It's a...BOY!!!

Well, yesterday was the big day! Finally it was time to find out the sex of the baby. I woke up a little tired because I had trouble sleeping the night before from sheer excitement. I took a shower and got ready like usual. Then it was time to measure out those wonderful 32 oz of water that I would have to ingest and hold in my bladder with excruciating discomfort. We got to Grossmont Imaging a little early and I filled out the usual assortment of paperwork. I begrudgingly paid the fee and reminded myself of how much being a cash patient sucked and sat down with Mike and my mom. As I sat there the aniticipation built up and along with that build up, so went my urge to pee all over the office floor! Then that big door opened and my name was called. Alas, I made it.

We asked if my mom could come and she assured us that she while she couldn't come right now, she wouldn't miss anything when that time came. We walked into the room, I laid down on my back and she got to work. I pulled up my shirt and pulled down my pants (sexy, lol) and I fully anticipated a chill to follow that thick gel spewing from the bottle but it was shockingly warm to the touch. I couldn't see the magic that was happening on the screen from my vantage point but I watched Mike's face and the expressions said everything I needed to know. The ultrasound tech said that she was initially going to be doing the measurements and looking at several things and that when she was done with everything she'd show us the baby and share the big news. After several minutes and some apparent struggles with our little wiggle worm, it was determined that I wasn't as far along as we initially thought. Based on our first ultrasound, the baby was measuring 2 weeks younger than my ovulation/conception estimation. So, instead of being 19 weeks like what we thought, it turns out we were 17 weeks; much too soon to do the measurements needed for this ultrasound screen. After she shared this with us, the big reveal came.

The way it happened is something that I would have never imagined. I expected some sort of aniticipation or mystery leading up to the announcement by the tech. Maybe a question like, "Do you have a feeling about what you're having" or, "Are you ready?". I never thought it would be blurted out with no warning. But that's what happened.

I could have guessed it already though. The way Mike had been smiling the whole time. A smile and a look in his eyes that I don't think I've seen in our almost 11 years together. The smug look for the running bet about who was right and the hopefulness that radiated from his being, I just knew it was a boy. So when the tech blurted out that it was most certainly a boy and when Mike asked her what her level of certainty was... the 101% answer we got back was not a huge surprise! We left the offices and the onslaught of calls, texts and emails started. I hope we didn't forget everyone, but it is so hard to contact everyone. I hope you can understand.

So, that's it! Another stinky weenie on the way, poor Mia! We go back in 3 weeks for some measurements but everything looks good and so far, this munchkin has made his daddy proud, just look at the picture and you'll see what I mean. LOL! ;)

2nd Dr's Appointment

We had our 2nd Dr's Appointment last week on Thursday 8/13/09 with Dr. Castillo. We showed up to find a waiting room filled with other couples/families and my first thought was that it was going to be a long day. We signed in begrudgingly paid the fee, did I mention that my application to AIM and Medical has taken since June and I still don't have a determination of eligibility? I'm going to go off on a tangent here and express how I feel about this part of my pregnancy. I've worked and payed taxes since I got my worker's permit when I was 15. I graduated college just .2 short of cum laude from SDSU's Business School and never thought that when I got laid off in January and Mike finally made the decision to enroll in Nursing School that we'd get pregnant and be dealing with all of this. I will say with complete certainty that this whole process of applying for government assistance has been quite a humbling experience. With that said, this is just a temporary situation and one that I hope I will never have to go through again. This is America, the wealthiest nation on the face of this planet and to see and hear the things I have in those offices, affirms the belief that this country is in a lot of trouble. I pray about this and I encourage everyone to do the same.
Ok, so back on track. We pay and wait for our name to get called. When it finally it does, we walk back after making a pit stop at the dreaded scale (hate this part, LOL), and sit in a room to wait for the doctor. The CNA comes in and notifies us that the Dr had to leave on an emergency and that the nurse would be seeing us. This was a little disappointing but what could we do. We got the information on the Quad Screen and anxiously awaited for the part where we got to see the baby and hear the heartbeat for the first time. As I lay there on my back I had million things going through my head: did I miss a spot when I shaved?, I feel bad for Mike's view in his chair at the end of the table, am I supposed to be on my back for this long?, gosh that blue jelly looks really cold, I hope that everything looks okay with the baby, etc... Then after that initial shock from the jelly that looked so cold, I see our honey bunny. We'd soon come to find out that this child likes to do laps in my uterus! It didn't help that the girl hadn't really done an ultrasound before either! We saw the random fingers and toes, the head, the tummy, arms moving all around and legs making the most of acrobatic moves. And then there was the heartbeat. One of the most melodic of sounds I've ever heard in my life. There was the living, breathing being in my body and hearing that made it all real. I kinda expected myself to cry at the sound of it but my happiness, excitement and relief didn't let me. I looked at Mike who was smiling ear to ear and I was just peaceful.
We got the information for the lab and the ultrasound place and we were on our way. The next hour or so was spent with me being nervous of the impending doom that is a needle and the fact that I was starving. We ate at Pat & Oscar's and headed the lab. I didn't think about this until after the fact, but I kinda wish there was a place to notate the high levels of sodium in my blood were the result of 3 yummy breadsticks and some chicken cesar salad. But alas, I survived the death march with special thanks to a great phlebotemist and some entertaining distraction by Mike.
We have our appointment to find out the sex of the baby set for 9/3/09. My only concern is what the heck I'm going to do for the next couple weeks as I practically die from anticipation, and the fact that I have to drink 32 oz. of water before my appointment without being able to pee the usual 3-4 times an hour. WTH am I going to do?? Do they sell pregnancy Depends?!

Little Bean's Debut

Today was our munchkin's first doctor's appointment with Dr. Castillo @ Sharp. I showed up with knots in my stomach at the thought of having to possibly give blood for labs. And the image of stir-ups, I mean really. The ladies in the office were really nice and Dr. Castillo seems personable and professional, so I'm relieved about that at least.
Upon arriving and filling out all the new patient paperwork, I did the usual pee in the cup and change into paper clothing thing. When the nurse came in she asked how far along I was and mentioned that one of the lines on the pregnancy test was really faint and the other was really dark, which is exactly what happened with the First Response test I took. It got Mike and I a little concerned at first because we figured that those lines would be good and dark by now since I am 3 months. After pondering about this for a few minutes, we decided not too get worked up about it. The doc came in and did her examinations and then it was time to see our sugar plum.
There he/she was! Mike came over to the side of the table and we both looked on in anticipation as we saw that little fluttering heart and moon tummy. I was shocked at how clear the baby looked. We saw head, rump, tummy and limbs. She showed us where the sacs were and measured the baby. Even though my dates indicate that I will be 12 weeks tomorrow, the baby is measuring smaller and looks to be closer to 10 weeks. Dr. Castillo says that it could be either or: 1) I am 12 weeks and the baby is just small or 2) My dates are off and we're somewhere between 10-11 weeks. In any case, she decided to keep my due date at 1/29/09 for now and if not, the baby will be here possibly as late as Valentine's Day. Our very own little lovebug!