Breathing easier

The anatomy scan was last week and this week I just feel so much better, less anxious for sure. Less anxiety means better sleep so hooray for that.

The doctor's name was Dr. Bundy. As in Al. Cue the theme song to the old television show, Married with Children. I had a few funny jokes I thought about cracking but smirked at Greg instead and kept them to myself, at least until the Dr. left the room. I am sure he has heard his fair share of jokes anyway and did not need my commentary.

I was anxious to get started with the highlight of the visit anyway, seeing our little someone and finding out if everything looked okay. Though I was slightly uncomfortable on my back, I was more interested in what we saw on the screen than my discomfort. Right away, two little feet appeared. The doctor talked us through the whole thing and told us all the measurements he was taking. The baby appeared to be sucking a thumb, just like big sister Madison. The heart had both ventricles, the umbilical cord was working as it should. The spine and bones were all visible. The hemispheres of the brain were intact.

It is absolutely breath taking. There on the screen in front of me is this little person, this little life that my husband and I created. He missed the anatomy scan with Madison because he was at the 2010 olympics so I think it was even more magical for him. The doctor left the room, we made a few jokes and I shifted positions. The doctor returned and rechecked all his measurements. Turns out the baby is measuring a bit small for the age but not enough to warrant concern or push the due date back. The baby measured a few days off from the due date, but less than a week, which is within the margin of error anyways.. My own ob was not particularly concerned and recommended a follow-up ultra sound around seven months.

I am surprisingly not worried. Madison was a few days late. I was sick at the beginning of this pregnancy for a long time. Greg and I are smallish people ourselves. And all the major things are present and looking good, even if they are small. As my mom would say, "good things come in small packages."

The elusive top

I have been on the search for a professional looking, interview worthy maternity dress shirt. My suit jacket will no longer button over the baby, so I will be wearing just a pair of black pants and a dressy shirt. I thought that procuring this top would be relatively easy.

Off I treked to several local maternity clothing stores. One large chain store that has a maternity department offered only t shirts and tank tops and other summery, very casual clothing. Sure the jeans fit nicely, but no work appropriate tops were to be had. At motherhood maternity, the two quasi acceptable shirts were actually quite hideous. Prints and empire waists. I would not wear the particular prints or the style of shirt pre-pregnancy so I certainly am not going to wear it now. I even checked the clearance section because I was hoping to find a long sleeved shirt since it is still chilly here. I flipped through racks of several ugly sweaters but came up empty handed. My last stop was the outlet mall. I was disappointed to learn that the stores there do not carry maternity clothes and the one maternity store that was there was replica of the motherhood store I had already visited. Not to mention the fact that it reeked of body odor. Most pregnant women I know have a heightened sense of smell. Body odor is gross anyway and even worse when you are pregnant.

I did not have enough time to order from an online maternity store. And I get frustrated with that too. Many of the models on some of those websites do not even look pregnant. I understand that they are models, but at least strap on one of those fake belly things if you are modeling maternity clothes.

So the options were go to a regular store and try on a few shirts in a bigger size or try to work with what I had at home. Disenchanted with my shopping experiences, I decided to try on some of my clothes at home. I found a button down shirt that I bought during my first pregnancy that fits decently. It is not a maternity shirt but is cut a little on the lose side and falls a little longer on me. It will be weird to interview in something other than my well fitting black suit, but hopefully my qualifications and personal skills outshine any wardrobe blunders.