Baby Wilson Ultrasound Video

We went today for a scan to make sure everything is looking good developmentally with Baby Wilson.  Everything went okay except for the baby wasn't wanting to cooperate with its position for the doctor to get a good look.  After trying twice, he finally sent me off to go eat something sweet to raise my blood sugar.  This would also make the baby's blood sugar rise, and theoretically, would make it more active to move into a different position.  Luckily it worked, and he got everything he needed.  It's crazy how high tech these ultrasounds are.  He was able to see all the fingers and toes, the knee caps, all four chambers of the heart, the spine, the brain, and he even measured the neural fluid in the back of the neck!  The baby was still dancing around like last time, so we couldn't get a super long video (only 3 seconds), but you can still see some arms moving and the heart beating!

In case you can't view this, here is the video on YouTube.  I've watched this 20 times so far, and I don't get sick of it!

Setting Sail with the Philharmonic

I don't think we have mentioned this before in previous blogs, but tomorrow Jeremy and I leave for a Mediterranean cruise!  It is a special cruise that is featuring the Philharmonic as the entertainment.  We especially like this part because it means Jeremy goes for free AND gets paid!  I am tagging along also because, let's face it, my husband is NOT going on a cruise without me!  :o)  We will be gone for almost a week, then we'll have a couple of days to relax before we come home to America.  Here is a link of our ship and here is a picture of the places we'll be traveling on the cruise...

I think it will be really fun, but I wanted to ask for prayers since I am still dealing with nausea.  I've lost around 4 pounds in my first trimester, and I'm not sure how getting on a ship will affect it!  Luckily, we don't really have any "days at sea," it's more sailing at night while we sleep.  So, I'm hoping this will help.  Jeremy and I aren't planning on any sight-seeing...just chillaxin'!  I'll try to take a lot of pictures and post when we get back!  

We Have A Dancer!

We had our 12-week appointment today, and what a wonderful experience it was!  First of all, we spent a few minutes answering questions to be put in our brand new Mutter-Kind Pass.  What is a Mutter-Kind Pass you ask?  Well, as far as I can figure, it is kind of like a passport that has all of the mother’s (mutter) medical information and prenatal care listed in case of emergencies.  You take this with you to the hospital when you go into labor, so they can see all of your check-ups and stats of your growing belly.  Then once the baby (kind) is born, its first year or so is documented in the pass as well.  Here is what it looks like:

I personally just like the happy yellow and cool plastic cover it comes with!

Then we went in to see the doctor.  She asked me how I had been feeling, and I promptly let her know that the nausea sucked.  I also mentioned that I had not been eating well because of this, and she asked me if I had lost any weight.  I figured I would really let it sink in and show her my jeans that are now falling off of me!  I think this is why I have a pooch so early because I’m losing the weight that would normally hide it!  :o) She did not seem worried and assured me that I was about to turn a corner with the sickness.  We mentioned our flight to America coming up, and she said, “So I’ll need to give you a prescription to get the shots you will need to give yourself.”  What?!  Apparently, pregnant women run a risk of developing deep vein thrombosis on really long flights, so you need to give yourself a shot in the leg the day of the flight.  AACK!  I’ve never given myself a shot, so I’m a little freaked out by this, but I guess I can deal if it means protecting my baby.  I also have to get compression stockings wherever you might get those in Austria! 

Now it was time for the ultrasound.  This was my first time to NOT have an internal ultrasound, so I was happy about that.  She placed the doo-dad on my tummy, and you could actually see a little human in there!  I saw a head, body, arms, and legs!  But the greatest thing happened next.  When she pressed down a little harder on my tummy, this kid really came to life.  I mean arms and legs were flailing about wildly!  I’ve never seen anything like it!  I think it’s safe to say that this child has definitely inherited its parents’ dancing skills.  When I saw this I couldn’t help but laugh, so the doctor lost the picture.  So, she did the same thing again, and as soon as she pressed down…boogey time!  Even the doctor was laughing by now.  So, unfortunately, since I was so giggly, we couldn’t get the best picture, but here it is nonetheless!

I had no idea they moved this much so early!  Jeremy even said, "I thought they just floated around in there."  Apparently not ours!  God is so amazing to bring such vibrant life to something not even 2 inches long.  Our baby is happy!

More Good News!

Many of our regular readers may have noticed that I haven't posted in a while, even after I had done so well in recent months regarding my New Year's resolution to be a more consistent blogger.    Part of the reason is that I've been really busy with the Philharmonic lately, since I took some time off in April and May for our trip to Paris and our big trip with Kristi's grandparents.    The other reason is that I wanted to wait until after June 10th, because I found out about a month ago that June 10th would be the date of my Jurysitzung.   Let me explain....

Each new member of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra, which is technically my employer, enters into an initial 2-year contract called 'probejahre' (loosely translated as 'probation years').   Normally, at the 18-month point of that contract, a 'jurysitzung' is organized for the new member.  This is essentially a meeting of a 26-member jury of orchestra members, who then discuss and decide whether or not to confirm the new member as an official member of the orchestra.    If the new member is not confirmed, they are either released at the end of the contract or his/her probation time is extended.

If a section so desires, they don't have to wait the full 18 months to have a hearing, although they do have to wait at least 6 months.   The trombone section decided to schedule the confirmation hearing for myself and the other new trombonist, Mark Gaal, for June 10th.   That morning, I woke up very early and paced around the apartment for a couple hours.   I was quite nervous because even though I knew the trombone section liked me, there were 20 other members of the jury that would weigh in on my merits and/or faults.   At around 10:30, I received a text message from Ian Bousfield (who is my assigned mentor in the orchestra) that read simply:  "Welcome".

I got a call from Dietmar (another Principal trombonist) about 10 minutes later, and he confirmed that both Mark and I had been officially accepted into the orchestra with no problems!    Obviously, I'm very excited, relieved, and honored to be finished with my probation, and a year early at that!  It means that I am now an official member of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra, and it also secures my place in the Vienna Philharmonic.    It's almost as exciting as winning the audition itself, because now I have some job security as well as a vote of confidence from my new colleagues.   I am really looking forward to next season without the ever-present thought of probation hanging over my head.   I think the whole trombone section is excited to close this chapter and move on to bigger and better things.  

WOO-HOO!!!!

God is good.

PS - For Mom and Dad: My name is on the website now  :)

Belly Shots (Not That Kind) & Our Anniversary!

Well, today marks the beginning of my 11^th week of pregnancy.  I can’t believe I’m so close to being done with my first trimester!  Time sure flies by when you’re tossing your cookies all day long!  :o)  Actually, since I had been dealing with such awful nausea, we broke down and contacted our pharmacy to see if they could give me anything.  My doctor is out of town till next week, and I just didn’t think I could wait that long.  They gave me medicine on Monday, and I have been SO much better.  Today is the first day where I feel like I am getting some of my strength back since I have finally been able to eat actual food…not just crackers and ginger ale!  Next week we go to my 12 week appointment, and we are really excited!  Here is a belly shot as of today…a little pooch right above my jeans, but not much to speak of yet!  Also notice my brand new hair do – I got 6 inches off of it today!

I am taking weekly belly shots for a pregnancy journal I’m filling out (called the Belly Book), so I’ll post some of these every so often to show my girth as of date.  Never thought I’d be posting pictures of my naked belly on the internet, but I guess this calls for an exception!

Since, I have basically been confined to the house for the past three weeks, I don’t have much else to blog about.  Except for last week Jeremy and I celebrated our 4^th anniversary!  We just stayed in and watched movies, but it was special nonetheless.  I could not ask for a more loving and devoted husband, and he is the light of my life!  I look forward to the next chapter of our life as we start a family!

Here is picture of us at our high school senior prom 8 years ago…we’ve come a long way, baby!