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Okay, so we have already had an ultrasound...but this is the first official one. We met at the clinic, since since I was leaving the VTH in the middle of the day to go to the appointment. Thankfully I was on neuro/ortho rotation, and all I had to do was bring back a picture of the baby (Duh! I was going to make people look at it, even if they didn't want to!).
The hardest part of the appointment was preparing for it. I had to have a full bladder, which meant drinking an abnormal amount of fluids before the exam.* Now this may not seem to hard, but as my pregnancy progresses I often need to use the bathroom. I don't think I have ever been so well-hydrated in my life. I was definitely ready for the exam when I got there! I can also tell you there are a lot of unnecessary bumps on the road between the VTH and PFM. And then my appointment started 10 minutes late. AH!**
As for Keith's reaction to this situation, it was a mixture of laughter and pity. He said I was more excited to be able to use the bathroom than for the ultrasound. I was so happy that half-way through the exam they let me use it. I think I literally lept off the exam table!
In the end it was worth it - a great picture of the baby.*** He/she was less active than before, although did move around during the exam. I wonder if that means our baby has the Tamura sleep schedule already - sleep during the day, awake at night. I hope not, otherwise it will make working and raising a child very difficult. And I know Keith hopes not, since he does not function well as a nocturnal creature.
The blood draw wasn't too bad either, just a finger-prick and 5 drops blood. Not too bad! Now we just wait for all the diagnostics results...if I could only remember when they said we would find out...
*Ultrasound works better if things are surrounded by fluid. Wanna know more? Ask Keith. I'm too lazy to explain the physics of ultrasound.
**Hey, this may not be something everyone wants to read...but no one said pregnancy was pretty.
***You can also see my bladder, if you know how to read ultrasounds. Sigh...
1. Blaming my baby for things: Like wanting ice cream. Or when I lose my Cougar Card...for the second (or was it third) time in a week.2. Speaking of ice cream, I lov that ice cream is a good source of calcium. And that I need calcium. So the logical argument is: I need calcium. Ice cream is a good source of calcium. Therefore, I need ice cream.
3. Reading books, websites, and other stuff all baby-related. And skipping the scary sections, such as labor and birth defects. Scary stuff. But I like the happy stuff, like knowing their heart rate (range is the same as a cat's), when their ductus arteriosus closes (a few days after birth - I knew I heard a murmur at the ultrasound!).4. Being done with my senior paper and internship applications. Now I can focus on other things: my research project, my case report, and sleeping.
5. Olympic curling. I am sad that it's over and can only hope curling gets more ESPN coverage.
6. Ultrasounds! I don't really love doing them, but love getting them...so far.
7. Being back home after a month away and spending time with my husband.
8. The twinkle in his eye when I remind him (like he forgets!) that I am pregnant.
9. Standing barefoot in the kitchen. (Think about it...) It cracks me up! Of course Keith said this was how it should be. I kicked him in the behind, literally. Good thing he was laughing when he said it!
10. La Casa Lopez in Moscow, ID. While it won't compare with the Mexican food we had in Tucson, they do serve a decent tamale. And apparently some good margaritas...so I've heard.11. Being able to eat Mexican food again! So far, no more morning sickness and no more heartburn with spicy food. I can't believe there was a time when I found Taco Del Mar spicy. Sad, sad day.12. Lists. Okay, this isn't a new thing. Just be glad I haven't figured out how to do charts on this blog...yet. 13. Nicknames people have for the baby (and me): a. Poppy seed - keith & liz b. Chicken Wing or CW - brynne c. Critter - jenny d. Leon - sam e. Preggo (for me) - john, knappster, and burien vet hospital
That's right...we are adding to our hip baby-related FAQ! Here we answer some new FAQs that we have recently come across. If your question appears on this FAQ...well, you know what you did.
1. Are you excited?Yes. Seriously. For real, for serious, fo' sho'. We are super, duper, awesomely excited. There was dancing and celebration (And there was much rejoicing. Yea!). But we are less excited to be constantly asked if we are excited.
2. What is the strangest response to the pregnancy announcement?
Applause. (But no standing ovation - tough crowd!)
3. What was the best response to the pregnancy announcement?
About three minutes of screaming through the phone.
4. Does Keith have a job when you move?
We are working on it. We hope to have this worked out soon.
5. Is Keith okay being the stay-at-home parent?
Heck yes! He is excited for the challenge/opportunity/insanity that is being a stay-at-home parent. And btw, please don't call him Mr. Mom. First of all, I am the Mom. Second, what is this...the 1950's?!? Please join us in the 21st century. Welcome to world of tomorrow!
6. How are you going to manage internship and having a baby?
Please see previous comment, made from the 21st century. We may not have flying cars (yet!), but we do have this thing called equality. Just an FYI. Actually my internship will last a little longer, so I can take some time off when the baby arrives. Hooray!
7. Any cravings yet?
Yes. Oh wait...you mean related to pregnancy. Not really anything different from normal cravings. Except for cashews or peanuts. Don't ask, but I am loving them right now. But I think it's too early to say there won't be in the future.
I do like to say the following to get what I want: "It's the baby who wants _________ (ice cream, pizza, cookies, etc)." This usually elicits an eye-roll from Keith.
8. Rumor has it that Liz has pregnancy brain (ie. no memory), is it true?
Look here...I have always been kinda flaky, but to say such a thing is...wait, what are we talking about?!*
9. How far along are you?
Please see the cute little side-bar gadget on this bloggy that tells you. It took me a while to find one that I liked that didn't have a floating sea-monkey.
10. Has Liz had any symptoms?
In short: yup. Please see previous FAQ for full response.
11. Do you want a girl or a boy?
I never thought this was a legit answer, but here it is as I'm living it: We just hope the baby is healthy. This baby is a gift and we only want him/her to be healthy and happy.
That being said, there are many precautions we are taking. I now call Keith my "FuPo"**, as in Food Police. He let's me know what I can/cannot consume. I am also no longer holding for radiographs and being careful around anesthesia (no more huffing...sad, I know. Actually, anesthetic gas gives me a headache. Don't ask how I know that).
Thank you for reading the updated FAQ. Please keep your questions coming, and we will try (or not) to answer them in a timely (and sarcastic) manner.
*No seriously. If you happen to see Liz's Cougar Card, please return it to her. She has lost it. Again.
**Pronounced Foo-Poh. Rhymes with Uh-Oh.
We finally had our first baby appointment with our OB/GYN, Dr. Guida. Apparently the first baby appointment occurs between weeks 8-10*. But Liz was gone to Western Washington for her month-long preceptorship**, so it waited until she got back home.
The appointment was fairly standard, with family history questions, physical examination, and some blood squeezed out of Liz. That part wasn't very successful and Liz had to return to give more blood. She also got a vaccine shot for H1N1 (swine flu), which was not too bad. It was pretty funny at the exam, since her doctor was explaining to a visiting med student about Toxoplasmosis (Liz is getting tested for since she works with kitties), something Liz has learned extensively in VetMed School. Goes to show you...veterinarians learn a lot more about zoonotic diseases than human MDs. (sigh!)
But overall, Liz and Keith were excited for the appointment. They had read in one of her many baby books that they would use a Doppler in this appointment (Liz is reading a frenzy of books, since this is like studying for Boards!).
This may be exaggerated, but Liz and Keith are reading a lot of baby books!
For those who don't know, a Doppler is used to listen to heartbeats. So Liz was excited to finally hear the baby's heart! After much trying, Dr. Guida just couldn't get the heart beat on the Doppler. Liz was crushed...but wait! Dr. Guida decided to warm-up the ultrasound and just take a look to reassure these first-time parents that everything was okay. This was wonderful, since this pushed the appointment into after hours for the clinic. Did we mention how wonderful Dr. Guida is!?!
So Liz and Keith got to SEE THE BABY! Liz and Keith got to see the heart beating, and the heart rate was about 170-180. Of course Liz stated, "That's just like a cat!" The baby was moving around so much, it was no wonder why the Doppler didn't work! Dr. Guida could barely get pictures, since the baby was swinging arms and twisting around so much.
The black sac is the amniotic fluid and the white thingy at the bottom is our baby! To the left is the heart, but it's hard to see in this picture since the little one was so active.
At one point, it looked like the little poppy seed*** was doing the Twist! This made Keith exclaim, "How can you not feel that?!?" Of course he knew that movements cannot be felt by the Mommy until 20 weeks, but it was incredible that so much movement could happen without Liz noticing.
Here you can see the head to the right and above the head is a tiny cute hand. If you look closely, you can actually see the baby's little digits!
*Pregnancy is measured in weeks because the development changes from week to week. I never knew that before, since it's always talked about in trimesters. So I'll be talking about it in weeks, just because that is the standard.
**At Burien Veterinary Hospital, which is an awesome place! Loved it there!***We call our baby poppy seed (for now), since at the beginning we were amazed that since a poppy seed-sized creature could cause such profound GI effects on Liz.
So now it's time to tell the story of how Daddy Keith found out his new title. It's a few days after Christmas and Liz wakes up at 7am on a Saturday*. (Already this sounds like a fairy tale, doesn't it?). Liz takes the pregnancy test and see's this:
In her heart, she screamed with excitement and did a little dance. Liz wanted to wake Keith up by leaping on his sleeping lump, screaming with joy, and beating him with the pregnancy test. Instead she held back and waited**.
After what feels like forever, Keith woke up and they walked down to their favorite little coffee shop in downtown Pullman. (The day before they had planned a leisurely day, including getting some morning coffee. And Liz didn't want to tip Keith off that things had changed.) This day Liz declined coffee, stating she wasn't in the mood*. So she got an iced drink, which was quite refreshing when outside temperatures were around freezing. Keith offered to do some window shopping with her, and Liz also declined. She was anxious to get her secret plan into effect!
They returned home quickly afterward. Liz went on her own to run some errands*. Liz snuck off to the store and bought some gifts to surprise Keith. She returned home and placed the gift under the tree.
Keith quickly found the gift; Liz told Keith that Santa must have left a late stocking stuffer. Of course he didn't believe her! He opened the gift and said nothing. First he saw the WSU Dad shirt, then the WSU baby clothes...but he kept digging through the bag. Then he found the positive pregnancy test.
There was instant jumping, hugging, and dancing! As Keith states: He thought Liz had purchased the wrong shirt on accident. But as for the baby clothes, he was in a happy state of shock.
What a very Merry Christmas!
*All the starred behaviors are so unbelievable and out of norm for Liz that this story seems unreal. But they are true! Interestingly, Keith didn't notice how weird she was being. Yea!
**This meant waiting 5 entire hours to tell Keith. This is the longest she has ever kept a secret from him. Amazing.
Have you heard the news? From a friend or family member, perhaps? Or maybe from our very mouths? Well, its all true! Liz is finally graduating (pending she continues to fool the clinicians). That means she is finally out of school!! Amazing yet true. Could it be that the life-long student is finally ready to grow-up?! Probably not. But oh wait...that isn't the biggest news.
What about this: We are moving to San Diego! Liz scored an internship at the fantastic Veterinary Specialty Center of San Diego. Nope, while true, not the biggest news either.
Okay, this has to be it: Liz and Keith are GOING TO HAVE A BABY! But wait, you say...they have a cat named "Baby." And they do consider their cats as their "babies." And they are lame enough to post something like this as a joke. So let's rephrase it: Liz and Keith are GOING TO HAVE A HUMAN BABY!!
It's true! We are expecting in early September. To field questions please refer to the following FAQ (that's right, our baby already has an FAQ. We are so hip. Do people even use the word hip anymore? Maybe I am already ready for being an out-of-touch parent!)
1a. Is it a boy or a girl?
We don't know yet, because it is too early to tell. While God and the baby knows, we are still left in the dark. We have heard some predictions, and maybe I'll post a poll to see what is the consensus. But remember, this is not a democracy. So your vote doesn't count here.
1b. Are you going to find out the gender?
Heck yes! Liz can barely wait to open presents for Christmas or birthday. Do you think she could really wait to find out!?! Plus having a baby is enough excitement and we figure we don't really need to be "surprised".
2. You are moving and having a baby? Have you lost your mind?
Probably. Or maybe not. Who knows, but either way we are doing it. If you are really concerned, please contact Keith as he will basically be in charge of moving since Liz has so conveniently become pregnant and won't be able to help lift heavy things (ha ha...doesn't seem so dumb now, does it?)
3. Are you excited?
YES! YES! YES! YES raised to infinity!
4. Was this planned?
First of all, what a weird question. Seriously. Second of all, as much as these things can be planned.
5. Will you name your baby after me?
No. By asking, you have actually help us cut your name off our list. Thank you.
6. What can I buy you? Can I mail it?
We are registered at Babies 'R Us and Target. We also accept cash monies, preferably in unmarked bills.* We are sure there will be a baby shower or something, please stay tuned. And please wait until after we move or the shower, due to the circumstances in #2.
7. How will you find an OB/GYN in time if you are moving?
Our doctor in Pullman has assured us that people do this all the time. And we will be at the beginning of the third trimester when we move, so there will be time to get to know another doctor. Be assured, this question has already crossed our minds. Thank God for Google!
8. Why didn't you call me/email me/sending a dancing gorilla telegram when you got the news?
Liz and Keith sincerely apologize for not personally telling you their fantastic news. However, due to time and financial constraints they have opted for the old-fashioned word of mouth to spread the good news**. As for the dancing gorilla, Liz is still lobbying to use that to announce something...although at this time it is unclear for what.
9. Natural childbirth or the evil drug-ridden way?
Drugs. Liz did not going through all that medical training, organic chem and biochem to shun the ways of drugs. Plus she is a wimp.
10. What are you going to name him/her?
It's a secret. No, seriously. Please don't ask us, because we won't tell you. Actually we aren't sure, but we aren't even going to disclose our potential names. We have heard too many horror stories of people ruining names for couples, and have decided that we will let everyone know when the baby arrives. Please know that it is unlikely to be Twilight-related, Harry Potter-related, or based off fruit.
11. How did you tell Keith?
That is a story for another post. It's a good one though. Also a good story, is how Liz and Keith told their parents.
12. Are you still going to call your cats your babies, since you are having a real baby?
Yes. Deal with it. Liz is going to be a veterinarian. All animals are babies, cutie-pies, or sweeties.
13. Is Liz having any pregnancy related symptoms?
Yes. Morning sickness is a cruel misnomer and the person who coined that phrase was clearly a man. Or a pregnant woman who was trying to dupe her friends into thinking only part of the day would be spent nauseous and sick. Either way, these people should be brought up on charges of slander.
That's it for the baby FAQ. Please feel to post any other questions, which will be answered in a timely manner (maybe).
*note: Liz doesn't even really know what that means, but it's in all the hip movies. **Be proud that Liz refrained from inserting some door-to-door religious joke. Must be the maturity kicking in. Nah...
