McBaby is a lime!

It's 10:15 pm. How am I awake, do you wonder? Simple. I've been asleep since about 6:-)

Two little milestones today. 1) McBaby graduated to lime stage, and 2) the little lime still has a heart beat! Dr. S tried to hear the h/b with a doppler. When I reminded her of my retroverted uterus, she put that down and went straight to the u/s machine. Yes, it was the crappy one, but it was just fine with me.

I saw baby, and then immediately went searching for the h/b. I must have said something like "Where's the h/b? Is there still a h/b?" She zeroed in on it for me and I was immediately a happy camper.

She also gave me a script for Zofran. I'm excited about starting that, in hopes of feeling somewhat normal. I told her about my headaches and she told me they go hand in hand with the nauseau. Oh, and she said my weight gain was in normal limits (i.e. about 3 pounds).

We go back in 4 weeks!!!

Not the best scan, but like I said it's the crappy u/s machine.

First OB appt...

It went well! The nurse had documented my Tues spotting episode, so Dr. S did an u/s. I totally wasn't expecting that, and it was nothing like the high tech machine they have at the RE office, but we got to see a fuzzy McBaby and its little beating heart:-) I actually think that Dr. K sent her a note about me (she said she was going to), and probably mentioned that I could be a bit high maintainance. Instead of scheduling my next appt for 4 weeks, I go again in 13 days. YAHOO!!!! Very excited about that. I can handle these little chunks of time.

Dr. S answered alot of our questions. She really pushed excercising NOW (walking, yoga, etc), and watching the carbs. I told her carbs are about all I can stomach and she said that's fine for now, but I need to gradually cut back on them. In her ideal world I will gain no more than 30 pounds. That seems reasonable, based on all the IF weight I packed on.

She also discussed the NT scan in some detail. This is the scan where among other things they can access the markers for Down's Syndrome. She's a big proponent of it. I was really 50/50 going into the appt. After talking with her though, Dan really wants it done. It has to be done between 11-14 weeks, so I need to schedule that soon. Can I admit that for selfish reasons, I'm excited about it, b/c it means we get to see McBaby again??

All in all, my first appt as a "normal" pregnant lady was ok. Seems like I still got a few bonuses...which I feel I've earned.

Olive, no martini please:-)

Well...we made it to week NINE. In my head, getting to this point has been somewhat of a mental struggle. To me, nine weeks seems pregnant...not just "a little pregnant" but really and truly pregnant. I've been looking forward to/dreading (if we didn't make it) this date, since we found out. I feel like now, people won't roll their eyes if I happen to tell them how far along I am. Actually, the fact that I can even state "how far along I am" freaks me out. Will I EVER believe that this is happening???

I still have an upset stomach, but with the exception of Tues night everything is staying down. I've been MUCH more tired suddenly. I love to sleep, so you wouldn't think that would be a problem for me, but things are starting to pile up at home.

McBaby has graduated to green olive status this week:-)

Your little embryo has now officially graduated to fetus-hood. Adding to the excitement, a Doppler ultrasound device might be able to pick up the beating heart. With basic physical structures in place and increasingly distinct facial features, baby is kind of starting to look like... well... a baby!

"your baby looks good!"

That's what the u/s tech said when the dildo-cam went in. She reassured me, then went about her business of checking ovaries and all that good stuff. Then we got back to the baby and she spent a little time zooming in so we could get a "good" look.

McBaby looked like a gummy bear today (a rather cute one if I do say so myself). Heart was beating 177 bpm. About 3/4 inch long. Perfect:-)

Then came the appt I've been dreading...our last appt with Dr. K. First, she was ECSTATIC for us. She was at the last appt too, but I could tell she was really holding in her excitement, since we all know things can go wrong. She asked who I would be seeing (meaning OB), and I just put my face in my hands and started crying. I suppose I was crying for 2 reasons, 1) that we are "done" with her, and 2) (most importantly) that we're actually at the point where I can be considered "normal". I keep using the word surreal, and that's still truly the way it feels. We've worked so hard to get to this point, and now it's here, and I have no idea how to handle it. Poor Dan rotates b/t being super excited and super cautious. According to his book this is normal:-)

I still have a hard time admitting I'm pregnant. To say it out loud feels like a lie, like I'm a big fake. I was at Home De.pot yesterday and bought some charcoal. The bag was almost 50 pounds and there was no way I was going to try and lift it. I found someone to help (who looked exactly like Amer.ican Idol.s Ada.m La.mbert, btw...I wanted to say something but thought it would be rude if that's not the look he was going for). Anyway, I asked him to help lift it for me, but just couldn't get the "I'm pregnant" words out of my mouth. You'd think I'd be shouting it from the rooftops, but not so much. I feel like a phony.

Back to Dr. K...she said I could call anytime, and she expects us to stop by with baby next winter. I hugged her, thanked her (getting teary just thinking about it), and that was it.

First OB appt is Friday morning!!!

Raspberrry and a brick

First the good news!!!

Week 8: Raspberry

Your baby is growing like mad, putting on about a millimeter every day and continuing to straighten out in the trunk. Though you can't feel it yet, baby is moving those little arms, legs and (now only slightly) webbed fingers and toes like crazy.

Yay for a raspberry:-)

Now, the "brick" part...I feel like poo-poo. I've been trudging along the last 10 days or so, feeling fairly ok. Like I've said before, I tend to get nauseaus in the afternoon. That has started scooting up earlier in the day. Today, I got out of bed, felt fine, walked Sierra. While in the shower I started feeling a little dizzy, but was ok. Once out of the shower, I leaned over to wrap my hair in a towel and the room started spinning. I said Oh God or something like that and ran to the bathroom, just in case. Nothing came up, but the room was still spinning. I managed to get dressed, eat a bagel and get to work. I still feel like poo. Extremely light-headed.

Just talked to Dr. K's nurse. She wants me to come by and have my BP checked today. My BP is on the low side normally, so they want to make sure it is ok.

That's my story. Me and little raspberry are just truckin' along:-)

Slacker!

Sorry for slacking! I've gotten several e-mails over the past few days, wanting to know if things are ok since I haven't been blogging. The answer is YES, although I've unfortunately had no motivation to do much of anything:-) Things seem to be progressing. My nauseau is becoming more constant; I still feel the best in the early morning. Around 10 am in starts kicking in. I still haven't gotten sick, but it seems like the only thing to make it go away is to eat:-/.

Carbs are my best friend. Fries, bagels, pasta, you name it. I had 2 orders of fries yesterday, at 2 different restaurants, and just got back from lunch at McDonalds. Yum-O:-)

I'm feeling extra tired too...I'm a sleepaholic as it is, so the fatigue is a bit out of control.

Our 2nd u/s is a week from today. We are just praying that all looks good.

And we got our first baby gifts this weekend!!!!! Kelly, Sara and I went out for lunch on Sunday. Kelly brought me a cute little pack of bibs and a J & J starter kit. It was kind of an out of body experience opening it. Like, wow, this is for me, people are giving us stuff for baby!!
And, Andrea, a Nestie friend sent me an adorable journal and book for Dan, The Expectant Father. He actually openend it, and read some. You better believe I got a picture of that!!

Blueberry!!!

7 weeks today:-) I think Thursday is going to become my favorite day of the week. I don't look ahead to the next week (b/c I am superstitious), so it's fun to see what the week brings.

Baby's brain -- both hemispheres! -- is growing fast, generating about 100 new cells every minute. Arms and legs are emerging as joints start to form, and a permanent set of kidneys (baby's third!) is now in place.

I've been having a horrible time sleeping. I'm exhausted after work, but when I try to wind down to go to bed, I can't sleep. It's horrible. I can feel my heart racing. All I want is a good nights sleep and I can't get it.

I've been feeling nauseus in the evening, but today is the first day that it's hit me mid-morning. Horrible, icky, flu-like stomach churning. Yuck. But, it's reassuring. After all, we paid top $$$ for me to feel like crap, so bring it on:-)

Oh, and our 2nd (and final, hopefully) u/s with Dr. K is April 27. If all looks and sounds good...she'll release me to my regular doctor. I'm not ready to be a normal pregnant person who only gets an u/s at 20 weeks. I am so low-maintainance in every other aspect of my life, but not this. I hope my doctor can handle me!

One sweet little heartbeat:-)

It's official!!! Well, I guess it was official last week...but as of this morning we saw a sweet little beating heart. Yes, just one...it looked and measured perfectly, sac, yolk sac and embryo. We also got to HEAR the heartbeat. There are no words:-) It was beating 122bpm.

The official due date is December 3. Our next u/s is in two weeks. If all goes well then, we'll be released to a regular OB. I can't imagine being a normal pregant person. It's still surreal.

It seems like everyone is a bit disapointed that there is just one, except us. Our goal all along was one healthy baby, and so far that's what we've got. We couldn't be happier.

Here's the 1st u/s picture:-)