Angie and I went to our first Dr.’s visit. There are so many different aspects of the trip to talk about … hopefully I can narrow it down to the important (and entertaining) stuff. I learned a lot about Dr. Perales just by what I saw in her office (keep in mind this is my first time behind the scenes at an OBGYN). She had a sign that read, “Dr. Perales – At Your Cervix”… so I know she has a sense of humor. There was another that said “It’s only faith when you have nothing else to hold on to”… so based on that and some of her comments, I know she is a believer. And based on her attitude and our discussion, I feel good that she is going to do everything she can to make us comfortable, while ensuring that we do everything we can to ensure our baby is healthy.

They did another pregnancy test… so that makes five now. And then ordered some blood work. Angie is going to have to go back over to the hospital to have the blood drawn, but she has to fast first. That’s not going to be fun. We confirmed that we are six weeks along as of today, and the due date is July 5th.

After all the other stuff with the nurse, I got to see what an OBGYN room looks like… Let’s just say I’m glad I’m a guy. Dr. Perales came in and talked to us about Folic Acid and possible complications. Because Angie is 35 (I may get in trouble for that), the possibility of having a child with Down’s Syndrome increases. At 35, it’s a 1 in 365 chance. She asked what we would do if we found out our baby has Down Syndrome, and we let her know that we would proceed with the pregnancy. Based on that, she did not recommend the amniocentesis (which can test for Down Syndrome) since it will increase the chances for an aborted pregnancy by 2.5%. Angie also runs a risk for preeclampsia, so Dr. Perales want’s her to take a baby aspirin every day.

Overall though I left the office comfortable about the pregnancy. Both Angie and I have looked at the pregnancy as a blessing, and we will trust His will. God is great!

Our next appointment is in 4 weeks and we get to hear the heart beat at that point. That’s going to be aweseome. We talked about getting a monitor so we could hear it whenever we wanted… we’ll see! I think this means that we are letting the cat out of the bag…

Related Links:

• What is pre-eclampsia?
• What is an amniocentesis?
• Information on Down Syndrome
• National Down Syndrome Society

Yesterday was supposed to be Angies first Dr. appointment, but her doctor had an emergency c-section to perform and wasn’t able to make it. I guess it’s difficult to schedule “emergency” c-sections, and whoever was getting it sure needed the Dr. more than we did. But it did get Angie down. We were both so looking forward to talking to the Dr. and then telling everyone. We kind of picked the day after we talked to the Dr. as an abitrary date to let the word out. After four pregnancy tests, and Angies “symptoms” though, I’m pretty confident it’s the real thing. Even with the change, we did decide to go ahead and let a few people know. I don’t think we are going to make it general knowledge until after the appointment, but family and close friends (extended family) are hopefully getting the word.

Last night we had our Monday night Bible study, and told our small group. That was probably the hardest one to hold out on because we are such a close group. It was a relief to let them know, and the were so supported. Their prayers are also comforting, as we move into this for the first time.

We talked to some very good friends last night and let them know… they screamed. The funniest part was that they have a new baby boy who they were changing when we called, and all the screaming kind of freaked him out. Leigh called Angie back after things settled down a bit and they talked about what to expect and she gave her the link to a pretty cool website (babycenter.com).

Depending on which calendar you look at we are in the 5th or 6th week. In the 5th week, the baby’s heart starts beating. It’s amazing how soon the little heart starts beating and the organs start developing. Here’s a picture I found on the site of what 5 weeks looks like:

Here’s a link to the interactive image… hopefully you won’t need to sign up to see it:

http://www.babycenter.com/general/1498209.html

Lot’s of exciting and amazing things are happening right now:

• Basis for brain, nervous system and bone marrow are in place
• Brain cells are forming at a rate of 250,000 PER MINUTE
• Eyes, ears and mouth begin to form
• The heart begins to beat regularly, but is still not in the chest cavity
• The baby is between 5 and 7 mm long (crown to rump)

It’s just amazing how quickly everything starts coming together.

Tomorrow is Angie’s first Dr. appointment as a pregnant woman. We went ahead and did another pregnancy test, yes that makes number 4, partially for reassurance, but maybe some because we have so many and hopefully won’t have a need for them for at least a good 9 months plus. After the first one came back positive, we bought 4 more… and they are digital. I love technology… none of this, “Is there a line?” stuff… It’s quite clear… so without further delay:

This must be what bigwigs in large corporations feel when they know information that is going to be released to the public soon. I find myself counting down the days until Angie visits her doctor, we get the green light, and start telling people about what I did… er, I mean… what we did. : )
The good news is that Angie’s tooth is feeling better, and she is in much better spirits because of it. A huge thank you to Dr. Pat and his wife for coming in on their day off to start the root canal. If you are ever in need of a dentist, Patrick Hollowell in Cool Springs is great. Very much interested in patient care and good service.

Angie got up and went running this morning with her friend Patricia. I would have gone of course, but someone needed to make sure the bed didn’t go anywhere while she was gone, and the fence guy had to come back and finish up (and get paid), so it worked out well. The fence looks good, and will be great for the dogs as well. I wish they hadn’t done doughnuts in the back yard with their truck, but it’s not worth getting too upset over. I see a trip to Home Depot in my future for dirt, grass seed and straw… so there’s some good that will come out of it. It does mean that the dogs don’t have to be walked on a leash, which means they can do their thing in the back yard, and we can maybe let some grass grow in the front yard. I’m trying to let it get tall enough for me to mow one last time this year. We’ll see how that goes.

Kylie is going to a friends tonight for a birthday party. They are heading to see Lion King (think Broadway, not theater), which was supposed to be a secret. I let it slip last night (obviously I forgot), and she was gracious enough to tell me she already knew… whew… I almost had to feel bad for letting it out. We are going as a family sometime later in the month. I can’t remember when… Angie takes care of the schedule… I just go where I’m told.

Wow… so this whole baby thing introduces tons of new questions into your life. You are constantly asking what’s ok and what’s not… wanting, as I’m sure everyone does, not to do anything that may hurt the little one. And it seems that right about that same time, all sorts of stuff comes up that would normally be no big deal.

Angie has been having some trouble with her teeth and made a trip to our dentist. She needed to have a couple crowns, but wasn’t sure about the novocaine that they inject you with. We found out that in general it’s ok, as long as it doesn’t have epinepherine in it… so that meant they used some stuff that doesn’t last as long, and had to numb her again halfway through. Afterwards though, her mouth continued to hurt, and so she’s going back in tomorrow for the root canal. : ( That introduces the need for her to take antibiotics… so we had to do some research on that. A call to mom, and then to her OBGYN, and we had the information we needed. Seems some antibiotics are ok, while others are not. The nurse suggested staying in the “Cephalosporins” family of antibiotics…

So, it’s been a lot of research… lot’s of questions and calls… but we are doing our best to do the right thing. Angie has been great… a trooper. I hope her tooth feels better after tomorrow. I guess it has to after having the nerve removed. : )

Oh, and she was outed the other day… seems a friend of ours noticed that she had been sick a lot… she started asking questions, and Angie told her she’s not allowed to ask any more questions until after Monday’s Dr. visit. So, she knows… but she knows she can’t talk about it. I’m actually surprised that more people haven’t figured it out, espcially after the halloween costume. Can’t wait till next week when we get to start spilling the beans.

So it’s interesting how last night in my effort to get this site off the ground, I posted a little more information than my wife and I have made public.  Luckly I realized this before I got to work today, and blabbed about my new blog.  Angie is scheduled to see her doctor on Monday, and we decided that with very few exceptions (most out of necessity) we are holding off until that point to let everyone in on our surpise.  That means if you are reading this before Monday, please keep it quiet. I realize that everyone in the world is splitting at the seams to tell the great news, but I’m going to have to ask you to refrain.

For those of you reading this after the trip… well, I guess you can look at it as a behind the scenes glimpse of how this whole secret-keeping process works.  We are both finding it hard to keep it secret, and are looking forward to Monday.  

A couple nights ago, we went to a bonfire/fellowship with the youth group for Halloween.  We thought it would be funny for Angie to dress up like she’s pregnant.  I guess we underestimated how many people would ask if it was real… that was tough… We agreed not to lie about it ahead of time, but Angie was masterful in her ability to answer their questions, without answering their questions… Probably should be more careful.

My wife and I recently found out that we are expecting… as in a baby. My first reaction was to stick my chest out a little, and make comments about the effectness of my little swimmers… then there were a few minutes of doubt while I searched google for confirmation that two lines mean pregnant, even if the second line is faint. I tell you all of this to say that I now have a reason to start (and hopefully update) a blog.

There is also the part of me that is secretly hoping that I can suck my wife into this little world I have created. She’s so much more creative in her writing and descriptions. I can’t help but think it would be so much more fun to read about our adventure from her perspetive. We’ll just have to see I guess. Keep an eye out for posts under her name though. Oh yeah… guess I should tell you that her name is Angie. She’s beautiful… she’s my wife… and she’s pregnant.