The Dreaded Elastic Waistband

I don’t know about you, but the thought of elasticized waistbands make me shudder. It may be a bit silly, but the large, expandable panels of maternity clothing were another reason I never wanted children. This by no means was a deciding factor, and had more to do with the thought of a pregnant belly in general. It just seemed so…..creepy (stretched out skin and protruding belly button = gross)!

Note this is NOT my belly..... but how freaky (and maybe a little bit amazing) is that foot print!?

It is a little less weird now that I am actually experiencing it myself, and I realize this sacrifice of my body will be totally worth it. Nonetheless, this awareness does not help the limited fashion options I am suddenly left with.

It also seems that maternity clothes are so expensive for something I will only wear for a few months. Though my mother may beg to differ, I am actually quite frugal when it comes to spending money on clothes. Don’t get me wrong…..I will splurge on certain items, but only practical things such as a pair of jeans that will make me “bootylicious”.

Elastic-paneled pants do not have that effect, which is exactly why I don’t want to drop half a paycheck on a new wardrobe. Unfortunately I will have to start buying some maternity clothes soon. My regular clothes are almost unwearable, even with the tricks I’ve been using, such as:

• The hair tie trick – In order to maximize the time I could wear my normal pants, I have taken a hair tie and looped it over my pant button, through the button hole, and back onto the button. Adds an extra inch or two to the waistband!

• Belly Bands – I purchased a couple belly bands and they were the best investment ever! It is basically an elastic panel/tube that you can pull up over your unbuttoned pants to keep them up and smooth everything out.

• Flowy Dresses - I have always loved a nice dress, and lately there has been even more reason to wear them. They are the perfect way to be comfortable, and I don't feel as slovenly with a pretty frock on.

So it looks like it is time to go shopping! I discovered an awesome second-hand store that recently opened here in Charlotte, Clothes Mentor. Unlike many consignment shops, they actually have a maternity section.....score! I bought a few items while there with some friends, but I definitely will be returning to see if they have any new stock.

At the very least, now I know a place I can sell any new clothes I purchase after little Pippa is born!

Happiness is a Pumpkin Muffin

In case you missed it, yesterday was the first day of fall. I couldn't be happier, because this is my favorite time of year (and not just because my birthday is in October). Autumn means cable sweaters, cozy scarves, comfortable boots, crisp weather, colorful leaves. It also means pumpkin everything.... can you say yummy?

Being pregnant, of course I had to satisfy the pumpkin craving that hit me yesterday. I initially thought of making bread. Then I realized I didn't have a bread pan, and I was missing a lot of the ingredients included in the recipes I was finding. Yes, these are easy fixes, but I was being lazy and wanted (almost) instant gratification.

Suddenly, I remembered the perfect recipe for pumpkin muffins. It was one my mom had shown me, which she had got from Weight Watchers. Here is it:

Easy-Peasy Pumpkin Muffins

Makes about 24 mini muffins

Ingredients

• 1 can (15 oz) of 100% pure pumpkin
• 1 box cake mix
• Spice Cake or Carrot Cake work best in my opinion, but you could also use White Cake or Angel Food
• Pumpkin Pie Spice to taste
• If using the White Cake or Angel Food, you will definitely use more spice in order to achieve the perfect flavor

Method

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Lightly grease mini muffin tin
• Mix everything together in a large bowl
• Scoop mixture into muffin tin
• Bake for approximately 12-15 minutes
• Enjoy!

Pretty simple, is it not? Pippa was certainly happy with them :)

They are super delicious, and stay moist for up to a week. They also freeze really well!

These little muffins are surprisingly healthy, too. Pumpkin has a ton of fiber in it, and the cake mix isn't too bad when you don't add all the oil and eggs. I was even thinking for the future mixing up my own "cake" mix using whole wheat flour. It would be super easy to make a batch of just the dry ingredients, pre-portion it, and keep it in my pantry for the next time a craving hits.

If you try out this recipe, let me know what you think!

What Causes Down Syndrome?

One of the foremost questions in my mind when I first found out my baby’s diagnosis was, “How did this happen? Was it something I did?"

I know my boyfriend was thinking similar thoughts, and blaming himself since he has a cousin with Down syndrome. In fact, when the doctor was initially telling us about all the screening tests offered, I wasn’t quite sure I wanted any performed. My boyfriend insisted, however, since my insurance covered the tests and he didn’t have much faith in his genetic line. This concern was despite the doctor’s opinion that his cousin was a distant enough relation that it was highly unlikely the Down syndrome would be inherited.

 

Three Types of Down Syndrome 

 

What I didn’t know at the time, and what wasn’t explained until after I learned the diagnosis, was that there are actually three types of Down syndrome, or Trisomy 21: Nondisjunction, which accounts for approximately 95% of all cases; Mosaicism, which accounts for 2-3% of cases; and Translocation, which accounts for the remaining cases and is the only inheritable type. My little girl, like the majority of those with Down syndrome, has Nondisjunction Trisomy 21. The genetic counselor briefly explained to me that this is due to the failure of chromosome 21 to separate which results in 3 copies in the affected individual.

 

It wasn’t until I got back home and fired up Google (or maybe it was Bing), that I started to truly understand how this occurred. I needed to have answers, because I couldn’t help but blame myself for causing my daughter’s Down syndrome. After all, I had done quite a bit of drinking between my sister’s bachelorette party and wedding before I realized I was pregnant. I had convinced myself that this is what caused my baby girl’s extra 21st chromosome. It may sound strange, but somehow it was easier to take the blame instead of just admitting that things beyond my control will just happen. What I learned made me realize that nothing I did caused the Down syndrome; it was then I began to truly accept the diagnosis.

  

Cause of Nondisjunction Trisomy 21

 

(This is the part of the post that seriously starts to nerd-out, so bear with me).

 

Rather than try to narrate the entire process which results in Down syndrome, I created a few diagrams based on my research. I tried to keep it as simple as possible, because most of us took biology a loooooong time ago (and probably don’t remember much about the following processes). Anyway, the following 3 diagrams depict how reproductive cells (sperm and ova) are formed. The first shows the normal division of the cells, and the next two show division of cells with nondisjunction (which causes Down syndrome).

 

You will see that the determination of Trisomy 21 occurs before fertilization. Researchers have yet been able to determine why this happens, although there is a link with maternal age. Oh, and just in case you forgot, a human should have 46 chromosomes total, 23 from each parent.

Here is how sperm/egg cells are normally produced (colored circles are the cells, and the number inside represents the total number of chromosomes):



It isn't really important for the purposes of this explanation, but notice that in the normal production of sperm cells, 4 gametes (sperm) are produced from the initial parent cell. This is in contrast to ova production, in which only 1 gamete (ovum) and 3 polar bodies (basically junk material) are produced from the parent cell.

These next two diagrams show the production of sperm/egg cells which will result in Down syndrome:



In the above representation, all of the resulting gametes are affected. However, only the ones with the extra chromosomes (24) are likely to produce a viable pregnancy. The child will be affected with Down syndrome.




In the above representation, half of the resulting gametes are affected. Again, only the ones with the extra chromosomes (24) are likely to produce a viable pregnancy and the child will be affected with Down syndrome.



Understand now?

A couple notes I would like to add.... Nondisjunction occurs 85-90% of the time during oogenesis, which means that the majority of Trisomy 21 cases are due to an extra chromosome from the mother. Also, I mentioned below the pictures that the lack of a chromosome would not likely produce a sustainable pregnancy. This is true in regard to the 21st chromosome. However, a pregnancy can be carried full term if the nondisjunction occurs to the 18th chromosome and the gamete with the missing chromosome is fertilized. This is called Turner's syndrome.

So what about the other types of Down syndrome?

Mosaicism occurs after fertilization when the cells begin to divide and multiply. Some of the cell divide normally, and some of them don’t. This results in an individual having some cells with the normal 46 chromosomes, and some with an extra copy of the 21st chromosome.

Translocation, as I mentioned earlier, was the only inheritable type of Down syndrome (although it can occur sporadically as well). When it is inherited, a parent carries a translocated chromosome; in the case of Down syndrome this means one of the chromosomes from the 21st pair is attached to another chromosome, usually the 14th. Even though the chromosome is in the wrong spot, the parent still has the correct number of chromosomes and therefore does not have Down syndrome. However, during meiosis this translocated 21st chromosome is copied along with the 14th into the gamete, which results in Down syndrome. The individual will have a normal pair of the 21st chromosome, and third copy attached to chromosome 14.

I also will point out that all types of Down syndrome affect an individual the same way, and only a genetic test can positively identify which type an individual has.

Phew…. I hope all that makes sense! I apologize for the technical nature of this post, but I wanted to share with those that were curious how Down syndrome actually occurs. Also, if you know someone with Down syndrome or who is about to become a parent of a child with Down syndrome, you will now have some knowledge of the causes.

A Short Story

Someone posted this story on a Facebook group for parents of children with Down syndrome, and I had to share it on here. I hope you all enjoy!

 

GOD CHOOSES A MOM FOR A DISABLED CHILD

by Erma Bombeck

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures, and a couple by habit. This year, nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of disabled children. Did you ever wonder how mothers of disabled children are chosen ?

Somehow, I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger.

“Armstrong, Beth; son; patron saint, Matthew.”

“Forrester, Marjorie; daughter; patron saint, Cecelia.”

“Rudledge, Carrie; twins; patron saint… give her Gerard. He’s used to profanity.”

Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles, “Give her a disabled child.”

The angel is curious. “Why this one, God ? She’s so happy.”

“Exactly,” smiles God.

“Could I give a disabled child a mother who does not know laughter ? That would be cruel.”

“But has she patience ?” asks the angel.

“I don’t want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wears off, she’ll handle it. I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and Independence. She’ll have to teach the child to live in her world and that’s not going to be easy.”

“But, Lord, I don’t think she even believes in you.”

God smiles. “No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness.”

The angel gasps, “Selfishness ? Is that a virtue ?”

God nods. “If she can’t separate herself from the child occasionally, she’ll never survive. Yes, there is a woman I will bless with a child less then perfect. She doesn’t realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a ‘spoken word.’ She will never consider a ‘step’ ordinary. When her child says ‘Momma’ for the first time, she will be present at a miracle and know it ! When she describes a tree or a sunset to her child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations.

I will permit her to see clearly the things I see — ignorance, cruelty, prejudice — and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side.”

“And what about her patron saint ?” asks the angel, his pen poised in midair.

God smiles. ” A mirror will suffice.”

Heart of the Matter

Walking into my most recent doctor’s appointment all I could think was, “What if he sees something wrong? Will my baby need to have open heart surgery? Will she be okay….? Will her heart be strong enough for her to make it full-term and through delivery?”

Cause for Concern

Now I wasn’t just being crazy and worrying for no reason. After finding out my daughter’s diagnosis, I started looking up all the information I could as what it (Down syndrome) would actually mean for her life. Sadly, most of what I knew about Down syndrome is what I learned from TV shows. I knew certain physical characteristics such as upward slanted eyes and shorter statures, and of course I was aware of the developmental delays. The more I read, the more concerned I became. Not about the challenges of raising a child with DS, but about her health in general.

One of the more serious issues she could possibly face is a heart defect. Approximately 50% of all children with Down syndrome have some type of heart problem, the most common being an AV canal defect (atrioventrucular septal defect). This is basically a hole in the heart between two of the chambers, an atria and a ventricle. Holes can occur in other places within the heart as well, and each is termed differently (ASD, or atrial septal defects; VSD, or ventricular septal defect; and PSD, or patent ductus arteriosus). The treatment depends on the size of the hole. Children may need surgery, or if the defect is minor then it is monitored as the hole may close on its own.

Since my doctors are well aware of the possible congenital heart problems associated with Down syndrome, they are doing all they can to determine prenatally if there are any complications. Around 16 weeks, I had an appointment for a Level 2 ultrasound, where they looked at all my baby’s anatomy in detail to ensure everything is developing as it should be. More importantly they were looking at the heart for any indications of problems. As I revealed in the opening sentence of this post, I can’t even begin to describe how nervous I was walking into that appointment. I knew so much of my daughter’s future could be based on what the doctor saw that day.

The Appointment

So there I was, laying on the table with my shirt pulled up. The technician came in and squeezed a blob of blue goo onto my little bump. Within seconds, I saw my little peanut up on the screen. I was simply amazed at the sight and was filled with “warm fuzzies". I tried my best to keep those feelings and not let my nervousness overtake me as she started the diagnostic portion of the ultrasound. She did some of the same wiggling, clicking, and measuring that she did at my 12 week appointment, but this time her reactions were much more what I had been hoping for. The arms and legs were proportionally as they should be. There were ten fingers and ten toes. There were two itty bitty kidneys. The facial structure was developing normally. Then she zoomed in for a look at my little girl’s heart, and I could see the tiny muscle pumping away. It looked beautiful to me, but of course I had no idea what a defect would look like.

I glanced at the technician, but she had a poker face this time and I could not gauge by her reaction what she was seeing. She gently excused herself, and momentarily returned with the doctor. He scooted the stool over to the table where I was laying and picked up the little wand that determined so much of the future. The wiggling commenced and soon he was zoomed in on the heart. He clicked a couple times, froze the picture, and began to explain what was on the screen. The doctor pointed out the valves in the heart, and noted that they fully touched each other during this point of the heart beat (which the image was paused on). That was a great thing!!

 



Pippa at 16 weeks

 Sigh of Relief

Based on the ultrasound, the chances of a major heart defect are greatly reduced. The doctor reminded me that the heart is still quite small, and they weren’t able to see everything yet. I will have one of these detailed ultrasounds at every appointment (about once a month), and around 24 weeks the doctor will perform a fetal echo in order to listen for any murmurs that may not be visible on the ultrasound. Although there is still a possibility that my baby’s heart will have an issue, I know I will be much less nervous walking into these future appointments. The bright side to all these appointments is that I have the opportunuity to see my little nugget every time!

Fat or Pregnant?

Have you ever seen a woman and wondered to yourself if she was pregnant, or just overweight? If it is a stranger, no big deal, but if it is someone you know it can make the situation awkward. Although you would love to congratulate her if she was indeed pregnant, it would be an embarrassing situation for both if she had just been eating too many Ben & Jerry’s pints.

The Guessing Game

I bring this up because until recently my manager was the only person at work I told about my pregnancy, and that was just because of the time I was taking off for doctor’s appointments. As my belly started to grow and my waistline began to fill out, I started to wonder if anyone in the office noticed. I actually found it quite amusing to think of someone’s internal dialogue.

I imagined it going something like this, “Man, Meghan is starting to put on a little weight……she needs to lay off the candy bars! Or wait…..could that be a baby bump? Huh…. She isn’t married so that would be so scandalous!”

Maybe it is a bit of a stretch and perhaps self-centered to think that my coworkers would really care that much about my business, but I know how much everyone loves gossip. Either way, it gave me entertainment to keep my little growing nugget a secret.


My baby bump

Interestingly enough, I have only put on a total of about 5 pounds so far. Looking in the mirror, I think it looks like much more. I guess it is the way my uterus is expanding, therefore squishing other internal organs to the side to make room for itself. Especially during the first 12-16 weeks I had a soft and doughy pot belly instead of a nice and hard bump. It was actually quite frustrating not being able to button my pants even though the numbers on the scale had barely moved…. I felt so fat! Now that my belly is firming up I actually feel more pregnant, and surprisingly that is a very good thing.

Why My Daughter Will Have a Fluffy Bum

Sometime last year, a coworker of mine told me how he and his wife recently decided to start cloth diapering their three month old son. Immediately I thought of the white square cloths all folded and pinned, and thought this was ridiculous way to diaper a child in this day and age. My colleague surely saw the look of surprise and confusion on my face, because he promptly began to defend the decision.

He told me the main reason was due to a persistent diaper rash that wouldn’t heal, no matter what remedy was tried. They settled on trying cloth diapers after exploring the options and talking with fellow parents. He also began to tell me all about the “modern” styles of cloths diapers. I only half listened since I had no intention of ever needing that information, but I did hear enough to learn that cloth diapers aren’t what they used to be. That and cloth diapers give his son a fluffy bum.

Fast forward to now.....and suddenly I am in my coworker’s position and explaining my decision to cloth diaper my little girl on the way. As I progressed in my pregnancy and started to think of all the upcoming decisions I would have to make about parenting (there are so many!), I recalled the conversation between my coworker and I. Without hesitation I fired up the Google search engine to see if cloth diapers were as great as he made them sound. Anyone that knows me can tell you that I will research the heck out of anything before I make a decision; I am simply not comfortable without some good, hard empirical evidence. What I found was both surprising and convincing. For me it came to three major reasons, which I will briefly touch on.

 

 Number 1: Cost Savings.

Anyone who has children (and even those that don’t) know children are expensive. One of the major expenses in the first couple years of life are diapers. Of course there are a few variables to consider, but based on the information I found $2,000 is a conservative average for money spent on diapers from birth to potty training.
Compare that to cloth diapers. The cheapest option will cost you about $250, and the most expensive option can run about $800. You should also figure the cost of washing all these diapers, which I have seen calculated around $400. Right off the bat you can see a see a cost savings of anywhere from $750 to $1,350!

It should also be considered that well taken care of cloth diapers have great resale value. Depending on the type of cloth diaper and the condition, they can be sold for 50-75% of the original price. Again being conservative, that would be an additional $125 to $400 savings. On the other hand, if you have a second child then you already would have all the diapers you need……that would be an instant $2000 savings!

Number 2: Chemicals in Disposables.

I wouldn’t consider myself hippie by any means, but something about this pregnancy has made me especially conscious of all the chemicals we are exposed to in everyday life. I have become a lot more interested in natural options and any alternatives to super-processed and mass produced items. As far as disposable diapers go, I had never thought much about the chemicals they contain or those that were used to manufacture them. I am not trying to imply that anything about them is dangerous, only that there is a lot of stuff I can’t pronounce that goes into them.

It is not uncommon for parents to being changing their little one’s diaper and find a whitish goo everywhere, only to realize it is the absorbent gel from the diaper. You know, the same type of gel that come inside those little packets in shoeboxes that say “DO NOT EAT”. (Side note: Remember that episode of Seinfeld where Kramer dropped one of those silica gel packets in the salsa at the clothing store?) Anyway, I don’t particularly like the idea of something like that being in contact with my baby girl’s skin.

 

Number 3: The Environment.

Environmental reasons can partly be related to above. I touched on mass production and the chemicals used in diapers, and I can only assume the processes used to make disposables cause some waste and pollution. I am not going to get into too much detail on this topic, as I really haven’t looked up the actual byproducts or such of diaper-making production. Therefore anything I say is pure speculation, but it seems like a reasonable assumption.

What is not a not an assumption, however, are the millions of diapers sitting in landfills. Since the outer liner is made of plastic, it will take a disposable at least 500 years to decompose. Considering all the babies getting changed every minute, that’s a lot poop! (Well, I guess the poop itself would biodegrade, so really it’s just a lot of garbage). Either way, I do my best to reduce my footprint and keep our earth clean. Choosing cloth diapers is just another way of doing so.

Now believe me when I say I am aware that cloth diapers are a little more work and effort. I understand that poop is stinky and messy, and that rinsing off a cloth diaper isn’t exactly a picnic. That doesn’t bother me though, because I realize that sometimes the best choices may not necessarily be the most convenient. A simple metaphor: Just because stopping at McDonald’s for dinner is quick and easy and doesn’t make a mess of your kitchen, it doesn’t make it better than a nice home-cooked meal.

On that note (comparing poop to food), I think I’ve said enough until the next time.