mindless woman, mindless ramblings

Well, over the next week or so, I was really, truly, honestly going to write a huge update of my pregnancy up through week 16, then write a single entry about this week, which is week 17. From there, I was going to get back into my old routine of religiously writing in my journal every 2-3 days. But then I found that yesterday, my dear, sweet, white-on-the-outside-black-on-the-inside best friend posted this in my comments:

I knoooooooow you had a huge u/s yesterday and that you have news to share!!! I can hardly stand the suspense! PLEASSEEEE, for the love of cheese, update your journal woman!

Love you!

Whenever dear Becky resorts to such painful food-related euphemisims such as “for the love of cheese” or “geez oh peaches,” I have no choice but to act and do whatever it is she wants so that it will be a while before I’m once again bombarded with such ridiculous wordings.

Yesterday we had another ultrasound. I’ve had ultrasounds every 3-4 weeks, first to check on the absorbtion of the vanishing twin sac, then to check for the nuchal transluscency. The second sac had completely absorbed by the 13th week of pregnancy. We also did the nuchal transluscency screening at that appointment. At least we tried to. The little stinker wouldn’t stay in a position so that Angie, the ultrasound tech, could get an acceptable view of the baby’s profile. Though she was unable to get a decent measurement of the nuchal fold, we did get several wonderful shots of Baby Ducky.

The week 13 u/s also showed something quite odd, which at first was a little alarming. We found what’s called a synechia. Basically, there’s a band of tissue going from one corner of the gestational sac to the other, kind-of diagonal across the upper-left hand corner of the sac. It divides the sac into two sides. Thankfully, the baby is completely contained in the larger of the sides.

The main problem that could arise from a synechia is if an appendage gets stuck in the band of tissue. This could cause abnormal growth or even amputation in severe cases. Dr. Edwards reassured us that the things the he would be worried about were not seen in our u/s. He felt that the second side was basically going to get squished out of the way or be reabsorbed, much the way a vanishing twin sac did. Dr. E felt that we had nothing to really worry about (but of course we all worried), and that we’d have a follow-up ultrasound in 4 weeks.

That appointment was yesterday, and thankfully, all is well with Baby Ducky! The “second sac” is still there, but it’s considerably smaller than it was a month ago at the last u/s. It’s now being squished out of the way just like Dr. Edwards expected. My regular anatomy growth scan u/s is in another 4 weeks and the synechia is not expected to be seen at all!

Baby Ducky was squirming all around and as for now, is sitting vertex, not that it matters much since I’ll be having a c-section anyway. The vertex position made for easy gender determination. Stephanie and Terry are having a…….

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BOY!!!!! I’ve felt that I was carrying a boy all along because while I was quite ill, I just wasn’t sick enough in the first trimester to feel like I was carrying a girl!

I hate that I didn’t think to take the camera with me on Tuesday because the look on Stephanie’s face was priceless. She put her hands on her hips and gaped at the screen with half a smirk on her face. I know she was praying for a healthy baby but was putting in extra prayers for a girl. There was no mistaking Ducky’s package because it was quite obvious and Steph saw it even with her u/s untrained eyes: “IF THAT’S A BOY, THOSE ARE HUGE BALLS!” It’s been a long time since I’ve reported any Stephanie-isms, and that one is classic!

She and Terry are absolutely in love with this little boy, who they’re naming Samuel Anthony. Anthony is after Steph’s dad who passed away when she was just 18 from a brain tumor, and Samuel is after Terry’s father and grandfather (who sadly passed away last week). Now if only they can decide on whether to call him Sam or Tony! 

So now, with the exception of little details here and there, you guys are caught up on the main points of the pregnancy thus far. There are other things going on in other areas of my life that I have to update on, so since I’ve now given the good stuff that everyone wants to hear about, I can start updating on those other things. Eh – that’ll happen next week. All this talk of peaches has Sam/Tony craving some, so I’m off to do his bidding and gorge myself on peach ice cream!

Uuummm….hello? Is anyone there? This mindless woman who is carrying me was insanely busy or half-sick through the first trimester. Added to the gastric damage that I was causing, typing seemed to complicate matters and make her dizzy or want to hurl. What little energy Kym had for typing, she had to apply to writing curriculum and administration papers and finishing up her 6-month, 48-page long research project. Now that she’s earned her Education Specialist degree and I’m not leaving her so sick that her head hangs listlessly over the bed while she moans “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” she now has the energy and the time to properly update this blog the way she’s supposed to. So hold tight, dear readers – Kym will have her butt in gear and a rather long update entry posted before the weekend is over. It’s either that or I’ve threatened to start yanking so hard on my umbilical cord that I cause a replay of the first trimester yuckies.

Sincerely,
   Baby Ducky