2012
Pregnant People; Do They Actually Exercise?
Crossfit Baby
I’ve come to arrive at a bit of a dilemma; pregnant and wanting to exercise. Why is this a dilemma, you ask? Well, there seem to be a lot of variables at work here…
- I like to get my exercise by doing what’s called “Crossfit“. It’s a combination of Olympic weight lifting, “metcon” (metabolic conditioning, or aerobic training), and mobility exercises.
- While the doctors encourage pregnant women to workout, continuing the exercise routine they practiced pre-prego, the types of exercise discussed are things like walking, swimming, and yoga. (Don’t get me wrong, these are awesome ways to get exercise, but a wee bit different than the Crossfit stuff).
- Current research talks about how pregnant women shouldn’t lift over 20 pounds or let their heart rates get over 140. I’m not sure about you, but this doesn’t allow for much, if any exercise in my book! Read more >>
2012
Birth Defect Screening, Amniocentesis, and Other Thoughts
Friday, 5-25-12, we went up to Salinas and met with a genetic counselor to go over the previous screening blood tests in regards to Little Browne and the possibilities of Down Syndrome. The counselor showed us 5 different numbers or so, in which only one was considerably higher than it should have been but explained that by itself it was not a concern, instead it would have needed to have a couple of other numbers higher as well to draw any true worry over having Downs. Read more >>
2012
Amniocentesis – The Process of Pregnancy
Chromosomes
Today we are scheduled to have an amniocentesis done to specifically see if Little Browne has Down Syndrome. This is something they worry more about in women that are 35 and older so we knew it going in, but it’s still slightly stressful. There is a slight chance Annie won’t have to have an amnio (which is where they stick a needle through the belly into the uterus to retrieve amniotic fluid) if the doctor explains that this other test, a normal blood test offers the same high accuracy.
This other blood test is relatively new I guess, you can’t get it everywhere…but we’re heading up to the beautiful oasis known as Salinas…which is Spanish for “Armpit” (just kidding, calm down everyone). Anyways…it may take up to a week to find out the results so I’m not sure just how much info we’ll actually come home with. Our first priority is to get through the amnio, although the chances are less than 5%, if the sack does not seal itself back up after the needle is pulled out…we could lose the baby.
The only reason I am sharing these things is because that’s what this blog is for…it’s the happenings (the good, the bad, and the slightly traumatic) that we want to share because some of you might have gone through these experiences so you can make us feel better and we can then help others after our experience. One thing we’ve discovered, as with the miscarriage we had in December 2011, is that people aren’t talking about these things enough. Life is hard sometimes, we go through things we classify as “personal”, and I say bullshit to all of it.
We’re all on this journey together and a lot of this stuff should be shared and discussed. Well, it appears I’m rambling again so I’m going to stop so I can go get ready to drive my lovely wife to the Armpit…uh…Salinas that is. We will report back via the blog when we have information and on Facebook. A selfish moment for myself…I’d love it if you would share this blog or the Little Browne Facebook page with anyone you know that would be interested in having these life/baby/parenting discussions over time.
Cheers, and Happy Friday (also International Ding Dong Day)!!
2012
A Father To Be: Where is the Connection?
18 Weeks Pregnant
I’m sure it’s different for each father to be but I’m often curious about when the connection to little unborn tiny baby starts for the proud papa. In my current experience, I feel like I have this connection but I can’t imagine it’s anything like what Annie is feeling and experiencing.
When I first saw fingers and toes in an unltrasound picture that made the whole thing feel real to me and since Annie has started showing I know it’s because there’s a real baby growing in there…not from all the Twinkies and Doritos tacos from Taco Bell that she’s been eating (kidding…Annie eats WAY healthy). But for Annie she already has the physical feelings and hormonal changes that allow her to start having real connections with Little Browne…she’s already feeding this baby, protecting it, carrying it, and feeling it swim around in there; but I don’t have those things. Read more >>
2012
Is it a Boy or a Girl? It’s a…
…well, before I answer I have to say that originally we were hoping for a boy but then we quickly focused on health and the importance of that. We’ve had our reasons for wanting a boy but at the end of the day none of those reasons matter. The single most important thing is love and health, and we would absolutely love a boy or a girl no matter what!
As you’ll see in the video we went to the doctor and while doing the ultrasound he asked if we wanted to know the sex, we of course said yes even though 50% of the people out there told us we should…evidently we roll with the other 50%. The doctor said that it was 80% to 90% “this” and then raised that to 98%…watch the short video to hear it from Annie. This video was taken right outside after we got the news.
2012
Flashback: Pregnant, Here We Go Again…
Positive!
Since we found out I was pregnant in January, I’ve been writing down my thoughts about the whole thing along the way. I wanted to share these thoughts with you, even though they’re a little out of order…we’re going back in time! As of today, we’re just past 17 weeks, but I wrote this the day we found out we were pregnant, January 17, 2012: Read more >>
2012
We’re Pregnant, We Miscarried, We’re Pregnant
Little Browne - 13 Weeks
Introducing….Little Browne!!! Look out world, we’re pregnant and building a child that will be coming to a world near you in October 2012…here’s the story:
Annie (age 40) and myself (age 35) finally decided that having a baby would be the right thing to do and that decision has led to a very interesting time since roughly August of 2011. Having gone through all the ups and downs of becoming pregnant and then having a miscarriage and becoming pregnant again…it’s been a pretty exciting journey thus far. Our goal is to share this journey on this blog for those that want to follow along, for our family and friends that don’t live close by, and for anyone else that finds the topic of parenthood, babies, and life interesting. Read more >>
