17w2d tests and good outcomes

I'm feeling really good these days.  I've taken the approach of believing everything is hunky-dory unless I hear otherwise.  It's made this pregnancy a lot of fun, and enjoyable.  No morning sickness has helped also!  I've had the reassuring symptom of very sore breasts the whole way through, and though it's horrid when our small dog steps on them to wake me up in the morning, they've been a great comfort to me that things are progressing as they should.

There are so many other blogs out there with heartwrenching stories and experiences.  When someone has a pregnancy loss, they usually just stop writing, it's so hard to go back to those memories of when there was still hope. When I see those blogs that stop with no explanation, I am so sad for them, thinking that's what happened.  I was just looking at this blog: http://elegyforamy.wordpress.com written by a woman who lost one of her pregnancies at almost 24 weeks.  I can't imagine how hard those later losses are.  But she is now almost full-term with a new pregnancy, thank goodness.  I found her blog today (though I've seen bits of it before) because I googled 17w2d.  It's nice to see how others were doing at the same point in time as I am.

And again, how I am is pretty darn good!  I got results back from the last part of our sequential integrated screening, and my numbers are still quite comforting.  All screened negative, nothing lower that a 1:660 chance of anything it measures for: trisomies 21, 18, and Smith Lemli Opitz Syndrome.  It was also negative for spinabifida and other neural tube defects.  When we weren't sure if those numbers would be so good, my genetics counselor scheduled a tentative amniocentesis for yesterday.  But she called me earlier this week with the good information, and also told me that Kaiser will start covering the Harmony blood test, which is almost as good as a diagnostic test without being invasive and risking miscarriage.  So we decided to drop the amnio and do the blood test instead.  I feel good about the information I have so far, so it's not critical that I did this test, but since it's being offered at a fraction of the price it normally costs (I only had to pay my copay of $20) I figured I would go for it.

I am now waiting eagerly for June 10 to arrive so we can have the anatomy scan.  I really want to find out the gender of our lil' niblet, who apparently is not so little anymore, measuring about 5 inches from butt to head -- legs are still not measured at this point.   But 5 inches!  That's bigger than my Iphone!

I'm not feeling anything discernible in there yet, probably because I'm still so blocked up that I assume every sensation is just gas.  But I've read that most people don't feel the baby's movement until 18-20 weeks, and some feel nothing until 24 weeks.   So there you go.  I do feel the uterus stretching.  It feels like mild cramps.  Nothing to run to the medicine cabinet for, it's just keeping me interested.

On a more mundane note I finally bought some larger bras!  Very exciting for me especially since they were only 6 and 12 dollars at Marshalls.  My stepmom would be proud!  But now I can rotate off of the only one that fit me, and mix it up with 2 others.  Hoorah!

On that boring note, I shall leave.

15w6d meeting my doctor tomorrow

Wow, it's been a long time since I last posted.  If anyone is following me, I am sorry.  Things have been fine!  Great, in fact.  I'm healthy, I believe the baby is also, and really no bad side effects of this little human taking over my body aside from extreme tiredness and the inability to climb 3 stories of stairs without feeling like I'm going to lose a lung.  I'm hungry like a baby is -- I need to eat all the time, though not that much.  I can't tell if my belly has "popped" yet, because I'm still suffering from bloating and constipation on a regular basis, so I often just think I'm bloated.  I'm a slender person, but I've always had a belly that protrudes, or can. I've conditioned myself to hold in my stomach for so many years that it's just odd to let it all out now, and that adds to my confusion of what is baby and what is my normal relaxed belly plus bloat.  

We'll call this the 16 week belly

So since the last time I posted, I had the first 2 of the 3 tests for screening, a blood draw and the nuchal measurement.  Both of those came out great (nuchal scan measured 1.3mm) and I'm considered screen negative for everything they were checking for. I will have my 3rd test, another blood draw, tomorrow when I go in for my 16 week checkup.  I will also get to meet my doctor finally!  The last checkup was with a midwife, and so now I'll meet the new doc to whom I switched after my very first prenatal visit since that man just didn't seem like he was going to be very caring or interested in me or what I want.

After we got those initial screens back, we were finally free to tell everyone that we are expecting.  I told my family, some friends, and work.  No facebook posting for me though, I am not extroverted enough for that.  Also, after 4 years of infertility, I know it can inadvertently hurt some folks who are also suffering from it.  I have 2 friends who have just given up trying.  And another one or two who are sad because they haven't met the right guy, or the guys they're with don't want kids.  Anyway, I'm sensitive to it, so I'll refrain from that sort of thing.  I've found that I actually like it better when someone else tells a friend for me -- I keep saying to my husband "Have you told her the news?" as an opener, then he tells the friend.  I don't know why I prefer it that way, but I do.  People are so happy for us, which is nice, but I can't quite match their happiness because mine's dispersed over weeks and weeks now -- each successful week completed or positive checkup has been another dose of excitement and relief.  I might be coming across as less happy than I actually am to those friends who have just heard.  But I am definitely happy and excited to meet that baby!

It's been a few weeks since the last appointment, and after tomorrow it'll be another 3 weeks til the next one.  So I'll try to post about tomorrow at some point, and if I don't post again after that for a while, I guess readers should just assume all is well.  That's been my approach to this pregnancy.  Assume it's all good unless I hear otherwise!