I got a call yesterday from the doctor’s office (9 full days after my amniocentesis was performed), and they said that everything was normal- the baby is negative for Down’s Syndrome!  They also confirmed that it definitely is a girl.  I can’t even begin to explain the weight that has been lifted off my shoulders. I would have never been able to go on with the rest of this pregnancy without knowing. The stress of that alone would have been bad for the baby I think.  I go back to the doctor next week to get the full 20-week anatomical ultrasound performed, even though they checked a lot of the organs when doing the amnio.  It’s still exciting though because I get to see her move around, which I love.

As for my Diva daughter, who’s now 18-months old, she’s been pointing to my belly and kissing it, and saying “bay bay,” which I THINK is her saying “baby”; who knows.  I tell her there’s a baby in mommy’s belly, but I don’t know if she grasps the concept.  Her temper tantrums have been awful lately–it’s really getting me nervous how I’m going to handle her and a newborn at the same time. I was originally going to get a double stroller, but she’s so bad with the stroller now.  But when I take her out to walk, she doesn’t stay with me—she runs away like I kidnapped her and she’s finally been set free.  If she was good with holding my hand or walking with the stroller I’d probably skip getting a double stroller.  But I’m thinking at this point that maybe I’ll get one (used) just to secure her in (even though she’ll kick & scream like she does now). Oh, the challenge of having an intense, spirited child.  I’m so jealous of people with easygoing babies.  They have NO idea what it’s like.  I really hope my new baby is a little easier.  I know that sounds bad, but I need a break!!

I had the big appointment today at the OBGYN to determine if my pregnancy is “viable” or not. Before my appointment I went to the gym to de-stress and kick up my happy endorphins. I hate when you go to the doctor’s office and they call you in right away, and you get undressed, but then you sit there FOREVER- naked, cold, & bored. At least there’s magazines in the waiting room. Well, that’s what happened this time. Because I was nervous to begin with, sitting there doing nothing made it worse. So I started to visualize seeing a heartbeat on the ultrasound monitor, and even tapped the machine and said, “show me good things!” My nervousness was getting the best of me though, so I finally just laid down and sang the song “Dizzy” in my head from the band Ours. That song always does the trick–I was relaxed and happy. The doctor who I like came in and said my blood work from last week looked good, so he’s going to do the ultrasound which will be the final determining factor–I guess the factor of whether it’s a miscarriage or not. I noticed he didn’t turn the monitor towards me in order for me to see the results immediately, which I was grateful for, because I didn’t want to look. He then turned it towards me and said, “We have a baby, and a heartbeat.”  Yay!! I was ecstatic, but as usual I played it off like I didn’t care and said calmly, “oh good.” Inside I was freaking out though! He said I have to get a Dating Ultrasound to determine my due date, since I’m “sizing small,” based on my last menstrual date, but we both acknowledged that it’s because I have a crazy cycle, so I know I got pregnant later than a normal cycle would.

As for my pregnancy symptoms this time around, I do get morning sickness (and evening sickness), but as with my last pregnancy, it’s not too bad. At least not enough that I vomit. I only get nauseous, especially if I have an empty stomach, so once I eat it goes away. I have a “beautiful” pregnancy mask. Ugh. Actually that was one of the reasons I took a pregnancy test to begin with. Nothing like looking like a freak to tell the world you’re pregnant! Haha. I have killer sinus headaches that make me miserable. The other day at the food store I actually had about 10 minutes of blurred vision, which freaked me out a little bit, but once I went outside it was fine (followed by a terrible sinus headache). My blood pressure is really good though, so the doctor said no biggie. I’m already urinating a lot and already have a belly, which is crazy to me. It must be bloating since I think I’m only about 7 1/2 weeks, but it’s weird since I didn’t show at all until I was about 5 months pregnant last time. They say it happens with 2nd pregnancies though. One symptom I DON’T have, which made me nervous about going into this appointment, is breast pain. With my last pregnancy, it was the most obvious symptom to me…but with this one, I have none at all. That’s fine by me. I told my husband the good news, and I started “telling” my 15-month old daughter by pointing to my belly and saying, “there’s a baby in there.” Hopefully she doesn’t start saying the word “baby” and repeating it to her grandparents because I don’t plan on telling them yet.