Tadpole's Christmas gift to Dad

It fits up to six months, so it should work for the 2009 football season.

Another gender prediction

This one says boy, too. Although whenever I think of names, my mind always goes to the girl names first.

Care to venture a guess or prediction of your own? That's what comments are for, folks - to make for an interactive experience!

The kindness of strangers

Brian received a Christmas card in the mail yesterday that was quite unlike any other card he received this year. Now he sends cards to all his clients, and naturally he gets quite a few cards in return. As I mentioned before, it's not uncommon for him to receive small gifts from clients, like gift cards, cookies and beef jerkey. He gets a lot of beef jerkey. But I digress... So he opens this card yesterday to find that it's not from a client. It's from a potential client, that is someone he's met with but hasn't actually started helping, yet. This potential client was one of the first people with whom Brian shared news of our pregnancy (we weirdly felt comfortable telling strangers outside our daily circles early on, before we made the news known to family & close friends), and these relative strangers did the most touching and unexpected thing. People who have never met me and who have only talked with Brian once or twice included a $50 gift card to Babies-R-Us in his Christmas card.

He called these people to thank them immediately, but I think maybe I'll write them a thank you note this weekend.

How's that for holiday spirit?

Just for some holiday fun

Thanks Nicole, for sending this entertaining clip!!

10 weeks

Yeah, no difference from eight weeks.

Except bras are getting slightly tighter. But I don't want to spend that kind of crazy money more than once, so I'm not replacing any bras until I have to. I looove me some sports bras!

The good news is that the nausea and food aversions seem to have abated some, but headaches appeared for the first time this past week.

I'll take the latter over the former.

This week the baby is officially considered a fetus, no longer an embryo. It's now the size of a kumquat (Anyone actually know what a kumquat looks like? I don't, but apparently it's about 1.25 inches long). Fingers and toes are formed, wrists and elbows work and little legs start kicking. Although tadpole is still far to small for me to feel anything.

Make a pregnancy ticker

Tadpole's First Gifts!

Came from Aunt Jess & Uncle Dave. And even though their primary allegiances are to Notre Dame and Pitt, they swallowed their pride for adorable Christmas presents for baby-to-be.

Our First In-Home Visit

We met Friday night with a researcher from Penn State Harrisburg, who conducted our first in-home visit for the childbirth class research project in which we're participating. Independently from the other we each had to fill out a big questionnaire booklet, which asked about everything from our financial situation to breastfeeding preferences and from how we'd like to see chores assigned in the future to whether or not we beat each other. Really, there were two whole pages dedicated to exploring what variety of weapons we've used against each other, how many times in the past year we've sworn at each other and whether or not either of us has been or should have been hospitalized due to partner abuse. Yikes!

All in all, the survey made us feel pretty good about our relationship.

We also had to participate in three video-taped excercises, which were kind of weird at first. But then again our researcher said they made her feel akward too, so she went in another room while we did them. For the first six minutes, we had to talk to each other about topics Brian brought up. Then for the second six-minute segment we did the same, but about topics I initiated. And finally, we had a 12-minute segment where we had to work on resolving differences. The researcher assigned us differences to talk about based on survey questions we had answered earlier, and I guess it's further testament to our (relatively?) healthy relationship that she had to make a difference up, because she didn't find enough between us to fill the time.

FYI, Our resolutions are that I'm going to better communicate my feelings to Brian (i.e., avoid the "What's wrong?" / "Nothing" / "No really, what's wrong?" / "Really, I'm fine" dance), and Brian is going to dust his office sometime before the new year. :)

It was an interesting experience, and I can only assume they'll evaluate the surveys and watch our videos to use as comparison for future visits. I'm guessing they're trying to see how differently we'll interact with each other when the baby is nine months old, then again when it's two years old. Then again I could be completely wrong.

Ah, what the heck. It was something relatively constructive to do, and we'll get a check in the mail soon. And we should find out next week to which childbirth classes we're assigned.

And then the best part. By the time the researcher left, it was just after 8 p.m., and neither of us felt like starting dinner at home. So we used a gift certificate Brian got for Christmas from one of his clients to go for the BEST DINNER I'VE HAD IN WEEKS. We went to Hoss's, and I LOVED IT. Don't laugh. It was the first time in a while salad tasted good to me, so I stuffed myself with spinach, broccoli salad, olives, pickled egg whites, garbanzo beans and cauliflower. The baked beans, cheese nachos and frozen yogurt were icing on the cake. Mmmmm, Hoss's is this pregnant lady's best friend right now.

Then we came back home, talked to the cats for a bit and we were in bed on our way to dreamland by 10:30 p.m. Yup, Friday nights take on a whole new meaning now. :)

Silly, but fun

Found a site where the mysterious Madame Zaritska predicts the labor and birth experience. Here's the clairvoyant's prediction for me, based on my favorite color, the last animal I saw, the current weather, how many rings I wear on my fingers and whether I prefer the scent of lavendar or pine:

The day you deliver, outside will be rainy. Your baby will arrive at night.

After a labor lasting approximately 12 hours, your child, a boy, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 7 pounds, 11 ounces, and will be 18-1/2 inches long. This child will have hazel eyes and be almost bald.

We'll have to check back in seven months to see how she did.

On to Week 9

I'm not going to lie: After the ultrasound, Week 8 kind of sucked. Unprecedented exhaustion, emotions, nauseau, bloating and digestive pains. Seems all of a sudden none of the foods I used to enjoy regulary are appetizing or nice to me. Can't stand the thought of fresh veggies or hummus, chicken made me gag last week and I really thought the smell of Brian's pasta last night would put me over the edge. And the best part is when multiple symptoms combine for total meltdown -- like Sunday night when I was tired, nauseous, sick to my stomach AND the emotions got the best of me so I was a crying mess on the couch. :)

I keep reminding myself of Alissa's advice -- all of this is a wonderful blessing and miracle, even the really sucky parts.

And on the bright side, I haven't actually thrown up to this point, and fruits are my saving grace. I'm eating more oranges, apples, bananas and berries now than I ever did, because fruit seems to be one of the only things that appeals to me.

And Brian has been wonderful. He went out and bought me Ramen noodle soup and prune juice, he spent two hours baking cookies with me and he's always ready to jump up and grab me whatever I need, whether it be a ginger ale, a forgotten prenatal pill or a cat.

Here's hoping Week 9 gets a little better, rather than worse.

Interesting facts for Week 9: tadpole is about the size of a medium green olive at this point, its tail is shrinking and fingers will be discernable by the end of the week.

First Christmas on Leon Ave.

For those who won't be able to see it in person, here are some pics of our home, all decked out for Christmas!

Childbirth Plus

So, I spoke with the Med Center earlier today about Childbirth Plus, the research initiative I mentioned earlier, in which we qualify to participate.

It sounds kind of neat. It's a PSU study they're conducting over the course of a few years to determine whether or not they should enhance their cildbirth classes. In the next few days we'll get a call from Penn State to schedule a prenatal home visit, where they'll come to our house to talk to us for an hour or so. After that meeting is complete, they'll send us a check for $100 and assign Brian and I to one of two childbirth class groups: the "control" group, which receives the current Hershey Med childbirth classes, or the Childbirth Plus group, which receives the regular classes enhanced with additional info about relationship building, post-partum depression, getting an infant to sleep, etc.

If we get assigned to the second group, they give us dinner at each of five weekly evening classes, and we'll have to participate in a second set of classes once the baby is four or five months old.

Regardless of to which group we're assigned, they'll conduct two follow-up in-home studies, one when the baby is about 9 months old, and the final one at about 2 years of age. All in all, they'll pay us nearly $400 over three years to participate, and our experience will help the Med Center design future childbirth classes. Oh, and we get a free breastfeeding class for participating, too.

So now we wait to hear about our first in-home study and group assignment...

June 13, 2009

Exchange the flowers for pink ones and put the hair up, and this is pretty much what I'll look like at Nicole's wedding.

Some funny things

First of all, this exhaustion thing is really throwing me for a loop. I was sitting at work at 4:30 yesterday, with yawn-tears streaming down my face, just trying to keep my eyes open. So I go home thinking I'll take a nap -- which I NEVER do, even on weekends -- after dinner and before Grey's and ER come on. I lay down at 8 and feel guilty for doing so, because there are a lot of other productive things I could be doing. And then I wake up at 7 a.m. That's ELEVEN HOURS OF SLEEP. Get real -- does a 15 mm tadpole REALLY need that much rest??

And then while I slept I had my first of what I'm reading are pretty common goofy pregnancy dreams. I dreampt we were at Kim & Charlie's Rose Bowl party, and I drank a can of beer. Then a Coronita appeared, and I had a sip of that before passing it on to Brian. OK, I don't even really like beer that much. I could see if maybe I was dreaming about wine, but crappy Mexican beer? And for those who are wondering, nope, the lack of booze hasn't bothered me at all. I have yet to wish I could have a drink or two. But it's funny to watch Brian drink, because he feels so guilty for doing it. I keep telling him I'm fine, but he gets this lost-puppy look on his face whenever he grabs a beer or makes a drink. Cute, but I'm telling him to get over it.

Oh, one new appointment scheduled: Jan. 6 first trimester screening. Apparently we meet with a genetic counselor at the med center first, then they do a finger-prick for blood and do another ultrasound. It's all to test for a handful of genetic disfunctions including downs syndrome, and the ultrasound will verify or amend the EDD.

And finally, the next week should be interesting. We decided to insert "Our latest news" notes in many of the Christmas cards we're sending, so traffic here (and personal calls and emails to us) may increase soon. Cards are going in the mail today...

Eight weeks

BRIAN (after taking the picture): Aaaww, look. You already have a little baby pooch.

Liz: No dear, the baby's smaller than a peanut and isn't big enough to make a pooch yet. That's the way I've looked for the past few years. But thanks, love.

NOTE: For those of you who caught it early enough, yes, I did upload a new, more flattering pic, and I reserve the editorial right to do so anytime in the future. Why? Because no matter how pregnant I get, angle and lighting always make a difference :)

Correction:

A closer look at the calendar and an EDD calculator clarify that I'm 8 weeks pregnant, and tadpole is 6 weeks old. So scratch the strange food craving theory. Apparently I was just whacky that weekend in Jim Thorpe.

The 38 week vs. 40 week pregnancy counting theories are really confusing, especially if you have no "date of last period" to measure by.

Ah, what the heck. At least we have a date that's more than just a shot in the dark.

And, I just found a ticker that gives an idea of what tadpole looks like:

Make a pregnancy ticker

Apparently craving white bread dipped in ranch dressing is an early sign of pregnancy, after all...

July 22, 2009. That's the estimated due date, which puts me (Liz again) at 10 weeks pregnant (of a 40 week count) and the tadpole at 8 weeks of development.

Oh, and just one baby. Whew. :)

So, what does the math tell us? First of all, it means I took my October 26 POAS test too early for the hormone levels to appear. Secondly, it means the time that took was sometime in mid-October. And it also means that I was pregnant during our trip to Jim Thorpe, when I suddenly had crazy food cravings (a la the title of this post) and hunger like a lion. Finally, it means I'm one-quarter of the way through this pregnancy, and I didn't even know I was pregnant until two weeks ago!
And now for some more exciting stuff. We got eight ultrasound pictures, and although I can't really identify much in the print outs, we did see the head and body on the screen in the doc's office. And the yolk sak, and the umbillical cord.

In this one, the head is pointing down and to the right. And at the bottom you may be able to make out 14.8mm and 8W 0D, the size and age of tadpole.


And we got to see and hear the heartbeat. Twice. Wasn't expecting that, so it was surreal. Really overwhelming. But tadpole's heart was beating at 163 and 168 beats per minute. Amy said anything over 120 bpm is good, so tadpole seems to be doing fine at this point.

The heartbeat we heard is pictured in this one, at the bottom. It's hard to make out in this picture of the picture, but under the illustration of the heartbeat it says FHR = 163bpm.

Next appointment will be at the med center in early January for first trimester screening and another ultrasound to verify the EDD. Then after that, I'm scheduled for check-ups Jan. 22 (with CRNP Amy again), March 9 (with Dr. Carie D'Agata), April 21 (with Dr. Rae Kennedy) and May 5 (again, with Dr. Kennedy).

And now for some random thoughts that have run through my head in the past hour or so, assuming everything goes as planned for the next 30 weeks or so:

1.) Sorry, Nicole, but it looks like I'll be pretty big at the wedding. Mental note: order the dress or material to accommodate another 25 pounds.

2.) Our 4th anniversary pics with the veils will probably turn out pretty cool, what with the belly and everything. Mental note: schedule July photo session with Scott Church in a few months.

3.) Speaking of anniversary, it's is less than a week apart from the EDD.

4.) We're definitely not going to be able to make the family beach trip this year.

5.) Looks like we're on about the same schedule as Brett and Lynn were, a year later.

6.) So that means Max will be two years older than tadpole, and Avery will be one year older.

FYI, the first time we'll be able to check boy/girl status will be at the March 9 appointment.

Oh, and anyone interested in a delivery date/time pool? Friendly wagers anyone?

Dec. 4 Intake Appointment

This morning I (Liz, here) met with Pat Houck, a Clinical Nurse at Hershey Med's Nyes Rd. office, for my intake appointment.

She gathered family history, asked me about a TON of diseases and birth defects I've never heard of, and pronounced that this little tadpole has a clean family history and genetics on its side.

Oh, and she verified that I'm not allowed to scoop cat poop until the baby comes. I had heard it was because of the dust in the litter, but Pat informed me it's actually the stool itself that is dangerous. Why? Because our felines may eat mice, birds or other small mammals that have a common parasitic infection called Toxoplasmosis, which could infect the fetus. Bottom line, Brian scoops all poop for the forseeable future. :)

I did have to giggle at her when we went through the following exchange:
PAT: And when was the first day of your last period?
ME: July 18.
PAT: WHAT!? You haven't had a period since July!?
Me: Yeah, but I'm pretty sure I'm no more than a month or so pregnant.

And then I went over the story with her. She just about jumped out of her skin though, thinking I was MUCH further along than she had anticipated.

I've always liked Hershey med for the fact that it's a teaching and research hospital (and because it's affiliated with Penn State, and that means cute Nittany Lions all over the offices), and here's a few more reasons I like this place:

#1: I got a TON of great materials today, and I'll probably be reading for months about everything from SIDS to car seats.

#2: The Women's Health center provides a "gift" to all new expecting moms - "Your Pregnancy & Birth," a 385-page book published by the American College of Obstetrics & Gynecologists. I was really impressed with this one, and it saved me $20 at Borders!

#3: Pat gave me a magazine called "As Your Baby Grows," which shows all kinds of neat (well, some are really kind of creepy) pictures of the fetus in different stages of development. And, Pat was very frank in telling me to just ignore all the formula ads in the magazine, and just take it for the pictures. :)

#4: I found out that as first time parents, Brian & I have the option to participate in a research project for Hershey, and they'll PAY US and FEED US regularly for our participation! Haven't gotten the details yet, but heck, I'll take easy money wherever I can get it.

#5: Pat was very open and honest in explaining what genetic tests are available and which and aren't typically covered by insurance. She also gave me a ballpark figure for the big one that's not covered. Yeah, since we have no family history of Cystic Fibrosis, I think I'll save my $300+ and the stress, since the test isn't 100 percent accurate.

#6: Holy cow, they offer over a dozen different childbirth and parenting classes! We'll have to see which ones/how many are covered by insurance.

My appointment ended in the lab, where they took FIVE vials of blood (ugh) and a urine sample.

Next appointment is Tuesday with CRNP Amy Stauffer, who will review the lab results and do an ultrasound to establish a due date.

And from that point, it looks like appointments every four to six weeks for the next five or six months.