First of all, Mr. Merman finally got to feel the baby move. Little Dude has been more active lately and my husband has really been wanting to feel him. My promise to him was that the second I felt movement on the outside, I'd let him know. It finally happened on Monday! We were all laid out on the couch watching TV and Baby was moving all around. So I put my hand on my stomach. Actually feeling it from the outside had me in a complete state of shock. Pausing the TV, I told my husband to put his hand on a certain spot and wait. Sure enough! Within a few seconds, he felt it. His eyes got huge as he waited for more. "What do you think?" I asked later on. "It just feels like you have gas," he replied. I giggled as he explained that it wasn't at all what he was expecting. Now he knows why he couldn't feel it before. The movements are so small and muffled, it doesn't feel like much.
Yay for another pregnancy milestone!
MFM Ultrasound #2
I'm currently 22+6 weeks pregnant. Nearly a week away from viability and I'm getting nervous. Tomorrow is our follow-up ultrasound to check on the fluid levels. I've still been guzzling water as though I've never been given water before. I've been able to put the anxiety and nervousness aside for the past couple of weeks. Being able to feel Baby move has really helped put my mind at ease. "There's nothing you can do so don't stress over it" was the doctor's advice and I've taken it to heart. Focusing on to-do lists, friend's showers, work, reading, etc. has really helped. But now that we're a day away, I'm starting to worry. What if the fluid hasn't increased? What if it's lower? Will that mean super early labor? Will I need to go on bed-rest? Are we even going to be able to bring this much-wanted baby into the world? So many questions! In fact, I've got a list of questions that I want to ask the doctor tomorrow.
- Is the baby measuring on schedule?
- How long is he?
- What kind of scale is used to measure fluid?
- What is the ideal number to be at on that scale? Where were we 3 weeks ago? Where are we now?
- What challenges could we face with the placement of the umbilical cord?
- Should I expect to go full-term?
- Should I expect a C-section?
I can't wait to show up with my list tomorrow. I need details and information so I can fully understand the situation! This is something I really miss about being with an RE. They made sure we knew everything that was happening, good or bad, and what it meant for our future. Why can't all doctors be like reproductive endocrinologists?
Babies, Weddings, and Birthdays! OH MY!
The next couple of months are going to be a little busy.
One of my best friends is getting married in April. Another best friend is due in April. And another best friend's birthday is in a week, the day after my mother-in-law's birthday.
I'm a bridesmaid in the wedding so I've been busy helping to plan the shower and bachelorette party. Her wedding shower is this weekend. Luckily, I'm on Winter Break so I've been able to get a lot done this week. Her sister-in-law has been going to town crafting the decorations. I've managed to create guest favors, games, reserve the venue, buy some essentials, gift shop, purchase shoes for the wedding, and more. Alice and Wonderland is the theme so it'll be a tea party in which everyone wears fun hats and partakes of miniature food and assorted teas. I'm beyond excited to finally put our plans and hard work into action! I've just got to get through tomorrow and hope for good news! The bachelorette party is at the end of the month so I've had plenty of time to make arrangements for that.
 |
| Wedding Shower Favors! Assorted teas and Peppermints |
I'm also helping plan the baby shower for my friend who is due in April. We're having her shower in about 3 weeks so I've been trying to get game ideas together for that. Thankfully, her mom and sister are helping so planning games is the extent of what I'll need to do.
My best friend's birthday party is next weekend and it's a Hawaiian themed pub crawl. Trying to find a cute Hawaiian outfit has been quite entertaining with this growing belly. I may just wear bright colors, throw on a lei, and call it a day! I wonder how many odd looks I'll get for being pregnant in a bar...
I made a long list of things I want to accomplish while I'm off this week regarding the showers & parties. I'm happy to announce that I have been quite successful! Our guest bed is covered in piles based on the different occasions. Sometimes, I just go in there to look at it so that I can feel accomplished. All gifts have been purchased and wrapped. All necessities have been bought and organized. March, BRING IT ON!
Home Ownership... Oi...
A couple of weeks ago I began to get antsy about the house and prepping for a baby. After the anatomy scan, I was very reluctant to move forward with plans for the nursery. That quickly changed when a sudden urge took over me and I realized how much we actually need to do, especially if my issues end up causing early labor. And so it began. I made 3 lists.
To-Do Now: clean bathrooms, dust, put things where they belong, etc.
To-Do Soon: Fix the broken shelf in the kitchen cabinet, fix the broken kitchen chair, replace the storm-torn canopy on the back-porch, etc.
To-Do for Baby: Paint his closet white, begin moving furniture to guest room, organize guest room closet, make cabinet space in kitchen for baby supplies, etc.
Needless to say, we've been pretty busy taking care of these items. We've managed to maneuver things around in the guest room so that it can be combined with the office. I spent a day tossing out junk and organizing the closet in that room to make more space. All we need to do is move the office furniture out of the future-nursery and into the guest room so that we can start working on getting things ready to paint. Clearing out a cabinet for bottles was a lot easier than I though it would be. I was finished before my popcorn was done popping. So, let's just hope this whole baby thing actually works out.
 |
| My Favorite Part of the Organized Closet! |
Leaks and Water Damage
While dusting earlier this week, I noticed something dark on the ceiling in our dining room. To my astonishment, it was a very small speck of mold. Remaining calm, I searched what to do when one finds mold in their home and found a local place that can take care of it. A guy came out yesterday to assess the mold and says that it is a very contained water leak and a small job (in comparison to what he usually sees). As of now, it is not hazardous to our health or that of the growing baby. But, they will need to cut a chunk of the wall and ceiling to assess the damage, remove the mold, decontaminate the entire room, and determine the root of the problem. Unfortunately, a previous homeowner put textured wallpaper on the ceiling in the dining room. While beautiful, it has turned out to be a pain. We peeled back a piece of the wallpaper only to discover that there are little mold spores growing underneath it. It is completely unrelated to the leak as the guy explained that wallpaper traps moisture and is the perfect breeding ground for mold. All this means is that we'll have to completely remove the wallpaper and have the ceiling scraped down and sanitized.
Once all of this is said and done, we'll need to hire someone to repair the source of the leak (hoping it's something small and simple). And then we'll need to hire someone to come replace the drywall and repaint the room and ceiling.
 |
| Bye Pretty Ceiling! |
Roof
As if the moldy leak isn't enough, we've been going back and forth with insurance since May trying to get a new roof. We have two leaks in the garage coming from wind damage on the roof. Insurance refuses to cover the entire roof and has only offered us a check to repair the damage causing the leak. Our roofer (and husband's best friend) told us that no one would do the repairs on such an old roof. He claims that there is hail damage and that the entire roof needs to be replaced. But insurance doesn't agree.
After calling and leaving several messages with the guy handling our claim, only to be ignored, I got pissy. Hello! Emotional pregnant woman over here trying to get a leaky house ready for a baby...do NOT mess with me! I called and talked to a "team member" about my frustrations. He told me what steps to take, which began with getting several quotes from different roofers. Done and done! I had a roofer out today to assess the roof and give an estimate. Guess what he asked immediately after the assessment? "Has insurance been out to see this recently? I can't believe they won't agree to cover your roof! You have missing shingles and very obvious wind damage. This roof is so old we won't do an repairs because it's just too brittle. You need a whole new roof!" His advice to me was to contact my agent and put him on the case. I had no idea this was even an option so that was the first thing I did. Even our agent was shocked at what he was seeing in our notes and hearing from me. So now he's investigating it and will be calling me back once he gets to the bottom of it.
We've been very reluctant to replace the roof after the cost of infertility treatments, so I was pleasantly surprised when today's quote was $10,000 less than we were expecting. Apparently, we know nothing about the cost of roofs! We have two more companies coming out to quote us tomorrow. I'm curious as to what they'll say about insurance not covering it. Maybe our agent will work with us so that we can have it covered. Spending thousands of dollars on repairing leaks, repairing water damage, and replacing a roof after spending tens of thousands on IVF... and prepping for a new baby just isn't appealing. And it's not helping me stay calm by any means.
My hope is that we will get great news about the baby tomorrow, our insurance agent will call with a solution... coverage for the roof! And we'll be able to get all of this covered and fixed within the next (busy) month. Cross your fingers!
8 Days to Viability!
was thinking of you on friday with your appointment.... fingers were crossed over here.
ReplyDelete