Ivan Squished the Baby.

So, we had our Nuchal Translucency appointment on Friday, and I really like the clinic where it's done at, very friendly... and very willing to give us lots of PICTURES!  Yay!  Unfortunately, we couldn't do the measurements, because my clinic apparently sent over the info that said I was at 12 weeks already, instead of 11 weeks and 3 days.  Apparently this makes a really big difference in the size of the baby, and they were unable to complete the testing.  *sigh*  So we'll get another ultrasound again two weeks from Friday, and hopefully then they'll be able to do the screening for Down Syndrome.

This is just fine with me, as I relish any and all opportunities to stare raptly at the screen and see our baby try to fit his hand in his mouth (couldn't reach) and kick out like a tadpole (couldn't feel it).  Active little guy.  Had a heartrate of 172 and really, moved around quite a bit.  Really fun to see. 

And we did walk away with some really good pictures... and therein lies the story.

See, Ivan has this idea that since I get to walk around with the baby ALL the time, he is well within his rights to lay immediate claim to any and all external proof - ie., pictures - of the baby's existence.  And thus, directly after the appointment, the pictures were rolled into a tiny scroll and tucked away into his jacket pocket, therein to reside until he succumbed to the desire to unroll said scroll juuuuuust enough to look at the very first picture - a really cute profile shot.  I imagine this rolling and unrolling happened several times during the course of the rest of his day at work. 

At some point after he got home, I hear a gasp from the bedroom and, poking my head into the room, I saw Ivan holding his scroll in his hand, looking at me with the most woebegone expression I've ever seen him adopt, and subsequently he uttered the line I will remember forever... "I squished the baby!"

Sure enough, the scroll was indeed flat, which meant there were creases across (yep, you guessed it) the middle of each picture.

He was so upset.

So currently, the most recent baby pictures are being pressed under a stack of books in hopes of decompressing the baby.  Or at least the images thereof.

The real McCoy seems to be just fine, although he was ravenous today and I feel quite ashamed of my willingness to give in to his appetite.  I hope I haven't set an ominous precedent already.  As soon as the pictorial McCoy  is flattened out, we'll get 'em posted.

In the meantime, I have my 12 week checkup tomorrow which, after the excitement of the NT screening, seems anticlimactic.  But I'll happily share anything new upon return home.

Halfway Between a Prune and a Lime.

Dear Little Bean,

It's been 10 weeks and 3 days, and already you have changed us irrevocably. 

So tiny, and you've given your daddy a new impetus to chase his calling.  You've brought a new playfulness to him and a tenderness that undoes me sometimes, when he pats my tummy so gently and with the tiniest of hesitation, not wanting to jar you or hurt you.

You've alternately brought me joy and anxiety, as I obsess about your growth, and alternately fear I've lost you without knowing it.   At the same time, I feel more settled, with less of an inclination to sweat the small stuff in the world beyond my uterus.  I've lost interest in some of the things that used to sustain me, and I've been really motivated creatively lately.  Your dad and I joked about me writing a pregnancy book for dads; I've already started working on it.

Together, we've always been good at talking to each other, bouncing ideas off each other, and supporting each other.  Lately, it's just gotten better.  I didn't think that was possible.  I've been rediscovering how cool the man I married is, and how even cooler he's grown over the past 10 years.

Your big sisters are more aware of me as a person outside their own worlds, albeit some days more than others.  They are looking forward to meeting you, and both have expressed the idea that they need to start setting better examples. 

The dogs don't seem to care much one way or the other.  Sorry, but that's how it goes sometimes.

I'm feeling better every day, and can't wait to take you for walks with the doggies again.  It's autumn in Georgia, which means lots of rain, but I bet we find a sunny day or two.  They seem to be right on the horizon.

Nine And a Half Weeks.

Well, 9 and 5 days truthfully, but that's not nearly as cool a title for a post.

The morning sickness is gone!  And in its place is a hunger of immense proportion.  I'm really trying not to stuff my face.  And could I be craving veggies? Nooooo.  I want carbs.  Bagels.  Pita bread warmed and brushed lightly with olive oil and garlic.  Spaghettios, for crying out loud.

In other news, I'm feeling slightly less tired, but now have a head cold.  How lovely!  I was up all night trying not to wake Ivan with my snifflies and mouth breathing (ick).  Somehow I was prepared--I rarely remember to buy Kleenex but for some reason, a few days ago I picked up a box while grocery shopping.  So at least I had it to hand when I needed it most.

We get to do the Nuchal Translucency Screening on the 25th!  I'm thinking of this as basically a bonus ultrasound.  I realize that we're going to be looking for markers for birth defects but I'm not really apprehensive about that.  It'll be nice to get a better picture of the little guy.

My Ass Is Killing Me.

Actually, today it's a lot better, but I told Ivan this would be the title of my next blog post.

I guess it was Saturday night (my days and nights are kinda blurry right now because my sleep schedule is out of whack) that I decided to go downstairs to refill my water.  I didn't turn the light on before I started my descent, and I stepped on a dog toy, which promptly rolled out from under me... as did my left foot.  I landed on my ass three steps down.

Everything seems to be okay; and since it happened on the weekend, and I don't have cramps or bleeding, and aside from a bruised buttock seem to be fine, I haven't run in a panic to my clinic or the ER.  I will call them tomorrow since I already was planning to ask about getting flu shots and if so, which.

I know exactly how lucky I am.  I took a header down those steps a few years ago and ended up with a badly sprained ankle and a bruised tailbone.  This time wasn't nearly as bad, but it could have been.  The precise moment after it happened my stomach flipped in a horribly shocked way and I kept apologizing to Ivan while sobbing my eyes out.  It wasn't the pain, it was the thought of something as stupid as a dog toy undoing our months of work.  Something as stupid as me not turning on the hall light before going down the steps.

So between that and my vertigo whenever I look down a flight of stairs, I'm now turning on lights and moving very carefully when I descend.  And they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

Otherwise, the nausea is coming and going, although it's been coming a lot less frequently, which is very nice.  The aforementioned fatigue and vertigo are still with me, though.  Even though my blood pressure was fine at our visit, I keep getting a thumping in my head and mild dizziness when I go UP the stairs.  I understand that this is normal; my body is currently increasing my blood volume so that's going to play havoc with my blood pressure.  I just would like it to STOP so I can get back to living.

So apparently you can rent doppler machines that let you hear the baby's heartbeat.  How cool is that?  There are several different companies available, all with pretty much the same rental agreement terms and fees.  I'm kinda kicking around the idea of renting one for Ivan.  He's already patting my tummy and grinning fatuously; how much more adorable would he be if he could hear the little guy swimming around in there?

Got My Camera Back!

Tell me how this looks... it's my "scanner" for now and I enabled macros so I hope it's not awful...

The Kiddo @ 7w6d

Here's Ivan's shots, definitely superior:

My Current Passion for Cantaloupe is Obscene.

I don't know why it is, but cantaloupe is the one thing I can eat all day, every day, and not once will it make me queasy.  There isn't any other food for which I can make that claim.

The actual nausea is getting better; now I just feel hungover.  Head is achy and dull, stomach feels nasty.  I'm not liking the bloated tummy.  Right before I got pregnant, I lost a bit of weight, and my jeans were starting to fall off my hips.  Now they're right back snug around my stomach.

Not really complaining, it's just ironic.

I ordered a baby book that Liz recommended and can't wait for that... AND MY CAMERA... to get here.