10 weeks

I am 10 weeks now and had a rough week this week. My nausea was much better but I have heard horror stories quite a bit this week about seeing a heartbeat at 8 weeks and then having a 12 week sonogram and nothing seeing one again. I am terrified of the "M word" and refuse to say it but it has been in the back of my mind all week. I think hormones definitely play into that. I was also getting nervous because my anti-nausea meds were working so well that I was hardly ever getting sick anymore. So I did the reasonable thing.... I stopped taking them for 2 days to see if I was still having morning all day sickness. This all along has been a good sign of a strong pregnancy for me and as much as it sucks to go through, it's a constant reminder of the baby in my belly. It took 2 full agonizing days but the sickness came back with a vengeance. Yesterday was aweful, but gave me a large piece of mind and I am back on my anti-nausea meds and moving forward with the determination to be positive and grateful for each day that we are closer to our next ultrasound. Sept 10th by the way.

Not much has gone on around here this week other than that, both Taylor and I are just working and sleeping basically. I got to sleep in today after being at the hospital and in meetings for 14 hours yesterday and will be working on some Etsy orders so I can get that off my slate. Other than that, the only big thing we have going on this week is that we are going to the Royal's game on Saturday night with all of my girlfriends from college and their significant others. It's our first Royal's game of the season which is sad because it's August for pete sake, but none the less, we are going!

Here are some pics from the Game!

How far along? 10 weeks, baby is the size of a prune

Total weight gain:down a total of  14 lbs. but not losing as quickly anymore I think.

Maternity clothes? I have been living in scrub pants and yoga pants this week so when I put on jeans again I will let you know for sure how they fit, so far no maternity clothes needed.

Sleep: I LOVE SLEEP and I am really really good at it.

Best moment this week: Royal's game on Saturday! 

Miss Anything? nope, not really this week.  

Movement: WAAY too soon still.
Food cravings: Hot dog and soft pretzel with cheese mmm

Anything making you queasy or sick: EVERYTHING basically

Gender: No idea, we will be thrilled either way. I am going to make them guess at our 12 week sono

Symptoms: not many this week

Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on.
Happy or Moody most of the time: really emotional this week and a little stressed out but sooo soo happy that we are still moving forward in our pregnancy! I can't believe I am already 10 weeks.
Looking forward to: Still want my belly to "pop" and to get to my 12 week mark for our next sonogram. And being done with my progesterone pills.

9 weeks and telling the rest of our family

Update on my morning all day sickness......This week started out pretty rough. I got my prescriptions filled for my excessive nausea/vomiting and the Zofran did not really work. I took just the Zofran the first day to see if it would help at all and  got sick 23 times at work Wednesday night. It was rough but I pushed through and survived. Thursday night I took the Zofran and Phenergan (the big guns as they say) and it worked! I got floated to work in the PICU (Pediatric ICU) and didn't get sick once, which was great because that would have been really awkward in a different unit than my usual with different patients and different nurses working with me. Since Thursday I have only gotten sick once! Hurray!! The problem is, the Phenergan makes me so incredible exhausted and weak. I feel like a zombie and can't keep my eyes open and feeling like that makes me grouchy. I think from here on out, I will take each day at a time and assess my need for meds and try to take them only if I need them so I can try to function and no be a grouch. That being said, I am still incredibly thankful for being sick, I constantly remind myself that this is a great sign of a healthy pregnancy and baby and that I would do anything to have this baby, this is just part of that process and I will do whatever it takes, this journey is not about me, it's about this baby and as long as it's healthy... I am happy!

This is my go to meal right now when I feel sick, you buy it frozen and shake it up with juice and Whalaa...Smoothie!

pictures from my grandmother's house.

 

Other news.... We told my grandmother and my dad's side! We went to Saturday dinner armed with nothing creative but our sonogram picture of our gummy bear at 8 weeks and smiles on our faces.....and a baby in my tummy. We got to my grandmother's before everyone else and I showed her the sono picture and asked if she knew what that was? After a few seconds of silence I told her  "this is a baby" and pointed to the picture and she said "ahhh! Are you P.G?!" I told her yes and she was so excited. Next my little brother came in and we showed him and said "That is your neice or nephew!" and he was excited and gave us hugs/hand shakes and congratulated us. My Aunt Joel and Uncle Blair were next with their two boys Max and Jack. We were sitting outside eating the hors d'oeurves and I showed them the picture and my aunt started screaming and hugging me and my uncle too. And then my last Aunt and Uncle came up and we showed them and they kind of did the same thing and said " about time!" There are only 9 grandchildren on this side of the family, the oldest two of us are married and we are the first to have a baby so this will be my grandmother's first great-grandchild. Everyone is so excited for us. It was great to share.

We also sent a box to my Aunt Betsy and Uncle Bob's house for them to share with their kids (my cousins Heidi and Ben, Peter and Brianna and David and Stacey.) The box had a box of ice cream cones, chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce, peanuts, m&m's, sprinkles, gummy bears, etc in it and a note telling my cousin Heidi, Happy Birthday (she LOVES ice cream) and that this was an ice cream party in a box all they needed was to add ice cream to their toppings we sent. While they were celebrating Heidi's birthday, they had one more to celebrate. On the next page I put a sonogram picture and the baby's due date. They sent us this picture!

We have decided to start buying a case of diapers in all different sizes each paycheck until the baby is born so we can stock up. This is our first case! Yay!

And we also finally bought our garage door opener this weekend and Taylor spent all day sunday installing it. So excited to be able to park in our garage easily this winter and when the baby is born.

And for this week's chalkboard....

How far along? 9 weeks, baby is the size of a green olive!

Total weight gain: down 12.5 lbs. :( (my face is thinner for sure I think)

Maternity clothes? Nope, in fact my pants still fit just fine, although I am noticing they are getting tighter in the belly again.

Sleep: I am a zombie because of my Phenergan for my nausea.

Best moment this week: Telling the rest of our family. The nausea going away for little periods of time.

Miss Anything? A glass of wine with dinner at my grandmother's house.

Movement: WAAY too soon still.
Food cravings: Strawberries dipped in chocolate cream cheese, peanut butter, BBQ!!!!

Anything making you queasy or sick: EVERYTHING

Gender: No idea, we will be thrilled either way.

Symptoms: nausea and tired, that's it.

Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on.
Happy or Moody most of the time: I have been totally grumpy and have no energy to do anything when I am on my meds but I am still thrilled to be pregnant and know this baby is on it's way.
Looking forward to: Still want my belly to "pop" and to get to my 12 week mark for our next sonogram and maybe the end of my sickness?

8 weeks, 1st OB appt and Last infertility appt.

Tuesday we met with Dr. Steinbis, our new OB/GYN. We really liked her, she took her time with us and gave us a huge packet of information to reference throughout the pregnancy. They drew tons of labs to make sure everything looks ok. Dr. Steinbis said my uterus is a great size for how far along I am and said everything looks good so far. We discussed my worsening morning all day sickness. I have been so incredibly nauseous the past two weeks that I really can't keep anything down. I feel okay enough to try to eat something and it never stays. I can keep water down but that's about it lately. I also get frustrated because I try to eat but NOTHING sounds good. I have no appetite whatsoever and don't even feel hungry. Dr. Steinbis discussed the concerns with my weight loss to date (10.5lbs) and not getting enough nutrients for myself or for baby. She said with my prenatal vitamin and some food and water the baby will get what it needs but that she is concerned about my electrolytes and blood sugar and my hydration. She said that If I go longer than this without eating much or being able to keep it down we may have to look at more extreme ways to keep me hydrated like IV fluids and hospitalization. NO FUN!! She gave me a prescription for Zofran and for Phenergan and hopes that will help. If not, we will have to figure something else out. She will see me again in 4 weeks (September 10th) and we will also have our 12 week nuchal translucency ultrasound to check for down's syndrome, and trisomy 13 and 18 (chromosomal defects that are not compatible with life).
Today we had our "close out" appointment with our RE. It was definitely be bittersweet. I am so sad to leave these women who helped us create a miracle, but I am thrilled we have a baby coming and get to be on the "regular" OB side. Dr. Krieg (our reproductive endocrinologist) met with us and did our last scan. We got to see the baby again and the best part.....
WE GOT TO HEAR THE HEARTBEAT for the first time!
We both were on cloud nine. Here is a video of it.

It is one of the most wonderful sounds I have ever heard and it feels so good to know that the baby is doing so well. The heart was beating at 166 bpm today and that is perfect, which you can hear Dr. Krieg say on the video.

 It's hard to see but the baby is facing down with its head on the left side and its booty on the right. There are two white-ish lines pointing down and those are the arms and legs. I tried to label some parts for you to see.

Baby looks huge to us now compared to 6 and 7 week scans and is measuring perfectly. It has arm and leg buds growing and you can see it's head defined from it's body now. It looks like a baby and not just a dot or a bean. A little gummy bear baby! We got the all clear to be seen only at the OB clinic now and it just feels so good to have that accomplishment and to know they feel that the baby is safe and healthy and going to do just fine.

I was able to keep some of my food down yesterday and today so I feel a little bit better. Here is a picture of my favorite snack that I have actually been craving and no I don't care how good it is for you. Calories are the name of my game right now and this helps pack them in.

Here is a picture of the baby at all three sonos to date. 6 weeks, 7 weeks and 8 weeks. Look how much it has grown. The heart beats have been 108, 134 and 166 respectively and everything has looked great!

Here is the chalkboard from this week but that will soon be changing, I don't like it and I have more fun things to put on there now, like hearing the heartbeat and that we got to see some arms and legs :)

How far along? 8 weeks, baby is the size of a raspberry!

Total weight gain: down 10.5 lbs. :(

Maternity clothes? Nope, in fact my pants fit better this week than last, maybe due to weight loss?

Sleep: I feel like I sleep all the time and I sometimes feel really guilty that I am not being more productive, but I am growing a child here, I try not to care because I need rest!  

Best moment this week: Getting my prescriptions for Zofran and Phenergan, hopefully my nausea/vomiting will be better. And getting to meet our OB and get started feeling like a pregnant mommy at the doctor and not a girl just desperate to get pregnant.

Miss Anything? having a normal appetite and having a day that I didn't get sick

Movement: WAAY too soon still.

Food cravings: Strawberries and chocolate cream cheese.  

Anything making you queasy or sick: EVERYTHING

Gender: No idea, we will be thrilled either way. cough girl cough cough.

Symptoms: Just suuuper nauseous and sick and tired.

Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on.
Happy or Moody most of the time: I was totally moody today and a little of yesterday with no reason why, just irritable and grouchy :(. I hate that!!
Looking forward to: Can't wait to see our baby again. and I really really really want my belly to pop!! I want that little bump!

7 weeks and our second ultrasound

Tuesday was our 2nd ultrasound. We get to have one more next week and then we have to wait awhile for our next. (around 12 weeks I believe). This is part of our close out requirements from the infertility clinic. 7 days after our first look at our baby and we were SHOCKED to see how much it has grown. About triple the size it was last week and looks more like a baby instead of a dot. Either way it's heart was beating strong at 134 bpm (108 last week). The sonographer and nurse said everything looked perfect and scheduled us for our close out appointments with our reproductive endocrinologist. Next Wednesday our RE will do our longer more comprehensive sono and will talk with us in her office about our experience and our questions, concerns and comments and if everything looks good we will have our first appointment with my new OB/GYN and maybe another sono if we are lucky! The appointments with both doctors are 1 day a part and I am hoping that they can tell us how baby is measuring compared to our estimated due date and set an actual due date for us. Here are the pics of the baby this week and the last is the comparison from this week and last.

The baby is the blob on top inside the dark circle.

The 6 week on top and 7 week on bottom. Look how big baby has gotten!

And chalkboard pics.

How far along? 7 weeks, baby is the size of a blueberry!

Total weight gain: down 7 lbs. I talked to the nurse and she said as long as I can eat a little bit each day and take my vitamins, the baby will get what it needs. I have no appetite and when something does sound good I am usually too nauseous to eat much or keep it down. Not fun but it will be so worth it as long as baby is ok and growing.

Maternity clothes? Not yet, but I did buy a belly band (to keep my regular pants up when they get too tight in the waist, it just looks like you are wearing a tank top under a normal shirt and is super comfy). I officially rubber banded my jeans closed the other day

Sleep: Still exhausted but I have discovered the more sleep I get, the less nauseous I feel.

Best moment this week: Seeing how much our baby has grown in 1 week and seeing that heartbeat again.

Miss Anything? having a normal appetite.

Movement: WAAY too soon

Food cravings: Grilled cheese and tomato soup (we had that for dinner tonight) and rotisserie chicken.

Anything making you queasy or sick: we went to the city market and all of the smells really got to me.

Gender: No idea, we will be thrilled either way. cough girl cough cough.

Symptoms: super nauseous, tired and had a little heartburn yesterday.

Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Still Happy & EXCITED
Looking forward to: Our next Ultrasound and our close out and first OB appts next week.

We got our first baby gift too from Auntie Kylie. So excited about this!!