On September 19, 2000, we (officially) learned that we were pregnant with our first child! I'm not sure if anyone is ever really ready for kids, but it's great news for us. It may seem a little freaky that we will be parents within a year, but it is still an awesome step to be taking in life. With both of us finishing school and beginning our careers, it is really a great time for our family to grow.
Important steps in our pregnancy (and I'll actually try to update this when something new happens):
09/19/00 - our first doctor appointment... and the rabbit died (so to speak)! We were pretty sure of our little bundle at this point, but a medical determination made it official. The due date was tentatively set at May 13, 2001... 9 days before our 2nd anniversary!
10/27/00 - Doctor appointment #2. We're around 10 weeks along now, and HOLY COW! We were able to hear our baby's heartbeat utilizing a special Doppler sensor... now that was amazing!
12/01/00 - Doctor appointment #3. We got to hear the heartbeat again, and scheduled our first ultrasound! Our doctor gave us another interesting technique that was used long ago to figure due dates: from the first day that a pregnant woman really feels movement (aside from some of the little flutters that could be indigestion), add 22 weeks. He said it is uncanny how close that method can come to the actual birthdate.
12/08/00 - The Ultrasound!! If Heather didn't really feel pregnant before, this confirmed it! That little guy (or girl) was moving around like crazy... for being less than 10 inches in length. Click on these links for more ultrasound photos: profile, front & face, another front with arms visible, backside & spine.
It is too early to tell whether Scooter (our nickname for Baby) is a boy or girl, but we want to be surprised anyway. We've got some good ideas on names for either sex, but they will also remain a secret (to everyone but us) until birthday!
12/23/00 - WE HAVE MOVEMENT! Heather was sure of it this time... Scooter is on the move. Add 22 weeks to today and the due date could be as late as May 26, 2001. It adds a range of time, but is still pretty close to the original estimate of the 13th!
01/02/01 - It is now the year of our baby's birth, and we've got a crib! We were lucky enough to have a 1-year old nephew that recently outgrew much of his baby stuff, so the resulting hand-me-downs will surely be nice. Our spare bedroom is currently under minor construction... but we've had no problem getting the crib assembled and some baby room decorations put up.
01/05/01 - Doctor appointment #4, and everything is business-as-usual! Baby growth is moving along right on schedule, and the ultrasound gave us a third possible due date of May 21, 2001 (still in the range of the 13th-26th).
01/19/01 - Today was the "Glucose Tolerance" test, used to measure how well sugars are broken down in the bloodstream. From that result the docs could tell whether the possibility of Gestational Diabetes, a condition developed in some pregnancies, needed to be addressed. Heather had to drink some super-sugary orange soda, wait an hour, and have blood drawn. Stay tuned for the results!
02/02/01 - As our doctor asked in today's appointment (#5), "can you handle normal?" Glucose levels are normal, growth is normal, and weight is normal!
Scooter also definitely has a schedule going on in there... at certain times of the day, he/she will move around and kick like crazy! Our voices and some of Heather's other actions (eating, getting up in the morning, etc) often seem to wake Scooter up and get the movement started.
02/07/01 - Today we met with a Doula (someone that will be present during the birth), which is something I hadn't really considered (and didn't know much about) until it was highly recommended by some friends of ours. They are recent parents, and said that their Doula was a fabulous person to assist them with all the details & difficulties of having a baby.
02/14/01 - Valentine's Day 2001 ... Three years since the day I popped the question to Heather. I figured that somehow was related to Scooter!
02/25/01 - Today we registered for our baby shower (the secret details of which are not being disclosed to Heather). Our "Lullaby Club" registration is at Target, and yes you can even buy the gifts online and have them shipped to us!
03/02/01 - Doctor appointment... are we on #6 already? Wow, the months are flying by... take a look at the picture to the right if you don't believe me! As a friend of mine said when I showed him the image: "Whoa, there's a kid in there!"
03/24/01 - THE BABY SHOWER! It was great to have so many close friends and family together, and we got so much baby stuff... it was pleasantly overwhelming!
03/28/01 - This was our first "Childbirth Preparation" class. These last for 4 weeks, and were formerly called Lamaze, but now they teach many other relaxation methods along with the breathing. It should be educational!
03/30/01 - Doctor appointment #7, and all is well! At this point Scooter's head is down and ready to go (confirmed by our doctor), and we have about six weeks left. And get this, we know a couple who had their baby six weeks early! Eek!! =)
04/13/01 through 04/20/01 - This was certainly a busy week; we had doctor appointments #8 and #9 a week apart, and finished our Childbirth Preparation and Infant CPR classes. Next week we have more classes for Breastfeeding and Child Safety Seats (gotta keep Scooter safe!). We are always trying to learn more about this brave new world in which we shall soon embark; it is called Parenthood!
04/30/01 - Appointment #10, and things are seriously getting ready now; we've got 2cm of dilatation!! We've learned that this level of readiness can hold for quite some time, so we'll see what happens...
05/07/01 - Heather is experiencing increased cramping and random contractions, and has been walking about a mile a day (literally)! Appointment #11 yielded about another centimeter of dialtion, at 50% thinned. Could it really happen in the next 6 days??
05/13/01 - THE DUE DATE and Heather's first Mother's Day ... but no Scooter! I guess the answer to my last question is "no" ... but we know that one of these days the contractions will even out and intensify. Right? =)
05/21/01 - Well, here we are over a week later (D + 8), and not much to report. Cramping and random contractions have been continuing... but still no Scooter! At the beginning, we figured it would be this long, then we got all pumped up for May 13th and the 1-2 weeks before. But now here we are right back where we (and the ultrasound) first predicted. Appointment #12 today gave us similar results as before, and our second ultrasound told us what we already know... Scooter is ready to come out!
05/23/01 - Folks, the time has come; in a manner of speaking. After 13 doctor appointments, two sonograms, many other tests, and lots of praying... we are reporting to Provena Covenant Medical Center at 6:30am tomorrow morning (5-24-01) to have Heather's pregnancy induced! At our appointment today, we all agreed that induction would be the best option since we are currently 11 days overdue (using the earliest due date we had). This is it!!!!!!
05/24/01 - We welcome the newest member of our family...
