Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Wordless Wednesday #58: Mark Your Calendars

Ok, I admit that I digitally enhanced the text on this sign, but only because you couldn't make it out on my fuzzy camera-phone photo.

This church is right up the road from our house, and I swear this is what it really says.

That's quite the guest speaker they've got lined up for tomorrow's service.



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Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Ten on Tuesday #30

Ten Superstitions, Traditions, and/or Personality Quirks of Mine

  1. I count things. Things that don't need to be counted. Preferably in multiples of four. Always in even numbers.

  2. I don't like stepping on cracks (no, it's not about Anonymama's back) and if there are changes in the flooring/ground/surface that I'm walking on, I'd much prefer to do an even number of steps on each type of surface. Even if it's just two different colors of identical carpeting or tile, I swear I can feel the difference with my feet.
  3. Speaking of colors and evenness and such: When I eat M&Ms, sometimes I just shovel them in, but more often, I sort them by color, and eat them in order from lightest to darkest, two at a time, chewing one on each side of my mouth.

  4. For some reason, I'm hanging on to the empty medication vials from not only my estrogen and progesterone, but both of our stim meds, from the IVF and from my IUI cycles. I've also got about six sharps boxes full of needles/syringes. I guess I'm waiting until I'm all done with the meds to get rid of all the sharps at once, and I'm hesitant to get rid of the unopened vials, for fear that if I don't have them, something will go wrong, and I'll need them again. But what's up with empty progesterone vials? Maybe I'd just saving it all to take one big photos off all the detritus when I'm done with the injections in a few weeks? Yeah, that's the ticket.

  5. There are a lot of traditions that I try to follow, nothing really wierd enough to be worth mentioning here. The most important ones to me are family holiday traditions, and all sorts of traditions from my summer camp.

  6. Oh, here's one, that sort of comes from camp. In Camp Fire, candles (and fire, as you can imagine) are a big deal, and it's sort of a "thing" that you snuff out ceremonial candles, rather than blowing them out, so that you don't "blow away the good spirits." I tend to follow that with candles in "regular" life too, if they are lit in any sort of ceremonial type way. (Except for birthday candles, which of course, must be blown. But, see below about the wishes.)

  7. When I eat an apple, I twist the stem and say the alphabet, and make sure that the stem comes off right on Shrike's actual first initial (not "S"). She does the same thing. As those of you who actually know me can imagine, she has to yank on that stem a lot harder than I do, to make it work!
  8. Any time I "make a wish" I must go on and on and on and include all the details and, as Shrike puts it, "get the monkey-paws out."
  9. When my necklace gets turned around, I kiss the clasp, make a wish, and turn it back. Because I'm twelve years old.

  10. This happens pretty often, and I was spending alot of time reciting several years worth of "wish" so I finally just declared that I had made a "wish macro" defining the default wish for the necklace, so now I just kiss it and say (silently) "wish" and go about my business.

Wow. I am a fucking freak.

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Monday, April 28, 2008

Dog Gone?

Don't worry, everyone is safe at home, where they belong.

Now.

But . . . .

Earlier this evening, I sat down on the couch to watch some TV. BoyCat was in my lap, and the dogs were in the backyard.

Or so I thought.

Just as I got comfortable, some movement outside the front window caught my eye.

I looked, and saw a glimpse of BigGaloot's tail passing by.

What the fuck?!?

I opened the front door and there he stood, looking like he was about the ring the doorbell and offer to sell me some cookies or tell me about Jesus or something.

I put on some shoes and checked the yard. PerfectPup was, of course, still in the yard, but I did find an area of hinky fence, which is where I'm sure he got out.

The fence is split-rail, with a wire mesh. In this one spot, not only is the top rail un-nailed and down on one side, but the mesh is pushed out at the bottom, right by a dug-out area.

Ack!

I moved some old plant pots in front of the pushed-out area, to block it off, and propped up the rail and hoped for the best.

They are out there again, and seem to be staying put, so I guess it worked. For now.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Happy Birthday, Shrike!

To My Wife:

Once again, I am going to risk embarrassing you by saying a bunch of mushy stuff to you in front of all the Interwebs.

But it shouldn't surprise you, because it's nothing that I haven't been telling you over and over for, oh, the last ten years or so.

There are not enough words in the universe to tell you how much I love you, or what you mean to me, or how happy you make me.

There is nothing I love more than being with you, and I hate it when we are apart.

Sometimes I wish the rest of the world would just leave us the hell alone, and let us be together all the time, with our critters and our little Peeper.

(Family members and blog readers excepted, of course. Actually, I guess I'm mostly talking about work.)

And, speaking of Peeper. Wow. Just wow.

I can't even begin to tell you how it feels to be carrying your child, or begin to thank you for making that possible, or to begin to describe how happy it makes me to see you so excited about him/her.

It's hard to believe that this will be our last set of birthdays as a twosome - because next year Peeper will be here with us, to help us celebrate.

(And to help me welcome you to the other side of the proverbial hill.)

We have been through a lot (good and bad) in the ten years that we've been together - and we've been through a lot together in the past year - and we've got one hell of a year ahead of us - and I can't wait to spend it - and all the rest - with you.

Happy birthday, honey, I love you.
Whozat

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Photo Hunter #51: Funny Signs

I've skipped the PhotoHunt for a couple of weeks, but hope to get back on track now.

(For some reason, memes have been really hard for me, since I've been pregnant. Odd.)

I didn't actually take this photo, because the signs aren't up anymore, but I got such a kick out of it (and others got so up in arms about it) that I just had to use it for this theme .


Other signs that I've seen around here (or back home) which would have made good photos for this theme:

  • Please be patience. Food prepared fresly. (Handwritten, at a local Mexican restaurant.)

  • Godloves Discount Liquors (Well, who doesn't!)

  • Why Wait? Get Your Wheelchair Today! (Rather fatalistic, don't you think?)

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Friday, April 25, 2008

S/he's Got Legs . . .

First, and foremost: Everything is fine.

Peeper is great.

In fact, Peeper is an inch-long package of embryonic (soon-to-be-fetal) perfection, with arms and legs and (if the rumors are to believed) a tongue and a nose - and a butthole (like we didn't already have enough of those in the world!)

And here's the proof:

Now that we've established that, I'll explain that we had another ultrasound this morning, because the little shit darling gave us a bit of a scare earlier in the week.

We hadn't mentioned this to anyone, nor had I blogged about it, because we were 99.99999999% sure that everything was fine, so we saw no need in getting people worried for nothing.

Now that we know that for sure that all is well, I'll go back and tell the whole story.

On Tuesday, I'd taken the day off work to engage in some electorally-related activities that were going on in these parts. I'd planned to be out and about by 7 am, but didn't manage to actually drag my ass out of bed til around 8 am, so I decided I'd make phone calls for a while, then head out around lunch-ish.

About 10:30 am, I took a break from my calls, and went to the bathroom, where I discovered that I was spotting, just the tiniest little bit, but certainly enough to freak me out.

(As you might imagine, at nine weeks pregnant, the amount of spotting required to cause freaking out is pretty fucking minimal.)

Now, I knew, intellectually, that spotting in early pregnancy is quite normal, and nothing to be overly concerned about, provided that it's not heavy or bright red or accompanied by significant cramping, but still. Yeah. Pretty freaked out.

I immediately made calls to both my fertility clinic and my regular OB. By the time I was done leaving voicemails for them, Shrike had consulted Dr. Google, and was quizzing me about cramps and color and amount, and telling me exactly what I said above.

By that point, of course, I had already decided that my activities for the day would not involve standing around outside for hours at a time, talking to strangers.

While I waited for nurses to call me back, I went to lie down, because it seemed like the thing to do.

At this point in the story, I would be remiss if I did not describe just how wonderful Shrike was during this whole episode. I keep telling her this, and she keeps telling me that I'm being silly, but I really mean it.

She handled it just perfectly. She was appropriately concerned, yet very reassuring. She told me that everything would be fine (and mostly convinced me) without ever making me feel like I was overreacting.

When I retreated to the bed, Shrike joined me and snugged me, and petted me, and let me freak out and cry for a bit. Then we both fell asleep.

Because that seemed like the thing to do.

The first call back was from the nurse at my regular OB's office who told me what I already knew (see above) and said that everything should be just fine, but to call back if anything changed.

When I'd not yet heard back from Nurse E at the fertility clinic, I called them again, and this time told the receptionist what was going on (the first time, I just asked for Nurse E's voicemail).

Because Nurse E is technically no longer our nurse, since we moved to IVF, she made me talk to another nurse, part of Nurse D's donor team (Nurse D was not in, as she only works Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Must be nice.).

Note: I really like Nurse D too, but "she's not my real nurse." And, it's kind of a pain in the ass that she's only there every other day. When we were in the middle of the IVF process, it made sense to deal with the nurses who specifically work with donor-egg IVF patients but, at this point, Nurse E knows the answers to my questions just as well as they do, so if I have my choice, I'd rather deal directly with her.

Anyway, that nurse told me the same thing, again, but also that, "if it were me, I'd want to come in for another ultrasound in a few days, just for my peace of mind."

Bingo! That's the answer I was looking for!

Let's see, ultrasound three days from now - or three weeks from now? What ever shall I do?

"Well, if you think I should. Can you transfer me to the scheduler right now?"

I was already feeling much better about everything by that point (from what the nurses had said, and the fact that nothing was changing spotting-wise; it wasn't getting heavier or any different), when Nurse E called to reassure me some more.

She agreed that the ultrasound was a dandy idea, and also assured me that something terrifying happens to every pregnant woman at some point along the way (for her, it was a fall down a flight of stairs!) and told me not to hesitate to call back if I needed to.

The spotting continued to be very, very, very light through Tuesday and Wednesday and had pretty much stopped by yesterday.

I was feeling pretty confident about things at that point, but was of course, still pretty nervous by the time the ultrasound rolled around this morning.

Of course, as soon as the dildo-cam was in position (when do I get to switch to abdominal ultrasounds?) we saw Peeper right away, including his/her little heart beating just as it should be - and a hint of some stubby little legs!

S/he is 24.7 mm long (just shy of an inch), which corresponds to 9 weeks 1 day, with a heart rate of 182 beats per minute (which is, evidently, just right).

There was no sign of any bleeding going on inside my uterus, or anything else to cause any concern.

Dr E (like the nurses) said that there are any number of inconsequential things that can cause a little bit of bleeding during pregnancy, and that, while it's very scary at the time, it's usually nothing to worry about.

She did recommend that I "take it easy" with no heavy lifting or strenuous physical activity for a few days, but other than that, everything is just fine.

So, the upshot is that we got a bonus look at Peeper, which I was happy to have, spotting or not.

My next appointment will be on May 8 with Dr B, my regular OB and then I have another appointment on May 14 with the perinatologist, for the nuchal translucency ultrasound.

I'll try to resist coming up with any other excuses for additional ultrasounds between now and then.

Five on Friday #10: Achoo!

  1. Do you experience any seasonal allergies? Are you allergic to anything else?
    I don't think I have seasonal allergies, although everytime I get a cold (at any time of the year) everyone always wants to tell me it's allergies.
    Me: "Sniffle, snort, sneeze."
    Them: "Allergies?"
    Me: "No, just a cold."
    Them: "Yeah, my allergies always act up around now."
    Me: "No, I think I have a cold."
    Them: "Right. Must be the pollen."
    I guess the fever and the predictable pattern of progression from throat to sinuses to chest over the course of 5 to 7 days, and the fact that Shrike often gets exactly the same symptoms a week later, isn't enough to convince them.

    Other allergies: Penicillin, Antihistamines, Decongestants, Cough Suppressants


  2. What kinds of symptoms do you experience during your allergic reactions?
    Penicillin: Twice, I've gotten hives a few days after finishing a course of Ampicillin or Amoxycillin, or one of those A...cillins.

    Other things: Anonymama can tell you better, because I was a tiny thing, but it involved being completely freaked out and possibly (based on LadyKay's similar reactions, when she was old enough to recognize them) hallucinations.


  3. How do you manage your allergies?
    Avoidance. The antihistamine allergy is a serious incentive for avoiding the penicillin which will give me hives, and the stories of my reactions as a kid keep me away from the cold meds.

  4. What is the strangest allergy you've ever heard of?
    My "anything one might possibly take to feel better when one has a cold" allergy.

    The upside: When I had a cold a few weeks ago, at about 6 six weeks pregnant, all the drugs that are "no-nos" during pregnancy were already on my "can not take" list, so unlike most pregant women with a cold, I was no more miserable than I usually am when I'm sick. Yeah, it was a small consolation.

  5. How do you feel about school and social policies banning peanuts and other allergens?
    If there's a kid in a class who has a serious peanut allergy, it seems reasonable to ban them from that classroom, or the lunchroom or whatever. It would be one thing if we were talking about something he'd have to actually eat to be affected, or something that might cause a few sniffles, but a serious peanut allergy can kill a kid, just from being around it. I don't think that's something that you should take chances with. It's not going to hurt the other kids to save their PB&Js for after-school snacks, in order to protect the health of their classmate.

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Thursday, April 24, 2008

A Pick-a-Nick

Nothing really exciting to tell from today, except that Shrike and I had a lovely picnic dinner in the park.

I think I've mentioned before that the town where she works is between my work town and home, so I often stop by for dinner when I get off early enough.

At first, we'd throw something in the microwave and hang out in the lunchroom at her work, but that got old fast, and she prefers to get away for a while.

So, then, we'd gotten in to the habit of going out to dinner - usually either Taco Bell or Chinese or a new little Mexican restaurant near the Chinese buffet, but that's starting to get pretty pricey.

So, today, the weather was so nice, we decided that I'd pick us up some dinner at the local gas station / convenience storage / made-to-order fast food establishment (which has surprisingly yummy food, although it doesn't really help with the "pricey" thing - but it's a start) and we took it to the local park for a picnic.

We ate, then walked around by the pond/lake/body of water and watched the ducks and geese and freakishly large fish - and the other people who were watching and feeding them.

Then I had to take her back to work, which sucked, but it was a nice little bright spot in my day.

And hers, too, I hope.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Wordless Wednesday #57: Easter Feast

I just realized that I never posted any of the photos from our Easter party.

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Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Ten on Tuesday #29

Lately the "Ten on Tuesday" questions have been things like "your favorite actors/actresses" and other such stuff about which I really have no opinion, so I've been opting out. This one, I can sink my teeth into, though.

Ten Things I Love About My Life

  1. Shrike. I can't say this enough. Maybe it's the hormones making me all sappy, but she is the best thing in my life.
  2. Peeper. S/he is the best thing that is about to be in my life. (And, currently, the best thing in my uterus.)
  3. The rest of our families.
  4. Our pets (on most days).
  5. Our friends, old and new.
  6. We're both in good health.
  7. Although it would be great to win the lottery and never have to work again, we are both lucky enough to have jobs that are fulfilling and pay well. (Or, at least, one of each.)
  8. So, while we may not have anywhere near everything we want, we do (mostly) have everything we need.
  9. Despite the fact that there are a lot of things that could use some work (see my my most recent Ten on Tuesday entry) I really like our house, and I'm glad that it's ours.
  10. This isn't exactly about my life, specifically, but it's springtime here in BlueState, and the flowers and flowering trees are distractingly beautiful, as you drive down the road.

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Monday, April 21, 2008

Guest Post: Shrike's Dog-Walking Adventures

By Shrike

No dead animals today.

We walked in the direction of the nest with goose eggs in it. Oh yeah, we did see the wild turkeys that we only heard the other day. Both dogs took off after them. But they both came back before panic set in.

It rained all day yesterday so the creek they play in was louder and more swollen than usual.

Big Galoot got in and swam around like everything was normal. Poor Perfect Pup though.

She went down to the water's edge to get a little drink. But where she went, she usually wades in up to maybe her ankles in water. Well, not today. Today she fell in and the water was where she would have had to swim if she hadn't immediately jumped right back out, scrambling up the bank.

She was raised with three cats after all (Big Galoot must have formed his water preferences before we got him), so she was very unhappy to find that she was up to her neck in water.

And me laughing at her did nothing to improve her mood, I am sure.

I did apologize to her afterwards for laughing, so I am not totally on her shit list.

But she still might kill me in my sleep, though she seems in a good enough mood if not a little tired.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Clothes Pony

I am now 8 weeks, 4 days pregnant.

Is this wrong?

The rule we've made is that, at least until we find out whether we need to be buying pink or blue, we'll only buy things that are on sale. And really, really, really cute.

Most of these actually came from a yard sale last summer, for $0.25 each.

We bought a few things on clearance today. One very girly thing, and a couple that we claim are neutral but, then again, have you seen how we dress?

Also a Christmas hat, and bibs for Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day and Easter. For less than $30, and they are all returnable if they turn out to be the wrong color.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Crib Notes

There is a crib in our house.

You know, like people with babies have.

To put their babies in.

Because they have babies.

(Oh my God, there's going to be a baby. Living. In. Our. House!)

Yes, we do know that it's ridiculously early to have a crib, but the thing is that it's the one that Shrike's niece and nephew slept in, and her sister's ex had it at his apartment, and he moved today, and it seemed stupid for him to take it to his new house and store it there, only to give it to us in a few months, so it came over here instead.

Right now, most of it is in the sunroom, and the rest in the basement, waiting for us to get the big bed out of Peeper's room.

The only catch on that is that, as much as we'd love to move that bed into the (finished) basement, and set it up down there, so we'd have more than one bed for grown-up in our house, the box springs will not fit down the stairs. They go about halfway down, then hit this part that juts out of the ceiling.

When we first moved in, the moving guys tried several different ways to get them down there, but they just won't go.

So, I think Shrike's parents are going to take that bed to their basement for us. We kind of thought that was going to happen today, but there was some miscommunication, and a time crunch, and some grumpiness and exhaustion, and the bed is still here. Disassembled, but still here.

We did move a few other pieces of furniture from that room downstairs today, so we are making progress.

We'd really like to go ahead and get it emptied completely and clean the carpet twenty or thirty times (thanks, cats) before moving the crib and other baby stuff in.

So, about the crib - It's white, has a small three-drawer dresser built in on one end, and two drawers below (I really like that, for storing sheets, etc) and converts to a youth bed.

Right now, it's set up sort of mid-way, with the crib sides off, and the dresser on, but you can get the general idea.


(The dresser comes off to make the bed longer. There's a teeny spring base and mattress that go in that spot. Very cute (see below).)

We'll have to so some assembly, putting back on the rails and the other end of the crib.

The best part?

(Other than Free Crib! For $0.00! That we didn't have to pay for! Did I mention that it was free?!)

This toy, which none of us seem to have any memory of (the last baby to sleep in it will be eight in a couple of months) but that will totally fit our "black and white and red all over" panda bear nursery theme!

Friday, April 18, 2008

Peeper Parts

You can't see them in the photo, but here are some other parts that Peeper has (or will have by the end of the weekend), according to this very cool website: www.visembryo.com:

  • Eyelids (starting to form)
  • Pulmonary artery and aorta (separating from each other)
  • Nipples! (this one just freaks me out, for some reason)
  • Kidneys - producing urine (Oh my God, my baby is peeing inside me! Possibly weirder than nipples.)
  • A genital tubercle (will become the fun parts - too bad s/he's not allowed to use them til s/he's thirty), urogenital membrane (to become the rest of the fun parts?) and anal membrane (I so want to to call someone an "anal membrane" - much classier than "immature asshole.")
  • Elbows! Wrists! Almost fingers!
And, coming soon (over the next week) to an embryo in me:
  • Semicircular canals
  • Gonads (see above, re "not allowed to use them!")
  • Knees! Ankles! Almost toes! With nails!

It just seems bizarre that things like nipples and finger/toenails would develop this early.

Like putting up wallpaper before you've finished building the roof.

Babies Come With Arms!


Peeper Update

We got another look at Peeper today, and s/he's doing great!

Shrike will scan the ultrasound photo at work this evening, and I'll post it as soon as she sends it to me.

S/he's looking a lot more humanoid and you can (sort of) identify a head and two little arms in the photo!

Dr E said that s/he looked kind of like a gummi bear on the ultrasound and, according to Amalah, that's about how big s/he is, too.

We've now officially "graduated" from the fertility clinic and I've been released to my regular OB, and a perinatologist (high risk OB).

I've got an appointment with Dr B (my regular OB) on May 8, and will see the perinatologist on May 14, for the nuchal translucency ultrasound, bloodwork and a thorough going-over.

I'll probably see him (her? I didn't think to ask!) about once a month after that.

As predicted, it's very exciting to "graduate" and move on to the next phase, but we will really miss the girls at the fertility clinic.

With very, very few exceptions, they've all been incredibly helpful and great to work with, and they made our baby, so you know, that's kind of a big thing.

They did say to stop by and visit when I'm big and fat, and to bring Peeper to see them when s/he gets here.

They don't see patients on Friday afternoons, so Dr E said that's a good time for visiting because a> they have the time to stop and talk and 2> I won't be flaunting my big belly or my tiny baby in front of the patients who've not yet been as lucky as we have.

(And, yes, we do realize how very, very lucky we are.)

In the meantime, I don't know how I'm going to survive for at least three or, more likely, four weeks until our next check on what's going on in there.

It's very exciting, though, to think about how much more we'll be able to see at twelve weeks, and how Peeper is actually going to look like a tiny little person by then!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Things are a-Bloomin'

I took these photos in our front yard yesterday evening.


Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Preparing to "Graduate"

Friday will be my third obstetric ultrasound, and my final appointment with the fertility clinic, before we "graduate" and are released back to Dr. B, my regular obstetrician (and a perinatologist to be named later - more on that in a moment).

I received my medication weaning instructions in the mail today, along with some records to give to Dr B, and some "how to be pregnant" information, and a form to report back to the fertility clinic when Peeper is born!

They are listing my due date, officially, as November 25. I've been saying the 26th, so I guess I'm a day further along than I thought! :-)

This is funny, though - it's referred to on the form as "estimated date of confinement."

Confinement?

Who am I, Queen-fucking-Victoria?

It is rather odd to read about "confinement" and "IVF with known donor" on the same piece of paper.

So here's the medication plan:

I keep doing the Del Estrogen shots every 3 days through May 18. (May 17 actually, as 5/18 is an "off" day.)

I will keep doing the nightly progesterone in oil shots through May 4 (19 more shots!) then switch to prometrium vaginal suppositories 3x daily for one week (thru 5/11) and then 2x daily for another week (thru 5/18).

To summarize:
Final Progesterone shot: 5/4
Final Estrogen shot: 5/17
Final Prometrium: 5/18

At that point, I'll be 12w4d (or 12w5d?) which will actually be a few days into my 2nd trimester.

Woo Hoo!


Now, about the perinatologist . . . .

At my last appointment with Dr E, she said that "because it's a PGD baby" (not sure what's up with that; I need to ask) and because of my age (well, Shrike's age) - and, also there's my history of kidney issues and the gastric bypass - that I should be followed by a perinatologist (high-risk obstetrician) as well as Dr B, although Dr B will handle the bulk of my care, and will deliver Peeper, assuming all is going well.

She said that there's one in OldWorkTown, "right down the road," where they lik to refer patients.

I suspect that it may be the one who is literally next door (in the same building) to the OldWorkTown Learning Center.

But, she suggested that I give Dr B's office a call and ask who she refers to locally, so that I don't have to keep driving down there for appointments.

So, I called last Friday afternoon to find out about that, and to make an appointment with her.

I left a message for the nurse, explaining the whole situation, and telling her what I needed.

When she called back, she said that "Dr B wants to see you around week 10 or 11." (We made an apppointment for May 8 - 11w1d.)

When I asked about the perinatologist, she said, "Oh, you can talk to her about that at your appointment; he won't want to see you until about week 20."

What the fuck?!?

I said, "Well, Dr E told me that I should see the perinatologist during weeks 11 - 13, for the nuchal translucency ultrasound. Or is that something that Dr B will do herself?"

"You'll have to talk to her about that at the appointment, too, because I don't know if she'll want to get into all that."

What the fuck, some more?!?

Don't they recommend that for all pregnancies now? Especially if you're forty fucking years old?

I thought about calling back and asking them to have Dr B call me herself, but I'm just going to wait and discuss it with Dr E on Friday, and see what she has to say about it all.

I certainly don't want to wait until I'm past 11 weeks, when I've only got two more weeks in which to do the NT, to even start trying to make an appointment for with the perinatologist. That's nuts.

So, on Friday we'll take another peek at Peeper, and we'll discuss the perinatologist issue, and then we'll hug everyone goodbye and move on to the next phase.

That's very exciting, of course, but it's also going to be a little sad to leave the fertility clinic.

We've really liked (almost) everybody that we've worked with there, and we're going to miss them.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Busy Day

It's been a long, busy day, with nothing really interesting enough to talk about.

And yet I will.

I spent most of the early part of the work day testing a kid, and the second half fighting with a computer "upgrade" that was only supposed to take a couple of minutes.

Then, I left early to get back to town and help set up for a Democratic Party event this evening.

That went very well - good turn out, good speakers, etc - but I didn't get home until after 10 pm.

I did see some folks who didn't know about Peeper yet, and got to tell them. Well, there were actually a whole lot more folks there who still don't know, but only a few who I wanted to tell right now.

This is kind of funny - I was talking to this one guy and his wife, and she asked him (all excited), "Oh, did you tell Whozat your news?"

I turned to him and said, "What's your news?"

He said, "I'm pregnant."

I said, "What a coincidence, so am I! No shit, I really am."

So, we talked about that for a bit, and then I said, "So, I'm sorry - what is your news."

"Well, it's not that big now."

Turns out he's going to be in an Obama commercial which, while not as cool as being pregnant, is pretty nifty.

And now, Shrike's home for work and it's time for an ass-shot and bed.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Manic Monday #30

  1. Is there anything for which you would willingly give your life?
    I'd like to say that I would give my life to protect my family, but I'm quite a wuss, so I'm not sure I could say that I'd do it "willingly."

  2. How would you communicate with someone if you didn't share a common language?
    Gestures, and pantomime, I suppose.


  3. Where is your ideal place/location to have a wedding?
    Anywhere that it's legal.

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Sunday, April 13, 2008

Lazy, Lazy Weekend

Although we have gotten out of the house and done some "shopping" (but not much buying - probably a good thing) we've been very, very lazy all weekend.

I can't even count how many naps we've taken, since Friday night.

My excuse (for everything) is that I'm pregnant and getting over a cold.

I think Shrike is having sympathy exhaustion.

Or maybe I just wear her out with all my whining around about how tired I am.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Clearance, Baby!

We went to the mall this evening, and played in the baby clothes sections of a few stores. Sears had their winter stuff on clearance, and we got these three onesies for a total of $3.11!!!

Friday, April 11, 2008

Five on Friday #9: Let Me Hear Your Body Talk

  1. What does your body tell you when you get out of bed in the morning?
    Get back in bed, dumbass!


  2. How well do you treat your body? Do you feed and exercise it well? Go for regular check-ups?
    Better than I used to, but still not as well as I should. The check-ups I've got covered, though.


  3. What part of your body feels strongest?
    Does my brain count?


  4. Which is the weakest?
    I don't have alot of upper-body strength.


  5. If you had to live without the use of one body part for the rest of your life, which would it be? Why?
    My left pinky-toe. It seems fairly dispensible.

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Peeper Picture

Still not a whole lot to see, but here's the photo from today's ultrasound. I wish I had video to show the heartbeat; that was very cool. Just imagine that blob pulsating rhythmically.

Peep Report

First, I should apologize for not posting sooner, but I went right from my ultrasound to an all-morning meeting, then lunch, then had to drive back to work, you get the idea.

Anyway, the important thing is that all is well with little Peeper.

As expected, s/he is looking much more three-dimensional, and is now a blob with a pulsating midsection - which is a big step up from the flickering smear that we saw last week.

By next week, the doc says that we might be able to tell his/her head from his/her butt :-)

The measured the heartrate and said it was great, but if they actually told me the number, I don't remember what it was.

S/he is now 9 mm long, which corresponds with 7 weeks, 0 days. That's 2 days behind the actual calendar, but anything within a few days is fine, and it was 2 days behind last week, too, so that means that s/he has grown just the right amount since then.

I'll have another ultrasound next Friday, which should be my last appointment with the fertility clinic, then we will "graduate" and be released to my regular ob/gyn and a perinatologist (high risk ob).

More news as we have it, of course!

Editted to add: Our scanner is not working, so I can't get the ultrasound photo up right away. I'll try taking a photo of the print-out, but don't expect that to be very good quality. Shrike can scan it at work on Monday, and I'll post it then.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Peeking at Peeper

Our second obstetric (hee hee, I just love saying that!) ultrasound is tomorrow morning, and need I mention that I have, once again, worked myself into a tizzy over it, despite a complete lack of evidence that anything might be going wrong.

I am feeling more confident about it that I was last week, before the first ultrasound, when the idea of seeing a tiny human inside me (or, you know, a flickering streak that they tell me is a human) was just so unreal that I could hardly even let myself believe that it would actually happen, but I'm still a bit of a big 'ol fret-ball (as Shrike would put it).

Speaking of what Peeper might look like tomorrow, I've been Googling "seven week ultrasound" and based on the photos I've found, I've got high hopes that s/he'll be looking more blob-ish and three-dimensional than last week.

I don't think we'll be able to identify any parts just yet, but even some of the nine- and ten-week photos I've seen are starting to look a bit humanoid, so maybe it won't be too long before we see something a little more familiar-looking.

In the meantime, I'll just be happy to see a correctly-sized blob with a correctly-beating heart tomorrow morning.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Wordless Wednesday #57: Babies Come With Hats

Yes, it's early, and it's far from gender-neutral, but it was a buck, on the clearance aisle in Target, and it was irresistible.

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Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Nesting?

Yeah, I know it's a little bit early for that, and I'm certainly not having any urges - but Shrike seems to be.

Actually, she's on vacation this week and, while my idea of a vacation would be to lie around and do absolutely nothing, she's got this crazy idea that she wants to accomplish things.

What the fuck?

And then I feel guilty, and I have to accomplish things, too.

So far, we've completely cleared out the closet that connects the office and what will be Peeper's room, and put a couple of new decor-type things for Peeper in it.

We've either stored or bagged up to give away a bunch of clothes that don't currently fit or that we don't like (and, in my case, that I can't even consider getting back into until after Peeper comes - and a few shirts that I probably won't see again until s/he's weaned).

Most of the closet stuff went down in the basement, which was good enough for me (out of sight, out of mind) but not for Shrike.

So, this evening, she kept me company while I went through that stuff and a bunch more that was already down there, and sorted it into things to throw away (a ton of crap), things to store in the basement forever (2 crates), things to take elsewhere (mostly back to Democratic Headquarters - 2 crates) and things the I actually need to take back upstairs and have handy.

The last category, of very important things that I can't live without?

One clipboard with a few papers on it, an empty legal pad, and an extra-large Dean for America t-shirt which I'll wear to sleep in.

Then, God-help-us, I tackled my desk.

I didn't dare get into the hutch, but I did get the surface mostly cleared off, and threw away a bunch more stuff, and found a few more things to send to the basement.

I don't know what she's got in mind for the rest of the week, but so far, her vacation is wearing me out!

Monday, April 7, 2008

Manic Monday #29

  1. Is there any question you can't look up the answer to on the internet?
    Everything we want to know about Peeper - from "Is everything ok?" to "What gender is s/he?" to, well, everything.

  2. Invent a new word that you feel would improve the language and define it.
    Oh man, I do this all the time, but I can't do it on demand!


  3. What is your favorite texture?
    Baby skin.

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Sunday, April 6, 2008

Easter?

Because of multiple crazy work schedules, our family Easter party didn't happen until today.

I told Shrike that, since the party was delayed, and since I'm so tired these days, and have so many other things going on, that I would tone things down a bit, and not go so all-out with the cooking and decorating.

Um, yeah. Not so much.

What we did manage to "tone down" was the preparing - we didn't even start on that til last night.

Well, we did buy some of the groceries last weekend, then I bought the last-minute stuff on Friday.

Yesterday was a busy day, and when we got home around 4 pm, we took a nap. Til about 7.

Then we ate some dinner and started cooking and cleaning.

We worked up til bedtime, then got up and worked some more.

As usual, I cooked and Shrike cleaned. At one point, she was working on my bathroom and I said, "what can I do to help?"

She said, "Go do woman-stuff."

So, back to the kitchen with me (barefoot and pregnant).

What was on the menu?
  • Make-your-own Sandwiches
    • Meat / Cheese - us
    • Bagels - us
    • Rolls - Shrike's ex-brother-in-law
    • Condiments - Shrike's parents

  • Lazy Lasagna (cooked earlier in the week)
  • Anonymama's Cheese Ball
  • Strawberries
  • Broccoli
  • Crab Dip (Shrike's sister)
  • Deviled Eggs (Shrike's grandma)
  • Crackers, Chips, Peanuts, Olives, Pickles
  • Sugar Cookies
  • Girl Scout Cookies
  • Donuts (leftover from an event yesterday)
  • Pies / Cakes (other people)
I think that's all. :-)


And, who was here? Us, Shrike's parents, grandparents, sister and her partner and ex-husband and their two kids, Shrike's mom's cousin and his wife, and Shrike's cousin and her parnter and Baby R.


It was a fairly laid-back event; we ate, Shrike hid eggs in the front yard for the kids, they hid them in the living room for adults, and we ate some more.


We did get to tell Shrike's mom's cousin and his wife about the baby, and confirmed it for her grandparents. (Right after the first beta, her mom had told them that things looked promising, but they didn't know for sure yet.)


Shrike just showed them the ultrasound and let them figure it out. There was certainly no sorting it out from the picture itself, but Nurse E had labelled Peeper "Baby (Our Last Name)" so that was a pretty good hint.


Everyone left around 8 pm, and before the last person was in their car, I was in my jammies and in bed.


I slept til about 10, now I'm up and waiting for midnight, so I can take my ass-shot and go back to bed.


Oh, and did I mention that, as of yesterday, I seem to be coming down with a cold? Ugh.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Photo Hunter #54: Glass

I may have already published this photo of my cobalt collection, but it's the best that I had for the theme.


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Friday, April 4, 2008

Five on Friday #8: Hold It!

  1. When feel the urge to use the bathroom, do you hold it or go right away?
    If I'm in the middle of doing something, I might hold it, but generally, I prefer to go sooner rather than later.


  2. When was the last time you held hands with someone?
    This evening, Shrike and I were holding hands in the car on the way to dinner. Then the light turned green, and I needed my hand back, for shifting and steering.


  3. Do you hold in your emotions or let them out?
    I'm more likely to let them out.


  4. If you play blackjack or poker, are you more likely to hold or fold on any given hand?
    I don't play either one very often at all, so I don't know, but whatever it is that a chicken would do, that's what I do.


  5. In general, can you hold your tongue? When you have a secret? When someone says something you don't agree with?
    Nope, not at all.

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Thursday, April 3, 2008

Useless Non-Information

Well, the genetic testing folks did answer my gender question, but it turns out that we transferred one embryo of each flavor, so the answer didn't help to clarify things at all.

Of course, that's what we would have told them to do, if we'd been allowed to make a request, but I was hoping, given that we only have one, that it would've turned out they'd transferred two of the same, so we could know.

Oh well, I guess we'll just have to wait another few months to find out, like everybody else.

(You may have noticed that "waiting" is not one of my strong suits.)

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Wordless Wednesday #56: Little Peeper

You can't really tell it from looking at the photo, but that little smudge at the end of the arrow is a baby, with a great looking heartbeat, measuring just the right size for 6 weeks gestation (4 weeks from conception) - in me!!!

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Baby Update

One heartbeat.
Photo to follow.
Woo Hoo!!!

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Ten on Tuesday #28

Ten Things We'd Fix in Our Home
(If we had the time and money)

  1. Plumbing. Every God-damned toilet and sink in this house runs.
  2. More plumbing. There's only cold water going to the washing machine, and we figure we should probably get some hot water in there before we have shitty baby clothes to wash.
  3. The nursery. Well, we will be doing this one - time and money be damned!
  4. Replace the carpet in the living room, which BigGaloot has eaten.
  5. Replace or get rid of or somehow do something with the folding closet doors.
  6. Fill the holes and bare patches in the backyard - and stop the dogs from re-digging them.
  7. Decorate the sunroom, with a beachy / nauticalish kind of theme.
  8. Buy new sheets / comforter for our bed. We'd like something that looks very similar to what we've got now, but without the holes.
  9. Add shelves, somewhere in the kitchen, for my cobalt collection.
  10. Build a deck in the backyard.

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