My husband has been wonderful in making sure I don't overdo myself - he's been cooking and cleaning (hmmm maybe I should get pregnant more often? hah!) My mom and bro even went to Costco (which I had been putting off for weeks now) and got me a few things I needed. Whew. What a relief. And today I actually was able to talk my husband (Mr. Anti-shopping) to go to Costco for a few things. It was not too terribly crowded and to top it off - I got him one of his favorite things in the world...a Costco Hotdog.
I managed to squeeze in most of my Christmas shopping and have sent off to D's family this week. Relieved to have gotten all the packages out in time for them to be there by Christmas. Yay! A sense of accomplishment in my tender state!
One unusual thing that I have been experiencing this past week is that the baby has been getting hiccups. Baby hiccups for 5 - 10 mins each day. Sometimes multiple times. Usually it appears to occur after I've had a meal. Its such a strange sensation as I feel this rhythmic movement in my lower belly close to my hip (the baby is head down - thus ready for action!) I initially didn't even notice them, but was going in for weekly fetal monitoring (where they place a monitor on my belly to watch baby's movement and my contractions). The baby usually moves around a lot and uses the spot where the nurse has attached the monitor as a kicking bag. So there is typically lots of movement. "Oh it looks like your little one has the hiccups!" Upon paying closer attention to all the movements going on, I sense this rhythmic movement, which is different from the jabs to the fetal monitor or my ribs. Once it was pointed out what the hiccups felt like, I have been noticing them daily.
This pregnancy has been very easy (as compared to the horror stories I've heard about) and I am extremely lucky that I have been this healthy and energetic [knocking on wood]. However, we did hit a few bumps in the road at first, which were completely unnerving. The roadblocks were all caused by the first and second trimester genetic testing blood work.
First, we had some irregularities in out First Trimester blood screening and we're informed that our baby might be at risk of having Down's Syndrome. My heart literally fell out of my chest. I was inconsolable and it was hard to be positive about it. "How would we raise a child with Down's Syndrome? We have my health to contend with." In order to wipe out the worry for the next 6 months, we decided to get a Amniocentesis. The Amnio itself wasn't too bad - it was just the nerves I built up thinking about a 5 inch needle being stuck into my belly. It was at the least, an unpleasant experience. Luckily, we got the results back and things all appeared normal. Whew.
We didn't come to find out about another irregularity in one of my hormones (for the 2nd trimester) until about a month ago. Our doctor had neglected to tell us until it was suitable (as the monitoring couldn't start until the 35 weeek). I am so thankful that the doctor waited to tell us and didn't cause us any unnecessary worry. So, due to the irregularity in the blood results, we had another ultrasound (thus the "ONE BIG ASS BABY BUSCH posting") where the technician told us that things were looking fine and that the baby was healthy. I still have to go in for this weekly Fetal monitoring, which is fine, as its reassuring when the nurses don't see anything "out of the norm". Its so frustrating as I read that there are many false positives in the genetic testing for the 1st and 2nd trimester. I'm toying with not going thru the whole process if we get pregnant again.
So all the worrying aside, we are excited and eagerly awaiting the arrival of our little one. Now the only thing that I really am dying to find out - will it be a boy or will it be a girl??
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