Either I cursed myself, or I have a very obedient baby

16 weeks today!

I had an OB appointment, which I have been anxiously waiting for. Before I left work for it, I looked down at my belly and said "Don't cooperate with the doppler so I can have an ultrasound." Lo and behold, the doctor couldn't find the heartbeat with the doppler, so I got an ultrasound! It was just a quick one, maybe 1 - 2 minutes. Everything is fine. The heartbeat was a strong 145 bpm, so I am starting to think more and more that it's a boy.

I scheduled the BIG ultrasound for January 19! I have to find the sheet of info on my next cardiology appointments, because I have no idea when they are, other than in January :X I may have to call them to refresh my memory.

After the anatomy scan and the cardiologist, I will go to an ultrasound specialist to get a fetal heart echo and make sure that the baby doesn't have any heart defects related to Marfans. It seems January will be a busy month for us!

It's been a while

The end of the semester push has me busy and neglecting to update.

I had my ultrasound 2 weeks ago on Monday morning. I don't know how I managed to drink all the liquid required for it, but holy cow did I have to pee! Luckily it didn't take too long, and everything is fine so far. The baby was all scrunched up on the right side of my uterus, so the tech had to wiggle the ultrasound wand on my belly to get it to move. It seemed to be sleeping (can't say I blame it, it was early!) They gave me a few pictures, and I met with a nurse who told me that everything is normal.

Next appointment is on the 22nd. It's just routine, so it'll be pretty boring, I'm sure!

Second OB Appointment 11/16/09

On Monday I went in for my 2nd OB appointment. They've assigned me a doctor, and he seems really nice. We decided to do the first trimester screening, mostly because I wanted an excuse to have an ultrasound. I go in on Monday for the first round of bloodwork and the ultrasound :)

Basically they just took my weight (I've lost 5lbs!), gave me the H1N1 vaccine, asked if I had any questions and that kind of thing. At the end, we got to hear the heart beat, which was exciting. Travis called his mom, and said it sounded like someone swinging a rope around their head. He's pretty much right on that one, so if you're curious to know what a baby's heart beat sounds like, try it, haha!

Hoping I get pictures on Monday!

What Happens When Your Doctor Looks at Your Medical History

So my follow up with the cardiologist yesterday went well. Suddenly I have Marfans! Evidently either someone called him and yelled at him for calling me a liar, or he looked at my medical records between appointments because instead of saying something about "If you have Marfans..." his tune was "Since you have Marfans..."

He said that my echo looked good and that he wasn't too concerned about my aorta, but he wanted to speak with my OB/GYN and see if they would be okay with me being on a low dose of a beta blocker. He also wants to recheck me in January to make sure there have been no major changes. Other than that, it looks like I am in the clear to just enjoy myself and not having to go to Ann Arbor anymore. Yay!

Oh nausea, my new best friend. Second only to cravings.

I don't have a doctor's appointment or anything today. In fact, my next appointment isn't until next week (Wow! A whole week with no appointments!!)so I decided to say a few words about the Great Pumpkin...er...wait a sec...

Anyway, the first couple of weeks that I knew I was pregnant, I was felling really good considering. After the initial shock wore off, things basically continued like nothing was going on. And then someone decided I was being to complacent, because the nausea hit. I haven't thrown up at all yet, which is good because it scares me to death... but I had a few days where I just plain didn't want to get out of bed because I knew at some point, I would be getting nauseous, and it suuuuuuuuucks. Sprite helped for a while, then stopped working. Vernor's, too. I tried sniffing a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol, saltines, bland food, McDonald's french fries, and charcoal tablets... nothing really helped for more than an hour or 2. It's like my body finally recognized that there was a foreign invader and the solution was to make me miserable.

Walking through the mall on Friday, we passed the food court....Travis was taking in big, exaggerated sniffs and saying "Are you jealous of my ability to smell and not get sick?" Ummm...yes. I feel bad because it's making me really whiny, and I KNOW I'm being freakin' annoying. I haven't been able to take my prenatals in days because I'm afraid I won't keep them down. Though I am starting to think that the prenatals are why I have been nauseous, so I think I am going to switch and see if that makes a difference.

Now if only cheeseburgers had magical healing powers.

Echo of my Heart and 8 Weeks

Yes, I do indeed have a heart. I saw it yesterday. The ladies that did my echo were fantastic :) One was having trouble getting a 3 chamber view, so she had to call someone else in. They told me what the measurments of my aorta were before I left (though they said 'Shhh! We didn't say anything! The cardiologists love to disagree with us') When I got measured in March it was 3.8, yesterday it went between 3.3 and 3.5. 4.0+ is where they start to think something is wrong, so thus far it's nothing to worry about. They both saw the mitral valve problem, which is funny to me because the pediatric cardiologist I saw in March said it wasn't there! Given that those 2, and the 2 other cardiologists in that practice, plus the cardiologists I had in Germany all saw it, I'm going to hazard a guess here and say that Dr. Stone wasn't paying enough attention.

Anyway, I am hoping that because of what they told me I will be done with Dr. Hickox after my next appointment. I really, really didn't like him. And if I am done with him, that means I can keep everything local as far as appointments go. Not to mention it means no more seeing specialists! I'm already getting sick of going to doctors!

I am 8 weeks, 2 days today if all is still going well. Here's a little peek at Shrimpy: http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-8-weeks_1097.bc?intcmp=SPBirthClub_BCStagePagesExpertModule_textlinks

Starting to wish I hadn't mentioned the Marfans...

The cardiologist went okay, I guess. He didn't believe that I have marfans because my fingers aren't that long. Essentially he's saying that 3 other Cardiologists, 2 Opthomologists, an optometrist and a Genetics doctor are wrong. So I went on to explain I have the vision problems, the heart problems, the stretch marks and the crowded teeth/high palate (among other things) and he still seemed skeptical. There's only something like 25 markers for Marfans, and I probably have 20....but whatever.

I have an echo scheduled for tomorrow (RAWR!), and then I follow up with him on November 12. All these appointments are driving me nutsssssss!!! The good news is, once I am done with these, I should (in theory/kncok on wood) be done with the specialists and such for the remainder of the pregnancy. I'm tired of e-mailing to take time off work, so here's hoping!

Cardiologist

My Cardiologist appointment is scheduled for this Tuesday. I am hoping they can do an echo on-site. I will be very mad if I have to make yet another appointment just to get an echo done.

Time Line of What Has Happened so Far

October 7, 2009 - I had been having some problems with my legs swelling, and was not sure what to attribute it to. I wondered if it was work related or if something else was going on. It was suggested that it could be hormonal, or there could be something wrong with my kidneys. Not wanting to go to Urgent Care just to find out I was pregnant, I bought a test while Travis and I were out getting a new shower curtain rod (which is a story in itself). Long story short - the test was positive. Travis didn't believe it though, so we had to go out and buy a digital one, which was also positive. Travis' immediate reaction? "I'm calling my mom."

October 19, 2009 - My first OB/GYN appointment went well. It was basically an intake appointment. They took the family history, did a physical exam (much to Travis' chagrin), explained what screening we could get done and went over what to expect on next visits and in the future. Since I have Marfan's Syndrome, I was referred to a Perinatal Genetics Counselor at the University of Michigan Children's Hospital. They got me an appointment for the same week, which was nice. I was a little disappointed they didn't try to listen for the heart beat, but I didn't ask them to, either because I forgot. So I will definitely ask next time. My next appointment is on November 16.

October 22, 2009 - Today we had an appointment with the Perinatal Genetics department at the UofM Medical Center. It was a long drive, but they did give us a lot of information that was useful. Ultimately it comes down to me needing to see my new cardiologist so that I can get an echo done to determine how large my aortic root is. If it seems to be getting worse, than I may have to be upgraded to high risk and do all of my appointments and deliver at UofM. If it's not seeming to be a problem, then I can stick with the Lansing area for everything. I also got my official approval letter for Medicaid today, and should get my card in a few days. Yay free insurance!

For The Purpose of Easier Communication...

I have created this blog to help cut down on the "How did the doctor go?" IMs, phone calls and e-mails. I will try to keep it as up to date as possible with everything I know about what is going on, that way it's all kept in one place.