Busy Bee - Part 2

Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 13^th)

Mother’s Day 2012 was an interesting one.  JPug and I knew we were expecting for nearly two months…went to numerous doctors’ appointments, ultrasounds and lab draws…but our parents had no idea.  We decided to keep the news from them so they wouldn’t worry…if we got to the 12 week mark and everything seemed to be ok, we’d share the news at that time. 

The Wednesday before mother’s day, 12 weeks came and went but we didn’t share our news.  As luck would have it, my mom was extremely busy and couldn’t get away from St. Louis for an entire weekend and TeamPug was pretty busy in KC too.  We decided to meet in Columbia, MO…half way for both families…to celebrate the day.  We enjoyed a yummy brunch at the University Club…the same place where JPug and I got married in 2007 and shared our news before the meal began. 

We pulled out gift bags for each person…JPug’s mom and dad, my mom, dad and stepdad.  In each bag was a baby gift customized to the recipient’s personality and pictures of our growing Puglet.  It was pretty special…and a great surprise…tears, laughter, excitement and a kooky story from my mom.  I would share video of the big reveal but JPug was in charge of the FlipCam and somehow managed to videotape my boobs for an entire minute so I’ll spare everyone that show.

All-in-all, it was a Mother’s Day the 7 of us likely won’t forget!

Second OB Appointment (Wednesday, May 23^rd)

Our second OB appointment went better than the first.  Still no…this is definitely the place for me…type feelings but at least I wasn’t as put off as I was the first time around.  After a few quick checks with the care assistant, she took us into the exam room and we heard Puglet’s heartbeat on a doppler…144 beats per minute.  This was the first appointment with Dr. K or the OB office that we didn’t have an ultrasound.  It’s too bad we weren’t able to see how Puglet is developing but hearing a strong heartbeat was definitely comforting.  After a waiting a few minutes, we met with the first of 6 doctors in the practice…I was happy to meet with a doctor rather than the nurse practioner.  All in all, the visit went pretty well…the provider was nice and answered our questions thoroughly.  Our next appointment, on Friday, June 29^th is a biggie.  We’ll have our mid-gestation ultrasound where the sonographer checks to ensure the baby is developing properly and if Puglet cooperates, we’ll find out if the baby is a boy or a girl.

Second Round Genetic Testing (Saturday, June 9^th)

On Saturday, June 9^th, I had my second and final round of labs drawn to complete our genetic testing series.  The draw itself was remarkably quick…once I checked in, I was finished and walking out of the building less than 10 minutes later.  The second round of testing checks for markers that could potentially signal genetic issues and is a more sensitive than the first round.  The genetic counselor we worked with at our previous appointment called the following week with good news…for all markers, my bloodwork came back as good as it could have been.  She said in lab result terms, we got an A+!

Present Day/19 Weeks (Wednesday, June 27^th)

As pregnancies go, I think I’ve had the easiest pregnancy imaginable.  If it wasn’t for my growing belly and lack of monthly cycle, I would never even know I was expecting.  After the tiredness of the first trimester wore off (which was truly my only symptom), I’ve been back to my normal self.  I started showing the past few weeks…transitioned to belly bands to make my regular pants more comfortable last week and took my first trip to Motherhood Maternity this past weekend.  Now I have some sweet maternity pants with a stretchy band that reaches all the way up to my bra.  Stylish?  Heck no…but wonderfully comfortable! 

I don’t think about being pregnant or the baby a whole lot.  I’m sure it’s because of our initial struggles and the fact that I’ve seen firsthand how things can fall apart in the blink of an eye.  I’m by no means consumed with fear nor am I blindly, wildly excited...I’d say I’m more cautiously optimistic than anything.  I go about my normal routine but take it easy if/when it’s necessary.  If we’re lucky enough for the entire process to work and I deliver a healthy, full-term baby in November, that’ll be amazing/wonderful/ fantastic but should a glitch in the process arise, we’ll take it all in stride.  For now, we’re just chugging along and hoping for the best.