The greatest sound I've ever heard

Yesterday morning I had another appointment with my midwife. I absolutely love going for checkups and hearing that baby girl is doing ok. Ron came a long with me to this appointment which was so special. Since he has been out of town for so long this was actually the first appointment that he was able to attend and it was wonderful to have him there. I know many people experience this much earlier in their pregnancies, but our doctor would never offer to let me hear the heartbeat, so I trusted everything was normal, but never had to chance to hear it for myself. Yesterday our midwife listened to the heartbeat through a Doppler and we were both able to hear the most wonderful sound I've ever heard. Her little heartbeat, strong and steady (and so fast!) and the swooshes of her moving around in my belly. I'll never forget that moment and I can't wait for my next appointment in two weeks time to hear it again. I am so grateful that this pregnancy is going so smoothly and cannot wait to meet our daughter in a few weeks time.

Glucose test

Today I had my glucose test. It's a routine test that is done to screen for gestational diabetes, which some women get during pregnancy. I went into the lab this morning and had to drink a really, sugary orange drink. It apparently had 50 grams of glucose and I had to drink it in 5 minutes. I didn't mind it too much - it tasted kind of like an extra sweet glass of McDonalds orange soda. Then I had to sit and wait an hour - that's when the drink became less enjoyable. I really felt light headed and pretty nauseous - i think it was a LOT of sugar to take in first thing in the morning. After an hour they took my blood and I was on my way. For some reason I'm a little nervous about this test. I've been trying to eat really well, but I have such a sweet tooth! I see my midwife on Tuesday so she'll let me know, but I'm hoping for a pass!

Changing my care

I mentioned in a previous post that after reading the book Your Best Birth I decided I wanted to have more say in the birth of our little girl. I did some research and decided I want to speak with a mid-wife and see if that could be a good fit for me. Midwives specialize in normal pregnancy and childbirth and offer a very different experience than OB's. In addition to longer visits, a choice of birthplace and a say in your birth plan, midwives also provide 6 weeks of post-natal care. To be honest with you, the more I learned, the more convinced I was that this could be a great alternative for me.

Last night I met with Safire at Kensington Midwives and am THRILLED to be transferring my care to them. Kensington Midwives offers women-centered care and I felt so comfortable sitting with Safire and talking about this pregnancy. I feel very fortunate that they were able to take me on as a patient this late in my pregnancy and am looking forward to this experience even more than before. Now all that I have to do is break up with my OB...

Oh - and in case your wondering - baby girl is doing great! She is measuring well and for the FIRST time I was able to hear her heart beat. I feel so unbelievably blessed and am completely and utterly in love.

Another good dr's appointment

After waiting 50 minutes for 5 minutes with my doctor, I got the news I was hoping for - our baby girl is doing well. She has a good strong heartbeat and is progressing perfectly. I think Cuba was good for her...if only we could go back.

Originally posted today!

It's a...?

So today I just got back from my anatomy ultra sound. It was AMAZING. The ultra sound tech was fantastic and spent almost an hour looking at every part of my little one. She was able to tell the gender, however, she didn't tell me. It is concealed inside this little envelope that I am DYING to rip open! Tomorrow night when I get to Windsor Ron and I will open it together and find out if we are having a little boy or a little girl. I can't wait. Boy or girl, I am COMPLETELY in love.



Our baby...



And two perfect little feet...

Origionally posted April 15

Expecting

It has been 19 weeks and 3 days, and most of the time, it still doesn't feel real. But ready or not, I have a baby on the way. The truth is, it came as a big surprise. I'll never forget the shock when I saw the positive result on the test . I'll never forget the range of emotions that I felt. But more importantly, I will never forget the overwhelming love that filled me when I saw our baby for the first time, at my 9 week ultrasound. I couldn't believe how perfect it was...a beautiful little baby that was only 1 inch long but, already had perfect little arms, legs, fingers and toes. I cried when I saw the heart beating, and through my tears I could swear I even saw our little one wave.

Yes, at 9 weeks this baby was perfect, and had stolen my heart. Since then, even though I wouldn't have thought it was possible, I have only fallen deeper in love. And while I still get scared, and even though we still don't have everything all figured out, I couldn't be more excited to meet this little one on September 4th.

Originally posted April 13th