We have a baby!

I have been grinning like a cheshire cat ever since 2:30 yesterday afternoon! I finally got to see and hear my little one's heartbeat! I had a brief moment of anxiety when I first saw the baby, because it wasn't moving. That didn't last long, though, thankfully. Baby B had a heartbeat of 170 bpm and measured 2.11 centimeters long--and the measurments perfectly matched the gestational age. I cannot tell you how thrilled and relieved I was! The ultrasound tech was super nice and gave me not one but three pictures of our little...girl? Boy? I don't even care which right now, 'cause I'm just excited that it's HEALTHY!

Of course, the fact that I will be 35 when this child is born didn't escape the good folks at my clinic. Because of my age and my psoriatic arthritis, I am (of course) classified as a high-risk pregnancy. I've been automatically referred to the local perinatologist, whom, coincidentally, I love--I had to visit him during my first pregnancy, as well. I'll have to have a few more ultrasounds than normal, but hey, somehow I don't think I'll mind.

Overall, the visit was very positive. The OB that I saw delivered Mr. M.D. and has a wonderful bedside manner, and he seemed very optimistic about this pregnancy. The fact that he has never fed me a line of bull also helped to put me at ease.

So, that's about it for now. I have two doctor's appointments next month. The first is the regular OB visit on Sept. 16. The second is on the 25th and is with the perinatologist, and we'll be having a 14 week ultrasound done! So, if you have the chance, send us some happy thoughts!

Sounds like bull to me...

My husband is a rodeo freak. Wait...that didn't sound right. He's all about some rodeo. He used to bullride, and he'd do it again today if it wouldn't make my heart stop a hundred times over. So naturally, when he found out that a nearby county fair was having a Junior Rodeo, he talked our 3 1/2 year old son into participating in it. Little Boy was more than thrilled to be a part of it.



Now, understand , there are no live animals in this jr. rodeo. The barrel horse racing was done on stick horses, the cows for the cow-milking were wooden cut-outs, and the bull was a plastic barrel with a plastic bull's head on the front of it and was suspended by four ropes (two in front, two in back) from two overhead ceiling beams. My son was in the 5 & Under group. I wish I had a picture of him to put on here, because he surely was cute in his little blue jeans, work boots and "Ride 'Em Cowboy" shirt.



He participated in the stick horse barrel racing and (of course) in the bullriding. You should have seen the big grin on his face during the barrel race--it made this mother's heart melt. As far as the bullriding...well, dummy me, in my eagerness to watch my son participate, had signed him up to be the first rider. What I was thinking, I don't know, because now he couldn't watch to get an idea of how, exactly, it was supposed to be done. On top of that, we had asked the lady in charge of the rodeo event if the smaller kids were allowed to hang on with both hands instead of just one, and she was like "Oh yeah, it's no big deal, that's fine." Well, turns out, it wasn't fine. Apparently the teens that were judging the event didn't get the memo. My boy got dinged on points for doing what we were told he would be fine doing. So, he didn't win, but he did obviously have a good time, which was totally worth the 2 1/2 hours we sat in the humid, Southern evening air. Oh--you wanna know who won his age group? The winner was the little girl whose daddy ran the fair's mechanical bull. Hmmmm....



Anyway, perceived unfairness aside, we had a good night. It was a good family outing. It was great to see my boy in action. I just hope I handle it so well when he climbs onto the live animal for the first time...we'll not rush that along. :)

Wooooohoooo!!!!

Wow...3 months? I haven't posted for 3 months? I didn't realize how far off my game I've fallen!

The reason that I posted today, actually, is because I have good news--I'm pregnant! I was kinda hesitant to even put it on here because I didn't want to jinx it, and I'm still VERY early in this pregnancy. BUT...I do have a doctor's appointment on August 19. :) How I'm going to be able to make it until then without completely losing my mind, I don't know. Oh, wait...that's right, I'll have morning sickness to keep me busy until then. It's the kind of morning sickness that lasts all day long. But you know what? I'll happily be sick if it means that I have a healthy pregnancy & baby.

I'm kinda halfway wondering what I've gotten myself into. I'll be 35 when this baby is born. Add on top of that the joint damage I've already got from my psoriatic arthritis, and well...I'm a little intimidated right now. I've heard that most cases of arthritis go into remission during pregnancy, and I'm really hoping that I'm part of "most." I guess we'll have to see. Either way, I'm in it for the long haul.

So, anxiety aside, I am THRILLED about this baby!! It's truly an answer to my prayers. I guess now I have a reason to update this blog more often now, huh? :)