How Impatient Can I Get?

I am not a patient person. Despite the fact that I work with toddlers, and have often been complimented on my patience in the classroom (does it count as patience if you're silently losing your mind while an 18 month old tries to put his own shoes on?), I deep down am very impatient. Waiting for food at restaurants is a clear cut affair - they have about 15 minutes. After that, and quickly after that, it's simply been too long. Anyone who knows me can probably think of other examples. I'm not much of a waiter. I've simply learned that no one likes to hear someone complain about long lines, waiting for food, or other everyday activities.

Since last week, when I read that I could potentially at some point in the future feel the baby move, I've been growing increasingly impatient. Never mind that everything I've read says somewhere between 16 weeks and 20 weeks. If some other lady can feel her kid move at 14 weeks, I'm going to try. So, every day, I try to lay on the couch or in bed and hold still and focus on my belly. Generally, there is not a whole lot going on. Also, I am somewhat easily distracted. I'll be laying there, thinking about the baby, and then realize that I am planning my grocery list instead of focusing. Woops. Today, I got my email from babycenter and it talked about feeling the baby move. That's it. I decided to try something slightly drastic instead of just waiting. Perhaps slightly unethical, but like I said, I'm very impatient. I went into the bathroom and shined a flashlight right up against my abdomen. Apparently, the baby did not care for that. It woke up, and has not stopped moving since. HA! Impatience rewarded.

Sonogram Pics

The Business of Being Born

This movie was AMAZING! It was very well done, and made so many good points. I thought that it was pretty well balanced, since they talked about the reasons that a woman might NEED a C section. It wasn't all trashing on women who have them. I was really impressed with this, and highly recommend it - not just to women who are having babies, but to any woman who thinks she will ever have a baby. There are so many factors to think about, and this movie points out, correctly I think, that Americans spend more time researching what car to buy than options available to them to bring a life into the world.

Nuchal Translucency Test

Today Shawn and I went to Arlington for our Down's Syndrom screening thing. Went pretty well, looks like the baby does not have any obvious genetic abnormalities. We like that. The doctor said everything looked normal, but they're going to do some bloodwork too. We weren't really too concerned, but since my insurance covers the screening, we thought we might as well find out.

The most exciting part of course was getting the sonogram done. And, true to form, this baby was quite stubborn and would NOT turn around to face the doctor. This meant we got to hang out watching the baby sleep and roll around for about 15 minutes until it finally decided to cooperate. Shawn was surprised by how much it moved once it was awake. Hands by the mouth most of the time. It was way more interesting than hearing the heartbeat. Now we just hang out and keep waiting while I get large.

As soon as I can figure out how to, I will post the sonogram pictures.

The Doppler Effect

We had our second appointment today. Woot! It lasted for all of 8 minutes. Good thing they billed the insurance company $130 for it. Good thing we have insurance. I know doctors have to make money, it costs a lot to run a medical practice, but geez. Dr. M asked us roughly 12 times if we had any questions. We didn't. She asked if my hands and feet are swelling. They're not. She asked if I've had any bleeding or cramping. I haven't. You get the idea. Apparently, I am having a "textbook" pregnancy. Which is nice to hear. However, I guess I was looking for more. I don't know why I have such high expectations for each appointment. I better get it together, or I am going to spend the next 6 months pissed off with the people who are likely to bring my baby into this world.

The upshot of the appointment is that we got to hear the baby's heartbeat!!! Exciting! It was at 152, which Dr. M said is "what we're looking for." Honestly, it wasn't this life altering experience everyone else has said it would be, which was slightly disappointing, but I think I'm getting used to that feeling in the doctor's office. I'm getting more excited about it with distance. Now that I'm thinking about the ramifications of that noise, the reality is beginning to hit me. As Shawn said, "There really is a baby in there. You're not just shifting your weight." This also confirms my suspicion that there are not twins hiding in there. Only one hearbeat. Thank goodness.