False Alarm

Yesterday, I went to my weekly prenatal office visit not really thinking anything was out of the ordinary. Of course, I live in NH and my doctor is in Boston so if you are from this area, you can simply imagine the type of horrific traffic that is required to get from Point A to Point B.

I left the house at 7:30a and got there just 15 minutes before my appointment ... which was scheduled for 9:30a.

It is routine for me to have a non stress test every week now since we're only about a month away from delivery. Needless to say, that seems to be where it all went downhill. My usual standard appointment turned into a "put on a johnny and get to labor & delivery" appointment.

I was hooked to IVs, strapped to monitors and I wondered "Would this be a bad time to ask to go to the bathroom?"

In the end, it was a false alarm and I was allowed to go home with babies still cooking inside.

Ken came rushing over to the hospital from work when I texted him earlier in the morning that they were taking me into labor & delivery. He had the idea that really meant "labor" and "delivery" even though I told him it didn't.

I laugh now remembering how he flew into the room. I'm not sure what he was expecting. All he found was me in the bed, with a johnny on and strapped every which way while flicking through daytime TV.

Now that I'm down to the wire, I'm supposed to take it easier.

I know that hubby was definitely relieved that babies didn't arrive yesterday.

He was thinking "That nursery is NOT finished!"
I was thinking "I never even packed my bag, washed those baby clothes, picked a pediatrician or figured out that breast pump!"

Obviously, us ladies multi-task even in our thoughts.

Measuring Up

Yesterday, I had my weekly doctor's appointment to check on the babies' development and progress. Nothing out of the ordinary (which for this lady is great news). Blood pressure is excellent. Both heartbeats are beating in normal ranges. There is much more movement down below especially after mealtimes and when I want to sleep. I suppose this will start breaking me in to the sleep deprivation that is to come!

They decided to measure me (just for laughs) and no surprise that I am currently measuring the same as a woman with one baby at THIRTY-FIVE weeks! 

That is a THREE and a FIVE (35), folks!

It explains the ligament pain, back aches and puffy feet. I also feel about 35 weeks along but still have a ways to go before I hit that magic number.

For now, I'm appreciating each day, every movement and even every pain as a part of the collective joys of pregnancy. No one can quite explain the experience so I'm blessed to be a part of this "club".

And just so you know, even though I've complained that nine months (about 270 days) seems like a really long time to make a baby, it takes an elephant SIX HUNDRED PLUS days!! That comes out to something like twenty months or almost two years.

Comparatively, I'm quite happy with nine months.

Second Prenatal Exam

So either Ken heard wrong or I did but somehow we thought we had another ultrasound appointment today but didn't! LOL

In any case, it was basically a checkup to go over test results and leave a urine sample (apparently this has to be done at every visit from now until the baby is born).

All the results came back negative so that's good news. We were able to listen to the heartbeat with a doppler. We even heard little "thumps" that the doctor told us were kicks although I wouldn't really feel these for another few weeks yet. I was told I could feel twinges or flutters now and these were normal.

We're almost at 14 weeks (tomorrow) and was reassured today that things are still progressing well. Since I can't feel much quite yet, there are days where I worry (paranoid, yes) if baby is doing ok in there.

I go in for other tests the week of September 5 to check the baby for Down's Syndrome and spina bifida. So many tests!

Our next Prenatal Exam is in mid-September. I will be 18 weeks by then and actually do have an ultrasound appointment that day. So we still don't know whether Baby Hamilton is a boy or a girl (the suspense!) but you'll know as soon as we do :)

By the way, the nurse asked me if there was one baby in there or two. I told Ken this and his brows furrowed into slight worry and panic. As far as I know, there is only one baby and suspect that if it were otherwise, it would show up on the ultrasounds. Wouldn't that be a SURPRISE!

First Prenatal Exam & Third Ultrasound

Baby Hamilton has graduated from the specialist and had our first appointment with my regular obstetrician on July 24, 2009. Above is a 2D image and how much has baby changed! We could hardly believe it! Until we saw these ...

At 9 weeks and 6 days, Baby Hamilton already looks like ... well, a baby! Ken and I puffed with excitement. For me, this is the moment that the idea of a baby turned into a reality. Baby's heartbeat was beating at a steady 175 bpm and we were actually able to listen to this!

Although I've been trolling plenty of sites and books on baby's development as well as my personal symptoms and how to cope, nothing compares with actually seeing something like that materialize from just a mere concept into a genuine epiphany that this whole process (as old as time as it may be) was truly a miracle in the making.

Other than the amazing pictures, progress was going great. Our family medical histories were taken and my blood was drawn for routine tests. I had no out of the ordinary concerns and although I had to excuse myself a few times for potty breaks (after training a toddler, I don't think you ever call it anything else for quite some time), both baby and mother are healthy.