FaceTime with Baby #2

Our baby at 12 weeks :)

Last Tuesday was a great day because I had my First Trimester Screening as I was in my last week of my first trimester (depending on what book or website you're looking at - some say 13 weeks is the last week).  Anyway this screening entailed an ultrasound at Northside Hospital’s Perinatal Unit (as opposed to the ultrasound that I normally have at the OBGYN which isn’t as detailed or of good quality).  This 1st trimester ultrasound is performed to make sure the baby is developing appropriately for this time in my pregnancy and to detect the possibility of chromosomal abnormalities as they look at specific things to determine that. Along with the ultrasound I had a prick test in my finger to check my blood to determine the chances that the baby has the chromosomal abnormalities Downs Syndrome, Trisomy-13, and Trisomy-18.  This is an optional screening and if the results were cause for concern, I’m still one of the most pro-life people you’ll ever meet.  I would just like the information so I can mentally prepare for the situation and research what I need to know to be the best parent I can be for my child, no matter what the challenges are. 

I LOVED, as I always do, having the ultrasound.  I always look forward to seeing my baby and looking at the progress he/she has made in his/her development since the last one.  Baby #2 looks more and more like a “real” baby each time I see him/her, which is always amazing to me.  Since I'm not far enough along to feel the baby moving, getting to see him/her is especially a treat.  I think of it like getting to Face-time with him/her from my belly.  I just love watching the baby move in there and knowing that I get to feel him/her moving in the next couple of months and then in person in 26 more weeks. 

The doctor confirmed that we’re right on schedule with the due date of December 4^th.  He also looked at the baby's nuchal translucency (the fluid under the his/her neck's skin) to make sure it was the appropriate amount.  If there is too much fluid then that can indicate that he/she has Downs Syndrome, but thankfully they said everything looks good.  They additionally examined the baby's nasal bone, which was thankfully visible too.  If it hadn’t been, then it could be an indicator that he/she has Downs Syndrome as well.  So basically everything looked great on Baby #2’s ultrasound!! J

Having my finger pricked wasn’t as bad as I remembered from my last pregnancy.  I guess after getting much more blood drawn throughout my time being pregnant with Dominic and the whole child birth thing puts pain in perspective.  They told me that it would take a week to get the results, so I could hardly believe when they called me just 2 days later to give them to me. It was great news!!  The chances that Baby #2 will have Downs Syndrome, Trisomy-13, or Trisomy-18 were all 1 in 10,000, which are the lowest chances they can give a person.  Obviously, it’s not 100%, but those are very good odds.  I know a lot of that is because I’m having this baby while I’m under 30.  This is just one of the many benefits and reasons why Brian and I have always wanted to be done having our kids by our mid-30s and not have to worry as much.  My next date with Baby#2 is Wednesday when I have my monthly OBGYN appointment, and then the 3D ultrasound when we are scheduled to find out Baby #2's gender is a couple of weeks after that.  Can’t wait to see him/her at these ultrasounds!!  :)

Baby #2's Head as he/she sucks his/her thumb

 Although I loved getting to see Baby #2 on Tuesday and was very happy to have such great results, this week has been a tough one.  Thankfully, the morning sickness appears to be over, but I had another kind of sickness...a cold.  Who do you think I caught it from?  Well, my favorite sick boy ever, Dominic, of course.  The poor, little guy has been horribly sick with this cold too, with me a couple of days behind him in most of my symptoms.  I have decided to officially become the “Germ Nazi” with him.  Remember from my last post that he developed a fever the day we came home from the beach (just in time for the drive home) and took him to the doctor that next day (Monday).  Well, just as he finally kicked the fever Tuesday afternoon, he and I both developed severe cold symptoms on Wednesday – really bad sore throats, congestion, sneezing, coughing,  etc.  So I took Dominic to the pediatrician yet again on Thursday morning because he was havign trouble eating since he would cough and then choke.  The poor boy was miserable.  For those who have lost count, I think this was the 4^th doctor’s visit in less than a month, and the 2^nd in visit just that week alone.  To say that I’m at my wits end by all of this sickness is beyond an understatement.  It does not help that I’m taking care of my sick, miserable, little boy, while this cold is making me feel like I have the flu.  I had forgotten how much stress even a cold puts on my body when you're pregnant and, therefore, how much worse you feel.  Not to mention that I can’t take cold medicine since I’m pregnant.  I’m sure I wouldn't feel quite as frustrated about Dominic being sick if I were feeling better myself.  So be cautioned much of this blog has been written during a period of a great deal of frustration and an even larger need for sleep.  

The doctor said that everything looked and sounded good with Dominic when I took him in on Thursday.  He had one sore left on his throat, so that’s an improvement from Monday’s appointment.  There didn’t appear to be a bacterial infection in his lungs, ears, or any other part of his body, so this is either just more of the same virus or another virus completely (yes, that would make 3 separate viruses in a week and a half).  The doctor said that she really believed it was the same virus that had started off as the fever and sore throat and now progressed with the cold symptoms.  She told me that she has been seeing this with some of her other older patients recently.  She also advised me that if he doesn’t improve in a few days to bring Dominic back in because it would most likely be bacterial at that point and can be treated with antibiotics.  

The doctor assured me that Dominic is just building up his immune system with all of this sickness, and he will stop being constantly sick after a year or two of this.  That was not encouraging to me.  He’s been through a year of it, but I don’t know how much more of this I can take.  When I inquired about probiotics, the doctor said that the yogurt (never anything besides Yobaby organic yogurt) he eats already has probiotics in it, so that wouldn’t help.  I guess all I can do is be the "Germ Nazi" and ride this hell out for the next 9 months or so.  Maybe after we both get over this latest virus, I’ll be more optimistic.

So here are the “Germ Nazi” regulations for keeping Dominic healthy that we are now putting in place:

-         I’m going to make sure to wash Dominic’s hands every single time we walk into the house.  Whenever we are at any public location, I’m going to use a sanitizing wipe on his hands as well.  

-        Just as Dominic washes and wipes his hands, I'm going to wash my hands when we walk into the house and use those wipes each time we leaving a public place too.

-         Whenever Brian comes in from work, he will was his hands before he touches Dominic.  I already do this when I come in from tutoring because it's instinctive to me that kids are germ factories, and I don't want Dominic to catch anything from my student.  However, Brian is a little more reluctant to comply. 

-         When we go to our friends' and families’ houses or whenever any of them come to our home, they are going to have to wash their hands before touching Dominic just like we asked them to do when he was a newborn.  

-         If anyone has any symptoms of being sick – including what one might think are allergies – then they cannot be hold Dominic.  We unfortunately are not taking any chances from now on. 

I know I sound unreasonable and probably insane, but I’m completely at the end of my rope here.  I am at a complete loss as to what to do.  I hate feeling this way, and it’s even worse to have to watch my poor, little boy suffer so much and be so miserable. 

The idea has been presented to me by multiple people recently that perhaps Dominic and I should stop meeting with our playgroups.  That's a logical idea in avoiding germs on the one hand, but then it's pretty ridiculous the more I think about it.  Dominic will be going to preschool in the next year and a half and if he has not been exposed to these viruses by that point, he will just get sick like this then.  Basically, I could prolong the inevitable, but what's the point in that?  Plus I think it's extremely important for Dominic to play with other kids his age, and selfishly for me to socialize with other moms.  I learn a lot from these other moms in talking to them at playgroups, not to mention venting to these people who understand being moms especially Full-Time/Stay-at-Home Moms.  They have truly helped keep me sane and happy over the last year.  Another point I have to remember is that several of Dominic's sicknesses have actually been caught from his extended family and not just all from his friends.  Most importantly though, Dominic LOVES playing with other kids.  To take that away from him - even if they literally can make him sick sometimes - would be mean.  Brian thankfully agrees completely...if anything he often reminds me that keeping Dominic quarantined is a horrible idea especially when I get especially frustrated in the midst of being sick.  Unfortunately, we can't keep Dominic in a bubble no matter how much easier it would make things...but I may be shopping for some cute, little toddler Haz-Mat suits soon. ;)