First Baby Gift!!

So in getting to share the good news this past weekend - we got our very first gift for baby!

They're adorable burp clothes that my Mom made!! We're not sure if she knew or if she just keeps these things on hand in hopes of more grandchildren, but she gave them to us as soon as we told her the news. They're really cute & it's soo neat to actually have something for the baby.

Thanks, Mom!

Don't mind my hideously messy desk in the background!

Asthma/Allergy Dr Appt

So I'm back from my appointment with my allergy/asthma specialist. She is still a little miffed that I went off the advair (category c), but I assured her that I am doing fine so far. They say that 1/3 of pregnant woman with asthma have their symptoms improve, 1/3 have their symptoms get worse & 1/3 have it stay about the same. My doctor 'claims' that if I have any flare-ups the lower oxygenation could have worse effects on the baby than the possible side effects of the medication. I'm not sure how much I believe her. Obviously, if I start having asthma flare-ups, I will consider going back on the medications, but for now I feel that I'm doing alright and this way is better for the baby. I'm still the category B meds, which I think is enough. I'm a little nervous about the spring season since that's when I usually have the most issues, but we will just see how it goes.

9 weeks - woohoo it's a fetus!

Congratulations! Your amazing growing baby has been accepted into to the fetus-club, a very exclusive and exiting new stage in their prenatal development. Basically, this means the little sweet pea has graduated from swimming embryo creature to a recognizable human being! This week in particular, the irises of their little eyes can function, but (frustratingly for them?) their eyelids remain fused shut for a while yet. Their external ears are formed and their inner ears are now filled with fluid—so your little one is already developing their sense of balance. Your baby's little swimmer legs are still relatively, although other bodily developments are going forward at a nice pace: their kidney is actually functioning now, which means they’ve started urinating (this might seem charming now but wait till you have to start buying diapers!).

In other news....despite having some idiot back into us in our truck and me completely flipping out at the lady, we had a good weekend. We were able to share the news with our families, which was a lot of fun. Ryan kept wanting to really surprise everyone, but was disappointed that no one was too shocked.

Appt with Midwife

Our first appointment went great. I really liked her and feel so much better after this appointment. Ryan liked her too since she even asked if he had any questions. Everything is looking great, although she doesn't really want me exercising for another 3-4 weeks still. I got orders for my NT scan (ultrasound) at 12 weeks and I go back to see her around then as well.
And now we can finally tell everyone the wonderful news!
Already was able to tell my Dad and he was of course very happy for us. Sorry, Dad - no Leo baby this time around. I'm sure Scorpios are cool too though. But I'll let Lara look all that up and inform us on it!

Apparently I look tired & pale

Not the greatest compliment to get. Saw my acupuncturist again this morning - she seemed worried about me (yes, she is like an anxious mother, but chinese). She told me that I looked too pale & tired and that my lower left back hurt - she determined all this by examining my eyes & tongue and conveyed it to me in broken english. She was probably spot on and I seem to be getting the beginning of sciatica on my left side. So she wants to see me back in two weeks.
I could work on the pale if it would stop being 28 degrees outside. Im really sick of the weather here. The tired - ahh, yea I guess I'm tired. I'm not sleeping any more than I ever have though. I mean I have to work, ya know!
Most importantly, I would like to find a happy balance between starving & my stomach killing me. That would make happy atleast!
Tomorrow is our big appointment, very excited!

Oh & apparently one of our dogs decided to pee on my shoelace. I only figured this out after my hand smelled like pee this morning after tying my shoes. Stupid dog.

8 weeks, 1 day

Man, those sweatpants from 1999 are really hot, right? Maybe its time I burn those. Anyways, this is how I'm looking at 8 weeks, 1 day. Total weight change -- I'm actually down 1 pound still. My pants feel oh soo tight & uncomfortable though - so those jeans actually have an elastic waistband, which is seriously the best invention ever. People should just buy these as 'eating pants'. Other than being extremely uncomfortable after I eat anything bigger than like 1/2 cup & stomach issues, I'm feeling okay.

Week 8

Your little embryo has finally reached the one-inch mark (30mm). And if it were possible to take a peek, you could actually see your tiny baby without a telescope! What’s more, your baby is finally starting to take on some very distinct human features. For starters, their little tail (really just the spinal cord) has disappeared completely. It’s nice to know your baby can no longer be mistaken for a sea creature! Additionally, both their toes and fingers are prominent with very little, if any, webbing. Upper and lower limbs all show recognizable joints (elbows and knees) and the lower limb bones are starting to ossify. But don’t expect your baby to resemble either parent quite yet. Right now, your baby’s head is disproportionately larger than the rest of their body--making up almost half of your little one’s height and weight!

Sally

So I made a little trip to Babies 'R Us today -- not for myself, but to pick up a baby shower gift for a friend. As I was walking into the store after parking Sally, I took note that she looked more than a little out of place in the parking lot. Among the parking lot filled with mini-vans, suvs, & moderate sedans was my hot mustang. Yes, I'm used to have the sweetest ride in the parking lot, but I had to feel bad for some of those guys getting in their vans or worse yet their priuses (pronounced pre-ASS). I'm writing this so when I'm 9 months pregnant and as big as a house trying to maneuver myself out of my bucket leather seats, I suck it up and roll out of that car if I have to. I feel happy knowing my baby will be well accustomed to the loud purr of the V8 and side exhaust. I guess the baby was really exposed to this early with the whole cobra car-chase fiasco in Fla, but hell that was a great time.
So that was my big moment at babies 'r us -- that, and this store is insane!
You may be wondering why I'm driving my mustang again.... in case you hadn't heard I finally lost my job 2 weeks ago, which means the escape is gone. Sad, but on the bright side, I get to drive a cool car again every day. And yes dad, I know the best car in the world is a free car. But the second best car in the world is a hot sports car.

Another Pic!

Another surprise Ultrasound at 7 weeks, 4 days -- baby was measuring right on at 7 weeks, 4 days and had a heartbeat of 154 bpm. Baby is just about 1/2 inch big, so there has been a lot of growth since the 6 week ultrasound, which is great news. Now baby needs to stop scaring the crap out of Mama - I don't handle it well at all.

One more week...

One more week until our first appointment... I can NOT wait. I will feel soo much better after finally meeting with my midwife and going over everything and hopefully hearing the heartbeat. Until then, I think I am in a constant state of anxiety & worry. Okay, I realize that probably won't go away, but I know I will feel a little better after that milestone next week. And bonus, we will finally start breaking the news to family & friends! So let's all hope this next week goes by as quickly as possibly, for my sanity's sake.

All about me....

So I'm feeling pretty good overall. I have a general blah feeling in the eating department - kind of when you're sick and nothing tastes good. It takes a while to figure out what I want to eat too since most of the time nothing sounds yummy. Last night I ate slices of boar's head black wax cheddar cheese slathered in grey poupon and grapes for dinner. It was the yummiest thing ever at that moment. However, an hour or so later I wasn't feeling all that hot. So my daily quest is mainly to find something that sounds good to eat and eat it. Also, if I eat too much I feel just plain awful. So I'm trying to eat 6 small meals a day -- and let me tell you, this is nearly impossible to do!
Some nights I get really tired and fall asleep pretty early, but usually I can hang in there. I definately don't have a ton of energy, but I'm hanging in there and trying not to drool on my laptop too often.

Week 7

Baby is the size of a blueberry this week! Blueberries are quite cute, don't ya think?

Your baby is really beginning to develop more physical definition this week – their oversized head isn’t just large and oblong anymore, it’s actually a little bit pointy. The tiny receding tail bud is now starting to be overshadowed by the growth of their legs, which are now complete with knees and the beginnings of toes. Their eyes and ears are the most visible features on their head and their miniature bones are starting to harden throughout their body. You also have some variation on a boy or a girl at this point, although their genitals won’t be visible enough to determine which color cigars you’re going to buy until around the 16th week.

Conundrum

So someone explain this to me. I have actually lost 3 lbs since finding out I was pregnant. However, my pants are tight in the waist and driving me nuts. And if I eat something, forget about it, I look like I have a 6 month old food baby in there! It's quite uncomfortable. Now I realize my belly is supposed to get bigger, but everything I've read clearly states it's practically impossible to be showing before 10 weeks at the earliest. So this is my conundrum. I'm down to one pair of fat jeans that I can stand to put on.

funny

6 Weeks (+ 3 days)

This week baby is the size of a sweetpea!

This is going to be a busy week for your amazing little embryo. His/her brain is still growing remarkably fast; miniature hand plates are starting to develop and the early formations of what will be their fingers are already visible. Also, the lower limbs do not develop quite as fast, so they’re pretty much still flippers. Up until this point, your baby has been very curled up with the head and tail in close proximity, but this week their trunk and neck are beginning to grow and straighten as their tail recedes into its resting position in the back. Even though your little miracle is only 6 weeks old, they’re already capable of demonstrating reflex responses to touch!

We have a heartbeat !!

We had a little scare that lead my midwife to order some bloodwork & an early ultrasound to check on the little baby. Thankfully, everything looks good, but nonetheless I have never been so terrified in all my life. We even got to see the little heartbeat flicker on the screen - it was 108 bpm!

Feeling Blah...

So I havent felt the best for the past two days. Maybe it's stress or maybe Im getting some symptoms. Yesterday, I had a minor breakdown (it was minor, right, Ryan?) about wanting pretzel bites for dinner. I'm sure that was totally normal. Ha. Thankfully, Ryan is being great and I hope his patience lasts for another 35+ weeks.

People - you are rude!

Let me explain something quickly. To ask someone questions like 'when are you going to have kids' or 'why arent you pregnant yet' or to make comments like 'if you two ever have babies' is incredibly RUDE and hurtful. Do you want to know why, you fucking idiot?! Did you ever stop to think maybe the person desperately wants to have a baby, but for some reason is unable to or is having difficulty get pregnant?! Geesshh, does the thought ever cross your mind?! Imagine being in the situation where you are desperately trying to get pregnant and people are making these comments to you. It is hard enough dealing with the disappointment and heartache month after month, but having comments like that made are just crushing. I tell you this so you stop making these comments to anyone! We did not tell anyone we were even trying to get pregnant, because we didn't want to deal with the constant questions of 'are you pregnant yet?', which would've just added to the misery. But there has been no way to stop the birage of obnoxious questions & comments like that.
We feel incredibly blessed to finally be pregnant and can't wait to share the news with everyone, but the pain of these comments still sting.
So people mind your manners and don't make assumptions that you know nothing about.

I'm a nerd....

Maybe I'm weird or something, but I like finding images of what the baby looks like at every stage. This picture is of the 5 week embryo. Apparently, you can't call it a fetus until after 9 weeks. I also bought about a kazillion books and have already read most of them. I may have a problem. Buy stock in Borders....seriously. Anyways, you know the baby is still cute even if it looks like a little alien still.

Week 5

Week 5: Baby is the size of an Appleseed!
Your baby's heart is 3/4 of the way formed and will begin beating this week! Also developing are the brain, cardiovascular and nervous systems and the reproductive and other major systems. Early this week your baby becomes pear-shaped. The rounded end will become the head while the pointed end will become your baby's spine. Your baby is now known as an embryo and is about 1.5 - 2.5 mm or 0.05 - 0.09 inches in length.