Our Babymoon in the Caribbean was absolutely perfect! I promised myself I was going to appreciate every minute of it and I kept my word. Even when the ship was rocking so hard that the staff put out barf bags, I was happy to be there. Instead of planning out every detail of every minute I just kind of chilled out, relaxed and let my vacation happen and it turned out to be the best I ever had! (Thanks again, Daddy!)
I was swimming in the crystal clear waters of Grand Cayman when Brian yelled for me to get out for an important phone call. It was the OBGYN's office. I had some blood work taken at my 16-week appointment and they were calling with the results. The test is called a Quad Screen and one of the 4 things they tested (called AFP) came back "slightly elevated." The lady on the phone made sure to tell me this wasn't anything I needed to worry about, that it didn't mean anything was wrong with the baby but they wanted me to come in for a second test to get a more accurate reading. You would think that I, being a little bit neurotic, would have been freaking out but I just told her we'd be in next week and got back to enjoying my relaxing Babymoon. There's just something about the Caribbean that calms me.
I did some research on this Quad Screen and AFP when I got home and now I'm kicking myself for even taking the stupid test in the first place. From what I've been reading, over 90% of the time the results are meaningless. And even when there is something wrong with the baby, what can I do about it? So I'm not worried about the test. What I am worried about, though, is that I haven't felt the baby moving yet. Most women feel the baby move for the first time between weeks 16-20. I'm 19w4d right now and nothing yet. They say that bigger women tend to feel it later than skinny women which makes no sense to me. Just because I'm fat doesn't mean I don't feel things!
Another thing I worry about lately is that I don't actually "feel" pregnant anymore. I just kind of feel like a normal person. It doesn't seem like my belly has grown any in a few weeks, either. It could be that I'm just "plateauing" and getting used to being pregnant. I have read that the 2nd trimester is a breeze and I guess you could say that mine has been a breeze so far. It could just mean that I've been lucky and maybe instead of worrying about my breezy time I should be thankful! We're having an ultrasound on Groundhog's Day and hopefully we'll see a healthy baby on the screen. Then I can stop worrying about the health of my baby and start worrying about how the heck I'm gonna get it out of me!!!!
1 comment:
After that ultrasound find and read anything you can on the Bradley Method of Childbirth. Here is a start http://www.amazon.com/Husband-Coached-Childbirth-Bradley-Method-Natural/dp/0553375563/ref=pd_sxp_f_pt
Even if you don't go that route it is one of the best explanations of how to prepare for childbirth ever. If there are Bradley classes offered in your area take them -- none of this come see the hospital stuff and don't fret - it is a long class that really prepares you and Dad for the process and, if you do the exercises faithfully, helps get your body ready to do what it is supposed to do.
I was on the board of a Childbirth Educators organization and picked this as our method. I am still thrilled that we did. The result of being prepared and working the method was having two kids with very little intervention and no need for pain meds.
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