Baby Checkup 19 weeks

Today we went for the Anatomy Scan of the baby and everything looks great. The baby was incredibly stubborn for the entire hour plus process and refused to look when needed to for a few things so I have to go back when baby is bigger in three weeks. We went to NWH that has really nice machines so we got some great pics of the baby. Enjoy.

This is a frontal view which is a little spooky. If you look closely from right to left you can see the baby's skull with its hands on either side of its head. The big circle to the left and down of the skull is the baby's chest/stomach/abdomen.
The is a side profile with the baby's head starting at the right and the body following to the left. You can see the baby's spine and the black circle above the spine is the heart.

St Thomas

Paul and I are currently vacationing in St Thomas and I have to say it is not as nice as I thought it would be.We have been to St John and several of the British Virgin Islands but it compares nothing to what we experienced in Phuket. The snorkeling is really not that interesting although the beaches are beautiful. The ocean is so many colors of blue it is amazing. They are still doing construction on the timeshare property here so all the amenities are not available either. It has been relaxing though. If you ever come here be sure to rent a car. The cabbies all try to rip you off and are not very nice. It costs $8-10 each way to go anywhere even if it is close. Hopefully our week in Las Vegas will be more exciting although Paul will be playing pool most of the time. I will enjoy traveling to the M&M Factory (everyday)for peanut butter M&M's- yummo. Don't worry I will walk to keep from getting too fat :) Besides they say whatever you eat a lot of the baby will acquire a taste for. What better than peanut butter m&ms. As of now it is loving Chips Ahoy and milk! (everyday)

Would have loved to post a few pictures but I forgot to update the laptop with the new software. Oh well.

Baby Checkup 16+ weeks

As for the baby I had yet another checkup. For the most part I go every two weeks because of my prior molar pregnancy not because there is anything wrong with this pregnancy. This pregnancy is not even labeled high risk, however because of all the emotional and physical changes with pregnancy and this being my first "normal" one, my doctors suggested me coming more frequently for my own piece of mind. Most visits I just get to hear the heartbeat and see the baby move during ultrasound and take home a souvenir pic. I think I have enough for a whole album and the baby isn't even here yet. As for this appointment I(Paul didn't get to go- he had to deal with the gutter installers) got to hear the heartbeat which was normal and I got to see the baby somersaulting around and waving its fingers and kicking its legs. The doctor was able to get a good view of between the baby's legs so we kind of know what we are having but since I am going for the anatomy scan in a week and a half we are going to wait until then to really believe it. Those should be really nice pics and the best thing about that ultrasound is I DO NOT have to drink any water because the machine is so good it doesn't need a full bladder to detect everything. YEA!

The baby was also tested for spina bifida and I was tested early for gestational diabetes since diabetes runs in my family. I should have results when I get back from Las Vegas. And my blood type was finally decided. I am definately heterosomething O positive but since I received a positive from my dad and the negative trait from my mom I am a weak D which means I DEFINATELY have to be treated as O Negative forever! How weird. Oh well at least now I know.

Westfield Trial

This past weekend we traveled to Massachusetts for an agility trial and this time not only did Tom compete but Jerry was old enough to get in on some action too. In USDAA dogs cannot compete until they are 18 months old. Even though Jerry is not really ready for a whole competitive starters course I decided to take on a different route with him than I did when I first started with Tom and put him out there for two events. When I started with Tom he wasn't quite ready to begin and I jumped in there and did a bunch of events and it was too much. He became overwhelmed because I had no experience and I didn't know how to handle certain things not ever competing before. So from that Tom developed some issues that we are still working on that cost us some Q's.

For Jerry I decided to enter two events Gamblers where you choose your own course and Standard that has a set course. I decided before hand I was going to pick four or five obstacles in an easy sequence on both events and just go out and have fun. I chose things I knew Jerry really could do with no problem and I wanted to practice his sit stay because I know he has a great one.
I figured I wouldn't be stressed because I wasn't running to win and it would give Jerry some quality time out there in the ring and he wouldn't be stressed either. It turned out great. He had lots of tunnels and chutes which he loves and I got some contacts in there too which he was great on too. He slid off the end of the see saw once after getting a touch and then he righted himself which got him a whistle but it was at the end of our 5 obstacle sequence and his jumping was ok. He dropped a bar or two because of his speed and inability to really figure out his stride just yet.
In the end I think it was a great experience for both of us.

As for Tom he had a good weekend too. We completed our second trial of all Advanced events and we came close on both Snooker courses missing a Q both times by one point but we placed second. We had some issues on popping on poles for Standard and then I wasn't calling out obstacles mostly because I was trying to save my breath since the baby is taking up some good room compacting my lungs! so Tom started pulling away and refusing tunnels and a jump on Sunday. In Jumpers he dropped a bar on Saturday and on Sunday he decided to take a few off course jumps so we will keep working on it. Gamblers was great on Saturday he got his first Advanced Gambler Q and came in third. Sunday's Gamblers was not good from the start I was in a bad position from the get go and it took time to get back on track so we didn't get enough points in the opening and it took awhile to get to the Gamble so the buzzer sounded before we were able to get the gamble but good thing was he did it so I know he can. Smartie dropped some bars this weekend costing her a lot of Q's but she got one in Gamblers which makes her one Q away from her title in Gamblers. She is also one away in Snooker and Standard!

As for me the weekend was very tiring and my feet were killing me when I finally got home. I can feel myself slowing up I guess because I have gained weight and my lungs are being squeezed. I don't know how I am going to walk forget about run come December and January. We have two more trials I am going to try to compete in so we will see how it goes.