3D Ultrasound

2013, July 16 ~

Today I was tested for gestational diabetes and had a 3D ultrasound.

For the diabetes test, I drank an orange flavored sugar drink, then had to wait an hour for it to filter through my system. During the wait, we had a 3D ultrasound and got a video of our baby boy moving and shaking, as well as some pictures.

He is much more defined now and it was very exciting to watch him, especially when he'd kick or flip and we could see the movement under my skin and on screen.

The images of our little man are below:

Expecting a Boy!!!

June 12, 2013

Baby Cuffe is 22 weeks today and we had our ultrasound that also reveal the gender! William had a "deal" with me that if I waited to find out the gender at birth, then I could have the naming rights, because he wanted the surprise. I did actually want a surprise, however I really wanted to decorate and felt that knowing the gender would help me bond better with baby.

During the ultrasound, whether William wanted to know or not, there were a few times while the tech was scanning around that she passed over the area and we could kinda of see what was going on, then she told us that she was going to check, so we prepared ourselves (I told her when we came in that I wanted to know), and it was very obvious that it's a boy! I needed no explanation of body parts, I could see everything :)

With all that, the pictures and video are posted below:

And proof that our baby will grow up to be a Man!

Ultrasound video:

Baby Cuffe Kicked!

I have not kept up on detailing baby news lately, so I wanted to catch up.

Around 15-1/2 weeks, I could feel some strange movements that I did not recognize. I researched my "symptoms" and learned that there are common feelings that have been called "butterfly flutterings", "quickening", "goldfish swimming" and popcorn popping" sensations. I realized that what I thought were muscle twitches, actually came from inside and were near my uterus, so I suspect that it was "quickening" as it felt very rapid, like a vibration.

Around 16 weeks, I had felt a tiny, light push here and there. Then on Friday, May 3, after eating a chocolate-covered donut, for about 5 hours on and off, I was feeling little pushes or kicks! It was amazing and very strange. That following weekend, I was hoping for more so that William could maybe feel something, but nothing happened. I thought I felt a light "popcorn popping" sensation once or twice randomly but there was no way to get him to feel anything. I was sad that it has not been more constant, but I know that in time it will get stronger and eventually William will be able to feel it too.

First Ultrasound!

Wednesday, March 6 -

First Ultrasound at 8 weeks! Baby Cuffe is healthy, the size of a raspberry and his/her tiny heart is beating 160 times per minute!

William and I were so excited to finally see our little miracle and watch the tiny heart beating so fast. I really thought I was going to tear up, but as the ultrasound was transvaginal, it wasn't exactly comfortable. The tech had to push on my stomach and push my bowel out of the way so that she could get a good view of the fetus. But once she did, it took my breath away. After she confirmed what we were looking at, to actually see what we've been waiting to see for so long, I just stared in awe and smiled.

After the tech took her measurements and picture of our baby, she printed the scans out and we high-fived! Go Team Cuffe :) Then scheduled our 12 week ultrasound.

I actually find myself tearing up while writing this. Conception and creation is a miracle and I'm so blessed and honored that I get to experience it! 

William and I agreed that we are going to go public and share our news now. We're so excited and it may be earlier than the 12 week 'safe zone', but we only have 4 weeks left. We trust that if a miscarriage does happen, due to being in a hospital or anything else, we know our family and friends will support us. 

Plus, he will be drinking on March 17, St. Patrick's Day, and he's pretty sure he will tell everyone he's going to be a Dad at some point that day/night.

6 Weeks Already!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013.

Today marks Baby Cuffe as 6 Weeks old! I've had about 2 weeks of aching all around my lower back and pelvis; my baby books say that it's due to my uterus expanding. It truly is amazing how the female body works and grows along with a fetus.

Your embryo is growing at lightning speed, adding 1 millimeter to its tiny self each day. If that doesn't sound like a lot, imagine that you grew by one-third overnight and you'll appreciate how hard the little tyke is working! By the end of this week the embryo's head will be bigger than its body. It has little limb buds that are starting to lengthen into shoulders, arms, hands, and even the beginnings of fingers; and little leg buds that, by the end of this week, will lengthen into thigh, leg, and foot parts. That heartbeat that started last week has become more rhythmic and regular, and the heart has divided into two (of four) chambers so far. But this week's biggest news is that the embryo is growing an umbilical cord, its lifeline to nutrients and oxygen and its constant companion for the next 34 or so weeks!

In two weeks we get to hear baby's heart beat for the first time! I know I'm going to cry, but they will be very happy tears. 

First OB appointment!

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Today was my first OB visit to meet my doctor, confirm my pregnancy and get my annual check-up!

I chose WomanCare in Palatine because they offer evening and weekend hours, so I won't have to take time off work for my appointments. My OB is Dr. Kasinak and she is very nice and calm, very calm...almost like alarmingly so. But that is good because after I realized that she really has our best interest and knows what she is doing, her calmness will be helpful when I deliver.

Dr. K talked to us about a few things, but mainly confirming details about the beginning of my last period, etc. She performed a pap smear, which kinda freaked me out until she assured me that the cervix is 'separate' from the uterus and it is perfectly safe to do the exam. She told us that I look healthy and everything appears to be fine :) After the exam, to confirm the pregnancy, I provided the lab with a sample of my urine and within 1 minute the nurse came back with our positive test results! Dr. K did tell us about 5 times that the store bought tests are typically accurate, but women tend to come in to confirm anyway.

Plus, having my OB confirm just made is that much more special :)

Here is my happy husband and proud father-to-be holding our doctor's positive test results:

So excited to be 5 weeks pregnant! My first ultrasound is March 6, when we should be able to hear Baby R2D2's heart beat!!!!

Yeah - we nicknamed our Baby R2D2 until we find out the sex. Curtesy of Michael Durdan.

Expecting!

Ever since William and I got married, I had been tracking my monthly cycle on an app on my phone. It's convenient and very easy to use. I stopped taking oral birth control in August and every month after, we were "hoping" to get pregnant. After every month of getting my period, and reading a variety of articles about birth control and its effects on the female system, I thought it would take up to a year or more to conceive. So we decided to just enjoy married life and whatever happens, happens.

I actually made an appointment with a Midwife Fertility Specialist to check out my system and see what's going on. Make sure I'm healthy, etc.

Imagine my surprise when 4 days later, my period is late, and during lunch, the soup I'm trying to eat smells terrible. My co-worker, Allison tells me it smells great and I practically gag. I ended up eating two bagels for lunch, then I get home from work and tell William that my period is still late...and I smell fruit snacks. He looks at me weird and we can't pinpoint where that smell came from and so my brain is churning, I look at my phone app and say that I can still get my period tomorrow, so I'm probably just crazy right now.

The rest of the night I can't focus on anything and my body feels very anxious. Eventually I go to bed and it's Friday night.

Saturday, February 9, 2013, around 8:30 am I wake up and go to the bathroom. I decide to take a pregnancy test since I still see no sign of a period and my boobs still hurt. Within seconds of peeing on the stick it's positive! The box says wait 3 minutes for results - but my result was INSTANT! My heart is racing as my hands are shaking while I stare at my future on a stick!

I'm so excited and starting to cry. I wash my hands quickly and grab the test and the box explaining the test results, then run into our bedroom and hop onto the bed waking William up! I practically shove the test in his face and tell him I'm pregnant and it takes a while for him to wake up and realize what's going on. Eventually we hug and kiss. We finally did it!

Next, I call my mom to tell her our good news (even though it's early - we're [I'm] too excited not to share), then he calls his parents, I then call my brother and he calls his brother. We talk to Anne later that day.

Later that day, all I could think was that I needed more proof. It was still unreal, exciting but I wanted more than the blue sign on the stick, so we went out and I got a digital pregnancy test...the word would make it more real.

There it was - PREGNANT! That word seemed to solidify all the thoughts in my head :)

Monday, February 11, 2013 – went out to Barnes & Noble to look for pregnancy books and the associate who helped me asks me quietly if the books are for me, and I say “Yes, I just found out this weekend!” She then tells me that she too found out she is pregnant for the first time this weekend! We are both due in October and she already has her first prenatal appointment scheduled for the first week of March. She tells me that she and her husband are waiting to tell anyone until then! I told her that we already told our immediate family in case something happens, we want them to know why I would be in a hospital, etc. (due to miscarriage).

It was so awesome to meet someone in the same “boat” as me! I’m not alone and she gave me great advice on some wonderful pregnancy books. God truly is looking out for us and I am doing my best to stay positive, healthy and happy.