13 weeks

OMG, the heartbeat was SO easy to find and SO loud on the Doppler this morning which must mean my peanut is getting bigger, LOVE it! I can hardly believe I have actually made it to the official start of the second trimester.  It feels so real, like there really will be a baby for me at the end, and it is a little crazy to try to wrap my brain around that! Eric and I are becoming a little more comfortable in our belief that this pregnancy is going to work out and so we even took a stroll through the local Buy Buy Baby to browse baby stuff.  Holy walls and walls of choices for EVERYTHING! It is a little daunting in there really but we did see some cute things and we found a crib we both think is beautiful (I will put a picture below for your enjoyment and admiration).

In other baby related news, I finally felt comfortable enough to go out and purchase some maternity tops of my very own (a special thank you to Amanda for the ones you have donated that have helped get me through to now and to Kristie who spent HOURS shopping with me!) and I took my first official "baby" bump photo...though to be honest I think the baby is still all in my pelvis so this is more like my pre-pregnancy starting out comparison type photo.

Symptoms:

Nose is still stuffy but otherwise I feel pretty much normal.  May need to invest in a body pillow soon though as it is getting less comfortable to sleep flat on my stomach which is my current preferred sleeping method and then I wake up flat on my back which is a no no once the bump pops into the tummy 

 

Food Aversions:

Nothing - hoping this stays this way for the rest of the pregnancy!

Cravings:

Nothing here either really - Boring, I know 

 

 

Weight Gain:

 

 

Back to pre-pregnancy weight - will be starting to exercise again now in the second trimester and shooting for an hour of cardio 6 days a week

Great Moments/Milestones:

 

 

Making it to the official start of the second trimester....and FINALLY being ready to tell our extended families that we are pregnant come Easter Sunday!

Size of Baby:

Peach (2.9 in/0.81 oz)

 

The crib Eric and I love...not the bumper on it but the actual wood frame :)

 

I am a chunky monkey but I am looking forward to a rounder, more baby like belly in the near future...and then trying to lose some serious weight before baby #2 so I can have a cute little baby bump (oh, the best of intentions!)

 

 

12 weeks

Ok, so according to most websites, I am still in the first trimester but a few (those that are based on a developmental model) say that today is the first day of the second trimester since my embryo has now grown large enough to be called a fetus! Yay!

Symptoms:

Nasal congestion (which makes it hard to sleep well) and Headaches (both due to increasing blood volume), cramping (due to expanding uterus), and low back pain (due to loosening up of tendons).  Not the most comfortable symptoms but all good signs of progress so I'll take it.  Also hoping a baby bump will pop out of my pelvis soon as according to my baby app, it could happen any time now :)

Food Aversions:

Nothing - No nausea, Whoo Hoo (knock on wood)

Cravings:

Nothing

Weight Gain:

0.2 pounds lost

 

Great Moments/Milestones:

Hitting the second trimester in the developmental model by growing a FETUS!

Size of Baby:

Plum (2.1 in/0.49 oz)

 

 

11 weeks

This week has been very laid back. We got to go to Kaiyah's family birthday party Sunday and she was just as cute as a button and she is definitely at the age where it is fun to watch her open her presents and be surprised by what is inside. She gets SO excited! Another cool twist, Art and Becky got her some jungly wall decals that were super cute and now Eric and I are thinking of getting something similar once we are to the point of setting up the nursery.  Only down side, I still had the sniffles and did not want to pass on any bugs so there was no snuggling with baby Violet :(

 

Symptoms:

Wow, I thought morning sickness was supposed to start getting better now so why is it the worst it has ever been this week?!?!  All other symptoms seem to have disappeared except the baby's heartbeat which is still very audible on my in home Doppler (thank God for the Doppler and the peace of mind it gives me every Tuesday and Friday when I listen to the bumpity bump bump of the baby's heartbeat)

Food Aversions:

Nothing really -- except everything when I am nauseous

Cravings:

Popsicles and Sprite Zero

 

 

Weight Gain:

1 pounds lost

Great Moments/Milestones:

Not much this week...just glad the baby is still alive and growing :)

Size of Baby:

Lime (1.6 in/0.25 oz)

 

 

Blanket Progress - 10w3d

Well, I haven't exactly picked up speed like I was hoping BUT I do have another square done.  At this rate I will be finishing the blanket after the baby is born (Eric says it can be for the second baby...jerk!) but I hold out hope that my fingers will eventually become more nimble and I will get it done in time.

10 weeks (one day late) and the first prenatal appointment

Hooray! Double digits on pregnancy weeks!!!!  Feels like a real milestone :) Okay, this post is a day late because I still have a cold which is seriously kicking my butt, mainly because it is impossible to sleep when your nose is so clogged that NO air can go through yet it is still super drippy (and you can't sniffle the drips back in so the tickly drips wake you back up...sigh.  Oh well, this is a bump in the road and at least I am blessed not to have to go to work being sick and pregnant as well as I am sure many expecting mothers do.  Eric has been so a wonderful husband, especially this week when I really think I have possibly been the worst, crankiest wife on the PLANET!  Also, I was going to start doing belly shots this week (even if all you can see is my fat rolls, I am told I will regret it if I don't do it) but due to feeling generally gross with the cold, this is being deferred until next week....or maybe week 12 :)  Here is the week 10 run down and then I will give a recap of the first prenatal appointment at the bottom.

Symptoms:

 

Not sure I am even still having any pregnancy related symptoms.  If I am, they are all completely masked by the cold symptoms.  I do think my boobs are a little bigger for sure so :)  And the redeeming factor to not sleeping well due to having a cold is I haven't had a serial killer nightmare in days!

Food Aversions:

Nothing really -- maybe spinach

Cravings:

Popsicles, Apple Juice, and Sprite Zero but this could be related to the cold (they all feel nice on my sore throat and go down easy)

Weight Gain:

2 pounds lost

Great Moments/Milestones:

Going to the first prenatal appointment and having the doctor confirm that there is still a heartbeat

Size of Baby:

Prune(1.2 in/0.14 oz)

 

 

First Prenatal Appointment

 

I ended up deciding to go to For Women in Evendale at Dr Thie's recommendation because Eric seemed really excited to have the option to come to the appointments if he wanted.  I am nervous to deliver at Good Sam because they do double up rooms on mother baby if the census is high and though I have been told by Dr. Thie and Dr. Kessler that this hasn't happened in months, it does not mean it won't happen in MY month.  I would hate the thought of Eric having to leave and go home at night when our first child is born.  He has fought and waited for this baby just as much as I have and it would KILL me to have them send him home.  Obviously, I will be praying for low census in the mid Sept to mid Oct season :)

 

So the first prenatal appointment wasn't really what I expected. I thought I would be given information on how much weight to gain, nutrition stuff, safe exercises and medications, the general pregnancy information run down.  Instead, I got weighed, my blood pressure was checked, I got an STD check, a breast exam, and a brief listen to the baby on the Doppler and that is mostly it.  She took my medical history and asked if I had any questions but then didn't really give me any time to ask any before leaving to go see another patient. So the only new information I got was that she thought it would be great if I "only gained 10 pounds at the most" this pregnancy.  Seems like an ambitious goal but I will see what I can do.  Dr. Kessler was very friendly and nice but for a first prenatal visit and as a new patient to the practice as well, I was definitely disappointed with the amount of information given. 

9w5d -- we made it!

Our first pregnancy ended in miscarriage at 9w4d and I am happy to confirm that today at 9w5d the baby still has an audible heartbeat and I haven't had any bleeding or spotting in several weeks!!! I am very excited to get to this day but will not be celebrating it the way I had hoped (by going to Becky and Kelly's birthday party) because when one worry passes, another must take its place (this is a law of physics right?).  So, now that we are past the last miscarriage, my body has decided to host its third illness in the 7 weeks since our embryo transfer, this time a wonderful head cold complete with horrible amounts of nasal congestion, sinus pain, nose blowing (thank God for the tissues with lotion!), sore throat, and the worst part: FEVER and chills.  Tylenol does help keep the fever down and the headache and sinus pain at bay but in general I am TIRED of being SICK!!!!! Hopefully this will be the last parasite to visit me (other than the baby) for the next 30 weeks!