Some ‘dates

I owe you, my few but loyal readers, a few updates.

Condo – As far as I know, it’s still ours, but we’re no longer holding our breath waiting for the contract. As you may recall, we got the condo even though we didn’t have the highest bid because we could move quickly on the contract. That was over 2 weeks ago and we’re still waiting for that fast-moving contract to come our way. Something smells a bit fishy, so we’ll see. The latest word is that we’ll get the contract sometime next week. Yea, so I’m holding off on buying those new curtains.

Ultrasound – Thanks for all the kinds comments about the troubling ultrasound. After finding out more from the doctor, I’m feeling much better about things. The spot on the heart has a very low probability of being anything because my other genetic testing came back at the top of the charts. So, no amnio or anything for me. We just have to try to put the results out of our mind because there’s nothing we can do and worry doesn’t help anyone. As for my placenta issue, I’m supposed to be taking it easy (or to be more exact I’m on "pelvic rest") to minimize the risks of bleeding and I go back at the end of July for another ultrasound to see if the placenta has moved at all. Goooooooooooo placenta goooooooo!  (Placenta is a funny word. Say it a few times.)

Now that I’ve demandedyour attention with my updates, you deserve something really funny. So, you must watch this. I double dare you not to laugh.

Washed out

This is not optimal weather for visiting the beaches in New Jersey:

But, I had friends, shopping, a chick flick, pizza, an ice cream sundae and many episodes of What Not to Wear. So, how needs the sun?

Just Beachy

This week has been a blur of mortgages, doctors, real estate agents, and more. All I can say is a hearty TGIF! And not only is it Friday, but it’s the Friday that I head down to the Jersey shore to spend so quality time with my girlfriends. The forecast is calling for rain, but that’s ok. I’d be happy sitting in the hotel room eating chocolate covered pretzels and watching a marathon of Real World. Honestly. I don’t need much.

Here I come beachy beach!

Anniversaries can be bloody affairs

This weekend we went out to Montauk for a little anniversary celebration. My goal whenever I go to a beachside resort is to eat lobster at least once a day. Here’s how I managed this time:

Friday – lobster bisque soup
Saturday – lobster dinner complete with bib
Sunday – lobster roll

Life is tough, I know.

Saturday happened to be the day of the big shark tournament in town. So, we went out to the docks and watched as the boats hauled in their catches and had them weighed.

And now for the really gory part. There were some marine biologists there slicing up the organs of the sharks and collecting and weighing their insides.

Here’s a heart:

And some insides:

‘Cause there’s nothing like a little blood & guts to remind you just how much you love your husband – right? Right.

So, does s/he look like me or what?

Probabilities

I had my "big" ultrasound today. (Pictures coming when I get to the scanner.) It was amazing to see the baby and all his (or her) parts. Legs, check. Arms, check. Kidneys, check. Brain, check. 4 chambers of the heart, check. We didn’t get to see too much of the face though – the baby was burrowing it’s head down and didn’t want to come up to play. But he was very cooperative as the technician took pictures of all his other little parts.

That’s the cool part of the ultrasound technology. It really makes you feel emotionally connected to see the baby moving around. But, the bad part of the technology is that it can also point out things that may or may not be issues, but once you know about these things, you can never go back to not knowing.

For me, they found two of these things. First my placenta is is partially covering my cervix. In 90% of women, this condition fixes itself. In the other 10% it makes for a complicated labor and delivery and a mandatory c-section. They also found a spot on the heart – called an echogenic foci. It’s a calcium deposit. Nothing serious for the heart. But it can be indicative of chromosomal abnormalities like Down’s Syndrome. Or, of course it could be nothing. And since I had some genetic screening done and it came back fine, it’s most likely nothing for me. But, of course, it could be something.

And so I’ve spent the day going in and out of meetings, trying to do my job, but with a heavy heart. Funny how website visitors are so meaningless when you are worried about your child. While I know everything is probably fine, I just wish I knew for sure. But, there will be no for sures right now, just hopes. Hopefully my placenta will cooperate. And hopefully that spot on the heart is nothing. Hope, hope, hope.

Condo Update

Ok, so just as I thought. Somebody outbid our final bid. But, you know what…

We still got it!!!

I’d like to attribute it to our winning
personalities and stellar posture, but somehow we got the apartment. It
also probably helped that the top bidders are going out of the country
for a few weeks and the seller didn’t want to deal with that headache.
So, he took our lesser bid!

The lawyer has been contacted. I started to free up money for our escrow payment. It’s all moving, moving!

And to top it all off, I just got a celebratory vanilla milkshake from
McDonalds. And, it has random pieces of strawberry in it. Given the
events of today, I’m going to treat this as a special bonus and not be
grossed out. Strawberry bits for everyone!!!

Multiple offers. Bleh.

Update on the condo … We went back last night and looked at both units and asked a lot of questions and decided to put an offer on the one on the second floor.

Our offer was met with the news that there were already two offers. Two higher offers. Bleh, bleh. So, we went home and talked and talked (which didn’t dissolve into hurt feelings which we both considered a huge breakthrough for our communication skills) and decided we’d put in another offer. So, we did this morning. Now we wait. I actually have little hope of getting the apartment – we’re not willing to get into a bidding war. But, it’s interesting to think of the two other families out there somewhere also trying to buy this apartment. What are they thinking today?

I feel surprisingly unattached to the whole process. As much as I loved the apartment when I saw it again last night (hello – 8 foot tall windows!), I’m just not willing to get worked up about it. What will be will be. And I have a lot to look forward to in the next few days to quell any disapointment: Montauk anniversary trip this weekend and ultrasound on Monday (hello, little tadpole!).

What would you do?

Holy crap. I think we’re going to put an offer on an apartment! We went to an open house yesterday for a new condo conversion in a brownstone. There are 2 3-bedroom apartments and we can’t decide which one to put an offer on. The prices are similar enough that the price difference really doesn’t matter (ie it ends up being a difference of like $50 a month for the mortgage). And they have the exact same layout. So, it’s just a pros/cons game.

Apt 1 – Garden level

Pros: Small outdoor patio (6×10), private ground-level entrance (no steps)
Cons: Not a lot of light, Privacy/security concerns because on street level – people walking by can look in

Apt 2 – First Floor

Pros: Lots of light, Above street level
Cons: No outdoor space, Steps* – Front stoop has about 10 steps then when you get inside there are no more steps

*Without a baby, the steps would be a non-factor, but I’m worried about trying to carry a stroller up the steps. I’ve never tried it so I’m not sure how big a deal it is.

Any thoughts? Which one would you go for?

Lobster Tales

Of course I read those pregnancy calendars. Your baby this month, this week, this millisecond.

Here’s what they had for me today:

Size
She’s about 5 to 5 1/2 inches long from top to tail and weighs a little more than 5 ounces, about the size of a lobster tail.

I suddenly got very, very hungry for lobster. How sick is that? So, I of course IM’d the description to my husband. His immediate response… "Yum". At least I’ll have an equally irreverent partner in my parenting adventures.