25 weeks - Doctor Update

I went to the doctor yesterday - only gained 4 pounds - YAY! Things are going so smoothly, and Dr. Hodges is so great about making me feel good about how everything is going.

I had to wait about an hour past my appt time - but I found out why - there was a patient who came in, and they couldn't find her baby's heartbeat - they did an emergency ultrasound and found everything to be okay - but it put the whole schedule behind. I didn't mind waiting one bit - because if the same thing happened to us - I would want them to do whatever it took to make sure everything was okay!

I talked to the Dr. about my trip to Washington DC, and he said it would be no problem, just to take a baby asprin the day before and day of travel to avoid blood clots - no problem! We listened to the baby's heartbeat - still in the 150's and measured my belly - we are measuring exactly 25 weeks!!! Everything is great!

I get to do my glucose test next appt, and get a shot of Rhogam, so I don't develop antibodies to Rh factor, since I am Rh negative. Should be fun!

Thats all for now!

Aidan is getting STRONG

Dylan and I were laying in bed this morning, and all of a sudden, I felt Aidan KICK me. Not just the little tumbling and flutters I have felt before- but a true kick. I had Dylan hold his hand on my tummy - but he didn't feel it - so I laid his hand on the bed, and laid on my belly on his hand - then he could feel it. It is amazing to know that our little boy is in there growing bigger and stronger every day! Can't wait to meet him!

Finished the Ultrasound

I went in yesterday at 8am and finished my fetal survey ultrasound, the baby cooperated a bit better, and we got to see the cord, cord insertion point on the placenta, and the spine and spinal cord. I also got a much clearer picture of the fact that the baby is a boy! So Aidan was good. I have another cute picture of him that I will post, sucking his thumb.

I have a lot more movement going on now - it is amazing - I can feel that little one moving around inside me. He is getting stronger, hopefully Dylan will be able to feel him soon too!

My latest appointment

I went to see Dr. Hodges on Wednesday - just another routine appointment - I thought, come to find out I have gained almost 9 pounds since I saw him last. HOLY CRAP. He is so good about putting things in perspective, like the fact that I had only gained 5 since the beginning of the pregnancy, and this still is right on track, and that I am at the gestational stage where I will gain the most weight. He told me that as long as I plan to breast feed that I shouldn't worry too much, just so long as I am eating healthy and not just junk. Now that is where I get into trouble - I have been BAD lately, and I can certainly tell!

Anyhow, otherwise everything is fine. He said, "you are growing a good one," when I asked him how the ultrasound pictures looked. He said there were no abnormalities, nothing that looked like a soft sign for Down's, that everything in his opinion was perfect. He said he walks a fine line because he can't gaurantee anything until that baby is in his hands, but as a friend he said, you have nothing to worry about. So that made me feel great. The ultrasound tech said the same thing, and from what I saw on the ultrasound and what I know about what we should expect to see - all is well. While we don't start officially measuring my fundal height until the next appointment, he measured anyway and said everything is right on. He also checked the heartbeat - and it was amazing how strong it sounded, about 145-150 - so right where it has been each time!

Our little bean is sprouting into a little baby boy - I can't wait to hold him in my arms. While I realize I am only four and a half months away from having this little one, it was scary to hear the doctor say that if I went into labor in four months, he wouldn't try to stop my labor. Holy cow - I have a ton to do between now and then - I can't be having a baby yet. Stay put little one, I will let you know when I am ready!!!!!

The comparison - Prepregnancy vs 19 weeks

Initially I wanted my picture to be taken every few weeks to note the changes in my body as the baby grew - but as the baby grew and before I really had a belly, I just felt FAT. So rather than taking pictures, I kept finding ways to put it off. Not only that, but I thought I looked HUGE in the prepregnancy pictures we took too - so I sure didn't want those visible for anyone to see. But now, I am realizing that I wasn't fat to begin with, and even though my body is changing, I really don't mind the changes. First, my face has "filled out" and gotten much plumper. Second, my belly is just starting to expand. Third, my boobs are HUGE (and I love that). So life is good. Dylan took these pictures, and I think they are fun. I will continue to take them every few weeks and the changes continue to amaze me.

Prepregnancy:





19 weeks:

It's a BOY - or so they tell us!

Today was our big half-way ultrasound, where they assess and measure all the anatomical features, look for soft signs of Down Syndrome, and just check the overall well being of our baby. It is also the day that we were desperately hoping to find out the sex of the little one!

So it all started out normal - they were late getting us back there. And I had to show up with a bladder full of 20 oz of water. Then the ultrasound tech checked the length of my cervix - 4.4cm and said it looked great - closed up nice and tight! So off to the bathroom I went. I came back much more comfortable, and settled in for the long haul. Dylan was by my side watching the monitor the tech was looking at and I was watching the TV mounted on the wall. She located the baby and checked the direction it was laying, transverse - with its head on my left side, and its bottom on my right side - not perfect but workable. So she measured the placenta and checked its location - all looked good. Then she checked the thickness of the uterine wall, good as well. Then she began looking at and measuring the baby. Checked the brain for formation, the lips and nose for cleft lip or palate, and the hands and feet to make sure they were complete. We got to see the baby's bladder (with pee in it), the stomach, kidneys, and the heart. The heart was the coolest - you could watch the valves as the blood went through the heart. She checked the pulmonary veins/arteries and the aorta. Then she measured the skull, the femur, and the abdomen. She told us that the baby was measuring 21 weeks and 2 days - and we thought we were 20 weeks and 5 days - so it was pretty close, not enough to change the due date at all. Then she tried finding the genitalia. This was a little tough as the baby was laying with its legs crossed, but she jiggled my belly for a little while and got enough of an angle to see that it was a baby BOY!!!! Dylan was so sweet - he saw the screen, saw his baby boy, and looked at me and said in the sweetest voice, "it's a boy" and kissed me - we are both so happy!

So Aidan Lorenzo Bruesch put on a good show of sleeping through his first indepth prenatal exam - and I am sure hoping he keeps up the sleeping after he is born - will make for a nice transition.

All is well, and we are excited to let everyone know that we are having our baby boy!!!!

Here are a couple of pictures - we didn't get a ton - mainly because the little stinker wouldn't move much for better angles:
We have a profile shot and a cute picture of his foot.

Okay, it is movement - I am certain!

I have been feeling a little bit of tightening in my belly, every once in awhile I will get a tightening in a certain spot in my uterus and was wondering if it was BH contractions - but I am pretty certain it is the baby turning. And then just the other day, I was driving and I felt a little flutter like you read about. It was just two little pushes on my left side, and then a moment later, two more- but I am sure it was the baby. While I haven't felt any big movements or forceful kicks - I know that the little one is moving!

We are just a couple of days away from our big ultrasound - we will be almost 21 weeks then, and we are so excited - I am hopefully we can find out the sex. We have the baby room pretty well put together, and it would be nice to put a name plaque on the door or something to signify whose room it is!!!!

I will keep you updated!

Ultrasound - No Results :-(

Well, we had our ultrasound today. We saw that beautiful little being that is growing inside me, however, he/she was laying there so comfortably, and wouldn't move for anything - so we were unable to find out the sex of the baby - so again we wait.

We did see the baby sucking its thumb, kicking and punching, and being totally cute - but no leg spreading at all.

Everything else looks great - form and function. Dr. Hodges said we were, "growing a good one."

Since we really want to know the sex, I asked Dr. Hodges about the big ultrasound - and the fact that it was in just two weeks - and he said if we really want to find out, then we should wait until at least 20 weeks - and to reschedule. So we rescheduled for Friday, January 13th. Dylan is certain that this means it will be a girl, since we want a boy so much. But either way - we are so excited to see the little one, and know if it is Aidan or Olivia! We will keep you updated!!!!

3rd Prenatal Appt

Well, today was less eventful than we were hoping. The morning started out with huge amounts of snow dumping on Boise and Meridian - followed by Dylan having to drive the car, without snow tires on, into Meridian to work. We had an OB appointment scheduled for 10:30 at the Meridian St Lukes location, so we could see the baby without an ultrasound appointment. I left the house early so that I could make it in plenty of time, what with the bad weather and roads. I made it there about 40 minutes early, and checked in anyhow. Then I called and left Dylan messages on his cell phone and office phone. Well, about 5 minutes later, Jodi called me back. Dylan wasn't there yet - so I was pretty bummed. I got on the scale (moo), and I pee'd on the stick again, and came into the room. Jodi told me that she was unable to perform the ultrasound, that only the doctor could do that and that he was in an emergency surgery - so we were out of luck. I was so bummed since we were hoping to find out the sex - but as it turns out, we are pretty early, and that what they saw today could simply be the precursor to genitals in a couple of weeks - so we scheduled another appointment for Dec 15th, when we have a doctor-only appointment and he will perform the ultrasound. I can't wait to find out if we are having Aidan or Olivia!!!!! I heard the heartbeat - about 160 bpm, and asked about my weight gain. I have gained just 4 pounds - and considering how fat I feel, it seems like not very much. Jodi and I talked about appropriate weight gain at this point, and I am right on track.

Just two weeks after our next appointment, on Dec 27th we have the big ultrasound for the anatomy check and all. They will spend about 30-45 minutes checking out the baby, and will video tape it for us. So that will be an exciting appointment. Then, just two months later - I will begin going to prenatal appointments every two weeks. I can't believe we are almost half way through this pregnancy!!!!!! I can't believe we will have a baby so soon!

Until

Our Second Prenatal Appointment

Today was our second prenatal appointment. It was a pretty good one since we got to hear the heartbeat with a doppler. Pretty uneventful appt, since I am a low-risk pregnancy. I pee'd on a stick, then waited for the doc. He came in and chatted with us, and I told him my fear about not being able to hear the heartbeat - and he assured me that if he couldn't find it with the doppler, then we would give us an ultrasound to assure us that the baby was fine - but there was no problem finding the heartbeat - and it was perfect - strong and steady! Then he let us listen to my heartbeat - and you could hear the difference, mine was slow and relaxed, the baby's was fast and urgent - so amazing! It is such a great feeling to know that the little one is in there just growing and changing and developing day by day. Our next appt is scheduled for Dec 1st, in the Meridian location - so that we can get another ultrasound without paying for it - they have a machine in the room, and will just do one for you with out charge - which is sooooo nice. I am looking forward to hopefully finding out if we are having a girl or a boy - I know I will be super excited either way. The Chinese calendar says we are having a girl, we have heard mixed reviews from friends - about whether the morning sickness was heavy or light - and how that indicated one sex over the other - but of course they all contradict. One was sick with the boy, not with the girl, one was sick with the girl, not with the boy - and so on - so who knows!

Anyhow, things are progressing nicely - we are 10 weeks along, 1/4 of the way through - crazy to think. At our next appt, we will be 14 weeks - officially in the second trimester! I can't wait for May!

I could have puked

Wow, this morning was the first morning where I actually thought I could have vommited, but I didn't get up, I just layed in bed and waited it out.

Okay, so I lied

I thought I would get through the first trimester without much morning sickness, but turns out I was wrong. Not that I have been severely crippled by the morning sickness, but some mornings I have a hard time getting out of bed, and some evenings I don't want to do anything but lay around. I don't really have an aversion to any specific foods - just a general sense of illness and nausea in my tummy. I am making it through, and hopefully I can get Dylan to cook a few meals if I need - but we are about 6 weeks away from the 2nd trimester - so I think I will make it.

The first appointment

So we went to the OB on October 4th, to have an ultrasound and find out how far along we were, and to start prenatal care with a great doctor. It wasn't much of a question in my mind that I wanted to have a hospital birth, a home birth is not of interest to me, mainly because I don't want to deal with the pain if I don't have to. Anyhow, we picked an OB, one that my sister had gone to in the past - Dr. Bryan Hodges. We went to the Woman's Clinic for our appointment, and were called back for the ultrasound. The tech asked me to expose my belly - and she poured the cold goop on it - and was unable to find my uterus, she searched for a little while and then said we should do a transvaginal ultrasound. So she left the room and I undressed. While Dylan and I were waiting for her to return, we started wondering, "what if we really aren't pregnant?" It was a strange feeling to think that we had been wrong, and weren't really pregnant. But, it turns out that my uterus is tipped way back, and wasn't big enough to see through my stomach - so we found out that we were in fact pregnant - that the baby has a heartbeat, and that we are about 6 weeks along. When we asked a due date- the tech used the software to tell us our expected due date is May 29, 2006. How funny - because that is our wedding anniversary. Wouldn't it be great if we had our first child on or near our 2nd wedding anniversary?

After the ultrasound, the tech gave us a picture of our baby - and we went back to wait for the doctor. It wasn't but a few minutes and they called us back. We met Dr. Hodge's nurse Jody - who is absolutely great. She is the only nurse that works with him, and will get to know us pretty well. She weighed me - 146lbs, and had me pee in a cup. She came in and explained a little about how things will work - monthly appts until 28 weeks, then every 2 weeks until 36 weeks, then every week until the birth. Took a background and explained about NO medication during the first trimester. Then we waited about 5 minutes and Dr. Hodges came in. Dylan and I had a list of questions, and that was great, because he asked us if we had any questions and we started firing away. From the beginning it was obvious that he was the doctor for us. We will deliver at St Lukes hospital, the room that we labor and deliver in will be the same room that the baby stays in. He will deliver the baby onto my chest and wait until the cord stops pulsing before he lets Dylan cut the cord. He encourages breast feeding within the first hour - and he said he has been told he practices more like a midwife than a doctor - and that is great, we like the feel of it!

Turns out, his godfather is my undergrad advisor - Dr. Centanni. We talked about that for awhile, and he gauranteed me that he wouldn't miss our delivery for anything in the world. He said the only reason he misses deliveries is if the mother has the baby in 3 minutes, before he gets to the hospital. He talked about his c-section rate - which is about 18%, pretty low for Boise doctors - and pretty low overall. So I am encouraged my our doctor.

We made our next appointment for Halloween morning, and went to get some blood drawn. I was AMAZED, but Dylan was able to watch as they inserted the needle and drew three vials of blood. Usually he gets sick feeling at just the discussion of needles - so it was great - I am assured of his ability to watch the birth of our child, and not get dizzy and pass out!

So far all is well, the morning sickness hasn't been bad - just a little nausea if I don't eat regularly - and I am drinking lots of water!

This is pregnancy at 6 weeks!

And the Baby Cometh!!!!

Two weeks ago, September 18th, I took a pregnancy test, just by chance. I have been off birth control since February when Dylan and I decided to start trying to get pregnant. I had one cycle, March 30th, and haven't had one since. I had my annual girlie appointment on August 31st and had a negative pregnancy test, and on September 18th as I was jumping in the shower, I happened to see that we had one more test in the medicine cabinet - and I thought, 'what the heck, not like it is gonna be positive.' It took about 5 seconds for the plus sign to show up. Dylan was out of the house, so I called him on his cell, and told him the news, that we might possibly be pregnant. We then went to the grocery store and bought another test. This one had the reading on one side, and the sample collector on the other - well, I didn't turn it over to urinate in the collector, but it must have gotten enough urine to register a positive anyway - so we were pretty certain that we were pregnant.

The next day I called the doctor to go in for a test and confirm it, and they told me that I didn't need to do that - that the home test is the same that they use, and if I had two positives in one day - it was pretty certain. So they scheduled my appointment for October 4th, and to do an ultrasound, to see how far along we are!

I am so excited, to be pregnant, to be having a baby, to be starting our family, for this new change! I am a little apprehensive, as I am sure that all expectant mothers are - but I am more excited than anything.

Since finding out that we are pregnant, I can explain the slight nausea that I have been having if I wait too long before meals, the extreme tenderness in my breasts, and their increase in size!!!!

Dylan and I let our family know by sending out an e-mail with a picture of the tests and an announcement that we asked for a second opinion, and it was positive - that we are expecting a new development in May or June next year! Most everyone responded that same night - Dylan's mom, sister, aunt and uncle, and my dad called the next day. Dylan's dad, however, has yet to say anything - two weeks later we are assuming that he has checked his e-mail, but waiting to see if he calls or e-mails or anything! Nothing new on that front!

It has been a pretty uneventful two weeks so far, a little cramping and nausea, but otherwise, little effect. I don't have morning sickness like Dylan's sister, Lindsey, who was ill and had to run for the bathroom at the mere mention of food! I only have to eat a little something to supress the nausea.

Dylan has been quiet mostly, but I can tell how excited he is - I am hoping the ultrasound will show a tiny fetus that he can see and get a little more attached to. Our friends Manuel and Amy came over today with their son Julian and their new baby Jenna, who is a sweety. I held her and fed her and rocked her to sleep - and you could see the love in Dylan's eyes - I know he is going to be such a great father - he is so caring!

Anyhow, this is my official pregnancy journal, where I plan to keep record of the entire experience - and keep up to date with all the new developments until the birth, at which point I am sure I will not have time to keep up with this until the baby is a bit more independent!

Stay tuned!

I Saw It

Wow - can you imagine knowing that your government is corrupt, having all that information right there in front of you, and having no idea what to do with all of it, how to change things. I watched Fahrenheit 9/11 on Sunday with my husband and some friends/family. It was an eye opening experience. We sat and talked afterwords about what it all really meant. Dylan made a good point, that even if you don't agree with Michael Moore - even if you think he is an extremist and slanted the movie, that there is inherent bias - all you have to do is see that the vast majority of the information and footage is from public information sources, this is information that you or I could get a hold of and read. It isn't some cooked up conspiracy theory - it is the obvious truth. And what do we do now??? Walk away and hope that he gets out of office this fall??? I hope not - I hope that this movie will help people to wake up and get out and vote and be active politically and have a say and a stand in what happens. Although, with the last presidential election being decided not by the people, but by the appointees, and family friends of the "winner" - it makes one wonder what their vote really counts for - ya know!!!!

Life is good!

Can you believe half the summer is already over. I have to be back on campus the 16th of August - that is just a little over a month away. And I am excited - really I am, but I guess a little insecure over starting to teach a lab. I don't even know yet what lab I am teaching, what is expected of me, how I am supposed to prepare - I guess I just don't feel grounded in the whole situation yet. But that will come with time. The summer has been good, short but good.

Dylan's sister has tried to convince me that it will be fine, she taught a lab for a course she hadn't even taken before - and I guess if she can do it - so can I.

We spent last weekend with Dylan's mom's boyfriend's kids - Kali, Christopher, and Karrissa. It was lots of fun. We went to Melba for the 3rd, Boise for the 4th, floated the river, and went to the Zoo on Monday the 6th with Laurie and David. All was well, until the kids went to the penguin exhibit to watch a feeding. Kali started feeling dizzy and fainted, hitting her head on some concrete - she got scrapped up pretty good, but no concusion, no long term damage - we did go to the hospital though - they did an EKG and a CT scan - all looks good! Made me feel bad because they said she was dehydrated, although she spent all weekend with us, the whole weekend she was drinking water, eating - everything seemed fine. I hope David doesn't reflect this on us - we took good care of them!! I like those kids a lot and I know Dylan gets a kick out of hanging out with them - he gets to be the big brother he always wanted to be!!!!!

Other than that - nothing new and exciting - waiting for the weekend - as usual!!!

Amanda

We are Married Now

So the wedding was amazing, the honeymoon was so connecting, and we have been home now for a few weeks, and I am still so in love with Dylan - I don't think the wedding changed much except for the formalities - and the fact that I can proudly say that I am Mrs. Bruesch - sounds strange after having been Ms. Rogow for so long - but it fits, it feels right - in my mouth and on paper! I love it!

We are still working on the pictures - scanning, scrapbooking, organizing - and I have to get some more back from my aunt who took pictures at the wedding - but I am so happy with the way they came out - Walgreens needs to work a bit on their processing - some of the negatives must have had dirt on them or something - anyhow they are great!

And work is work - nothing new there - but it is pissing me off. Not that I feel like I am an elitist or anything for being of a science mind - but I feel like people who are strongly religious to one persuasion or another can be very rude. I had a conversation with a co-worker at work about how the wolves were re-introduced into Idaho and they are beginning to be a nusiance to farmers. He thought farmers should be able to shoot any animals that come on their property - and I said elk, deer, moose, human. And he continued to say - Humans are made in the image of God and are not animals - and I just said okay, whatever. He then began to poke and jab regarding science talking about how the world had aged nicely from the time he was in school and they thought the earth was 4 billion years old, and now supossedly they think it is 645 billion years old. I questioned that instantly - because the generally accepted view with regard to dating is that the earth is 4.5 byo. And he just went on and on about how do you even know. I asked him if this was a statement by a reputible scientist - which he thought was rather amusing and asked if I was joking, was that an oxymoron - what an ASS!!!!

Anyhow - I digress - life is good, married life is good!!!

New Home on the Web

Well, I suppose I am about 10 years behind the times as far as blogging is concerned. I am not a big journal writer, so I suppose this is a stretch for me - but rarely do I have problems with finding something to say!

What prompted this: hmmmmm, I don't honestly know - I have been spending more time online with my Yahoo! Group - scrap_happy - I am a scrapbooking addict. I guess I started reading some of their blogs and thought it might be nice to have one of my own - where I can post pictures from our wedding (in less than 2 weeks), where I can talk about frustrations, work, school. Just a place to vent without having to bother people about it!

So I hope I don't bore you with my ramblings - but if so, this is for me and no one else!!!!

Amanda