Everything's normal!

I went to the doctor today (my regular obstetrician--Dr. Phillips) and listened to the baby's heartbeat.  Since Brandon's on Christmas break right now, he got to come with me and hear the baby's heartbeat too.  His heart was beating at 138 bmp and sounded just like it should sound!  The high-risk doctor (Dr. Chatelain) who is doing my ultrasounds recommended to Dr. Phillips that I do a 24-hour urine collection at every visit (approximately every four weeks) and do a blood platelet count at every visit to make sure that my kidneys are functioning well and that my platelet count doesn't drop below normal.  My last 24-hour urine collection was just as normal as that of someone who doesn't have any kidney disease, so I don't have to do a collection for this visit!  I'm so glad that I don't have to do one this time since it's close to Christmas.  Speaking of Christmas, I get more and more anxious and excited about Seth's birth the more I think about the birth of Jesus.  I can't wait until my own little baby boy is born!  Dr. Phillips said that I should start to feel him move in about three weeks!  I'm going back to see Dr. Phillips in four weeks, and I'm going to see Dr. Chatelain again in five weeks for a follow-up ultrasound!  I can't wait to see Seth again :)

It's a.........

BOY!  We are going to have a boy!  His name will be Seth Andrew Renuard.  I had an appointment yesterday with a high-risk obstetrician.  He did an ultrasound to make sure that the baby is developing normally and that the uterus and everything is positioned correctly.  Thankfully, everything looks normal!  I wasn't expecting to find out the baby's gender at the appointment since I'm about 16 weeks, so I was very pleasantly surprised when the doctor asked if I wanted to know the baby's gender!  Brandon and I are so excited about our son :)  It's so exciting to see the baby through the ultrasound.  The baby was standing on his head when the doctor first started doing the ultrasound.  The doctor had a little bit of trouble getting a good picture of his chest, but eventually the baby cooperated :)  I'll leave you with a few ultrasound pictures!

As you can see, this is a photo of his head and chest.....

Now here's a picture of his face....

And here's a picture proving he's a boy (in case there are any non-believers)....

I'm going back to the high-risk doctor for a follow-up ultrasound in about six weeks.  From then on, I'm going to go back every four weeks.  I'm still seeing my other obstetrician every three to four weeks.  The high-risk doctor is just kind of overseeing everything.  I'm so glad that the baby and the pregnancy are both normal!

Thanks for reading :)

155 beats per minute!

I had my second OB appointment today, and the highlight was getting to hear my baby's heartbeat! The heart rate was 155 beats per minute, which is completely within normal range 120-160 bpm). It's on the higher side of the normal range, so I guess according to the old wives' tale, the baby is a girl! lol. Today's appointment wasn't as exciting as the first since we didn't do an ultrasound, but I'm very happy that I got to hear the baby's heartbeat. It was difficult to find the heartbeat at first, so I kind of freaked out a little, but after a minute or two the doctor managed to find it!

In three weeks I'm going to see a high-risk obstetrician because of my lupus and kidney disease. At that appointment they are going to do an ultrasound, so I will get to see the baby again! By that time, I will be about 16 weeks along, so I'm hoping that I will find out the gender! :)

I'm still having morning sickness, but it has improved a lot. The doctor told me today that the morning sickness should be gone by week 15 or 16, so I'm really looking forward to that! My kidney disease is giving me a few problems, but as long as I drink plenty of water, the kidney problems should be kept to a minimum for now! Anyway, that's all I have to post for now...I can't wait until the next post because maybe I will be able to post whether the baby is a boy or a girl!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

We're expecting a baby!

I'm starting this blog because my husband and I are going to have a baby in about seven months! I'm going to use this blog to share some photos of the baby as the pregnancy goes along, and I'm going to talk about the pregnancy milestones as they come!

My husband and I found out a month ago that I was pregnant. We were (and still are) really excited because we both really want children. My pregnancy is considered "high-risk" since I have lupus and some other medical conditions, but my doctors are going to keep a very close eye on me throughout the pregnancy. I am going to have a doctor's appointment almost every week...not with the same doctor every time, but with my different specialists. I've had morning sickness over the past two or three weeks, but it's improved significantly this week...probably because the hormone levels are leveling off and because I've actually been eating three or four times a day! I was really bad about not eating much since I felt nauseous most of the time, but now I've been forcing myself to eat throughout the day.

Right now, I am 9-10 weeks pregnant. The baby's expected due date is June 5, 2011! I had my first ob/gyn appointment on Tuesday, and I was able to see the baby and see his/her heartbeat for the first time! Here are a couple of photos of him or her:

 (The ultrasound photos don't have the correct date, time, or expected due date.)

My next ob/gyn appointment is in three weeks, so I plan to publish another post in at least three weeks and will probably have some new photos to share! Thanks for reading!