Belly Shot Chronicles - 14 Weeks!!!

Wow...I can't believe I am 14 weeks pregnant. It all still seems a bit surreal. I love the fact that we are in the second trimester. It brings a bit of comfort to this whole experience. The belly continues to round out / fill in each week, slowly but surely. According to books and "the experts", I should be gaining approximately 1 pound per week during the second trimester. Yikes! Really??? At this point, it all depends on what I am wearing if people around me can tell that I am pregnant or not. If I put a sweatshirt on...you can't tell a thing. If I put a clingier shirt on, well...you might guess that I am pregnant...or you might just think I am rolly-polly. Oh well. In another month, I am sure that there will be no guessing about it!!

(said in a whisper) I have been feeling a bit better the past couple of days. I am saying this very quietly as not to disturb the nausea gods. I am not completely back to "normal", but any improvement is welcomed at this point. Wish me well in that department!!! but, shhhhhhhhhhh.....

2nd OB Appointment

Today was my second visit to the OBs office for a routine checkup. I saw a nurse today, and she was really great. The first thing she asked is how I have been feeling...and I told her, AWFUL! I explained the all day / every day nausea...and how I try to fight it in varying ways (feeding it, being one of them!). She said that I should have called and that I should not be suffering. She prescribed a medication for me to try, Reglan. I am supposed to take it three times a day. She said that is has fewer and less severe side effects than the Zofran that the clinic had tried prescribing to me. So, we will see how that goes. With any luck, it will work, AND I won't need to be on it for long.

My urine sample came back fine. My iron count is "normal" but on the low side, so she wants me to increase my intake of iron rich food, if I can. My blood pressure was great. My weight...well, I have gained 5 pounds so far. The nurse was fine with that and said it was normal, but it is a couple pounds more than I would have liked. Guess "feeding the nausea" is really only good for packing on the pounds! Hopefully if I start feeling better that situation will work itself out.

The nurse wanted to check the heartbeat of the baby, and she said she would "see if she could find it". Well, she didn't even have to "look". As soon as she turned the Doppler on, there it was! So, she said the baby is feeling great, even if mommy isn't. The heartbeat is strong and exactly as it should be.

I got to ask all of my questions. And, I AM OK TO GET MY HAIR HIGHLIGHTED AGAIN...FINALLY...YAY...WOO HOO!!! I am also off all restrictions...I am REALLY a normal OB patient. I can have intercourse (which only really matters to a couple of us! tee hee hee) I am able to exercise in moderation, as long as I keep my heart rate under 140 BPM. I am able to lift, within reason. I can take baths. I can travel. I can just "be". Wow! How scary and wonderful, huh? The only restrictions I have are within 5 weeks of my due date, and at that point I am not able to take baths, have intercourse, or travel. But...that doesn't happen until two weeks into the month of July!!! Look at me!

I will go back again on March 19th for another "routine" OB appointment...after that comes the big u/s at 20 weeks where we find out the sex of the baby. Only a couple of long months until that happens! Guess we will have to be patient...

Belly Shot Chronicles - 13 weeks

Well, they say that the uterus at 13 weeks no longer fits within the confines of the pelvis. In its enlarged state it moves its way up and over the pubic bone. I guess this must be true, as I am noticing that my "pooch" has certainly grown since last week. I am filling out a bit more, although I still mostly just look "fat" instead of pregnant. It all depends on what I wear if you can even "notice"...but I haven't rounded out to the point that it looks like a baby bump. It really looks more like I have spent too much time with my ass on the couch and my hand in a potato chip bag. Only the first part is really true. I don't even like potato chips that much right now!

Anyway, the "clothed" photo was taken yesterday. The other two belly photos are from this morning, when I officially hit the 13 week mark. (As you can see, I certainly look different from varying angles.) I am moving into my second trimester, and it is a welcomed victory for us, to say the least! I will also welcome the disappearance of my nausea any time now. Hopefully that comes sooner rather than later. It is getting old!

Tomorrow is my second OB appointment. There will be no u/s, only listening to the heartbeat using the Doppler. I am really not sure what else they will do (weigh me, measure my belly, take my BP???). I will let you know after the fact!

Thanks again for sharing in our journey and our little miracle!

Feeling the LOVE

Matt thought it would be a neat idea to head into downtown Philly and have our picture taken in Love Park for Valentine's Day. He comes up with great ideas! So, off we went...and had our picture taken with the famous LOVE sculpture. We also (upon my request) had a very "romantic" lunch at Jimmy John's. I do love their tuna subs! They really are the best! Yum! What can I say...I can be a cheap date! Well, I would have been if it didn't cost us $20 to valet the car at the hotel across the street from Jimmy John's! I guess parking is scarce on a holiday! Oh well. It was a really nice day.

Belly Chronicles - 12 Weeks

Not a huge change since last week, but the pooch has gotten a bit bigger. Please note yet another lovely pair of pajamas in this photo! By the end of this week, I should start to "pop" a bit more as my uterus moves up and out over the pubic bone (according to pregnancy calendars, at least!). I am sure in the next month I will start to look a bit more like a pregnant person. We will see.

First Trimester Screening - u/s pics!!!

**Click on any image to enlarge it**

First Trimester Screening

It is morning, and I am now feeling well enough to be able to take the time to update you all properly about our first trimester screening. All I can say is that it was amazing and surreal, especially after everything we have been through on our journey to this point. The screening itself is to test for predictors of Down's Syndrome, Trisomy 18, or other neural tube defects. It is a three part screening: an u/s for NT measurements during the first trimester, a blood screen during the first trimester, and a blood screen during the second trimester. Well, the NT measurements done during the u/s came back just fine...so that is all well and good. We will have to wait on the blood screen results until they come back in the next week or so.

Outside of that, the tech gave a full u/s (my first abdominal u/s ever!). She measured the mini, who is now measuring approximately 5 days ahead! Go mini! She also took the heart rate of the mini which came back at 161 bpm. She told us that she wished every baby was so "good" for the u/s and that we had a great "poser". The baby cooperated fully so she was able to get all of her measurements very easily. She also said that it was nice that I was "so thin" because it made her job easy. Hey, I will take that "compliment" even if it means that every other woman she has seen is morbidly obese...it made me feel good in the moment!

The mini was extremely active during the scan, which was so fun for Matt and I to observe. He/she was dancing around, waving arms, and trying to stick a fist in its mouth. This was all such a huge feeling of triumph and relief for us, and we just kept commenting on how amazing it all really was. I think we left with perma-grins. How could we not???

The tech also took measurements of my ovaries and the corpus luteum cysts that are still sticking around. These "cysts" are the sacs from which the eggs were retrieved. They have been responsible for progesterone production leading up to when the placenta and baby could take over (right around now). The good news is, even though they are still large from me being hyperstimulated, they are breaking down. Hopefully they will shrivel up in the next couple of months.

I will go back on March 16th for the second trimester blood screen. That will be the last of the tests for this screening, and the results as a whole will give us a prediction for the odds of defects with 90% accuracy.

Lastly, the tech saved and printed off eight still shots of the u/s for us which we are gladly able to share with you all. Enjoy our little miracle!

Belly Shot Chronicles - 11 weeks

Ok, people have been begging me to start taking belly shots...just to have a chronicle of how my pregnant belly grows, I guess. So, here it is...my very first "belly shot" at 11 weeks. Not much to be seen at this point, except a little "pooch" where the mini has snuggled in. Oh, and please try not to hate on my pretty pants...obvioulsy I haven't made it out of my PJs yet today. I promise it will happen before noon!

Not much else going on here. Still struggling with feeling sick and tired, but I am nearing the end of the first trimester, so I hope things will start to improve over the next few weeks. Please!!!! Outside of that, we are really looking forward to our first trimester screen coming up on Monday of next week. That will give us a great idea of how our mini is growing and progressing...hopefully really well! And, hopefully they send us home with a new u/s picture that we can share, too.