The Eleven-Week Belly

So it turns out the first belly shot was more like seven weeks rather than nine, and here it is four weeks later at the ultrasound-corrected timestamp of eleven weeks.

I would have waited until 12 weeks to post the next photo, just to try to keep things even, but Jarrett is on an airplane as I type this, headed out on business for nearly two weeks (cue the sad, lonely music), so he will not be here at the 12-week mark to help me capture the image.

In other baby news, according to BabyCenter, the Second Baby Helms is just over one-and-a-half inches long, is about the size of a fig, and is now almost fully formed. Its hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under its gums, and some of its bones are beginning to harden. He or she is already busy kicking and stretching, and these movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional.

I am feeling more pregnant, especially as I see my belly start to pop out after eating a meal. This is worrying me just a tad, as I know I did not have to start wearing the BellaBand until 15 or 16 weeks last time around. I have heard from several people, though, that your body has muscle memory when it comes to subsequent pregnancies, and it is fairly common to pop out much sooner, so we will see how it goes! I am also already having some pain on the left side of my back, kind of in my rib cage area, that is very familiar -- but it seems too soon! Dr. J. says this is also likely somewhat due to muscle memory. Thank goodness I have her and our massage therapist to help me out along the way.

Ten-and-a-Half-Week Midwife Appointment

It seems my appointments will not be on even weeks, as far as the pregnancy goes, at least at this point; thus, the ten-and-a-half-week appointment. I saw Margaret again today, and was actually surprised by that, thinking I would surely see Anjli or Amy, but Margaret did tell me today that I will definitely be rotating among them, so perhaps next time (not that I would mind sticking with Margaret through the entire process!).

I sat in the waiting room forever this morning and, while doing so, caught up on way more celebrity gossip than I really needed. Kate is right -- next time I should take my knitting along. And, poor Kate was watching Elsa the entire time I was away since there is no playgroup this week (thank you, Kate!). When I was finally called back, I was immediately weighed (127, up three pounds from the appointment three weeks ago), peed in a cup (must have been fine since Margaret did not say anything), and was then taken back to an examination room where the nurse took my blood pressure (100/60). I did not have to wait too terribly long for Margaret to come in, and she went over the labs from last visit's bloodwork, and said everything looked fine. Most importantly, my thyroid levels look good (TSH: 2.240; T4, Free: 1.16), so the gluten-free diet must still be doing its job, even during pregnancy. I am sending copies of the labs to both Dr. J. and Dr. Owen via e-mail this evening, and I go see Dr. J. Friday, so we shall see what they say. Margaret listened for the baby's heartbeat and found it right away -- so lovely. She said, "It sounds like you're having another girl." And then quickly followed that up with, "You know I really don't know, don't you?"

We confirmed that I will not have any testing for defects; therefore, the next ultrasound will be around 20 weeks. Margaret also asked me if we were planning on taking any refresher birthing classes, and I asked her if she thought it was necessary. She said not really... unless we felt it necessary, but I am not convinced I used enough from the first class we took to make it worth the effort of doing again. I could be wrong. I mean, we definitely did learn a lot in that first class. I don't know... I am still trying to decide if I want a doula this time around. I also asked Margaret if we needed to take the waterbirthing class at Atlanta Medical Center, but she said if I could find the certificate from the class we took at North Fulton, then it would not be necessary. So the search begins. I have a feeling Jarrett is right, though, and that it probably became property of the nurses at North Fulton when we handed it over at the time of Elsa's birth. It is not a big deal, though. I would not totally mind taking that class again.

Margaret asked if we ever had determined Jarrett's blood type, and I said no, though we would like to do so. She said if he comes to an appointment with me, they will go ahead and draw his blood and have it typed for us. She said this last time around, but it turned up the higher-ups at that particular office gave it a no-go. Since Margaret is pretty much in charge of this new office, I have a feeling it will actually happen, so I believe Jarrett is hoping to come to my next appointment, which is in four weeks.

I am feeling pretty good thus far. I have been really exhausted during this first trimester, and have found that if I do not attempt to take a nap in the afternoon, it is likely I will not be able to keep my eyes open much past 9:00 in the evening. I have been slack about housework, which is so not like me, and I have just been feeling generally lazy. I will be into the second trimester in a couple of weeks, so I am really hoping some new-found energy comes along with it.

Meet the Midwives and Hospital Tour

On Wednesday evening, Jarrett and I (along with our friends, David and Shelly, who are hoping to get pregnant soon and are considering Intown Midwifery) went to a "meet and greet" with the midwives from the practice at Atlanta Medical Center. Margaret was on call that evening, so she was not there, but that actually worked out nicely for me since the other two midwives are the ones I really needed to meet anyway. Both Anjli and Amy seemed fabulous and I got really good vibes from both of them, which really made me happy. It will be interesting to see what I think once I am able to talk to them more one on one in the office, but my first impression is certainly good. I was a little sad that Margaret was not there for Shelly's sake because I would have really loved for her to hear Margaret speak, but someone had to be delivering those babies!

The meet and greet was basically just a big question and answer session between the midwives and those interested in Intown Midwifery for their prenatal care, waterbirth, or the hospital in general. There was not too much I heard that I did not already know from my previous birthing experience, but it was nice to hear it all again anyway. I did learn that children under the age of 18 are not allowed on the hospital floors during cold and flu season, but I think our little one should come before that officially begins next year, so hopefully Elsa will be able to come up to the room to meet her new brother or sister.

The primary reason Jarrett and I wanted to go (besides meeting the other two midwives) was to go on the hospital tour, which Anjli lead after the question and answer period. The hospital really reminded both Jarrett and me of North Fulton Regional -- fairly small in comparison with many hospitals, and nice enough. I have to laugh at how it seems the labor and delivery rooms are always so much nicer than the post-partum rooms, where you actually end up spending most of your time (and are likely more aware of your surroundings). However, it was nice that the labor and delivery rooms had recently been renovated. They were fairly small -- especially compared to what I had at North Fulton -- but they were nicely appointed, and the bathrooms were good-sized and super nice.

For laboring in the tub, and for waterbirth, the hospital has three inflatable birthing tubs. These are much smaller than the huge, permanent tub I lucked out in getting with Elsa, but had I not had the room I did when I birthed her, I would have had one of these inflatable tubs there too. And, as Jarrett pointed out, the fact that they are air-filled might be nice when leaning up against it and what not, so I am not too disappointed.

The post-partum rooms were tiny and aged, but nothing we cannot live with. What is more important is the care we receive while there, and I have heard good things. I know we have made a good choice with the midwifery practice, and I am fairly certain we will be just as pleased with the hospital.

The First Ultrasound

Today marked the big day of the first ultrasound. Jarrett was able to go to the appointment with me, and lunch afterward, which made the morning that much more special. We arrived at Emory University Hospital--Midtown (previously Crawford Long), where See Baby's office is located, and were once again awed by how swanky that hospital is (we commented on this when we visited after the birth of our friends' baby). Too bad midwives are not welcome there.

I filled out more paperwork, though it was fairly abbreviated, and after scanning the Atlanta skyline from the eleventh floor for a few minutes, we were escorted back to one of the ultrasound rooms. I felt like I was going in for a massage. The table was ultra-comfy, complete with a chenille throw blanket and a warmer the technician wrapped around my neck to "help me relax." She went into the ultrasound fairly promptly, and we were able to view the entire thing from the multiple screens around the room. I concentrated on the one hanging on the wall directly in front of me, and was thrilled when she almost immediately found the baby and I could see its little heart beating away. She turned on the sound so we could hear the heartbeat, which was fantastic. Happy noises escaped both my and Jarrett's lips, and Jarrett placed his hand on my arm, which nearly immediately made me tear up.

The technician pointed out the head (on the right) and the rear-end (on the left), though I have to admit that I could not make out anything besides the little beating heart. I felt like I was more easily able to make out Elsa in her first ultrasound, even if she did look a bit like a gummy bear -- this little one just looked like a bean, pure and simple. The technician did a lot of scanning and measuring, and at the end told us that the measurements concluded I am eight weeks, four days, along today, as opposed to the ten weeks, three days, the calendar would lead us to believe. So the due date is September 10. Just to compare, Elsa's due date was September 9, and she arrived on September 7. Needless to say, these siblings' birthdays are likely going to be close.

We met with the doctor after the ultrasound, and he went over the photos with us on his desktop computer. He said everything looked great and normal. The heartbeat was 164, which is completely normal, but also a little on the high side, which he commented would lead some to believe that it is a girl (I also remember Elsa's heartbeat being in the 160s), but wives' tales such as those are just that. I guess we will have to wait a few months before being able to confirm that big question.