Blame It On Being Pregnant

Sometimes I feel like I am loosing my mind. It seems as though I am more forgetful. Take yesterday at work. I was walking around with an envelope in my hand and I couldn't figure out what I was going to do with it. Duh...maybe put it in the mail bin? I told Chief I was going to make egg salad sandwiches for lunch. When I went to crack the eggs they were not done. I think I set the timer for 6 minutes instead of 16 minutes. Yes. Things like this are happening all the time.

Let's not forget my emotions. Poor Chief, this morning I had a breakdown. I was crying for no real reason. I have been happy, anxious, sad and worried all since waking up this morning. At least I am not angry. The other night we were watching “Wipe Out” and I was laughing so hard I had tears. Normally, I wouldn’t think that this would be a funny show. I am also sensitive to the “Baby Story” on TLC. It is a sure bet that I will cry at the end of those episodes. These emotional up and downs are weird.

I am still walking. I wish I could get in a really tough workout, the kind that you leave your heart at the gym. Those workouts used to make me feel so good. Unfortunately, Nemo doesn't want to be baked or shaken. I guess I will have to dig out the heart rate monitor and maybe hit an elliptical at 70% of max. Oh, there is always swimming but my suit won't fit.

This will be a busy weekend. We have a few chores to do around the house. The windows need to be washed and base boards. I also want to clean out my car. There are a lot of nose prints on the car windows. Darn JJ, Dusty, and Chief (not so much the latter though). The other day I thought it will be kind of fun for Nemo to see the boys in the back of the car. This child will always be entertained.

3 Month Check Up

It was a busy week but we made it through. I had my appointment on Thursday with Cheryl, a nurse practioner at Loyola. I really felt comfortable with her and she took a lot of time with me in regards to my thyroid condition. She went through my old ultrasounds and decided to keep an eye on my parathyroid as well as my thyroid. Apparently, I had a questionable enlarged parathyroid on an exam but the one a few years later looked better. This brought up an interesting family history note that I totally forgot to mention at my first OB appointment. My sister Jodi had 2 of her parathyroid glands removed after having her daughter. Cheryl also added a T4 onto my next lab to help her understand how my thyroid function is doing. I will be getting the blood test in 2 weeks.

Nemo's heartbeat was strong (once she found it). He was moving about as usual. I think it was around 156-160. We also discussed our due date. If you remember the date got change to Nov. 21st because of the ultrasound results. I am very sure of my cycle. After Cheryl and I looked at my calendar she decided that we are going to keep the Nov. 28th date. Chief and I are not little people so that may explain the size concern. Changing the date this early isn't going to matter too much. We will be having plenty more ultrasounds to change everyone’s mind between now and November, so I am not too concerned.

Loyola would like me to try to see each of the physicians so that there are no surprises when it comes time to deliver. I discussed this with Cheryl and her thought is that I shouldn't go out of my way to try to see each doctor, especially if I have to change my work schedule. You all know how I hate to change my work hours so I decided that I will be sticking with Cheryl and to be honest, I don't think I will care who is delivering our baby. I will just be happy that there is someone down there that knows what the heck they are doing.

I was anxiously awaiting the results of our Early Screening for Down syndrome, Trisomy 18/13. Chief and I had discussed all the "what ifs" and clearly we would have been accepting and loving to our child if it had one of these chromosome conditions. The waiting is still hard and I even felt that I had wished that we hadn't been screened, but on the other side if we were to be faced with this challenge, I would have wanted to be prepared. On Thursday afternoon we found out that Nemo has a 1:1392 chance for Down syndrome and 1:5500 for trisomy! We both are happy and feel even more blessed. The next little hurdle is an AFP blood test, sometime in the next month.

On Friday we started to look at day care options. We found that we have to register Nemo fairly soon to guarantee a spot when I go back to work. We have an appointment on Tuesday with a place in town. Other options are still being looked at. We joked that we would try to get him in with the boys at Doggie Depot. We figured he would just need a small kennel and a few extra feedings. Nemo would have the cleanest face and fingers of anyone in town. I am not sure B & C will go for it though.

Thanks for all of the extra prayers that have been sent our way. We do appreciate everyone's concern. I told Nemo that he just has to keep growing and stay healthy. We will take care of the rest.

For no reason, here is a picture of JJ and Dusty, imitating Nemo, mooning us:

Baby On Board

We are so excited! It is really happening. We are going to have a baby!

I found out I was pregnant after our vacation in March. Chief and I saw the doctor in April and that is when we saw the little heart beat. It was so special. Of course I cried. Since then, we have had an ultrasound as a screening for possible chromosome abnormalities to the baby. We are awaiting those results. The little guy was squirming and kicking. We even got “mooned”. The experience was amazing. To see our baby moving about was incredible. I was joking because he was active and I am not a morning person so I am sure he is taking after his father.

The ultrasound technologist did a measurement and subsequently the baby measured a week bigger than what we expected so our due date got changed to November 21st.


Because of my hypothryroidism, we will continue to be monitored by the High Risk OB physicians. Apparently the concern is growth and development of the baby. They will monitor my TSH levels and watch the baby with ultrasounds starting at 20 weeks. I will be asking very specific questions about this at my next appointment so I can give more details later.

I have been feeling good. I get occasional nausea and I am tired but I hear this should be ending soon. I still walk in the mornings and I am really wanting to swim. It is just that I am tired when I get home from work so I have not had the energy to go to the YMCA. Maybe this week will be better.

By the way, we don’t want to find out the sex of the baby. I know that there is a chance we may accidentally find out with the upcoming ultrasounds but we are not planning on it. As Chief said “there are not enough surprises in life.” I have been calling the baby “my little guy” and after a recent trip to Florida we started to call the baby Nemo. If she is a girl I will apologize to her in person in 6 months.