23 Weeks: The Bearded Lady

How far along? 23 weeks

How big is Audrey? According to the internet, just over a pound still and eleven inches long.

Audrey's Health? We don't go back to the doctor until next week so the only update I have is that she must be getting bigger and stronger because her kicks sure are!

Health of Momma? The bp is still steady, I think it might still be a little high though.  That or my monitor is a touch off.  I'm ranging in the 130's/80's.  I've also been really tired this week!  Hopefully that means Audrey is growing.

Weight gain? 10lbs

Weird Cravings? I'm still on the egg train but I'm also trying to eat more fish.  I want to make sure I'm getting all the protein she needs.

Stretch Marks? Still none - so I've got that going for me.

Skin? It just gets worse!  Our photographer is going to have to put in overtime to touch up our maternity photos!

Hair? On my head?  Greasy!!  On my chin?  Growing like weeds!  Everywhere else?  Getting darker and manly.  It's super creepy.  Seriously, the other day I found a KNUCKLE HAIR.  A dark, long, manly knuckle hair.  If that wasn't traumatizing enough I wont even tell you what happened when I tried to pluck the nipple hair I found.  That's right.  NIPPLE HAIR.

Sleep? Pretty good, I even slept all the way through the night a few times!  The dreams have been pretty crazy though.  In one I went to girl scout camp.  Not as a child but as a 32 year old woman.  

Best moment this week? J got to feel Audrey move!  It was subtle but he said he felt it.  He might have just been humoring me though...

What I miss?  Wine.  I'm making shrimp risotto for dinner tonight and I'm just distraught over what I'm going to do with the leftover white wine since the recipe I'm using only calls for a cup.  I'll probably weep as I dump it down the drain.

What I am looking forward to? Getting the nursery done!  I've got a couple projects going on in there right now.  I'll try to take some pictures along the way and post them.  We are also going to our first DSA (Down Syndrome Alliance of the Midlands) event.  It's a baseball game played by our local triple-A team.  I'm not really sure what all is involved, there are usually fireworks...I figured it might be a good introduction for us.  We'll probably just check it out and be creepy lurkers.  Hey, it's a step.

Weekly wisdom?  We are still learning.  I'm trying to remind myself to take it one day at a time.

Milestones?  Audrey is on her first waiting list.  It's for a speech therapy program.  "But she's not even born yet", I thought to myself!  Then I read that the wait list take about two years.  I knew getting Audrey all the services I could would be a challenge but TWO YEARS!!    

Fears?  What waiting lists am I missing??

Thing I'm thankful for?  Tweezers and Nair.

Week End Review:  What did we do last weekend...yeah, I'm going to need to do these on Mondays.  Apparently by Wednesday my brain is mush. 

22 Weeks: The World Keeps Turning

It's time for an attitude adjustment.  I've been a grump this whole pregnancy and what's worse, I've felt entitled to act that way.  I wont sugar coat it, pregnancy's no pic-nic, or at least it isn't for me.  I can either find the things about it I enjoy and emphasize on those or I can waste it away whining.  I'm going to try to spend more of the second half of this pregnancy doing the former.  To help push me out of my slump I'm going to start documenting the progress my little girl and I are making.  This format is inspired by stolen from a blog I found while researching Down Syndrome.  Side note: thank heaven for the internet and all the amazing people we can connect with on it.


How far along? 22 weeks

How big is Audrey? According to the internet, just over a pound, but she's always measured larger so I'm going to guess about 20 ounces 

Audrey's Health? After Our Maternity21 test came back positive for Trisomy 21 she was scheduled for a fetal echo to check her heart for any birth defects.  50% of children diagnosed with Down Syndrome are born with heart defects.  Luckily, Audrey's heart looked great!  She's also become quite active!  She's moving and grooving with the best of them!  

Health of Momma? The medication I'm on seems to be working!  My blood pressure is lower and my body seems to have adjusted to the change so I haven't been getting as many headaches.  That's a pretty big win!!

Weight gain? 9lbs

Weird Cravings? I've been craving eggs a lot lately, always in the evening.  Because the best decision I've ever made was to marry the most amazing man on the planet, J has become an expert at frying my eggs just the way I like um.  I'm a lucky lady I tell ya! 

Stretch Marks? Not that I've found yet!

Skin? Skin looks TERRIBLE.  Pregnancy and my complexion are NOT friends.  I'm a grease ball.

Hair? See above.

Sleep? I wont lie, I didn't sleep well this week.  I spent a lot of time laying in bed going back over ds research I had done that day and worrying about what our future would look like.  

Best moment this week? Finding out our daughters heart looked perfect!  What a RELIEF!  Odds don't usually fall in our favor so coming out on the right side of 50/50 felt like winning the lottery!! 

What I miss? My wedding rings.  I did drag J to a few store looking for a cheap replacement so my hand didn't feel so naked.  We finally found something workable at Walmart of all places. Don't get me wrong.  I'm a HUGE Walmart fan, I just don't normally shop there for accessories.  I asked J if he was going to propose to me again.  He said no.

What I am looking forward to? Meeting this squishy baby!!  18 more weeks feels like FOREVER!!  

Weekly wisdom? We have a LOT to learn!!

Milestones?  We decided on her name!  Audrey Rose.  I thought it would take us much longer.

Fears?  Only about a million.  But I don't think listing them would be good for my blood pressure.

Thing I'm thankful for?  My wonderful, egg making husband.  I can't tell you how many times this week he's held me up.  He amazes me everyday.  He reminds me to laugh and holds me when I cry.  There is no other person on the planet I would want to take this journey with.  I'm excited to see how this little girl is going to change our worlds and bring us even closer together. 

Week End Review:  We had a busy one folks!  Wednesday we went to a concert (I'll post more on that later), Thursday we met with a Genetic Counselor (who was worthless) and had our fetal echo, Friday we celebrated Glitter's 28th birthday, Saturday we celebrated my little brother's 11th birthday and two of our good friends 32nd and 33rd birthday, finally on Sunday J helped a friend move, I weeded the garden and MB played outside all day.  I guess that explains why I woke up late this morning...   

And there you have it, my first blog post in six months that wasn't me bitching about life.  One step at a time people!

Wrong About Everything 7-15-14

I thought I would feel better today.  I thought I would wake up a little less sad.  I was wrong.  I was wrong about everything.  I was wrong about what it would take to get pregnant, I was wrong about what pregnancy would be like, and I was wrong about everything being OK with our little girl.  The doctor called yesterday.  Our baby tested positive for Down Syndrome.

#pregnantproblems

I don’t fit at my desk anymore.  My belly’s in the way.  I can barely reach my keyboard.  My pregnant brain however does not seem to be capable of coming up with a solution.  So I just constantly bump into my desk and then just stare at my own abdomen with a confused look on my face.  I tried moving my keyboard closer to me but then my elbows hang off my desk.  I tried lowering my chair so my bump fits under the desk but them I’m practically sitting on the floor…I can’t be the only one right?  Seriously, what do women do?  Also, when will my problem solving abilities return?  I miss them…

I’d love to use that as my excuse for not keeping up with this but that would be a big fat load of crap.  So what’s been holding me up?  I’m freaking miserable.

I painted this ridiculously unrealistic picture in my mind of what pregnancy would be like and so far have been severely disappointed. 

I guess I thought that once I finally got pregnant all the crappy stuff would be over.  For so long I looked at pregnancy as the goal that I must have forgotten that it was just the beginning.  When I thought about not ever being able to be pregnant I was absolutely devastated, destroyed by the thought of never being able to experience the miracle of carrying a child, of feeling it grow in your womb, of giving birth.  Well let me tell you, a few short months of pregnancy changed everything.

If someone can figure out how to grow this baby to term back in that petri dish I’ll gladly sign up!  You know that feeling of your unborn child growing in your womb?  Yeah, that’s happening because it’s sucking the life out of you.  And carrying that thing around?  Yeah, it makes your feet hurt, your back ache, and your body sweat in places and ways you never thought possible.  That glow everyone talks about?  It’s just sweat, and all that sweat makes your skin break out, your hair look like a hobo’s, and your underwear smell like a hamster cage.  Did you know your vagina can sweat?  NEITHER.  DID.  I.  And if you thought the chin hairs were going to stop after the progesterone injections, my friend, you were mistaken.  I’m basically growing a beard.  By the end of this pregnancy I’ll be able to be a stunt double for the cast of Duck Dynasty.  Hand to God.

OK, enough of that.  On to some boring medical stuff I should probably document along the way.  I have high blood pressure.  The doctor put me on bp medication and baby aspirin, because apparently I’m 32 going on 60.  Also, they spotted a couple soft markers for Down’s Syndrome during our anatomy scan.  They took about a pint of my blood to do a screening test (Materniti21).  The results of which, take seven to ten business days.  Might as well be a year to nervous parents.  But you know, nothing has been quick and easy so far so why start now.

Oh yeah!  I almost forgot, we are having a little girl!!!