Update!

So clearly I have not done a good job of keeping up with this blog, even though I've been off all summer long! Here are some highlights now that I am almost 34 weeks! (tomorrow):

* It's a boy!!!!! His name will be Andrew Richard Dodge, III (named after his daddy and grandfather). We will probably call him Andy, but will decide for sure once he is here and we see what sticks!


* Andrew's cystic fibrosis test came back negative, so baby Andrew is in the clear!!!! This was the best news ever!

* He's been measuring perfectly at each appointment, with great heartrates (around 130/140)

* Baby Andrew is very active! I think I started feeling him move sometime in May, and he moves a lot throughout the day, even though his space is getting pretty tight!

* It sure has been a hot summer! (After our record-setting winter, we now have had record-high temperatures!) I've been staying cool by staying at home in the AC with a fan helping to cool me down as well.

* I'm now going to appointments every 2 weeks, and will soon be switching to every week!

* I had 2 wonderful showers in June; the first was hosted by the Social Committee at my school:

and the second was hosted by a good friend from school:
I got to see lots of family and friends, and was especially thrilled that my mom could attend both showers! It was also wonderful to have Andrew's mom at my 2nd shower since she was sick last year for my bridal shower and couldn't attend!)

* I know of a total of 15 babies that will be born between August and February! That includes my cousin Brooke's 2nd baby, a girl who will be named Jane (in August) and my sister-in-law's 1st baby, also a girl, who will be named Alexandra (in October)! Yay for cousins!!!!!!

* We (meaning Andrew!) are busy getting the nursery ready. Andrew did a lot of work spackling and sanding the nail-pops in the room, and hopefully will be starting to paint soon! We picked a nice sage green for the walls, and here is a picture of his adorable Winnie the Pooh bedding:
so his room will look similar to this when finished:

*We've taken a Childbirth/Infant Care class, Breatfeeding class, and Infant CPR class. Tonight we go on a hospital tour, which I can't wait for!!!!!!

* At my most recent appointment (Aug. 2) I was 50% effaced, and he's already dropped! Unfortunately that means a lot of pressure when I'm on my feet, so I've been spending most of my time sitting. That will become difficult when I go back to work to start the school year in the upcoming weeks, so I'm not quite sure yet how long I'll last at work before he arrives! But I have a great long-term sub lined up, and she's on stand-by to start whenever I need her to, so I'm not really worried about that. I'd like to get through the first week with the students (until Labor Day weekend) and then I'm fine taking off after that if the doctor will approve it!

* I've had a really easy pregnancy all along! But here are the few less pleasant symptoms I have had: As I've mentioned, the heat this summer is pretty miserable, but as long as I can stay inside I'm much more comfortable! Sitting on the couch is the most comfortable, and when I sit on something harder I get a lot of tailbone pain. I'm definitely waddling when I walk, thanks to him being low and me feeling a lot of pressure! I've started to have heartburn several days a week, mostly caused by spicy foods or tomato sauce, but sometimes I can't pinpoint what has caused it! I have had almost no swelling, just a little bit in my toes(!) when it's really hot and I've been on my feet a lot. I'm not sleeping so well anymore, between waking up to go to the bathroom, and being hot sometimes, and not being able to get comfortable. I definitely sleep every night, but I wake up the morning not feeling rested. This will be really difficult once work starts back up!

*And finally, some more ultrasound pictures:

21 Weeks

28 Weeks, 2 Days

I can't believe that in 6 weeks or less, this little guy will be here! Time has passed so quickly, and he will be here before we know it!

A Phone Call I Didn't Expect

This morning when I woke up (at 11:30 - gotta love Spring Break!) I realized I had left my phone in my car the night before. When I went outside to get it, I noticed there was a missed call and a voicemail from a random number I didn't recognize. At the back of my mind I knew that I should be getting a call any day from the Genetics Center where we had the screening done, and this could be that call. So I came inside and listened the message, where they asked me to call them back. I immediately was worried, since at the appointment the woman we met with said she would just leave the information in the voicemail, so I wouldn't have to call back. I texted Andrew to let him know, and then immediately called them back, my heart pounding the whole time.

The woman who had left the message answered the phone, and since she had only called less than an hour beforehand, she knew who I was when I called back. She first told me that my risk for Down's Syndrome and Trisomy 13 and 18 were all 1 in 5000, which is the best it can be! That was a huge relief! At this point, I'm wondering why she didn't bother to just leave the information in the voicemail.

However, she then goes on to tell me that my bloodwork for the Cystic Fibrosis mutation also came back, and I am indeed a carrier for CF, something that completely shocked me! No one in our family has any history of CF, so we knew nothing about this! My mutation is called Delta f508, which apparently is the most common type. For the rest of the day, I read as much as I could about CF, to find out what things looked like from here on out.

The next step is for Andrew to get tested for any CF mutations. If his tests come back clear, then everything should be fine. In order for a child to have CF, both parent have to pass on a gene with a mutation. Since I am a carrier (not actually affected by the disease), I have a good gene, and a bad gene. Therefore, I have a 50/50 chance of passing on my bad gene to the baby. If Andrew is clear, then he can only pass on good genes, meaning the baby could also be a CF carrier, but would not be affected by the disease. If Andrew's testing shows he is also a carrier, then, he would also have a 50/50 chance of passing on a bad gene to the baby. Then, there would be a 1:4 chance for the baby to have CF (if we both passed on bad genes), a 2:4 chance to be a carrier (if one of us passed on a bad gene and one passed on a good gene), and a 1:4 chance for the baby to be neither a carrier nor have the disease (if we both passed on good genes). So the odds are in our favor right now (probably he won't even be a carrier, and if he were, it's still a 3:4 chance that the baby would be affected!) but it's a scary place to be right now.

Andrew will hopefully get his bloodwork done next week (he has to go on a Monday or Wednesday, but they are not there this coming Monday due to the holiday) and then we'll have to wait a week or two to get the results back. In the meantime, I'm just reading as much as I can, so that I know as much as possible. This is something I absolutely never expected, and I'm so glad now that I agreed to have the testing done! I'll be doing a lot of praying over the next several weeks!!!!!

First Trimester Screening

After many calls back and forth with the doctor's office, I finally got my First Trimester Screening scheduled. And Andrew was able to come with me, for the first time!!!! Unfortunately, we had to drive all the way out to Owings Mills, because they were not in the Rockville office on the day when I could schedule the appointment. But it was a beautiful day, and the drive wasn't too bad! The appointment was right in the middle of the day, so I took the whole day off, and it was nice to sleep in on a school day!

First, they talked to us about exactly what they were testing for (Down's Syndrome and Trisomy 13 and 18). She also made a little family tree and we talked about any medical conditions other people in our families have. She asked about our family orgins, as certain genetic conditions are more common in people of certain races/from certain countries/areas. She asked if I wanted to be tested for the Cystic Fibrosis gene mutation, since it is most common in causasians. They were going to be drawing blood anyway, so it was just some extra testing, so I said why not!

Next, they drew my blood (which I'm never a fan of, but this was nothing compared to the ten vials they drew back at the beginning of February!) It was nice to have Andrew there, but I think he thought it was funny watching me wince before I was even in any pain!

Finally, we went into the ultrasound room. This was the first time I didn't have to get all the way undressed at an appointment, so it was much more comfortable! The ultrasound room has a HUGE screen mounted on the wall, and another mounted on the ceiling so I could see even when I was lying down! The baby was moving all over the place during this ultrasound, which was really exciting! They had a hard time getting a good position to measure the "nuchal translucency" (the fluid at the back of the baby's neck), but finally towards the end they got a perfect angle, and the measurement was very low (which is exactly what we wanted!) We also got to hear the heartbeat again (the first time for Andrew!) and it was once again very good (somewhere between 150-160 bpm - I don't exactly remember now that I'm finally writing this several weeks after the fact!)

Here are a few more pictures:

I left feeling very excited and loving this baby even more! They said they would call in a week or two with the results, although I had no reason to believe that they would be bad! I drove Andrew back to work, and then headed over to school (what happened to having the day off!) because I didn't want to miss Lindsay's baby shower! I was very glad I went to the shower, as it was a lot of fun, and I got even more ideas of things I want to register for - I can't wait!

12 Week Appointment

Today was the day I've been eagerly anticipating. I knew that if I could make it to the appointment today, and hear the heartbeat, and find out things were going well, then I could finally start to relax and believe that everything would be ok!

The appointment went great! I got to see the baby again on the sonnongram, and this time it actually looked like a baby, instead of just a little blob! I could see the head, body, and legs, and even a little hand, like the baby was waving hello!!!!! And then, I got to hear the heartbeat, which was absolutely amazing! Everything looked wonderful, so we finally we ready to tell the world, and it's been so nice to everyone's support. Plus, I haven't had to keep this big secret anymore! I'm not at all good at keeping secrets!

(Head is to the right, feet to the left, and the other bump to the left of the head is the baby's hand!!!!!!)

Sometime in the next week or so I'll have an appointment for my First Trimester Screening, which screens for Down syndrome, trisomy 18, and trisomy 13. (But mostly, I'm doing it to get another chance to see my baby on a great ultrasound machine!!!!!) Then, I have my next doctor's appointment on April 8th, and I have to schedule an ultrasound in the radiology department to find out the sex of the baby in about 8 weeks! Andrew and I can't wait to find out!!!!!!

Yay for More Mommies-to-Be!!!!!

Andrew and I found out today that someone we are very close to is also pregnant (no names for now to protect her privacy, until she's ready to share!!!) She's only about 3 weeks behind me, so it's going to be really fun to go through this all together, and then to have playdates once the babies come!

Up until now, I didn't have anyone who I see and talk to a lot who was about the same point along (just one co-worker at school who is due in May), so it was very exciting to find out this great news!

Pregnancy So Far

So far I've been feeling really good! I was very tired around weeks 3-4 (but that was also the same time I stage managed back-to-back shows and was out until 11pm every night, so that could have contributed to it! I've had to pee quite frequently (one of my first clues I could be pregnant!) even waking up at night to pee, which I almost never did before.

Luckily, I made it up to week 8 with NO MORNING SICKNESS!!!!!! Once or twice I felt nauseous when I would smell something (ex: popcorn, which definitely smelled burnt to me!) but as soon as I left the room I was fine. Now, over the past few days, I've had slightly more frequent nausea, which doesn't seem to be brought on by any smells. Sometimes it occurs when I'm hungry, sometimes when I'm full. Yesterday, we were out grocery shopping, and I felt pretty icky - I first described it to Andrew as feeling light-headed, but without actually being dizzy or feeling like I'm going to faint, and then I was about to tell him it felt like when you read in a moving car, and then I realized, "Oh, I'm nauseous!" Drinking water seemed to help a little bit, and eventually it passed. If that's the worst morning sickness I get, I can definitely deal with that! I have been worried about morning sickness since my mom was nauseous when she was pregnant with me, pretty much from day 1 until she delivered me! I don't think I could handle that!!!!!

The only other major symptom I've had is some severe back pain, around week 6. For several nights, my hips had been really hurting (whichever side I was lying on at the time), so then I tried sleeping with a pillow (actually, a folded up blanket because it was the most accessible!) between my legs. The next morning I woke up with awful lower back pain. Every step I took and movement I made was absolutely painful. I had read that you can't use the ThermaCare Heat Wraps (which I keep stocked in the closet for back pain!) because they raise your body temperature too high. But I did buy a heating pad that wraps around you, with an auto shut-off (so I could use it while going to sleep!) and a body pillow to give me more support in bed at night. I also took a few occasional doses of Tylenol (safe during pregnancy!) when the pain was the worst. After a few days of using the heating pad and using the new body pillow, my back felt much better. Of course, it certainly helped that around the same time I was starting to heal, I got a miraculous 10 1/2 days off of work (see previous posts about the Storm of the Century!) so being off my feet and relaxing all that time certainly contributed to my healthier back! I'm a little afraid to see what will happen once I go back to the daily grind tomorrow. :(

But overall, I'm luckily to still be feeling pretty good so far! On the baby sites I have been checking out, many women are sick all day every day, and I'm just so grateful that so far I haven't had to deal with that! Thanks little peanut for letting your mommy feel pretty good every day!

Digging Out

Our little peanut wants to wish daddy a happy birthday!!!!!

Unfortunately, that same daddy has spent many hours this week digging out around our house, after the storm of the century. And, he had the sore muscles to prove it! Luckily, he got the whole week off of work (which has never happened to him before!) so he got to stay home and relax with me when he wasn't out shoveling.

We survived the storm, and only lost power for about 20 hours, from Saturday afternoon to Sunday midday. On Saturday night, we ventured over to our neighbors for some dinner and a game of Monopoly (one of the most fun I've ever played!) by lantern-light in front of their gas fireplace. They were planning to sleep by the fireplace that night! We just bundled up with extra blankets and were fine in our own bed, until the morning when we both had very cold noses!

Here are a few pictures Andrew took of the snow. Keep in mind, that after these pictures were taken, we got an additional 12 inches!

The Storm of the Century

Well, we ended up getting the beginnings of the storm of the century (breaking many long-standing snow records for the DC area) on the day when I was supposed to have my TB test read. The world shut down around lunchtime (schools released early, and many businesses including my doctor's office closed at 1:00), but my appointment wasn't supposed to be until 3:50 (you are supposed to wait a full 48 hours before having the test read)! Luckily, my favorite nurse, Felicia, called to ask if I could come in early to have my test read. I'll told her I could come after dismissing my students, and be there at about 1:00 exactly. She said she'd gladly wait around for me! (Although, she told me later she would've just had me read the test myself if I couldn't make it!) Well, traffic in Kensington sucked due to the falling snow and the fact that EVERYONE was trying to leave work early, and I didn't get there until about 1:15. Felicia was still there, and she read my test, and cleared me! No TB for this momma!

On a side note, most of my test results have come back looking really good. A few random levels here and there are a little high, but nothing that my doctor was alarmed about! I'm sure I'll get a more thorough analysis at my March appointment, but for now I'm glad to know everything looks good!

The Sweetest Nurse, and A LOT of Blood!

Several times when I was on the phone with the doctor's office I have talked to one nurse named Felicia. She has been so sweet and helpful, and I just loved talking to her! I was very happy when I arrived at the office and discovered my appointment to discuss history/do's and don'ts would be with her! She also seemed genuinely happy to meet me after so many conversations on the phone.

Before the appointment, I had to fill out several forms about family history, etc., and Felicia looked over these forms, but said there was nothing alarming! We will keep an eye on the posibility of developing gestational diabetes, since my mom had it, but she was also older than I am now, so hopefully I won't have to worry! Felicia then went through a whole slew of do's and don'ts, much of which I already knew from the research I had done and books I've been reading. I was glad I had studied up ahead of time, or I think the sheer amount of information would have been too overwhelming.

Finally, before leaving the office, I had an injection for a TB test, which I will have read on Friday. Then, it was down to the lab for a routine urine sample and bloodwork. I was certainly shocked when I discovered they'd be taking TEN vials of blood! I have a long history of being wary of needles (needing to be pinned down to have blood taken!) and also one time when I fainted after having a ton of blood taken (although I don't think it was anywhere near this much!) So, the entire time the tech was drawing my blood, I was just waiting until the moment I would pass out. Luckily, the procedure ended, and I felt just fine, not lightheaded or woozy at all! Now, we just have to hope all the bloodwork comes back ok!

We Are Really Having a Baby!

So, my hCG level on Jan. 20th was 2076, then 4500 on Jan. 22, then 14918 on Jan. 26th, so we then scheduled a repeat ultrasound for January 29th. I was even more excited for this appointment than for the first one, knowing I would actually get to see our baby! After the standard questions from the nurse (why do I have to keep giving the date of my last period EVERY TIME I GO - it hasn't changed!) I saw my OB/GYN and we did another transvaginal ultrasound - no more comfortable than the first, but this time I was too excited to care. She very quickly found my uterus and the baby!!!!! It just looked like a white blob, but sure enough, it was there! The baby was measuring 6 weeks exactly, a few days behind what I had estimated, but certainly within reason since we didn't know exactly which day we had conceived. Then, the most exciting part of all, I GOT TO SEE THE BABY'S HEARTBEAT!!!!!! It looked like a little light turning on and off - so cute and amazing! She tried to listen for it, but we couldn't hear it - just a little bit too early.

Before I left, I scheduled an appointment with a nurse to go over pregnancy do's and don'ts, and to take my/Andrew's/our family's medical history, and also our next appointment with my OB/GYN, when I'll be about 10 weeks along.

Of course, after leaving the doctor's office I called Andrew, and my mom, and several other good friends and told them just how amazing this day was - I can't wait to finally hear the heartbeat, and actually see our baby instead of just a white blob!

First OB/GYN Appointment

The day after we found out, I called my doctor's office to get scheduled for an appointment to confirm the pregnancy and get checked out. The earliest they could see me (that would also keep me from having to take time off work!) was Jan. 20, so I scheduled my appointment for that afternoon.

After work, I headed over to the doctor's office, waited in line FOREVER, and then waited a little longer before my name was called. I went back, the nurse took some basic information, and then I saw my regular OB/GYN, who is a Nurse Practitioner. We talked a little bit about a few pregnancy-related things, and then she did a transvaginal ultrasound - NOT the most comfortable thing in the world! It was so weird to see the inside of my body on the screen, and I kept watching and watching for our baby to pop up on that screen! (I think at the time I had no concept of exactly what a baby looks like at 5 weeks, the distance along I estimated I was based on my last period!) Finally, she saw what looked liked a little black ball on the screen - the amniotic sac! At this point, she couldn't see anything else, it was just too soon. She decided to send me to have labwork done to check my hCG (pregnancy hormone) levels. The labwork would be repeated every few days until my level reached 7000, at which point I would come back in for a repeat ultrasound.

So, this appointment turned out to be kind of a let-down, because we couldn't really see much, and I left with a diagnosis of "unconfirmed pregnancy" but I couldn't wait to watch my levels rise over the next few days and go back in to see our baby again!

The Day We Found Out

In December of 2009, when my current birth control prescription was running out, Andrew and I decided to start trying to get pregnant. We had read that it can easily take 6 months, especially after coming off the pill, so we just assumed it would at least take a few months to conceive.

The next month, when I was late, we figured it was just because I had gotten off the pill and my cycles would have to get straightened out. But at the back of my mind, I kept thinking that I could be pregnant. I was noticing that I had to pee more often, but didn't really think much of it - after all, we had just started trying! After 2 days of waiting, I decided to pick up a home pregnancy test (and some prenatal vitamins!) at CVS, so that I would have a definitive answer. During this time, I was stage managing The Stephen Schwartz Project for MTC, and stopped at CVS on my way to rehearsal.

I had a few extra minutes before I had to be there, so I called to see if Andrew was home and wanted me to stop by to take the test. After arriving home, I ripping open the box, read all the directions, and ran to the bathroom. Now, I've always hated giving urine samples at the doctor's, and this wasn't much better, but at least I had something to look foward to! (Although, at the time, I still thought there was no way I could really be pregnant!) Almost immediately, the plus sign showed up (although VERY faintly) and I was in shock! I came out and showed Andrew, and we hugged and kissed, and said how excited we both were and how we couldn't believe it! We then called my parents, and they were ecstatic!!!!! I only wish they had been here in person to get the great news!

A week or so later he told his parents, who told his sister, and I told my brother, all of whom were very excited for us! We each told a few co-workers and close friends, and are waiting until the end of the first trimester to tell the rest of the world - this is the biggest secret I've ever had to keep, and it's so hard!!!!!

Welcome!

Ok, so I haven't really blogged since high school/college, and those blogs were much more "Dear diary" than I hope this blog turns out to be!

Basically, I'm starting this blog to keep track of my first pregnancy, and then to post pictures and write about our adventures with our new baby. I don't know how often I'll actually update it, but hopefully I can make myself keep up with it somewhat!

(These first few posts are back-dated, as I'm getting started about 8 weeks into this pregnancy, but I wanted to record the dates everything actually happened.)

Enjoy!