Grow, Baby, Grow! (continued)

ah, yes. The doctor visit. We spoke to everyone! Nurse, dietitian, and of course our midwife (she is so nice!). The big news is that judging from the ultrasound taken at the hospital, they decided to move the due date to April 27th. The heartbeat was about 150, which people have told me means I am having a girl. I don't know what to think anymore. Too much contradicting "evidence". Will says "boy", and he has never been wrong. But I carry high, and that means girl. Now, we've had the ultrasound so we know there's not one of each in there...
I also had some blood drawn for a A-something-P test. (I'll look it up later as the true name escapes me) It is for detecting the baby's risk for down-syndrome and other chromosomal disorders.
However, since they adjusted my due date, we may have actually missed the window of opportunity for it. And apparently, when the test is done outside this window, there is a much higher chance of receiving a false positive. Sounds to me like all this test is good for is making parents freak-out! But we took it anyway.

...train of thought broken...please wait while I reconfigure.....

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Grow, Baby, Grow!

We had our appointment this morning. I've got stuff to say about it, but I am too tired to type right now. haha. I will tell all when I get home tonight.

Re-Schedule

I received a phone call from M&I this morning around 11 o'clock. It was Irene, who is always very pleasant. She asked how I was doing.
"I'm doing just fine."
"Oh, did you forget about your appointment this morning?"
I am silently confused for a moment. "No, because my appointment is tomorrow morning."
Now it was her turn to be silently confused for a few seconds. Then finally, "Tomorrow?"
"Yes, tomorrow December 15th. I have my appointment card. That's what it says. I always schedule my appointments for Tuesdays since they are my days off."
"Hmmmm....What time does your card say, Janette?"
"9:15 am"
More confused silence followed. "I'm not sure how this happened. We don't even open until 10. Give me just a minute; I'm going to talk to the front desk."
About this time I'm thinking, Wow! How could someone mess up the scheduling that badly! They better be able to get me in our I am going to have some complaining to do.
After a minute or so, Irene is back on the line. She says she is very sorry and she is going to transfer me up front to have my appointment re-scheduled. We the receptionist picks up the phone, she doesn't seem at all to know what is going on. Great!
She only answers with "hello?"
I wait a second for her to continue but it never comes. "This is Janette Neeley," I try to politely say, though I am now quite annoyed.
"Oh, yes." She mumbles and has a heavier Spanish accent that makes her difficult to understand. "We need to schedule your appointment?"
"Yes."
I hear her speaking to someone, at first I'm not sure if she is talking to me or an associate. That is until she starts speaking Spanish. I took a wild guess that she wasn't talking to me.
"I'd like to keep it in the morning so my boyfriend can be there. He works at noon and he wants to be there for the sonogram."
"Ok, how about the 21st at..." I stopped listening here and interrupted.
"That won't work. I already told you last time that I will be out of state for Christmas that entire week. It has to be this week or the week after Christmas."
"Well we don't have anything open for this week."
"I'm not going to be here next week. I will be out of the state." I wanted to yell it. "It's going to have to be the week after that."
She is silent for another minute.
"Ok, how about Wednesday the 16th at 10 am?"
OH MY GOD!!! YOU JUST TOLD ME YOU DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING THIS WEEK!! They really need new office personnel.
"Yes. I will be there."
I confirm the time and date and hang up the phone with a small roll of my eyes and hope the rest of the day doesn't plan on being that difficult.

Baby's First Photo Shoot

A Dark and Stormy Night

So it was a snow storm, but that just makes it worse unless you have 4-wheel drive! We had the biggest scare of our lives Monday night. It was very late. Perhaps 12:30 am or so. Albert and I were in bed. And then something very frightening happened: I was bleeding! In the single last place a pregnant woman wants to be bleeding!
We just stood there in shock for a minute or two. Oh God, What is happening?! What do we do?!
Albert asked where our doctors emergency number was. Well, that would be in the booklet I have been reading at work.
We will call the emergency room.
No. Let's go in.
I'll get our coats!
We were both so scared! On the exterior, I'm sure we seemed fairly calm and collected. But I don't think we have ever squeezed each other's hands as tightly as we did on the drive to Stormont-Vail.
And of course, at this point there was already about 2 inches of snow on the ground and more falling. With the Jeep dead and gone, what vehicle could possibly get us there safely? The Camaro? HA! that's a good one.
The Mustang? It has new tires, at least. But it is also the most valuable and still a sports car in the snow and ice. But it was the Jetta, though mortally wounded, that was our chosen steed. We don't need a trunk! We need front-wheel drive!!!
The snow brushed off quickly. And the Jetta doesn't take long to warm up. (We wouldn't have waited even if it had.) The hospital is only a few miles away, but with the snow impeding our progress and the fear in our hearts, the trip seemed to last forever. Finally we arrived!
The Emergency Entrance has moved, by the way. It's now on the exact opposite side of the hospital. Albert ushers me into the lobby and I rush to the desk.
"What can I help you with," the sweet reception nurse smiles.
"I'm pregnant and I'm bleeding." I am very aware of my unsteady voice
She immediately pulls out a notepad and simply asked for my name and birthday. They will be with me in just a minute.
She was close. I think we only sat in the waiting room for two.
They go through the usual ritual. (I've experienced it 3 time before, but only remember twice!) Blood pressure. Temperature. Weight (I have officially gained 10 pounds!). When all is finished, we are led to a freezing ER room where I slip into a gown. I know it seems like an odd thing to be aware of at a time like that, but the new ER is really nice!
From this point it is a lot of questions and me being poked and prodded. I had my first I.V. (I think. I'll have to ask Dad if I had one at visit #1. I don't remember squat!) They drew, what I thought was more than enough blood for lab tests. We were at the hospital for hours and hours-- Literally! I was sent home at 4:45! They couldn't figure out what was causing the bleeding, but it was stopping. And the baby and I were in no danger. Thank GOD!
Something wonderful did happen, though. :) We got two ultrasounds! :) A level 1 and a level 2! It was amazing! There is now a picture of our beautiful little one on our refrigerator. And soon to be on here too! :D

Where to Begin

So much has actually happened since I last updated; I don't know where to start. I suppose the biggest news is that I was driving Albert's Jetta (as I had locked my keys in the Mustang the day before) and had finished running errands when I decided to go to O'Rielly's to see him. This last minute decision turned out to be a huge mistake. As I was yielding to traffic at the Topeka Blvd light getting off of 470, the Highlander behind me (not paying any attention what so ever) rear-ended me! This is twice in 2 years now! What is going on with the universe!
No worries, Baby Fuzzy and I are just fine. The same, however cannot be said for the Jetta. It got it's world rocked, and not in a good way. The bumper of the Highlander was just higher than the jetta's so the trunk took the full of the impact. It's is caved in so badly, the trunk latch is now on the outside of the vehicle.
We took the wounded little car into Walt's for an estimate. Bottom line: our little grocery-getter is a total loss. $3,800 approx. to repair. Well over the car's KBB value of $2,600. So now it is finishing up paperwork etc. with insurance companies and Albert will find himself with a nice little check. The Jetta is still in great working order, so I think Al is going to but it back at scrap weight with a salvage title. It is after all, his winter driver and what better car to take out on perilous roads of ice and snow than one that is already messed up!? :)
Eventually it must be replace though, since it was going to be our family vehicle. The Mustang is now the roomiest car we have, and that isn't saying much.
In baby news, we get our sonogram on the 15th, just days before we leave for Maine for Christmas! I'm still set on not knowing the sex. I don't think Albert has decided yet.
All of this makes me very aware of how little time we truly have left until our little tiny arrives. Time to get cracking on that baby room! We've got furniture to move and set-up, boxes to move out, and bedding to be made. (Grandma, if you are reading this, I'd like to get started on that this weekend. And Mom, please let me know when you've got my sewing machine fixed.) There are pictures and curtains to hang, and a patch of carpet to be mended (Thank you, Koda.)
So far the 2nd trimester has been good to me. I'm not as tired, although last night I did feel like falling asleep in my food again. I did throw-up this morning, but not in typical morning-sickness fashion. Ever since I became pregnant, I have no control over my gag reflex, which is now hyper-sensitive. Brushing my tongue was my doom today. Sometimes a violent cough will set me off. I'm not quite sure of nature's reasoning behind this and other pregnancy phenomena. No one seems to know the answer. As such, I've decided to speak to Mother Nature in person use my logic to persuade her to end all such anomalies. Being pregnant is hard enough with out me always gagging when I brush my teeth.