Ultrasound and more

Nate and I went in for the "big" ultrasound last week Friday. We let the tech know we weren't going to find out the sex right away, so she didn't even take a peek because she didn't want to accidently spill the beans either. Watching an ultrasound is like one of those magic pictures, I think. You are staring at screen really not knowing what you are looking at, then the trained eye starts pointing out what things are and by the end you can actually tell it's a baby and it has 10 fingers, 10 toes, and all the other necessary parts.

Since we're keeping the gender a surprise, there weren't any huge revelations, but we did learn a few things. As of last Friday, the baby weighed about 1 pound, 7 ounces, and the ultrasound measured a due date of June 30 plus or minus 10 days. Since that's a little off from my original July 13th day. My doctor's office called this week and let me know it is officially changing to June 30. I don't particularly enjoy being pregnant (although the outcome is definitely worth the means) so knowing I have two less weeks of it is good! We also found out I have an anterior placenta, meaning the baby is attached in the front. This explains why I haven't felt a ton of movement even with such a big baby already. I am noticing the last day or two that I'm feeling less little pokes and more big movements like Flipper's rolling around in there. Still no painful kicks so I'll take these as long as I can have them!

I also had a regular visit after the ultrasound for weight, labs, BP, etc. Everything is still good, and my blood pressure even went down a little to 130/76. The little brown pills must be working. I'm still not down to normal (my first visit was 116/60) but it's below the 140 danger zone. I asked my doctor what the prognosis for pregnancy-induced hypertension is and she said my BP is likely to go up again later in pregnancy, so they'll be keeping an eye on it more closely as I go along. I also asked if it was possible that it was actually chronic high BP, and she seemed to thing that was pretty unlikely, although she won't know for sure until after the baby is born. Next visit is the first week in April.

Kaitlyn came to visit last weekend and helped me paint the office/baby's room. The office is kind of small and I don't see why Jacob can't share a room, boy or girl, but for the first few months I wanted to have the baby separate so Jacob can sleep. We painted it a pale yet somewhat brighter green. I think the color was called Melon something. We also got paint for the backdoor entry way where Nate comes it. Kaitlyn is home for spring break starting yesterday so she came home to help me finish it. We painted that area a greyish brown called Coffeehouse. It reminds me of a cup of coffee with cream in it.

Kaitlyn took Jacob today to spend the week with Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Jerry. Whenever he goes I always feel a little bad for a few days, then I start to enjoy the quiet house where things stay where I put them. I requested a vacation day next Friday, so I plan to head down there Friday morning to spend the weekend with my family, then come back with Jacob Sunday morning. Who knows if I'll have the time and permission from my doc to drive 3 1/2 hours away later this spring, so I wanted to get at least one visit in.

Time to get something done!

P.S. In the pic, Flipper has his/her hands over their ears. If I had to make a guess, I'd say boy!

An update

Well, I don't really have too much to write about, but it's been two weeks since an update so I better come up with something.

Let's see... NAte spent the weekend ice fishing with the guys Feb. 20-22, so I took the chance for a little getaway with Jacob to Eau Claire to see my college friends, Jen and Cindy, their husbands and Cindy's now two-month old baby, Baby Nathan (they called my guy Baby Jacob for at least two years so I get to do the same now.:) We met for an early dinner, then headed to an arcade place called Action City for some games. Jacob's getting a lot better at them now that we've been there three times, so he had a blast. Baby Nathan has gotten a lot bigger since I saw him six weeks before! He's getting to be a little chunk and growing out of his scrawny newborn-ness. Jacob also gets a kick out of seeing him since we don't really get to see little babies too often. Guess that will change in a few months!

I'm starting to think Jacob will actually make a pretty good big brother, though having to share attention is probably going to be a shock to his system. He seems to understand Mom has a baby in her tummy and will sometimes give my belly kisses. "I'm kissing the baby!" he said. Melts my heart. Flipper is moving around more now, though maybe not as much as I want. I feel little nudges mostly in the very top or bottom, which makes me wonder if I have an anterior placenta because I don't feel anything in the middle. I'll find out Friday at the big (and possibly only) ultrasound. We won't find out if Flipper's a boy or a girl, but I'll be happy to get some pictures and reassurance that he/she is healthy. Since my hypertension diagnosis that's a thought that's been bothering me quite a bit. I also have a regular OB appointment after the ultrasound, so I'm hoping my BP is in the normal range and no protein!! I haven't gained a lot of weight in the last few weeks, may a pound or two, but that's find with me. I wanted to lose a few pounds before getting pregnant, so I'm home to stay closer to the normal 25 pounds instead of the 48 I gained with Jacob.

In other news, Nate did the outhouse race again this year. His team came in 3rd overall out of 15 teams and they took home a trophy (special roll of toilet paper) for 2nd in the under 39 teams. They changed the course a little this year, and Nate wasn't so beat to hell when they got done like last year. I'll post pictures when I have high speed sometime. My pictures just don't load with dial-up!