Baby Beanies!!

This is one of the cutest things I've seen thus far on my journey down baby product lane. I've been terribly restrained when it comes to baby-related products, knowing that it is one of those emotion-driven industries (pet products is another one). I swore to myself, years before I even plan on having a baby, that I would not be a victim of the baby industry and buy tons of adorable products only to have the baby outgrow them in a month or so. Due to being dubbed "high risk" I've also been a bit cautious about my pregnancy, being extra cautious to not "count my baby until it's hatched," in a sense. So at 17 weeks, I've only made a few must-have purchases, like a baby tub.
However, I came upon Beanie Designs on the internet and this may be my first downfall! They hand make adorable baby beanies for all sizes, newborn to toddlers. You must check out the fruits and vegetables section! They also make beanies with ears, ear flaps, braids, and pompoms. But of all their beanies, this blue pom-pom is my favorite!! Plus, this one is made with organic yarn for super softness. I love this for boys or girls, who says girls can't wear blue??

Girl Bonding

I've always been one of those women with more guy friends than girl friends. I do have a few close girl friends but they live far away so communications tend to be more sparse, especially once everyone gets married. But when you are pregnant, you need your girl friends the most! What's a girl to do? Get The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy, of course! Luckily for me, a relative loaned me this book, but I certainly would have been willing to shell out some money to buy this book. Vicki Iovine is surely one of the funniest women in print! She's like one of those no-non-sense ladies who gives it to you straight, with a humorous twist that comes from being brutally honest. As I am reading the book, I can imagine her (her picture is included in the back jacket) sitting in my living room having a chat about her personal experiences with pregnancy (she's had 4) over a glass of mimosa. There'd be tons of "Really??" from me and then tons of laughter in between. I was reading parts of the book at work in my office and started to laugh! I had to stop myself in case someone hears me and think I was going crazy. I highly recommend this book to any woman who got a positive on their pregnancy test. It's refreshing, funny, and comforting to read.

What Does High Risk Really Mean?

What does having a high risk pregnancy really mean? Well any number of medical conditions can put you into the high risk category such as being diabetic, having multiple fetus, and being over 35.

The other medical conditions are clear cut, but what does being over 35 really mean during pregnancy? Turns out the only difference is the chance of chromosome defects. As eggs grow older, there's more chance of the egg having a defect. Downs Syndrome is one of the most common chromosome birth defects and it has a direct link to the age of the mother. Here's the risk breakdown based on age.

So what's a woman to do if she's older than 35 and is pregnant? There's the clear-cut diagnostic tests like CV and amniocentesis. But both are invasive and carry risks of miscarriage. We personally decided to participate in the most definitive screening tests currently available, the Integrated Prenatal Screening Test. This involves taking a blood test in the first trimester, a high resolution nuchal translucency measurement, and another blood test in the second trimester. The two blood tests are to measure certain proteins in the mother. Babies with Downs Syndrome will cause certain protein levels to be elevated or depressed in the mother's blood. The high resolution ultrasound will measure the fluid accumulation in the back of the fetus' neck at between 11-14 weeks. Babies with Downs Syndrome will accumulate more fluid during those weeks than normal babies. The results of all three screening tests will be used to assess a baby's risk of having Downs Syndrome, along with a few other less common birth defects. The Integrated Prenatal Screening Test can be up to 95% accurate in detecting Downs Syndrome, when performed properly by highly trained doctors. But the test requires the mother to be diligent about going in for her blood tests and ultrasound at the right time during her pregnancy. But for a tremendous piece of mind, why wouldn't you take the screening tests? If your screening tests comes back showing high risk, then you will still be able to take the amniocentesis diagnostic test performed at 15-18 weeks.

We had our nuchal translucency ultrasound last week, as shown in the picture above. Thankfully, our baby measures in at ~1.4mm which translates to excellent! Any neck measurement below 2-3mm is extremely good at 14 weeks gestational age. This is in deed wonderful news. I still have one more blood test to take but we're well on our way to having a healthy baby. Now we can focus on the joys of expecting.

Big Fat Positive

We're pregnant! After three months of trying, we succeeded on the third month. This, after charting my BBT for the first time. Our due date is January 7, 2010. This is our very first baby so we're super excited. What you're seeing in the ultrasound is my 8-week dating ultrasound. The baby is the peanut. The head is to the right. You can't see it in this image but we saw the large heart in the image and it literally took my breath away. We were told that once we can hear and see a heart beat, the chances of a miscarriage is dramatically decreased. I'm already at 14 weeks and have thus far not experienced any morning sickness. The only thing that's making me nauseous are the prenatal vitamines, so I take them before bed. The only discomfort I've been consistently experiencing is bad bloating. Gas has been literally a pain in my stomach! There are days where I look 6 months pregnant. So I'm starting to wear very loose pants, drawstrings or maternity. Unfortunately, unlike morning sickness, bloating will not go away in the second trimester! But in the end, gas is such a small price to pay for a beautiful baby.