Enlarged Renal Pelvis

Ross and I went to our 24 week midwife appointment expecting everything to be fine and got a little bit of a shock when Jill told us that the ultrasound tech found an enlargement of the renal pelvis (in the 95th percentile). He had told us that he didn't see anything abnormal, so it was a bit unexpected to hear that there was a problem.

We were told not to worry too much because it is very common and usually resolves itself. Jill told us that she needed to send us to a perinatologist for a follow-up ultrasound. Apparently, if the condition gets bad, we would have to go with a hospital birth... which is the one thing I most wanted to avoid. She kept reassuring us not to worry because it is so common and she has seen it many times before and only two had to go with hospital births, but we all know telling us not to worry is useless!

And, silly me, I had to go and look it up online when I got home. That certainly didn't help my anxiety level! That's where I discovered that it can signal Down's Syndrome, especially if it's very large (like 95th percentile perhaps?). Dealing with a normal, healthy pregnancy has been hard enough for two people who had intended to stay child-free, so news of a possible problem just adds to the stress. We were starting to get used to the idea of a child, but this just brought us back around again. UGH! I'm trying to stay calm and positive.

Shower Invites

I really need to get to work on addressing the invitations for the baby shower. We intended to send them out early (party is in July), so that we catch people before they make other plans for the prime July weekends. I just haven't had any motivation! I look at the stack of invites that know I need to get it done... but then I find yet another way to procrastinate. You know, like writing a journal post about it!

The invites did turn out quite well, if I do say so myself. Angel sent me some sample invitations that she found and liked. There were a few that we agreed on. We started talking over how much information had to go into the invites. We both liked the invitations that had ultrasound pictures and we thought the mini-newspaper was clever. Suddenly, I was struck with inspiration. Combine all the elements and make an actual newspaper!

Front page news announced the baby and the baby's sex with a nice ultrasound picture. The second page was an "ad" for our baby shower, a Dear Baby (Abby) column, and a classified section (where I listed registries and other important info). The third page was a crossword puzzle, a word search and a scrambler. This page is serving as our door prize entry... bring it to the party completed and get into the drawing. The last page was a Top Ten list of baby songs, a recipe for babies and comics. The few invites that have already been handed out are getting rave reviews. In fact, one of Ross' friends said he couldn't give it to his wife because she'll be upset that ours is so elaborate compared to hers!

Registries and Floors

Well, we determined two things yesterday...


A. Wal-Mart sucks. Well, we knew this a long time ago, but we have yet another reason. They no longer do in-store registries. This may be just a regional thing, but it is still quite a boneheaded move. Ross and I went in yesterday to flesh out our registry with some of the items that our not available online. There were several items we saw in the store that I couldn't find online. It was very frustrating. If it were entirely up to me, I wouldn't have even bothered with Wal-Mart but I know that a huge majority of our shower guests shop there. Target, on the other hand, is awesome. We even got a reusable canvas goody bag of coupons, diapers (those will be for our sitters to use if the cloth diapers scare them... LOL), samples and a book showing off their baby stuff. We added about 25 items while in the store... things we hadn't thought of or things that looked cuter in person.

Wood Laminate

B. We have finally decided on a floor for the family room/ playroom/ office. This project has been going on for about a month or two. Picking a floor has been tough, because we have plans to completely renovate the house over the next several years and eventually that space will be expanded and become the master suite. We wanted to put in a durable floor that we didn't mind tearing up in a few years. At first we considered linoleum. The word conjures up horror stories, but it's cheap and we wouldn't have been upset tearing it apart. Then Ross thought we should consider doing a cheaper stone because the area will be getting a lot of activity. Turns out there is no such thing as cheap stone. So we browsed about, chatted up a few employees, and eventually we decided on a wood laminate. We end up with a durable floor with a convincing wood look and texture at a cost comparable to linoleum. I also think it will complement the stone of the fireplace and the woods of our furniture quite nicely. It should also brighten up the space a bit compared to the odd brown carpet that was originally in the space. They will also be adding a moisture/ insulation barrier under it which should help with keeping that level of the house warmer. Can't wait to schedule installation!

Baby's First Pictures

The Money Shot

We had our ultrasound yesterday. I had no idea these things could take two hours! Our tech was very thorough... checking for every major bone in the body and pointing out the ten fingers and ten toes. The coolest thing, to me, was seeing the heart beating. That was the point when Ross drew up closer to the bed and took my hand, which was so sweet. He really leaned in when the tech asked if we would like to know the sex of the baby. The ultrasound went right up between the legs from below and there was our shot... it's a BOY! We have our Xander.

Profile View

It took some work to get the profile shot. Xander was not cooperating with the plan. He had his face buried against my spine and a hand covering his head. The tech first tried poking a bit harder and running the wand in odd places to encourage him to move. That didn't work, so I had to roll on one side as the tech probed again. Then over to the other side. Still no luck. Half an hour later and back on my back, we finally got the shot. You could clearly see his heart beating, his mouth opening and closing and his hand waving (the hand wasn't caught in the picture).

Pregnancy: Week 20

Our 20 week appointment on Wednesday went very well. The baby was not happy to have the Doppler poking around his domain. Every time Marijke would find the heartbeat, he would go swimming away to the other side. After a few moves back and forth, we all got a sudden surprise when the Doppler was kicked clear off my stomach! That was the first noticeable kick I had experienced... for the most part it had felt more like rolling and tumbling.

Thursday evening, Ross and I were curled up watching TV and he had his hand on my stomach. The baby seems to react to his hand being near my stomach... I always feel him move toward wherever Ross' hand is resting. This time, Ross got a good kick right in the palm of his hand. He wasn't quite sure if he felt what he thought he'd felt until I told him that it was a kick. Since then, he's been purposely taking time out every night to curl up with me with his hand on my stomach. It's very sweet.

Yes, I do keep referring to the baby as "he," but we don't know for sure yet. Our ultrasound is scheduled for Friday morning. I'm strangely nervous. This will make it all that much more real. I'll also find out if my gender-detecting instincts are right. Everyone is so convinced this baby is a boy that we'll all have trouble switching to "she" if it's a girl. We already have names picked out, so I think we'll jump right to using the appropriate name once we know the sex. Now, join us in sending baby the message to turn and give us a nice clear shot on Friday. LOL

Pregnancy: Week 18

We are now at week 18... nearly halfway there. It's going so quickly! Mom is complaining that it's quite the opposite for her, but Angel (who has taken on baby shower planning) agrees that things are moving way too fast. I have been able to feel some definite movement, especially when I drank orange juice at the comedy club on Friday. I don't think it will be much longer before Ross can feel too. He tried for a bit last night, but so far it has been more rolling than kicking sensations and those don't seem to transfer well. If I do a bit of gentle poking, I can actually locate the baby's position... and it makes him move.

We have another appointment on the 5th and we'll be scheduling the ultrasound then. Should be sometime within week 20 or 21 that we'll find out the sex. We struggled a bit with the decision to do an ultrasound. It's amazing to me that ultrasounds have never actually been tested. (Who'd want to be the one to participate in that study?) It's a bit scary to see that there has been some evidence of correlation between increased use of ultrasound and some childhood conditions. We decided that a single ultrasound should be safe... it's the increased use that is showing some concerns... and we would really like to find out the sex to better prepare us. I know a woman who had six by her third month of pregnancy and she had no previous miscarriage or concerns! It's the doctor's policy to do one every two weeks.

Mom is planning on coming over today and we're going thrift shopping. When I asked what she wanted for Mother's Day, one of the things she mentioned was clothes. We both enjoy thrifting and know our money goes much further that way, so I said I would take her thrift shopping as her Mother's Day present. For the actual day of Mother's Day, we have our usual plans with Angel and the girls... Bay Beach. We've been going there every Mother's Day since Angel and I were little.

Pregnancy: Week 16

Tonight is our 16 week appointment with the midwife. We should be able to clearly hear the heartbeat today. I'm going to try to record our session with the voice recorder on my phone so that I can share with everyone. It should otherwise be a pretty boring visit... reviewing my medical history and drawing some blood for the few tests we decided to do. I have had about a dozen people tell me to call, text or otherwise contact them to let them know how it went. Seems as though everyone else is more concerned about this pregnancy than Ross or I. Should we be? Are we already bad parents or something?

April Fools

I'm afraid to even bother posting anything today for fear it will not be taken seriously... so I will post something that I just found amusing. You can take it seriously if you choose.

Click the photo to go to the official website.

Typically Uneventful

Things have been pretty uneventful all around. It's that time of year when the weather is too weird to really do much outside and inside is just driving you crazy. I'm also in the boring start of the second trimester when illness fades and baby grows slowly.

We have an appointment with the midwife on April 6th and should be able to listen to the heartbeat then. If we decide to determine gender ahead of time, early May should be our first (and hopefully only) ultrasound. It seems like a good 90% of the moms in my "Due in September" group have had dozens of ultrasounds already. Most already found out the gender at around 15 weeks. Ross and I are both pretty much the "we'll do it if there's reason to" kind of people when it comes to ultrasounds. We had actually been pretty set on trying to go completely without ultrasounds, but now we are seriously considering it primarily for the purpose of finding out the gender.

Shaun and Gretchen had a cookout at their place tonight... well, Shaun and Schley cooked out while the rest of us chatted inside until supper time. It was still a bit chilly out, but they needed an excuse to put together the new grill. Nathanial is just as tiny as he was in the hospital and quite the sleeper. I must have held him over an hour and he never made a peep... just a little squirming now and then to snuggle in. Evie seems to pretty much be trying to ignore the fact she's now a big sister and does her own thing. Gretchen said she's been acting out a bit to get attention, but anyone with more than one kid knows that's not too uncommon and eventually (mostly) goes away.

It was finally a good day. Got through it without a nap. Something about early pregnancy made me a bit narcoleptic! I'd also been having some pretty nasty nausea since about the start of week 13, but that didn't give me much trouble today... just a single bout this morning that passed quickly once I ate a bit. I am wearing down now though. It's nearing eleven at night and I've been in the habit of getting to bed at nine-ish the last several weeks. Hopefully as the weeks progress and summer moves in, there will be more to chatter on about. Until then, I need to lay my weary head on my pillow. G'night all!

Baby On Board

It's time to spread the news! This weekend we told Ross' parents about the baby. Mom was ready to burst for weeks now and was so glad to finally get to tell Grandma. With the family grapevine, I'm pretty sure everyone knows by now. I made an announcement on Facebook just to cover all my bases. The general response has been shock and happiness, but there are a few people who were upset we kept the news to ourselves for so long.

I added a counter to the sidebar to keep everyone posted on the progress. Our next midwife appointment is April 6th and we hope to get to hear the heartbeat. We couldn't hear the heartbeat at the last appointment, but it was only eleven weeks at the time.

Off to work on the baby blanket....