34 weeks.. Can you Believe it?

This is us at 33 weeks, at our first baby shower

in Bettendorf!!!

*WARNING: this is a photo/information loaded baby post*

okay you were warned..

Okay first the diabetes/medical stuff:

I had my 33 week ultrasound last friday, and we were able

to see hair,

an adorable Kimler nose and lips,

a belly practicing breathing,

a little girl punching her Mommy,

and that she is weighing in at

5 lbs 0oz!!!

YAY!!!

We cannot be more thrilled, 

heck, I cannot be more thrilled,

i've been having bad dreams about her being 6 plus lbs at this stage,

and happy to know she is averaging at an even 5!!!

I never thought i'd make it this far, 

have a growing child instead of me

and still be doing so well,

(knocks on all wood in the room)

Not only did she measure up great, 

but my non stress test Monday went great,

and today my 8th non stress test was just perfect!

At my appointment, my lovely OB is happy where she is at

growth wise,

I have more than normal amniotic fluid, which after quizzing him, 

he just said that it basically means you have diabetes,

which is obvious, and won't affect her or her growth or

delivery. 

Speaking of delivery, I have made efforts

to try and stay a little ignorant as to 

every detail of what happens,

like this baby having to come out of me, somehow and

made sure he knows, I pretty much

know nothing. lol. 

He laughed, told me some information, 

we talked about the birth plan, that he said,

to think about, figure out things that are important to me,

and just know that in the moment things change

and what I might have wanted before, 

woman often change in the moment. 

However we are both clear, 

my goal is to have this Type-1 

Momma deliver NATURALLY!!!

meaning, unless all fails, or something bad happens,

I do not want a C-Section. 

(Don't worry, I understand that it's not the end of the world,

and the safe, health and well being of both myself and my child

are the most important, and I will do whatever it takes,

but i'd like to try for one more thing

a diabetic mommy can do. )

We scheduled my next and LAST

ultrasound on Monday October 17th. 

After that, which I will be 36 weeks,

will just be waiting for her

to make her arrival!!!

So her room is getting closer to being finished. 

here are some sneak (messy) peeks!!

the embroidery hoops I painted and put together, along

with her name I made. Those are also hand made rosettes with button centers

Ikea shelves, with "stuff" on them. 

The ceramic pieces I made including the kahuna dog :)

Top shelf which will eventually have breakables and items we don't need

all the time

Diaper Cake from my baby shower, the little bird

is actually her LED nightlight!!! it's rechargeable too!!

I lined her drawers, one orange and white polka dots, one green with white design

and one that you can't really see, white with bright flowers

Top Ikea shelf. My awesome caddy from Zulily.com and kahuna dog. 

Am waiting until her arrival to put photos in the frames!!!

Under her crib, is a rolling drawer that came with the Crib. 

We are using it for blankets, sheets, and covers for items.

This is Kahuna trying to find the squeaker in Elia's giraffe..

at least that is what I think!

While taking photos she then went to the top of the stairs

and threw her ball down for me to throw up to her..

such a little girl

And can't help but take another photo of her trying

for attention while taking more nursery photos!!!

Planet Wise Wet bags we bought for our cloth diapers!

Austin's Daddy not a diaper bag- diaper bag. 

It's Chicco and this inside is ALSO orange.

<3 <3

So that's her room. Just have some items to hang up still,

finish her orange hooks, and her mobile. 

Thanks for hanging around and checking out our 

slow but steady progress on our daughters room!

New world in the 3rd Trimester...

I never fully realized that when people

said the third trimester

was hard, I didn't expect this.

Don't worry, we are still VERY VERY excited

about our little girl, 

and kind of freaking out now that she will seriously be

here in less than 2 months,

YIKES...

But her and I have been busy. 

As in, a growing factory 

and getting everything as ready as we can

for her arrival. 

Let me be clear, 

I am not one of those mom's 

who has everything done at like, 20 weeks or 28 weeks even.

I am at 32, and

we have a crib, bassinet,

shelf and dresser in her room.

That's it. 

lol

Oh yeah, and her name on the wall.

Nothing is finished people. NOTHING. 

For those curious people,
this is the crib we have for her,

Delta Parker 4 in 1 Convertible Crib

in cherry finish from Target!!!

Then her book shelf

Expedit brand storage from Ikea in the brown color

along with these shelfs from Ikea

in white

EKBY HEMMES is the brand, we have two of them

in the 4.5 foot length

then of course you saw me make these:

Which look like this:

well kinda and 

her letters that I decorated:

We also have now her crib skirt and drapes,
which we purchased
from Land of Nod Outlet
and are in this family

We only have the polka dot bedskirt

and the matching polka dot drapes. 

I must have this problem with her whole room to be

theme-less

as i felt a lot of them had too many pink 

and not enough other fun colors, like

orange, brown, green, or aqua. lol

We are in the process of finishing her room by the

current to do projects:

1. Build trendle under her bed that 

came with crib

2. Paint tree on wall

3. Make/Finish/Install bird mobile from tree on wall

4. paint decor/stripes on wall

5. Stencil animals on wall

6. Install/ pick up fan for ceiling

7. Sand and paint small rocking chair

and hooks

Plus stock her nursery with needed items prior to her arrival.

Now on to the medical part:

So two weeks ago, as in 

September 2nd
we had the first of many
fetal monitoring sessions
i.e. Non Stress Tests.

These consist of me sitting in a recliner,
with my feet up of course,
putting two straps around my midsection
both having some kinda of sensor/monitor on it.
(sorry for the lack of real terms)
One it on the top of my uterus,
and one is placed, more like moved
to keep her heartbeat steady.
Then I hold a clicker to push when i feel her kick,
or move.

(I really only punch it when my belly moves, when I can see her body parts,
or a big movement that you can hear on the machine, no little flutters.

I do this, for anywhere to 35-1 hour 30minutes depending on
her.

It records graphs on paper the entire time
and when Dr. J feels I have had
a good baseline of readings with enough movements,
I am clear to go!

Fun huh!!!

Yep!

I do this every Monday and Thursday until she comes.
So from today, I have had 4 of them.

Today particularly, she was super active and made for
the shortest time yet.

only 38minutes!!!

My blood sugars numbers are rising, meaning
I am pumping more and more insulin into me every day.
I used to be able to go 2.75 days on 3mL of insulin,
now, I do set changes every other day,
so like this am, I did a site change,
and by tomorrow night I have to change it again.

Medtronic didn't appreciate my increased amount
needed as she kinda of didn't care
I am over 8 months pregnant and need more insulin
than say, 5 months ago.

So as we stay busy we have a busier week.
I have another non stress test Thursday,
With an appointment to follow,
then meet with the diabetes center to review my
progress/liking/disliking of the Medtronic Minimed Insulin Pump,
meet with Endocrinologist to up my basals,
and have a growth ultrasound on Friday.
Woohoo.

Wanna guess her current weight?
I'll let you know, at 28 weeks she was abotu 2lb 15oz!!

Oh and not that this will help,
I gained one full complete pound from
Thursday the 15th to today, the 19th.
haha..
growing baby.

Until next time
Cassie

Things I have learned....Pregnancy!!!

Recently, when more changes keep happening to me,

or when I notice something is getting more 

difficult than it was before

I keep thinking, 

How come no one has told me these things before? 

Am I the only one?

Also, the small things I am learning just about every day things,

it seems either no one speaks about them

because they are small,

and NO BOOKS told me. 

Some are probably only Me- related, but

in case you are currently/trying/want to be/have experienced pregnancy

and want to add, please read this list, and add if you'd like. 

The things No one Told me..

1. What those "flutters" really feel like. 

2. How your feel and ankles can swell EARLY, 

i'm talking like 14 weeks early. 

3. and when you are swelling, it feels like your legs and feet are the casing on 

sausage.

4. Maybe people don't want to freak you out, but 

it is the most uncomfortable

feeling when you try to walk.

5. I call my milk jug feet, because seriously,

you can't walk without discomfort or bending your ankles. Forget it.

6. Standing for long periods of time, the farther you get

is almost like a work out, 

as  you have to keep shifting the weight from leg to leg

and you don't want to be rude, but you just need to sit down.

7. Being out of breath is an understatement. 

8. I'm the kind of woman that can multi-task like no other

and be running around the house, up and down 

floors quickly, carrying who knows what

but I think it was around

9. 24 weeks were I started getting tired bringing the laundry basket, 

that's just 1 single basket people, 

up or down 

1 SINGLE FLIGHT OF STAIRS.

I'm like, man, this is ridiculous. 

10. Now, at 30 weeks, shut the front door, 

it's like I literally chased an animal around my house

up and down the stairs

bending down/getting up

and then ran a mile in this 90 degree weather.

All without water or a breath. 

11. STUPID LUNG CAPACITY.

12. And I have only gained about 13 or so pounds, 

give or take with swelling,

so I cannot IMAGINE gaining like 20-40 

or having multiples. 

13. You woman are SAINTS. 

14. Feeling your breasts grow/stretch  is not comfortable. 

15. Sometimes, out of no where, of course when you're talking to people

or driving, or in church, or at a work meeting, 

you get this 

incredibly sharp slight pain in random spots,

maybe around your areola/nipple (sorry TMI)

and I compare it to my breast reduction when my nerve endings were reconnecting. 

16. NOT ENJOYABLE, oh and that feeling, doesn't really 

stop. 

17. wonder what it will be like when milk comes in. AWSOME.

18. Bending starts with getting stuck half way, 

then progresses to feeling pressure in other places when you try to bend,

to almost not happening,

to ARE YOU KIDDING ME. 

Did I really just drop ANOTHER grape on the 

floor. 

(then you hear your lovely dog, or my kahuna 

SPRINTING to beat you to it and enjoying every lick of it)

19. Now that bending is uncomfortable, trying bending over 

and realizing you need to pee. 

Perfect. 

20. then comes at night time, or during the night, or

in the am when it's time to get up,

and you have that "full" feeling you need to pee, 

then bend to turn over to your other side, 

since you're not supposed to lay/sleep on your back

(and ladies, YES, it can be dangerous, and i've heard some are seriously

uncomfortable doing so, but I feel that is one of the few times

I can actually breath and feel NO pressure. 

21. So flipping over from one side to the other, 

while in the middle lifting your body from the bed to move and then 

having to wrangle your pump and the tubing

to make sure you have them close by one another

EXHAUSTING. 

22. then you realize you're stupid for evening trying to 

flip, now you have to walk down the stairs,

in the dark , bending down half way like you'r back is broken

to make it to the bathroom, 

to just barely make it. 

23. When you pee too, it's not like water works, 

it can be like 2oz but feels like a GALLON. 

24. then you turn your pump light on, 

and carefully walk back up the stairs at full 

stance, when you're dog follows you and you only 

hear her when she is passing you up

and you have to brace yourself against the wall before moving

or you'll fall. 

25. Anyone else notice how painful your one ear gets when you fall

asleep for a period of time, and don't have to pee, yet you

still have to move because your darn ear is sore from laying on it. 

26. And then of course, while you peacefully go back to bed,

and gets kicked up near the diaphragm so you are now

currently out of breathing air, 

and your husband flips over and wakes up not even awake, 

and is like,"what's wrong"

oh nothing, just got the wind kicked out of me., 

Go back to bed. 

27. Then there is when you go to get ready, and that underwear

no longer is comfortable,

but yesterday that type was.

28. or than tank top was long enough

and today

29. that same brand, that you bought at the same time 

in the other color is now not long enough

to cover that blue belly panel from your pants.

30. THANK GOODNESS FOR THE INVENTION OF
PANELS!!!  

31. Also, when you realize your breasts are now

completely not fitting in two of the three 

bras you actually enjoy wearing

and have until this point refused to buy any new or bigger ones

32. and you think to yourself, I'm pregnant, 

am I allowed to "adjust", they must expect it right?

33. Just picture a too small but comfortable bra, with a light up

blue insulin pump/pager size disco ball

in between them. What a sight huh!!

34. Back to the bending- Actually shaving your legs. 

hilarious at this point. 

Sorry hubs- deal with it, or shave them yourself. 

lol. 

35. how about when you are exhausted from going 

up and down those said stairs doing

that said amount of laundry,

you get relief of comfort

sitting down with  your feet up and your head back,

then your freaking insulin pump alerts you

like a punk

"low predicted" 

or

"High predicted"

or 

"meter BG NOW"

or

"Cal Error"

Pump, thank you for making me and my baby safer by insulin 

delivery at the drop of a hat, 

but SHUT UP. 

SERIOUSLY.

 I could throw you. 

36. And for those of you with working

pancreas' or are not pump users, 

those alerts, you must clear/or take a blood sugar.

37. then you realize you are in the chair 

where you're purse is in the other room or over at the other end,

with your meter in it,

then your other one is upstairs

and you realize you are out of strips for the one in your purse

and now have to go see if  the box on the vanity has one more tube.

38. Only to find out you now have to get up, check that one, 

go to the box, then other room to open another box,

and test, to find out  your low, and need to treat 

ASAP because you are in the 

50's with an arrow or double error down. 

38. Oh diabetes. 

39. there are probably a lot more, but I think this is good for now. 

40. Just to leave it on a even note, during writing this, which only took me

eh, maybe 15 or 16 minutes, I have

had to :

take a blood sugar

see what kahuna was barking at,

answer the phone in the other room,

go pee, 

feel at least a good 5 strong kicks from 

Elia baby,

clear two low predicts

and chug two chugs of pineapple orange juice from the fridge. 

Now I am as exhausted as if I got the laundry from downstairs

and brought it up. 

huffing and puffing. 

Oh pregnancy with diabetes, you make EVERYTHING a challenge.

Now to go make lunch. 

Lovely!

Did I scare you? did you experience any of these?

What else did you deal with that maybe I haven't/or forgot?

Hopefully after today,

i'll post about my 30 week 

photo, and fetal echo i had this week

plus baby projects we are doing. 

Thanks for reading!!!

-C and E 

   

Growing little girl...

a few months ago, 

I think May was when I took this photo

of me and little E.

And I thought I was big then. 

Totally Laughable!!!

Now, things like this are happening..

On most days, the only place my

engagement ring can fit on. 

My wedding band is not even close to fitting anywhere,

maybe my pinky toe.. lol

and now we are still doing things like this..

fighting off weird feelings of dizziness and

 low blood pressure 

along with a out of no where low blood sugar

(Oh yeah, this belly is mid 24 weeks)

and at 23 weeks we were at a friend's Wedding

and this is what we looked like, 

Me and Little E

Growing Girl Growing... It's amazing how much bigger I feel these days. 

and here is a helpful comparison from earlier in pregnancy 

to last week

 I think this was somewhere between 15-16w                     This is at 24 weeks.

Mega Mommy. 

Also, we have been busy with doctor appointments to check up

on little E, her heart, her growth, 

my diabetes and insulin resistance starting...

On July 20th- I saw the Pediatric Center from U of I

( They have clinics here in Davenport so I don't have to travel to Iowa City)

and had my first of a couple 

Fetal Echocardiogram. 

Basically, I laid uncomfortably on my back,

for about an hour, 

where a great doctor checked her out, 

looked at all the chambers, ventricles and 

arteries around and in her heart. 

The big concern for IDDM mothers,

(Insulin Dependent Diabetes)

is Congenital Heart Disease and Heart Defects.

So far she is looking great, checking out good. 

I have a follow up as it was a little 

fuzzy on some parts for her

as E was turned facing my spine, 

all while punching my tailbone area, 

(Thanks baby girl..)

But so far so good. 

July 25th- I had my second Level 2 Ultrasound

(just to note, i'm obviously sitting down and STILL seeing stars.. darn low BP)

anyways, this is from U of I again

but at the hospital we will deliver at. 

The doctor, you can say was more than opinionated 

and trying to educate me regarding

high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, the complications and these two

as well as Liver problems prior to conception, and the problems now for me. 

I was over stimulated, crowded and uncomfortable.

She kept giving unwanted information 

about things such as uncontrolled type 2 diabetes, 

and elevated BP. 

As anyone knows already, I have type 1. 

Not that any type of diabetes is good, 

please don't get me wrong, 

but we have different ways of treating and sometimes managing

what happens to us. 

No diabetes is good or fun to have. 

I promise you that. We as diabetics work very hard

every day to make sure we can live complication free. 

Anyways, after listening to her going on and on about this, 

and getting seriously frustrated, 

I think i tried telling her I have type 1 and a pump, 

and low BP not high. 

Nothing changed. 

After telling me I am giving my child diabetes 

and how much my life would be better and more comfortable bending down

( i kid you not)

my wonderful husband touched my hand and asked me what my current 

A1C was. 

I responded 5.2. 

She shut up. 

Everything after that was "perfect," "beautiful," "normal,"

and "great."

THANK YOU WONDERFUL HUSBAND for 

speaking for me. 

Elia is now as of last week 1.6lbs, in the 13th percentile for weight. 

I asked what is the range and she said

10- 90%. She said something about

the 20th percentile is where they would maybe worry she is too big for right now

in development

but she's small and 

doing just fine as her little self. 

What great news!

Controlled Diabetes, beautiful growing baby, 

what more can a girl ask for?

I can tell you what i'm not asking for, 

being this uncomfortable already!

HA

So I have now decided baby books

tell you nothing about the "REAL" things about pregnancy,

and movements. 

Here's my little list:

1. Baby LOVES ice cream, cold things, and buffalo type meat sauces. 

KICKS LIKE CRAZY. 

2. She enjoys pushing something near my rib cages and 

dive bombing my pelvis area, which creates the MOST 

uncomfortable feeling and pain ever.

3. I have now finally started to gain a couple more pounds with each visit, 

up to about 10ish now, 

however my Endo feels most of it is probably the swelling

water weight.

4. She likes to go "swimming"

inside of me, almost like watching

 a fish peacefully swim in a fish tank, 

however I feel it inside of me. It's fun to concentrate on, as it's soothing. 

5. Don't get too excited, she then follows up with a HUGE punch or Kick at something sensitive. 

5. She responds to my voice when I say things like

"Elia, this is hurting mommy,"

or

"Baby, this hurts mommy, so please stop it."

to even,

"STOP IT RIGHT NOW"

lol. 

Typically she punches or kicks me one more time and then it slows down. 

6. The most recent, as in the past 4-5 days, 

she does something that hits or pinches my lungs/diagphram

so quickly that

the air in my lungs is sucked out

and it looks like I am choking. 

However, it is not so.

It feels like after they pull the tube down your throat after sugery

and you gasp for air, 

with a dry throat and all,

is what happens. 

Yes, dramatic, but wipes you straight out. 

It mostly happens when i drink/eat something or 

when I am peacefully relaxing, in all the time i get. lol

So we see the OBGYN on Thursday for my 2nd checkup 

and see how things continue to go. 

The past few days, I have also noticed my postprandial blood sugars

(after meals)

aren't dropping as fast after 2 hours where they normally would, instead regardless of

what i eat, they go up. 

NOT FUN. 

I'm having to take extra insulin to cover this 

so I'm pretty much increasing my basal with temps at about 4pm or so. 

So hopefully this ends, I like seeing 80s and 90's steady!!!

So far, growing growing. 

Next post will hopefully be about decorating her nursery and ideas!!!

Stay Tuned!

June 30th to currently.....

Sorry it has taken so long since i've posted, 

been a little...

swollen/tired/busy/overworked/hot

but here is my update from my 

June 20th's doctor appointments. 

First, I saw my favorite Endo for an update. 

She was gone for 2.5 weeks so I didn't see her

like my usual 2 week appointments,

but when she returned we chatted about her trip

(one of her daughters got married, it was fun)

BTW- I think this is one thing that I SUPER love about my endo, 

she tells stories and is very personable, 

but when it comes to diabetes and health

she's a warrior chief I kid you not. 

She is tough on it, and works it like no doctor I've had.

Okay, maybe Mr. Awesome my first endo after being diagnosed. 

Anywho, so we met, and while she was gone I 

had horrible horrible lows. 

30's 40's and 50's that showed 

ABSOLUTELY

NO
SYMPTOMS 

AT ALL..

I was totally beaten by diabetes and still kind of am. 

I'm so happy Elia is enjoying eating and growing

but I didn't realize how much babies suck out of you. 

I know from reading Kerri's blog 

http://sixuntilme.com/

if you haven't read her blog, you MUST. 

Anyways, didn't realize i'd be in 23 weeks and still 

battling lows in the 30's and 40's with no signs. 

It pretty much sucks when you finish your glucose tabs, 

all your snacks, your juices and your Altoids in your car

trying to raise ONE blood sugar before you should really drive. 

I mean, come'n I was only 41mg/dL and still driving 

but felt fine. 

Sometimes when that happens

I feel fine, but when I think about it, 

I always think about that one person

who always thinks their okay to drive home, 

say super tired, overworked, 

or after having a couple drinks

(hopefully of Skinny Girl!!!)

I feel terrible. 

That's probably what it's like, 

if i felt anything. 

Anyone else feel bad after driving with a low?

Maybe it's just me!

So while at my Endo visit my 

BP was 80/40 which is super low, and I had

just been running around. 

I was concerns for the diastolic being so low, that's the bottom number. 

I asked, and she took it a couple more times, 

me sitting, standing, laying down

and it went up a little, 

90/52 but still.

Don't get me WRONG, I'm super happy to 

still have great BP's but 

that low after running around explains me feeling

dizzy, lightheaded and 

seeing starts. No joke, it's not something you just see in 

the movies or cartoons. 

It's a real thing. 

Almost like what you see there are little 

spots that are blurry and they fly around the air

and confuse you. 

NOT FUN. 

Yes this has also happened while driving. 

I pulled over this time. 

BUT the best part of this appointment was the 

surprise it's time to check your A1C. 

We found out I an recheck them often

as long as it's been 31 days or more. 

So today it was..

well I was hoping for 

a 5.9-6.3 as I was

5.5 last time and felt I had a couple more highs

that I didn't always catch in enough times..

WRONG WRONG WRONG.

I now have the lowest A1C in my 

Diabetes history...

ladies and gentlemen...

mostly Ladies i think...

5.2

I know right. NUTS.

But apparently being 5.5 is okay, 

but being this far along and at 5.2 is NOT.

lol 

After changing some basal rates I was off to then go see a new 

potential OBGYN, Mr. J. 

He was referred to me by two of my 

husband's cousins

and felt it was time to try, as I was not happy with t

the place I was attending. 

Let me just say, 

for the first real time, I had the nurses, the reception staff

and the doctor all on the same page, 

working together, talking together, 

writing down correct notes

as they would read it to me, 

and Mr. J answered every single question I could think of or 

imagine. 

The only biggest change was that

he was allowing me to try to do a 

natural birth under a couple circumstances. 

1. That she is not over 9.5lbs. 

Once she hits that mark, if she does, 

then her shoulders and chest could be too big to deliver. 

He explained that diabetic mom's 

when their baby is gaining weight and having to make more insulin

to cover their high bs's that the bulk

of weight and girth is in the chest/shoulders. 

I had never heard this, so good to know. 

2. My BP and Eyes still stay manageable 

I am currently keeping 

a steady lower BP 

at around 120's over 60's if not lower. 

Mostly 110-116/ 50-60's 

with a few lower exceptions. 

I also have nothing going on behind my eyes, 

such as any retinopathy, so bleeding or spots

of inflammation. 

3. If nothing else comes up with her or me

medically wise that would cause

anything emergency. 

This alone made me feel so much better. 

After meeting with him for over an hour and talking

I felt better for me and
Elia to have him bring her into the world.

So decisions alone were made and I'm still happy!

The other thing we discussed what tests are next. 

Like I mentioned earlier from meeting with the nice Doctor 

from Iowa City Hospital

is that I will have a fetal echo-cardiogram

performed, holy cow next wednesday already. 

They want to look at her heart, make sure everything looks

and performs how they should. 

I will have another level 2 ultrasound the following 

Monday here in Davenport with them too. 

Then once I reach 28-30 weeks, depending on how we are

doing, i'll have weekly ultrasounds and fetal echo's including

some non stress tests as well. 

AWESOME. 

Today we are 23 weeks pregnant with little
Elia Irene. 

I'm trying to manage these super marshmellow like

swollen feet and ankles (wait what ankles)

and my calves. 

It feels like my skin turns to a sausage casing that is being stretched. 

Not fun at all. 

This weekend we are off to a Wedding 

for a very special dear friend from College

and then a fun week with the Echo on Wednesday. 

I'll try to update before then, and hopefully with a 

Photo...:)

Take care everyone, Have a safe and happy weekend. 

Stay cool. 

It's supposed to get in the high 90's to triple digits this weekend. 

at least here in Iowa.. 

HOT HOT HOT.

<3 Cassie and Elia!!!

(as she has been kicking away while I 

write this)

June 27, 2011....

I can't imagine our life

right now

any different. 

Mostly, between my husband and I. 

My growing baby and I

and most of all, 

My diabetes and I.

This is me on June 27, 2011

June 27, 2011 creeped up 

fast. 

This was the day we had our first

of two

level 2 ultrasounds. 

If you are unfamiliar with this

type

 it is where they look at, measure and

inspect the whole baby from

head to toes. 

Austin went with me to this appointment,

where the University of Iowa( from Iowa City)

come to a local hospital and perform these ultrasounds. 

We got there practically running to find the right elevator 

and sat in that small little area with the sign saying:

University of Iowa Outreach Clinic. 

It was coming. The day to find out

who you are, and how you are developing. 

This is where I have been keeping myself mentally busy

thinking about all the what if's and the "did i do this."

I have heard of many PWD who have delivered healthy babies, 

and for them I am so beyond happy, I just want to be one of them. 

Knowing anything can happen. 

Well, they called my name, 

we walked in, 

got on that oh familiar table where I was greeted by

the most comforting and helpful 

sonogrammer and doctor I have

met in this process. 

They explained everything to us, what they were going to do, 

what they were looking for and 

why they look for this. 

Started at the little head, to the heart, 

to the bones in the arms, spinal cord, 

to the abdomen and stomach, 

to the legs, measuring,

the hands and the feet, counting toes and fingers

and then at the end, after hearing, 

"perfect" "normal" "great" and 

"just right" 

we were then asked if we wanted to know..

we said yes. 

This is what we saw..

the little face, and arms and belly

then 

 just chilling like a little bat inside mommy...

and one like this..

 

how perfect is right. 

After the sonogramer pushed on my belly

to move the baby

and trying to find what was behind 

seeing if you were an L or and E

Austin started telling baby to move so we can see what you are

we want to know baby, 

it was so cute how excited he was to find out..

then she took a still image..

and she told us..

You see here, 

this is where we can see that you are having 

a

baby..

GIRL!!!

We held hands, so happy to hear all the good news

of how great she is developing and growing 

and now knowing that you

little baby inside of me, 

growing, 

is a little girl. 

Elia Irene Kimler will be your name. 

We are so excited to meet you when it's time

and to know you are doing all that you can to be

a growing little bean!!!

We left with this doctor, who is awesome by the way

what was expected for the rest of the pregnancy. 

I will have another level 2 at 24 weeks 

to determine how she is growing and developing

and then at the same time

having a fetal echo performed

also by a doctor from Iowa City

then starting at 28-30 weeks we will have

routine echo's and non stress tests to 

continue to keep an eye on her. 

I will also have one ultrasound each month 

until the 30's come and will have one each week.

This doctor said he will be letting my 

doctors know the orders.

One we left, we went back home quickly to 

let Kdog out, and have lunch before being able to tell

our families...

We shared with both of our families in different ways. 

I had the neighbor to my parents

bake a cake that was pink inside and bring it over to their house when 

it was time, 

and i made cookies to bring to my inlaws to tell them over dinner. 

My parents found out first and then

we were with Austin's parents, and my grandmother

at dinner, 

and when it was time for dessert we all grabbed a couple

cake cookies

and i wrote on them things like, baby boy, little girl, boy or girl

and lots of baby like things on them. 

Betty, my grandma had the little girl one, and as we were all 

eating, I asked what her's read

she said little girl

and I announced that is exactly what we have, 

a little girl!!

They were excited and Happy to find out how healthy she is. 

My mother I knew once she knew what it was would

shove her hand right in the cake, and I promise

I do know my mother. 

She figured out what it was and stuck her finger in it

to see a pink cake. 

I called My older sister later and had her and my niece

on speaker phone

asked my niece what she though it was, 

she said "a baby girl" and

I told her she's right!!

They were so happy and 

my Niece high fived my sister (I could hear)

that she knew all along it was a girl

My niece and nephew are twins and are 5. 

We are so happy to know, 

and just elated to know so far so good with this pregnancy. 

My little sister and her husband drove over this weekend

to help us on the first of many parts to prepare 

our little Elia's room. 

They painted it a matched Valspar Signature color Baking Stone

for the room and one of the walls

will be either strips of a few chosen colors or

a stencil. 

We have yet to decide just picked out colors so far. 

Things are going well, and we are very excited to

hear so far so good!!!:)

I did see my endocrinologist on Thursday and that post to come:

Stay tuned!!

-Cassie and Elia!!!