Thursday, October 15, 2009

13 weeks

We had our 13 week OB appointment today, just to make sure everything's still going well with Cart's pregnancy. The nurse wasn't able to find the heartbeat using the Doppler machine... that was very very nervewracking. As she keeps moving the wand around on my belly, she says to no one in particular "I really hope that I am not making you nervous by not being able to find the baby's heartbeat."

Really? What could possibly be more nervewracking right now???

They eventually wheeled in an ultrasound machine, and were able to find Cart and the heartbeat immediately. Thank goodness! Everything looks good and heartbeat is strong.

During the ultrasound, Cart gave us a good profile shot and a little wave. Super cute hiccups too! At one point, Cart rotates a little bit and gives us a full face shot. We can see the mouth opening and closing like a fish.

Nate says very matter of factly "Perhaps we should be calling her Carp instead."

Monday, October 12, 2009

Introducing Cart

When we were pregnant with Luke and Will, we didn't tell anyone what their names would be before their arrival. Our obstetricians called the boys "Baby A" (which ended up being Luke) and "Baby B" (Will). My Grandma Jean didn't really like this impersonal naming scheme, so she started calling the boys "Art" and "Bart" instead. The names stuck with us.

So now, in honor of Grandma Jean's naming scheme, we are honored and excited to announce the impending arrival of Baby "Cart." Yes, thats right, we're pregnant! Our due date is April 23, 2010. And its definitely a single baby this time. We've made them check multiple times.

You might have deduced from reading our blog that our life often borders on hectic. And yes, bringing another baby home is sure to increase the hecticism... but we always thought we'd have more than two children, and this time works out well for all of us. We couldn't be happier!

In hopes of reducing our liklihood of having a premature child, I've been put on strict orders to take it easy... hmm... not so easy with two toddlers around the house! But I am doing my best not to lift heavy things, take it slower while walking, and laying down whenever I can. Nate is doing a great job of being a partial single parent! In a couple of weeks, Nate will start administering weekly progesterone shots in my arse... something he is looking forward to much more than I am. Research has shown that progesterone can decrease the liklihood of premature delivery in women with a history of premature delivery. So between the rest, the progesterone and the single child, we're really hopeful for a full term child this time around! We feel like between us and our maternal fetal medicine specialist, we're doing everything possible to mitigate the risks.

Our plan is to find out Cart's gender the week before Thanksgiving, but will again be keeping Cart's official name a secret until his or her (full term!!!) arrival in April. I think we're destined to have three boys, Nate keeps calling Cart "sister" so we shall have to wait and see!

Good thing we aren't planning on having 6 kids... using this naming scheme, that could be cruel. A, B, C, D, E... something about Baby "Fart" just doesn't sound too cute and cuddly. It kind of starts life out on the wrong gassy foot.