18 weeks!

just a quick update on how i'm feeling/what's been going on:

i feel good. other than these allergies and the last bit of this nagging cough, i feel good. i'm eating well, drinking well.

i still haven't felt the baby move... soon, i hope.

you can expect to see NO baby bump pictures from me. however, i will tell you i'm not showing much. haven't gained any weight really (maybe 1 pound). i don't look any different other than my hair has been growing fiercely and it's been more "luscious", according to jesse.

i'm still sleeping on my back because it's still the most comfortable.

i'm hungry a lot of the time, but i get full much faster than i used to.

we bought one thing so far that is baby-related: a record keeping album. jesse said after monday's ultrasound, we can go out and buy one gender specific item to celebrate.

i own one pair of maternity pants.

we have the boy's name picked out. we are split between two girl names - we both like both names, can't decide which one. and don't ask us what the names are, we're not telling ;)

jesse's going to blairmore again tomorrow and spending the night. i will once again be an emotional wreck for those 48 hours.

the end.

first visit to the Low Risk Clinic

as of right now, i am 100% super happy that i chose to go to high river and not to calgary. i had my first appointment today and today it was with dr. makhdoom (or dr. doom as her kid patients call her, which couldn't be more contradictory as i think she is the nicest doctor i've ever met). with the way this clinic works, i doubt i'll get dr. doom again, but it sounds like the rest of the docs are just as nice.

i got to the clinic and the admin assistant showed me how to dip my own pee and write down the results. then i got some info to read and barely waited 1 minute when dr. doom came in. we chatted for a moment, she took the family/personal history, reviewed my prenatal bloodwork with me (apparently it's true - i have no immunity to rubella, which is weird... i only had my vaccination 4 years ago), and then proceeded to a Pap... but she explained every step of the way of what she was doing as if it was my first ever. she measured my uterus and i'm right at 18 cm, correlating to 18 weeks! woo hoo!!!!

then the funny part. now, dr. mccracken has had so much trouble trying to find and sustain the baby's heartbeat on the doppler. at the most, i've heard about 5 beats in a row before he would lose it and not be able to find it again. i told dr. doom this and said this baby has been very uncooperative in the past with the doppler. she said, "oh really?", then just put the doppler probe down and *voila* there's the heartbeat. stronger and clearer than i've ever heard it and we had it for probably at least 30 seconds before the baby moved. we could also hear the baby's kicking movements, at which dr. doom got so excited and shouted, "it's kicking!"

i was very worried with me being sick and all this past week... and it was so reassuring to hear the heartbeat so nice and strong. it was about 150 bpm. so i'm measuring the right size, the heartbeat is right on, and now i really really REALLY can't wait for the ultrasound on Monday!!!

next appointment at LRC - August 4.

trip to the ER

so 3 days ago, i was just suddenly hit by the flu. i haven't had the flu since i've been getting my yearly shots for 3 years or so. it started with a cough, then a really bad headache, then fever and chills.

now, normally, i would never go to the emergency because i have the flu... but i wasn't sure how the fever would affect the baby since all the books will tell you the baby shouldn't get too warmed up (hence, no hot baths or steamrooms). so after wrapping my head with an icy towel for a few hours, i finally gave in and called healthlink and talked to a lovely nurse named Barb. Barb was concerned about my heart rate (never less than 100 and as high as 133 bpm at rest) and shortness of breath. she also said maternal fever has to be looked at, no matter what the cause is. so she suggested i go to the emergency to be assessed.

we got to high river hospital at about 10:30. we registered and then the nicest triage nurse in the history of the nursing profession, earla, checked my blood pressure, heart rate, and temperature. yes, i have a fever. yes, my bp is elevated. yes, my heart rate is at 126 or so. she is concerned about my constant elevated heart rate and proceeds to an electrocardiogram.

that hospital was SO empty. i have never in my life seen such a quiet hospital emergency. it was rather eerie. shortly after the ECG, the lovely dr. walsh came and saw me. he felt i just had the flu (yes, thanks for that info) and that i just needed some TLC. he was very understanding that this is my first pregnancy and that i'm in uncharted waters here... was in no rush to send me out and did not, for a second, act as though i was wasting his time.

by 11:20 we were driving out of the hospital. an emergency room visit completed in less than an hour. have you ever heard of such a thing?

i am so incredibly impressed with the compassion of earla and dr. walsh. as of now, i'm so very glad that i chose to have my baby at this wonderful and caring hospital.

be aware of rubella

when i was at the doctor's on monday, he mentioned that in my prenatal blood work, my rubella antibody titer came back VERY low. which is very strange... i just had my MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine back in 2005. so as uncommon as it is these days, he said to be aware of children with rashes, as their parents may not be 100% certain that it's chicken pox or measles.

will do.

sick on vacay

this week, we were supposed to be at mom and dad konnert's in richmond. things didn't work out as planned and so jesse is working and i still have the week off. of course, since i decided to take time off for the first time in over a year, i get sick. i've been avoiding every sick contact i come across, basically haven't been in the outside world for socialization, only for grocery shopping and such. i don't know what happened or how i got sick, but i am. coughing non-stop, headache that prevents me from walking, and a slight fever. all i can do is wrap my head in an icy cold cloth and think happy thoughts. i know i can take tylenol, but tylenol has never really worked for me anyways, so i'm trying to get by without any meds. i just hope baby is okay.

Somersaults

dr. mccracken's office called to say they wanted to do an actual prenatal exam before i am seen in the low-risk clinic (LRC) next week. so i went, only to find out they wanted to do a pelvic exam (which i think i'll be getting at the LRC and so i declined) and prenatal blood work, which i did at the beginning of the month. so it became just another routine visit. dr. mccracken brought out the doppler again to try to hear the baby's heartbeat. well, we'd catch the beat for about 5 beats or so, then the baby would move. then we'd spend another minute looking for it, only to finally find it again and then the baby would move away again. so the doctor figured little baby konnert is doing some crazy somersaults in there. so in total, we heard maybe 10 beats.

of course my mom's response to me telling her this story was "what kind of a person can't sit still for 2 minutes? it sounds like the baby's gonna be just like you....

thanks mom.

i can't wait to be able to feel these somersaults and kicks!

next week is the LRC appointment and then the ultrasound a week later!!!!! woot woot!

all strollered out

Above: Graco Quattro Tour Milano
Below: Eddie Bauer Montecito

we spent the weekend at babies r us, sears, the bay... trying to find a stoller. apparently i'm to get on this because it may take time for the stroller to come in if we have to order it.

it would be really helpful if we had a mom (not my mom, i mean a mom who went through this in the recent past) help us out and let us know what to look for exactly. i must say, for folks who have never had to deal with strollers before, these things are darn complicated! jesse spent a great deal of time trying to take off a carseat off a chicco, but with no success. we couldn't figure out how to collapse a graco, so a 15-year-old clerk showed us how. we've heard a lot about these "quinny"s, but found the front wheels don't swivel and so it was frustrating to maneuver.

so far, we have two in mind. one is a graco quattro something milano from babies r us and the other is an eddie bauer something or other from the bay. they're both easy to collapse (once you figure out how to do it!), are decent looking (i'm not into crazy patterns for the most part), and are easy to maneuver. of course, they are travel systems so they come with a carseat. the thing we like about the eddie bauer one is that the material is nice and soft, not like windbreaker material (although that might mean it'll be harder to clean up if something were to spill). however, the eddie bauer one has no shoulder harness from what i could see and the umbrella part doesn't go too far down forward.

the price range for the two are similar, i think about $50 difference. it seems like every time we go shopping for baby stuff, we are completely overwhelmed by how clueless we are. i hope this is how all first time parents feel.... not just us...

Happy Birthday, Son!

My little baby is 1 year old today! We couldn't have asked for a better dog than Reggie.

Happy Birthday!

Love, Mommy and Daddy

thinking ahead

we were in edmonton for my aunt's 60th bday celebrations. my cousin susie has already told me she is getting us a stroller, so to scope one out relatively soon and let her know.

um. no idea. i'm so not even that far ahead. the only think i can think about is my ultrasound in a month. i do know that i would like a jogging troller - don't know yet what brands are good or what brands are even out there... gotta do some research.

also, susie said she is going to throw me a baby shower in october - after the baby is born would be to hectic with... well, i don't know.. christmas and all... and it'd be nice if it was before the snow started (eep, already thinking about snow!?).

my family is so excited for this baby and they're way ahead of us in planning, that's for sure. jesse and i need to catch up.

It's a BOY!

CONGRATULTATIONS Andy and Karla, who welcomed their baby boy, Eli Andrew Hope, on June 9, 2009. He is absolutely beautiful and we are so very happy for you guys!!!! I pray for a speedy recovery for Karla and a lifetime of good health for baby Eli~