A few things:

First: I'll be having my husband who has never drawn blood, draw my blood. I have to have my natural killer cells tested every 3-4 weeks so they can determine how well the IVIg infusions are working and when I need another one. Dr. Z wants the test done in a special lab out of Chicago. That means I have to find a lab that will draw the blood and ship it for me or give it to me to ship. I have literally called every lab within an hour radius and no one... I mean no one is willing to do that. And when I say no one, trust me on this...I've called, I've asked, I've begged...no luck. I guess it's a liability thing or something. The local hospital used to ship blood for you but stopped doing it last year. So I have had to drive over 3 hours each way to have my stupid blood drawn at Dr. Z's or at the infusion center. I done this numerous times and I'm beyond sick of the drive. So... since my husband is so wonderful at all of the shots including the dreadful PIO shots I thought it would be reasonable to consider him as a blood sucker lab attendant. It's just a needle like the shots but instead of inserting medicine you’re taking out some blood. Big deal right? Okay- so J is freaking out and sure he'll seriously damage me in someway. I'm actually not nervous at all. I figure the worst that can happen, will be blood spurting all over the place. Dr. Z sent me all of the supplies so that we can do it on our own and we will be doing this in two weeks. Wish us luck. I have considered knocking on one of my neighbors doors (she's a nurse) and asking her to do it. I've met her once so it might be awkward. I've also considered bribing an actual lab attendant to meet me in the back alley for $20 to take my blood. What would you do? I am NOT driving over 6 hours total for a few vials of blood... I'll do it myself if I have to. I think J should get a special credential after this.

Second: I have a few neighbors that have wanted to be friends. I've written about them before...it's been a while though. They both have babies. They are both annoying and drive me crazy. One in particular… who I call smoker chick...b/c she smoked through all 3 of her pregnancies makes me hide in my house. A few past examples of smoker chick are when she sobbed to me about how devestated she was her last baby ended up as a girl. BOO HOO!!! She also told me she doesn’t have to jog like I do b/c she's naturally skinny... (Since the only reason one must jog is too lose weight ...not b/c they enjoy it or just want to be healthy) and that she has always gone home from the hospital in her pre-pregnancy size 2 jeans. UGH!!!! How I want to tell her that I’m the one that is naturally skinny since I don’t puff on a cigarette every 5 mins or smoke crack… Okay- now I’m just being mean. Anyways, I peek through the windows before working in the front yard. If she's out there I wait until she's gone. She the one that asks every time she sees me if I'm still trying, if I'm pregnant, etc.... ugh!!!! She's never heard of the word subtle. In fact last week she saw me and came over...and asked where I've been since she hasn't seen me. She then proceeded to ask one again if we were still trying... I couldn't stand it and before thinking I blurted out that yes, in fact I was expecting. I regretted it immediately b/c I didn't plan to tell anyone except some family before 3 months. Anyway- too late...she knows and soon the whole neighborhood will know. So we were talking and she starts going into detail about her pregnancies. She tells me....( shitting you not)...that she induced all three of her pregnancies at 36 or 37 weeks by drinking a cup of castor oil and rolling around on the floor. I'm sure my mouth dropped open. She quickly went on to say that many women do this when they feel ready. She later added that if I'd like any advice to come over and she'd be happy to share.

Third: Know how I mentioned in my last post that I felt like I was on speed. I had a really fast heart rate, I was shaky and I was losing weight. Well- almost all of you were right. My thyroid crashed. As in went to almost zero. So I'm now off all of my thyroid medication temporarily and will have my TSH tested every 2 weeks. Somehow we need to keep my level near 2. I had a level close to 5 at the beginning of my pregnancy. I was put on 100mcg of Synthroid and obviously that was way too much. I'm starting to feel a little better but still feel the racing heart beat and I get winded without doing anything.

Fourth: My next u/s is in two weeks from tomorrow (April 10th) and I'll be having my NT test on April 23rd. My NT scan will be with a high risk OB/GYN. This will be the doctor I'm switching to. He doesn't see anyone during their 1st trimester so I'll go exclusively to him after the NT scan. I really hope I like him or I'll be back to square one. He's supposed to be really good. People travel quite a ways to see him. He has handled many triplets, several sets of quads and two cases of quints. He has pregnant patients that have lupus, cancer and other serious conditions. He's also a neonatal guy so he can be there if there is a problem after the baby is born. Hopefully I'll be his easiest case ever and it'll just be nice to know he can handle anything, should it pop up.

and that’s all folks....