Finnley Piper's 3D Ultrasound

Above photo shows a facial shot of Finnley. Look at that adorable little nose!


Above photo shows Finnley with her eye open...staring right into wombland! One hand is covering part of her face.

Wow...what a crazy experience that was! I know this much after having the 3D ultrasound, the fertility clinic did not screw up the sperm sample when creating our embryo that was to become Finnely. She definitely belongs to us. Even in utero, it is more than apparent.

Now, I am not saying that she "has my eyes and Matt's nose"...or anything like that. Nothing physical is usually that obvious in an ultrasound picture. I am speaking of every other aspect about her, though.

For starters, she is "different" already. She is in the "butt down, head up, legs straight up in the air" breech position. (For those having trouble picturing this, just think of how you would get your whole body to form a "V".) Why be normal and comfortable in the womb with just a normal breech position where your head is up and your feet are down? Better yet, why be the most normal with your head down and your feet up? Nope, not good enough for our little girl! Normal is cheap and mundane!

Secondly, she is as stubborn as a mule (think both mom and dad here). This little girl is not at all shy about kneeing me in the ribs, punching me in the gut, or dancing around my uterus on a frequent and daily basis. For this ultrasound, however, the one time where we would have liked to have had her doing ANY of these things...she just wanted to lay there and bask in her own oddness. Luckily, with a TON of poking, prodding, and coaxing by the ultrasound tech (and me changing positions about 12 times), Finnley did move just enough to let us know that she IS indeed a SHE. As the tech put it, she had all girl parts...which, in the words of this highly qualified person, essentially look like a mini hamburger on the screen. Sounds about right. Finnley also briefly cooperated in moving one of her arms just a smidge, at the very last minute, to capture a couple of decent facial shots.

Lastly, and this is the real marker that this child belongs to my husband: she likes to put her foot in her mouth. Now, at this stage of the game, Matt is known to do this in more of a figurative sense than a literal one. (Although, I might pay to see him try it literally!) Finnley is all about being truly literal, though...and those little squishy baby toes were just way too tempting for her to pass up. She allowed us to witness her jamming that foot into her wide open mouth a couple of times, which is unusually easy when you consider the fact that her feet are already hanging out by her head. So, let's also throw in the fact that she is also all about ease and convenience. A true chip off the old M & M block.

After today, I really cannot wait to meet our little girl in person. I know that I have another three months to go, but just having that glimpse of her today makes me so anxious for that time to fly by. Miss Finnley Piper, you are a treasure already!


Above photo shows Finnley with her foot jammed right into her mouth! Each hand is by a cheek, too. Nice work!


Above photo shows Finnley with her foot jammed into her eye. Also, her mouth is gaping wide open. Again...well done!

A Day of Few Words...

Pain? Better. Perfect? No. Me, happier? Yes. Ahhhhhhh.

Love the smell of man work on a Thursday morning...nothing like getting a nice shiny new attic fan to make a pregnant chick smile!

Tomorrow. 3D ultrasound. Still a girl? Let's hope so.

Belly Shot Chronicles - 27 Weeks...and some respite???

Here are the results of the weekly mirror self shot ritual. What would all of you do without seeing these really horribly crappy photos? I am sure your lives would just not be the same!

And, regarding respite??? Well, it is a possibility! I saw the chiropractor today, and can I please just mention that I LOVE her? Even if what she fed me was all just a bunch of malarky, this doc is the first person who has told me that they can help me...and that alone puts a smile on my slowly fattening face. After doing a bunch of tests and examining me, she said that she will either help enough that this "situation" will get better and go away...OR...she will be able to help enough that I will at least feel much better navigating my way through the remainder of the pregnancy. Ummm, here is my $25 co-pay, and thankyouverymuch!

My SPD condition has made my left leg 1.5 inches "shorter" than my right leg, for the current moment. I always knew I was a little bit off, but being that much off is ridiculous! My present clown status apparently stems from the fact that my pelvis is completely misaligned. Well, I definitely knew that much to be true already. The misalignment is causing "everything" to be out of whack. My ligaments and tendons in my right groin / inner, upper thigh area are in a huge knot and are hard as a rock. The muscles in my lower right back are pretty much the same. So, for now...lots of gentle manipulation and massage at Dr. Wonderful's office...followed by some simple stretches and exercises at home. I can manage that. Oh, to be in less pain...that little dream now seems somewhat palpable.

Advertising and Pregnant Think

Main Entry: ad·ver·tis·ing
Function: noun
Date: 1751
1 : the action of calling something to the attention of the public especially by paid announcements

Ok, so that is the definition of advertising according to Mirriam Webster. Doesn't sound too sinister, right? Advertisements are EVERYWHERE, and there are so many of them blanketing and littering the roadways, TV airwaves, and pages of magazines that most of us are somewhat immune to their potentially warping affects. Yes, most of us. However, "most of us" certainly does not encompass, nor does it apply to, the first time mom to be.

Pregnancy magazines and their sneaky advertisers target us special creatures of emotion and our hormonally driven rationales without any malice at all. We innocently pick up these magazines hoping to "learn" something more about: growing a healthy baby, getting ready for labor, having better sex after the baby, helping our partner, the new dad, adjust and contribute... and a PLETHORA of other truly banal information. In reality we really just skim these articles (or is it just me???), for we have a feeling that we will be able to feel our ways through this childbirth experience and after-experience in a somewhat reasonable fashion with all of the other resources we already have availabe to us.

But, the pretty colors and oh-so-modern looking thingamajiggys meant for the new parents and for their perfect genius baby-to-be that are strategically placed on the other pages in between these ultimately meanigless articles...well, THAT is where we get hooked! We find out about the "must haves" and "parent favorites" that we truly never even knew existed prior to our pregnancy and us peeling back these pages, let alone that we must have them.

Really, how else would we discover that we were potentially missing out on the new "Bugaboo Bee in Red" $530 stroller??? The apparent "necessity for every dad". Necessity, yes, because EVERY dad I know is just dying to show off his "Rolls Royce" of a stroller to his beer chugging buddies during the next gathering for a college football game.

And then there is the "Mama's Belly" bronze bowl. Who could live without the bronze cast of their own pregnant belly? A treasure like that is bound to be a hit at parties and an heirloom to pass down for generations to come. I am sure it is not only art but can also be used for chips or dips, too...right? Extraordinary!

Well, I could continue to sit here and give example after example of the horribly absurd products that are put out there to lure us in. And also make fun of the CRAZY pregnant women who actually succumb to the pressure and are somehow guilted into, or illusioned into, buying one of these riduculous products. Or, I could just simply fess us that I AM one of THOSE crazy pregnant women who has made a couple of these "irrational" (husband think) or potentially very beneficial and useful (pregnant think) purchases after stepping away from said magazines. Come on, just trust me when I say that I am going to look oh-so-good in that very necessary Delivery Gown while I beautifully and gracefully go through my seemingly easy labor and hum my way through my childbirth at the hospital. (can't you just picture it now?) Yep, uh-huh...that's right! Thank goodness for advertising, or I never would have known that I would have been subjected to bleeding all over a dingy, thin, and surely discolored hospital- issue gown that has been worn 400 times before me. Oh...the pure and absoulte horror of the thought!!! Gasp!

Fine, fine, fine...DAMN IT! Ok, honey...I promise...no more pregnancy magazines for me...

Once again, proof in point...I DO have a head

Just to prove that I still do have a head, here is another pic for the week. Not quite to 27 weeks...but only 2 days away. I look a little stoned in the picture, but I assure you I am not. Way too early in the day for that... ; )

By the way, does this fireplace make me look fat??? Just wondering.

From the top...

There truly isn't much that needs to be said about this photo, is there??? Ok, ok...except, perhaps...OH MY GOD! Hey, at least I know that I still do have toes! For now.

About the little joys...

Amidst, and despite, all of my current gripes about pain, discomfort, and difficulties...I still seek to find ways to appreciate the little joys in life.

Joy 1 - being given such a beautiful morning. It was wonderful to sit on the couch in my screened in porch...watching the sunlight and shadows of rustling leaves play off the pages of the book I am reading...all while someone else is cleaning my house...and also while little Finnley is doing some sort of excited dance in my belly

Joy 2 - having such a wonderful husband who sometimes has the sweetest things to say...such as telling his wife that she is a "beautiful pregnant woman" and "just what a pregnant woman should look like"

Joy 3 - living a life where I am actually able to be at home in the first place and not having to juggle work on top of all the current bumps in my silly road

Joy 4 - knowing that in just about 3 months Matt and I will blessed with a tiny miracle that will forever change our lives in ways that we right now cannot even begin to fathom

So, for today, I will make it all about the little joys instead of all about the major complaints. Why not, right?

Belly Shot Chronicles - 26 Weeks / What's Up, Doc???

26 weeks brings about a bigger bulge. No surprises there. That of course will tend to happen as the weeks go by, especially approaching and moving through the third trimester. The clothed picture this week is with me in my pajamas...so, not the most flattering of outfits. Flattering isn't really something that happens often right now, though, so...eh, what does it really matter?

Moving on, I had my appointment with the orthopedic doctor last night. To really make the experience more enjoyable overall, there was a "scheduling glitch" that caused the doctor to be running well behind schedule. 45 minutes behind schedule, to be exact. She assured me that this was not the norm for her practice. Uh-huh...it was a doctor's office...of course it was the norm! Now, something that WAS out of the norm were the sounds coming from the next examining room. The walls were paper thin, and it was easy to recognize my "neighbor" emitting a blood-curdling vomit cacophony from her innards...right in the middle of her appointment. It was also obvious that this doctor was not fond of that particular type of clamor, as she could be heard running from the room! What a treat for me to be able to "take it all in" prior to my own appointment.

Even better was the fact that the doctor said that there is NOTHING...SHE...CAN...DO...FOR...ME!!! Wonderful! She did attempt an examination, but she stopped short of a full exam given that she felt she was torturing me. Well, yes, it did hurt. But, then again, everything hurts me right now! Oh well. I pretty much knew going in that this is what I would be told. I have to live with the pain until after I deliver, and hopefully...HOPEFULLY...it will then go away on its own. One bright note: the doctor is willing to sign off on the paperwork necessary for me to receive a temporary handicap placard for my car. That will make one minute aspect of my pregnant and painful life a wee bit more tolerable. I guess. So, off to the police department I go to pick up the forms. Yay, me!

What the F*#K???

Now, anyone who knows me ALSO knows very well that I am not "normal". I never do anything the easy way, or the right way, or the way that would be good. Nah. What would be the fun in that? I like to be different. Go against the grain. In other words, I enjoy torture. A masochist of sorts...perhaps.

Well, pregnancy is not going to be any different in terms of "normalcy" for me. Hell, I certainly took the long and hard road to getting pregnant...why would I want pregnancy to go any more smoothly? Nope...doesn't seem like fun at all!

So, I have "decided" to throw myself into that "less than 2% of all pregnant women" category of, SUFFERS FROM SYMPHYSIS PUBIS DYSFUNCTION. Here is some information on the topic, taken from various online resources:

Your symphysis pubis are the two bones that connect to form your pelvis. Shaped like a heart, your pelvis is formed by three separate bones that are held together by very tough ligaments. Traditionally, these bones are not designed to allow movement to occur. When you are pregnant however, a hormone called relaxin is produced which allows the pelvis to move slightly during birth. The reason this occurs is because the hormone actually works to loosen the ligaments holding the bones together.

When the ligaments loosen too much, a condition called symphysis pubis dysfunction can occur. When this happens, the pelvis joints become unstable and move around. The growing child makes matters worse because of the intense weight bearing down on these bones, and can actually cause the joint to separate. Mild to severe pain in the pubic area are characteristics of this disorder.

The symptoms of SPD vary from person to person, but almost all women who have it experience substantial pubic pain. Tenderness and pain down low in the front is common, but often this pain feels as if it's inside. The pubic area is generally very tender to the touch; many moms find it painful when the doctor or midwife pushes down on the pubic bone while measuring the uterus (fundal height).

Any activity that involves lifting one leg at a time or parting the legs tends to be particularly painful. Lifting the leg to put on clothes, getting out of a car, bending over, sitting down or getting up, walking up stairs, standing on one leg, lifting heavy objects, and walking in general tend to be difficult at times. Many women report that moving or turning over in bed is especially excruciating. One woman wrote, "There were days that I didn't think I was going to be able to get out of bed and actually had to roll out of bed and onto the floor to be able to do so!"

Many movements become difficult when the pubic symphysis area is affected. Although the greatest pain is associated with movements of lifting one leg or parting the legs, some women experience a 'freezing', where they get up out of bed and find it hard to get their bodies moving right away--the hip bone seems stuck in place and won't move at first. Or they describe having to wait for it to 'pop into place' before being able to walk. The range of hip movement is usually affected, and abduction of the hips especially painful.

I can say that I have experienced all of the excruciating pains described above, and it is very hard to live with day in and day out. I cannot believe that I actually have to "live" with this condition for the next 3+ months, and that it will only get WORSE throughout the remainder of the pregnancy. Ouch. That is what it boils down to, and that is all I can really say. Ouch.

My OB's office is referring me to an Orthopoedic doctor to be fully checked out. The hope is that there is SOMETHING that can be done to help with the pain as I move forward. Who knows. She may or may not be able to provide an action plan. I will find out on Tuesday night when I go for my visit with her.

I know that the outcome of all of my suffering WILL be more than worth it in the end...I just have to make it to that end, hopefully with some amount of sanity, and even perhaps a smidgen of dignity, left in tact. Hopefully...

Belly Shot Chronicles - 25 Weeks

Matt seems to think that my belly has gotten bigger just over the past two days...he certainly could be on to something with that thought! Included this week are a bare belly and a clothed belly shot for you to be able to judge for yourself.

On a side note, Finnley got to attend her second MLB game last night...Phillies v. Dodgers. It was a great game. I believe it was during the 7th inning stretch while singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" that Matt and I were rubbing my belly...and Finnley kicked. Matt actually got to feel SOMETHING for once! It will only get easier as time goes on now, but I thought that was pretty cool. It made us both smile. She impresses us pretty easily already!

iPod Experiment

I finally remembered to give the iPod experiment a try. I know that plenty of people have heard that it can be good or stimulating for the baby to hear music while in utero. I also know that it can't hurt anything, so I figured I would check it out. I have done this two times now, and Finnley seems to LOVE it! (or hate it...hard to really be sure!) Every time the iPod headphones are on my belly she starts dancing around. So far her "favorites" seem to be "Nightswimming" by R.E.M. and "Heaven" by Live. What can I say...she has impeccable taste, just like her mommy! ; )

This morning while I was having her listen I kept my shirt pulled up, and you could definitely see the belly bouncing from time to time. Very surreal, and very cool! I think I will like this!

24 to 25 Week OB Appointment

Today was another routine OB appointment for me. It was all the standard stuff, and everything was great...per the usual. I will take that! My urine sample was normal. I gained 3 pounds this month, so I came in under the "alloted" amount. Yay, me! My uterus is measuring exactly as it should. And, the heartbeat was good and strong.

Actually, when the OB put the doppler on my belly to tune into it...Finnley kicked the doppler. Apparently she was very aware of the pressure on my uterus, and she wanted us to know that. The doc just laughed and said, "hey...all we are trying to do is get a good listen here!". It was cute.

On another note, I am suffering from some aches and pains that go along with pregnancy. I am carrying low, and Finnley has me "stretched out" as the OB put it. Both things are creating extra pressure down on my pubic bones, and it causes pain which mimics a groin pull. The majority of the pain is on the right side, although there is some on the left, too. I have issues lifting my right leg to get pants, lifting it to get it up on the couch or to cross my legs, moving it to roll over in bed at night or to get out of bed in general....lots of little issues. It is also painful when I walk, but it doesn't keep me immobile. I am still going to my yoga class once a week, and I plan to still keep up my walking and light weight lifting at the gym. The doc was fully supportive of that. I am doing no harm to my body...it just hurts. To help alleviate some of the pressure, my OB recommended that I purchase a "maternity belt" to help support my lower back and to pull my uterus "up". We will see how that works out. Luckily for me, this unfortunate side effect of my pregnancy will only be "cured" with delivery. This should be a fun third trimester coming up!

On the physical side effect note, I also pulled my intercostal muscles (muscles / cartilage between the ribs). This is a result of being pregnant AND having had a nasty upper respiratory infection that included a cough that has lasted over 3 weeks. Now that the cough is starting to show signs of exiting, I am hoping my ribs get better, too. It is only the far upper ones on my right side that hurt...but they do hurt. Oh well. I am sure that my laundry list of physical complaints will only continue to grow as Finnley and my belly do. A small tradeoff for the end result that comes in August, to be sure!

Belly Shot Chronicles - 24 Weeks!

That's right...24 weeks! We hit the 6 month marker. Wow! As Matt said this morning, "this is going fast". The second trimester sure feels that way!

The "butterball" has grown yet again. I guess that is the point, right? The funny thing is that I still have this flat area on my stomach surrounding my belly button. The belly button has decided to NOT release itself from being an "innie", which has also stretched taut the skin around it. So, flat spot it is.

I have my next routine OB appointment this coming Monday. The usual stuff will happen there: weight, uterine measurement, BP, urine analysis (for protein and sugar), etc.

Outside of that, Finnely will be "attending" her first MLB game this Thursday night. Matt was offered up tickets to see the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays play at the new Yankee Stadium. I don't care how much you hate the Yankees...how can you say no to seeing the new digs??? Well, obviously we couldn't! I am sure Finnley will have a grand time!

2009 Virginia Gold Cup

Matt and I just attended the 2009 Virginia Gold Cup held at Great Meadows in The Plains, VA. Matt brought Subarua of America and Dulles Subaru sponsorship to the event. They had display and chase cars placed all over the grounds, and it allowed the opportunity for the vehicles to receive tons of welcomed exposure. They had a lot of activity around the new 2010 Subaru Outback and Legacy models...which won't even be on sale until August of this year.

The Subaru VIP tent was fantastic. The food included: sushi, beef carving station, pasta station, crab cakes, salad, a liquor bar, and dessert table. Oh my! It was all very good.

There were probably about 40,000 people in attendance. There were 6 horse races, and we got to view the Subaru sponsored race from the race tower...clear view of the whole course. It was a lot of fun. Of course, we placed bets the entire time...and I actually won one race that brought $40 my way! Woo hoo! Bring on the money!

We have always loved this event, and we were happy to be a part of it again this year. It was also nice to see our old town, neighborhood, neighbors and friends, and stomping grounds. Dinner at Claire's was a treat! No one beats her she-crab soup! Yum!

Back home late last night, and we picked up Batman this morning. Going to enjoy the rest of our weekend and move into yet another week!