I had my appointment yesterday, for Down Syndrome testing and a couple other infancy disability testing you get... it's the First Trimester Screening, which you get between week 10-14.
The appointment went well. Justin didn't go to this appointment, the first one he hasn't been to, the business has been pretty busy this year. Plus I didnt' make a big to do about this appointment since I'm actually having another ultrasound on Thursday.. which is two days apart... so he'll go to that one.

For this appointment, first they take your blood and then you have the ultrasound. First is the Nuchal Translucency testing... which now, it's standard to include the biochemical marker testing as well (blood test). These tests find percentage results for Down Syndrome, risomy 18 and Trisomy 13.

Some main points:
• Serious chromosomal abnormalities are more
commonly associated with pregnancies in women
35 and older, but they can occur at any age.

• The first trimester screen is more accurate in
predicting Down syndrome and Trisomy 18 or 13
than tests later in pregnancy.

• A first trimester screen is only accurate when
performed between 11 to 14 weeks of pregnancy.

• The first trimester screen only evaluates the risk
for Down syndrome and Trisomy 18 or 13.
Screening does not assess the risk for any other
chromosomal disorder, however these conditions
are much less common.

• A normal (negative) first trimester screen significantly
reduces, but does not completely
eliminate, the risk for Down syndrome, Trisomy
18 or 13.

• An abnormal (positive) first trimester screen
increases the chance of finding an abnormality in
your pregnancy. You should consider the option
of diagnostic follow-up testing such as CVS or
amniocentesis.

Now, for MY testing... the fluid behind the babies neck is measured in the ultrasound. The genetic counselor let me know as long as the measurement is below 3.0, this is good.

The technician measures three times and they take the highest measurement. My babies measurement was 2.3. Under 3.0... Phew! Now, you might be wondering.. hmm. that's pretty close to 3.0.. I know I was! Well, the measurement max for the fluid is always 3.0.. whether you're 10 weeks - 14 weeks. I was closer to the 14 week mark when I had the test done, obviously the baby is larger then they are at 10 weeks, therefore the fluid is going to be a bit more as well.

This is why they wait to get the blood results back... they factor in the measurements from the ultrasound, the blood test results as well as your age.. then they are able to give you a percentage odds that your child will have of being born with any of these three illnesses. None are 100% certain.

SO, We should get these odds on Friday.

In the meantime, I was sent home with some pretty cool pictures :) It was again, AMAZING to see the baby... now looking like a baby... slightly alien like (haha) but I saw Him/Her moving around, with his arm moving up and down as if he were scratching his head. I also coughed during the procedure , as the tech asked me to... so we could try and get him to move the way she needed him to.. and he started bouncing around like a little bouncy ball! I never thought that happened when I coughed!! Amazing that's going on... now every movement I make I'm so much more aware that my baby is experiencing the movements in his/her own way too. Wow...

I love this baby more than anything in the world already :) I simply can't wait to meet you baby bug :)



This little booger wasn't cooperating.. not a GREAT profile view... S/He kept looking at the camera and then facing down!











This one is somewhat scary... haha, Shows how S/He was looking at the camera... our belly bug saying "Hi" :)

Maternity Clothes?!

Maternity clothes... They look SO cute when you're NOT pregnant... I just couldn't wait to wear maternity clothes when I was not preggers... well now that my ass has grown 3 sizes and I can't get any of my pants over my rump... I've been forced to buy my first pair of maternity jeans... of course they are still a little big.. since my tummy isn't that big... but, hey my butt fits comfortably at least :)

I'm only 13 weeks 1 day.. and already in my first pair of maternity pants? I have a feeling I'm larger than the average prego.... : /

First off, the jeans look like BOY jeans. My co-worker comes up to me and says... umm are you wearing boy jeans? I could have smacked him... with my stapler!
And, any of the cuter maternity clothes, are SO expensive and more then you want to pay for something you won't be able to wear very long.

Well, some good news, Forever 21 has just started a new Maternity line! There is only a few things on there right now... hopefully over the next couple months they will add more.. I found some cute shirts that I'll have to purchase next month.
And of course you can always wear jewlery no matter WHAT size you are :)

Answers to my questions...

My last appointment went well! We got to hear the babies heart beat... it was truly amazing... I find myself using that word a lot these days...AMAZING.

The babies heart rate is 160 again. So.. now for my questions and answers...

* Can I eat peanut butter? ...
A.) Yes, there is no problem eating peanut butter. The only rule is the baby can not have peanut butter for the first 2 years. Until they can communicate they could be having a reaction.

* Is the babies heartrate an idicator on if it's a boy or girl? A.) Not right now... during the early part of pregnancy higher heart rates are normal. Later during the pregnancy this can be an indicator... but it's not 100%.


* I'm going to ask what cord blood donation intales...

A.) I believe the doctor mis understood me, though I didn't realize it at the time.. First off cord blood donating or saving has NO risks to the baby or the mom. My doctor thought I said I wanted to save the cord blood... so she gave me paper work on saving the cord blood.. which after reading it... makes me wonder if we should.
Cord blood is proven to treat/ cure many diseases. This is not a political debate as it's already been proven. There is no argument about this fact. Cord blood is VERY valuable. The only problem, you generally don't know you or your child needs it until later in life.. which is now why people are saving their cord blood.
This costs about $1900.00... Justin and I had the discussion on if we should save it or donate it... What if we need it down the line... what if we don't and we could have donated it to someone who could use it? I'm going to do a bit more research and then we'll decide. Let me know what you think! Opinions are VERY welcome!!!

* How much weight should I have gained by now and how much more?
This depends, there is no certain number she gave me... just use your common sense on what is good to eat and bad... I read taht you should gain 25-30 pounds.. but after talking to many people who have been pregnant and have had children.. the norm seems to be around 40-60 pounds!
Oy Vey... I'm going to do my best to keep it down and keep it healthy!


* Also the big question, to be sure I can have 5 people in the room with me when the baby is delivered! ( Of course as long as nothing goes wrong and we have a normal delivery)

And that's a Yes! I can have as many people as I want in the room :)


Also, some more good news, I have TWO ultrasounds next week. On Tuesday, 7/27/10, I have my Ultrascreen, this is blood tests and ultrasound, to show the odds of us having a child with down syndrome. Also some other testing done.. I'll let you know more about it once I learn...

Then, my doctors office just got an ultrasound machine in the office! I sure do hope this means Justin and I don't have to go to WRA anymore.. the appointments take FOREVER.. we generally end up having to wait a good 2 hours before we're seen. NOT FUN! Exp when they make you hold your bladder full of water!
SO, Since my doctors office just got an ultrasound machine they are having the nurse/techs practice so they are letting me come in on Monday during lunch for a free ultrasound!

Yay! I have had SO many ultrasounds... lucky lucky me! :D They go a loong way in making you feel better that everything is okay!

So, let me know your opinions on the cord blood!

Officially 3 Months Today!

We are here! We made it to the 3 Month mark! I'm so happy, it's just one hurdle of many we've jumped and with many more ahead to look forward to.
Today, is my monthly appointment, we've seen our baby in ultrasounds and seen the fast flicker of the heartbeat but today... we get to HEAR the heartbeat :)

I'm so excited, I can't wait. It's difficult to focus at work knowing what my day holds for me :D
It's also time for some preliminary questions... so I'm working on making a list of questions... well I have been since last week.

Some questions I'll be asking today:
* Can I eat peanut butter? ...
-I read that you shouldn't eat peanut butter while you're pregnant because it can increase your childs odds of having a peanut allergy... that just doesn't make sense to me... you'd think if you start it on peanut butter, you'd have less of a chance of getting a peanut allergy?? but what do I know? We'll find out at the doc today I guess!

* Is the babies heartrate an idicator on if it's a boy or girl?
- I read that if the babies heart rate is over 140 it can mean GIRL... well at our 9 week 2 day visit... the babies heart rate was 180 BPM!!!! That is FAST!

* I'm going to ask what cord blood donation intales...
- I don't see why I shouldn't donate the cord blood if it doesn't have any risk to my baby or me... we'll see!

* How much weight should I have gained by now and how much more?
- I want to figure out exactly how much I should gain as well as figure out a plan for the next 6 1/2 months, so I know how much I should gain each month... this should hopefully help me not over eat, or over indulge! So far, I've gained 3-4 pounds... I knew I'd gain right away because i was dieting and working out a lot... Once I foudn out, i completeley stopped working out... simply cause I was nervous... but now we're past the 1st trimester... I'm signing up for aquatic exercise and Yoga!

* Also the big question, to be sure I can have 5 people in the room with me when the baby is delivered! ( Of course as long as nothing goes wrong and we have a normal delivery)
- I want my Husband, of course, my mom, my sister, my mother in law and my besty, Ashley. Hopefully they can all make it!... I also have my alternate, Stephanie, if any one of the above can't make it, she'll be stepping in to help out too!

There are more questions... but I won't list every single one!

So wish us luck on our 3 Month appointment today! My mom will be on the phone with us so she can hear the heartbeat too :D

Snap, crackle, POP....

Well.... there's officially a belly bug bump growing! I can no longer button my jeans... Also, I'm pretty sure I'm growing a little baby in my BUTT... Because I can no longer pull half my pants over my butt! I'm wearing dresses more often now and I don't even find THEM comfortable... since I'm at the point that I have a belly... but for someone who doesn't know I'm pregnant, it just looks like i've got a beer belly or a fat gut or something! This is def one of the unattractive phases of pregnancy. I hear this point and the 8th and 9th month are the worst... we'll see :)

Onto other things, We're wanting to buy a house, of course before the baby comes... it's more difficult than one might thing. We're forced to hold off and rent month to month for another 2-3 more months... uugh, I'm ready to have a home i don't have to leave for a good 5 years already! I've done so much moving in my lifetime, the number is simply not appropriate with my age.

Let me think... I moved out when I was 18 yrs old and now I'm 26 yrs old... so in 8 Years I've moved about 12 times... I may be forgetting a couple times too.. eew, that's ridiculous!

This will be around my 13th time moving... I'm like a nomad... but a pathetic one, since all that moving happened only in Virginia!

Well, hopefully by the end of Fall we'll have found a home to buy and be moving in. I'll be good, fat and prego by then so I'm sure I'll be ready!

6/29/10 ... There's a baby in there!

6/29/10: Time for our 9 Week Ultrasound to confirm the due date!


We measured at 9 Weeks and 2 Days today. This was again, an AMAZING visit! Barb (Justins mom) got to come with us this time and witness the little miracle bug! S/He has little arm and leg buds moving around!! We actually saw his/her arms and legs wiggling around on the ultrasound!! This was so amazing!!!!!! I can't believe that little baby is already moving around in there. His/her heart rate was measured again and this time it's at 180BPM! (That's good :) )





Justin, who isn't the most serious of all people, if you know him... you could tell he was amazed that he could see a baby. I am so excited for me but I am more excited for him to experience this wonderful process and have what I was so afraid of him never getting.


Even after my lovely sister, Sabrina, continuously calling us over and over, begging to be on the phone while we were in the ultrasound room, haha... This was, an amazing day. (PS, The ultrasound tech would NOT let us be on the phone, so my sister had to settle for a call afterwards)





Here's the best picture out of them all:

Justin thinks our little belly bug looks like a teddy bear :) Among the other comments , such as, he has your head amanda... a big one! ha,

Oh how I love our little belly bug :)

6/28/10... Do you believe in Miracles?

Do You believe in miracles? I don't think I ever had an opinion about them. Sure, they are nice to think about, I guess everyone hopes there is such a thing... But of course know one really knows if there are miracles or simply coincidences that happen randomly to very lucky people. Maybe people who do believe havw experienced miracles whether in their own life or even being connected to someone who has had a miracle happen to them. Maybe the people who docent believe in miracles have had horrible instances in their lives that they couldn't escape and they weren't provided a miracle to get them through it... Or maybe they simply haven't had anything bad enough happen to where they have thought of miracles. Who knows... Ofcourse I found myself thinking of miracles a lot then past year and a half, who wouldn't when told by the doctor when you ask if having a child will be impossible and the doctor responds " miracles can happen". From that moment I thought to myself, "not to me". Yes the first thing you do is feel sorry for yourself... Until you realize after tods of research and infertility message boards that show you... You aren't the only one and thousandsof women... Millions of women go through infertility everyday.... So many women who don't get pregnant, who do get pregnant and miscarry, so many women... Couples who spend thousands of dollars time after time for the hope of getting pregnant, gettirng to full term and finally delivering a healthy baby. There are so many things that can go wrong to the healthiest of women out there with no infertility issues. Pregnancy is hard to achieve and even more difficult to keep.
So as soon as Justin and I found out I was pregnant.... I immidiTley thought..."it's a miracle!"... This was quickly dashed away with threat of how many things that can go wrong. As Justin and I havw now been to five doctor appointments and I only nine weeks along, my doctors have been helpful in easing my mind that all is going ok so far.

After my last third sonogram I'm happy to report that we have a heartbeat! When I saw the heartbeat pop up it was a wave of, love, excited, fear, anxiety, complete happiness and all of these overwhelming feelings. Once I was able to call my sister, mom and mother in law on the phone totell them the good news my excitement and joy was that much more excited.,
To hear their happiness on the other line filled me with so much joy.

Just some thoughts I was having, so I thought I'd share :)

catching up... starting with 6/11

Sorry my blog has been suffering... so much has happened and I haven't been able to update! So, I'll start with 6/11...

6/11/10: We had another ultrasound and this time.. YAY , We saw the little dot that is our baby :) We got to see the heartbeat as well... how amazing is that?!??! This was the coolest thing I've ever seen! For anyone who has seen it, knows what I'm talking about. A-MAZING.

Once we left the doctors office we called my mom, my sister and Justins mom. They were all so extatic! Barb (Kimmel) was in tears which of course put me in tears because we have finally found out that so far, everything is fine.

Our little belly bug has its first heart rate measurement at 150BPM. We are so happy!

Below is a pic of our baby and the Yolk sac!