Week 18

Baby's now the size of a sweet potato!
Baby's become amazingly mobile (compared to you, at least), passing the hours yawning, hiccupping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking, and swallowing. And baby is finally big enough that you'll soon be able to feel her movements.

I'm not sure I can do this...

I might go stay with my mom for a few days. L decided that he was going to have a "sleepover" at a friend's new house. Sleepover, of course, means that he and all his friends are going to get super-drunk and stay up all night playing beer pong. Yes, L is 28 years old. No, he does not have a job. No, he hasn't paid a single bill in over 4 months. I totally understand that he needs time to de-stress and relax.

When he left tonight around 7, he said he would call me before bed. I assumed that he meant he would call me around my bedtime, which is 10:30 or so. No. 10:30 comes and goes - no call. So I called him. No answer. Paged him. No call back. Texted him. Nothing.

Now, maybe it's the hormones, but I am PG. With twins. If I call my fucking husband, he should call me back within a relatively short time. What if something was wrong? 2 hours and many texts later, he finally called me back. And was an asshole. "What do you want?" "You said you would call me." "It's not bedtime yet." Um, it's almost midnight. It is actually past my bedtime. "Oh, I didn't realize it was that late."

I mean that makes sense - I'm sure he was so busy playing beer pong he couldn't possibly check his phone for 2 hours. I said I guess if I have an emergency and have to go to the hospital, I should call my mom.

"Yep."

Hell fucking no. If I wasn't so tired right now, I would be gone. His friends and drinking are so important, he can just concentrate on them - he shouldn't have to worry about me distracting him from having fun.

Thanks a lot, Humana

I recently got my standard "A claim has been processed" email from Humana. I went to the website and was clicking through all of the recent claims. I got to the one for my NT scan, and it said I owed $120.

Now, before I even saw my OB - back when I was very newly PG - I called my insurance company to double-check my maternity coverage. I was told that my OB was in-network, and that, b/c I had met my max OOP, everything would be covered 100%. Which is amazing.

Well, my OB doesn't do Level II u/s's in his office. He writes a Rx, and sends me to a nearby MFM center. Apparently, the group of doctors who work for the MFM center are out-of-network. That means that I now have to meet my OOP deductible which is another $800. That would have been nice to know at the beginning. The woman I spoke to on the phone from Humana was actually very nice, and said she would submit my claim for review (which was quickly rejected, BTW). I guess I'll have to suck it up and pay the $240 - I've had another u/s at the MFM center since my NT scan.

But from now on, all of my u/s's will be at another local hospital, rather than right next door to my OB's office. Lovely.

Battle of Ohio

The Bengals played the Cleveland Browns today. Once again, the offense didn't realize the game had started until there were only 6 minutes left in the 4th quarter.

But, it all worked out in the end for another week. Nice scramble, Carson; Shane, thanks for coming through when it counted.

Brad St. Louis - you should be fired.

The Bengals are now 3-1 and tied for 1st place in the AFC North. Although, I'm beginning to think being a Bengals fan is hazardous; all that stress isn't good for anyone.

Who-dey!

Week 17

Baby's now the size of an onion!
Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. His umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes now feature one-of-a-kind prints.

Scare FAIL

I went to my first haunted house of the season tonight and...it was awful. I went with L and some friends to Junction Nightmare in West Chester, Ohio. I read the reviews of it online and they were all so, so good. I'm guessing that someone who works there posted all of them. It was ranked one of the best in the Greater Cincinnati area.

The first half of it was supposed to be old London circa Jack the Ripper. Seriously, it was ridiculous. The actors looked ridiculous, and they didn't even hide well. The second half was "Killer Klowns" or some shit. Again, everyone looked stupid rather than scary. The special effects were literally non-existent throughout the whole thing. We could have made it through the whole thing in about 10 minutes, if the actors hadn't been turning you in the wrong direction. There were a number of maze sections, and even when we knew where to go, people would block you. At one point, we all just stood in front of this little clown-girl waiting for her to let us by. I get she finally got fed up and let us through.

Hopefully the one next weekend will be better, b/c I really love haunted houses. I can't take another disappointment like that. Especially considering it took 30 minutes and $15 to get there.

I want my money back. :(

Baby names

Ever since I found out I was PG, I have had 2 names in mind - Noah Logan or Nora LeeAnne. Then when it was twins, for some reason I really thought it was 2 boys. So it became Noah Logan and Elijah John.

Fast forward to yesterday, and I'm having one of each. Naturally, I immediately thought to name them Noah and Nora. But, today on thebump.com, everyone was telling me the names sound too similar. Oh, they all loooove both names, but they sound way too much alike. Thanks, ladies, I also love them both. And unfortunately, these will likely be my only 2 children.

So, beloved readers - should I dismiss all the internet naysayers, and name them Noah and Nora as originally planned? Or should I change Noah to Eli? Even if you don't normally comment, I'd appreciate your input on this particular post.

OB appointment

I saw my OB yesterday after my u/s. It was one of the OB's in the practice that I'd never met - Dr. G. - and she was very nice. She said everything looks "perfect"; she pointed out on the report under "Abnormal" where it said "none." That is just such a wonderful feeling.

I asked her about the blood test for the quad screen, and she said the NT scan tells you at about 78% what your risk is for certain birth defects. Apparently, the blood test only adds an additional 2% to that, which was very surprising. Of course, I wouldn't terminate regardless so I opted not to do it. Then I asked her when I would start cervical length checks. She was like, "Didn't they do that today?" Um, no, or I wouldn't have asked. I actually asked the u/s tech if she would do one, and she said they don't do them unless the doctor specifically orders it. Dr. G. said that was crap, and the lady should have known better. Well, fuck. I'm glad I asked, b/c Dr. G. scheduled me for one at my next OB appt. in 2 weeks.

I also asked about my weight gain; I was up another pound from the my appt. 1.5 weeks before. She said it's fine, that I looked good (!), and not to worry about it. Okay, I won't worry about it...until the next time I have to get on the scale. :) She also said that my fundal height is the size of someone 21 weeks with a singleton. Wow, and I don't even really feel like I look PG. I guess my belly really is getting bigger.

Finally, Dr. G. told me that they really don't like women to carry twins past 38 weeks. Normally, that wouldn't be an issue, but she said that since I'm so tall, and because I have "the perfect build to carry twins" ::swoon::, there is a chance I might end up being induced. I didn't mention to her that I'd really like to have these twins naturally. We can save that talk until later. Honestly, I couldn't believe I was even discussing delivering my twins. Surreal.

All in all, a very good appointment. My favorite kind.