We have a gender!

So I decided I couldn't wait any longer! I'm turning 30 in a week, my mom is having a party/brunch for me, and we MUST know what this baby is. We had a delay today so I called the doctor and told him I had some cramping. He told me to come in, he did an ultrasound and immediately said, "I know the gender! Do you!?" (which kinda made me switch back to thinking it's a boy....but anyway....I told him to write it down on a piece of paper and put it in an envelope.

After work and some appointments, my mom and I took the envelope with the results to the bakery where they are going to make a neutral cake on the outside and fill the cake on the inside with whatever the gender is-blue for a boy or pink for a girl! So we will be finding out in just a few short days when we cut the cake! It's so nerve wracking but I just can't wait to be able to say "he or she!"

16 weeks and getting bigger

We went to our 16 week check up today with very high hopes that we would be able to find out the gender! We also had to finish up some of the Downs and other genetic tests that we had done. In the pouring rain, Paul met me in Mount Kisco and I invited my mom too. I thought it would be nice for her to be there, especially since we were pretty confident that Barbara, the Ultrasound tech, would be able to tell the gender! We had plans to bring the results right to the bakery so that they could start the work for the gender party....well that was not meant to be.

We went in for the ultrasound first and the baby was super active and his/her legs were crossed. Barb looked and looked for about 10 minutes or so and stopped. She told me to have my exam and blood work done, to go pee, then she'd try again. So that's what we did. Of course my veins didn't want to cooperate and it took several stabs to find a vein that would give blood. My (hottie) doctor was amazing as always. Weight gain seems fine and everything looks normal (yay). So we went back to the Ultrasound room.

Barb spent another 15 minutes looking, looking, looking. We saw EVERYTHING....the bladder, kidneys, heart, brain, the feet....you name it. She got really quiet for a while and after all the time, she shut off the monitor and said "I'm pretty sure I know what it is but I'm not 100% so I'm not going to say." It was disappointing but I'd rather that she know for sure. Then she said "At this point, girls' labia can be swollen and resemble boys scrotum, so it's too soon to say one or the other." This lead me to believe that it's a girl. I thought if it were a boy, there would be a penis there too, no? All of my friends that have had boys have seen a little peesh at 14-16 weeks. I'm pretty sure it's a girl now. It really doesn't matter at this point. I'm just so happy to be having a little life in my body. It's the greatest thing ever.

16 weeks! 

Favorite Names

I thought I'd get a little list started of our favorite baby names because I am pretty sure that at some point over the next 26 weeks I will lose the piece of paper that I have written them on....of course we are keeping the final choice a surprise until little babe is born. So many cute names but we can only pick one!

Boy Favorites
Braden
Connor
Thomas
Aidan
Dylan
Jake
Landon
Luke
Evan
Andrew
Jackson
Riley


Girl Names
Ella
Grace
Addison
Olivia
Isabella
Giselle
Madelyn
Vivienne
Quinn
Audrey
Marisa
Charlotte
Leigh
Aubrey
Ashlynn

End of the First Trimester!

We made it to the end of the first trimester....I was thinking 'When is all this nausea and exhaustion going to go away?" Right around the time of my first trimester check up, which was on February 10, it all started to slowly disappear. At my appointment, we did some Genetic testing for chromosomal disorders like trisomy13 and Downs Syndrome. They measured the baby on the ultrasound and he/she is perfect (and apparently very active). I went into my appointment with a laundry list of questions, especially since, during the first week of February I had some bleeding that totally freaked me out. I got checked out of course but no one can prepare you for that. I'm just so happy with my new doctor. He really take the time to answer all of my questions and make me feel comfortable during my pregnancy. It's really exciting to know that I am not only growing a baby inside of me but that I found a doctor who makes me (and Paul too) feel so comfortable during a time in which we don't know what to expect. LOVE <3

Now I just have to be patient with finding out the gender....that's my next thing to freak about. I am a planner and I want to know so we can get ready. I go online and surf around for different nursery designs and bedding, different themes etc. I really don't have a preference about what we have but there is something about girl stuff that just makes me feel euphoric. But like I said, it doesn't matter what the baby is...he or she will be so spoiled with love it wont even matter.

Now if I could just kill this nasty cold I got from a lovely at school, I'd feel much better...

bad cold + being pregnant = MISERY.

There is nothing more beautiful than this...I'm telling you, well, except for maybe when the baby is born.

I had to OUT myself....

Well, it began at work and I promised myself that I wouldn't tell until I was 12 weeks at least but apparently I "look" pregnant and people have no class, they just have to out you. So it was time to tell everyone at work. I shared the news at a staff meeting yesterday but I was more excited to tell my class...lucky for me, my student teacher was starting today and she was able to record it for me. Some of my favorite comments were:

"Wait, so does that mean you are pregnant?"

"Ohhhh, is that why you are fat?"

"Is that baby growing in your body?"

"I thought you weren't having kids because you have us!"

"When is the baby coming? Are you leaving us? Does this mean you can't teach 4th grade next year?"

I got it on my flip cam, it's actually really very funny. I'm trying to get it uploaded (still kinda futzing around with this blog thing) They read a poem out loud together which revealed that I was expecting. It was really quite cute, I'm not sure if they actually get it....I'm just really happy they didn't ask where the baby came from or how it was made-haha. Oh and if one more of my colleagues ask me if I am having multiples because I'm "big" for 11 weeks, I might kick them in the face.

My New Love

Aside from seeing my baby's face for the very first time, I was able to get an appointment with a doctor that my friend, Michelle, swears by. I owe her BIG time because they took me this afternoon (thank God for the snow day!) and he was amazing! Just like my fertility doctors-young, informative, easy to talk to, very warm, and very, very hot- haha! Where do I find these guys?! Luckily enough, his office called me this morning (we are on ANOTHER snow day-which actually worked out for me) and they took me this afternoon!

Dr. Mootabar is part of Westchester Health in Mount Kisco. His practice is small with only 4 or 5 other doctors. His staff is amazing. They reminded me exactly of my fertility group. I think I've finally found the right place :-) I can't say enough good things! I am really excited. I don't care how far I have to drive, at least I'll be fairly close to my family and in a really great hospital when I deliver. SUCCESS!

You can see little baby's face...he/she is sucking on his/her thumb.

My little babe had the hiccups when the tech turned the ultra sounds machine on! It was so cute.
163 beats per minute! The old wives tales say its a girl....so does the Chinese Gender Chart, but I don't know! That 4D pic looks a lot like Paul-haha!

I'm SO done with that place....

After a round of blood work yesterday and stalking the nurse, the doctor, and the lab for results and still not getting any, I've decided I am DONE with this doctor. I've had enough.

I failed to mention in my previous post that my fertility doctor wanted my progesterone level (because I was on the supplements) estrogen, and vitamin D tested when I went to my regular OBGYN. They asked that I let them know what lab I used and that they would contact the lab for the results. So when I went to my OBGYN and told him that I had been on supplements, have come off of them and Dr. Hurwitz wanted my levels tested, my doctor's reply was "well if you took the supplements like the told you too, then your levels don't need to be tested." I also told him about the vitamin D, to which he replied "as long as you're taking vitamins, there's no need to test your vitamin D levels.' I basically had to beg him to sign off on the lab sheet to test these things because my fertility doctor wanted the information. The reluctant doctor finally agreed and told me to come back on Monday (yesterday) to have the blood drawn.

I was so nervous about the progesterone. I desperately wanted to know that my levels were okay and I didn't have to go back on them. The lab tech said I would have the results back at the end of they day....nothing. Tuesday rolls around and still no answers. RMA calls me to tell me when they called for the blood work results, my doctor told them they there was no record that I came for blood work or that I didn't show up. I was LIVID. I called every one and left crazy hormonal messages. Finally my doctor's nurse called and told me there must have been some mix up but there were still no results in. I yelled at her that I HAD to know what my progesterone was but she didn't see what the big deal was. Waiting....waiting...and more waiting. I called RMA and they said they would stalk to lab until they got answers.

Sure enough, this morning, RMA called and told me my progesterone levels were fine. Whew. I was relived. But I still hadn't heard about the other stuff. I waited until this afternoon, called my obgyn's nurse, but to no avail....no answers. I decided I was done with this group and I needed to call a doctor that was recommended to me months ago that I didn't want to go to because he was in Mount Kisco and I wanted to be closer to home. At this point, I didn't care. I called and left a message...now I just have to hope that this is the right place for me.