17 weeks

I had a checkup today, and it was with my favorite midwife Jan. I was happy Eric got to meet her. Everything looks fine, but they honestly don't do much at these appts. It's just a quick feel of my belly, and listen to the heartbeat for a minute or so.

We had two decisions to make. The first was whether we wanted AFP testing. It is basically blood work that tests for Downs and spina bifida. However, the testing has a really high rate of false positives, up to 30%. And since my philosophy and feelings on pregnancy and childbirth are very natural and minimalist, I turned them down. There is really no need, it's a waste of medical resources. We wouldn't attempt to terminate if it was positive; it would simply make us worry. And probably worry for NO reason, since there are so many false positives. I also turned down the early testing at 13 weeks for the same reasons. Shim is our child that we will love with all our hearts, no matter if he is perfectly healthy or not.

We also needed to decided if we wanted to just do our anatomy US in 4 weeks at the next appt, or come back in 2 for it. The reasoning for going back in 2 weeks would only be b/c we just couldn't wait to find out the sex. And we're still undecided there, so we'll just wait for our next appt. It kills two birds with one stone. The appt is September 3, the day before we leave for Europe. We'll take the US results with us to Europe and find out there, if we do at all. In other words, don't call us 18 million times on September 3, b/c we won't know the sex yet! (If we do decide to find out before birth).

My mom thinks I already know, and just won't tell her. Not true, but that is tempting. As soon as she finds out the sex, all she'll do is sew and smock. No cloth diapers or nursery bedding for Shim! I'm gonna have to stay on her to make sure she sews the things Shim really needs. She swears she will, so we'll see how that goes.

Lindsay found a boutique near her parents house in Kenmore (Buffalo) that actually sells cloth diapers, and they do registry's!!! So, she's gonna tell me what all brands they carry, and then create a registry for me up there. Then she'll add that to my invite so people know, and hopefully I'll get some cloth diapers at my Buffalo shower. She was amazed at how unbelievably soft they are! I love CD!!!

Ok, I gotta get going here, my P's will be here soon on their way back to Florence. We're gonna do lunch!