16-Week Update
29 Feb 2012 5 Comments
Today, Dan and I went to visit Dr. Beddow hoping that maybe we can find out if Freckle is a boy or a girl. Normally, you are able to find out at 20 weeks, but there have been cases where you can find out at 16 weeks. Unfortunately, we did not do an ultrasound during today’s visit, so I guess we’ll have to wait a few more weeks.
The doctor did a quick check on the baby and listened for Freckle’s heartbeat. She said the heartbeat was coming in strong and that Freckle was throwing in an occasional kick or two inbetween. Go Freckle!
A week before our next doctor appointment with Dr. Beddow, we have an appointment to go to the hospital for the 2nd (and hopefully, last) test screening for Freckle. There, the technician will use an ultrasound that can pick up a lot more detail than the one Dr. Beddow has, and we’ll be able to find out if Freckle is a boy or a girl.
Dan and I have no preference on whether we want a boy or girl. Really, we don’t mind! But we definitely want to find out as it will narrow down the name selection by half. But who knows? Maybe we’ll just keep the name Freckle! …probably not, though. 🙂
Please come back to our blog on March 21st in the evening (our appointment is at 3:30pm) to see if Freckle is a boy or a girl!
-J
First Trimester Screening
10 Feb 2012 1 Comment
Just to keep everyone updated, the genetic counselor left me wonderful news yesterday saying that the preliminary screening looked great. The chances of Freckle getting these different disorders or diseases (i.e. Down Syndrome, Tay Sachs, etc.) are *extremely* low (as low as 1:17,000+). The second screening will give us more information and that is scheduled for March 21st. The counselor already said she is not too worried since our family history looks pretty clean, but it’s always nice to have it be confirmed. 🙂
-J
Three Months
01 Feb 2012 4 Comments
I am officially entering my second trimester, which is great for a couple of reasons. One, the chance of a miscarriage drops drastically. And two, the uncomfortable aspects of being pregnant *should* go away.
The doctor visit was a relatively short one. Apparently, I’ve lost 4 lbs. but she’s not too worried about that. She said the baby looks great and everything seems to be coming along just fine, which is such a huge relief for me!
During the ultrasound, the baby was moving – a lot! It was as if the baby was fist pumping at a rave! That made Dan and I laugh. And at one point, s/he even flipped over which was totally surreal to me.
Below is the ultrasound. You can make out the baby’s head, torso, and leg. 🙂
I am one happy mama right now.
-J
Crazy Thoughts From A First-Time Mother
27 Jan 2012 2 Comments
As some of you may already know, I was having a really tough time sleeping for the past week or so. This time, however, it wasn’t due to me feeling under the weather, but from me feeling nervous and anxious about being a mother. I am actually really surprised that I’m as nervous as I am. I’ve always considered myself to be a nurturer. I’ve been “taking care” of different cousins since I was 16 years old. I’ve even been watching after Ciera, Paige, and Genevieve since they were little babies. I think watching after children and nurturing them comes very naturally to me.
But recurring thoughts keep coming back to me over and over at night. Will I be a good mother? Will Dan and I be able to provide our child with the kind of lifestyle we want for him or her? Will we have enough money for college, extracurricular activities, and birthday parties? Will I be able to be strict enough to help guide them to be a decent human-being? Will I be lenient enough and respect their space so that they can be who they were meant to be?
And if all those thoughts were not enough to drive a pregnant woman crazy, there was also a touch of paranoia to add to the mix. Now, I’m fully aware that I’m not even 3-months pregnant yet and things are supposed to be uneventful (except for the nausea and constant visits to the bathroom, of course). But a lot of times, I don’t really feel pregnant. I started to worry that there might be something wrong. I started to think to myself, I hope my baby’s okay. Maybe I should’ve waited for the 3-month mark before I started announcing to everyone I was pregnant. Maybe I can call my obstetrician up right now and ask her to just give me 10 minutes of her time to give me an ultrasound and let me hear my baby’s heartbeat. That would give me some peace of mind.
That last paragraph there, I initially did not want to include in the blog. Who wants to read about something so negative on a baby blog, right? But Dan convinced me that I should and that I’m probably not the first pregnant woman to have these thoughts and feelings. (Please do not feel obligated to comment and legitimize my crazy thoughts)
But once again, my strong network of family and friends have helped me through this time and I have been feeling much better for the past couple days. My husband wrote a beautiful letter to me to help ease my worries and help me sleep at night. My mother has jokingly given me anecdotes to help me fall asleep. And my sweet father, after having heard from my mother that I’ve been getting little sleep at night, called me telling me that I have nothing at all to worry about. He said in his broken English, “Jenny, why do you worry?! You have nothing to worry about! This is MY grandchild, okay? He is just like his grandpa. He’s quiet and doesn’t make any trouble. He’s not like his grandma who is so loud and talks a lot. So don’t worry, okay? He’s quiet, but he’s good.”
And as weird as that sounds, that made me feel a lot better. I feel truly lucky that while I’m going through this crazy roller-coaster called Pregnancy, that I’ve got so many people holding my hand throughout the entire ride.
Only five more days until the next doctor appointment. I think all these pep talks will help me not freak out and will hold me over until then.
-J
Finally Feeling Pregnant
20 Jan 2012 1 Comment
The first few weeks of us finding out we were pregnant, I was suffering from a terrible cold. As a first-time mother, I was so afraid that it would harm the baby’s development. Luckily, the doctor assured me that it’s quite normal to be sick and in fact, it’s actually a good thing because the mother is sending antibodies to the baby as she is fighting the cold. What a relief!
This week, for the first time in a long time, I have been able to sleep through the night without coughing, sneezing, or blowing my nose. I am finally able to enjoy my pregnancy (which is the #1 advice mothers have been giving me). I’m not quite at the “glowing” stage of the pregnancy yet, but I think my excitement has shown through. I haven’t been moody really, but I suppose that’s something only Dan can answer. I have been sleeping pretty much any chance I get, which is mostly during the weekend. On average, I’d say I sleep and nap about 12 hrs/day on the weekends. Not so much on the weekdays since I have school and work. But I do get extremely tired.
Some of the perks of being pregnant is that my family has been spoiling me rotten. My great-aunt refuses to let me carry Genevieve (my 3.5 y.o. cousin) even though I’m not even 3 months pregnant yet. Every time I walk by, my uncles all joke around and make room for me and say, “pregnant lady coming through!” Both my parents call me almost everyday to check up on me to make sure I’m doing okay and my mom is always offering to make me any food I’m craving. And Dan has been the best of them all. While I was sick, he went out to the drugstore to buy me medicine. After work, he stopped by to buy me a humidifier to help me sleep better at night. After dinner, he’ll see that I fell asleep on the couch so he puts my plate and cup away for me. Little things like that help me feel more comfortable during this tough part of the first trimester. I feel so lucky to have a husband who is so involved with the pregnancy.
My next appt. with the doctor will be on Feb. 1st and it cannot come any sooner! I will keep you all posted as to how that goes. 🙂
-J
Good News, Everyone!
12 Jan 2012 3 Comments
Hooray! I am 8 weeks pregnant! I feel tired throughout the day, my cough and leaking nose just won’t go away, and I can become instantly famished in a matter of seconds. And the craziest thing is, I cannot be happier!
What adds to the excitement is how our family and friends are so supportive and happy for us. We’ve received so many well-wishes over the last few days and I feel so lucky to have such a strong network of great people to help us as our family grows.
Of course, most excited are the grandparents. We knew this would be the case, which is why Dan and I planned on making the announcement to them very special.
After Dan and I got married, we made both our parents promise to not ask us for grandchildren for one year. Since they were good (for the most part) about keeping this promise, Dan and I wanted to surprise them with the big news.
Since Dan’s parents were scheduled to come to San Francisco a few weeks after we found out we will be having a baby, we decided to hold off on telling them right away. We had it so that my parents would come to San Francisco to have dinner with the Browdys (our excuse was that they haven’t seen them since the wedding). And after they all sat down at the table, Dan and I handed them both cards and said it was a “late Christmas/Chanukah gift”. I remember Dan’s mom pretending to be disappointed and said, “Aw… Your mom was hoping for a different announcement.” I kind of laughed off the idea and said, “No, no… that’s not it.”
Both our moms opened the cards and on one side was a picture of an ultrasound, and on the other side the card said, “CONGRATULATIONS ON BEING GRANDPARENTS (again!)” It took the moms a second or two to comprehend what the card was saying, but when they finally understood, they both squealed with joy! The people sitting at the tables near us all thought our moms had won the lottery! (Although if you ask our moms, this news is probably way better than winning the measly lottery.)
So now, I think we’re all just enjoying the idea of having an addition to the family. In the next week or two, Dan and I will start to get really down and dirty as far as preparing for the arrival of the little one. There is lots to do and plan, as I’m sure many of you can imagine. But just like when we first got engaged, we just want to sit and bask in the joy of this new stage in our lives for a little while longer.
Grandparents with their cards.
Grandmothers with their cards.
-J