"Remind me how this works?"

Every once in a while, I think, "Hey, maybe I'll open this blog up to friends and family."

And then I write a post like the one you're about to read, and I know it's never going to happen. Because my husband would KILL ME (or worse, withhold backrubs).

The title of this post was the theme of yesterday afternoon. That's right, folks -- after getting the nod from the doctor on Thursday, we have Resumed Marital Relations. I am finally getting some.

However, we seem to have taken a step back in time. Or rather, many years back in time. To the time when you're not really sure what to stick where, or whether it's going to hurt (me), or how long it's going to last (him).

We eventually figured it out. It did indeed hurt like a mother-effer, but thankfully did not last very long. And it did reach a blissful (or at least semi-blissful) conclusion for yours truly. Hey, anything's blissful when you HAVEN'T HAD IT FOR FOUR MONTHS.

But it was sweet, and we laughed a lot, and it felt good to be close again.

Of course, now I'm worried that I'm about to throw myself into preterm labor.

It's always something.

Quick 15 week update

Just got back from my OB appointment, and all is well. I had my first Doppler (147 bpm) and first belly measurement (11 cm). 

I also got a somewhat stern admonition from the doctor that I've gained about twice as much as I should have at this point, so no more gelato for me. Luckily, I'm generally feeling better, so dialing back the carbs and dialing up the exercise should be, if not easy, easier than it would have been a few weeks ago.

And now, off to LA! Will the business trips ever end????

"Mamma!"

As this pregnancy moves along, I'm finding that things I thought would bother me aren't really bothering me at all. (See the "Grandpa calling me fatty" reference a couple posts down.) In fact, they're kind of delighting me. A hidden blessing of infertility? Who knows.

Anyway, the coolest thing happened to me last week. The Mr. and I were in Boston, strolling around in the North End -- Boston's Little Italy -- after dinner. We stopped for some gelato (baby needs ice cream), and while I was waiting for the Mr. to pay, an older woman rounded the corner, and as she passed by she briefly touched my belly, smiled, and said, "Mamma!" And just kept right on walking.

I was grinning from ear to ear for the rest of the night. And totally surprised -- I always thought that having people touch my belly would piss the hell out of me. But there was something so sweet about that moment, realizing that I was now pregnant enough that the rest of the world could notice. And because I've never seriously thought I would get to this point, I'd never anticipated a moment like that. And that made it all the sweeter.

The gelato wasn't bad, either.

Out of the closet

Well, we are now out of all available closets -- out to the family, out at work, out to our friends. I think, given that I'm pretty much fully in maternity clothes, that we're out to the rest of the world too. It feels great and totally weird at the same time.

Oh, and I guess I'm out to the blog world as well. I think it was time to change the title, no?

This Thursday will be 15 weeks. We have our regular OB appointment, and then we wait for our 18 week anatomy scan. I'm reallly excited to find out what flavor of baby we're having....because then that means it's time to shop!

I'm still feeling sick off-and-on, and have been having some killer headaches and back pain. I've always had a tender lower back, but the last couple of days have been pretty brutal. I've been reluctant to take anything, even Tylenol, since I've managed not to so far, but I think I'm going to have to talk to the OB this week and figure out a way to manage the pain.

Happy ICLW week to everyone, and my apologies for being a horrible blogger/commenter lately.....I'm still on the road, but will hopefully return to some semblance of normalcy later this week.

Things I have learned this weekend

I am way too tired to craft a grammatically coherent post, so it's going to be bullet points. Sorry. I am the suckiest blogger lately.

But, I did learn a few things this weekend, namely:

• I will be completely happy if the next college graduation I have to go to is for the little Cornellian/Gaucho in my tummy.
  
• Maternity jeans are the greatest invention on earth. I'm actually looking forward to a cross-country flight tomorrow, thanks to the "Secret Fit" belly.
  
• Having my grandfather greet me with the words, "Hey, Fatty!" does not bother me nearly as much as I would have thought.
  
• Zoos do not smell good when you've got a bionic nose.
  
• Nobody, not even the future grandparents, seems to think that our ultrasound pictures areas cute as we think they are.
  
• My in-laws are a lot harder to take without the benefit of alcohol.

Later this week, I hope to provide educational updates from my first full-week business trip in my, erm, condition. Should be good times!!

A packing challenge

Does somebody want to come over and pack a suitcase for me? Here's what I've got on tap over the next 12 days:

• Three days in San Diego
  
• Five days in Boston
  
• Four days in Connecticut
  

Oh, and did I mention the most fun part?

My body is changing daily. Some days the boobs are huge, sometimes they're even more huge, and the belly seems to expand throughout the day, and contract a bit during the night. Oh, and my lower back is KILLING ME, so heels are torture. But my legs, which are currently my only passable feature, look terrible without them.

Help!

First trimester/NT screening results

I wanted to post our first trimester/NT test results here, in case people are looking for data points or information. For anyone unfamiliar with the process, the screening consists of an ultrasound and a blood test, which they smash together to give you your odds of having a baby with Down's Syndrome or Trisomy 18.

The kicker is that the test is only a screening, and it's only 85 percent (or so) accurate. The only definitive way to know if your baby has one of these abnormalities is via amniocentesis (otherwise known as "the big old needle in the belly"), which has its own set of risks. But, it can be a good way to determine if you might want to consider amnio, which was kind of our reason for doing it. That, and who's going to pass up the chance to have another look at that cute little nugget??

Anyway, so our ultrasound last Thursday went well. They measured the baby's neural tube (a small area at the back of the neck). If your measurement is above a certain range, it increases your risk of Down's or Trisomy 18. The range changes depending on gestational age. We were at 12 weeks, and our measurement was a "normal" .08 cm. We found that out right away.

Then I got some blood drawn. The doctor asked me if I was OK with the sight of blood, and I was like "Honey, unless you're taking more than 13 vials, I'm not even going to bat an eyelash." Don't these doctors know what they're dealing with when they draw from us IVFers? I almost ENJOY having blood taken at this point.

But I digress. I gave the blood, we waited a few days, and then got our results. They were also good, and bumped us to a 1 in 4,700 chance of having a baby with Down's (up from the standard-by-my-age-of-33 odds of 1:290) and a 1:10,000 chance of having a baby with Trisomy 18 (up from 1:1000).

So we're pretty happy with that. I can't believe I need to wait another 5 weeks to have another look, but I suppose I'll have to get by somehow.