Thursday, February 24, 2011

A BEAUTIFUL HEART

On Tuesday, we went for our follow up ultrasound to make sure LP's heart is in good shape.  All day before the appointment, I kept talking to LP and telling him that I really hoped he would cooperate more than he did last time because his Dad and I wanted to make sure he was as healthy as can be.  Plus, we wanted to get one of those cute pics of his profile!  But, seeing how stubborn he was at the first appointment, I thought I would try a few things to see if I could get LP to be a little more active and not so comfy in one spot :-)  So, for my two cups of liquids that I had to drink, I made one of them a Coke Zero.  I usually never drink pop, and for the most part, have been avoiding caffeine while pregnant.  But, I figured since you're allowed to have some caffeine, a little jolt of energy wouldn't be so bad for LP!  I even ate a few pieces of hard candy just before the appointment to see if the sugar might get him moving. 

So, with what I thought was a little extra assurance of a more active LP, we went in with our fingers crossed and hoping that the technician would be able to see LP's heart as well as she needed to.  Well, let's just say we already know one personality trait of our little man.  He is  S-T-U-B-B-O-R-N!!!!  He was in the same spot as before--head on my right side, feet to my left, and on his side.  That's clearly his favorite way to hang out in his Mommy's belly.  I guess he doesn't realize that all the room that he has in there now is going to shrink pretty quickly, and he might as well enjoy it now :-)  In any event, after having me roll into all kinds of fun positions to try to trick LP onto his back and having me do another fun stroll through Beaumont, the technician got what she needed to confirm that everything was good with LP's heart!  Thank God!  But, that does not mean that our peanut actually listened to us and did what we asked.  He stayed on his side, while his mom did all the work!  So, we weren't able to get too many great pics of his profile.  But, we did manage to get one pretty good one:



Isn't he beautiful?!  Maybe I'm a little biased, but I think he's perfect.  Next post: belly pics! 

Friday, February 18, 2011

DRUMROLL PLEASE . . .

Yesterday, Vikas and I went to Troy Beaumont bright and early (7:15 a.m.) for our big ultrasound.   I can’t even put into words how excited we were for our opportunity to see LP for the first time in 6 weeks!  More than anything, we were looking forward to finding out that LP is developing as he or she should be, and, of course, to finding out if LP is a boy or girl! 

  Well, everything went well . . . for the most part.  The technician was able to get a good view of all of LP’s limbs and organs and said that everything is measuring as it should be and that LP was already 11oz!  Well, that is with one exception.  Although we were able to see LP’s heart beating fine, the technician wasn’t able to get the perfect picture of the heart because LP was oh so comfy in his or her position.  We tried everything to get LP to move, but it just didn’t happen.  She had me empty my bladder, but nothing.  Vikas and I went for a walk up and down the halls of Beaumont while I ate a lollipop (supposedly the sugar does it for some babies), but still nothing more than a few wiggles.  Then, the technician had me lay on my stomach for a few minutes to see if we could trick LP into flipping around, but that didn’t work either.  Maybe LP was still a little sleepy . . . it was, after all, 7:30 in the morning J  The technician said she wasn’t concerned, but just couldn’t be sure until she got a view at the right angle.  She also wasn’t able to get any good profile pictures for us, like the one we got at the 12 week ultrasound L  So, we’ll have to go back on Tuesday afternoon just to make sure that everything looks perfect with LP’s heart.  That’s not a bad thing, though.  We’ll get to see LP again!  If I could see my sweet lil’ peanut every week, I’d love it.  Though, I must say, I’m hoping LP’s stubbornness yesterday is not a preview of what’s in store for Vikas and me in the future!

Since we wanted to have our own private moment together when we learned of LP’s sex, we brought with us a note with pink and blue font that had a box for the technician to check off LP’s sex and then put back into the envelope with a picture (hopefully) of LP as proof J.  But, since the technician wasn’t able to get LP to move into the right position to see all angles of the heart, I thought it was likely that she probably couldn’t determine if LP was a boy or girl either, especially since she hadn’t told us to look away from screen at any point and neither of us had seen anything that would give us a clue that she was looking for the sex.  Boy, was I bummed thinking that we would leave not knowing. 

But, when I asked her if she was able to tell the baby’s sex, she said that she had already determined the sex and that she had already marked our note and included a picture!  What a sneaky lady!  We had no clue when she could have done that because we were staring at the screen the entire time.  That shows you how good we are at reading ultrasounds J  So, while we were a little frustrated that LP was not cooperating completely, we were SUPER excited to find out whether LP was a boy or girl! 

So, we left the hospital to head home to drop off the envelope and to pick up the second car so that we could both head off to work.  We had planned to wait until after work to open the envelope.  Well, needless to say, neither one of us was prepared to endure the torture of letting the envelope just sit in our house while we were at work.  So, we decided to open it before we headed our separate ways.  Of course, neither one of us cared if the paper said boy or girl.  We were just excited to know and start planning.  But, Vikas was absolutely convinced that LP was a girl, as were a few of our friends and family members.  Even I started to think LP was a girl.  I know that they are just old wives’ tales with so little truth to them, but I started to buy into them.   Despite the number of old wives’ tales pointing to a girl, we had just as many friends and family members that were guessing a boy as we did for a girl.  So, what did that paper say?!  Well, so much for old wives’ tales!!!! We opened the envelope, and there it was!  The box next to BOY was checked!  Plus, we had a great picture that was absolute positive proof that LP is a precious little Mama’s BOY!!!!  Well, a super stubborn, but precious nonetheless, Mama’s boy!


Here's the picture that the technician included with our note.  She even drew us a diagram with labels explaining what we were looking at.  I don't know about you, but I think the picture is pretty darn clear.  No explanation needed :-)


And though we weren't able to get any profile shots of LP, we did manage to get what I think might be the sweetest picture that I've ever seen . . . our little guy's feet!


I’ll be sure to do a quick post after Tuesday’s appointment and let you all know if everything went ok.  Let’s just hope everything continues to go as well as it has been, and that our little man decides to play nice for his Mom and Dad. 

Thursday, February 10, 2011

SUGAR AND SPICE . . .?

17 weeks, 6 days

With just one week to go before we know if LP is a boy or girl (assuming LP cooperates), I thought it would be fun to make a list all of the whacky old wives’ tales that I’ve read to see what sex they point to (for some, like how I’m carrying or where I’m gaining weight, it’s just to early to tell)  Well, as you’ll see, they overwhelmingly point to a GIRL!  We’ll see just how much truth there is to all of these soon enough J  I’ll be honest, I don’t care whether we have a boy or a girl, as long as LP is healthy and happy, I’ll be one grateful mom.  Speaking of being grateful for a healthy baby, I have good news.  My quad screen results came back today, and everything is normal. Woohoo!  What a relief!  Ok, so here’s the list:

LP’S HEART RATE:  LP’s heart beat has been well above 140Ò GIRL

COLD FEET: My feet are not colder than they were before pregnancyÒ GIRL

BREAD:  I LOVE bread (always have been a carb addict . . . I think it’s in our genes), but I refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of breadÒ GIRL

DADDY’S BELLY: Vikas hasn't been gaining weight along with meÒ GIRL

MOM’S LOOKS: I am not looking particularly good during pregnancy . . . been breaking out a bit and do not have that gorgeous hair that everyone raves aboutÒ GIRL Supposedly, girls steal their mother's looks.  Great  :-)

LEFT EYE TEST:  The eye test is when a “V” or “branches” appear when you pull down the skin under your left eye.  If you see a “V” or “branches” in the white part, you’re having a girl.  I have “branches”Ò GIRL

SWEET OR SALTY: I’ve been craving sweet foods (ok, maybe not “food” . . . more like candy) rather than salty foods Ò GIRL

LOVING O.J.: I never drink orange juice, but lately I’ve been drinking it way more often, and find it more delicious than ever! Ò GIRL

HAPPY TUMMY: I didn't have morning sickness early in pregnancy Ò BOY

CHINESE BIRTH CHART: The Chinese Birth Chart, which is based on my age at conception and the month of conception, and is supposedly 90% accurate says conception at age 29 in October Ò BOY

MAYAN TALE: The Mayan tale adds the mother’s age at conception (29) and the year of conception (2010).  An odd number meansÒ BOY

Hmmm.  We'll all just have to wait and see whether sweet little LP is going to be a Daddy's girl or a Mama's boy!