Itchy, Scratchy, & Conflicted

So we had our 12 week appointment today. At 13 weeks 2 days. We got to hear the heartbeat, in about the 150's. My blood pressure was fine and I think I gained 2 lbs, but the nurse said it was the same as last time. Regardless, my thighs are rubbing together and that's something new so there's got to be some new weight somewhere. Good news, it's unlikely that I have PUPPS, but I'm so itchy I could scratch my skin off sometimes. Cortizone cream, here I come.
Now the great debate is on in my head, to which a decision must be made before 10:00ish tomorrow morning. I asked at the appointment today about the nuchal translucency screening (basically an ultrasound and blood test to check for indicators of Down's Syndrome and other mental retardation conditions). Well apparantly I should have asked about this at our 8 week appointment, b/c I'm near the ceiling of the timeframe when they do this test. They only allow it until 13w6d. I am 13w2d, I'm telling you. Well b/c we measured 2 days ahead at our last ultrasound, we're considered 13w4d. So this means I have 2 days to get in for this test if I want it. Originally I did. After talking with some of my already-a-mommy friends, I'm on the fence.
It seems unnecessary b/c we're young, have no family history, and no other predisposing factors. What an overuse of my health insurance. But if there is anything wrong, it'd be nice to know and prepare. We (at least I) are committed to going forward no matters what the results. And this is not a do or die time. We have another option to find this information out at the Quad Screen when I'm approximately 20 weeks.
So to save myself a spot and feeling kind of put on the spot I made the appointment for tomorrow at 12:30. The nurse scheduling me/us was so kind and gave me the out if I wanted to cancel, which I still might. Jim can't attend due to lunch plans with the gang and a meeting at 1:30. So now my dilemmia is out there. I've had two very convincing people advise me to do different things. Consensus people, this is what I'm looking for!
One good thing that I've seen as a possibility is being able to find out the gender this early on. That would rock- I won't deny it! I totally want to know and begin planning for our little guy or gal. But do I want to possibly find out the gender of our first child when Jim can't be there? Not really.
This is a hard decision. I need Jim to weigh in for final approval and then I'll either be at the doctor's or having a delish lunch with my friends tomorrow at 12:30. You'll just have to wait and see. And I promise to keep working on figuring out how to add pictures.

Word of the Day

Enceinte (adj)
1) Pregnant, with child
2) me

So this is the word out on the streets. Maybe I had something to do with this rumor, maybe I didn't. Actually everyone should know now. We've been busy doling out our secret to our co-workers and extended family for the last few days. It's been exciting and nerve-racking for me at least. I'm tired of keeping the secret and I don't want it to be a secret anymore.
We have another appointment next Tuesday and if everything goes well we should hear the heartbeat again and that will be such a relief. My symptoms have been gradually reducing, though some are sticking around (burping excessively and some soreness). No cravings yet, just in love with food, but when has that not been true for me?
My next task is to figure this format out a little better and hopefully post some belly pictures that we've been taking for the last few weeks. I'm trying to figure out who will actually be reading this and thus how much to share and where the TMI line will exist.

The path to hell...

is paved with good intentions.
So it has come to my attention that there are some people out there who would like some kind of website where they can go to get some information about the goings-on of our lives.
As Jim has said, "Once you start it, you must maintain it." We'll see how that goes. I had a very failed attempt on MySpace once and no desire to return.
My plan for this space is to share our various projects in life (mainly house related, but there's another project due in December that will most certainly get discussed).
Let the chaos begin.