Week 11!



Baby size: A plum!







How I feel about being pregnant: Overwhelmingly happy! Staring at the ultrasound picture made it really sink in that there's a little person growing inside me. I can't freaking wait to meet him/her!

What I miss about pre-pregnancy life: Subway. I'm not supposed to eat lunch meat unless it's heated to steaming, but I prefer Subway cold. It's a rough life I lead. haha

Symptoms: Still nauseous. Doc said it should fade soon, though, YAY! Hopefully I'm not one of those unlucky few who never get rid of morning sickness. But, let's face it, if anyone was, it would be me. My body just loves to be nauseous. -_-

Food Cravings:  Nothing new, I don't think. I go through phases. One minute something is my favorite ever in the world, the next it makes me gag. I'm still going through pizza rolls and mac-n-cheese like it's going out of style, though.

What I'm most excited about: Seeing baby's sweet little profile! OMG! It was so clear! You could see his/her little face outline and everything. I am completely in love. OH! And the heartbeat. That was insanely amazing. And I think that made it real for Shane.

Something I've done to prepare for baby: 2nd appointment with my midwife. It went fabulously well! I'll do a separate post with the details. :)

Special moment: Shane's first Father's Day! I bought him a toddler copy of "Hop on Pop" by Dr. Suess. SO cute! :)

How baby's growing (from BabyCenter):

       The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

       Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long and weighs half an ounce.



This is what baby actually looks like at 11 weeks 6 days! :-D <3



The Books That Keep Me Sane (And Those I Would Gladly Light On Fire)

There was a used bookstore in Nashville called McKay that I was totally in love with. Everything was SO cheap! So, I basically bought every baby and fertility book I could find. Some are horribly depressing, and I've considered ceremonially burning them. Some were legitimately helpful, though. :)

The book I most wanted to burn:

       Seriously, this book was the most disheartening thing I've ever read. It basically felt like it was telling me all the reasons I would never, ever get pregnant no matter how hard I tried. Obviously, that's not their intent, but they don't come across well. Any woman reading a fertility book needs hope and support, not to be cut down even more. On the plus side, that baby on the cover is freaking adorable.

I haven't found a pregnancy book I want to burn... Yet.

Books I Actually Like:

       I actually picked this book up at Half Price Books on my way to the airport the last time I flew back to Tennessee. I ended up reading the whole thing on the plane. It's literally just 1 fact per page, so it's a super easy read. It gave some great tips. A lot I already knew, but a few things I didn't. It's helpful without bombarding you with too much information. It's probably the best book if you're thinking about trying, but not yet concerned you're going to have problems.

       This is a good general reference book for pregnancy. You just read as you go along. A chapter a week is a lot easier for many women than reading an entire book at once. All the information can get overwhelming if taken in high doses. This book did cause one major freak-out b/c it said the sicker you are, the less likely you are to miscarry, and I hadn't gotten sick yet. There are a few other alarming facts thrown in, but that will happen with any book. I try to just let it go. There's not much you can do to control half the things it mentions anyway. 

Books I Absolutely LOVE:
    
       This book was a serious life saver. Or, at least, a serious sanity saver. It's co-written by three best friends who all had a different kind of fertility problem. It's really informal (in fact, a lot of it is emails between them) but it makes it feel a lot more friendly than most books. It offers a lot of practical advice while also comforting you. It's like having a friend that understands where you're coming from (it even has a chapter on how to deal with real life friends that DON'T get it, which is most people). I actually didn't finish it because I found out I was pregnant half-way through and switched to pregnancy books, but I definitely recommend it, and I will probably end up finishing it anyway.

       This is kind of the same concept as the previous book, but for pregnancy. It's basically all the things your doctor doesn't mention but your girlfriends totally wouldn't shut up about in pregnancy. There's nothing medical to it and she repeatedly tells you to check with your doctor about your unique situation, but I love that about it. Most pregnancy books weigh you down with all the horrible things that can happen, but this one just focuses on the real-life stuff most people really face in pregnancy. I don't necessarily agree with everything she says, but she is hilarious. I'm pretty sure if I wrote a pregnancy book, it would end up something like this. Too bad she beat me to it! It's the book I recommend most to my pregnant friends, just because it's the most down-to-earth and least terrifying. I'd much rather hear about my inevitable stretch marks than the possibility of a molar pregnancy.


There will probably be more books as I continue through this process, but these are the ones that are on my mind right now. Hopefully they're helpful to someone. :)

Week 10!

This is a few days late, I know. I have to come down to the business center of our apartments to type these up, and baby has not been making me feel like going anywhere lately. I have another appointment Thursday, so I will do my best to get the post up on Friday this week.

Baby size: A lime!


One of my Apps said fig, but I don't even know what those look like. I like limes. :)

 How I feel about being pregnant: Super dooper excited face!! With a side of nauseous. lol

What I miss about pre-pregnancy life: Someone was talking about Fiesta Texas yesterday, so I'm going to have to go with roller coasters again. haha. I'm just REALLY sad there's finally a new ride and I can't go on it! Next summer, though, hopefully. Teach 'em young! ;)
Symptoms: Lots of nausea. It kind of never fully goes away. Plus a lot of gross sinus stuff. I'm sticking with pregnancy is gross. Hopefully I'll change my tune next trimester, but for now... gross.
Food Cravings:  I basically only ever want to eat mac-n-cheese and pizza rolls. All. The. Time. Then sometimes I like mac-n-cheese with mashed potatoes and chicken gravy. SO GOOD. Also, I ate pickles. Like more than once. And actually liked them. I officially don't know who I am anymore.

What I'm most excited about: Hopefully hearing baby's sweet little heartbeat at my Doctor's appointment Thursday! :)) Also, baby is growing teeth buds. How cute is that?!
Something I've done to prepare for baby: I signed up for CPR class. It wasn't directly for baby, as I need it for babysitting/daycare, but it will certainly be useful information. Also, Aunt MarMar and Aunt Krystin have decided they're going to take baby to infant self rescue swim classes when he (or she, though they refuse to accept that baby may be a girl) is 6 months old, so that he/she won't fall into the water and drown. I'm super excited about this, but I totally couldn't stand the anxiety of baby floundering around in the water, so I'm glad they've got that part covered. :)
Funny moment: My husband THINKS he's hilarious and everytime I'm like "oh, baby is the size of a cherry" he responds "nah, it's probably already the size of an apple, let's be real." CLEARLY we know he's not the one pushing out a giant monster baby. Rude.
Special moment: We got to spend the day with my niece Makaelah the other day and she brought me a super cute bottle and pacifier (picture below) that Lisa bought for baby. Then she demanded I open them and she walked around drinking out of the bottle and sucking on the paci. It was hilariously adorable. Unfortunately the pics are on Shane's phone, so I'll have to share them later. :-P

Also, my husband said the CUTEST thing in response to a radio station question on FB and I cannot find it anywhere. Basically they asked if Fathers-to-be should get to celebrate Father's Day, and he responded that he didn't care if his baby was only 2 inches, he's definitely a dad. I totally cried when I read it. I REALLY wish I could find it again, too, but oh well.

11 week bump! It's finally kind of noticeable! I can't wait until it's bigger. :-D

The previously mentioned bottle and paci. Aren't they ADORABLE?!

How Baby is Developing This Week (From Baby Center):       Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.
       She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.


Baby is looking slightly less like an alien! :)



Week 9!

Baby size: A cherry!

Some say prune, some say kumquat, either way, growing like a weed! :))

How I feel about being pregnant: All of the emotions. All of the time.
What I miss about pre-pregnancy life: Hot Yoga. It's SO freaking amazing. However, raising your core temp past 102 is a super no-no in pregnancy. Guess it's room temperature yoga for me for the next 8 months.
Symptoms: Pregnancy is gross. That's all. Just anything gross that can happen, it does. All the time. Rude.
Food Cravings: All I ever want to eat is pizza rolls, Mexican food, and anything watermelon flavored (particularly if it's Jolly Rancher). Not all at the same time, obviously. I feel like we are constantly out of pizza rolls and it's really depressing, but that's probably because I eat them so much. lol. I'm also in love with Watermelon Sour Punch Straws. Like I would marry them if that were possible. Haha. Mostly I'm just super susceptible to suggestion. If you mention something, most likely I will want to eat it. It's going to be a loooong 7 months. :-P
What I'm most excited about: Baby is growing fingernails!!! I don't know why I find this particularly exciting, but I do. I'm super proud! :)
Something I've done to prepare for baby: A few years ago, I read this story/article (the more I think about it, the more I think it was from a Chicken Soup book) about this woman who wrote letters to her unborn child (and I think continued writing them periodically throughout her life). Then, when her daughter got to that irrationally hating her parents and thinking they hate her phase, she gave her daughter the notebook full of letters, that way she would know how much she'd always loved her. I absolutely LOVED the idea and have been planning to do it myself since then. I bought my notebook last week (which Shane made fun of me for b/c I spend a disproportionate amount of time looking at school/office supplies) and wrote my first letter. I can't really put into words how I've spent my entire life waiting for this moment and making all my decisions with a child in mind who wouldn't exist for years to come. I'll try, though. If there's one thing I want my children to know, it's that they have always and will always be loved beyond words.
Special moment: I got to hold my ridiculously cute god daughter for the first time! She's been in the NICU for the last 5 weeks due to making her appearance 7 weeks too early, and they only allowed grandparents to visit. LAME. I can't wait to watch her and baby DePute grow up together. They are totally going to be best friends. If he's a boy, he's the only one her daddy will ever approve of, and if she's a girl, I think Shane and Jeremy will be spending a lot of time at the shooting range. haha.

How Baby is Developing (from BabyCenter):
Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.
He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.
If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.
In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.



What baby looks like (sort of)... SO CUTE!





It's kind of hard to see a difference, but it's a little bigger! I'm not sure why my skin looks completely different considering it was the same camera, same lighting, and same skin, but oh well.



First Doctor's Appointment

Our first appointment with my midwife was May 23rd. It's kind of been a while, but we have no interwebz, so my blogging is spotty at best. Annnnywho, I would just like to say that I LOVE her. She is seriously the calmest woman I've ever met. I'm kind of not, so she's good for me. I'll be delivering baby at North Houston Birth Center. I'm not keen on hospitals for a multitude of reasons. I believe birth is a natural process and I would like it to be treated as such. Plus they have jacuzzi tubs. Perfect! [[Aside: I am fully aware that a lot, if not most, people will not agree with me, but it really doesn't matter. It's my baby and my birth. If you think planned c-sections are awesome, good for you. I don't need to hear about it, though. I have done more than my fair share of research and my mind will really not be changed, so I'd rather no one try.]] I won't go into all the gorey details, because prenatal care gets kind of invasive, but I have to say, Shane's reaction made the whole thing hilariously worth it. I have never seen him so uncomfortable. He offered to leave the room more than once. I'm like "what part of this is new to you, exactly?" Boys and gynos totally don't mix. Bahaha. Poor thing. He's lucky they didn't bring out the stirrups. I'm not sure he could have handled it. Labor is going to be QUITE interesting. :-P Really though, he's a trooper. He never leaves my side, even when he's uncomfortable. :)

Dr. confirmed baby was 8 weeks (not the 7 I thought). There is honestly some debate over my due date b/c of my wacky cycles, but Doc claims January 3, 2014, so we'll go with that. If baby is not out by January 8th or so, (s)he is getting a very stern eviction notice. Shane and I were both late, and thus MASSIVE. He was over 11lb (feel free to shoot me now lol) and I was almost 9. Plus I almost died. Not cool. I'm just going to pray for an on-time, under 9lb baby. That's not too much to ask, right? *sigh* Thank God for my child-bearing hips!

We also got an ultrasound. YAY!! She did it over my stomach instead of intra-uterine, so it was hard to see much. Baby was still SUPER tiny. She was like "oh there's the heartbeat! See that little spot flickering faster than the rest?" I didn't see it at first, but then I did and I got super excited and moved my uterus. Whoops! Shane didn't get to see the heartbeat b/c she couldn't find it again. I felt bad, but seriously, keeping your uterus still is HARD! Plus I'm super ticklish, so that doesn't help anything. Hopefully the next one will go better and Daddy can see more. Either way, baby is beautiful and perfect!

On the whole, everything is going well and baby is healthy. That's all that really matters. :) Hopefully it's smooth sailing from here! <3

Week 7-8!

I was too busy being sick to post individually for these weeks. I'm super impressed with how fast baby is growing, though! We also passed from Embryo to Fetus, which is exciting for Daddy since he just calls baby "fetus" all the time anyway. I personally prefer "baby" since I won't know if it's a boy or girl for what, at this point, feels like forever.

Baby size: A blueberry to a kidney bean :)

How I feel about being pregnant: Nauseous. Haha

What I miss about pre-pregnancy life: ROLLER COASTERS!!! I kept seeing an advertisement for the new coaster at Fiest Texas and it made me uber sad face. It's already been a year since I've had any kind of coaster fix, and now it's going to be another whole year at least. *sigh*

Symptoms: Oh the morning sickness. Also, whoever labeled it morning sickness was a twisted jerk. There's no time of day restrictions. I'll keep the gorey details to myself, but oh momma it's way worse than I thought. Thank God the doc gave me some phenegran. Now I can function almost normally. Except for the whole constantly-on-the-verge-of-passing-out thing.

Food Cravings: I don't really CRAVE anything necessarily, but I do have a serious problem with La Casita's salsa. I mean, I always loved it, but it's out of hand now. I eat like 2-3 bowls by myself. Then regret it thourougly. It's just SO GOOD.

What I'm most excited about: Having a super cute baby bump! :) I can't wait for it to get here. It's the one time in my life where getting fat is actually exciting. :-P

Something I've done to prepare for baby: We had our first doctor's appointment. :))

Special moment: I got to see baby's heartbeat for the first time. VERY briefly b/c I got so excited I moved my uterus. I'll do a separate post on the first appointment, but let me tell you, that was the sweetest little 2 second flicker I've seen in my life. <3

Week 6!

 Baby size: A sesame seed!

 

How I feel about being pregnant: Still super excited!

What I miss about pre-pregnancy life: Taking baths as hot as I want to. Shane always gives me crap about how hot my showers are (b/c he's a big fat pansy-head if you ask me). However, baby can't get to hot, so I have to limit my baths and showers to near-my-own-body-temp kind of hot. It's lame, but at least I can still take baths! Whoo!

Symptoms: Still exhausted with a touch of tension headaches. Blargh.

Food Cravings: Still none. Shane is excited to see what crazy stuff I'll be into though. Haha.

What I'm most excited about: Telling people! I absolutely love everyone's reactions. It's been so much fun sharing baby with our closest friends and family. Keeping it under wraps is probably the hardest thing so far. No one wants to keep the secret, including myself. 2 weeks until the ultrasound, though, and I'll probably spill the beans then! :)

Something I've done to prepare for baby: Just finished insurance shinanigans. Not fun times, but childbirth costs a fortune!

 

Week 5!

 Baby size: A poppyseed!

How I feel about being pregnant: Still a little in shock. I've been trying so long that it's really strange to finally be here. Not to mention, completely over-the-moon happy! It's beyond a dream come true, really. I've never wanted anything more in the world. <3

What I miss about pre-pregnancy life: Allergy medicine. My body is NOT adjusting to Texas pollen well at all. I already had to deal with a three week bout of horrible symptoms in March/April and now it's back with a vengance, except this time I can't do anything about it. Baby is more than worth it, but I'll be happy when I can have my Zyrtec-D back.

Symptoms: Tired. Oh so tired. I could seriously just take a nap every few hours all day and baby would be THRILLED. Daddy's not loving the fact that we're little to no help in the moving process, but I think we're cute enough to live through it. :-P

Food Cravings: None yet. My appetite is a little all over the place, but I don't find anything particularly appealing or repellant. Except maybe when Shane eats Twizzlers. I feel like that when I'm not pregnant, though. Ugh.

What I'm most excited about: The fact that I'm not (YET) throwing up. :-P I'm so nauseous all the time normally that I assumed the moment a fertilized egg implanted in my uterus I'd be done for. Haha. So far, so good, though. I'm sure it's only a matter a time, but for now I'm enjoying the ability to eat relatively normally.

Something I've done to prepare for baby: The birthing center I had originally planned to use shut down 2 days before I found out about the little one, so this week I found a different one. Shane and I toured the center and set up my first appointment with my midwife for May 22nd. I'll be exactly 7 weeks, so hopefully we'll be able to hear baby's heartbeat and all that wonderful stuff. :)

Funny moment: I'm not sure how early pregnancy brain becomes a problem, but on the drive down from Tennessee, I was filling out my new planner and asked Shane if there were any September birthdays. HIS birthday is in September. It's also the day we got engaged. No biggie. I'm totally calling pregnancy brain, regardless. :-P
Special moment: Shane talked to my belly for the first time. I totally cried. It was the sweetest thing ever! I can't wait until baby has ears and can hear us tell him/her how loved he/she is!

The strip turns pink! FINALLY!

We have been trying to have a baby for a while. Every month there's so much hope, then nothing. It's a really disheartening process, honestly. I got to the point where I just tried incredibly hard not to even consider the possibility of it actually happening each month. This time around, I think Shane was more excited and convinced we would succeed than I was. He wanted to give me a baby for my birthday. Best birthday present ever. Of all time. Seriously. I won't go into details about my cycle but a lot of stuff was weird and it kept dragging on forever, so I was pretty sure it was a bust and I just didn't ovulate. Then when we went to start loading the trailer, I realized I was just BEYOND exhausted. I'd carry a freaking lamp and have to stop a few times before I got to the trailer. I literally laid down on every flat surface I could find and more than once Shane motivated me with the promise of a nap. He thought I was just being lazy at first, but I think he finally realized something more was going on and just let me be. I was pretty emotional too, but I am that way most of the time, so it wasn't a good indicator. I tested a few times, just to be sure, and they all turned up negative. Then, the morning we were leaving for Texas, I woke up at 5am (which I was NOT happy about) and went to take one last test. It kind of malfunctioned and took like 3 times as long as it should have to show that BEAUTIFUL second line, but there it was at last. From the moment I saw the outline, I started sobbing. Poor Shane was in the livingroom and heard me crying, so he assumed it was a no again. I walked out, still sobbing, and said "it's positive" (which much gasping and tears). I'm not sure I've ever seen him look so confused. Poor dear. Then he got super excited and hugged me. :) He was skeptical of my mass-purchased pregnancy tests, so he made me stop at Kroger on the way out and buy a ClearBlue Digital test. Since I can't just pee on command, I had to wait until our next pit-stop, which happened to be at a random McDonald's in a gas station along the way, because we like to keep it classy. This time, it was a very clear, very specific "pregnant". I came out of the store grinning ear to ear. I've never wanted anything in my life more than I wanted a baby. I'm so unbelivably grateful we were blessed with one, and I hope the next 8 months are smoothe sailing. This is going to be the most loved child in the entire world, for sure.