It's Official ... It's a Baby CARLY!!!

Congratulations to everyone who voted "girl" in the poll ... you are right!!!

I went to Dr. C's office today for an ultrasound of my gallbladder because I've had a lingering pain just below my right rib cage now for about a month. Apparently gallstones are fairly common in pregnancies ... and thankfully I don't have one because the only solution is to have one's gallbladder removed. They also checked the kidneys and liver as well ... all good.

So we still don't know what the lingering pain is, but at least now we know what the baby is!!!

The woman doing the ultrasound asked me how far along I was and if I knew what I was having. After I told her the story about the shy, indian style sitting baby she said, "well, after we're done looking at your organs we'll take a peek to see what position the baby is in today."

I didn't tell her that the woman's theory from last week was 70% girl, because I didn't want her biased in any way when she looked at the screen.

"Congratulations! You are having a baby girl!" she said without hesitation. I asked how certain she was and she said 100% and showed me why. Typically they are looking for the "3 lines" associated with a positive female sonogram ... she said based on Baby Carly's position she could only see 3 dots. But none the less she is sure of what she sees ... and what she doesn't see.

BRING ON THE PINK!!!

Everything Looks Good!!!

I saw Dr. C today for my post-surgery checkup and my routine monthly visit and everything looks good since last Monday.

"Who did this beautiful work?!?" he said upon inspection. What modesty! Gotta love a doctor who can make you laugh when you feet are in stirrups.

No ultrasound today. Dr. C just listened to the heartbeat with the little Doppler device. The kid was probably spread-eagled today. Or doing a backbend.

I see Dr. R next Monday (12/3) ... maybe they'll do another ultrasound then ...

The only other update from today is that I've gained 14 pounds in total now. Hmmm ... Let's see here ... I gained 5 pounds in the first 13 weeks, and 9 pounds in the last 5. Damn that yellowcake!

Gender Update -- We Have a Shy Baby on our Hands

The most recent person to vote in the gender poll was my friend Larry who I met at the Toronto Film Festival, and he posted "now hurry up and tell us!" after voting.

That's exactly what I said to my baby on Monday ... twice!!!

It seems we have a very shy baby on our hands who does not want us all to know yet.

On Monday I actually had 2 ultrasounds (keep reading the new posting below for other important pregnancy updates) ... one around 8:30 in the morning and the other around 4:30 in the afternoon.

In the first ultrasound the kid was sitting indian style with the legs crossed, making it impossible to see the goods. The woman performing the ultrasound did share with me a theory, and she showed me her logic behind the theory, but she said she can't be sure until she sees better proof. Maybe next time ...

Well, I didn't know this at the time, but the next time I would have an ultrasound would be about 8 hours later. I was so excited because I thought for sure that the kid would have moved around. Believe it or not the kid was making it even tougher to see anything the second time around ... he/she was sitting indian style again and this time leaning forward.

I'm convinced that the baby can hear already and knows the word "ultrasound" and gets into this position upon hearing the magic word.

The top picture above is from the second ultrasound, and you can see the position of the head and the slant of the spine showing the slumped over posture.

The bottom picture, with the hand, is from the first ultrasound. Either the baby is saying "Hi" to all his/her blog readers, or he/she is saying "Stop! Don't look at me I'm naked!"

Ugh!!! I want to know now!!!

So I've extended the poll and will keep you all posted....

A Very Interesting Monday

Well, this day did not turn out quite the way I expected when I got up this morning and dressed for work...

I was excited for my 7:45 a.m. appointment with the specialist, Dr. R., for high risk assessment appointment #3 of 3 because I was hoping to learn the baby's gender, which you know from the above posting I did not learn.

What I did learn at this important appointment is that A) all indications from all tests show a perfectly healthy baby, and B) that I have another condition called an "incompetent cervix" which is another concern for a pre-term delivery on top of my unicornuate uterus.

What this basically means is that the "seal" on my cervix is not tight enough to continue to support the baby and keep him/her inside once the baby grows bigger.

They discovered this because they are watching me extra close because of the unicornuate uterus. I've been told that it was a very good thing they caught this at 17 weeks. Apparently most women with this condition don't find out until week 20-22, and at that point it is even more serious.

Anyway, Dr. R talks to me to tell me all this ... then he talks to Dr. C on the phone ... and then Dr. C wants to talk to me ... and the next thing I know my Mom is driving me to Plantation General Hospital for an emergency surgical procedure.

Around 2:30 Dr. C performed the surgery to insert what is called a cervical cerclage, which, as you can see from the image at the top of this posting, basically stitches the cervix closed to keep the baby in.

Dr. C said the procedure was a perfect success. His hope is to remove the cerclage at week #37 and then let the baby come out when nature dictates.

He also said I can't go back to work until after the baby is born. I need to avoid prolonged periods of standing and restrict my daily activities to mostly bed rest. At this point gravity is not my friend because we want to minimize the baby's weight putting pressure on the cervix.

GlaxoSmithKline has excellent benefits and I will have 180 days of short-term disability before returning to work after the birth. I will get 100% of my salary and commission for the first 3 months, and 75% for the second 3 months. All benefits, including my car privileges, 401K, etc. remain active.

While I'm still in a state of shock that I won't be working again until June, I am considering all of this to be very good news. I'm lucky they discovered this problem early and that there was something tangible they could do about it to protect the baby.

Now I'm going to spent most of my time horizontal reading books and watching Netflix movies. I'll also be checking email again during normal business hours and will welcome lots of phone calls and visitors at any time of the day as well.

Make Your Boy or Girl Vote Public -- Add a Comment to this Posting

I'd love to know who voted "boy" and who voted "girl" in the poll ... so after you vote please post a comment to this posting to tell me who you are and what your vote was. Thanks!!!

4-Month Belly Shot

Here I am at exactly 4 months.

I haven't decided yet if I'm brave or stupid to be posting pregnancy pictures wearing a leotard on the internet, but since you are reading this I have already found the courage to click on the "publish post" button. I'm taking comfort in the thought that the only people going to this site will be friends and family who like me.

And as you can see, I am definitely showing. I actually look like I'm carrying two babies ... one in my belly and the other in my butt.

Even though the doctor says I haven't gained too much weight I can see the result of substituting naps for exercise. This picture does provide the motivation to try and get some more walking worked into my schedule somehow.

So, brave or stupid, I'm planning to do a belly shot at 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 months. I hope the kid will someday get a kick out of seeing these photos to document his/her progression toward birth.

Stay tuned...

More Great News From High Risk Screening #2

I went in today for blood work at Dr. R's office for some important tests as it relates to the likelihood of a perfectly healthy baby.

All 3 tests came back NEGATIVE, which is not a guarantee, but certainly puts the odds dramatically more in our favor.

The odds for any 38-year old woman to have a baby with Down syndrome is 1 in 175, and for any type of chromosomal abnormality 1 in 103.

They told me that based on the blood tests the chances of my baby having Down syndrome is 1 in 810, the chances for spina bifida is 1 in 6,000 and for other types of trisomy abnormalities 1 in 10,000.

They stressed not to be concerned about the Down syndrome number because they said the only reason the 810 number is that low is because of my age. Still, 1 in 810 is a lot better than 1 in 175, so I'm very happy with all the test results.