On Sunday, we celebrated Grandparent's Day with BOTH Grandma Carol & Grandpa Lowell (Guard). Grandma Carol has been visiting the Midwest for a few weeks and came on Friday to spend the weekend (off) with us. And Grandpa Lowell.... well, he doesn't miss a Sunday with Sydney (that is, unless WE are the ones that are unavailable).
We enjoyed BEAUTIFUL WEATHER, good company and fantastic food!
Sunday with Sydney Dinner consisted of:
• Ribeyes - grilled to perfection on the charcoal grill by Mike
• Sweet Corn - a Midwest favorite, steamed inside the husks on the grill
• Mushrooms & Onions - sautéed in butter
• Fresh Asparagus - pan fried and served slightly el dente
• Chicken Tagine - slow-cooked in the crockpot all day long
AND a toast (of white wine) in the afternoon hours - in honor of Grandparent's Day and the announcement that we found out that WE ARE PREGNANT!
We thought that Grandparent's Day was a good day to make this announcement, making it memorable, for sure. (Hmmm, pregnancy is THE most likely reason that my vision problems and MS symptoms had SUDDENLY cleared up and returned me to a state of remission and good health.)
Grandma (Eileen) Olson was nice enough to point out that BABY 2 is due just in time for Mother's Day. (I'd like to say that we planned it that way, but honestly, it was a little bit of a surprise for us. During the unknown period of this pregnancy, I had been exposed to Xrays for Sydney's arm, a MRI scan and contrast medium for the MRI.)
Labwork on September 7th indicated that I was most likely 6-7 weeks pregnant; however, we learned by ultrasound on September 13th, that my hormone levels WERE elevated because I had been previously pregnant with TWINS last week, but only one remained this week. (The way I look at that is: Thank goodness for small miracles because I'm not sure that I could have handled TWO.)
They want to repeat the ultrasound at the end of next week - on September 24th - to make sure that things are still going well. Baby 2 measured 5 weeks/5 days old yesterday and lives inside of an abnormally large sac.
So, we'll see how things go from here... Dr. O'Donnell reports that the heartbeat is normal for this gestational age and should pick up significantly within the next week or two, and she reminds us that "heartbeat is good, indicating a viable pregnancy". (I felt a little more reassured later when I read on the internet that a heartbeat at this gestational age indicates 70-90% success rate in pregnancy.)
Doctor confirmed that the xRays and MRI/dye SHOULD be safe and not to worry, but I still remain guarded with a defense mechanism. After (next) Friday's ultrasound, when we'll be told that everything looks fine, I hope to embrace and celebrate this pregnancy - like we did last time. (A part of me still worries what my vision will do post-pregnancy, but I remind myself that LAST TIME, I was JUST FINE for over a year so, here's hoping for another run of good luck and good health.... for everyone involved!)
