DISCLAIMER...

Matt and I refer to the baby as a 'he' even though we don't know the sex yet, so until we find out the sex, the baby will be a 'he' on the site. :)

As soon as we find out the sex, we'll post it and let you know! We just don't like calling the baby an 'it.' If he ends up being a girl, we figure it'll just be a funny story to tell her one day!

High Five...

Look everyone...I have 5 fingers!

Well, Matt and I went to our first visit on the German economy on Monday (it was our official Dr. visit #6). The base hospital is closing down on 01 June, so all OB patients due after that date (and all hospital/ER/surgery related issues) are now being referred off base to our choice of three local hospitals. I chose the St. Elisabeth Krankenhaus in Wittlich, as it is close to our house and I liked the facilities the best. Bitburg is a bit closer, but I didn't like the video they showed of the hospital at the orientation! Anyhow, since the contract for pregnant people to go off base for all prenatal care and delivery is so new, the Germans are really stepping it up to impress us (and to keep their contracts for the future). The government is paying mega bucks for our off-base care, so I like that the Krankenhaus has really new equipment (like flat screens that suspend from the air above your feet when you're laying on the table so that you can see the ultrasound--instead of having to twist around to try to see the machine's screen), they perform ultrasounds at EVERY visit, and the staff are all ultra-cautious about things (so we only see the Chief of Obstetrics at the hospital, not just your average OB doctor).

(Sorry...my nugget is shielded by the placenta)

As you can see, our little peanut is growing into a precious little monster. Dr. Locher, my new German OB, said that he's developing according to schedule and based off of the measurements he took during the ultrasound (head, femur, arms, etc), he looked about 15 weeks and 5 days on Monday's visit...which would make him about 16 weeks and 1 day today (which is about a week ahead of what the Dr's on base initially told us). If he keeps growing like he is, maybe he'll introduce himself to us a little early...but you never know! We were just amazed and thrilled to see that he has all 5 fingers on this hand...it's astonishing how developed babies are at only 4 months.

(Sorry...my nugget is still hidden behind the placenta)

The ultrasound was incredibly fascinating, as we were able to see so much with the better technology and the fact that he's bigger. In addition to his arms and hands, we were able to see his ribs, his spine, his legs, and most of his body...EXCEPT for the parts that would tell us if he was a boy or a girl (he wasn't showing us any of his lower parts) and Matt was able to see him move for the first time, so every aspect of the ultrasound was incredibly exciting.

At our next visit in June, we're hoping to be able to find out the sex (if he's cooperating), so we can't wait. I'm dying to start shopping, so right now all the tempting European baby stores just taunt me. Regardless of the sex, we're going to be thrilled. Neither of us really has a preference--we just want him to be healthy.

Yes, I'm really PREGGERS (British for Pregnant)!

On St. Patrick's Day, Matt and I found out that I was pregnant. We weren't really expecting the news (I was in tears thinking I had killed whatever was developing inside me since I had a few glasses of wine at Matt's surprise birthday party the night prior), as we didn't think it could have been possible timing wise, but were instantly thrilled with the realization that we were going to be parents. I can still remember the shock I felt when all 4 (yes, FOUR--I'll explain later) pregnancy tests read 'PREGNANT.' I can't speak for everyone else, but I know that I was neither ready nor prepared to see those words on the test, yet I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

So you're probably wondering why I had 4 different pregnancy tests on hand, as they're not something most normal people keep on hand. Here's why...in December, I had suffered through some 'girl issues' and the Dr. here put me on a high dosage medicine in January to try to get rid of the 'issues.' Well, before I was to take the medicine, the Dr. told me to take a pregnancy test to make sure I wasn't pregnant, as the medicine would cause all sorts of fetal developmental problems and most likely cause a miscarriage if I were pregnant. To make a long story short, Matt and I were planning on starting to try to get preggers sometime this summer, so I decided to stock up on the take home tests since the commissary/BX rarely has real brands (non-AAFES/generic brands) on the shelf--I guess they're a high selling item around here. I ended up buying 4 different types/brands since I didn't know which ones were the most accurate. So, as you can see, I had them on hand for good reason!

After taking the 4 different tests, I came downstairs where Matt was on his perch (a.k.a. his Lazy Boy recliner) with them wrapped in paper towels. I told him that I had something to tell him and he told me that he already knew what I was going to say (he said that I had been upstairs in the bathroom for about 30 minutes and finally came down with a bundle of paper towels, so he 'knew' what I had been up to). I asked him if he was excited but I think that we were both more in shock than in a state of elation. He got on to me for 'wasting over $50' on the 4 take-home tests, as he claimed that the Air Force offers the blood tests for free--but he got over it! We decided that we couldn't get too excited yet, as I needed to have a blood test taken to make sure.

So, I called our Flight Doc and he arranged for me to go in the following Monday to have a blood HCG test taken. He wanted the HCG test to try to date my pregnancy based off hormone levels because we had no idea when conception was and I had thought that I had had my period the week before. That, and because he wanted to make sure I hadn't already miscarried. Well, I went for the 'blood donation' and got a phone call that night with news that my HCG levels signified that YES, I was in fact very pregnant. Due to the period that I thought I had had, the Dr. wanted me to get seen in the OB clinic as soon as possible, as he was worried that the pregnancy was possibly ectopic. So, off Matt and I went a few days later to the OB clinic for our first visit. The Dr. did an ultrasound on me and everything looked 'normal.' He said that because the embryo was so small, he wasn't completely sure of the age (he guessed around 6 weeks), so he wanted us to come back in a week to get a better look.

A week passed and we were back at the OB clinic for visit #2. The Dr. did another ultrasound and based off of size, he gave us a due date of November 15th, putting the embryo at 7 weeks and 1 day. In looking at a calendar and going backwards 7 weeks and 1 day, we realized that we had a "Welcome Home from your TDY baby" on our hands. So, we were finally able to know when this baby was conceived...the day Matt returned from Turkey. Maybe there was a reason Matt didn't buy me any carpets or souvenirs this time around--I think a baby is much cooler than any TDY present! Here's what he looked like at Visit #2...

Visit #3 was when I was about 10 weeks along. The Dr. wanted me to come in to make sure that everything was still okay, as I had been experiencing some spotting during the previous 2 weeks. Everything looked good on the ultrasound and the baby's heart rate was still very strong. He wasn't sure why I was spotting and said that some people just have that happen during their pregnancy. He didn't seem very concerned, so Matt and I figured that all was good.

Well, visit #4 to the Dr. was not a traditional visit. Instead, it was a 10:30pm trip to the ER when I was about 10.5 weeks along. That day, I had run a 10 miler (it was our last long run before the marathon in Vienna) and everything felt fine. Other than my sciatic nerve being irritated, the run went well. Fast forward about 9 hours and out of the middle of nowhere, I started bleeding profusely. Matt called the ER and told them about me and they told him to bring me in right away. We both thought that the pregnancy was over and I was a hysterical mess. The ER doctor had to refer me to the OB on call, as 'things didn't look good' (those were his exact words). The OB doctor happened to be at the hospital, so he came in with an ultrasound machine to take a look at what was going on. I was expecting the worst, but we were both pleasantly surprised with the screen showing a little peanut still inside me with a strong heartbeat still pounding away. The Dr. couldn't explain what caused the bleeding or where it came from, but it was one of the WORST experiences of our lives. But, God is GOOD and He wasn't ready to meet this little peanut face to face yet. The Dr. diagnosed me with a 'threatened miscarriage' and put me on modified bed rest (no gym or running) just to play it safe.

Visit #5 happened a few weeks ago when I was 12 weeks along. Matt had to hot pit that day (fly twice in a row), so he didn't get to make it to the appointment. This appointment was really cool, as it was the first time I got to see the baby move. He was moving out of control--his arms were flailing, his little legs were kicking, and his head was bobbing up and down. I think I cried, as it wasn't until that moment that everything seemed REAL. The Dr. gave me this ultrasound picture (which is blurry because the baby was moving so much) and it just blows us away that you can already see so much of him this early on in life. For those of you (like me) who don't know what you're looking at, the head is on the left and the feet are on the right and he's laying on his back.

Other than all the drama, the first trimester went really well. No major sickness, no tired-spells, no real cravings--mostly just food aversions. During the first trimester, he's been to Kirn, Germany--Ghent, Belgium--The Netherlands--Vienna, Austria--Sardinia, and Luxembourg...and there will be many more places he'll go before he's born. He's already a world traveller!

SAVE THE DATE...

WHEN: November 7, 2007*

WHERE: Las Vegas, Nevada

WHY: for BABY GARRISON

(The German DR that I now see has changed my due date from November 15th to November 7th...we'll see which DR is right!)

Vienna, Austria...

...is not the home of the Vienna Sausages that come in a gelatinous jar of goo (contrary to popular belief).

However, it is home to the 3rd marathon that Matt and I have run in while in Europe. Like crazed animals, Matt and I decided that it would be a good idea to run another marathon before we left Europe this year and given that April has become our 'marathon month' (the previous two were both in April), we figured we'd look for a race that fell during that month. Well, Vienna fit our criteria and along with 14 other people, we signed up. I only signed up for the half (since the two full marathons wore me out) and Matt signed up for the full (the rest of the group was mixed between the half and the full).

The day of the marathon was incredibly HOT, so none of the group really had personal best runs...but everyone finished, which is a feat in and of itself. Matt got a bit of 'heat stress,' since it was so hot out, but he ended up recovering without any medical aid. The picture on the right is of Matt at the 10km point. Below is a cute picture of one of the other runner's daughter, Myka, playing nurse to poor Matt after the race.