Ultrasound

Arms, Legs, and a Big Chin

On Friday, I went for a nuchal translucency scan at the big medical center in the city. FB is on a business trip, so my mom came with me. We got to see Snapdragon for the first time, which was pretty exciting.

S/he was flipping all around, so it took a little while for the ultrasound tech to get a clear picture. When she was finally able to take measurements, Snapdragon's neck was totally normal and her/his length was right on track for 12 weeks 2 days.

I am an otter.

We were in there for at least 20 minutes and Snapdragon was squirming like mad the whole time — jumping from one side to the other, waving its arms around, touching its face, etc. It was fairly alarming to see so much movement, but not be able to feel anything at all. When you consider that Snapdragon is nearly 3 inches long, I could have a hamster running around in my abdomen and never know the difference.

After the tech got some good looks at Snapdragon, she looked at my ovaries. My left ovary looked fine, but I have a big cyst on the right. One of the doctors came in and took a look at it and said that it's normal to have a cyst from ovulation, but that mine was pretty big (about the same size as Snapdragon, actually), so she wanted to keep an eye on it and ordered another ultrasound for 3 weeks from now.

I'm not particularly concerned — I've had ovarian cysts before and as long as they don't get twisted, they're no big deal. I'm glad we'll get to have another ultrasound when FB is home. It's reassuring to see that Snapdragon has a head and an appropriate number of limbs. At the next ultrasound, s/he will be 15 weeks and 2 days — perhaps the tech will be able to take a guess at the gender.

I also got to talk to a genetic counselor before the exam to discuss the nuchal translucency test. When she took my history and looked at my blood panel, she seemed pretty alarmed at my iron levels and my history of thalassemia. She ordered that I get some extra blood tests and that FB get tested as well, even though there is virtually zero chance that he is also a thalassemia carrier. I find that doctors asking about my thalassemia ask me very strange questions — "Do you feel ok?" "Are you tired?" I can say for sure that I am tired, but I am also pregnant. Sure, I feel ok, but it's silly to ask me if I feel normal — it's a hereditary blood disorder, so I've never felt anything different.

The Claw

I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant

I'm a little bit obsessed with pregnancy shows these days. I don't like the touchy-feely ones like A Baby Story, but feel an obsessive need to watch 16 and Pregnant, I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant, and anything with "quintuplets" in the title.

I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant is especially fascinating. Once upon a time, I couldn't understand how someone could not know, but now that I am three months into a pregnancy and have had no regular morning sickness and no noticeable weight gain or bump, I can imagine it a little more.

Of course, I would notice that I haven't had my period because my cycle is as regular as a metronome, but that's about it. Most of the women on this show have irregular periods. I'm overweight, so I imagine that it will be a while before my abdomen screams baby rather than normal chub. I imagine that my pregnancy will be totally obvious by August, but I can imagine making it to May or June without being 100% sure.

They only feature happy outcomes on I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant. Miraculously, all of the moms abstained from smoking and drinking during their undetected pregnancies and all of the babies are born healthy. I wonder how common it actually is for everything to turn out ok when the mom has had no prenatal care.

Let There Be Puking

Well, I spent all weekend worshiping the porcelain gods, but, alas, I cannot blame it on Snapdragon.

On Saturday, FB and I ordered pizza from our usual pizza place. We always get 2 small pizzas instead of sharing one — that way we have plenty of leftovers and FB doesn't have to worry about his pizza being contaminated with mushrooms or eggplant. We enjoyed our dinner and put the leftovers away before enjoying a quiet evening playing video games.

Six hours later, we were rotating in and out of the bathroom.

At first, I resisted vomiting. I thought, "I haven't thrown up once yet and I won't be weak now!" Then, I realized that FB was sick too and that there was probably something poisonous in my stomach, so I surrendered and puked up a storm. It felt like I had an exploding bowling ball in my stomach.

We were up all night. By morning, we both managed to catch a few minutes of sleep at a time. I got out of bed around 4pm on Sunday and got a bit ambitious — I drank a glass of water and ate a cup of Jell-O. Bad idea. That sent off a whole new cycle of sickness. I crawled back into bed at 9 and stayed there for another 12 hours.

I felt better this morning, but FB is still out of commission. He has had a fever off and on and it is not getting better. If he is still sick in the morning, he will go in to see his doctor. He's not actively vomiting anymore, but he still feels crappy.

It was awful. I don't know what sort of food poisoning it was, but it was definitely the pizza. It was the only meal we shared that day and we both got sick at exactly the same time.

I've managed to eat some saltines and drink some juice today, but I haven't had any protein and I'm feeling headachy and weak. I did manage to keep my prenatal vitamin down. Hopefully, I'll be able to eat some small meals tomorrow.

I am incredibly thankful that I have not had to deal with this as often as many of my pregnant friends have. It sucks.

Second Appointment

We had our second appointment with the midwife on Thursday. It was very short, but we got to hear the heartbeat, which was wonderful.

It took Joyce, our midwife, a few minutes to find Snapdragon with the doppler because he/she was all the way over to the left. We got to hear my pulse several times as Joyce searched, and I'm sure that that sped up with every passing second. We finally located him/her and heard the heartbeat nice and loud. I was actually surprised by how clear it was. It was a little fast — 180 beats per minute — but Joyce said that that was no cause for concern, especially since Snapdragon was just 11 weeks along. Later on, it should slow down a bit.

We also went over my blood and urine test results, which showed that I am slightly anemic, probably due to my thalassemia. It doesn't really bother me day-to-day and I've never needed a blood transfusion, but I suspect that it is playing a role in my exaggerated exhaustion.

We also found that I have GBS, a systemic strep colonization that is not dangerous for adults, but could cause pneumonia or meningitis in a newborn. It means that I will have to receive intravenous penicillin during labor to clear my body of active strep. I'll have to go in early in labor, rather than laboring at home for any length of time, in order to give the antibiotics time to work. I read up on it and the penicillin therapy is very effective. I was also comforted to learn that c-section does not eliminate the GBS risk, so the strep does not decrease my chances of having a vaginal birth. Also, GBS does not interfere with breastfeeding.

On Friday, I have to go to a larger medical center to get my first-trimester screening, which will include an ultrasound portion. I hope that Snapdragon cooperates and that I can get some good pictures, especially since FB will be on a business trip and won't be able to come with me.

Breast Milk Cheese?

"You can milk anything with nipples."

Today in Infantilizing Pregnant Women . . .

Bravado, a company that designs nursing/pregnancy bras, sometimes features pregnant models in its runway shows. Since their lingerie is designed for nursing and pregnant women, this might seem like a no-brainer.

In February, the Blush Boutique Nightclub in Las Vegas, which had agreed to host this runway show, barred a pregnant model from participating because it was at night and there was alcohol in the building!

“We did not feel it appropriate to feature a very pregnant model in a nightclub, at midnight, where alcohol was being served,” Jennifer Dunne, a Wynn spokeswoman, wrote in a statement responding to questions. “Our team made a judgment call which we feel was correct given the environment and circumstance.”

Why? Is it past her bedtime? Might she see people drinking?

Let's clarify once and for all:
Though pregnant women are carrying infants, they are not, in fact, infants themselves.

When I was an elementary school teacher, you would see this when principals and professional development people would treat teachers as they would treat the students in that teacher's grade. Are you a kindergarten teacher? Let's cover your assessment folders with stickers! I had a friend who switched from first grade to sixth and she said she was shocked to find that people started talking to her like a grown-up.

Babies in Bars

Should babies be allowed in bars?

As long as they aren't drinking or screaming and the parents aren't being obnoxious by blocking the bar area with strollers, who cares? Some of the people interviewed say that they don't want to drink with 5-year-olds staring at them — that seems a little whiny to me. Do they think that little kids (and their parents) should be hidden away until they are teenagers?