Emotional Roller Coaster

So here’s the deal, the doctor told us when we first went to our appointment that when we hit a certain point in this pregnancy we could go and have blood work done to see if the baby had Cystic Fibrosis and/or Downs Syndrome.  Not that if the baby had this anything could be done, but we could prepare ourselves a little better to take care of the baby.  Just do our research so that the baby has the best life possible.  I don’t know much about either one of these so I thought it’d be a good thing to test so I could educate myself.

So the first week of January I went to my drs appointment and they said we were to the point that I could go take the blood tests if I was interested.  I said let’s do it.  So they gave me the paperwork and sent me to the lab.

The lab isn’t in the drs office, it’s across town and it seems to take them a couple weeks to process and get the results back to the drs office.  No big deal, I wasn’t worried either way about the results.  So Tuesday the 21st when hubby got to work he received an email (we’re signed up for their website, etc) that said that the baby came back free and clear of both of those tests.  Obviously something could be different when baby comes out but for now the tests said all was okay.  He called me and we were both happy.

I went to class that morning and after I was finished I went and sat in the commons area at the school and my phone rang.  I noticed the number was the drs office number so I assumed that they were calling with the results that I already knew.  Now the drs nurse is Jessica so I really assumed it was Jessica but when I answered the phone it was the Nurse Practitioner in the office, Jill.  I was a bit confused when she told me who she was but no big deal.  I knew the results right?

Then Jill proceeded to tell me about the results.  She didn’t address the 2 tests that we knew we were testing for, instead she said that the baby came back high for having Trisomy 18.  I had a 1 in 45 chance of the baby having this.  I remained calm (which if you know me isn’t me at all sometimes but I didn’t freak out).  She told me that they wanted to send me to a specialist in Springfield for further, more in dept testing.  She asked if that would be an option and I told her yes.

Then I asked her what Trisomy 18 was or what it meant.  So what this means is that if the baby actually has this, that the baby won’t make it.  From what we’ve found on the internet (which is a scary place) but I verified through my aunt (she’s a doctor) my findings were correct is the baby will go from being born a still-born to not making it very long.  There are some results of a baby making it into their teen years but they were in and out of doctors and surgeries and the family who kept this baby alive through teen years was very wealthy.  Also from what I found, the baby won’t have a very good quality of life if they do make it through.

So after I talked to Jill, I sent hubby a text message that I needed to talk to him.  I started packing up my stuff because I was about to lose it and didn’t want to in the middle of the school so when hubby called I told him I had to call him right back.  I took off toward my car and I just lost it.  I called hubby back to tell him what was going on and had the hardest time getting through it.

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So jump forward to Monday the 27th.  I got home from school and was sitting working on homework when my cell phone rang.  It was my drs office which I thought was weird so I answered.  Barb on the other end proceeded to tell me that the place they made my appointment at wasn’t covered by my insurance and I’d have to pay $1,100 out of pocket to go.  Did I have those types of funds? NO!  So I asked what I needed to do now.  They made this appointment for me so why wouldn’t this be an in network place?  Or at least check.  My appointment was in 2 days.

They told me to contact the insurance providers and see if an exception could be made.  I called hubby and he contacted them.  Did I mention this was 3:30 or later on a Monday afternoon when this all took place?  The insurance company told us that it could take up to 3 days for this to be approved and then they notify via snail mail. WHAT?

Poor pregnant girl who has hormones flying through her body, I was up in tears just freaking out.  Hubby had a phone number to call on Tuesday to see if any decision had been made.  He called me around 11:20 or so and said that they approved us to go to this drs office.  Amen!  So I called my drs office back to let Barb know that we were okay to move forward.  I got her voicemail so I left her a message, then she called me back and said she called the drs office in Springfield and confirmed I still had an appointment.

So at noon I get a phone call from the drs office in Springfield and their insurance lady (don’t know her name) and she wanted to know how I knew we were approved.  Said that insurance companies will tell you what you want to hear to get you off the phone and will go back on their word.  Did I get this in writing.  Well no because you guys didn’t give us any time to get this approved, but we’re supposed to get it in writing.  She said that they can even go back against what they have in writing and she just wanted me to know.

Okay, let’s just set the pregnant girl off again… lol.  Hubby was in meetings for work so I sent him a text that said he needed to call me ASAP.  He called me back about 15-20 minutes later and he wound up calling and talking to her.  She proceeded to call our insurance company just to verify so all was good.  whew!  So we were still on for Wednesday.

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We had the ultra sound Wednesday the 29th.  They said everything looked good there.  Then they said they either wanted an amniocentesis which is the gold star method but even though it is 100% accurate creates a chance of problems or a newer option which is blood work that is 99.9% positive but less invasive.  I was like find the vampires, my veins give blood well. ha!  So I get those test results back in 10-12 days.  The doctor said if a baby has genetic defects, 90% of the babies will show the signs during an ultra sound but ours looked normal, they focused on the hands, feet and head mainly but the rest too plus they said that the baby is growing at the normal rate so let’s hope!

Now we’re just waiting on the other test results.  They said that if those come back good then we’re basically free and clear.  If it comes back abnormal then they’ll want to do the amniocentesis. So a bit of stress has been lifted off of our shoulders, now just waiting for the rest to be okay.

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So now we’re waiting but for those of you who wondered, that’s what’s going on.

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Hours by Pictures

So I decided to join up today and do a post similar to last year called my day in pictures.  I tried to get a photo every hour but it didn’t always happen because some hours I was in the exact same scenery.

7:30am My morning started off with Starbucks Lemon Pound Cake and a Mocha Frappuccino from Starbucks.

8:30 am Went to Extreme Sports Scuba to attend a seminar on proper maintenance and care of our equipment.

9:30am the seminar was still going on.  We got to see Grady take apart a regulator, (1st and 2nd stage) an air tank, etc and some of the tools used to maintain.

10:30am, yeah I happened to eat 3 donuts (doughnuts is proper) throughout the morning. Don’t judge, only one was for me, the second was for hubby and the third was for Peanut!

11:30am Still sitting at the dive shop

12:30pm we hit the road for Tulsa to go pick up Tbug at a cheer competition.

2:30ishpm we finally got the chance to eat lunch at PF Changs at Utica Square.

3:30pm we wandered around Utica Square for a few minutes. We went to Williams Sonoma and then we found Pea in the Pod.

4:30 we had to make sure we were at the Tulsa Convention Center to watch Tbug’s cheer competition.  She performed at 4:45.

5:30pm just sitting around waiting for results

6:30pm still just wasting time waiting for results

7:30pm results were finally announced and they won 1st which allows them to compete at Nationals.

8:30pm we went to Olive Garden back at Utica Square to eat dinner.

9:30ishpm we finally were on our way home!

And that would be last Saturday in pictures.

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Week 17

How far along? 17 weeks 6 days

Total weight gain/loss: eh?  We’ll go by the drs numbers… yesterday’s numbers show +0 from the last time that is :). 

How big is baby?  The baby is the size of an Onion.  Looking at 5.1 inches and 5.9 oz.  Today the doctor said the baby was 9 oz… (the other info was off of thebump.com)

  • Rubbery cartilage is now turning to bone
  • growing some meat on those bones – putting on some fat.
  • growing stronger, thicker umbilical cord too.

Maternity Clothes?  Oh heck, that’s just what I seem to be wearing these days.  I’m not sure if I need to or not at this point.

Stretch Marks? I had dreams of having stretch marks, but I haven’t found them… yey!

Best moment this week?  We had our specialist doctor appointment today.  We still don’t have complete answers yet, but we’re 50% in the clear.  Waiting for some more results to come back before we just start doing back flips (which by the way I can’t do).  Also we got to see baby on the ultra sound, oh and we felt baby kick!

Movement?  So the ultra sound tech wasn’t getting baby to cooperate so she had me lay on my side for 10 minutes trying to get baby to move.  Now earlier this week I thought I felt movement but I wasn’t sure if it was that or a gas bubble (tmi) but yesterday at the appointment hubby was feeling around seeing if baby would move/kick and I’m like 99% positive we both felt the fluttering.  I think we ticked baby off.

Food Cravings/Aversions?  Well, nothing that I know of… I like food :).

What I miss: My clothes fitting.  Not feeling so out of breath all the time.  Sleeping through the night without bathroom breaks.

What I’m looking forward to:  Getting the test results back.  Oh and Saturday.

Nausea/Vomiting? eh… I’m feeling better than I did in the first trimester.

Labor signs? Let’s sure hope not! Way to early!

Gender? Yeah so, we found out yesterday what the baby is going to be.  I can’t announce it yet because we’re telling the family on Saturday so I guess you’ll have to wait until next week but yeah, we know.

Belly Button in or out?  Still in….

Wedding rings on or off?  On.

Sleep?  I’m still putting my arms to sleep while sleeping.  I’m tired of that.

Weekly Wisdom: Trust in God.  Breathe.  What happens is meant to even if it isn’t what you want to hear.

Due Date: Thursday June 26, 2014.  They’re still using this as the due date.

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10 Things to Smile About January

Soooo… I forgot.  You forget?  Happened to me :).  Quoting my husband and I have no idea where he came up with that.  Anyway yesterday happened to be the last Tuesday of the month.  Do you know what the last Tuesday of the month is?  Well it just so happens to be EmmyMom’s monthly 10 Things to Smile About mem… yup, I forgot.  So here we are today making up for it.  Capeesh.  Hmmm did I spell that right?


Emmy Mom

This has been a super trying month at our house.  It’s been filled with a lot of scary moments and even more tears so lets dig through and try to find something to smile about, shall we?

1.  Hubby and I have been together for 4 1/2 years.  We’re closer now than ever before.  He always has my back and I always have his.

2. Tbug got a year older, although that makes me age too…. but if we’re still having birthdays and still getting older, that means we’re still alive so I’ll smile to that!

3. We made it through Week 13, Week 14, Week 15, Week 16, (and we’ll hit Week 17!!)

4. Even though the Chiefs kinda chocked, they made the playoffs for the first time in like 20 years.

5. I actually found the top 10 posts of 2013 which surprised me some.

6. I had a lot of people remind me I wouldn’t change anything, even though I sometimes question it….

7. Tori’s Cheer team won first place and won a spot for National Finals.

8. My family and friends have offered a lot of support to me during this extremely trying time.

9. We went and ate sushi with friends. Then I learned pregnant women shouldn’t eat sushi but I’m assuming that’s raw?  I don’t eat raw so….

10. I ate 3 donuts.

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Boy, Girl, Twins, Triplets

Do you remember back in the day, we’re talking grade school, when you used to jump rope and it went through some little jingle and then it got to Boy, Girl, Twins, Triplets and the minute you tripped up the jump rope, whatever that swing was would be what you were having?

I’m within weeks now of finding out what the sex of the baby is going to be and you can bet your bottom dollar I want to know.  I think it’s awesome for those who hold off, but I just can’t do it.  Not that I’m a huge planner or whatever, but I’d like to have an idea.  I know sometimes they can be wrong at predictions but still I’d like to know.

It’s fun listening to people making their own predictions.  I have my guess and everyone thinks that means that is what I want.  No, that most certainly doesn’t because I want a healthy baby with 10 fingers and 10 toes but that doesn’t mean that whole mother thinks she knows thing hasn’t played into account.

So I’ve followed blogs all along where people get pregnant and they go through the old wives tales and Chinese calendars to see if the predictions are correct.  Lindsay did one (maybe 2) Chinese calendars on her blog and I went and plugged my info in, came back boy (if there were 2, they both came back boy).

Then I knew that there were wives tales so I went and googled wives tales predicting sex of baby and wound up on this post of 10 Gender-Predicting Old Wives’ Tales.  So we’re going to go through Lindsay Hutton’s list:

1. Rumor has it, if you’re carrying high = girl.  Carrying low = boy.  carrying front = boy, if you expand horizontally = girl.

I can’t believe I’m sharing a picture like this…. oy!

What do you think?

2. Body cues: Legends say that if you are having a little girl, she’ll steal your beauty. So, if you’ve got acne and other not-so-pretty skin blemishes, you’ve got a little princess coming your way.

Dry hands and cold feet are signs of a boy. So, if you’ve got these ailments, break out the baby blue.

Again, really going out on a limb with this face picture.  OMG!

What do you think?

3. Ring Swing: I haven’t done this one but I’ve thought about it….

4. Drano experiment:  This one is as old as it is weird. The mom-to-be is required to pee in a cup, and mix in a tablespoon of Drano. If the liquid turns green, you’re having a girl. Blue? You guessed it. It’s a boy.
Yeah haven’t convinced myself to do this one yet either… but I’ve thought about it.

5. Baby’s heart rate: Your baby’s heart rate might be an indicator of its gender. If your little one’s heart rate is under 140 beats per minute, you’re having a little boy. If it’s over, get ready for your little girl!
I haven’t had an ultra sound in just under a month.  So far though every result has been above 140 except one.
What do you think?

6. Craving predictor: Craving sweets? According to some, that means your going to have a little girl. Salty and sour cravings indicate a boy.
Normally I’m more of a salty/savory type person anyway… Every once in a while I’d like a dessert though.
What do you think?

7. Relying on age:

Chinese birth charts use your age at conception and the month you conceived to determine the sex of your baby. Want to give it a shot? Try it!

The Mayans used a similar method. They looked at your age at conception and the year your baby was conceived. If both are even or odd, it’s a girl. If one is even and one is odd, oh baby — it’s a boy!
This Chinese calendar came up girl.  Based off the Mayan’s I was 30 at conception in 2013 so that’s even/odd = boy.
What do you think?

8. Sympathy weight: Has your spouse been indulging in your pregnancy cravings, too? If your hubby packs on a little sympathy weight, the tales say you’re in for a sugary-sweet little girl.
Hubby actually went on a diet and dropped 16+ pounds…
What do you think?

9. Morning sickness: Actually, morning sickness means pink. If you’re stricken with a queasy stomach during your first trimester, think ribbons and bows. If you sail through your pregnancy with nary an upset stomach, it’s blue all the way.
Oddly enough I only got sick twice (once I choked on a pill so I don’t think that counts…) but I was quite nauseous starting around week 7.
What do you think?

10. Key test:

If you’ve got a preggo friend, try this little experiment on her. Place a key in front of her and ask her to pick it up.

If she grabs it by the narrow part, she’ll have a sweet little girl. If she picks it up by the round part, she’ll have an adorable little boy.
I don’t have any preggo friends….
What do you think?

So what we’ve learned from all of this is…. it’s just a guessing game.  I have a 50/50 chance of having a girl or a 50/50 chance of having a boy.  So there we have it boys.  But seriously, any predictions on your part?

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Quite the Interesting Weekend….

I’m going to state this now, we don’t have typical weekends at our house.  I’m not sure why, we just don’t.  So here’s how our weekend went.

Friday night we met up with a bunch of friends and went out to dinner at a sushi restaurant.  Wait, I ate Sushi.  Yup, sure did.  I know that’s a first for me, especially since I’m not into fish really but I only ate cooked sushi and I’m all for trying things.  Never said I have to like it, but I give it a go and try. I even attempted eating with chopsticks because that was really my only option.  It was… interesting!  I kinda suck at that!

Then we went home and went to bed because we had to get up early the next morning.  Busy day!

Saturday we woke up, loaded up the car and headed to Extreme Sports Scuba where we attended an Equipment Maintenance Seminar.  On our way I was in the mood for Starbucks so I conned hubby in to stopping and getting me a piece of their Lemon Pound Cake and a Mocha Frappe.  Yum!

From there we made our way to the dive shop for an equipment maintenance seminar.

Earlier this week I was craving donuts and they just so happened to have donuts (and coffee) at the seminar.  I may or may not have eaten 3 donuts, but in my defense, hubby wanted one and couldn’t have one so I ate one for him plus Peanut wanted one.

From there we had to head to Tulsa to pick Tbug up.  It was about noon when we left Joplin so we decided to just eat lunch when we got to Tulsa so we made the 2 hour drive.  Man by the time we got there we were hungry.  We went to Utica Square and ate at PF Changs.

Mine was the bottom, hubbys was the top.

From there we headed on to the Tulsa Convention Center to see Tbug’s cheer team perform.  They won first in their division which qualified them for Nationals.

After the awards we decided to head back to Utica Square and eat at the Olive Garden.  Boy let me tell you about that experience… So hubby went in and put our name on the list.  They gave us a buzzer and told us it would be about 20 minutes.  So as we sat there we noticed at least 2 parties one of 3 and one of 4 that came in after us but was seated before us.  Hubby went up to ask what happened, yeah they didn’t put our name on the list.  So they seated us immediately.  No big deal.  The guy who seated us took our drink order, Tbug and I ordered a Peach Bellini Iced Tea and hubby ordered water.  A waitress brought our drinks and said who got the 2 unsweet teas and who got the water.  I sat there for a minute trying to see if I really heard her say unsweet and sure enough she did.  Still no big deal but really? lol.  I looked at hubby and said, “This is going to be an experience.”  A second waitress came to take our food order.  Hubby asked for soup and I asked for a side of ranch dressing for my salad.  So the came out with 3 salad bowls and no ranch dressing.  Hubby was like, um… I asked for soup (still we didn’t throw a fit) and I was like and I asked for a side of ranch dressing.  Ok that was fixed.  Then we were asked if we’d like cheese on our salad, I said yes and we waited 3-5 minutes before they came back with the cheese.  I couldn’t help but laugh.  So then it was time for our entree’s.  Everything came out okay except hubby ordered a steak and they didn’t bring him a steak knife.  The waitress said I’ll go get you one. He sat there for about 5 minutes and I offered him my butter knife.  He was like I have one so he ate half his steak with a butter knife.  Finally the waitress came back to see how our food was and I was like, is he not allowed a steak knife?  She was like oh I forgot.  Hubby was like I’m finished can I have a to go box.  Instead she brought him back a steak knife.  Then tbug and I got up to go to the bathroom and the guy who seated us came by and asked if our experience got better.  Hubby was like, I ate half my steak with a butter knife, what do you think.  The guy was like, no probably not.  I was sooooooooo ready to go home by this point.  Didn’t help we had a 2 hour drive home after this fun experience.

We got home around 11:15 and all crashed for the night.

Sunday we woke up and laid around lazy until it was time to go meet my parents at Long Horn for lunch.  Then we came home and hubby changed the oil in his truck.  Finally hubby started working on our Sunday Night Dinner food and then it was time to take Tbug back to her mom so since hubby was cooking I ran her to town.  Then we met back up at Earl’s house for dinner.  Quite the interesting weekend!  And now it’s Monday.

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Week 16

How far along? 16 weeks 6 days

Total weight gain/loss: eh?  We’ll go by the drs numbers

How big is baby?  The baby is the size of an Avocado.  4.6 inches and 3.5 oz

  • Baby is listening to your voice, thanks to tiny bones forming in its ears.
  • It’s growing hair, lashes and eyebrows
  • And baby is forming taste buds
  • Should start to feel baby moving..

Maternity Clothes?  I have them but they aren’t a must right now.  When I first got pregnant we got a couple pair of larger sized jeans to get me through for a while and I can still get them on.

Stretch Marks? Um… I’m not really seeing any but I guess I haven’t looked for a while.

Best moment this week?  This really should say worst moment this week… 🙁 but I guess finding out that test results came back negative for cystic fibrosis and down syndrome…

Movement?  Right now I would really like to feel movement… or get to hear the heartbeat… They say you should start feeling it around week 16 or so… I haven’t yet.

Food Cravings/Aversions?  I haven’t eaten a hotdog in I can’t remember how long but this week I thought that sounded great.  That or one of those Johnsonville Cheddar Worsts.  Then Tuesday and Wednesday I wanted a Burger King Chicken sandwich like crazy and I can’t tell you the last time I actually had one of those either.

What I miss: My clothes fitting.  Actually having a lot of clothes that fit and multiple choices.

What I’m looking forward to:  Getting answers next week.  Sadly we got some sad news this week and I have to go to a specialist. I don’t really know what to expect from this specialist but it could either be good news or it could be terrible news. I’ve been told not to worry but it’s extremely hard not to.

Nausea/Vomiting? eh… I’m feeling better than I did in the first trimester.

Labor signs? Let’s sure hope not! Way to early!

Gender? Don’t know but we will find out in a couple weeks.

Belly Button in or out?  Still in….

Wedding rings on or off?  On.

Sleep?  I hurt most mornings that I have woken up this week :(.  It also sucks when I wake up to my arms being asleep.  This happens multiple times a night.

Weekly Wisdom: So I was told I need to not worry about going to the specialist at this point. Not worrying is easier said than done. I go to the specialist on Wednesday of next week. Once I get results (not sure if it will happen that day or if I’ll have to wait) then hopefully I can relax unless it’s bad results. I’m soooooo scared right now. This has been a week of emotional roller coaster rides. When I know something more I’ll share.

Okay so I should add a funny section.  I did learn that pregnancy brain is a real thing.  I was at school and sitting in the commons area.  About the time I needed to head to class I grabbed all my belongings and walked down the hallway to class.  I was sitting in the classroom and went to grab my chapstick which was in the pocket of my coat (along with the other pocket having my car keys, drivers license, money, credit card, etc) and couldn’t find the pocket of my coat.  I turned around and realized my coat wasn’t on the back of my chair and I panicked wondering what I did with my coat.  I looked all around and then realized I left it on the chair in the commons area.  I ran out of the classroom and down the hallway and there it was, sitting on the chair I’d been sitting in.  I felt like a retard!

Due Date: Thursday June 26, 2014.  They’re still using this as the due date.

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    Another Waste of Time

    I swear, sometimes our phones are the biggest waste of time.  Oh don’t get me wrong, I have an iPhone and really when you catch me without it is when it’s in the bedroom at the house and I’m in the living room which does happen.  I have tried to wean myself off of my phone and even though I have about 4 pages of apps, I really only use about a page worth maybe….

    Anyway on Sunday some friends of ours introduced us to a new app.  New?  That’s a relative word because I’m not so sure how new it is but new to us.  It’s called Rando.  Has anyone else played with this app?

    So you take a random picture and send it.  Then it sends you one back.  You don’t know who receives them or who you get one from unless you’re like me and get one of your friend’s rando pics.  Now that was funny.

    And when I’m talking random photos, we’re talking random photos.  So far I’ve received a light, dogs, a skyline view, a computer screen where it looks like they’re watching tv or movie or something, a 7up can, some drawings, you know, whatever.

    Now sadly there are people out there who take it way to far.  Hubby got a kind of porno type photo for his first one.  Luckily so far I’ve been lucky.

    If you sign up to allow to show where your photo comes from, then you’re allowed to see where the photos you send go to as well as the photos you receive originated from.  I’ve received from Russia, China, Brazil, France, Portugal, Spain, South Korea, and the US just to name a few.  I actually only was convinced to sign up for it on Monday.

    So anyway, just wondered if any of you have played with this app and what your experience has been.  It’d be really nice if people didn’t take it tooooooo far though!  Come on, have some decency 🙂  Anyway this has been a really stressful week for me.  I’ll share more details when I have more details to really share but I can tell you this app has helped keep my mind off the stuff floating around.

    “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

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    Week 15

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    How far along? 15 weeks 6 days

    Total weight gain/loss: eh?  We’ll go by the drs numbers 🙂

    How big is baby? The baby is the size of an orange.  4 inches 2.5 oz.  Baby’s proportions are becoming even more normal, since his legs now out measure his arms.

    • You probably can’t feel it yet, but baby is squirming a ton!
    • Baby might even be hiccuping in there.
    • Baby is making lots of progress; it’s joints and limbs can all move now.

    (more…)