The amazing Dr. Duff and other fun updates

I had the first appointment with my new doctor today, Dr. Duff. I never thought I could like anyone better than Dr. Brazzel, but the truth is that Dr. Duff really impressed me, and I have to admit that I like him just as much, if not better. The nurses were DEFINITELY better than Dr. Brazzel's nurses, and it was nice to have everything available in one building (lab included) and to see a breakdown of our total baby bill with a big 0 on the top of it. Seriously, the breakdown (including the anesthesiologist, the room fees, the prenatal care and the vaginal delivery or C-Section) was somewhere around $20,000....and our copay is 0!!!! I have to say, as anxious as I was about switching doctors, I'm really happy we did it, and meeting Dr. Duff and seeing how great he was really helped. Here are some updates on me, the baby, and the pregnancy in general:

As far as the quad screen test goes, little H has a 1 in 5000 chance of having either Down Syndrome or any Neural defects, which is A LOT lower than the 1 in 800 chance that they give as a standard for women of my age. He had a good strong heartbeat of between 140 and 160 bpm, with a lot of variability, which is exactly what they look for. My uterus measured 24 centimeters from my pubic bone, which is two weeks ahead of where it should be, but perfectly normal. My total weight gain to this point is 17 pounds (eek!) which is apparently normal and healthy, and my blood pressure was right where it should have been, another very good thing. I also got a flu shot to prevent me from getting the flu and to help little H stay healthy in my tummy. Overall, it all looked great, and Dr. Duff was really super nice and amicable...in the end, I think I'm really glad we switched.

On a side note, we forgot (once again) to take my weekly picture at 22 weeks, so I'm putting up another non-tummy-exposed picture that H took about the middle of last week. It's from my 22nd week, just not right at the 22-week mark, so I guess it'll do:

My hair looks really flat because it was wet, and yes, it's all going to come off soon...I've got a haircut scheduled for next Tuesday and I CAN'T WAIT!!! Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers and please keep them coming...little H can never get enough!! :)

A visit with family

This past weekend H and I took a little drive to Tampa to visit my grandparents who are there doing some housework (construction) for my aunt and cousin, who live there. It was such a great visit, and we got to not only spend some quality time with my family, but also eat some of my grandmother's world-famous gumbo. It was DELICIOUS....well, except for the gizzards (eek!). Here's a picture of us driving to Tampa, happy as larks to be getting the HELL out of Gainesville for the day:The gumbo was beyond delicious, as was the ice cream that we had later in the day, and we really had a great time. I got to talk about the baby a bunch, H and I got to argue publicly about our office/closet situation, we got to discuss funny names for grandparents, and we got to hear a load of great stories from my grandfather (Pa) about crazy roosters and ladders to the attic. It was great fun, and SO nice to finally get to spend some time with family during this pregnancy. It's ridiculous, really, that we only live two hours away from my aunt and my cousin, and yet we never see them (THEY SHOULD COME VISIT US MORE OFTEN!! :)). Anyway, here are some pictures of us with my grandparents (Pa and Grandmama)...make sure to check out my shirt too, it's the one Grandmama bought me before their visit:

That tummy's really starting to poke out, isn't it?!? Oh, and just a little final comment: it was a rough weekend for my grandparents this weekend since they're LSU fans and Florida KICKED THEIR TAILS!! CHOMP CHOMP! :) I just hope it isn't so long until we get to see them again!

Decisions, decisions (etc.)

I haven't written in a week or so because we've been pretty busy with house-arranging stuff, getting ready for baby H, and getting some other things squared away. As you might have noticed, I'm also missing a belly picture from week 20, which is kind of disappointing since that was a real landmark week for me: THE HALF-WAY MARK!!! Well since the last time I wrote, we've made a few important decisions: I decided to withdraw from classes this semester in an attempt to lower my stress levels, and we've just recently (last week, actually) changed doctors. I'm really sad about that decision, and I admitedly almost cried when I went to say my goodbyes, but it was necessary since our insurance pulled a swift one on us. I still love my old doctor (Dr. Brazzel, he's amazing!!), but H assures me that my new doctor, Dr. Duff (who I meet with on the 14th for the first time) is equally as good.

Basically, our insurance company told us in the beginning that we would be covered 80% no matter where we went, but then we heard just a few weeks ago that actually, if we go to Shands, the hospital where H works, it's all covered 100%. So, for financial reasons, we've made the decision to switch. It was very sad for me, but I believe it will be the best decision for us in the long run. Other than these decisions, we've had a few other interesting developments. First, I've officially lost the ability to wear my wedding rings, which we had to literally ply off with soap after 20 minutes of holding my hand in the air to get the blood to flow out of it. Yeah, that left a mark. The second development is the lovely linea nigra that has developed in the bottom half of my tummy. Here's a picture, in case you're not clear on what that is:You can't see it very much now, but it will definitely get larger and darker. You can see it running from just below my soon-to-be-outie belly button down. The good news, though, is that I'm still safely without stretch marks...I guess we'll see how long that lasts. And, for good measure, here's my weekly picture, where you can REALLY see that I'm starting to "really blow up", as H so lovingly puts it. To quote Jon Stewart: "here it is, your moment of Zen.":

If that doesn't scare you just let me know, and I'll upload the picture I took on my cell phone in the Maternity store the other day, with the adds-three-months-to-your-pregnancy strap-on belly attached. Yeah, that was impressive, to say the least.
Thanks again to all of you for the prayers, thoughts, and well-wishes. Please keep them coming...before we know it, little H will be here in our arms, being adorable and changing our world forever. What a blessing!! :)