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.

Not Much Happening

March flew by and now April is upon us. Chief and I went to Florida a few weeks ago. We had a wonderful time on the Gulf Coast visiting with our Aunt and Uncle. Everyday was fun and relaxing. It is just what we needed. After a few days we drove over to the Atlantic side and stayed with our friends. Unfortunately, I got sick with a nasty cold. Finally, by the end of the trip I felt better and had a fun time with Rhonda in the Keys while Chief and Steve went snorkeling.

I gave up on the running. I know it is better this way. I am so glad that I can still get a decent workout with walking. I probably should get to the Y and do other cardio stuff but I really don't feel like it. I still want to swim and work on weight training. All in time I guess.

I am also happy to say that Chief is in the last week of training for his marathon next weekend. Thank God! He could use some rest. He got my cold on the last day of vacation and it turned into a sinus infection.

The boys are fine. They enjoyed Doggie Depot while we were on vacation.

Not much else to report. We are just waiting for spring to come. I can't wait to get outside and work on my garden.