It's a GIRL!

I can't believe it! I was so certain we were going to have a boy! I was in shock when the ultrasound tech said, "I think it's a girl!!" I kept saying, "I can't believe it's a girl!" and I cried a little ;) Everything looks good! She was moving around, yawning, and sucking her thumb. Greg is also excited and says he is going to turn her into a tomboy ;)

After the ultrasound, the doctor talked to us. She said there isn't much info out there on treating pregnancy in women with CF, so she is going to treat me like an asthma patient and have me come in every four weeks for an ultrasound. She said they just want to monitor the baby's growth to ensure that the baby is getting enough oxygen. And she said that, if I get an exacerbation, she wants me to call both her and my CF doctor, so she can work with him to make sure I am prescribed safe medications and that the baby is not affected.

And now it's time to go shopping! I'm so excited to buy cute dresses and girly stuff! And I am so, so happy that things are still looking good!

Here are a couple of pictures from today. Bonus: This doctor has a 3D ultrasound machine - Woot!

17w5d OB Appointment

I had a quick and simple OB appointment yesterday. I peed on a stick so they could test for sugar in my urine and some other stuff, a tech listened to the baby's heartbeat, the doctor chatted with me for a few minutes, and then I went to the lab to have my blood drawn for the spina bifida test. I didn't even get an exam, which makes me even more thankful that I have an u/s next week, because I am still a bit paranoid about something bad happening.

Today I learned:

• Those random sharp pains I've been getting in my crotch are round ligament pains
  
  
• According to my OB, those tales about not being allowed to lie on your back are just urban myths. She said I could put a pillow under my back if I am still worried. Yay for more comfortable sleeping positions!
  
  
• I'm allowed to fly until 36 weeks.
  
  
• I have been gaining weight a bit too fast and need to be a little more careful - I'm already up almost 15 pounds (boo hiss).



• My bloodwork for the Down's Syndrome test came back normal (yay!).
  
  
• Those record-scratching sounds coming out of the doppler are baby movements! The tech said the baby was moving around like crazy, (Greg said the baby must take after me, because I have a hard time sitting down and relaxing ;). AND, I felt my stomach twitch at the exact moment the baby moved! So, those little twitching feelings I've been having are baby movements! I had a hard time believing they could be movements I felt them soooo early (like 12 weeks).

And, here is an overdue bump picture, taken the evening of 17w0d:

Squeeeee!!!!

So, I was a little bummed that we weren't going to be able to find out the sex until after the holidays - my OB's office told me they probably wouldn't schedule my big ultrasound until about 22 weeks, just because that's when I would be due for an check-up.

BUT, my OB just referred me to a high risk OB, (I will still be seeing my regular OB, and the high risk will act as a consultant). I just got off the phone with the high-risk OB's office. I have an appointment on the 21st, and they are going to do the big ultrasound that day!! So we get to tell MH's family in-person over Christmas! I'm so excited!!!

I Can't Have Beer or Wine

But I can have sugar! I just found out I passed my 2nd tri glucose tolerance test (I did it on Monday). Whooohooo! My vitamin levels are still looking good too :D

There's Nothing More Fun Than...

...having to ask your doctor if you are still on pelvic rest when you are sitting in the middle of cube land, surrounded by coworkers. My office has zero conference rooms that aren't made up of cube walls, and I am on the ninth floor, which means I can't just run out to my car when I get a call back from the doctor. Fun times. (The good news is that, because I haven't spotted in two weeks, I am no longer on pelvic rest!)

I called both my CF doctor and my OB about the journal article, and they are in the process of reading it. Hopefully, I will have more information soon. In the meantime, I am trying a wedge pillow to see if it helps with my nighttime GERD issues and trying to reduce my albuterol use to twice a day, (before hypertonic saline).

In pregnancy symptoms news, my hips have gotten wider. No one warned me about this side effect! I know it makes sense, but I wasn’t expecting it, especially because my hips were already wide for my frame, (pre-pregnancy, I often had to buys pants a size too big and have the waist taken in). My mom even noticed it over Thanksgiving. So, my new wide load is already causing some issues – my shorts are starting to ride up my butt while I am working out, and I can’t fit into some of my elastic waist skirts – not because of my growing belly, but because they are so tight in the hips I can barely get them on! It’s also making sleeping quite uncomfortable, and I am waking up five to ten times a night to roll over because my hips ache. I used to have this issue on very hard beds, but now I am experiencing it on our memory foam bed. I even had to go out and buy a feathertop for my parent’s futon, (which I’ve slept on plenty of times in the past), because my hips were aching so badly I could barely sleep. I hope I will eventually get used to it, because I have a feeling my hips are not going to shrink back after our little one arrives. (And, I hope they don’t get so wide that I will have to go out and buy all new jeans!)

The only others symptoms I have been experiencing are some fatigue, (which is probably at least partly caused by the aching hips), and worsened acid reflux, (fun times with pukey burps :P). I did have morning sickness during the first trimester, but it is gone (I am going to write an entire post about that). My stress level has increased - being in bed by 9:30, upping my vesting, and having a horrible commute (not PG-related) has cut out whatever little free time I used to have during the workweek. However, there’s no way I would trade any of this to go back to the pre-pregnancy days, and I feel very lucky to have been healthy and to have had so few symptoms! ::knock on wood::

Albuterol = Autism?

While I was getting ready for work this morning, I overheard the anchorwoman say something about a new study linking the use of asthma medications during pregnancy to autism. This definitely got my attention.

So, I immediately started googling. I found the abstract of the journal article here. It says that beta 2 adrenergic agonists, (which include albuterol and other asthma drugs, as well as a pre-term labor medication), "can induce functional and behavioral teratogenesis, which explains their association with increases in autism spectrum disorders, psychiatric disorders, poor cognitive, motor function and school performance, and changes in blood pressure in the offspring."

Considering I take albuterol four times a day, I am concerned. Additional googling told me that the study found the risk period is during the late second trimester and the third trimester. This means I have time to figure out if this is something I need to be worried about.

Step 1: Getting the full journal article from my brother-in-law (he has access to journal articles at work). Step 2: Talking to my doctors about it. Step 3: Deciding if I need to (and can) make any changes.

Bodily Functions

• I just threw up in my mouth. I thought it was a burp, until the contents of my stomach came into the back of my mouth. I freaked out and swallowed. Yummy. So, it looks like I might be going back on my proton pump inhibitor soon.

• That liquidy discharge I have been experiencing? Yeah…I’m not so sure it’s just discharge. I noticed the other day that my undies smelled like I’d been hiking all day and had to pop a squat (to pee) and didn’t use toilet paper. So, apparently my CF cough has already caused me be to become a member of the pee pants party.
  

• Pooping has become an Olympic event: rare and very difficult when it does occur. I never understood why people spent so much time in the bathroom. I mean, just get in there, go, and get out. Why spend 15 minutes with a turd under your butt while you read a magazine? Go curl up on the couch and read. Now I get it. It is frustrating! Now, bathroom time is when I read my pregnancy books. And, let me just say, when I actually do have to poop, it is exciting and I must take advantage of the opportunity right away, even if it means I am on hold with the doctor's office. And, pooping in public is not quite as embarrassing as it used to be, because I'm so happy it's actually happening. Although, the other day I was a bit annoyed because I had to go at the airport, I was the only one in the bathroom, and the bathroom attendant decided to sit outside my stall the entire time I was in there. Seriously? A little privacy, please?