10w6d ultrasound

It's amazing the happiness I feel every time I see our little baby on that ultrasound screen. I got all teary during the u/s thinking how far we've come.

Today our little one was jumping all over the place and even waved at us!  I can't believe all that movement is going on inside of me and I can't feel it!

Baby is measuring right on schedule at 10 weeks 6 days (4.11cm) and the heart rate is 164. I can't believe how much bigger s/he is compared to the last u/s we had (2.07cm).  Grow baby grow!

look at that spine!

baby in between flips

So tomorrow is 11 weeks, I'm almost done with the first trimester and so grateful to be pregnant.  My nausea has slowed down quite a bit although meat still isn't agreeing with me.  My belly size (or bloating) is up and down from day to day- I could even wear normal jeans again on Monday with a rubber band.  One new thing I have noticed is more headaches- not fun but I'll deal with it.

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Ahhhh comfort

Well I officially put away my normal jeans and wore maternity jeans last night.  I felt silly and I felt like everyone would notice but I have to say- they are the most comfortable pants EVER.

As I was trying to get ready to go out for the night (and struggling to find something to wear) Steve said, just try on the maternity jeans!  My response- it's too soon, I shouldn't need to wear maternity pants yet!!  But I put them on and it was like heaven.  I did have some issues with the band slipping down throughout the night but I'll take that over leaving my pants unbuttoned with the waistband digging into my expanding belly any day. I was able to wear a normal shirt with them and I think I pulled it off pretty well!

In other news, I've been feeling so much better in the nausea department.  Cereal has become my new best friend- I eat it all the time (Peanut Butter Crunch-I'm in love).  I still don't have much of an appetite for meat... last week I ate breakfast for dinner every night. Other than that, I'm feeling pretty normal!

New Blog Friday!

A huge thanks to Aly over at The Infertility Overachievers for featuring me on New Blog Friday!

If you're new to my blog- Welcome!  You can learn all about me from the tabs above or if you have the time, you can check out my past posts.

In a nutshell, I'm a recently pregnant (thanks to IVF) gal with unexplained infertility.  I have an amazing husband and family and I am so grateful to be pregnant after this uphill journey.

Infertility is a difficult thing to deal with and not a lot of people understand it. I am so happy to have found the support and encouragement that I have through blogging.  There are some really amazing women (and men) out there dealing with all different kinds of infertility and it really helps knowing that there are other people dealing with the same problems and ready to lend support whenever it's needed.

I started this blog right before starting IVF treatment and it was mainly to keep our families informed about what was happening along the way and so that I would have a record to look back on.  Little did I know that I would "meet" so many awesome people!
So, thanks for stopping by!  Please say hi so I can check out your blogs as well- I love meeting new blogging buddies!

10 weeks today!

Well I'm happy to report that I've made it to double digits!  I'm still nervous from time to time but I'm feeling a little more relaxed about everything and I'm just going with it.

According to Babycenter.com, this week our little one is the size of a kumquat or a prune, is a little over an inch or so long, and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce.   This week is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in the body rapidly grow and mature. The baby is 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.

As far as how I'm feeling....pretty good!  I'm hungry all the time and can go from fine to starving in no time flat.  The weird part is that even though I'm starving, it's hard to find things that sound good to eat.  Last night all I wanted was blueberry pancakes so that's what we had.


I can't wait to see the baby on Wednesday!

9w4d

I don't have a lot to report, which is a good thing in my book.  I'm feeling better in the nausea department, it still strikes from time to time but not nearly as often.  I'm still exhausted most of the day...of course until it's time for bed and then I'm wide awake.

I called my RE's office this morning and asked for a nurse.  The nurse picks up the phone and says, "Bridget, is everything ok??"  I guess they didn't expect to hear from me again... I was just calling to ask if we could get one last u/s next week (I didn't mean to throw anyone into panic mode).  After a sigh of relief, she asked when our next OB appointment was.  I told her it was April 11th and she said they wouldn't leave us hanging for that long and we could come in next Wednesday to see the baby.  I can't wait!

Happy first day of Spring!

What to do?

I kind of freaked out yesterday (if you ask Steve he might call it a full-blown freak out).  And it was for a silly reason (but totally relevant at the time).

I have one pair of pants for work that I can still button (and fit my ass into) and all of my shirts are getting tight in the belly or boob area. I know, I know- believe me, I am beyond thrilled that I'm ballooning out of my clothes for a good reason but why is it happening so fast? I'm only 9 weeks pregnant and my stomach looks like it is much further along.  What gives? Is anyone else having this issue?

What have you former preggos done in this awkward stage between your normal clothes fitting and maternity clothes being too big?  I have tried the belly band- and I must be the only person alive who hates it.  I've read such awesome reviews but it makes my pants ride up in a very uncomfortable way and it doesn't stay down around my hips.  I'm half tempted to start coming to work in sweats.  No one will notice right?

P.S.  Steve and I bought our first "baby item" last night.  We just couldn't resist this little guy at the store.  We probably jinxed something by purchasing this for our unborn baby but I'm tired of worrying.

Happy Friday Everyone!

Humor at 9 weeks

If you need a good laugh you have to go see Lucky Z at the TTC Club.  This post had me laughing so hard I was crying....seriously. 

Another funny tidbit- we got this booklet called 'Great Expectations, a guide to enjoying your pregnancy' from our OB the other day at our first visit....this book is interesting to say the least.

Under the section discussing unusual cravings they go over all the usual items- pickles, ice cream, etc.  And then at the very end I read this...
"A desire to eat ice or strange items such as starch, dirt or clay could indicate a nutritional deficiency."
Yes, you read that right... dirt and clay.  I showed this to Steve and told him if I ever ask for dirt or clay for dinner he needs to rush me to the hospital because something is seriously wrong.

Another odd statement followed the section called, You Can Expect Some Changes.
"Excessive Salivation- this condition is frequently confused with vomiting in pregnancy."  Um, who can't distinguish between excessive salivation and vomiting??  Pretty sure I know the difference and this shouldn't be confusing for me.

There are wonderful pictures throughout the booklet and by wonderful I mean totally cheesy- like this gem. I wish I knew where to get that maternity outfit.

We graduated!!

I am so overjoyed right now.

We saw our little baby move today!!

S/he is measuring in at 8 weeks 5 days and the heart rate is 166. We could see the spine (so cool), the umbilical cord and the little arms and legs.  I am so amazed that this tiny critter is our baby!!

The regular u/s tech, who has been there with us since the beginning, did our scan this morning and she was so genuinely happy for us. At the end of our visit she told us we officially graduated from the RE.  As we were leaving Steve turned and said to me- I don't want to leave, I like it here.  I feel the same way.  It's so scary moving away from the comfort of Dr. Figge's office.  These people (minus a couple not so nice ones) have been with us every step of the way and they know how hard this journey has been.  We are being booted from the nest (in a good way) and away we go in our hard fought battle to parenthood.

Here are some pictures of our critter, they aren't the best quality but I will scan them later and re-post. In case you can't tell, baby's head is at the bottom, the arms are in the middle, and feet are at the top of the pictures. 

baby's heart beat

so amazing!

baby getting measured

166 with little arms and legs!

A huge thank you to my sister N for the yummy rice krispie treats and scotcheroos she set me yesterday- they are delish!

This morning was our first OB appointment with Dr. R- we liked her so that was a relief!  The only bad part was waiting 40 minutes to see her.  She did an exam (good times) and totally made up for the wait by giving us a free ultrasound to hear the baby's heartbeat.  What an amazing sound!  The heart rate was 166 and we even saw the little arm and leg buds!  I feel a little more at ease after this appointment.  Dr. R was very reassuring and answered all of our questions without rushing us. 

Sine today wasn't an in depth u/s we go back to our RE tomorrow for another u/s to measure the baby and to make sure he thinks everything is going as it should. 

I am so thankful!!

8w4d

We had a very uneventful weekend, which was just fine with me.  I slept through most of it because any time I was awake I felt sick, so sleeping just seemed easier.  

Steve has been a trooper, I'm so lucky to have him. His weekend was spent listening to how sick I felt, running to the grocery store too many times to count anytime I said something sounded good to eat, and taking care of the dog and cats (aka- trying to keep them from jumping all over me while I was napping on the couch).  I told you I was lucky.  One of these days, I will make it up to him- I promise.

We have our first non-RE OB appointment tomorrow morning.  I have never been to this Dr before but I hope so much that we like her.  She was recommended to me by a friend from high school who I recently found out went through IVF also.  I'm excited to see what our first appointment will involve.

Wednesday is our second ultrasound.  I am hoping, praying, begging that everything still looks good and the little one is growing away.

8 weeks!

I'm 8 weeks pregnant today!

I decided to "borrow" this idea from the lovely Kelly over at Candid Confessions of a Southern Princess.

Being 8 weeks pregnant is an amazing thing to me, I've never been here before and even through the nausea and emotions I feel very happy and blessed that we have made it this far.

According to thebump.com - My babe is now the size of a raspberry! Baby is growing like mad, putting on about a millimeter every day and continuing to straighten out in the trunk. Though I can't feel it yet, baby is moving those little arms, legs, and (now only slightly) webbed fingers and toes like crazy.

Aaaaamazing!!

My symptoms are as follows:

1.  Bloating- I'm mean serious bloating.  Yesterday at work I had to have my pants unbuttoned for the majority of the day and I felt like my stomach might explode. (My sister N got to hear about this all day)

2.  Fatigue- I'm tired, I find myself wishing I could just lay my head down on my desk at work, I usually fall asleep on the couch before bed and then I have to muster up the strength to get up and actually get into bed.

3.  Nausea- I pretty much feel nauseous off and on all day.  It comes in waves and luckily I haven't actually had to run for the bathroom yet.  Nothing ever really sounds good to eat even though I am starving most of the time. 

4.  Emotional- Yep, things make me cry at the drop of a hat and I get angry pretty easily too.

Things I am loving right now:

1. carrots- I can't get enough of them and they help with the nausea.
2. saltines- of course.
3. macaroni and cheese- to die for.
4. eggo waffles with peanut butter- this is my go to breakfast and it hasn't let me down yet.

Things I am hating right now:

1.  Foods with strong odors- gag. Steve got a sandwich over the weekend and it smelled so bad I made him roll the window down in the car while he ate it.  It seriously smelled like a garbage can. (He just laughed at me and told me if it really smelled like a garbage can he wouldn't want to eat it)
2.  Spicy foods- haven't been agreeing with my stomach at all and I end up with terrible heart burn.
3. PIO shots- my hips are so glad today is the last one!!

We have our next ultrasound on March 16th, it seems so far away!  Our babe will be almost 9 weeks old by then!

the progression of nervousness

I apologize in advance for this downer of a post...but sometimes the worst thoughts go through my head.  Mostly this happens when I'm alone or when I'm trying to fall asleep.  I start thinking about all the terrible things that could happen to this tiny baby growing inside me. 

Last night (while Steve was at class) I cuddled up with my new pregnancy book- Your Pregnancy Week by Week.  Little did I know... the chapter titled Week 8 is all about miscarriage.  Thank you for that uplifting chapter!  They mentioned all the different types of miscarriage: chemical pregnancy (been there), ectopic pregnancy (done that), regular miscarriage (yes, that one too) and then they started talking about "missed or silent miscarriage"- this scared the shit out of me.  In case you don't know, this is when your baby is no longer alive but you don't know it.  No bleeding or anything. I can't even imagine what this must be like to go through and I pray that I will never find out.  

As soon as Steve got home I told him I was nervous (which he hears a lot) and he said- "We're going to be nervous for the rest of our lives now".  Light bulb moment.  He proceeded to tell me that everything is going to make us nervous going forward and even after the baby is born we are going to be nervous.  Are we giving it the right food, are we raising it right, is this the right daycare and on and on.

I'm not sure what the moral of this post is but I needed to get it off my chest.  The thoughts don't stop and I guess they never will. What started with IF nervousness has turned into pregnancy nervousness and hopefully in 32 weeks will transform again into parenting nervousness.

7w4d

Steve and I got an awesome gift this weekend from my brother's soon to be mother in law, K.  It has already been filled with our ultrasound picture and is out for everyone to see.  I had never seen anything like this and I love it!  Thank you again K!

I've been thinking about going to the bookstore to get a pregnancy book but I feel like I might be jinxing myself if I buy anything.  I would really like a book with some detail on what's happening with the baby along the way.

Do any of you have a favorite pregnancy book?

Friends

My wonderful husband & friends helped me celebrate my 32nd birthday tonight.  We had an awesome time and I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time.  It was wonderful!

Thank you all for making my birthday so special ♥

Hello weekend, it's good to see you!

I'm so glad the weekend is finally here!

I've been so tired this week and can't seem to get a good nights sleep.  All part of being pregnant I'm sure...along with the hormones, going to the bathroom every 10 minutes, and feeling nauseous most of the day - I'm loving it!

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.  We are heading up to a suburb of Chicago for my brother and his fiance's engagement party (they just got engaged last weekend in Florida ♥), driving back to get home in time for my 5:15 PIO shot (I can't wait for these to be over), and then out to dinner with a few friends for my birthday. 

Sunday I plan on doing nothing but sitting on the couch, cuddling up with Steve and the animals, and catching up on the DVR.

Happy weekend everyone!

Thoughts?

After doing some research online I've decided to wait until after the baby is born to get my hair straightened.  None of the sites I looked at had any hard data on if it was dangerous to baby or not so I'm going to play it safe and hold off.

That being said... has anyone heard whether or not you can still color your hair while pregnant?  Most of the websites I found say it is safe but to wait until the 2nd trimester?  Has anyone asked their Dr. about this before?

** Update** I called my RE's office and the nurse said it's totally fine to get my hair colored. Whew!


Thanks ladies!!

Best. Birthday. Ever.

We saw our little baby today!! 

There are no words to describe the relief and joy I felt when I saw that ultrasound screen.  The heartbeat is at 111 and the baby is measuring 6 weeks 4 days.  There was a second sac that didn't continue to grow (Steve immediately said- Mas was right)  but I am so happy that I still have one baby that held on tight and kept growing.

Even though we had to deal with the rude receptionist and the new ultrasound tech that acted like she had no idea what she was doing- our visit was a success!  The nurse talked to us afterwards and scheduled us for another ultrasound on March 16th - I can't wait to see our little one again!

On the birthday side of things, Steve got me the best birthday presents- a prenatal massage, a baby friendly manicure and pedicure at a local all organic day spa and he also got me a brazilian blowout hair straightening treatment.  I am so excited! To top it off, we are going out to dinner with some friends to celebrate.

Thank you all for checking in on me and for the supportive comments.  You guys are the best!