I Miss Wine!

For the most part, I stopped drinking alcohol of any kind before I even knew I was pregnant and it wasn't really a difficult thing to do.  I can honestly say that I didn't really miss drinking... at least until yesterday.  I was standing in Trader Joe's trying to decide which flavor of hummus to purchase when it hit me, I miss wine.  The wine section was just a few steps from where I was standing and my brain involuntarily shifted from what I was actually doing to a mental picture of me taking the first sip of a glass of red wine.  I am not kidding when I say that I could actually smell it!  Believe me, I am not implying that carrying a baby isn't a worthwhile reason not to drink, I'm just saying I miss it is all.   Maybe it is because I grew up in the midst of rich Cajun and Italian cultures, cultures who not only permit drinking at a young age, but sort of embrace it.  Or, maybe it is just because I really love wine.  Either way, I am not interested in any strategies or solutions like non-alcoholic wine to try to fake myself out.  I am just eagerly anticipating the day that I can partake in wine-drinking once again.  Until then, I may need to avoid the wine section of the grocery store.

There's a Real Baby in There!

12-Week Ultrasound

We had our second appointment at OBGYN of Atlanta on September 8th.  This appointment lasted for three hours!  During this appointment, we had our second ultrasound, listened to the babies heartbeat, met with a Pregnancy Planner, had an examination by Dr. Sharon, and completed the First Trimester Nuchal Translucency (NT) Screening, which involved drawing blood. 

Being that the last time we saw our baby, it looked roughly like a peanut, it is really no surprise that my response to seeing it at our 12-week ultrasound was, "It looks like a real baby!".  The ultrasound technician laughed and said, "What did you think was in there?".  Our baby not only had a brain, spinal cord, heart, and other vital organs, it also had an adorable face, and arms, and legs, with tiny little fingers and toes.  The baby even put on a little show for us, wiggling, stretching, and responding to the pressure applied to my belly by the technician.  According to the ultrasound tech, our baby was about 6.7 centimeters long, that is just about three inches of pure perfection.  One thing I can say for certain after seeing that little cutie is that if it were up to me, I would have an ultrasound every day just so that I could watch every change and movement that our baby is going through.  Seeing our baby again and hearing his or her heart beat for the first time definitely helped to put a lot of my fears to rest, while making this whole thing seem a lot less like it was all in my imagination. 

After the ultrasound, we met with the Pregnancy Planner.  She thoroughly reviewed both of our medical histories and talked to us about our insurance coverage, birthing options, and risks associated with pregnancy and delivery.  We had to fill out and sign lots of paperwork during this part of the appointment, but overall, it was completely painless.

When our meeting with the Pregnancy Planner was finished we were escorted into an exam room.  Because OBGYN of Atlanta is a rotating practice, we will see a different doctor at each appointment so that by the time I deliver, we will know all eight of them.  At this appointment we met Dr. Sharon, who examined me while carrying on a conversation with Brad about fishing off the coast of Georgia.  Brad busied himself by checking emails on his Blackberry.  I found the whole situation hilarious!  I think Brad  found it to be awkwardly funny, but I guess we'll have a lot more of those awkwardly funny moments before this is all over with.

The last part of the appointment involved drawing blood, lots of blood!  I do NOT handle having blood drawn very well.  In fact, I don't handle needles very well.  I tried to prep Brad before hand, but I don't think he took me seriously.  Once we got started, I asked him to talk to me or tell me a story to take my mind off of what was going on.  The best he could do on the spot was to tell me the one about the priest, the rabbi, and the duck walking into a bar.  Needless to say, that didn't exactly do the trick.  Thankfully, the phlebotomist took over and did a great job of distracting me by talking about her own three-month old baby.  She did a wonderful job and it was over before I knew it!  Unfortunately, that did not keep me from feeling faint a few minutes later while we were trying to schedule our next appointment.

Several days after the appointment we received some really great news.  All of our first trimester screening results came back normal.  Needless to say, we were both very relieved!  It looks like we are moving into the second trimester with a healthy baby and a happy mommy!   

We're Gonna Have a Baby!

Pee-on-a-Stick, Over-the-Counter Pregnancy Test, Times Two

On July 5th, Brad and I realized that our lives were about to change forever after I took the very official and almost always accurate pee-on-a-stick, over-the-counter pregnancy test, times two.  Obviously, the result was positive and we were both overjoyed... and overwhelmed!   It is pretty amazing how those two little words, "I'm pregnant!" can change everything!

I was so thankful that school had not yet started because I spent the rest of the morning researching doctors and hospitals and reading What to Expect When You're Expecting, which was given to me by my sister-in-law, Christina, before I even knew I was expecting.  I eventually settled on OBGYN of Atlanta and Northside Hospital, thanks to several glowing recommendations from friends and a very nice woman named Kathy at the Northside Hospital doctor referral hot line with whom I had a 30-minute conversation.  Yes, I really can talk to anyone... and apparently, so can Kathy!

We had our first appointment with Dr. Wooten at OBGYN of Atlanta on July 27th.  We found out that I was about six weeks along and that my due date would be somewhere around March 18th.  The most fun part of the appointment was definitely our first ultrasound.  We were even given three pictures of our little Peanut to hang on the fridge.  Peanut is our nickname for the baby because that is exactly what it looked like at that first appointment.  In fact, my exact words after laying eyes on the little guy (or girl) for the first time were, "It looks like a peanut!".  Brad enjoys reminding me that the baby still had a vestigial tail when we saw it for the first time, but I prefer not to think about it.  Dr. Wooten was fantastic!  He did a great job of answering ALL of my questions and I had plenty of them.  Brad and I were both elated when we left the appointment and we celebrated with dinner at our favorite restaurant, Stoney River.  After dinner, we called our parents and my brother and sister-in-law.  It was so much fun to spread the news a little after keeping it a secret for three weeks.  My mom cried and we ended up talking for about an hour.  Brad's parents were also thrilled.  His mom was so excited that she couldn't stop talking about it and his dad just kept repeating the phrase, "That is such wonderful news!".  We didn't tell anyone else for several more weeks.  It wasn't easy to keep such a big secret from our friends and extended family, but we thought it was a good idea to keep things hush-hush for a little longer.

For the next several weeks after that first appointment I began to feel totally and utterly exhausted, especially once the school year started.  Thankfully, the exhaustion subsided around week twelve, right about the time that we had our second appointment and started letting more of friends and family in on our secret!