October 8, 2010

It's probably time to mention...

I recently posted a picture of me in my new dirndl. A few people correctly pointed out that you don't see much of the dirndl in the picture.

This was intentional. The dirndl picture camoflaged something I haven't felt ready to announce until now:



I'm pregnant!

Yes, it is true. Sorry, Kristina, I know this will upset you.

Although I thought I was done having children - and in fact swore never to be pregnant again last time around - a passing moment of baby notalgia changed my mind for about 5 minutes and that was apparently enough.

There are numerous reasons not to have a baby but there are even more reasons to have one, such as:
  1. Maternity fashion has come a long way since I was pregnant with L. Back then you had a choice between a too-short baby doll top with unflattering stretch pants or a floral mu-mu dress. Today, long empire-waisted tunics are in, praise the Lord.
  2. I have absolute power. I can yell, 'GET ME SOME FOOD!' day or night and I will be obeyed by total strangers.
  3. I somehow never threw away any of our baby stuff. . . it felt too wasteful to give away stuff before it was worn to threads.
  4. Actually, scratch number three, because IT'S A BOY!!!
  5. I'd never had an amnio before and I was always curious.
An amnio is where they stick a needle through your stomach into your womb to gather genetic materia in order to screen for down's syndrome. It's about as much fun as it sounds.

I don't know how it is in the US but in Germany they give you a brochure with a graphical cartoon of a baby floating in a disembodied womb with a big needle sticking in from the outside.

I found the picture distressing but received a disapproving frown when I cheeped in dismay and inquired if it had to be so. . . graphic.
"That's what happens," I was informed sternly by the medical assistant. "What else would the picture show?"

Ohhhh kaaaaay.

The doctor who did the procedure (recommended because the baby's small intestine echoed funny and was 'too pale' in the ultrasound, whatever that means) patted my hand kindly and informed me that although the procedure isn't fun, at least in Germany they use 'thin' needles.

It felt a bit like being congratulated for not having my baby in a barbarian country like the US where they still use railroad spikes but I appreciated the thought.

I was warned I would feel a prick and some pressure but it was way more than pressure. It starts with a prick sure enough but right as you're thinking now would be a good time to stop the needle continues to punch through your stomach muscles.

I had sore muscles for two days but the procedure only lasted 40 second. And we had our results the next day so I really can't complain, especially since our baby has the normal number of chromosomes.

Let me mention here that my regular doctor was on summer vacation when I was refered for ultrasound because the baby's kidneys looked a bit irregular. When my doctor returned after all the excitement (ours, not his) he raised a perplexed eyebrow and inquired mildly why we did an amnio in the first place.

We told him the whole kidney ultrasound story, whereupon he informed us that swollen kidneys are pretty common in boys. Then he rolled his eyes. 'Geneticists!'

We're actually still waiting on one more test for cystic fibrosis, not because anyone thinks our baby will have it but because - according to my doctor - as long as they have all that nice genetic material they like to test it for stuff.

Or they could be cloning me to introduce more American genes into the German genepool, but somehow I don't they are.

So... I'm about 6 months pregnant and still trying to pretend my life isn't about to completely change. I even went to my kick boxing class about 3 weeks ago but decided to give it up when I saw how nervous my high kicks made everyone.

K and L are thrilled to have a baby brother. L drew me this picture showing the baby growing in my tummy:

20 comments:

  1. CoNgRaTuLaTiOnS!!!!! WaHoOoOoOo!!!! Baby Boys Rock! (you know about the "fire-hose" effect when you remove the diaper, right?) ahh, fun times. :D

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  2. LOL @Maxie and the fire hose effect. But yes - you do need to watch out!

    HUGE congrats although the whole procedure made me feel a bit queasy. You look radiant!

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  3. So exciting! Congrats! I am glad the amnio went fine.

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  4. 6 months?!?! You look tiny! But congrats. I'm fine with pregnant ladies. It's only when the scary baby is born that I have nightmares.

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  5. How exciting! I am so happy for your family!! Amnio sounds...awesome. I can't wait to see pics of the little bugger!

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  6. Congrats, you crazy girl!

    I would have been freaked out by that pamphlet, too.

    Actually, I'm starting to feel queasy now.

    ;-)

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  7. Congrats!!!! I'm so happy for you and the whole family. I'm sure the girls are thrilled. Keep us posted on the new developments!

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  8. Exciting!!! Congratulations, and hooray for babies!! My husband is talking a lot about us having baby #4. I don't know if it's going to happen or not.

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  9. OMG! There is never better news than this!! Congrats to all of you!!! That's just awesome, HPH!!

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  10. Super!!! Now I see why you could use an Au Pair! I've got another daughter who just loves babies, but she's only turning 13 next week....

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  11. Well, we hate to be cliched, but Congratulations!

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  12. Thank you everyone. Poor Solipsist, it must have killed you to say something so ordinary. :-)

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  13. This will be so fun to read about! Congrats! :)

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  14. I knew the needle they used for my amnio felt thick. Dang American needles.

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  15. I really should read things in the proper order, but such is life. I just had to say that I love the drawings and congratulations!

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  16. holy crap! I fall behind on the blog reading and a whole new baby situation comes about. Wow!! Congratulations, you are a much braver girl than me (but we already knew that).

    Can't wait to read further (I only read in order).

    -Meg

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  17. Congratulations! WOW---I'm so excited for you. We just adopted a baby girl (our other 4 children were biological) and I'm absolutely hoping we can adopt a boy next year! Crazy?

    Enjoy it, enjoy it, enjoy it!

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  18. Congrats on the new baby! Hope you are feeling well.

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