24 week update on hammy and mommy

Today I am officially 24 weeks and 3 days preggo.  So that leaves me just about 15 weeks left before our little peanut pops out. yay!!  that's not too far along!  Well, I went for my 2nd consultation with the high risk obstetrician at UT Medical again today, just to go through some follow up session from my first visit.  I am still categorized as the lowest risk in the high risk pregnancy, which is why I go on my regular check ups at both UT and Blount.  I am so happy to have the quickest follow up check up today coz everything looks good.   I saw my baby boy again (which you can view his latest 1D ultrasound under http://theresahammyinmytummy.blogspot.com/p/hammy-shots.html) and he is still a boy haha.  I did notice that his little weiner grew!  hahaha  It's not just a small nubbin', you can see the actual scrotum and the nub area hihi.  So cute!  As usual, Ryan and I are always anxious to feel the heartbeat so the moment that we heard it, it's like music to our ears! :)   He grew alot.  He is already 1 lbs and 8 ounces (1.5b lbs) and more than 11 inches long.  Can you believe that?  He is now a size of a ruler.  His organs are all complete and like my first high-risk ultrasound, I still have 2 vessel cords (normal is 3) but again, Dr. Howard reassured me that it's perfectly normal and nothing to worry about.  He said our babe is now at 39 percentile of his gestational growth, which is quite confusing because I am already more than halfway through my pregnancy.  Dr. did reassure me that it is quite normal.   

Other than that I am so surprised, and I would bet money that their weighing scale is wrong, to find out I gained 5 lbs this week!!  I do not think so unless my belly got bigger or the baby got so big.  The thing is the weighing scale at Blount is the traditional weighing scale that is manually adjusted while the UT medical weighing scale is electronic.  So i don't know why it is registering that I grew by 5 lbs!  Also, their blood pressure measure is much higher than my normal.  I normally have 110-120/ 70 blood pressure.  Today I am at 127 / 78.  Maybe I just lack sleep coz I have to wake up very early for my check up.  Anywho, the point is, me and the baby are healthy.  :)

Note to self:  Since I am too concerned about my weight gain, I need to buy me a weighing scale (I hate weighing scales so I don't have one right now haha). :P

belly farts

I am officially 21 weeks and 2 days into my pregnancy today.  For the past week, our boy has been most active and moving around alot and i have been experiencing belly farting several times a day.  Some pregnant women says it feels like butterflies and little flutters inside.  I thought it felt like farts.  Like the kind that bubbles inside.  Sometime it feels like sonic waves rolling inside my belly haha.  I like to call it belly farts hehe.   I have never experienced anything like this before, even during my first pregnancy.  When I was 20 weeks pregnant with Joaquin (our first boy), I did not feel any kind of movement.  I feel twitches and very small poking but not the kind of gargling and rolling inside my belly.  It's amazing how a banana size living creature growing inside me can make me feel tingly and giggly when I feel it.  It's true what alot of mothers say that the feeling is unbelievably indescribable.

Ryan Jr usually is awake during night time, between 11PM to about 2AM.  He has several movements during the afternoon too. I read in alot of articles and forums that most women experience the same thing and it is because when mothers are laying down still, you would feel every movement going on inside your body.  During the daytime when you are moving around, walking and doing things, you could barely feel the baby moving.  Some doctors says that it's also because babies tend to sleep during the times that mommies are moving around because the rocking makes them sleep.  And during the times that mommy is relaxing, the baby is more aware of what is going on because everything is very still.  Amazing isn't it.  They can think! :)

There are several weird things though associated by all the baby movements.  One is I pee like 2 dozen times a day.  There are instances when I go use the toilet 5 times in one hour!  I guess it's the baby kicking my bladder.  I am still constipated as usual, so I have to continue taking my stool softener which I think helps.  Farting is not yet a dominant activity in my pregnancy which is quite annoying because the feeling of small things moving around your belly and building up gas is not the most comfortable feeling.  So my husband says he would do the farting for me (which he does ALOT haha).

There are times that I freak out a little when Ryan Jr does not move for hours.  Then I just think to myself that he is sleeping or napping.  So everytime I feel him move, I get really giddy and relieved.  I guess it's the trauma of my first pregnancy.  I know Ryan Jr is a fighter and really feisty too.  Man, can he kick! hehe.

Stephanie, my brother-in-law's wife, told me that she used to drink orange juice when she was pregnant, everytime she does not feel any movement (coz like me, she freaks out too... so i am not the only lunatic after all!).  Then I read that when mommies eat anything that is sweet or sugary, babies tend to be active, probably because of the sugar rush.  I drink orange juice almost everyday for the vitamin C but now that I got this great tip, I am also drinking it for my baby's sustenance.

Belly farts are the next best thing to going to the sonograph room to see your babies ultrasound and see him and hear his heartbeat.  Like regular flatulence, my belly farting is the most comforting and relaxing feeling in the whole wide world! :)

Second OB Visit - Meeting Dr. John McAmis

So today I went in for my 2nd OB visit.  This visit is to meet the OB-Gynecologist who will take care of me over the next 5 months until I am due to give birth. 

Before I go into the details, a few days back I asked Jan, Ryan's step mama if she can recommend a good OB-Gyn from Blount Memorial.  You see Jan works at the Radiology Dept of Blount for the last several decades (# of years and age are deemed confidential hahaha) so I presumed that she would know someone really good in the field.  The first thing that she asked me is "Are you comfortable with a male doctor?"  PAUSE.  OK, Ryan and I had several conversations in the past about male OB-Gynecologist.  He is not too comfortable about the idea.  I really have no preference as long as they are good, professional and caring.  CONTINUE.  Anywho, I told Jan I don't care.  So she told me about Dr. John McAmis, who has been her OB-Gyn for the last several years (again, Jan's age deemed confidential haha) and she is very happy with his service and gave me her great recommendation and feedback about him.

So to go back to my original story, I went to my appointment with Dr. McAmis today at 845AM.  He is to perform several checks and consult with me about my case (since I am already 4 months into my pregnancy) and make sure he understands everything so he can take care of me.  Breast Exam, Thyroid Exam, Pelvic Exam came out really well.  We listened to baby ham's heartbeat once again using the fetal doppler.  Again the sound f my baby's heartbeat is soothing to my ears! 

He performed a PAP SMEAR and routine HIV test and I should get the results within the next two weeks.  I hate that I have a mild yeast infection which according to him is common for pregnant women.  He prescribed just a generic yeast infection medication that I can buy from any pharmacy.

We discussed my medical history and he recommended that I get a check up  with UT Medical in Knoxville.  The UT Medical OB-Gynecologist team handles the high-risk pregnancy cases.  Whilst my vital stats are showing that I am doing well so far, WCG would like to take precautionary measures to ensure that I get tested on everything.  I am not exactly sure what all kinds of test the UT medical will perform on me but Dr. McAmis said that they should be able to check everything.  Which I would rather go through to ensure that everything will be fine.  So this coming Feb 16th at 930 AM, Ryan and I are going to meet Dr. Mark Hennessey for my high-risk obstetrics test.

It was a good visit with Dr. McAmis today.  There are several test that he mentioned that is optional coz 1) These tests are only recommended if there are certain illnesses or ailments that are prominent genetically like lung, heart, pancreatic, gastric in nature and 2) it is super expensive.  One is called Cystic Fibrosis Carrier Testing which cost almost US$500.  I think that is an expense and risk test that we can forego for now since there are no known major problems that we have in both our genes.  There are other test that he does not really recommend but is optional. 

So far I have been doing pretty well this week. I am still constipated but I think I am over the period of my morning sickness, considering that I am already in my 2nd trimester.  I tend to get tired and sleepy most of the time and sometimes experience back side pains.  Other than that, nothing of those crazy pregnant antics that some pregnant moms experience.  Thank God!

Ryan and I really have no preference on what gender the baby would.  Somehow I feel that Ryan would like to have a little princess that he can spoil and call a daddy's girl.  But what's most important for us right now is to have a healthy normal baby.  And we are not worried because we know our little ham will be gorgeous and super awesome!


P.S.  For more information on WCG, visit http://www.blountmemorial.org/body.cfm?id=55 and look for Women's Care Group under the Practice Name field.


P.S.S.  More information about Dr. McAmis can be found at http://www.blountmemorial.org/body.cfm?xyzpdqabc=0&id=55&action=detail&ref=180