Doctors x2

Today was a busy day and I am so tired that I think I'm going to pass out after I finish typing this! First, I haven't been getting the best sleep for the last week or so but last night I actually slept amazingly (minus the fact that I still woke up twice to pee). Go figure that the one night I finally get some good sleep is the night I have to wake up at the crack of dawn for an early morning doctors appointment. It's been raining on and off for the last few days and it was so nice to hear the rain outside every time I woke up.

Anyways, I saw Dr. Lee today and had an awesome ultrasound!! Little baby was dancing around all over the place. I've seen it move before but it's been mainly just little twitches or the arms moving about. This time, however, baby's entire body was moving. It was sooooooo cool to see. Mike has been doing a hilarious impression of it "dancing" that cracks me up every time. I guess that sugar twist donut I grabbed on the way out of the house really woke up the little one! Dr. Lee is going on vacation for the rest of the year so I won't be seeing him for two weeks (Jan 2) which feels like forever from now since I'm used to my weekly appointments. And they did tell me that since I will be 12 weeks, that will be my last appointment! It will be so nice to finally be a "normal" pregnant lady but I will miss all the ultrasounds... Mike and I are going to get some sort of thank you gift for Dr. Lee and the whole staff, I'm thinking maybe an Edible Arrangement (those fruit arrangement things). His whole office has been more then amazing throughout this entire process and we want them to know how much we appreciate it. After all, they gave us the ultimate gift - our baby! 

Here's our little cutie (check out those arms and legs)!!

10 weeks 2 days

After that appointment Mike went to work and I headed to my mom's so that she could go with me to my OBGYN appointment. I wasn't sure what to expect since this was only my 2nd appointment with her and last time they literally just gave me a bunch of literature on pregnancy. I had to give a urine sample, though I'm not sure what they test it for. Then the main nurse, Stephanie, tried to hear the heartbeat with the Doppler which bummed me out because I think Mike would have come if he knew they were going to do that. But she wasn't able to find it so I guess it worked out. She wasn't too concerned that she couldn't hear it, especially since I told her I had the ultrasound this morning and everything was fine. She said that 10 weeks is usually the earliest they are able to hear it because of how small the baby still is and since I said it was moving around a lot that makes it even harder to find. After that Dr. Sugihara came in and felt around on my tummy. She said she is just feeling to make sure the uterus feels like it is the right size and in the right place for how far along I am. That was it! I'm not used to having an appointment related to this pregnancy where I don't have to undress from the waist down, lol. I won't be seeing her again for a month (which will be the routine until later in pregnancy). She said we should definitely be able to hear the heartbeat on the Doppler by then so Mike will be coming with me for sure.

Besides for that I am scheduled to have my glucose tolerance test on Thursday. Ugh, I am so nervous. I REALLY don't want to have gestational diabetes. I don't really feel like I have any of the symptoms that I have read about but I'm still really nervous. My mom had it with one of her four pregnancies and then one of my sisters had it (the one who my mom was pregnant with, oddly enough). I know it's not going to be the end of the world if I do end up having it. I will just have to be careful with what I eat etc. I don't think there's much you can do to help pass the test - if you have gestational diabetes you have it. But, with that said I am avoiding carbs and sugar today and tomorrow just to be safe. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

Eating Healthy While Pregnant

Hahahaha, what a joke!

You always hear about these magical skinny women (you know, Victoria Secret Model types) who claim that while pregnant they actually craved carrot sticks and salads. They are also the same ones who say labor was a breeze, I'm sure! Can someone please point me in their direction because I don't think they really exist!

I've pretty much given up on the idea of eating healthy in the first trimester. Hopefully I'm not doing any permanent damage to the little one inside me but at this point I'm just happy that I can eat again. So what did I eat today? For breakfast I had 2 donuts and chocolate milk, for lunch I had an everything bagel with lots of cream cheese, chili cheese fries and a raspberry-banana smoothie, and for dinner I had half of an Asian chicken salad and 2 scoops of ice cream from Baskin Robins! I know, I'm officially eating like a kid who is about to be shipped off to fat camp for the summer.

The problem is that while I'm finally getting my appetite back, a lot of food still just sounds gross/not good to me. Dinner is especially difficult for me because for some reason my stomach feels unsettled in the evening and heavy food just doesn't sit well. So I end up not eating much and then waking up around midnight starving. Oh well, what are you gonna do? I figure if Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson both gave birth to normal healthy babies then I'm pretty much safe, right?

9 Weeks

I am officially back in the bump shots from here on out!!

How Far Along: 9 weeks 6 days
Total Weight Gain: Still only +3 lbs (though it looks and feels like way more)
Maternity Clothes: Yup and couldn't be happier, they are comfy!
Stretch Marks: Only that one from last week :(
Sleep: I'm finally over my cold so I'm sleeping a lot better but still waking up around 4-5am every morning and unable to go back to sleep for an hour
Best Moment This Week: Seeing our baby wiggling around on the ultrasound
Miss Anything: Cocktails!!
Movement: Nope
Food Cravings: Chocolate and Frosted Flakes
Anything Making You Queasy or Sick: Still not liking the smell or taste of eggs
Gender: Still thinking it's a girl
Labor Signs: Nope
Symptoms: Nausea is back this week, and gagging when I brush my teeth
Belly Button In or Out: In
Wedding Rings On or Off: On, when I can remember to put them on in the morning
Happy or Moody Most of the Time: Happy and excited
Looking Forward To: Graduating from Dr. Lee's so I can be considered a "normal" pregnant lady!!

I Had A Scare This Morning!

I woke up this morning for one of my many routine bathroom visits to find light pink blood on the toilet paper when I wiped. I've read that around 25% of pregnant women will experience some spotting during their pregnancy and it's perfectly normal. But of course I freaked out when I saw it since I haven't had any spotting this entire time. It's also in the back of mind that my sister had a miscarriage at 9 weeks which is how far along I am this week so that isn't helping my paranoia. I ran to Mike and he did his usual "I'm being strong for you" response, he said that it was nothing and not to worry but I saw the concern in his eyes. Rather then driving myself crazy all day by thinking of the "what ifs", I decided to call Dr. Lee and see what he thought. Dr. Lee didn't really think I should be concerned but said I could come into his office and get an ultrasound just for peace of mind especially since I was in the car accident on Tuesday. It turns out the baby is totally fine but I do have a small blood clot. Dr. Lee said I shouldn't worry about it and that it is actually so small he probably wouldn't have seen it if he wasn't looking for it. So I guess I am to expect more bleeding as the clot passes which he said could be as soon as later today or as long as a couple weeks form now. I'm so glad that I called because if I started to bleed more heavily I definitely would have lost my mind!

The upside, however, is that I got to have a bonus ultrasound and see our little gummy bear again. He or she has actually grown 2mm since Tuesday and I saw it's arm moving! They were able to get a really good picture this week that better shows it's legs this time. Also, my yolk sac is now only measuring 5mm which is actually smaller then last time so that means the placenta is going to be fully taking over soon - yay!!  :)

9 weeks 5 days

Fun Day

Today was a fun day!! 

First, Mike and I went out to test drive the car that I'm pretty sure we are going to buy to replace my smashed civic. We are looking at the Toyota Venza. It's definitely bigger then my civic so I think it's a great family friendly sized car with plenty of space for all the junk that comes along with babies when you're traveling. Last May Mike's truck needed a new engine which wouldn't have been worth the cost so we started looking at possible new cars for him and that's when we first saw the Venza. It ended up that our insurance company covered the engine so we stopped looking into cars. At the time Mike said that while he liked it, he wouldn't want it as his car because he felt it was a modern day mini van type car, lol. Well, my car is the one being replaced now so I'm going with the Venza!! As it turns out Mike loved it when we test drove it today. It drove so smoothly and the one we are looking at has tons of cool features and gadgets for him to play with so he's a happy camper. It's pretty much decided at this point; I'm just waiting for our insurance to fork over the cash for my totaled car. I'm definitely NOT happy that both our cars were paid off and now we are going to have to have a monthly car payment. The timing was crappy, for sure! But since there's nothing I can do about it now I've decided that I'm going to allow myself to be excited, after all who doesn't love new cars?!?!

After our fun test driving excursion we were passing the mall and I decided it was time to bite the bullet and finally buy some maternity clothes! I just couldn't take wearing exclusively leggings anymore and my pre-pregnancy jeans are way uncomfortable at this point. Also, as much as I love leggings, I don't like wearing them with shirts that don't at least semi cover my butt and it's hard to find longer shirts in normal clothes. As a result of this I have literally been recycling a very limited amount of outfits every day. I must admit I was very hesitant and slightly overwhelmed when looking at the maternity jeans but I ended up just taking a bunch into a dressing room to see what they were like. I ended up only getting 1 pair of jeans today but they are sooooooo comfy and I love them! I also bought 2 tees (1 short sleeved and 1 3/4 sleeved) and 1 sweater. Mike had a bit of a heart attack when he saw the total price and I had to talk him down off a cliff. I'm not going to go crazy on maternity clothes because realistically it's only a temporary wardrobe but at the same time I need to accept that my body is changing and I need new clothes. And as it turns out I feel so much cuter in them. I feel like they look like clothes that actually fit and show off my belly instead of just looking like I'm fat and wearing a loose sweater, if that makes sense. 

So anyways, here's a pic of me in my new jeans (which you can hardly see) and one of my new tops. P.S. I am fully aware that I should not "look" pregnant at 9 weeks and it is mainly all bloat and IVF weight but I'm going to choose to believe it is a little baby bump because that's cuter then fat!

Today Was A Horrible Day!!!

**Don't worry, nothing bad happened baby wise.**

This morning Mike and I were headed to see Dr. Lee for another ultrasound and I was already nervous because of my past couple of visits (large yolk sac, difficult heartbeat etc...). We were only a few minutes away from the office when I noticed the car I was quickly approaching was stopped. I was able to safely come to a stop without having to slam on my breaks. Then I noticed the car approaching me from behind was going full speed (probably 50 mph) and wasn't looking. It was then that I realized he was going to hit me so I started screaming and braced myself. He hit us with such impact that we literally flew forward and into the car in front of us! I could tell that Mike and I were relatively OK but I immediately started to freak out about the baby. I know it's still tiny at this point but the seat belt had pushed so hard on me that my chest hurt so I didn't know if it could have hurt our little baby. I managed to push open my door and started shaking when I realized my car was most likely totaled.

As soon as the police finished their report and we traded insurance information, they towed away my car and we called my father-in-law to come get us and take me to get checked out with Dr. Lee (Mike had called Dr. Lee and told him about our accident). I was so nervous but thankfully everything is more then OK, it's perfect! We saw our little one - who now has arms and legs!!! It was wiggling around and had a great heartbeat of 182bpm. Dr. Lee even said he wasn't concerned about my yolk sac anymore. And the best news of all: NO MORE INJECTIONS! I couldn't be more thrilled!

Anyways, back to my car. After speaking to our insurance company they said they won't officially know for sure until they get someone out to inspect it but they're pretty sure it's going to be totaled. So it looks like Mike and I are going to be looking at new cars tomorrow. We were thinking we'd upgrade my car within the next year or two anyways so I guess it's just going to speed things up a bit. 

So that was my crazy day. I hope you all had a better one!

8 Weeks

How Far Along: 8 weeks 6 days
Total Weight Gain: I'm holding steady at +3lbs
Maternity Clothes: Going to bite the bullet soon and get some since my pre pregnancy jeans are just too tight now.
Stretch Marks: Ugh, 1 just appeared really low on my belly which should be impossible at this point so it made me cry!! I started consistently using my lotion morning and night and I can already hardly see it plus no more have shown their ugly face!
Sleep: Having a cold hasn't helped my sleep. I tend to wake up every morning around 2am for a bathroom run and then again around 5am for an hour of tossing and turning.
Best Moment This Week: Mike brought me home flowers just because...
Miss Anything: My old sleeping habits and holiday cocktails
Movement: Nope
Food Cravings: Del Taco Chili Cheese Fries, Orange Juice, and chocolate!
Anything Making You Queasy or Sick: I'm over my aversion to chicken but now it's all about eggs - gross!
Gender: I just bet Mike that it's a girl, gut feeling.
Labor Signs: Nope
Symptoms: Breast Tenderness, Round Ligament Pains
Belly Button In or Out: In
Wedding Rings On or Off: On
Happy or Moody Most of the Time: Happy with occasional stress over every little pain I feel. Thankfully the quick irritability has gone away.

Looking Forward To: Tomorrow's ultrasound (but slightly nervous since this is with Doctor Crazy and Overly Cautious)!

Sickness

Pregnancy and being sick is truly the worst combination ever! Thankfully I just have a cold and not the flu but yesterday I seriously felt like death! I am so congested that I can only breath out of my mouth which of course isn't helping my sore throat. At least today I'm not feeling as achy and sore. What makes it so miserable is the fact that I'm basically out of luck when it comes to medicine that is pregnancy approved. I've found a few things I can take but I guess I just don't feel comfortable taking any chances so I'm sucking it up and dealing with it. 

That's about all I can manage for today...

6 & 7 Weeks

As promised, here are the photos of my chalkboard for weeks 6 and 7! I was sicker then a dog so I never actually managed to get a belly shot with the chalkboard so you'll just have to settle for the pictures. But since I'm already in my 8th week I'll be getting that board done tomorrow hopefully, and I'll be sure to include my belly.

How Far Along: 6 weeks 6 days

Total Weight Gain: +3 lbs (I actually lost 1lb since last week and I feel like some of the bloating is going away)

Maternity Clothes: Still living in leggings

Stretch Marks: Nope

Sleep: Ehhh, it's been better. I just bought a Snoogle Pillow so I'm hoping that helps!

Best Moment This Week: It's a tie between seeing our first ultrasound and telling the family at Thanksgiving!

Miss Anything: I miss not feeling nauseated

Movement: Nope

Food Cravings: Starchy Carbs (bagels specifically) that keep me from feeling sick.

Anything Making You Queasy or Sick: Chicken, gross!

Gender: Don't Know Yet

Labor Signs: Nope

Symptoms: Morning Sickness, Sore Breasts, Pregnancy Brain

Belly Button In or Out: In

Wedding Rings On or Off: On

Happy or Moody Most of the Time: Happy and overly emotional (I'll cry over anything)

Looking Forward To: Tuesday's ultrasound, Dr. thinks we might hear the heart beat!

How Far Along: 7 weeks 4 days
Total Weight Gain: +3 lbs
Maternity Clothes: Nope, but living in leggings!
Stretch Marks: Nope
Sleep: Some nights are better then others, and I'm tired A LOT throughout the day.
Best Moment This Week: Hearing our baby's heartbeat at a solid 164 bpm.
Miss Anything: Having energy!
Movement: Nope
Food Cravings: I'm starting to be able to eat more then just bland carbs but they still are my go too when feeling sick.
Anything Making You Queasy or Sick: Still not liking chicken and add eggs onto the gross list!
Gender: According to the Chinese Lunar Calendar its a girl :)
Labor Signs: Nope
Symptoms: Major morning sickness and extreme fatigue.
Belly Button In or Out: In
Wedding Rings On or Off: On
Happy or Moody Most of the Time: Happy but worried about every little thing!
Looking Forward To: my next ultrasound.

And I'm back...

Hello blog world people. Long time no see! I must confess I have been purposefully avoiding blogging lately because we had a bit of a scare (well maybe not that big of a deal in hindsight) and I just couldn't bring myself to post until I felt sure that everything would be OK.

I went in to see my RE and have my regular weekly ultrasound on Tuesday (7w2d). Our little blob (that's what I've decided it looks like currently) popped up immediately and we could see it's tiny heart flickering away. Dr. Lee measured everything and said the baby was growing right on track and had even tripled in size since my last visit! Then he decided he wanted to hear the heartbeat - imagine my excitement! After a minute or two he was able to bring it up on the screen and play the heartbeat. We could see the sound waves on the screen and Dr. Lee said it was beating at 130 beats per minute which was normal at that stage. Then for some reason he tried to hear the heart beat again and had a hard time getting it. He did eventually find it and again it was at 130bpm so that showed that it was beating at a consistent pace and not irregular. I thought everything was great but then Dr. Lee told me that he was concerned because the heart beat was so hard to find. I asked him why he would be concerned when we DID find it and could see it flickering the entire time anyways. He said that at this stage it shouldn't be so difficult to locate. I then asked him how big of a deal this is and he said that out of a scale of 1 to 10 he was at a 5/6 level of concern. Of course I freaked out and immediately started crying. All I heard in my mind at that point was "you may lose this baby". Dr. Lee said he wanted to see me again on Friday. Needless to say that was the longest 3 days ever!

7w2d

Pretty much everyone I talked to said that they thought Dr. Lee was being ridiculous. I heard many people tell me that their doctor doesn't even attempt to hear a heart beat until closer to 10 weeks because it's not uncommon to have a hard time finding it. People also told me to remember that the baby is only the size of a blueberry at this point so imagine finding a tiny heart inside something that small! Others simply said that if the baby is measuring on track and you can see the heart beating then you have nothing to worry about. Easier said then done!

Mike and I went in again on Friday (7w5d) and I was a total wreck, not sure what to expect. Dr. Lee immediately got to business and did the ultrasound. Up popped the baby and again he said that it looked great size wise, and that the heart was much easier to see this time. He then went to listen to the heart and found it immediately. This time it was beating a 164bpm which is great! But then he said that he is still concerned because my yolk sac is slightly larger then normal. I guess they like to see it no bigger then 7mm and mine is 6mm (though the average is 3-5mm). I asked him what that meant and he said that it could be nothing but that typically larger yolk sacs are indicators of miscarriages. Again, I lost it and began to cry hysterically. He then tried to calm me a bit by saying that he feels much better after this ultrasound then he did on Tuesday. He said that if he had to predict the likelihood of a bad outcome (which I'm assuming means miscarrying) after Tuesday he would have said 60%, but now its only 30%, with a 70% chance of a normal pregnancy (gee, thanks for that reassurance!). Finally, he said he wants me to come back on Tuesday, December 11th (so not the week coming up but the following week) and that he expects to see little arms and legs at that point. He said that if he sees that, then he believes everything will be fine and my chances for a normal pregnancy will go up to 90%. After he left the nurse stayed for a few minutes and told us that she really wouldn't worry that much because my yolk sac is still in the normal range and they see plenty of women with larger yolk sacs go on to deliver perfectly healthy babies.

7w5d - the circle shape is the "large" yolk sac

I must say that I am really beginning to think Dr. Lee is overly cautious. I'm not saying that I'd rather have a doctor who is too relaxed but I guess I'm just not feeling his bedside manner, so to speak. If I'm in the normal range why bring up all the scary what ifs? Of course a pregnant women, especially one who has gone through so much to even get pregnant, is going to freak out! At this point I'm still not 100% happy but I am trying to take it one day at a time and realize that whatever happens is out of my hands. I really don't see the need to worry since I am still in the normal range for yolk sacs. As far as I'm concerned, the baby is growing appropriately so I have every reason to believe it will continue to do so and develop little arms and legs. Also, it has a perfect heart beat that is consistent and regular. Now if it was growing slower then normal and measuring behind, or if it had an extremely low heartbeat then I might be more worried about this yolk sac issue. Also, Dr. Lee is obviously not too worried or he would have me come back in next week after several days have passed like he did this time. I doubt he would be super duper worried but yet wait 11 days to see me.

I will be seeing my OB/GYN on Tuesday for the first time since finding out I'm pregnant. I have been seeing her since I was 18 for all my regular women needs and I really like her. She has a calm demeanor to her that a worry wort like myself needs, but at the same time she doesn't sugar coat things if there is a problem. She just doesn't cause unnecessary worry. I doubt I'll be getting an ultrasound from her this early on but I want to tell her what has been going on and get her take on everything.

So anyways, that's why I've been away for a while.... Thoughts and prayers and good vibes are greatly appreciated! And I promise to post a belly update for weeks 6 and 7 tomorrow!!

I'm A Bad Blogger

Well I've officially failed at NaBloPoMo. It's no longer just a one time blip, I'm missing a lot of blogging days. These days I am feeling like poo and can barely find the energy to get up and shower, let alone sit here and blog. I realize I'm behind in my bump updates too so I'm thinking I'll be doing a double post this weeks for week 6 and 7. 

Anyways, I thought I'd share with you all some news. We are now totally out to everyone. After telling our families on Thanksgiving, we had a BBQ with friends this weekend and told them all. They were so excited and happy for us! After that we posted our chalkboard announcement on Facebook and sat back as all the congratulations came rolling in. It was so much fun to see everyone's shock and excitement for us, especially those who weren't aware that we were even trying! Of course, now that everyone knows panic occasionally sinks in of what am I going to do if something bad happens, but I try not to think that way. And as much as I hate morning sickness and can't wait for it to go away, it is a reminder to me that the baby is in there and growing stronger everyday.

Tomorrow Mike and I are going back to Dr. Lee for our second ultrasound and will hopefully be hearing the heartbeat!!! Wish us luck and I will try my best to update more regularly!

We're Officially Out!

First I must say that I feel bad about not posting anything yesterday. I guess I failed the NaBloPoMo challenge. After all the food and family time, I was laying in bed about ready to pass out and I made the conscious decision to forgo posting anything. I really underestimated how much energy goes into being pregnant. Maybe I'm stupid for thinking pregnancy would be this awesome thing where you feel the exact same except for maybe being extra emotional. I was wrong! I cannot believe how tired I am all the time...

Anyways, we are officially out to our families!! Yesterday was so much fun... Here's how it went down:

As usual, once we all sat down at the table with our food I started the "what I'm thankful for" tradition. Once I finished I looked at my sister who was sitting on my right (Mike was on my left) and said "you're turn". I was a little nervous that she would say to make Mike go next because she normally gripes the most about doing this "cheesy" tradition. Thankfully though, she went with the flow and then everyone went around the table saying what they were thankful for until it came back to Mike. Mike started out with all the usual things to be thankful for (me - his wife, his family and friends, his health, his job etc...). The whole time he was talking I was squeezing his hand under the table so hard. Then he casually said "and I'm also thankful for July 14th, 2013 because that's when our baby is due". Almost immediately everyone reacted. Mike's mom exclaimed "Awww, you're pregnant?!". My sister started crying (which of course made me cry) and told my niece "Aunt Lissie is going to have a baby!!". I can't even begin to explain how happy it felt to finally share our news with everyone. Mike's mom later told us that she was kind of wondering if we'd share some good news during dinner but because I didn't say anything during my turn she assumed we didn't know yet. I figured as much and that was partly why I decided to have Mike announce it at the end. Haha, we were tricky!

So now all that's left is to tell our friends...

Oh yeah, I also took a picture of our table just like I said I would.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

I Am EXHAUSTED!

OHHHHH. EMMMMM. GEEEEEEEE!

I am so tired! I went to my mom's house early today to help her get as much done for tomorrow as possible. We did end up getting A LOT done but as a result I am now exhausted. I guess I'm still learning what my limits are now that I am pregnant and most of my body's energy is going into creating a human.


What We Accomplished Today 

• Baked the cornbread
• Made whipped honey butter
• Made cranberry-raspberry sauce
• Cubed the bread for the stuffing 
• Made a lemon/berry trifle
• Peeled all 10lbs of potatoes 
• Prepared the breakfast casserole for tomorrow

What We Have Left For Tomorrow

• Turkey (but that's my Stepdad's job...)
• Mashed Potatoes
• Green Beans
• Glazed Carrots
• Stuffing
• Biscuits
• Gravy

I think we actually made quite a dent in what needed to be done. I feel a lot more confident that we will actually be able to get the rest done tomorrow as long as we follow our timeline because most of the stuff left won't take too long to make. Mike's family will be bringing the ham and pies.

I'm just so thankful that  our secret will finally be out. I don't know how much longer I can go not talking about being pregnant, let alone hide the morning sickness or continue to make up reasons why I don't want to eat food that I've always loved eating...

Tonight Mike and I are going to go to dinner and spend the night relaxing. As much as I've been dying to tell everyone that we are pregnant, it's been kind of nice to have this secret together. Sometimes we just look at each other and smile. In a way, I'm going to miss that. So I want to enjoy tonight since it's the last night we'll have with this secret.

Pre-Thanksgiving

I don't have much for you tonight since the morning sickness (or BS all day sickness as I call it) is kicking my butt today! 

I went grocery shopping with my mom today to get everything we need for Thanksgiving (except for the turkey which we bought a week ago to start thawing). Tomorrow we will start baking and cooking the things that can be done a day ahead of time. I should mention that my family makes everything homemade, none of the pre-prepared stuff for us!

Here is what's on the menu for our Thanksgiving (some things are traditional while others aren't):

Turkey

Ham

Biscuits

Cornbread

Honey Butter

Gravy

Cranberry-Raspberry Sauce

Mashed Potatoes 

Stuffing

Creamed Corn

Glazed Carrots

Green Beans

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

Pumpkin Pie

Chocolate Satin Pie

Lemon Curd and Fresh Berry Trifle

I'm also making a Stuffed French Toast Casserole to eat the morning of Thanksgiving since we will be up cooking all day and probably won't eat until 5pm ish (my mom is aiming for 4pm but my family is NEVER ready on time)!

And lastly, I saw the above cute idea on Pinterest for decorating with a fall theme and decided to copy that for our dinner table on Thanksgiving. Instead of grouping them all together like in the photo, I'm going to have the wine glasses going down the length of the table. I also bought some fabric fall leaves that I'll scatter around as well. I'm hoping it looks good and will take some pictures once it's all set up.

I Saw My Baby For The First Time!

Baby Mitchell at 6weeks 2 days

It was magical! I know it's not much of a baby yet but it's truly amazing to know that little bean is inside me. Oh yeah, and we're only having 1 baby! We obviously knew that twins were an option since we agreed to put in 2 embryos  and we would have been happy with twins but I have to say I am slightly relieved to know that we are only having 1 baby. It will cost us less, be easier to adjust to, and it makes the pregnancy safer with less chances of complications.

Anyways, back to my precious Baby M. The black circle is the gestational sac which contains the amniotic fluid and the baby. You can kind of see a whitish blob in the center of the gestational sac, that is the yolk sac which provides nutrients to the baby until the placenta is fully developed. And lastly, above the yolk sac is a much smaller whitish blob that is the baby. It is currently only 2mm big but when I held my breath I could see it flickering which was it's heart beating! How unbelievable is that?? I think it's starting to sink in now that there really is a little baby in there and I am already SO in love with it.

Mike and I will go back to see Dr. Lee next Tuesday for another ultrasound. I will be 7weeks 3days and Dr. Lee thinks we will be able to hear the heart beat by then! I can't wait!

Oh No, It's Back!

Morning sickness is back with a vengeance today! I have been doing so well over the last week and thought I wasn't going to have too much of a problem with morning sickness. Then today happened! Basically since I woke up I have been feeling extremely nauseous. I didn't actually throw up (well, I did a little in my mouth) but there were several times that I thought I was going to.

I'm also pretty sure my whole family thinks I'm insane because I'm having some really weird food situations lately. First, I asked Mike to pick me up chicken nuggets from McDonald's the other night because nothing in the house looked good and nuggets sounded amazing! But as soon as I looked at the nuggets I thought I was going to puke and wanted nothing to do with them! I ended up eating Mike's cheeseburger... And today I was at my mom's house and ate a grape only to immediately spit it out into the trash can! It was nasty! Lastly, Mike made a full blown dinner tonight that I would normally love but all I wanted to eat was potato chips and onion dip! I really hope that things get a little more normal in the second trimester like they say in all those pregnancy books because this is just crazy...

Anyways, I am so excited for tomorrow because Mike and I get to see our first ultrasound!!! I looked up online what I should expect to see at 6 weeks and everything I read says that we should be able to see the gestational sac, the yolk sac and of course the fetal pole (which is what they call the baby before it is officially a fetus). We may even be able to see the heartbeat, woot woot. But what I'm the most excited for is to finally know if one or both of the embryos implanted. Are we having twins or just one baby? Mike and I are feeling like we are having one but everyone else in my family keeps saying they think we're going to have twins! Tomorrow we shall see...

Spoiled Mama, Spoiled Me!

My sampler kit of The Spoiled Mama products arrived yesterday and I am already obsessed with the stuff! I will for sure be ordering the normal sized products ASAP (even if there's nothing you can do to avoid stretch marks I'm giving it a try). Anyways, I thought I would give you guys a review of the stuff in case you're interested.

*I forgot to mention last time that The Spoiled Mama is totally organic, toxin free, certified vegan, and none of their products are tested on animals!

Tummy Butter for Stretch Marks

This stuff is amazing! First, the smell is heavenly. It reminds me of a chocolate orange (am I the only one who loves those?). Seriously, the last cocoa butter I used smelled like fake chocolate and was super greasy. But this is such a gentle scent that it doesn't bother my super nose at all and it isn't crazy greasy. Bottom line: it's a must have!

 

Bump Gloss Stretch Mark Oil
I was really surprised how much I like this stuff because I bought another stretch mark oil at the same time that I bought the other cocoa butter and it was horrible. It left me feeling oily for hours! This, on the other hand, immediately absorbs into the skin so it doesn't feel oily at all. And it is lightly scented with lavender so it is relaxing.

Extreme Mama Creme
This creme (ooh la la, fancy spelling of cream) is meant to help soothe your itchy skin as your belly starts really growing and stretching. Obviously I'm not at that point yet so I can't attest to whether or not it works for that purpose but I can say that it smells really nice and reminds me of being in a spa. I couldn't place the scent like I could with the other products but it's label says it is their #1 requested signature scent of a chamomile-neroli blend. The lotion feels really light and I can definitely see how it would be soothing.

So there's my review of The Spoiled Mama. I really recommend taking a look at their site: www.thespoiledmama.com. They also have many other products like teas that are meant to help with queasiness and skin products to help with pregnancy acne etc... 

My First Chalkboard Bump!

Well, we are nearing the end of my 5th week - today I am 5 weeks 6 days pregnant. It still seems surreal to say that. In fact, last night I went to to dinner with two of my best girlfriends for our weekly girls night out and it was the first time I've seen them in person since I told them the IVF worked (they are the only other people that know right now). Anyways, while we were out I said "I'm pregnant" a few times out loud in conversation and I was surprised at how awesome it felt to actually say it to someone other then Mike. I absolutely cannot wait until Thanksgiving to tell everyone else. Only six more days!!!

Anyways... Since this is the last day in my 5th week I've got to post my first chalkboard bump shot. Let me warn you, it's not my best photo by any means! I waited until the evening to take the photo so i'm extra bloated from dinner and the lights are making shadows... Next week I'm going to actually do my makeup and take the photo in the day before my belly gets extra flabby. Enjoy!

How Far Along: 5 weeks 6 days

Total Weight Gain: +4 pounds!! (Though I'm pretty sure this is all bloat related to IVF because there is NO WAY I've gained that much already!)

Maternity Clothes: No but I am living in leggings (again, IVF bloat)!

Stretch Marks: Nope and I'm cocoa buttering up my belly nightly to avoid them.

Sleep: Not the best. My back is killing me! I need to get the snoogle pillow ASAP!

Best Moment This Week: Getting my 3rd Beta and finally feeling like I am FOR SURE pregnant!

Miss Anything: Starting to miss alcohol. Sangria on Thanksgiving sounds DELISH!!

Movement: Nope, WAY too soon for that!

Food Cravings: Nothing specifically, more just definite ideas of what does and doesn't sound good when trying to figure out what to eat.

Anything Making You Queasy or Sick: No, thankfully the nausea hasn't been too bad.

Gender: Too soon to know.

Labor Signs: Haha, NO!
Symptoms: Queasy if I don't eat every couple hours, stuffy nose, shortness of breath, and major pregnancy brain!
Belly Button In or Out: In, where I want it to stay!
Wedding Rings On or Off: On :)
Happy or Moody Most of the Time: Happy for the most part, but I get moody easily!
Looking Forward To: Our first ultrasound on Monday. I hope to see a heart beat and find out if it's a singleton or twins!

I'm Beyond Thrilled!

Well there's no point in beating around the bush... I'm still pregnant!!!

Here is the breakdown of what my betas were:

Beta 1 (11/7): 251
Beta 2 (11/9): 618 - doubling time of 38 hours
Beta 3 (11/15): 5,780 - doubling time of 45 hours

This is great news because they want to see your number double every 48 hours and as you can see mine are doubling faster then that. I am beyond excited, I can't even tell you! I feel like it's real and this is really going to happen. 

They scheduled my first ultrasound for Monday at 10:00am and Mike is going to go with me. He is so sweet, he said he's going to try his hardest to be at every appointment, and especially every major appointment like ultrasounds etc... Time is going to go by so slowly until Monday! All I want is to see my beautiful baby (or babies) and see their little hearts fluttering away! It's funny to think that when you're going through an IVF cycle there seems to be so many days where you are just waiting waiting waiting. You would think that once you get that positive pee stick the waiting would be over, BUT NO! It seems to be just as much waiting. Waiting until the next beta, waiting until the ultrasound, waiting to be out of the danger zone for miscarriages. I guess no matter what you're going through in life it's going to be filled with waiting.

So now that I've passed all my betas with flying colors I can make my 5 week chalkboard. I was waiting for today's results just in case it wasn't good news. But i really feel comfortable now, like everything is going to work out.

I've got to run, gotta get ready because I'm going to go see the Twilight Midnight Showing tonight!!!!!

Anxious...

Tomorrow is my third and (hopefully) final Beta test and the nerves are starting to sink in. It will have been 6 days since Beta #2 so it's been a while (in IF land anyways) since I've seen Dr. Lee. I know that I had good, strong numbers but I can't help but be worried that this third time it won't be where it needs to be.  The rational part of me says to calm down because I'm still feeling as pregnant as I can be at this point, I'm still having real pregnancy symptoms, but of course I still worry.

Sometimes I worry that I jumped the gun in believing that everything is going to be OK with this pregnancy. This is obviously my first time ever being pregnant so I don't have any history of miscarriages or any reason to believe that I may miscarry. But then I constantly read about women who start bleeding and miscarry at the same point I'm at (sometimes even several weeks farther along then me). And I also read about women who go in for their first ultra sound only to find out there's no heart beat and that the baby just stopped developing several weeks back. The list goes on and on! Mike keeps telling me that everything will be OK and that I'm already being a good mom to the little baby by worrying/careing about him/her. I guess I'll just feel better once I see it's little heart beating away on our ultra sound Monday.

Anyways, I have now known for an entire week that I am pregnant and it's definitely not the beautiful glowing experience that you see in movies. Don't get me wrong, I am loving every minute of knowing there's a baby in there and it's really not all that bad. I guess I just wasn't aware of some of the symptoms...

• For example, did you know that approximately 30% of pregnant women get stuffed up noses. Guess who is in that 30%? Yup, me! I am constantly stuffed up and it's so bad at night that I have to double up my pillows or I wake up because I can't breath! 

• Also, apparently progesterone can cause shortness of breath in the first trimester as your body adjusts to all the excess amounts. Well, add the PIO shots to the already heightened amount from pregnancy and my body is pretty much overwhelmed with progesterone, causing me to huff and puff with almost any activity. 

• Thankfully my nausea isn't too bad. I feel a little queasy for the first 30 minutes after I wake up but it's not anything that makes me think I'll actually throw up. And if I let myself get too hungry then I'll feel the nausea again, so I'm just learning to eat lots of smaller meals throughout the day. I haven't had any real cravings or aversions yet, more just specific ideas of what I do and do not want when we are trying to decide what to eat.

• And speaking of eating, some of the things I used to really like just don't taste right anymore. We had Chinese food the other night and it just wasn't the same. It's not that I couldn't stomach it, it just tasted different. And recently I sent Mike to get me a dipped cone from McDonald's but when I tried to eat it the chocolate tasted funky to me, so much so that I made Mike eat off all the chocolate and then I just ate the ice cream. And I've noticed that spicy flavors are like 10 times spicier to me now!

• Lastly, I have been pretty surprised at how emotional I get over things. I've always been an emotional person and cry at sappy movies blah blah blah (I once even cried from a movie preview!!). So I thought I already had that part handled and that it wouldn't be much different when I was pregnant. WRONG! I cry at the drop of a hat now, both happy and sad reasons set me off. And it's not just happy/sad emotions that are heightened, my anger is at an all time high. The littlest thing can set me off and make me want to punch someone!

Oh the joys of pregnancy!

Things I'm Thankful For

In the spirit of Thanksgiving I want to talk about all the things I am thankful for. I originally wanted to make this a "non baby" post because I have been doing a lot of baby talk lately and I realize that a lot of my followers are still struggling with getting pregnant and I want to be sensitive to that. However, if I'm being honest there is no way I can not mention the baby. It is the biggest thing to ever happen in my life and there's no way to not talk about that. So with that in mind, I will try to keep baby talk to a minimum, at least for today...

Things I Am Thankful For

• My husband: First and foremost I am so thankful for Mike. He is quite possibly the best husband in the entire world! He loves me for me. He makes me laugh uncontrollably when I need a pick me up. He takes care of me and pampers me (especially now that I'm tired all the time). I could go on and on but I'll settle for saying that I made the best decision of my life 2 years ago when I said "I do".

• My family: No matter how many friends you may have, at the end of the day your family are the only people who will stick by you even through your worst. I am so thankful to have a great family that I know I can go to with any of my problems.

• My friends: I have amazing friends that I can be ridiculously lame with and they don't judge me. 

• Health: I am thankful that all of my friends and family are healthy, for the most part. There have been ups and downs in the past year and several health scares but we are all still alive and doing well.

• Baby M: Finally, I am more than thankful for our little baby appleseed (that's how big he/she is this week). Mike and I went through so much to get pregnant with this little baby that I will continue to be thankful for him/her every day for the rest of my life!

Chalkboard Time!

Hooray for our first chalkboard post!! I had so much fun doing this and I absolutely LOVED how it turned out! Before I could draw though, I had to trek all over town to find chalk. Everywhere I went had such a small selection of chalk and an even smaller selection of colored chalk. I specifically wanted Crayola brand because I read that it is the most vibrant and brightest chalk and since I'm going to be taking photos of the chalkboard I need it to stand out. I finally found a package at Walmart that had a bunch of colors so I grabbed it and excitedly headed home to get started.

Thanksgiving cannot come soon enough. Only 10 more days... I'm actually losing my mind keeping this secret. It's like I want to shout from the rooftops and tell any and everyone that I'm pregnant!!! I think it also makes it feel less real, like it's not happening because everyone else is going about their normal life around me and all I want to do is talk about being pregnant. 

So here's the plan for how we're gong to tell everyone:

Immediate Family
Thanksgiving is the one holiday that both of our families do together (which is a good thing because in past years I felt like my stomach was going to rip down the middle from all the food). Every year I force everyone to say what they are thankful for once we sit down at the table. I say force because my family gripes about it and says it's so cheesy. Be that as it may, I like doing it and think it's a nice tradition. So we are planning on doing the whole "I'm thankful for blah blah blah" and then say something along the lines of "and I'm also thankful for the newest little member of the family that will be here in July"! I know it's been done before and it's not a new idea but I have actually always thought this was a really cute way to tell family and it just so happens to be around the time we found out I'm pregnant so I think it's fate.

My Dad
My dad lives in Pennsylvania so I obviously won't get to tell him in person, but I don't want to just call him up and blurt it out. I'm thinking of overnighting him a picture frame that has a space for two photos. I'll put the chalkboard announcement in one slot and our first ultrasound in the other slot. I'll call him ahead of time and tell him that I am sending him something but that he can't open it until he calls me. 

Close Friends
A while back we bought one of those Murder/Mystery Dinner Party things but just haven't gotten around to doing it. Mike and I were thinking about taking charge of everything and getting it set up. Then we will reveal to everyone at some point in the night. I'm not exactly sure how we'll tell everyone but I will make it fit into the story line. Maybe at some point I'll refuse a drink and declare that I can't have any because I am pregnant, and then wait to see if anyone catches on.

Everyone Else
Once all out immediate family and friends know we will post the chalkboard announcement on our Facebook and watch the comments flood in.

Now if only it could be Thanksgiving!!

I'm Having A Girl...

Or so says a baby magazine I was reading last night! It's bazaar that I was even reading this magazine in the first place. It was addressed to my husband with our address on it. I asked him if he had subscribed to any magazines (specifically baby ones) recently and he had no clue where it came form or how they got his name. Then as I was reading it, there was a section that said something along the lines of "You are now 4 months pregnant" and went on to talk about everything that would be going on with the baby at that stage. Since I'm obviously not 4 months along I looked for the other months but there wasn't anything else that talked about different months anywhere. It was as if the magazine was going off of a due date that the subscriber had provided. Like I said, BAZAAR! Anyways, according to the magazine, women who experience forgetfulness, or pregnancy brain as they called it, are more likely to have a baby girl! Of course I immediately rubbed this is Mike's face because not only do I want a girl (he wants a boy) but we have been joking about how forgetful I have been lately. I will literally walk into a room and forget why I was just heading there. Or I will open my mouth to say something and can't for the life of me recall what it was. I forget words, and stumble in my speech. It's the weirdest thing because I've never been that way before!

For the last few nights I've been putting Palmer's Cocoa Butter Lotion on my belly, hips, thighs, and breasts to hopefully combat stretch marks before they begin. I know that there are a lot of people that say stretch marks are genetic and there's nothing you can do to stop them but I'm going to give it a try just in case. Anyways, I'm not really liking the smell of this stuff. It kind of smells like chocolate (which makes sense since it's cocoa) but my nose isn't diggin' it. So after a lot of research I decided to order The Spoiled Mama's products.

I got their sampler gift set so I can try them out without breaking the bank, because they are a bit on the costly side. But every review I have read said it is money well spent and that at the very least they make you feel pampered and relaxed. The sampler comes with their three best selling products: Tummy Butter For Stretch Marks (their basic tummy butter), Bump Gloss Stretch Mark Oil (they say you should apply this after you get out of the shower), and Extreme Mama Creme (this is supposed to soothe your itchy belly as it is expanding). And as a bonus, it comes with a 10% off coupon for future purchases. I'll let you all know what I think of it once it arrives.

Mike and I finished our chalk board today! I'm very happy with how it turned out and can't wait to use it! Now all I have to do is buy some chalk tomorrow and I'll be all set...

Lastly, I will leave you with some interesting facts about how Baby M is doing:

Baby's Now The Size Of An Appleseed
Your embryo is now measurable -- though at week five, it's a wee .13 inches -- and she's gearing up for much more growth. In fact, in the next week, she'll almost double in size. Grow baby grow! Though the embryo doesn't look like much more than a tadpole right now, at five weeks she's already starting to form major organs (heart, stomach, liver, kidney) and systems (digestive, circulatory, nervous).

Check Out My Belly!

Oh man, I can't believe how tired I was last night! As I guessed I think I only ended up reading for a few minutes before I fell asleep...At 9:30pm!! And I didn't wake up until 10:00am; that's 12.5 hours of sleep! I guess I'm in for a different life style now that I'm pregnant.

I will officially be starting my weekly baby bump pictures next week (when I will be 5 weeks pregnant - OHHHH EMM GEEEEE!!) but I thought I'd share with you a quick pic of me and my 4 week bump as it is today. And yes, I realize that it's insane to even be showing at this point. It's all the Progesterone and Estrogen shots I'm taking from the FET (which I'm going to have to continue taking until I'm 10 weeks pregnant). In the infertility world its known as the IVF bloat. Never the less, it's proof to me that there's a little poppyseed in there and I just love rubbing my belly!!

Me and my 4 week belly/bloat!!

Now when I say I will be starting my official bump posts next week I mean I will be starting my chalk board photos. I'm pretty sure most of the world has seen these type of photos on Pinterest:

This is from one of my favorite blogs, Little Baby Garvin.

When I first saw this I knew I wanted to do the same thing when I got pregnant. It's such a cute way to showcase your ever growing belly while also displaying some of the facts of the baby. So Mike and I started our chalk board today. We found an old mirror in his parents garage that looked like it would be the perfect size. We took the wooden backing off and took out the mirror. The original frame was a really old looking wood so I decided to paint it white to spruce it up a bit. Then we primed the wood backing, followed by a layer of chalk board paint (We decided to go with a dark grey but it comes in black as well). I still have to paint another layer (maybe two) of the chalk board paint tomorrow but once it's done we will put the backing back into the frame and voila, our very own personalized chalk board! Here are some photos of everything so far.

 An after shot of the frame. Excuse the mess behind it, it's drying in the garage.

The wood backing with the first layer of chalk board paint.

As for pregnancy symptoms I'm finding that I am getting hungry every couple of hours. I'm also not able to eat a whole lot before feeling full, and when I feel full it's super uncomfortable! Plus, snacking frequently seems to be making me feel better as far as the nausea goes. It also has been keeping me from crashing due to exhaustion. But nothing I do is changing the fact that I am absolutely pooped by the time 9:00pm rolls around. I think I'm going to have to start reading What To Expect more throughout the day because I'm not getting through very much at night before passing out!

Speaking of passing out, good night!