All's well in PeanutLand

Week 17

Had my 4-month baby visit today and got to meet my new OB, Dr. Owens. She's really great, and I'll be sticking with her for the next few months until the last trimester, then I'll rotate through the rest of the docs so I can meet them all.

Pretty routine today, talked for a while so she could get to know me and my history. Listened to the heartbeat - always goofily exciting. Plus there was all this background noise which Dr. O said was the baby moving and kicking. I can't believe there's something that big in there that I can't even feel! She said not to get too impatient because most first time moms won't feel anything until 20 weeks.

They also took some blood and are doing something called an AFP test which is routine and checks for defects. I think they told me we'd have results in like 48 hours. Am scheduled for my anataomy scan next time at the 20 week visit, which is when they look at all the parts and hopefully tell us if it's a boy or a girl, as long as Peanut is cooperating.

Dr. O also said it was okay for us to use our heated mattress pad when it gets colder, thank goodness. I was worried about that because one of my books (my least favorite and most alarming) said I should never use a heating pad or electric blanket, take a hot bath or use a hot tub. So far only the hot tub is verboten. Anyway, the doctor chuckled when I asked, saying, "Yeah, sometimes the books can be a little..." and she did this head waggle eye-rolly thing to indicate the panic-inducing, apocalyptic tone of voice some of the books take in instructing you what not to do.

So this one book I have has a section each week called HOW YOUR ACTIONS AFFECT THE BABY. And basically it tells you that every little thing you do (or do not do) can cause untold catastrophic harm to your little one. The dire warnings about everything are very disconcerting and make you worriedly think back over the past month about what you ate and did and how you slept and everything and wonder if you were doing it wrong. Oy. Also, there are warnings in practically every chapter about how my alcohol use/recreational drug use/promiscuity is BAD FOR THE BABY and I really ought to consider quitting. Last chapter was almost entirely dedicated to how to get myself out of a domestic violence situation. I mean, these are all good things to know, but I am clearly not the demographic this book was aimed at. How about you tell me to take a prenatal yoga class or get a massage or something?

My cousin has the same book, only an earlier edition. She called me a couple months ago freaked out because of the ominous section saying sleeping on your back would deprive the baby of all the vital things it needs, such as blood supply. H3 is a back sleeper and was having trouble transitioning to side sleeping and when she went to check the book became suitably alarmed. She had me check my later edition of the book which had the same dire warning against back sleeping verbatim. Right then I decided to take this book with a grain of salt and appreciate it for the excellent pictures of WHAT YOUR BABY LOOKS LIKE THIS WEEK and use my copy of What to Expect for real answers to stuff.

This week Peanut has fingernails, toenails, fingerprints and footprints. Sizewise, he's about five inches long and more than three and a half ounces, about the size of my open hand. I still can't believe there's something that big in there and I can't even tell. I'm really not looking pregnant yet, although my lower belly is getting firmer and some pants are feeling a little tight. Also, my boobs are the size of Alaska but at least they stopped hurting. Skin seems to be pretty much cleared up except for the ocassional spot, and I'm in general feeling pretty good.

Health update

Had a consultation today with the whatsits, the digestive guy my surgeon sent me to after the whole bellyache debacle in early August. He was initially very excited to see me as I am apparently an interesting case. And then when I told him I was pregnant he got all disappointed because it meant he couldn't run all the exciting tests he wanted to do. Like, he visibly deflated at the news.

However, we had a nice chat and basically he told me besides doing a bunch of tests which he didn't want to do because of the baby, he would prescribe for me the same medicines they gave me in the ER (Protonix and Sucralfate) and that he wants me to come back in three months or if things change.

The good news is that he's pretty sure what happened both in August and in late February is that it was a gall bladder issue - that I either passed a small stone or what they call "sludge" which is basically the precursor to a stone. These kinds of gall bladder problems are common in people who have lost a significant amount of weight and also with pregnancy. So, not really a surprise but I'm glad somebody had an actual definite opinion on what the problem is as opposed to everybody saying there was no discernible cause. The bad news is there is basically nothing I can do about it to prevent it happening again. Really the only thing I could do is diet related but I'm already doing all the things I'm supposed to, so he told me to keep on like I have been. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that it doesn't happen again so I can continue my Zen relationship with food.

Have an OB appointment on Wednesday, so we'll have a Peanut update then.

ALSO, I am watching John and Kate Plus 8...they're camping out in the backyard. Now I want a S'more. A real, live S'more made over a campfire. Yum. Is there a way I could conceivably make them in my kitchen? If only I had a gas stove, I'd totally roast me a marshmellow.

Cheesy Poofs are Awesome

You know, it's funny - now that I've decided to go all Zen-like about my diet and just eat whatever the hell I want, whenever I want...I've been eating a lot better. Been eating more but also better quality than just Cheetos and other orange things. I still heart my Cheesy Poofs, don't get me wrong, but aside from those and chicken nuggets, I've also eaten good stuff, like yogurt and apples and chicken! I'm sure me not stressing over it anymore is also creating a better environment for Peanut, so yay me.

By the way, I quite possibly felt some movement yesterday! The books tell me I likely won't realize it when I first feel it because I'll probably think it's gas. They describe it as possibly feeling like a bubble bursting, which is what this felt like, but you know...could've just been gas. Anyway, possible yay?

Hey, another yay me - I got a $250 bonus from work today for my hard work on a very long, very huge project that wrapped up this week. Cool! And always nice to get a pat on the back like that.

Are you watching Project Runway? I adore this show and have a raging serious platonic crush on Tim Gunn and his giant vocabulary even though I don't have much interest in fashion. I've been reading the recaps at the Advocate and highly recommend them.

All hail the nugget

Some of you will be pleased to know that I have officially accepted the chicken nugget as a legitimate food source. Did you know Wendy's serves an excellent chicken nugget? And I find their honey mustard sauce delightful. Best of all, peanut likes them too.

In other news, as seen on cleolinda : What do Christian Bale and Kermit the Frog have in common? Quite a lot, it turns out.

Dinner of Champions!

Tonight's Dinner of Champions: Pumpkin seeds and a mini Babybel. I did manage to eat three chicken nuggets from McD's earlier, which was quite tasty. I was really hoping not to eat a bunch of crap, but at this point, I'm happy to be eating at all.

Urg. *Achoo! sniffle.* Plague time! Hooray!

Hooray, I seem to have picked up some sort of bug. Sniffling, sneezing, aching, stuffy head, fever...yeah, everything but the cough. Bleargh, I feel awful.

I'm going to have to call my OB, I think, just to find out what medicine it's okay to take. Right now all I know is Tylenol is ok.

My books tell me that it's not unusual to get sick when you're pregnant because your immune system is supressed (so as not to reject the baby.) Plus, the rampant hormones running around my body are making all of my mucous membranes get soft and such, which means it's also common for pregnant women to have the sniffling, sneezing thing going on in perpetuity. Sigh.

In other news, work is making me cranky today. Or maybe I'm already cranky due to plague and therefore it's much easier for people at work to piss me off. Either way...grr. This woman sent me something to review and approve on Friday afternoon. She is already calling and IM'ing me asking if we're done yet. No, lady, we're not done, seeing as everyone, including yourself, took off early on Friday afternoon and so nobody even looked at it until sometime today. Give us five minutes, wouldja?

ETA: Doc says Tylenol for the aches and Claritin for the sniffles. And I'm recommending a nap. We'll give that a try and see how I feel later.

Mmm, orange.

Week 15

Feeling pretty good these days. Still tired - had our Fantasy Football draft today and then went to H3's for family BBQ and to see her newly-remodeled kitchen and great room. It's absolutely beautiful and I'm so jealous of her giant kitchen! We left her house at 7 and I was barely able to stay awake in the car on the way home. Took a nice little nap the minute I hit my comfy chair and am awake now for the next few minutes before I actually get into bed and sleep for at least the next 8 hours. Had a great dinner at H3's - good food and I was actually able to eat a fairly good sized meal (for me, anyway). Tomorrow's weigh day, so we'll see if I've managed to gain any weight this week.

I have determined that Peanut must really have a thing for synthetic cheese flavor or possibly FD&C Yellow No.5 because even when I couldn't eat anything, Peanut still wanted Doritos. Now we seemed to have switched to Cheetos, although Goldfish are also popular as is anything colored orange, except for actual oranges. The excellent thing about being pregnant is that while we're grocery shopping I can throw crap into the cart and assuage my self-inflicted guilt by saying to Mr. F, "the baby wants Double Stuff Oreos!" Unfortunately, this is having a bad effect on Mr. F because inevitably I end up eating three of whatever it is and he eats...more than that.

I've been telling Steve about the weird things Peanut wants me to eat, like ice cream and Cheetos and such, and today he said, "I'm tellin' ya, I like this kid already!" Hee. He is going to be the best Uncle ever.

Got the results of our first-trimester screening test in the mail this week. All good news, everything within normal limits, so that's great. You get those tests done and then you basically have a low-level worry in the back of your mind for the next ten days until you get the report in the mail. I'm so glad it all came back normal so we don't have to do any more. Although, of course, due to my ADVANCED MATERNAL AGE, they recommend further screening. But even before we got the results, Mr. F and I decided not to do any further testing regardless because it's riskier than just a blood test and ultrasound.

This week Peanut is as big as a navel orange and weighs a little more than two ounces. Apparently, baby is moving around like crazy this week but because he's so light, I still can't feel it. Books say that should start happening about week 19 but I wish I could feel it now! Right now the only indication I have of actually being pregnant is feeling bloated all the time. So my pants are starting to get a little tight but my belly's still soft and so I mostly just feel like I'm getting fat. Which, logically, I know isn't happening because the scale isn't moving. Sigh. Next appointment is 9/10, although I don't think I'm having an ultrasound then. Maybe we'll hear the heartbeat again.

Also scheduled for an "EGD consultation" on 9/8 as follow up to the bellyache situation. Not really sure what all that entails - I'm assuming we're just going to talk about it as opposed to doing the actual procedure at that time. Which means I have to wait longer to see if they think anything's wrong when I'd really like to come to some sort of conclusion. Arrgh, voodoo.

Sweet! Obama

My cousin Dan got to meet Barack Obama this morning! Unfortunately, even though he looks like a slavering fangirl in the picture, he is still a Republican. *shakes head sadly*

Hm. Well, no news is...no news.

Finally heard back from my doctor regarding Monday's gall bladder ultrasound. Basically, they can't see anything remarkable or any reason for me to be having pain. So, on the one hand, no gall stones and I don't need my gall bladder out...but on the other hand, what the hell? It's not like I'm making this shit up. I would like to find out WHY this has been going on. I'm scheduled for an endoscopy around Sep 8, and my doctor said he wants to wait until after that to decide on next steps. Well, great. That's entirely unhelpful to me right now. Sigh.

At least I've been able to eat, although I'm not really eating a lot - still haven't managed three protein drinks in one day yet. But I have gained back a pound of the six I lost, which means my total weight gain so far for the pregnancy is -5. Meh. I'm working on it.

As for Peanut, we've just started week 14 and he's about the size of my clenched fist and might possibly even be growing hair. My skin is clearing up, my boobs hurt much less and I'm less tired. Still peeing a lot, though.

Say cheese! Or not.

Got to hear Peanut's heartbeat at this week's 3-month appointment - 151 beats per minute. Was very exciting and of course made me all teary eyed because I am a giant sap. Also got an ultrasound, although we didn't get very good pictures. They were trying to get some measurements and the girl kept pressing harder and harder with the thingy - I swear eventually Peanut got fed up with it, because at one point you could actually see him get all huffy and flounce over onto his side, turning his back to us. Aww, my little angel is camera shy! That must come from the Fantastic side of the family because you know it doesn't come from mine! Next ultrasound's at 20 weeks.

Sadly, Dr. Murahata told us she won't be doing deliveries after the end of this year, so I decided to change over to the practice she shares an office with - Consultants in OBGYN, where my old OBGYN used to be until she moved to Parker. They have a number of doctors that I'll rotate through, hopefully getting to know each of them so I'll be comfortable with whoever does my delivery. I'd have preferred Dr. M but I'm sure I'll be in good hands.

Saw my surgeon, Dr. Snyder, this week also. He and Dr. M both say the baby's fine and my trip to the ER is a totally separate issue. I'm scheduled for a gallbladder ultrasound on Monday, which will hopefully give us some conclusive answers. Plus, judging by the quickie look they took at my gallbladder in the ER, I'll also get to see Peanut. Apparently, he's got the condo next door.

Bellyache aside, I'm feeling pretty good - able to eat again, sort of, not as tired and best of all, I think my skin really is clearing up. HOORAY. However, the whole bellyache thing has blown the food plan entirely out of the water, so I guess I need to try and get back on track. I've lost 6 pounds since Sunday - not a very good start on gaining 15! Now I have to gain 20.

One of my books tells me Peanut is about the size of a lime this week, the other says he's the size of a plum. I don't eat either of those things so now I have no concept of the size. Both books affirm that all systems and such are formed and for the next 28 weeks, Peanut'll be concentrating on getting bigger and putting the organs to work.