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Well, the day after my last post, the sickness came back. Not full force mind you but enough to let me know that I'm not "over the hump" yet. If I ever *will* be. Grrr. Generally, I'll have a few good-eating days and then be nauseous and sick the next and then queasy for another day or two. Other days, like today, I'll be feeling fine all day and then get sick out of nowhere. I was actually feeling so good today, that I was considering taking the dogs for a walk for the first time since I've been pregnant. Ugh. Not any more. It's really quite annoying.


I have my next doctor's appointment on Thursday. Not sure what to expect with this one. The appointment scheduler just said it would be with an OB, but she didn't have any idea what might be discussed or anything. It's too early for the gender-determining ultrasound, so that's not it. Maybe it's for the screening tests to rule out possible birth defects? If it is, though, I read that the "triple screen" or "quad screen" has a high rate of giving false positives.

"The triple screen test is the least invasive of all prenatal tests, but it has a high rate of false positives, which incorrectly indicate risk in healthy pregnancies, resulting in weeks of anxiety while further tests are evaluated. Between 96 and 98 percent of women who first receive a positive triple screen result will go on to have normal babies, making the risks of this test emotional rather than physical."

So, I'm not sure I'm up for that. According to several sites I've looked at, the quad screen is performed between the 16th to 18th week of pregnancy, and I'll be about 15 1/2 on Thursday. I'll have to talk it over with Dave and a few others and see what they think. One of my friends in Seattle had this done and they had her worrying for weeks that her baby was going to be born with a cleft palate and numerous other types of deformities or physical/mental disabilities... but he turned out completely healthy and happy. I really don't think I want all of that stress and anxiety. I mean, if the initial results were more accurate and didn't require additional blood work or other procedures and days/weeks of waiting, I'd feel more secure with it. It would be nice to be a little more mentally prepared for a child with special needs than to find out the day it's born, but... I don't know.


I went out for coffee with my mom over the weekend. Unbeknowst to me, it was all part of her plan to get me to create a baby registry and to buy me "appropriate" maternity clothes. My brother was all excited when he first learned I was pregnant and wanted me to register somewhere so he could get started on spoiling his little niece or nephew. So, I registered and then scouted out some clothes. I didn't actually find too many things that were specifically labeled as maternity wear (save for a pair of khakis with the preggo waist thingy, a nice blouse/shirt with long-sleeves and an empire waist, and two plain v-neck t-shirts)... mainly I just bought things in my normal pre-pregnancy size (since I've lost so much weight and am almost down a size) or one size larger than that. I'm sure once my belly starts growing and winter is on its way, I'll be out looking once again. For now, though, I think I'm all set.


The initial excitement of being pregnant is over. This is starting to seem like it's going to be an incredibly looooong wait. Six more months. Sigh. Well, at least I'm not an elephant, right? Twenty-two months is much too long of a commitment to being sick, tired, and excessively rotund.