BeBa

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Jake Babey by Mir (age 7)

Monday I had my 28 week prenatal and I was soooooooooooooooooo traumatized.

Everything was on target, but this was the week of the one hour gestational diabetes screen. I almost refused the test – I have in the past. My age puts me in a higher risk category this time, however, so I went for it. I wish I would have just refused it, because…

The tech could NOT get any blood out of me. (Warning: the following might be too much for you if you're squeamish about needles.)

I got stuck twice in both arms and several more times in the backs of BOTH my hands (and then my veins moved and so she'd fish around for the vein with the needle already embedded in my flesh). The needle was tiny and it didn't hurt TOO badly, but I still get so lightheaded in this situation. I was feeling very faint and nauseated by the end.

All that trauma and she only got two out of the three needed vials. Mercifully, one of the two was the GTT. The other one was one of the hemos. Theoretically I can go into the lab anytime to get my iron checked.

Yeah, not likely. Keep those needles away from me OMG.

Also, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to drink water after having the glucose drink. I wonder how that will affect the result? Sigh.

Anyway, today I had an ultrasound to monitor my placenta. It was low-lying (previa) at my 19 week ultrasound. This appointment was much more fun. First off, no more placenta previa – I'm cleared in that regard for vaginal birth.

The boy was – as I suspected – head down, with his back along my right side. The technician also confirmed in passing that, "Oh yes, he's definitely still a boy."

Also, both the tech who did the scan and the doctor who reviewed it were in raptures over his perfect little textbook heart. They even wanted some extra scans of it.

He was measuring just one day shy of my due date at approximately 2 lbs 11 oz (although ultrasound estimates of weight are inaccurate at this stage of pregnancy – and become increasingly more so as the pregnancy progresses).

Jake was super-active this morning and she had a hard time getting some good shots of his face. At one point he even turned his face completely into the placenta as if to say, "No pictures!" He did ultimately cooperate.

Check out my cute little baby boy!!

28w4d – Baby Jakey

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I know, I know, I already posted photos from my ultrasound a whole week ago. But this is one of the photos the tech included on the printed strip and I finally unearthed it from the CD they gave us because, you see, I've had this particular print on my desk this past week and this particular image has just made me feel all bonded to my baby in a way I totally didn't expect. I've been mooning over it all week.

I know it's silly, but LOOK HOW CUTE HE IS!!! His little legs all curled up. Sweet baby foot. And the way his little angel face is tucked into the crook of his arm, little hand resting on his forehead. I just can't stand it – I have a crush on my baby already.

In other news – he is kicking up a storm lately. I can feel him moving around every day, several times per day now. I love this part of pregnancy…

19w3d-baby-jakey

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1. Chronic heartburn.

2. I think I'm feeling the baby move most days. Delicate little fluttering.

3. I think we have our names picked out! Not in stone until it's on the birth certificate of course, but our top contenders are:

For a boy: Jackson Scott
For a girl: Clara Elizabeth

4. We have an ultrasound scheduled for February 28 – I'll be 19 weeks. I'm a little anxious about it – just praying for a perfectly healthy baby!

5. Most likely we'll find out the gender at the ultrasound. I don't usually do that – in fact, with my other babies, I didn't have a mid-pregnancy ultrasound, so it was easy to keep the gender a surprise. This time, since I'm significantly older, I want some reassurance that the baby is generally healthy (and if there are any problems, we'd like a head's up).

I know, I know, we could have the ultrasound and NOT find out the gender, but Scott really wants to know and I know I'm weak. (For example, I did have a 39 week scan with HM. And I caved. It's true, I found out she was a girl ONE WEEK before I would have just found out the old-fashioned way.) So I'm not kidding myself here. If I have an ultrasound, I consider it a foregone conclusion that I will therefore want to find out the gender (assuming the data is available, of course.

6. Belly pix! I thought I'd compile a little progression timeline to demonstrate the little *pop* that happened in the past couple weeks. Yay!

Growing belly

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Hellllllo second trimester! I'm starting to feel a little out of the woods. A little more energy, a little more appetite, a little less nausea. Yay!

I had a doctor appointment today – the very uneventful kind every mom-to-be loves. Although, we did get to hear the heartbeat.

They also gave me referrals for a level 2 ultrasound (aka 2nd trimester fetal survey) and quad screen blood work. Most likely we will do the ultrasound – most problems are detectable with this survey. If at that point they observe an anomaly they feel merits further investigation, then I'll have the quad screen and we'll go from there. I've never had these tests done with my previous pregnancies, but being 38 is giving me pause for thought this time.

Still, no final decisions yet – we have time to decide. We have nearly a month before it's even the proper time for these tests (16 weeks) and then another month to get them done (ideally at or before 20 weeks).

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Pregnant with #4 (#6 in our blended family) – Due July 22, 2007 – planning a homebirth

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