The Highs and Lows of Week 38

On Monday I picked up my cousin's bassinet from the friend she lent it to and was so excited to finally have one more major thing checked off my to do list. Unfortunately it turns out the bassinet was recalled in 2001 (it was made in 1997 so it's pretty old, which in and of itself makes me nervous), so I've decided not to use it. It was a cheap, rather flimsy Fisher Price one that I had some misgivings about when I first laid eyes on it. So now it's back to square one with regard to the baby bed. I've been checking Craigslist, but now I'm not so sure I want to go with a used one after all. I have a feeling I'm going to end up ordering something brand new for my piece of mind. Right now the whole issue is stressing me out though since I know that Ziggy could technically come at any time, and I want to have everything more or less ready.

On Tuesday I had my weekly appointment and non-stress test, and the good news is that everything looks great with baby. My blood pressure was slightly higher than usual at my appointment, but as I have no other symptoms of Pre-eclampsia at this time (other than some swelling, which is pretty normal at this stage of pregnancy), the doctor didn't seem too concerned. Plus, my blood pressure was normal when the nurse measured it after the non-stress test, so I'm hoping it was just a fluke. Apparently, women with IVF pregnancies do have a slightly higher risk of developing Pre-eclampsia, although I don't know the reason for this. I asked the doctor if it would be possible for me to get a private room at the hospital based on the fact that I'm colonized with pseudomonas and probably no one wants to share a room with someone who coughs and blows their nose as much as I do, especially when they have a newborn and it's flu season. She seemed to think that was a legitimate concern and said she'd look into it. It turns out that our family friend, who is a pediatrician and works as a liaison with the hospital, is also working on getting me a private room, which would be so nice!

By the way, the H1N1 flu vaccine still isn't available yet, but hopefully next week I can finally get it. I am really starting to get paranoid about going out in public, especially in large crowds, and am increasingly aware of everyone coughing and sniffling around me. I am sure there are people who must assume that I'm sick when they hear me coughing (in fact, the nurse who performed my non-stress test kept asking me about my cough), but in fact they are really more of a danger to me than I am to them (unless they're immunocompromised or something, but then pretty much anyone would be a danger to them).

After reading this story from the Science section of the New York Times this past Tuesday, I am even more apprehensive about the flu season ahead and also angry at people who insist that the flu vaccine is dangerous and should be avoided at all costs, especially when they have no medical expertise or training (yes, Bill Maher, I'm talking to you). I'm not saying there are absolutely no risks to the flu vaccine or any vaccine for that matter, but as with any medical treatment, the risk-benefit ratio needs to be considered, and I think it's pretty clear that for someone like me, who has not one but two risk factors for the swine flu (being pregnant and having Kartagener's Syndrome), the enormous benefits clearly outweigh any potential risks.

By the way, it turns out that my cousin, the one who lent me all the baby stuff and is a homeopath, is anti-vaccine (she didn't have her daughter vaccinated) and told my grandparents not to get either the regular flu vaccine or the H1N1 vaccine. She said she'll give them a homeopathic remedy against the flu instead. Riiiggghhhttt. Anyway, I don't appreciate her advice, especially since my grandparents are going to be around MY baby and not hers. Why can't people just keep their wacky views and beliefs to themselves? I don't go around insisting that others get vaccinated (I think people have the right to decide for themselves), but please extend me and others the same courtesy and let us make up our own minds. By the way I'm pleased to say that my grandmother, a doctor herself, didn't buy my cousin's talk about the homeopathic remedy, and even my grandfather, who is normally into alternative medicine, didn't want to try it but said that maybe my dad could use her remedy, since the vaccine isn't recommended for people like him who have had Guillaun-Barre Syndrome. Anyway, as you can probably tell, this issue pushes my buttons, so I should probably stop obsessing about it (after all, it can't be good for my blood pressure, right?). In general I've been feeling more irritable this week and more annoyed by certain things, like the constant construction work our neighbors are doing to their condo. It almost feels like PMS. I wonder if some hormonal shift is taking place inside me.

This past week I've also been stressing about when labor will begin, not because I'm so eager to have Ziggy arrive (I still feel like I could easily be pregnant for a little while longer and there's still so much left to do to get ready) but because I'm worried that AC wont make it in time since he has to fly here from Albuquerque. I asked the doctor when we would know for sure that I was in real labor and it was safe for AC to get on a plane (a false alarm probably wouldn't go down too well with the military folks), and she referred to the 5-1-1 rule. But she cautioned that if I had a speedy labor, there's a chance he might miss it altogether if he waits that long to hop on a flight. She did say that I could go into labor and delivery earlier than 511 to have them assess my progress and determine if I'm going into labor or will go into labor in the next day or two. But she added that the safest thing would be to have him fly here on or around the due date and stay with me during the week after so he'll already be here when it happens. Obviously that would be ideal, but I really don't see the Air Force giving him all that time off.

She also didn't seem to think it was necessary to induce me so early and said their usual policy is to wait until 41 weeks before deciding to induce. She did say that I could basically choose which day to induce if it comes to that, which makes me feel a little better. One problem is that my mom will be away at a conference from November 11-15. I'll be 41 weeks as of November 12, but I'd really like my mom to be here for the labor. I also really don't want to end up alone during those four days she's gone, either with or without the baby. AC may only get 7 days of paternity leave (originally it was 10-12 days, but now they're saying 7). So I've calculated that the ideal time for Ziggy to arrive is November 9 or 10--that way my mom will definitely be here for the birth and AC will definitely be with me while she's gone. Now if only there was some way to convince the little guy to come then. I know I'm probably obsessing about this way too much, but our unusual circumstances do make things a bit more complicated.

Now for the fun part: more baby gear! I found a great deal on Craigslist for more Fuzzi Bunz diapers--$200 for a lot of 38 diapers (36 small, 1 x-small, and 1 medium) that came with inserts and 2 wet bags (bags you carry with you to store the dirty diapers in when you're out and about and then wash with the diapers). Only three of them were obviously "girl colors" (pinky peach, lavender, and hot pink). They seem to be in really good condition overall. A few of the inserts have some urine stains, which I cam currently trying to sun out on the porch. Of the Fuzzi Bunz, I now have a total of 9 x-small diapers, 37 small, and 1 medium, not to mention the 3 AIO diapers. So I am practically swimming in cloth diapers now and really don't need to buy anymore until he outgrows the small size. But the great part is I wont have to do laundry as often, which will make my life a lot easier.

A family friend of AC's whom I've never met unexpectedly sent a box of baby items, which included a pillow, a cute bear hat, a pullover bib for 6-24 months, an adorable Classic Pooh two piece pants set for 0-3 months, and best of all, a hand-knit white and baby blue afghan and royal blue baby cape with hood. It is hard to believe she made them herself, they look so professionally done!

I also bought some 7th Generation Baby Natural Laundry Detergent, cotton swabs, cotton balls, cotton pads, 2 organic bamboo washcloths for baby, Earth Mama Angel Baby brand Angel Baby Shampoo & Body Wash and Angel Baby Lotion. So I am slowly and surely accumulating what I need. I plan to spend most of tomorrow doing some serious shopping, which is partly why I decided to post this week's summary early. Plus I plan on doing something a little different this week for my official 38 week post. Have I peaked anyone's interest (probably not, but that's ok--don't want anyone to get too excited in case I forget to post :) ? Until tomorrow, then...

36 Weeks: Less Than One Month to Go!

I am 36 weeks today, so only 1 week until Ziggy is considered full term! Despite not having an appointment with my MFM this week, there's a lot to report. First off, AC flew here last Thursday and we were able to attend a free Birth Center Orientation & Expectant Parent's Night at the hospital where I'll deliver, which consisted of a useful presentation on car seat safety and inspection (I have my car seat fitting appointment set for Tuesday, October 27th, only 10 days before my due date), a video tour of the birth center (AC was disappointed that we didn't actually get to tour labor and delivery), a question and answer session with one of the labor nurses, and a presentation and Q & A with an OB anesthesiologist (turned out to be the same guy I met with a few weeks ago). A pediatrician was also scheduled to speak, but ended up not making it, which was just as well, since the session wound up lasting longer than expected.

I wont go too in depth into exactly what happened, but suffice it to say that the crowd here in Palo Alto is quite different from the one we encountered in Little Rock at our prenatal classes. That is to say, more educated and informed, but also more demanding and controlling. I almost laughed out loud several times at the degree of specificity that some of these expectant parents were demanding. One woman kept asking the anesthesiologist for extremely specific and detailed information about exactly how the various pain relieving methods work on the anatomical level. At one point AC turned and whispered to me that maybe she should go to medical school and become an anesthesiologist herself. I'm all for being informed and educated and I personally find medical knowledge fascinating (I did ask many questions of the same anesthesiologist during our private meeting), but there's no need to completely monopolize a public discussion.

There was also a lot of concern expressed over the possibility of residents and fellows, rather than an attending, performing procedures like epidurals or the delivery of the baby. Well, Stanford is a teaching hospital, and if you don't like that aspect, why not go somewhere else? Personally I have no problem with residents performing procedures as long as they're supervised (watch me bite my tongue later when something goes wrong during my labor and delivery that was caused by a resident's mistake!). So far I've been very impressed with the 4th year medical students who have seen me during my OB appointments.

Anyway, as AC put it, these people were just a lot more entitled than the ones in Arkansas, who I think were a little too passive, uninvolved, and uninformed. I also have to say that the quality of the presentations here was also superior to what we received in Little Rock. No wonder that the cost of one class here is more than the entire series of prenatal classes in Arkansas! Good thing this one was free!

On Friday I attended my second prenatal yoga class (I forget to mention that I went last week). The regular teacher was out last week attending a birth since she also serves as an occasional doula, but unfortunately the woman she was tending to ended up having a cesarean after 30 hours of labor (after 20 hours, she finally agreed to an epidural). Another woman in the class said that she had to have a c-section after two days of unmedicated labor with her first, so with this baby she was planning on switching hospitals (she delivered her first at Stanford and made it sound as if the hospital was to blame for her c-section). I have also heard from SH and from another doula who is not gung-ho pro natural that most of the women they see who try for unmedicated natural births end up with c-sections (the exact opposite of natural). Of course there are plenty of women who have successful unmedicated births, but it does make you wonder if sometimes the intense quest to avoid medication at all costs actually hinders the birth process when the labor is especially long and hard and pain relief might actually help the woman relax and gain strength so that her labor can progress.

Anyway, moving on! On Tuesday I had my weekly non stress test (it went fine and was completely uneventful save for Ziggy kicking the monitors like crazy!), which was observed by a third year student nurse. He had a case study assignment and asked if I would mind answering some questions for him. I told him about Kartagener's Syndrome, the IVF, my overall health, how the pregnancy has been progressing, etc. He seemed surprised at how much I knew about my own health condition, but honestly I was surprised at how little he seemed to know about medicine in general. I get that he's a student and he's still learning, but I kept having to define medical terms for him and explain myself in simpler terms than I'm used to when dealing with medical personnel. It got me thinking that maybe I should have been a nurse myself, but I know that the horrible hours (12 hour night shifts) and the constant exposure to sick people would not be good for my health.

In other news, this was another week for acquiring more baby stuff. A set of 10 reusable nursing pads from Udder Covers TM arrived in the mail. With a special online promo code, they ended up costing less than one dollar a pair! I also went ahead and finally ordered the Graco Snugride 32 infant car seat online, which to my surprise arrived the very next day. However, I am going to end up returning it since my very generous third cousin (from my Russian side of the family) who lives here in the Bay Area offered me her used car seat.

I called her on Monday and we arranged to meet up Wednesday (yesterday) at a park with her two-year old daughter (also conceived through IVF and delivered naturally at 36 weeks). She generously offered to lend me a ton of her baby stuff and even brought several items with her to give me right then and there. So now I have in my possession a Chicco KeyFit infant car seat (brand new when purchased two years ago and has never been in an accident), an infant bath tub, an infant neck support for use in the car seat or baby carrier, a baby towel, a couple of maternity sweaters and warmer tops, a prenatal yoga DVD and a postpartum Pilates DVD. Apparently there's a lot more stuff she wants to give me when I go over to her house next Wednesday evening. She is planning on trying for a second child with her frozen embryos next year, so I'll be returning everything to her before we leave for Japan, but I am so grateful to her for lending me these items temporarily. It will make things so much easier when we move and also give us a better idea of what we absolutely need to buy ourselves and what we can live without.

Finally I just wanted to mention that yet again I think I might be coming down with something. My left sinus and ear have been especially stuffed up this week and yesterday I started to develop a sore throat, so I'm wondering if I might have a sinus infection brewing. I see my pulmonologist tomorrow, and I'll ask him for a referral to an ENT who's covered by my insurance. The ENT I normally see here is great but he's out of network, and after the whole billing fiasco with the out-of-network orthopedist in New York when I broke my wrist (long, boring, and frustrating story that I don't want to go into here), I'm determined to stay in-network whenever possible.

Lastly I think I'm developing carpel tunnel or something, especially in my left hand. Both my hands, but especially the left one, will go numb if I grasp or hold something tightly. During the night I frequently feel like my hands are numb and tingly. I know this is just due to accumulated fluid from swelling pressing on the nerves, but it's still unpleasant. The other day I had an especially salty dinner and then went for a walk with my mom, and my hands really swelled up--they looked like sausages! I was relieved when the swelling went down after I drank a bunch of water and rested, but I think I need to be more wary of my salt consumption from here on out.

Anyway, that's all for this week! Sorry for the super long post. Maybe I'll try to post more frequently this week so as to avoid such long posts in the future.

No, it's not the swine flu, but we're both sick!

Bad news; AC is sick again, and worse yet, I appear to have caught it! I was holding out so well until last night, when I think sleep deprivation got the better of my immune system. It was so hot last night in our apartment (82 degrees I think!) even with the air conditioning blasting (I almost wrote ac just now, but decided that would be confusing! :) The only way I could sleep was naked with an ice pack wrapped in my nightgown and placed against my body and the overhead fan on. It didn't help that my stomach wasn't feeling great as usual these days. Joy of joys, I woke up at 2:30 and couldn't get back to sleep until 6:30! The only good part of the whole experience was that Ziggy became quite active, and I enjoyed feeling and seeing the little guy move around.

I didn't just lie there the whole time though. I got up to drink and eat and surf the Internet for a while until I started to feel drowsy again. I managed to sleep till about 9am, and when I woke up, the soreness in my throat hit me. That was AC's first symptom too. I can tell that it's a virus because whenever I get a viral infection, my chronic bacterial infection recedes temporarily. Pseudomonas is a notoriously weak (but persistent!) bacterium that cannot survive well in the presence of other infections, bacterial or viral. It tends to hide out until the other infection disappears, at which point it reappears with a vengeance.

Sorry to be graphic, but normally my sputum is a dark yellow to green color. Now it's a pale yellow to clear color, which is almost unseen in me! My cough is also more dry and hacking and less productive than usual, which is also generally a sign of viral infection in me. AC's infection appears to have become bacterial, judging by the color of his sputum, which is a pretty common occurrence; an initial viral infection weakens your immune system, allowing a bacterial infection to move in. If that happens to me, I may need to pay an earlier visit to my pulmonologist. I was hoping to be able to avoid taking any antibiotics during my pregnancy, but if I have to, obviously I will. We have a quiet weekend of rest and recuperation planned. I just hope it's not too hot in the apartment, otherwise we may need to escape to the coolness of the bookstore (although really, in our state, we shouldn't be out and about). Here's hoping for a quick recovery for the both of us!

Pregnancy and Kartagener's Syndrome

So far I haven't written much about how pregnancy has effected my Kartagener's Syndrome, and really that's because it hasn't effected it much at all, or at least not nearly as much as I thought it would. I experienced shortness of breath and the feeling of needing to take deeper, fuller breaths in the first trimester, actually almost as soon as I became pregnant. But now that I'm in the second trimester, that feeling of breathlessness has gone away. My mother even commented that I no longer sound out of breath on the phone.

Now my lungs seem even better overall than before I became pregnant. My most recent PFT (Pulmonary Function Test) a few weeks ago showed improvement from the last one I had in November, my oxygenation was 100%, and my new Pulmonologist (Dr. A, whom I really like) said that my lungs sound good and I seem to be very healthy. She has some antibiotics in mind in case I do become sick, but for now, she said to just keep doing what I've been doing and focus on prevention. I have had a pretty easy pregnancy so far, but of course that may change as I get further along. As Ziggy gets bigger and my uterus expands higher into my torso, it may exert some pressure on my diaphragm and ultimately my lungs, leading to more difficulty breathing. The humidity here isn't great for my lungs of course, and Dr. W did recommend that I stay inside in air conditioning as much as possible during the summer when it's especially humid. I don't think that will be a problem--I can't stand hot and humid weather, and neither can AC.

Even though generally my lungs are a bigger concern to my health, it's my ears and sinuses that have been giving me more trouble since I became pregnant. Many women develop "rhinitis of pregnancy" due to the swelling of tissue and increase in blood volume, and I definitely have that, although it also hasn't been as bad as I expected it to be. My ears have probably given me the most trouble, mainly because there's not anything I can do once they become blocked. I went to my new ENT here when I first arrived in Little Rock (Dr. H, who is also great--I have been very happy with all of my doctors here so far), and he not only suctioned out my sinuses (which always feel so good afterward), he also decided to put new tubes in my ears since he said that would be the only way to drain the fluid that had accumulated. I've had countless ear tube surgeries as a child, but this was the first time I'd had it done while awake. It was a bit unpleasant but not really that bad--he anesthetized the eardrum locally, made the holes, drained out the fluid, inserted the tubes, and I was good to go. He said to just schedule an appointment asnytime I feel like my ears or sinuses are blocked, and he'll suction them out for me. When I left his office, it was amazing, because I could finally hear for the first time in weeks. I had been walking around half-deaf because my ears were so stopped up with gunk. AC was getting really annoyed because I kept asking "What? What?" to everything he said, and we had to turn the sound way up whenever we watched anything.

Anyway, here's my daily regimen of prevention to keep myself and, by extension, Ziggy going strong throughout the pregnancy:

Exercise 30-60 minutes daily
Vest treatment 30-60 minutes daily (unfortunately at some point I'll probably get too big to continue using The Vest)
1 ampule Pulmozyme nebulized daily during vest treatment
1 ampule 0.9% saline nebulized daily during vest treatment (this will soon be switched to 6% saline per Dr. A's recommendation)
Advair 250/50 1 puff daily a.m.
Advair 100/50 1 puff daily p.m.
ProventilHFA inhaler 1-2 puffs up to 4 times a day as needed for wheezing (used rarely)
Nasonex 1 squirt each nostril twice daily
Astelin 1 squirt each nostril twice daily
Saline sinus rinse 1-2 times daily

Armour Thyroid 45 mg daily
Rainbow Light Just Once Prenatal One Vegan Guard Multivitamin 1 tablet daily (I highly recommend it since it's gentle on the stomach and doesn't cause constipation)
Twinlab Dr. Greene Omega-3 Fish Oil Softgels--1 softgel containing 270 mg EPA and 180 mg DHA twice daily
Twinlab Calcium Citrate with Magnesium and Vitamin D citrus flavored chewable wafers--2-4 wafers daily containing 500-1000 mg Calcium, 250-500 mg Magnesium, and 200-400 IU Vitamin D (they don't upset my stomach like calcium carbonate chews do)

Week 11: In which I make the Acquantaince of Dr. W

A week ago today I had my first appointment with Dr. W, who seems really nice, knowledgeable, and pretty flexible. Even though he didn't agree that I needed to continue the progesterone suppositories and shots until 14 weeks (he says he usually discontinues progesterone supplementation at 10 weeks for his patients), he said I should continue whatever plan Dr. M laid out for me, since he was successful at getting and keeping me pregnant, and we don't want to mess with that. He also didn't agree with me being on Armour Thyroid, but again deferred to Dr. M on that. He did want to measure my level of TSH though, and when it came back low the next day, I was told to halve my dose from 90 mg to 45. I wonder what Dr. M would have to say about that! I'm sure he wouldn't be pleased, but at least they're letting me stay on the Armour Thyroid at all. I always felt like the dose was maybe a little high; plus, my plan is to taper the dose and get off the medication altogether by the time I give birth so I can safely breastfeed.

Hmmm, so what else happened at the visit? I urinated in a cup (not sure what they were measuring there), had my weight taken (up 4 lbs since the last time I was weighed at a doctor's office in November--I don't weight myself at home), had blood drawn, talked to Dr. W and his nurse about my Kartagener's Syndrome (they've actually had a patient like me before, and seem to know what it entails), and best of all, had an ultrasound. This was my first abdominal ultrasound, which was so much more comfortable than the vaginal ones. As soon as the ultrasound started, I saw little Ziggy jumping and bouncing around in my uterus! It was amazing! I didn't realize s/he was already moving so much--I wish I could feel it, but I guess that wont happen for a few more weeks at the earliest. I found the experience of seeing Ziggy moving a lot more powerful and emotional even than hearing the heart beat--it kind of hit me even harder that I really do have a baby inside me that's growing every day.

Anyway, Dr. W said it's a "beautiful baby," which I guess means everything looks good and is where it should be at this stage. He also said there's no sign of bleeding, so I guess it must have reabsorbed! Yay!!! He measured Ziggy three times to try to get a week 11 measurement (since I was exactly 11 weeks at the time), but kept coming up with 10w6d. So Ziggy was measuring a day behind, but Dr. W said it's not a big deal. Even so, I have been worrying about it a little and trying to make sure I eat every few hours. I read in one of my pregnancy books that babies get better nutrition and grow better when you eat frequently, rather than eating a few large meals a day. Plus, I find that I get hungry every few hours, so it seems to be working out.

Dr. W said I should return in 5 weeks when I'm 16 weeks, at which point we'll discuss doing a blood screen for chromosomal abnormalities, so my next appointment is on May 21. I really hope AC can make it, so he can see Ziggy dancing around too! I wanted him to be the there this time, but unfortunately he had a simulator :(

Before I end this post, I also want to update on the progesterone in oil situation. After stressing the whole weekend that I was going to miscarry because my progesterone would drop too low, on Monday I called to ask if they could measure my progesterone just to make sure the level wasn't dropping too low with me just being on the suppositories. The nurse told me that Dr. W didn't see the point in doing the blood test--basically what would we change if the numbers were low? I said I would go back on the shots if absolutely necessary. I also said that Dr. M had wanted my level measured a week after I stopped both forms of progesterone at week 14. She asked what the point of this was, and I told her that he would want me to continue the progesterone for the remainder of the pregnancy if my levels were below 20. This surprised her. She said they didn't have any patients on progesterone for the whole pregnancy, and that in general they no longer do progesterone monitoring since it had not proved clinically useful. She did say that Dr. W was willing to order the test for my peace of mind.

So I'm going in on Monday to have blood drawn, and they should have the results for me on Tuesday. I really hope my progesterone is at a decent level. I wonder if I can convince them to test me again at my next appointment after I discontinue the suppositories in two weeks. They probably already think I'm a difficult patient, but I don't care--better to be difficult than lose a baby, right? I tried to impress on his nurse how different it was to go from an infertility clinic, where you're seen every week and closely monitored, to a regular OB, where you're seen every 4-5 weeks, and they seem to take a much more blase attitude toward things. I also told her several times that the reason I was so insistent on careful monitoring is that if for some reason I lose this baby, I can't just get pregnant on my own in a few months like another women might. I'll have to do IVF all over again (well, fortunately the frozen embryos will make it easier), but it will still involve going back to NY and going through almost everything again. She seemed somewhat sympathetic, but I still got the sense that they view me as a drama queen or something.

Anyway, to end on a positive note, here are the week 12 sonogram pictures of Ziggy:

25 random (and boring) things about me (as seen on Facebook)

1. I am a worry wart. Case in point: I've spent the last few days worrying that no one would tag me in a "25 Random Things" note and grant me the opportunity to reveal my soul to the Facebook community.

2. I had never broken a bone until last week when I fractured my right wrist after slipping and falling on some ice. Currently typing this with my left hand.

3. I've never had a cavity, and I hope to keep it that way. Flossing is a regular part of my daily routine.

4. I have situs inversus totalis (all of my internal organs are reversed, so I'm like the mirror image of a "normal" person). It's part of a larger condition called Kartagener's Syndrome or Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia, a rare autosomal recessive genetic disorder which effects the cilia lining the respiratory tract and fallopian tubes. Basically it means I have lots of lung, sinus, and ear problems. I'm infertile as well.

5. I've had lung surgery, sinus surgery, and more ear surgeries than I can count (see above). One of my earliest memories is of going into surgery with my "My Little Pony" clutched tightly in my hand and then waking up and vomiting from the anesthesia.

6. I suffered from anorexia when I was 12 and 13 and stopped menstruating for over a year. I ended up being hospitalized for more than half a year because of complications with my lungs from malnutrition (see above), which left me with permanently damaged lungs. I also have osteopenia (low bone mineral density) as a result.

7. I met my husband on the steps of Memorial Auditorium at Stanford's Admit Weekend when we were both 18 and still in high school. We started dating at the beginning of Freshman year and have been together ever since. We got married on June 17th, 2006. He's the absolute best thing that's ever happened to me :)

8. There is a photograph of me sitting on Richard Feynman's lap when I was 3 somewhere in our family albums. Sadly I have no memory of this momentous occasion and my proximity to greatness. Feynman dated my grandmother and used to play with my mom and aunt when they were little.

9. I wore braces for 3 years from 5th-8th grade, had them put on and taken off 3 times, and had 3 orthodontists who all insisted that the previous doctor had had no idea what he was doing. I still wear my retainer to bed every night.

10. I never imagined I'd marry a man in uniform and be a military spouse. So far I like it. Ask me again when he deploys for the first time.

11. I'm an atheist and a liberal democrat, which means I keep my mouth shut and my opinions to myself a lot of the time when I'm around military people.

12. I'm an only child who always wanted siblings, which is why I plan to have at least two kids.

13. I had my ears pierced in 8th grade but never wear earrings because they make my ears infected. In general jewelry makes my skin break out in a rash, which is why I gave up wearing it altogether. I'm probably allergic to nickel.

14. When I was 8 years old, I was almost kidnapped/sexually molested by a creepy guy with a goatee while on a ski trip with my dad in Vermont. Understandably, my mom was really mad at him for leaving me alone while he caught the last ski lift up the mountain.

15. My parents got divorced when I was 4, and my mom remarried when I was 6, but I saw my dad a lot growing up since he lived only an hour away in NYC. I've come to realize that my parents make much better friends than marriage partners.

16. Things I am ashamed to admit: I never learned how to touch type. I can't whistle. I've never had an orgasm (sorry, TMI, I know!). I tend to be critical of others. I hold grudges. I've forgotten a lot of my Russian. I take people for granted. I'm prone to jealousy. I have a bad habit of picking at pimples.

17. I have never smoked or taken any illicit drugs, and I almost never drink. It's not for any moral reason; I just can't stand the taste of alcohol.

18. Because of my Kartagener's Syndrome, I have a really bad sense of smell. Chances are if you ask me how something smells, and I give you a reply other than "I can't smell anything," I'm probably lying.

19. I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for 8 years. I started eating fish on a trip to Russia, and since then have been a "pescaterian," although recently I've considered going back to strict vegetarianism.

20. My weight fluctuated a lot during high school and college but finally settled down once I got married. I've been told that marriage "suits me."

21. Most of the women in my family (especially on my mother's side) are well-endowed. Sadly I did not inherit this trait.

22. If I could have any superpower, it would be invisibility.

23. I find a lot of food to be too sweet or too salty for my taste. My husband totally doesn't get this.

24. I recently received my yoga certification from a mean and crazy 70 year old woman in Corpus Christ, TX whom I hope to never, ever meet again.

25. I was born in New Haven, CT, but grew up in Stanford, CA and Stamford, CT. Since marrying Andy, we've lived in a bunch of hot places: California City, CA, Montgomery, AL, Del Rio, TX, Corpus Christi, TX, Little Rock, AR, and Okinawa, Japan is next!

Of MFMs, REIs, and IVF

(Written on Dec. 19th at the Ski Sundown Mountain in New Hartford, CT)

Although AC had planned on going snowboarding in Massachusetts, it wasn't until today that he finally got the chance to do so. The weather was not cooperative, and we were completely unprepared for the storm; with no snow tires or antifreeze and frozen windshield wipers that seemed to make the visibility worse rather than better, it was a miracle we made it in one piece! Numerous cars, police vehicles, and ambulances littered the road as evidence of the treacherous conditions. What should have been an hour's drive ended up taking nearly three hours, but AC was determined to make it to "Ski Sundown" before sundown (actually it was impossible to tell if the sun had already set by the time we arrived, since it had been dark all day!).

Now AC and my father are happily skiing and snowboarding while I'm relaxing here in the ski lodge in a chair by a window, watching big fluffy flakes pour out of the sky. I would almost describe it as peaceful save for the endless cacophony of teenagers surrounding me.

We had our consultation with the MFM (Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist) today at Yale, and wow, what a difference a good doctor makes! After our terrible experience with the REI (Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility) in Corpus Christi, our meeting with this doctor was a tremendous relief. Although incredibly accomplished, he's completely unassuming and has a pleasant, open manner. Moreover, he's extremely knowledgeable. Perhaps most impressive was that he had actually prepared for our meeting by researching Kartagener's Syndrome, reading my file, and thinking about my case.

After taking down a brief medical and family history, he recommended that we meet with a genetics counselor to discuss our options, even if we choose not to undergo preimplantation genetics. Thankfully my cystic fibrosis genetic test was negative. As for Kartagener's, he said it's unlikely that I received two recessive genes for Kartagener's, one from each parent, as I had long believed. More likely, I received one recessive gene from one parent, which combined with a random, genetic mutation. Apparently, an average of fourteen genetic mutations arise in each generation, which means that, even if AC isn't a carrier for KS, our child could still end up having it.

The question now is, do we do a genetic consult? And more importantly, do we do preimplantation genetics, which is not only very costly, but doesn't even guarantee that the child will be free of the genetic defect the embryo was tested for? My gut feeling is to meet with our REI (the doctor who will be performing the actual IVF cycle) and find out what he thinks.

When I asked about travel during pregnancy, he seemed to think I would be able to travel both by car and plane, as long as I walk around every hour to prevent blood clots from forming in my legs. He also mentioned that pregnancy would start to effect my lungs immediately due to the changes in hormones, and that it's impossible to predict exactly how I'll respond to this "stress test". The good thing is I'm young and relatively healthy. Overall, he was very optimistic that the IVF would work quickly and that I would have a fairly easy pregnancy, although he did reaffirm the importance of a singleton pregnancy. Apparently, IVF increases the risk of identical twins from about 1 in 300 in the general population to about 1 in 100, so even if they implant only one embryo in my uterus, I could still end up with two! I really would prefer not to have to address the issue of a fetal reduction, but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Apparently, with IVF, there's also a twofold increase in heart defects, from about 2-3% to 5-6%, and I've also read about slight increases in the risk of other birth defects, like cleft lips and palates. I don't really want to think about these possibilities, but I guess it's better to be informed.

As for the IVF itself, SH has been a busy bee as usual and managed to obtain all the medications I'll need for the cycle for free! She is truly amazing! Despite our differences and issues in the past, I really appreciate everything that she's done for me. Apparently the REI also plans to give us a good deal on the IVF cycle since he's friends with SH, so this may end up costing us less than we had anticipated.

Overall, I'm feeling pretty confident about this whole process. Only a couple of weeks until my first meeting with the REI when hopefully I'll have a much better understanding of what the IVF cycle entails and more to blog about. In case I don't get a chance to post in the next couple of days, have a Happy New Year! I'll be back in 2009!

Inaugural Post

I've been meaning to start a blog for a while now but several things (mainly procrastination and a general sense of "who in the world would want to read what I have to say anyway?") have prevented me from taking the plunge. Fortunately, one of the assignments for my current class on web site design, building, and programming (Libr. 240-03: Information Technology Tools and Applications) is to set up a blog. In my case, I plan to actually use it.

Since AC and I move around so frequently and have friends and family scattered across much of the country (and even the world), this blog will serve as a convenient and easy means of staying in touch with loved ones and offering them a glimpse into our rather mundane lives. Moreover, since AC and I will be separated more often in the months and years to come, given his recent airframe and location assignment (yay for MC-130P Combat Shadow flying out of Kadena AB!) and our decision to attempt IVF this coming year (more on that to come in a later post), it will be nice to have this blog as a means of staying connected, not to mention as a chronicle of my IVF exprience.

When AC spent a quarter studying abroad in Moscow, I found his blog invaluable in allowing me at least some involvement in his world. What with the extreme time difference and high cost of overseas calls (not to mention that the satellite kept dropping our calls after exactly 29 minutes--yes, we timed it!), it was often the only contact I had with him. Our upcoming move to Okinawa next November will also necessitate an easy way for us to share photos and updates with family and friends on the other side of the globe.

Lastly, as someone with a rare genetic chronic illness (Kartagener's Syndrome/Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia), I hope that this blog will provide some insight for those who share my condition or want to learn more, especially as regards KS/PCD, IVF, and infertility.