Anatomy Ultrasound

Anatomy Ultrasound. Makes it sound all official and crap. I guess so the crappy insurance company that we have insurance through will pay for it. They can't call it a "gender scan" or a "sex ultrasound"...That would make it sound so unnecessary and therefore could be denied payment by the insurance company.

And really, the ultrasound is an in depth look at the anatomy and the structures of the fetus while still in utero. It allows for diagnosis and potential treatment of certain medical problems and conditions. With our practitioner's approval, we decided not to have any genetic screening tests. There is such a high rate of false positives (if you want to call it that) that we didn't want to worry about something potentially being wrong the rest of the pregnancy. Anything major should show up on a scan, and then we can choose to have further testing if we want.

So, on Tuesday, I'll bare my baby belly and pray for a perfectly healthy baby. With any luck, this little monkey (who coincidentally is about the size of a small ripe canteloupe, by the way) will have not a shred of modesty and we will get to find out whether we are having a penis baby or a vagina baby.

But really, we will get to see the first pictures of our angel baby and Daddy will get to really begin the bonding process...I've been feeling the little turkey kick and punch me now every day consistenly for about 9 days or so...Nothing strong enough for N to feel from the outside of my belly yet. I can't wait until he can put his hand on my belly and feel Thumper kick.

Night and Day, Day and Night?

I'm sitting here at 12:15 AM in the living room of my Mother's house. Sitting on the couch...I just finished uploading to my facebook account some holiday pictures that were taken over the last few days.

The monkey has been kicking, rolling around, and in general, having a party inside her uterine home for the past few hours.

DOES SHE NOT UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS BEDTIME????

She has done nothing all day. NOTHING. Not a twitch, kick, punch, or roll.

Now that it is time for bed, she seems to be waking up and deciding that it is time to play with Mom. Thankfully, right now her movements are not strong or forceful enough to keep me awake at all. I know that will change in a few weeks, though so I just laugh now as I sit here and she steps on my bladder like a trampoline.

I hope she figures out night and day by the time she is born...

Things I wish I would have known BEFORE getting pregnant

I've compiled a list of things that I wish someone (anyone) would have told me before I got knocked up...

That I'd cry and cry for no reason at all.

That I'd be bitchy and irritable and lose my patience constantly.

That I can't poop except once a week even with taking something and eating so many veggies I think I'll turn into a celery stick.

That I'd crave things I haven't eaten in over 20 years.

That I'd have to pee every 30 minutes.

That sneezing or farting could make me pee on myself.

That I'd have all sorts of strange aches and pains in my belly.

That I can only take Tylenol.

That you leak. From everywhere. 'Nuff said.

That my skin itches and there isn't anything that makes it stop.

That I have to pee. Constantly.

That I'd come to love and appreciate my child's Daddy more than I ever could imagine.

That the "Pregnancy Glow" is a freakin' myth.

That it takes you about 5 months (give or take) to look a little bit pregnant...the rest of the time it just looks like you've overindulged in the buffet line.

That people would treat me like I'm disabled and not just pregnant.

That hearing my baby's heartbeat for the first time would be the most amazing thing in the entire world.

That I'd love my unborn child more than life itself.

Christmas Travels

Tomorrow, I will be on a plane to go see the new Grandma to be for Christmas. Although I know that I will have a great time, I will miss N very much. The week will fly by and soon I will be back to the "same shit, different day" routine.

So far, the monkey's kicking hasn't been enough to be felt from the outside but I'm so afraid that she will start while I'm gone and Daddy will miss feeling the first kicks.

N and I will do Christmas when I get back, sorta anti climactic when you really think about it, I guess. But, hey...it works and it extends the holidays a little bit longer. Will be looking forward to having our ultrasound shortly after I get back.

So just in case, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year (or Happy Hanukkah or Merry Kwanza or whatever else you celebrate) to all!

Baby's First Christmas

I bought a baby's first Christmas ornament last week and took it to N's last night. He hung it on the tree after a short discussion of whether this was truly "Baby's First Christmas" or not. We settled on "kinda". I did specifically buy one that didn't have the year printed on it, so we can buy a 2009 one next year for the little monkey...

And speaking of the little monkey, I think that she was trying to head butt me last night. Can they do that this early? It was strange feeling and not at all like the soft little jabs that I've been getting. It was like something was rolling over in my tummy.

Foot found growing in newborn's brain

Wow...Just wow. I'm speechless.

Foot found in newborn's brain

Kinda creepy if you ask me.

I'm gestating a kickboxer

For the sake of brevity until we know the gender of our love child, I will likely refer to the baby as "she" or "her"...

N says she just wants out. I saw it's too early and she needs to chill and hang out a little while longer.

Yesterday I was on my laptop chatting with N and trying to work as little as possible. I hadn't really felt any movement since that first night almost 2 weeks ago. Not that I was terribly worried, because it's still pretty early and I know that in a month or 2, I'll be begging her to stop.

I soon found my belly button under attack by a miniature fetal limb. It's not really a poking or a jabbing. I'm not quite sure how to describe it. But she kicked and punched my belly button for over an hour. N said "are you sure it's not gas?"

Yep. I'm sure.

Grandma (my mom) says, "well at least you know there's a baby in there and it's not just a tumor" as she laughs. I've heard all about my own acrobatics while in the womb...Apparently, I did headstands on my mom's bladder and pushed up on her diaphragm. Hey! I was just trying to have a little more space. I hear it gets crowded in there eventually.

It's kinda neat. I guess I should enjoy the gentle taps and pokes while I can, before she decides to really try to kick her way out of her uterine home.

I can't wait until her Daddy can feel her moving around, too. It's so amazing and I'm eager to share this part of monkey's gestation with him.