Bye Bye, First Tri!

Today is my LAST day in the first trimester! Holy Cow! I can't believe it. Seriously. We are so, so blessed and so lucky to be where we are. I pray every day that we continue to have a smooth, uneventful pregnancy.

So, like I posted before (and failed to come back and follow up with) our NT Scan was last Thursday. Every thing looked great, but we had to wait on the "official report" to come in. Today, my preliminary results came (still waiting on the blood panel). Baby's NT measurement (the amount of fluid in the spinal column looked great, (s)he had great nasal structure (poor nasal structure can be a soft marker for some trisomy's) and was measuring 4 days ahead, like always.

Here's a first peek at our Baby looking like something other than a blob!

Profile shot! Check out that big belly!

Leggies and a thumbs up from Baby (except it's not their thumb...it's their middle finger-so klassy Baby)!

Baby, chilling with his/her arms tucked behind his/her head!

If you click on the images, you can see them full size.

And now for the weekly survey, which I REALLY need to be better about doing.

How far along? 13 Weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: Down another 2 lbs last week!
Maternity clothes? Nope, still rocking the Bella
Sleep: I love it. I'm finally sleeping through the night and past 6 AM on a regular basis.
Best moment this week: It was last week, but since I didn't post this for Week 12, I'll post it here! At my OB appt last week, we got to hear Baby on the doppler! I kept feeling what I thought was the start of thumps or kicks, but was almost sure it was too early. I felt this tiny bump where Baby's legs usually are and heard a "thump" on the doppler and my OB said "Baby's kickin!" I knew I wasn't crazy! Tonight, I was laying down taking a nap (again) and felt the same thing, just stronger! I know the kicks will stay sporadic for a few more weeks, so for now, I'll cherish the small amounts of movement I do feel!
Movement: See above!
Food cravings: Nausea came back full force this week, so I am still sticking with bland foods or fruit. I'm breezing through fruit like you wouldn't believe.
Gender: EVERYONE is saying Girl. Ben is holding firm to Boy. I am somewhere in the middle.
Labor Signs: No, thank you.
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: NOTHING this week. I am so thankful to be pregnant and wouldn't trade it for anything.
What I am looking forward to: Finding out what Baby is-possibly next week!
Weekly Wisdom: Appreciate every moment. I have had four friends lose babies this summer past the 20 week mark and it's heartbreaking. Appreciate the nausea, the back pain-everything.
Milestones: Right now, every day is a milestone. I am more pregnant than I have ever been, so everyday is a huge deal. Our goal is 40 weeks, 37 at the earliest, so every day is one day closer to our goal. (Same as last week, but still how I feel)

What's Baby up to?

Baby is forming teeth and vocal cords... savor this, their non-functional phase. Baby is approaching normal proportions, with a head now only one third the size of the body. Intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to Baby's tummy. (Much more convenient.)



Hugs&Kisses

13w2d

Better Late Than Never....

Sorry for the lack of updates. Sleep takes precedence over everything lately!

As far as Baby goes- he's great! Heart rate was good at the NT Scan and at our appointment Friday. I PROMISE I will post a more complete update this afternoon!

But for right now, there are children and families who are waiting on me to come see them, so off to work I go!


Hugs&Kisses

12w5d

Prayer Requests

This will be a short post.

-Please keep us in your prayers tomorrow. Our NT Scan and 12 week appt are both tomorrow and I am increasingly nervous. A missed miscarriage really robs the innocence of pregnancy. I'm struggling right now with how angry/hurt/sad/scared/upset I can get over this sometimes. All we want is a healthy baby. I feel like tomorrow is a huge hurtle for us. We appreciate any prayers you have.

***Update: My appt got moved to freaking Thursday now. :( My patience is being tested and I don't like it.

-I know three girls who lost their daughters recently, two at 23 1/2 weeks, one at full term. I can't imagine what these ladies and their families went through and will continue to sort through for the rest of their lives. No one should ever lose a child, it's so unfair. Please keep them in your prayers in the upcoming weeks.


That's it for right now. Like I said, our NT Scan is tomorrow and we will see my OB right after. All I want to see is that little heart beat pop up on the US screen. Then I'll be able to breathe.

If you have a prayer request, add it to the comments :)


Hugs&Kisses

11w6d

Our BFP Story

No, I still have not taken a Belly Pic for this week. I honestly planned on taking one Wednesday, but instead got filthy at work (I work with special needs/developmentally delayed infants, babies and toddlers) and had no desire to have my picture taken. I'll try to get on that today.

But anyway, our BFP story. I've been meaning to post this for...oh, I don't know...7 weeks, haha. You always have this scenario in your head about getting that positive test and all the sweet ways you will tell your husband. For others, it likely works out the wonderful, well planned out way the have been dreaming of. For me and Ben...not so much. Enjoy our romantic tale.

I had to pee. So I made my way to the bathroom. But on the way I grab the box of HPT's I had just bought. I purposely bought the three pack so I would have one extra test to burn, as tests usually come in a 2 pack (as a general rule, I bought HPT's and OPK's off the internet for dirt cheap, I just happened to be out of them at this particular moment). I figured: I'll pee on it, it will be negative and I can mentally start preparing myself for another failed cycle.

So anyway, I get all the way back to our bedroom and use the bathroom in our room. As soon as I sit down, I realize...there is no toilet paper. Not a big deal. I pee on the test, stick it on the back of the toilet and just wait for the test to develop while he takes his sweet time bringing me the much needed TP. Ben is home. He can just bring me a roll. So I bang on the wall (our master bath and den share a wall) and scream for Ben to bring me some toilet paper. He agrees, but I don't hear him get up. So I bang again. I can hear him getting agitated. "I'M COMING! ::grumblegrumble::" Insert heavy sigh from me. I grab the test off the back of the toilet, thinking I'll be inspecting just now negative the test is this time.

Then a pink line starts to show. Okay. That's the control line. It always shows first. (At this point, I still have not heard Ben get up to bring me the desperately needed TP.) But wait. That line is on the left side. The control is always on the right. This must be a defective test. The strip must be in backwards. So I flip the test around. There. Now the line is on the right...But wait. Now there is a line showing up on the (now) left side. "Not funny" I think to myself. I flip the test around again. There are 2 lines. Two. The test line is darker than the control line. I still think it's fake. I shake the test. This is no Etch-A-Sketch. That like is staying and getting darker by the minute. I start crying. I'm sitting on the toilet, pants around my ankles, holding this test stick, sobbing. It's like a scene from a bad Lifetime movie, only I'm not a teen in a bad relationship who has just realized she is pregnant. I'm a happily married adult who is seeing almost two years of struggle, one loss, hundreds of dollars in fertility appointments and treatments coming full circle and receiving a huge blessing.

I bang on the wall again, as Ben still hasn't gotten up. He is pissed now. I hear him stomp through the house, go into the laundry room, get the TP out of the pantry, and continue his stomp parade towards our bedroom. He's still probably a good ten feet away from our bedroom when I can't hold it in any longer and I scream "I'M PREGNANT!" I hear his stomps turn into a sprint. He gets to the bathroom to find me still sitting on the toilet, pants still around my ankles, sobbing and holding the test. Not the cutesy way I had planned it, but he got the point anyway. He looks at it and then just hugs me. I physically couldn't stand up. I was in shock. Ben was over the moon. Our prayers, the prayers of all of those who knew our struggle, all the hours spent at the RE's office, the Clomid, the Hcg injection, the countless dates with the dildo cam had all paid off.

So I called my dad first. He was so excited. My dad rarely gets excited, but I could hear it in his voice. Then we called Ben's mom, whose house we had just spent the weekend at (I tested on Monday afternoon, we stayed at her house Friday-Monday morning). She already knew. She could tell by the way I acted that weekend. I wish she had told me and saved me the $20 on tests! Haha! She was thrilled. Our parents knew about all our IF issues, so they were aware they would (hopefully) get this phone call soon.

I saved my mom for last. She knew the most about our struggle. I knew I was traveling home that Wednesday, so I wanted to surprise her. The plan was for her to pick me up at the train station, but since my train was 7 hours late, that plan didn't work out. So my dad picked me up and took me to their house. My mom met us outside and as she walked by me, she slapped me in the stomach (which I really appreciated-nothing like making a girl who already feels as though her bloat is reaching Wisconsin feel even bigger, mom!). I said "I wouldn't do that." And she asked why. "Because there's a baby in there." She must not have heard me, or it didn't register or something bc she just kept walking past me. Then she stopped and turned and my dad and I busted out laughing. "WHAT?!" I told her again, "There's a baby in there." I really don't think she believed me at first. She was so happy though. I think she wanted me to be pregnant more than I wanted to be.

So that's the story. I took 2 more tests and had my beta's drawn and 7 weeks later, here we are. I really wanted to have this down somewhere so I could go back and show/tell Baby someday. My memory isn't what it used to be, haha.


Hugs&Kisses

11w2d

11 Weeks Down, 29 To Go...

Again, I am really slacking with this whole blogging thing. Sue me. I just haven't had the drive to do it lately, even though I know I should. I'll really try to get back on track this week. I still need to post our BFP story, our ER adventure and hand out some blog awards from MONTHS ago. I'll get around to it...eventually.


How far along? 11 Weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: No clue at the moment. I haven't been weighed in a while.
Maternity clothes? Nope, still rocking the Bella
Sleep: I love it. I managed 2 2hour naps on Sunday, which was awesome and am getting better at falling asleep and staying asleep all night. W00T for sleep!
Best moment this week: We got to see Baby on Friday! I had some spotting and passed a few clots on Friday and his coworker was nice enough to scan me that evening. It was by far the worst moment this week, but it lead to the BEST moment. Baby looks like a baby now and was spinning and bumping around all over the place. I love seeing Ben's face when Baby pops up on the screen, melts my heart every time.
Movement: None yet. I keep getting these weird vibrating feelings really far down in my ute when I lay really, really still. Some say it's the beginning of feeling movement, others say its gas. Time will tell.
Food cravings: Still rare. I like really bland things right now and am doing pretty well at keeping them down. The nausea is starting to let up (sometimes), so that is helping me a little.
Gender: EVERYONE is saying Girl. Ben is holding firm to Boy. I am somewhere in the middle.
Labor Signs: No, thank you.
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach, hot dogs and Diet Coke
What I am looking forward to: Our NT Scan, which is a week from today! I still remember when this appt was a month away! It seemed like it would never get here, now it's just around the corner!
Weekly Wisdom: Sleep when you want/need to. The dishes and laundry can wait.
Milestones: Right now, every day is a milestone. I am more pregnant than I have ever been, so everyday is a huge deal. Our goal is 40 weeks, 37 at the earliest, so every day is one day closer to our goal. (Same as last week, but still how I feel)



What is Baby up to?

Baby currently enjoys a 1:1 ratio between body and head, and has skin so transparent that blood vessels show right through. But, fingers and toes are no longer webbed, and hair follicles, tooth buds and nail beds are forming -- setting up a significantly more attractive future.

Grow Baby, Grow! Can't wait to see you next Wednesday!

Hugs&Kisses

11w


I will take another Belly Pic today and (hopefully) upload it this week!

10 Weeks (and change)

I've been meaning to fill these out for every week, but I have honestly been slacking. So here we are at 10 weeks and I'm just getting started. If you know me, you should have expected it!

How far along? 10 weeks and 1 day
Total weight gain/loss: Down about 12 pounds (give or take, haven't been weighed in about a week)
Maternity clothes? Nope, still rocking the Bella
Sleep: I love it, but I am having problems staying asleep. I wake up around 5 every morning, usually fall back asleep, but it's still annoying. I'm up by 7 on the days I can sleep in and want to sleep til noon on the days I have to be up early.
Best moment this week: Going 24 hours without throwing up...too bad that didn't last long but I'll deal with it. It's still not horrible, even when I'm barfing my soul up.
Movement: None yet. I tried our doppler out the other day and just picked up the sounds of the placenta. I'm still way early to be using the doppler we have. I need to order one of the medical grade ones, but...I don't know if I want to make the $100 commitment right now.
Food cravings: Rare, but when I do have them, they are insane and I need whatever I am craving at.that.moment.
Gender: Depends on the hour and the weather, haha. I am thinking girl most of the time, Ben is standing firm on boy.
Labor Signs: No, thank you.
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach
What I am looking forward to: Our NT Scan on the 19th. It seems like forever away! And feeling comfortable enough to spill the beans on facebook...I'm still not there yet.
Weekly Wisdom: Eat often. Going more than about 4 hours is what I am thinking is triggering my barfing.
Milestones: Right now, every day is a milestone. I am more pregnant than I have ever been, so everyday is a huge deal. Reaching double digit weeks was a big deal to me yesterday. Our goal is 40 weeks, 37 at the earliest, so every day is one day closer to our goal.


Hugs&Kisses

10w1d

Still here!

Just really busy.

Baby, Ben and I are doing well. We had an interesting week last week, including a bleeding scare that sent me (and Ben) into a complete panic and a separate trip to the ER that was less than productive. Everyone is doing well, but it was an exhausting week nonetheless. I'll post those fun stories this week at some point, but the most important parts are: Baby is great, my blood pressure is great (a tick on the low side Thursday, but fine Friday) and I'm still chipping off a few pounds (14 total) because my morning all day sickness was particularly rough last week (not horrible, but definitely not fun). Luckily, an Rx for Phenergan has curbed most of my nausea (and provided me with several nights of sound sleep). But, like I said, I promise a full and exciting update on all that (hopefully) tomorrow.

Here's my 9 Week belly shot. It's mostly bloat and a little bit of baby. My OB did say I would likely show faster this time since this is my second pregnancy. I haven't made the jump to maternity pants yet thanks to my Bella Band.


Hugs&Kisses

9w5d