Milestone?

17 weeks, 2 days. At this point in my last pregnancy, I was halfway and didn't know it. (Actually, that would technically be 17 weeks, and 2 1/2 days, but close enough). Just another of the big "Wait-and-Sees" of pregnancy.

Nevermind...

Wow! The amnio results came in extra quick (eight days). Everything's normal, 46 chromosomes, no more, no less and.... another boy!

All I can say is, my house is going to be like a rodeo if this one's anything like the Monkeyboy.

Place your bets!

Just for fun, I've decided to add a poll (to the right) as to the sex of the baby. (It's really to help me bide the time until the amnio results come in.) As of now, I've left the poll open until next Thursday, December 27, which is the day of my level II ultrasound, but I reserve the right to close it suddenly whenever amnio results come in if I can't wait any longer for the big reveal.

If you've been reading along, you may have all the clues you need to make your guess. If you're just joining us, the story thus far:

• 37 years old (The Hubster: 38)
• One son, The Monkeyboy (16 cycles + Clomid round 1)
• TTC#2 (13 cycles + Clomid round 4 + Omega 3-6-9)
• "Did it" three days in a row (the third being the day of ovulation)
• High hCG; high progesterone (even beyond what supplemetation levels should have been)
• Extreme fatigue during first trimester (probably the progesterone)
• No morning sickness, but nausea in the evening during first trimester
• Tender breasts (up a cup size+)
• A few breakouts the first trimester, but that's stopped (*knock wood*)
• Heartrate by ultrasound: 12 weeks, 160s; 16 weeks, 150s
• Heartrate by doppler: 12 weeks, 148; 17 weeks, 142
• Carrying a little lower than the Monkeyboy, but OB says this is typical for second pregnancies
• Cravings: Steak and Shake burgers, hardboiled eggs, chocolate (Craved orange flavored stuff with the Monkeyboy and haven't had that this time; and I always crave chocolate, pregnant or not)
• Food aversions: ground meat (only in some situations) and chicken (again, only in some situations -- mostly just the smell of cooked chicken)
• Very hungry all the time
• Gained 9 pounds so far (at 17 weeks)

Please vote. Answer will be revealed no later than December 27.

Honeymoon Trimester

The second trimester is often called the "Honeymoon Trimester," because the agonies of the first are over, while the agonies of the third have yet to start. My honeymoon seems well underway. I no longer am roused in the middle of the night for a bathroom visit (instead, I'm often roused by a sick 2-year-old, but that's beside the point). I never really experienced morning sickness, but any minor nausea I had seems to have disappeared. Overall, I feel pretty good.

From experience I know that my honeymoon will be a short one. During my first pregnancy, I had foreshadowing of the third trimester terror-to-come by about twenty weeks. This time, I've had those hints already. A little numbness in my hands and arms after sleeping, a mild jittery feeling in my legs some evenings. I expect to start really feeling like crap by mid-January. But for now, I'm enjoying the uninterrupted sleep and trying not to think about what's to come.

I had a regular OB appointment yesterday. I'm measuring right on for 17 weeks. The heartrate was about 142. (The heartrate is always higher on ultrasound and lower by my doctor's doppler, so I'm not sure what's up with that. I think it's an old-school doppler and that they calculate the heartrate the old-school way -- count for ten seconds and multiply -- so I'm not sure that it's accurate). She also had the updated results from my First Trimester Screening (NT scan and bloodwork). Risk of Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21) based solely my age (37) is 1:230 and risk of all other genetic disorders is 1:140. My risk after the screening was 1:1200; my risk of Trisomy 18 was 1:99,500. I'm still waiting for my amnio results, so I hate to get overconfident, but those numbers make me feel pretty good. I hope to hear from the genetic counselor by Friday, which would be ten days from my amnio. I think results only took ten days with the monkeyboy. I'm worried that if I don't hear by Friday, then I won't hear anything until after Christmas.

I also asked her about my weight gain with the Monkeyboy's pregnancy, for comparison purposes, prefacing this question with a statement as to the effect, "I don't want to sound weight-obsessed, but I was curious..." The weeks of my appointments that time and this time don't exactly match up, but they're close enough for government work, as the saying goes. So, as for the stats: first pregnancy, at 15 weeks, up 8.5 pounds and at 19 weeks, up 10 pounds; this pregnancy, at 17 weeks, up 9 pounds. Right on target for where I want to be. I just wanted to make sure I could keep justifying those extra brownies. ("My baby wants a brownie" is my favorite excuse in the whole wide world. After my first pregnancy, my brother-in-law even now uses it as an excuse for himself.)

My level II ultrasound is scheduled for December 27. Unless they decide that there's a reason to take another look after that (last time I had a low placenta and they wanted to check the position at 28 weeks), I won't be seeing this little bugger again until it's born.

Amnio

I had my amnio yesterday. Going into it, I was a strange mixture of both nervous and calm. I had an amnio with the Monkeyboy, so I knew what to expect. I wasn't dreading it, but I wasn't looking forward to the procedure either, for obvious reasons. I was looking forward to getting it over and done with, so that I could be that much closer to results.

Before the amnio, we had a genetic counseling appointment. We had updated our family history when I had the first trimester screening a few weeks ago, so the appointment was short. One new piece of information was that they've updated the amnio risk of miscarriage to 1 in 1000. (I think when I had amnio done with the Monkeyboy they were still using the old 1 in 300 statistic, although my research had told me the risk was lower). The counselor also told me that the same doctor that did my first amnio would be doing this one. That was comforting to hear, because the last one was minimally uncomfortable and had no complications.

Before the amnio, they do an anatomy ultrasound. This one wasn't as detailed as the one they did with Monkeyboy, but I think I was a few weeks farther along last time. The baby's heartrate was 151. I asked the tech if she could determine the baby's sex, but she wasn't very helpful. She said that "At this point of development, they all have something there..." which isn't exactly true, although it can still be difficult to tell at this point. Then she made a cursory attempt to look, but said she couldn't get a good shot. She spent more time trying to measure the leg bone than trying to get a "money shot." I'm placated by the fact that I will know for sure within two weeks. As far as I am concerned, that's one of the upsides to having an amnio.

It takes longer for them to prep everything for the procedure than the actual procedure takes. After being thoroughly swabbed with Betadine, the doctor placed drapes all around the lower part of my abdomen. Then the ultrasound tech found a spot where there was a good sized pocket of amniotic fluid, away from the placenta and the baby (although closer to the placenta and the baby than I remember it being last time). The doctor told me he'd explain the procedure as if I hadn't had it done before, telling me what was happening every step of the way. When the needle goes through the skin, it feels like the sharp pinch of a blood draw. (Have I mentioned I don't watch this part? I watch the ultrasound screen the whole time.*) Then, when the needle pierced the uterus, it feels like the "shock" you get when you hit the "funny bone" in your elbow (actually the ulnar nerve). At this point, it was a little more uncomfortable than I remember it being, as the doctor sort of moved the needle around a little bit to get it in deeper and in a good position. The needle itself being there didn't hurt, but the movement of the needle caused me some twingey pains.

He drew a couple of vials of fluid, but kept giving me an update as to how much longer it would take ("About a minute left... about thirty seconds longer..."). When he was done, he said I would feel a burning sensation as he withdrew the needle, but I didn't. I just felt relief as soon as it cleared the skin. I've been sore and a little crampy since then, which is normal, but feeling better all the time.

The tech checked the baby via ultrasound for a few moments after the amnio and also checked the heartrate again (which was 157) just to make sure the baby wasn't distressed. After cleaning up my orange Betadine belly, we were out of there. The entire process took about an hour.

Results should take about ten days, according to the doctor. I think that's about what it took last time, too. The genetic counselor has my cell phone number, since I'll probably be at work when she calls. Now I just have to wait.

ULTRASOUND PIC WILL BE ADDED HERE ONCE I EDIT OUT MY NAME, ETC.

*Especially after last time, when the Hubster described the needle as "a broom straw." I don't need to see my skin being punctured with a nine-inch needle, thank you.

T minus 18 hours and counting

Amnio tomorrow morning. Wish me luck!

Chris Trapper

I'm excited to report that Chris Trapper, who canceled the show scheduled for October, has scheduled another for just before Christmas. And apparently he's recorded a Christmas CD, so he'll be playing some of it at the show.

I'm actually looking forward to the Christmas music, since I'm a big (nerdy) fan of Christmas tunes. What I hope, however, is that he's still willing to play the non-Christmas requests that he allows fans to make via his website. My requests will probably include "Forget Me," from his most recent solo CD, Hey You, and a few favorites from his Push Stars days, maybe "Waiting, Watching, Wishing" or "Sofkuri's Room" (sorry, no sample available).