a bit of time with my Papa (the last couple of times we've stayed at his house he has been out of town) and we had some good conversation.  I also got to see my great-grandmother (who is 101!) and my mom's mom (Grandma) who also lives in the area. 

On Sunday, we finally had the belated BBQ/baby shower for my friend Christy who delivered Baby G at 34 weeks after a month-long stay in the hospital due to complications.  I'm still very close with my old crew from childhood - we all keep in touch regularly and try to get together as much as possible for showers, weddings, an annual Christmas party, and these days even the occasional funeral (sad but true fact of life the older you get).  Not everyone was there for this event, but it was still great to see those who could make it.  My friend Lil's parents let us host it at their house out on the lake and the weather was perfect.  Spouses and children were invited as well.  The men built a bonfire and stood around drinking their beer while my friends and I snacked on appetizers and watched Christy open gifts.  And everyone fought over the two babies that were there (Baby G and Lil's four-month-old son BW).  Besides being cute - they were nice and warm and snuggly! 

We were trying to take a real picture but the light wasn't 

cooperating,so we got this instead.  We all agreed it turned 

out more interesting as a silhouette anyway :)

Being 'home' got me thinking and reflecting on what 'home' really means.  And I realized something.  I know longer think of my hometown as home anymore.  For a long time, that wasn't the case.  When I was 18, my parents took me to college, drove back home, packed up the house I'd grown up in, and literally moved halfway across the country to Boston.  Less than a week after I moved into my freshman dorm, the only 'home' I'd ever known was gone.  At least, in a physical sense it was gone.  But I continued to consider the town as a whole to be home.  Both sets of grandparents and various and sundry members of my extended families still lived there.  My friends, and their parents, still lived there.  It was where I went most of the time for weekends away from college, and at least part of every school break was spent at one or the other of my grandparents' houses.

 

It was weird to not think of my parents' house as home.  But honestly, it wasn't.  Boston was fine and all, and they lived there for 5 or 6 years, but it was never 'home' to me.  It did become home for my brother, who still resides in that area.  But he was younger, in high school still when they moved.  Meanwhile, my parents have moved twice more since Boston.  I still visit them at least once a year, but I don't call it 'going home.'  After college, my friend B and I got an apartment together in the suburbs.  We were young and broke and most of our furniture came from hand-me-downs or Ikea.  We had a fantastic little apartment in a cozy residential complex, and we would watch Friends reruns late and night as we ate our ramen noodle soup and talked about the future.  I have great memories of living there.  But it never quite felt like home...

 

When Paul and I first looked at our house, I knew it would eventually be home.  It just felt like home to me.  And it certainly has been our home, for the last 4 years.  We've furnished it (sometimes even with REAL furniture we bought brand new ourselves!) and we are gradually renovating the parts of it that we want to change.  We have our cats and dogs and a yard with gardens and flower beds.  We like to host BBQs in the summer and have an annual New Years' brunch every January.  It is definitely a home.  But home to me is more than just a house.

 

The home I grew up in included the town around my house, the college across the street where my dad (and Papa) worked, the little old lady neighbors who fed my brother and I cookies, the kids my age I knew from preschool through high school, our church which was just down the block.  It was a small town, and everyone knew everyone.  When I was 18, it felt suffocating.  I had to get out, which is why I broke family tradition and chose a college out of town that no one in my family had ever attended (or worked for).  I wanted to be my own person and make my own first impressions that were not rooted in being so-and-so's daughter/granddaughter/cousin/neighbor/babysitter/swim instructor.  What I didn't know at 18 was that in doing so, in breaking away from my physical home, I was also losing that sense of belonging somewhere.  At the time, I was fine with it.

 

But over the years, I've realized that I'm still that same small-town girl who craves the social aspects of home.  I work in the city and I love having access to all that the city offers.  But I'm not a city girl.  And even the suburb I lived in with B was too much, too big, too crowded, to unfamiliar.  We live in Paul's hometown now, which is even smaller than the town I grew up in.  When we bought the house, we already knew 3 out of our 5 immediate neighbors.  When something goes wrong and Paul is on shift, I can call Dale from across the street, or my father-in-law who is just 5 minutes down the road.  When we're working in our yard or walking the dogs, everyone driving by waves and some stop to chat.  Just this weekend, one of my neighbors called to borrow an ingredient for baking!  We're part of a church in town, and Paul is on the volunteer fire department along with some neighbors and some from the church.  I can go to a town event, like their annual festival which was just a couple weekends ago, and I know people.  I belong again.  I'm home.

Almost 24 Weeks & Counting...

Have been feeling kind of scuzzy this week (if that isn't a word, it should be - my dad used to say it all the time and it pretty much encompasses what I've been feeling lately).  First and foremost, I am SO. FREAKING. TIRED. ALL. THE. LIVE. LONG. DAY.  Seriously, I know they say it's normal and I'm growing a baby so I should be tired.  But this is insane.  Remember the first trimester when I was still having issues actually sleeping and would toss and turn all night and wake up not at all rested?  Yeah, I was actually less tired then.  I'm getting great sleep now - good quality thanks to the new mattress and my Snoogle (and the fact that it's cooled down outside and sleeping with the windows open and the cool fall-ish breeze really helps).  And I'm getting enough sleep too.  But within about 30 minutes of waking up, I'm ready for a nap.  By 7:30 p.m. most nights, it's all I can do to stay up long enough to pay a few bills and get the dishwasher unloaded.  Blah. 

So Tuesday this week, I saw Kathy, my nurse practitioner.  I actually made the appointment because I was pretty sure I had yeast infection NUMBER THREE (more on that in a minute).  My next regular OB appointment is next week, but since I was there, I went ahead and asked Kathy about the extreme fatigue.  She agreed it sounded like a bit much and had the lab draw my blood count and thyroid panel early instead of waiting for next week.  I think we were both hoping it would show some anemia or something easily fixable like that.  Unfortunately (or fortunately - depending on how you look at it) my levels all came back totally normal.  So I guess I'll be discussing this further with the doctor next week. 

I just really don't want to be getting sick.  I really don't have time for that, and I kind of suck at being sick.  I mean, no one likes it, really.  But in the past few years, I've been sick only a couple of times.  My immune system has been ironclad, even when everyone at work and others around me are catching the flavor-of-the-month bacteria/virus.  But the couple of times I did get sick, it was always a doozy.  Last year, around this same time, I got super sick while on vacation in Colorado over our anniversary.  Barely made it through our anniversary dinner before going back to the condo to pile on the sweats and towels (it was a rented condo - we didn't really have extra blankets) and shiver in front of the fire place while Paul did a drugstore run.  Our anniversary is next Thursday and we're going up to Michigan for a couple of nights at a B&B.  This scuzzy feeling had better not turn into a full blown system meltdown!

Speaking of system meltdowns, the rest of this week has kind of sucked in general.  Kathy did a microscopic analysis from my exam and saw bacteria, so she started me on a course of antibiotics to treat bacterial vaginosis.  Score #1.  Then the lab called to say that my swab came back positive for yeast, so I also started a round of Monistat last night.  Score #2.  Meanwhile, my car has been acting up - overheating and chugging through coolant like it's going out of style.  It was fine all last weekend and we thought it was finally back to normal, and then it freaked out on me driving home from work Tuesday evening.  Score #3.  So I drove my MIL's car to work Wednesday and we dropped it off at the shop Wednesday night.  But they can't find ANYTHING wrong with it.  Score #4.  I did arrange to work from home yesterday and today while it was in the shop, but now we're supposed to be leaving this afternoon to head back to my home town again (Paul has another class down there) and we don't know for sure that the problem has resolved.  Awesome.  And my cell phone has been freaking out all week as well, which annoys me to pieces.  As much as we spend on our phone plans, I don't appreciate all the dropped calls and inconsistent data access.  Score #5.

Ok.  I'm done whining now.  I know it's time to stop when I start to get on my own nerves.  All that to say, this is why I haven't posted much.  Scuzzy + whiny + exhausted does not make for fun or interesting posts.  Nevertheless, I'll try to close with a few positive thoughts:

• I'll be 24 weeks on Sunday:  HURRAY FOR VIABILITY!!!  No, we don't want to actually have to test that theory, but it's sure nice to know!
• Paul felt Flash kick for the first time this week!  It's really fun to get to share this part with him finally.  Infertility followed by pregnancy (and all the assorted hormones, not to mention all the stupid yeast infections) have not been kind to our relationship, so things like this help bring us closer again.
• The crib has been ordered, and the registry is about 80% done.  I'll have to do a separate post about all that later, but suffice it to say I'm really relieved to have that mostly finished.
• Fall is here and I love it.  Fall is my favorite season of the year!  I'm ready for all things apple cider, bonfire, and pumpkin.  After we get back from Michigan, I'm going to bust out all the fall decorations and make some pumpkin cream-cheese muffins.  It's going to be swell.
• Out of the next 10 days, I'm only working one and a half!  I don't work on Mondays and we're heading to Michigan next Wednesday after my OB appointment (which is late morning).  With as crazy as work has been lately, I'm definitely ready for a break!

There.  Much better.  I need to do another Happy List in pictures.  Will see what I can come up with for the next post.  But for now, words will have to do.

HAPPY FRIDAY/START OF FALL TO YOU ALL!!!   

Reflections

Eleven years ago today, I was a college freshman.  My parents literally dropped me off at college one day in August, went home, packed up the house, and moved to Boston a few days later.  They'd been living "out East" for less than 2 weeks when the planes hit the towers.  It was a Tuesday, which was my favorite day of the week because I had only one class that day, calculus, and it wasn't until lunch time.  I was still asleep, as was one of my roommates (Bex), when our other roommate (a girl named Megan who dropped out after that first semester, never to be heard from again) came barging into the room and turned on the TV.  Bex and I sat up in bed and watched, in our pajamas and glasses, as the smoke poured from the first tower.  "They're saying it could be a terrorist attack," Megan informed us.  Confused, and still half asleep, we watched the coverage for a few minutes, trying to make sense of what she'd said. 

And then the second plane hit, as we watched, live on TV.  Bex began to cry while I fumbled around looking for my cell phone to try to call my parents.  Megan was rambling about warnings of similar attacks on the Sears Tower in Chicago (not all that far from our college).  The rest of that day is a blur.  Classes were canceled for the remainder of the day.  Businesses closed up shop - everyone was told to go home and wait.  And there we were, a bunch of college freshman who barely new each other, huddled in our dorm.  Waiting.  Watching the non-stop news coverage.  Wondering why...  Wishing we were home with our families too.  And the silence.  It was everywhere.  No one talked, except in a whisper.  No planes flew overhead, the streets were empty.  The only sounds were the TVs in every room, tuned to the news, and the occasional muffled sounds of crying.  It was such a quiet day.

So much changed on that day.  Our sense of security.  Our attitudes towards other fellow Americans.  Our understanding of the world.  Not to mention the more tangible, logistical changes.  Air travel as we knew it?  Gone.  No more breezing through "security" lines.  No more meeting friends and loved ones at the gate.  No more toiletries larger than 3 oz in our carry-on luggage.  I'm no philosopher, nor do I choose to involve myself extensively in politics, but one cannot argue that the ripple effects of September 11, 2001 continue to spread and impact our daily lives in countless ways.

What else has changed over the past 11 years?

• Eleven years ago... the only home I ever really knew growing up disappeared.  I still go back, to visit other family and friends, but it isn't the same.  My parents have moved 3 times since then.
• Eleven years ago... I was preparing for medical school as an undergraduate.  I still got my degree in biology, but I never went to medical school.  My plans and goals for my life changed.
• Eleven years ago... I was in the process of developing a crush on a guy in my class.  I was pretty sure it was meant to be.  We had our ups and downs (mostly downs).  Turns out, it was not meant to be.  And that's a very good thing.
• Eleven years ago... I new next to nothing about infertility.  I knew of it... I knew generally about the concept of in vitro fertilization.  But I knew nothing of the specifics.  And it had definitely never crossed my mind that I might not be able to have kids someday.
• Eleven years ago... I was young and naive in a lot of ways.  In some ways, that was okay.  It is to be expected when you are a college freshman.  But in other ways, I wish someone had told me more.  I wish someone had told me that sex doesn't always lead to a baby.  Not so as to allow me to be careless, but to to warn me that sometimes, life doesn't pan out the way you think it will.  To inform me of the options.  To prepare me for the heartbreak.  But mostly, to let me know that I wouldn't be alone.  That it is far more common than people realize.  That finding support, from any source, makes it so much better.

Eleven years ago... the world, my world, was a very different place.

I Stand Corrected...

Apparently my blog has some sort of magical powers.  I wrote in my last post that I was trying not to worry about the fact that I hadn't felt Flash move much yet (as in - only twice for sure).  Yesterday and today, I've felt Flash move A LOT.  I don't know what changed, but I'm not going to question it!

Yesterday, one of my co-workers went for a not-so-subtle-belly-touch as I leaned over to steal gummy bears from another co-worker's desk.  It was kind of funny, actually.  She looked about as surprised as I did to have done it.  I like her, though, so I really didn't mind.  About 5 minutes later, I was walking over to another building in search of some lunch when I starting to get that "jumpy stomach" feeling.  I understand why some people say it feels like gas bubbles, because I suppose it kind of did.  But it was definitely NOT gas, and it kept going for about 10-15 minutes.  It happened a few more times as I was driving home yesterday.  Then, as I was sitting in the drive-thru at the bank waiting to use the ATM, I felt 3 distinct blows (punches? kicks?) to my belly.  It was like someone banging a tiny little hammer in there.  So weird!  Last night, I felt Flash move a couple more times.  Unfortunately, whenever either Paul or I tried to put our hands on it to see if it could be felt from the outside, it stopped. 

Today, I hadn't really felt anything until this afternoon.  I had taken a stroll to Sbux with a co-worker (to purchase my first caramel apple spice of the season - yay fall!) and we were sitting in her office afterwards to discuss something work-related.  Apparently Flash REALLY liked the cider - he/she was twitching and squirming the whole time I was sipping it :)  I'll have to do an experiment to see if it happens every time I drink that.

It'll be interesting to see if and how this keeps up.  I've heard some people say that you can actually learn when to expect to feel movement more so than others, based on your baby's daily patterns.  I know it's only been 2 days, but so far Flash seems to like a little exercise in the mid-to-late afternoon.

Anyway, that's pretty much it for now.  Work is still crazy busy, so not much time to sneak in a midday post there.  This weekend will also be insane.  I'm having breakfast with B Saturday morning, then maybe squeezing in some crib shopping (and hopefully crib ordering?) with Paul before we head to a wedding in the afternoon/evening.  Sunday is the fair and the demolition derby (an annual tradition with my in-laws).  I do have some new pictures to post though, so if I get a chance I'll try to get those up.  Cannot believe how quickly time is flying by!

21 Weeks & Counting - A Long Overdue Update

***WARNING***

This is going to be a long post, so feel free to skim through or break for a snack as needed! 

I had planned to do several posts last weekend, but we were staying at my Papa's house and I couldn't get his internet to connect with my laptop.  So instead I thought I'd do 2 or 3 posts during the week.  I even started one entitled "Halfway There!"  But I couldn't seem to focus with my writing and didn't like how it was flowing.  After that, I pretty much just gave up.  So here we are.  I have so much to write about and rather than trying to sort it all into separate posts and themes, I'm just going to put it all into one huge post.  Hence the warning above :) 

Pregnancy Updates
Let's begin with Symptoms & Side Effects.  For the most part, the first trimester stuff has tapered off and I'm feeling pretty decent.  I have noted a few new things, however.  From what I've read, they are all pretty normal for the second trimester.  Which reminds me, I am constantly surprised by just how normal much of my pregnancy has been.  I mean, that's a good thing - I'm not complaining.  It's just that nothing else about getting to this point was normal, so I kind of expected to continue that trend with lots of weird symptoms and issues...  Anyway:

• Round ligament pain.  I started to notice this a few weeks ago.  I was having lots of random little twinges and brief jabbing pains in and around my belly.  Nothing I would describe as a cramp, and nothing that lasted more than a second or two.  But I did notice that they occurred more frequently when I was moving around a lot or when I suddenly went from stationary (i.e. sitting or laying down) to mobile.  They were a little unnerving and I wondered if maybe it had something to do with the OHSS and my still larger-than-normal ovaries.  I had heard of round ligament pain before, but I always thought it had something to do with ligaments and pain associated with the hip joints.  Then one day, it occurred to me that maybe this was round ligament pain.  I did some reading and, sure enough, the descriptions I read all sounded very much like what I was experiencing (BabyCenter.com gave a nice overview:  http://www.babycenter.com/0_round-ligament-pain_205.bc).
• Fatigue.  For me, this is different than the exhaustion related to insomnia that I dealt with in the first trimester.  Between the Snoogle pillow that B got me, and the new memory foam mattress that Paul and I bought with the escrow refund from our home re-fi, my quality of sleep has improved significantly (yay!).  I still wake up more often than before (usually to pee) but I'm able to fall asleep quickly and no longer toss and turn for hours.  But in spite of these improvements, I'm just so freaking tired all the time.  Most days, I'm ready for a nap by about 9:30 a.m.   My body feels tired too.  Driving home from work on Friday, I was so sleepy that I actually worried I might fall asleep sitting in traffic.  My friends who are, or have been, pregnant all assure me that the fatigue gets better and the so-called "second trimester energy boost" will kick in soon.  I'm really hoping this is true for me!
• Yeast infection #2.  Yeah.  Not my favorite.  For a while, I thought that the excessive discharge I was seeing was, well, just discharge.  I'd read that an increase in mucus discharge (whether vaginal or nasal) is another common side effect of pregnancy.  But I was going through 3-4 pantyliners a day!  And then there was the itching...  So I asked about it at my last OB appointment and, sure enough, she went to examine me and was like "Oh yeah, you've definitely got a little something going on down here!"  Afterwards, I was doing some more reading and found out that not only are yeast infections more common during pregnancy, but some women actually experience chronic yeast infections throughout their entire pregnancy that don't resolve until after delivery.  Yikes!  I really hope that is NOT the case for me!
• General physical feelings:  In general, I feel big and heavy all the time now.  It's kind of strange - it's like I don't know how to operate this new body.  I'm not huge yet, obviously, but I'm already experiencing some awkwardness with certain movements (getting in and out of my car, sitting up in bed).  And the heaviness is also kind of weird.  I haven't actually gained much weight (see more on this topic below) but I definitely feel like I'm carrying more around.  My lower back aches more when I'm on my feet.  I've found that I actually prefer to wear maternity pants/shorts/skirts because of the added support from the over-the-belly panel.  I can also feel the skin on my belly stretching, although (knock on wood!) no stretch marks yet!  

Moving on to Worries & Concerns...  I'm not actually a huge worrier - I just can't do it.  I start to drive myself crazy.  If there's something bothering me, I tend to do one of two things:  1) read and ask questions until I understand what is going on and what I should expect, or 2) compartmentalize - say a prayer and then shove those thoughts into a corner and refuse to allow myself to dwell on them.  That being said, there are two things that have been concerning me recently:

• Weight gain.  Or rather, lack thereof.  Here's the deal, I put on probably about 10 pounds (give or take) over the course of my IF treatments, so it's a little hard to say what my pre-pregnancy baseline was.  My doctor's office uses my weight from my last annual exam in January of this year (after 5 months of Clomid but before the IUI and IVF).  I was about 162.5 at that point.  I ballooned up to over 172 during the peak of the OHSS debacle, but returned to 162-163 once the worst was over.  At my first OB appointment (10 weeks) I was 164.5 for a gain of about 2 pounds from my "baseline."  At my second appointment (14.5 weeks) I was 165.  Essentially no change.  And at my third and most recent appointment (19.5 weeks) I was 166.  So basically, by the halfway point of my pregnancy, I had only gained 3.5 pounds.  Now, I'm not complaining per se, but according to what I've read (and what Dr. E said at my first appointment) I should have gained more like 10-12 pounds by now.  So what gives?  And more importantly, could this have an adverse affect on the baby?  I asked Dr. E if this was something I should be concerned about, and she assured me that it wasn't.  According to the ultrasound measurements, Flash is doing fine and measuring right on target.  I was discussing this with my mom during her recent visit, and she mentioned that she never gained much weight during the first half of her pregnancy either.  But then, once she hit the five month mark, she put on 5-7 pounds in a month.  Fortunately, after that spurt, she resumed gaining at a more reasonable rate.  I am 21 weeks and 1 day today and finishing out the "fifth month" of pregnancy.  Interestingly, in the two weeks since my appointment, I appear to have gained 4-6 pounds.  My weight, first thing in the morning, is now coming in around the 170-172 pound mark.  Very interesting indeed...
• Fetal movement.  Everyone I know seems to have felt (or be feeling) their babies move for the first time around 18-20 weeks.  I have only felt Flash move (for sure) twice so far.  The first was at our 20-week ultrasound appointment.  I think it helped that he/she was moving a lot on the screen, so seeing it helped me connect visually with what I was feeling in my belly.  The second time was last weekend when I was laying in bed reading one night.  Other than that, there have been just a few random, fleeting sensations here and there that made me think "Was that it?  Did I just feel it??"  I'm really trying not to obsess over this too much.  And according to what I've read, and what at least 2-3 people in my doctor's office have told me, there's no need to worry at this point.  They say it is technically still early, and that some women don't start to feel it consistently until closer to 24-25 weeks.  But still, I feel a bit of panic every time some well-meaning co-worker or my MIL asks me about it.  

Enough about worries.  Since I've mentioned my last OB appointment a few times now, let's just do a quick review of recent doctors' visits (yes, plural).

Recent Appointments

• Research study visit #2
• Had a level II ultrasound over in the hospital - always fun to get to see Flash!
• Met with the coordinator to go over questionnaires and updates
• Peed in a cup, got my blood drawn, and self-collected cervical fluid swabs for the study
• I just realized I may not have explained about this study I'm doing in a previous post, so here it is in a nutshell:
• It is an observational study of first-time mom's that is funded by the NIH and taking place all over the country.  I work in clinical (oncology) research, helping doctors develop and implement new cancer research studies.  I've also been a study coordinator, enrolling patients and helping conduct visits.  I've always wanted to be in a study myself and see the "other side" of research, so to speak.  I was very excited to find the flier in my New Patient Info packet and called right away to sign up!
• It consists of 3 visits (one per trimester) at which they take blood, urine, and cervical fluid samples, go through lots of questionnaires, do quickie exams, and [this is the real reason I signed up] perform 3 extra ultrasounds just for research.  They also collect some data and cord blood specimens at the time of delivery.  There is an optional sleep-study component that I also consented to which involves wearing a monitoring device twice during pregnancy (in the first and third trimesters)
• The idea is to compile all the data and  then try to identify factors and trends in first-time mom's that could indicate if someone is at a higher risk for complications during pregnancy.
• I had my first study visit back in the end of June.  My third and final visit is scheduled for early October. 

• 20-Week OB appointment (which was actually at 19.5 weeks)
• Got to hear the heartbeat again (with Paul this time)
• Discussed:  lack of weight gain, pertussis boosters for family members (i.e. grandparents), and yeast infection #2
• Had the big anatomy scan ultrasound, which was fun.  We warned the tech that Flash doesn't like to have his/her picture taken, and sure enough, she couldn't get a clear picture of the face and some angles of the heart because Flash's arms were up covering his/her face the entire time.  Flash seems to take after Daddy in this regard :)  But otherwise, it was a fun exam and everything looked/measured just fine.
• Peed in a cup and had more blood drawn
• Got a referral to a hematologist - Dr. E was looking back at my genetic screening results from the RE's clinic and wants me to get another opinion about the MTHFR mutation that I carry.  While it is a pretty common mutation, the biggest risk to me is a blood clot.  My RE put me on a daily baby aspirin back in January, but Dr. E noted that I actually have two different copies of this same mutation.  Based on that, she wanted to know if I maybe need to be put on something else after delivery.  Fun times!

• Follow-up ultrasound (20 weeks 2 days)
• Went back to see if they could get the additional views of the face and heart that they couldn't get at the initial anatomy scan.  Flash cooperated better this time.  Needless to say, I didn't complain about getting the additional ultrasound :)

• Hematologist appointment
• Saw Dr. C, the hematologist, last Friday (20 weeks 5 days) to discuss my mutation status and blood clot risk.  He explained that I have a compound heterozygous mutation, but that since I was negative for the Factor V Leidin and Prothrombin II mutations (two other common clotting mutations), I'm not really at any increased risk from having two copies of the MTHFR mutation.  
• Dr. C said he would leave the decision of whether to keep me on baby aspirin or not up to Dr. E, since some OBs have strong opinions one way or another about it.  
• Had more blood drawn for one more test (homocysteine) and assuming that it comes back normal, I shouldn't need to have any additional intervention after delivery.  Excellent.

Aside from pregnancy symptoms and doctors' visits, we've picked up the pace a bit in terms of preparing for the baby.  I'm starting to feel the pressure a bit more, now that we're past the halfway point.  My goal is to have as much done as possible before Thanskgiving.  This is partly because I'd like to be able to enjoy the holidays and maybe relax some (ha!).  But also, we are very aware that baby Flash could come much earlier than anticipated and with little or no warning.  Aside from my friend Christy (who delivered early due to complications), two of Paul's friends' wives delivered their first babies a month early for no apparent reason.
There are no indications that this will be the case for us, but I want to be prepared either way! 

Nursery Updates

• Wallpaper has been removed (thanks to Paul and my mom!) and a new can of white primer/paint has been purchased and should be going on this week or next.
• Any baby stuff we've accumulated so far has been consolidated and is now being stored in the closet until the painting is done and furniture is in place.
• The bedding collection has been chosen for our Noah's Ark theme (you can see pictures at http://www.babysupermall.com/main/products/lai/lai519006v.html) and we've purchased the wall decals that we plan to use.
• We've commissioned Paul's friend's sister to do the ark mural and one other wall.  We would like her to come out to see the room and discuss the design with us soon.  Ideally, I'd like to have all the painting finished by the time my mom comes back the end of October so that we can work on other decorating!

Shopping & Registry Updates
Umm.... yeah.  We need to get on that.  I did a walk through at Babies 'R Us with my mom and MIL a couple weeks ago.  And Paul and I did a quickie walk through the furniture section at Buy Buy Baby this weekend.  We have yet to actually decide on anything, but we did come up with a plan/schedule to get this done:

1. Today (Labor Day) I intend to finish going through the Baby Bargains book that my officemate loaned me.  I started reading it last weekend and I really like the format and detailed information.  I'm a researcher by nature (and by profession) so I want to go into this registry thing knowing what we do (and don't) need or want, as well as what brands/models/gadgets received high ratings for safety and quality (and those that didn't).
2. This week I'm going to poll my friends and co-workers workers who have recently had babies and ask them each 3 questions:  
1. What is one thing that you purchased or received that you cannot live without?
2. What is one thing that you purchased or received that you don't use/hate/could easily live without?
3. What is one thing that you wish you had purchased or received (or purchased/received sooner than you did)?
3. Next weekend (time-permitting) Paul and I are going to run to a couple more stores to look at cribs and hopefully decide on one so we can get it ordered.  I'm glad I'm reading this book because I had no idea that they suggest allowing at least 12 weeks for furniture delivery!  That's really the only piece of furniture that we will be ordering (aside from maybe a rocker/glider).  We've got that desk that we're converting into a changing table/storage and we're planning to get a regular dresser from either an antique/secondhand store or possibly just IKEA.
4. Two weeks from today (Monday, September 17) we're going to set aside the entire day to do the bulk of the registry-ing.  We can always add smaller, less specific items (diapers, toys, etc) at a later time.

Other Miscellaneous Preparations/To-Do's

• We've decided on/made arrangements with our future nanny.  It wasn't a terribly difficult process, for which I'm thankful.  A woman from our church (who's husband is also a fellow volunteer firefighter on our local department with Paul) runs an in-home daycare in our town.  She's licensed and knowledgeable and usually in pretty high demand.  We talked with her a couple of weeks ago after church and she's holding a spot for us beginning sometime next April.  Between Paul's schedule and mine, we'll only need her a couple days a week.  But still, it's nice to have that ironed out!
• I've pre-registered with our insurance company for the labor and delivery, but still need to pre-register with the hospital.
• We need to decide on baby classes - which ones to take (or not) and where.  This probably needs to happen sooner rather than later in case they fill up...
• We need to start thinking about pediatricians...
• I need to meet with my HR rep at work and figure out about maternity leave.  The policy and procedures for extended leaves of absence (including maternity leave) changed at my work effective two days ago.  I wasn't entirely clear on the previous policy, so I'm even less clear on how this will affect me under the new policy.  Regardless, I know that I'm planning to take all 12 weeks that I'm allowed.  I'm just not sure how much of that will be paid and when I need to file the forms, etc.

Whew.  I think I'm going to call it quits on this post now.  It's rather lengthy and I've covered most of what I intended.  Plus, my laptop battery is getting low...  So, if you've managed to read this far, thanks for checking in!  Enjoy the rest of your holiday!