CamoQueen's Pregnancy Journal

Today I am 3 weeks + 6, or rather, tommorrow I am officially at 1 month! Today is also the day that I would've gotten my period, if I wasn't so pregnant. This entire time my symptoms have felt so much like AF -- cramping, moodiness, sore boobies, etc. -- that it's kind of hard to believe it. Oh, and I'm bloated, too. And slightly sick... I don't really feel like eating most of the time, but make myself because I know I need to. And I don't know if it's a heightened sense of smell, but the woman at the computer next to me smells strongly like baby powder. Weird.

The thing is, I don't really feel like I can complain all that much about symptoms. I feel like as long as they continue, it's a good sign that everything is progressing as it should. For the few days I've known I'm pregnant, I've told everyone and their mother, I couldn't hold it in. And now the excitement has been tempered by the fear of miscarriage. Yep, the 'M' word. It seems like every spare moment of the day, I am checking out stats on miscarriage rates and odds and symptoms, etc. Which is silly... I guess I'm just looking for the peace of mind that I know isn't really going to be there until my first scan (a month and a half from now), God willing.

Told a coworker today that I am pregnant, and she said something to the effect of "aren't you worried about whammying yourself" over the fact that I revealed it before 12 weeks. Yeeeaaahh, that made me feel MUCH better. Like if I miscarry it's because I told people too early, or that it's something I should hide and pretend didn't happen. Like it would be my fault. Argh, that's such B.S!

Still, I want everything to go well so, so badly. But I keep reading all these scary things, like how it's estimated 50-60% of all first pregnancies end in miscarriage early on. Grr, I don't want to hear that! I want to hear that the only way to miscarry is if you stand on a treestump on a Tuesday night under a full moon on the 3rd Saturday in October, or something. Not the whole foreboding, "Anything you do can't stop it... it's probably coming when you least expect it, mwa ha ha ha ha!!!" So I've been ducking in the bathroom about ten times a day to check my CM for blood (I know, TMI), as sad and paranoid as that sounds. I just want this baby so, so badly.

And I've got this appointment I have to go to this Weds so I can fill out reams of paperwork, get loads of blood drawn, and get my next two appointments scheduled (including the one in late April that will hopefully let me hear the heartbeat!) Since DH has the day off, I am dragging him to it (though it will be boring as hell, I know). Then the following Weds I have a pregnancy and nutrition class to go to. And then it's all... waiting, which blows. I mean, I'm so thrilled to be PG, and so scared at the same time. Which was not at all like I expected to be. Go figure.

OK, so searching about implantation and pregnancy loss, and I came across this from the New England Journal of Medicine:

The risk of early pregnancy loss increased with later implantation (P<0.001). Among the 102 conceptuses that implanted by the ninth day, 13 percent ended in early loss. This proportion rose to 26 percent with implantation on day 10, to 52 percent on day 11, and to 82 percent after day 11.

Which makes me feel way better, because I got a positive test 9DPO, meaning there was early implantation! Plus DH and I are young, which means a lower risk. Yay!


...


Umm, yeah, so I do think about this stuff too much. Lock me up, at least for DH's sanity.:wacko:

So today is the official fourth week (though the embryo is only 2 weeks along), and I'm happy about it. Only six weeks to go until my first ultrasound!

Last night when I laid down in bed I had the nastiest cramp... thankfully it went away after some repositioning. Though when I went home last night, I ended up crashing at 7:30, waking up at 9:45, staying up for an hour and a half, then going back to bed and sleeping for 6 hours. For whatever reason lately, I keep waking up ten minutes before my alarm. Weird, right?

Tomorrow I get to find out the dates of my next two appointments. I know that I won't even get to see a doctor for a month and a half, but I am still so excited just to have a concrete date to look forward to!

Today is 4 + 1. Yay!

I went down to get my OB chart started, which consisted of signing about ten different pages and documenting family history, etc. It was all really boring... I feel sorry for dragging DH down there only to sit for five minutes with me and fill out papers. Poor baby.

BUT I did get a date for my first ultrasound (and pap smear and all that fun stuff) -- April 28th at 2 pm. I'm so excited!!! It's crazy timing, too, because that's going to be the day after DH and I celebrate our first anniversary! OK, so we didn't waste any time making babies, but I can't think of any greater anniversary present than getting to see our unborn child for the first time! :happydance: Ohhh, I wish it was April already.

Next Tuesday I am scheduled for some kind of newly pregnant orientation where you sit for an hour and recieve loads of books and magazines about parenting, and then the next day is that pregnancy fitness class. The next few months are going to be kind of crazy with all the classes and stuff I'm going to. But I'm eager for this pregnancy just to progress to the point where I feel comfortable and no longer on the edge about any little twinge. That will be nice.

Everything bodily wise is going fine today. A few cramps here and there, sore boobies and a general gassy feeling. How sexy.

Cool, I hope the first scan comes quickly for you. I'm off to Birmingham now to get an early scan. Should be good news :P

4 + 2 today. I've been feeling less crampy today and yesterday than I normally do, though tired with sore boobies, so go figure. DH thinks that they've gotten bigger, and so do I, but only by a little bit. I hear that I've yet for most of the symptoms to start, so I guess I should enjoy this time while I have it.

For fun, I have taken to peeing on the leftover OPK strips I have. I learned yesterday that due to the chemical similarity of LH and HCG that you will get a pos. OPK when you're pregnant so, of course, I had to try. It's actually pretty fun, if you're insane like me.

Wish it was April already... *sigh*... and I'm jealous of all the people with early scans (including Decosta, of course). One of my coworkers is going with his wife to their first scan tomorrow. Green is not my color, seriously, but I still feel like pounding my little feet in anger and pouting like when I was five. And if anyone said anything, I would blame it all on the 'pregnancy hormones'. 'Cause that's how I roll.

It'll come soon enough, the only reason we had an early is cos we paid for it via the private route.

Ooh, good idea. I'm considering going the private route when I found out that my doctors are only going to do one ultrasound (!) at 10 weeks... and if there's no complications, that's it. Like I could settle for just one!

Today is 4 + 3. I am happy in the knowledge that by Tues. of next week, I will be in the 5th week. But I am confused about the dating system of pregnancies... I read in one book that by the 5th week after your LMP you are starting your second month of pregnancy, but then another said that the second month is weeks 6-10, so I am thoroughly confused! I don't know if I can say at the fifth week that I am starting the second month, or if I am being premature! I am honestly so confused how doctors label 'months' in pregnancy, because they're obviously not like regular calander months! I feel so pregnancy ******** (no offense intended; I could call is 'pregnancy mentally challenged', but I don't really like the ring to it) right now.

So yesterday I was only in at work for an hour, which meant more free time. Whee! I went shopping, browsed the internet... and slept from 2 in the afternoon 'til about 7 at night, when my poor DH woke me up asking for dinner. Then I napped on and off until 11, when I went to bed ('til about 7 or so in the morning). I'm not used to sleeping this much, but I've been so tired lately! :sleep:

And during my many hours of sleep (many, many, many hours), I dreamt about the craziest thing. See, in my dream I had already given birth. The baby was living in the old house I grew up in, for whatever reason. I was going downstairs to change its diaper when I realized that I hadn't bought any diapers at all. But heading downstairs anyway, I notice this huge, nasty, almost totally clear millipede/centipede (can't remember the difference, but in my dream it was millipede). It's crawling on the floor next to me, it's ugly little feet making these nasty metallic clicky noises. I, being as bug phobic as I am, freak out and try to squash it with my foot -- but because I am wearing soft, fuzzy slippers, only manage to piss it off. It dodges my foot and starts jumping at me, trying to bite me. I start screaming: "Help! Somebody, help me!", because I know with my soft shoes, I'm powerless to defend myself.

Right before the damn thing jumps on my face, I wake up. I really had to pee (not from fear, from the water I drank earlier).

Such a strange dream. This is the second time I have dreamt about my unborn baby as an infant... the first time, my husband and I were tickling it and it was cooing and smiling. This dream was decidedly more unpleasant.

Still waiting for the 'big' symptoms to show up, more than the wussy nausea I've got going right now (which is mostly around after meals) and fading cramping. Boobies are still sore as all, but no worse than PMSing. I feel like saying, "Pfft, please, is that all you've got?" and throwing caution to the wind, but no need to tempt fate, right? Probably end up with my head in the toilet bowl for the next three months for that one.

Today is 4 + 6, making tomorrow my 5th week! Yay!

This weekend was thoroughly uneventful. DH was worked through Sunday, so I spent most of the day lying on the couch and flipping through channels. You know, sometimes there really is nothing good on TV (and WAY too many commercials, seriously). I didn't get as much sleep as I would've liked -- for whatever reason, I was having problems getting to sleep through the night. Except for last night, when I slept about nine hours straight, which was heavenly.

Ooh, and Friday I bought this super-soft marshmallowy mattress cover, which makes me never want to leave the bed. It's like sleeping on a cloud... Really, one of the best impulse purchases I've ever made.

Tomorrow I'm headed to my group appointment, where I get a load of pamphlets and magazines and stand around with a bunch of pregnant ladies for an hour and get lectured about different options and issues and childcare, etc. According to a co-worker, they in all honesty ask you if you feel that hitting your child is appropriate punishment (as in smacking them hard, not just spanking or anything) to see if you're a potential child abuser. I'm kind of tempted to say something like: "I'm planning to beat the hell out of it the second it gets out of the womb. Teach that little ******* who's boss," but it might not go over so well. Like when I was fifteen and applying for a permit and said: "Oh, yeah, all the time," when they asked me if I took recreational drugs (the lady did not look happy with that reply -- even though I was completely kidding -- and it caused my mom to gasp with horror at my inappropriate joke timing).

Coworker's wife had her ultrasound last Friday... all was perfect, and he got to see/hear the heartbeat. I seriously had to squash down my green monster when I heard that. He didn't even seem to get how wonderful that news is, that everything's going well... if that happened to me, I wouldn't shut up about it! Heck, I can't even shut up about my daily mundane life! See? SEE?!!!

Just a quick post to note -- 5 weeks! Yay!

I went to my group appointment today and sat through an hour and a half of filling out paperwork and listening to nutrition guidance, a virtual tour of the delivery rooms (actually super nice with wood floors and LCD TVs and a chair that converts to a sleeper for DH), and some lady talk about how breastfeeding is good and formula sucks and will make your baby some kind of mentally deficient boy-in-a-bubble who will suffer constant illness and get asthma because you bought some lousy sugar water for your baby, you terrible person, you. I already figured on breastfeeding, but I found her views to be a bit extreme.

It was pretty boring and I felt like sleeping, but I did get some nice free stuff (magazines, diaper samples, etc) and some information I needed, so it's all good.

Tomorrow is the lengthy, 2 hr. prenatal nutrition/fitness class at the gym, and won't that be a kick? I don't know if DH wants to go to this one, though, 'cause I don't know how much it will have to do with him?

Ahh, just happy that I'm 5 weeks and feeling good.

5 + 3 today as of this entry. Tuesday I'll be at 6 weeks, which will be nice.

Work is awful right now. DH has this weekend off, but I have to work... and he works nights right now and I work days, so I see him at best a few hours a day. AND someone was very nasty to me as soon as I got on shift this morning, and I got all teary eyed (feeling very vulnerable lately). Three hours 'til I get to go home and see DH, which will be very nice. And only two weeks until we get a weekend together (with coordinating schedules). Woo hoo!

Umm, okay, thoughts for right now: I really wish I was later on in my pregnancy. Felt massive nausea for about twenty minutes this morning after I had a really wonderful nectarine... and shortly thereafter wanted to heave. Felt fine otherwise, but my breasts are SO SORE that I can't put weight on them when I'm sleeping or I'll wake up from the pain. Plus nasty stretchmarks are coming in, which I'd hoped to be done with in highschool. Bleh. Here's hoping the cocoa butter works.

But anyway. I wish I was farther along so I could: A -- get my first scan, B -- quit worrying so darn much, and C -- start showing. Mostly A and B, though. Right now I feel so much on pins and needles.

Still having crazy dreams. Dreamt I went to jail where I was beaten with wooden paddles until I miscarried (!). Very unpleasant stuff, there. That's what I get for taking dream revenge on Paris Hilton for pelting me with dead rabbits (don't ask).

Just been Reading all ya journal...i know what ya mean about wanting to be further along lol....and u must really stop worrying about misscarage did u no once u hit 6 weeks theres between 2-4percent out of 100 of m/c which is very low.....i no u red that 50-60% first pregnancys end in m/c really early but if thats happend to us or anyone it was prob that early we jus assumed it was af.
As i keep gettin told once ya have that baby everyone misses being preggers lol soo enjoy it whilst ya can
as for me i still not even herd from a midwife i havnt even been assigned one yet the only person ive sen is the doctor to tel them i was preggers and they didnt even confirm that lol anyways just wanted to wish ya luck x x x x x x
and a happy and healthy 9 months x x x x x

hiya i was just reading your journal and i have done the opk thing too your not alone lol

:D

So today marks the 6th week! Yay!

Developments so far -- the PMS cramping I've had for the past couple of weeks has vastly subsided, where I might get a twinge every other day. Breasts are still tender, nipples are still sore, and DH is still happy as a clam that they are getting bigger. The worst new development? Morning sickness. Bleh!

I thought that I'd be okay since I haven't felt very sick at all. Until today, that is. I don't know if it's what I had for lunch (spicy shrimp w/ noodles and veg), but I spent the entire afternoon-night feeling like I was going to heave. To make it worse, the ladies bathroom at work smells like a mixture of sweat, vanilla air freshner, and a month-old unflushed toilet. In a word: disgusting. So I've had to pee like six times while I was at work, and everytime I went into the bathroom I wanted to heave. So, so nasty.

It seems to be coming in waves, which is weird... one minute I'll feel like running for the bathroom (well, maybe not the stinky bathroom), and the next I'll feel okay. Ugh. I hope I'm better tomorrow.

Oooh, another good thing -- it's April, the month of the ultrasound!!!! Wooo!!!! I am so seriously hyped up about this. I really, really want everything to go well this month, and for the u/s to show that my little bean is healthy and happy. It kind of gets to me that it's heart is beating already. I can picture it now....

Can't wait until I'm far enough along to use a doppler!:happydance:

Ohhh, and good to know I'm not the only OPK using pregnant freak out there! It's fun!

it sounds like your getting on really well :-) U/s are so wonderful i cant wait to hear how yours goes!

we are currently bidding on a doppler on ebay! they are great little things

im also getting the sick waves

isnt it fabulous!! :D

:S

Just a quick entry -- 6 and 4 today, which makes me happy. I'm so close to seven, I can taste it (and it tastes like victory -- yum)!

Sickness has not been nearly as bad today, though my breasts still ache like a mutha. I'm just mainly happy because I get this weekend off, though I was originally scheduled to work. It helps to just be at home relaxing to take my mind off of all of my fears (there are lots). I mean, I realize if something bad happens it is out of my control... so it drives me crazy. Ahh, well. Just a little over 3 weeks 'til the first scan... if I can hold out 'til then, I'll be a happy camper.

Tomorrow is 7 -- hooray!

Less hooray is the fact that I can't seem to sleep through the night. I woke up this morning at 1:20 feeling hot and sick to my stomach, and couldn't get back to bed 'til 3:45. And today at work we had this terribly boring briefing, which I only managed to stay awake through by fantasizing about the baby.

So anyway, my scan is less than three weeks from today! I am so psyched! I'm really just crossing my fingers and praying that nothing bad happens. I think the longer everything is normal, the more my hopes are lifted. I realize bad things can happen, but... I know I'm close to 8 weeks, which is a (kind of) dropping off point for miscarriages, at least by a little. So that helps.

I guess I just really, really, really want to see the bean already. I am SO impatient! I want to see the little heart beat and know that everything is healthy and proper, so I can relax and not panic over every little symptom or lack thereof, and just BREATHE. Whew. So yeah, the 28th can not come soon enough!!!

Oh, quick note that made me happy -- I had loads of blood work taken a few weeks ago, and have heard nothing back about it. Which I can't help but think is a good thing! If there were problems with the HCG levels, I'm sure they'd call to draw more blood. No news is good news!

7 + 1 today, and I have definitely had better days.

I slept terribly last night, kept waking up for various reasons, so I was super sleepy today. I miss being able to sleep completely through the night! Anyway, I got up late and had to skip my shower. Got to work for a super boring meeting, went to lunch, and fell asleep. Ohhh, and I woke up 20 minutes after I was supposed to be back and work!!!! I got chewed out for that one, and I felt so bad I had to really concentrate to stop from crying, though I was tearing up for twenty minutes afterward. Grr, how embarrassing. I have been so super emotional lately, crying at stupid sappy stuff or at things I would never cry at before, and it's so frustrating!

Umm, and I ate some pizza last night and have suffered for it all morning with terrible nausea. Lunch was some saltines and applesauce, which didn't help but at least didn't exacerbate it. So far, I have felt sick, tired, weepy, and dirty (physically) today. OH, and to top it all off, my husband somehow managed to lock his housekeys into our mailbox! That was the second time in 24 hours that he lost them (though last time, they were just in the laundry hamper)! I am going to tease him mercilessly!!!!!!!!!!!!

*Sigh* I am sick of morning sickness. I can't wait 'til the second trimester.:wacko:

Two weeks 'til the ultrasound!!!!!

im glad things are going well :-D

8 weeks today!!!! I am definitely feeling optimistic today, seeing as nothing has gone wrong in the pregnancy so far... so far, so good, and I'm trying my hardest just to take it one day at a time.

Morning sickness is definitely on and it's really hitting me hardest right after I get up. Something about the empty stomach... I usually feel like puking right there! But I haven't thrown up yet, and I've managed to keep all my foods down, which is a definite plus!

The women in my office with children are no help, though -- all of them (without exception) say that they never had morning sickness! Grr! So while they sympathize, there's no one I can really trade war stories with. Argh, I work with some lucky bitches.

So now it's LESS THAN TWO WEEKS until the ultrasound, and I am giddy with anticipation! DH managed to get the 28th off, so he'll be able to come with me when we get to see our little bean for the first time. Now that makes me happy!

I'm just hoping that everything turns out well... if I can just hang in there until the ultrasound, I know everthing'll be all right. In the meantime, people keep telling me that I am being paranoid when I voice worries over miscarriage. I don't think it's paranoia, really... okay, maybe a little, but it's a healthy and (if you look at this board) normal paranoia in the first trimester. Though my mom loves to say that she never even gave it a thought when she was pregnant with my brother and when she was pregnant with me, and nothing happened and everything was ladeeda.

Umm, and everyone at work has been super nice over my morning sickness and pregnancy. Offering me chairs so I don't have to stand, pushing food on me (!) because I'm "eating for two", which even though it's a misconception, is a sweet gesture on their part. A day doesn't go by that I'm not asked about the pregnancy. I'll feel better when I actually have something to report, rather than "feeling sh!tty, thanks for asking!"

Glad you're feeling optimistic and looking forward to the scan.

The key to battling the m/s IMO is very allowing your tummy to get totally empty - no mean feet when you cant face a single morsel!! The second I feel mine rearing its head I eat something - I have to force it sometime but it definately works.

x

Ten days 'til the scan... I am obnoxiously counting down every day now. But I'm so excited!

Nine days left. Woo! And only three 'til I'm in my 9th week, which is also super awesome.

My morning sickness has been better for the past few days... though I have been trying the suggested post where I keep eating and not let my stomach get empty, and it totally works! I have been bringing bananas for a midday snack at work and the morning sickness definitely eases up!!! So a big THANK YOU for that one!

So I read this study (I know, I need to stop with the Google) that was done on something like 700 pregnant women, to show the risk of miscarriage with a good scan on asymptomatic women. You know how you hear that the risk of miscarrying is like 5% after a good scan before 12 weeks? Well, their study showed that if you're asymptomatic at 9 weeks or later and have a good scan, your odds are .7% of miscarrying. .7!!! That is a good number, if you ask me.

You sound happy. :)
I ate bananas through my sickness (biscuits worked for me too). Can't touch them now it's gone though!

I am feeling really happy, actually. And you know what's funny... you said that you can't stand bananas now; I have a similar situation. I used to love this one kind of microwave cheese enchilada, and I ate a couple early in my pregnancy, but now I can't even visualize eating them or I feel like I'm going to heave! It's the weirdest thing...

I think I have been happier and happier the longer I've been pregnant without any negative signs. Early, early on, I was so nervous about getting my hopes up, but I can say now that my hopes are officially up! Okay, a lot of that has to do with the fact that I heard the heartbeat on the doppler yesterday!!!

I am still stunned and a small part of me is convinced that I imagined the whole thing, or that I was wrong about it being the heartbeat, but I can't imagine what else it could've been! It was such a fast pulse that seemed to come out of nowhere, so I'm sure the bean was turning towards me. I knew the odds were (really) small I'd hear it so soon, but I am really ecstatic about it! It was almost eerie, after not feeling officially pregnant for so long, having some kind of concrete proof of the baby actually existing!

I still have a residual happy going on this morning, too.:happydance:

Read your post about the heartbeat in 1st tri

How cool is that? i bet you were soooo pleased!! Actually i bet it kinda freaked you out at first lol

Today I'm nine weeks! Woo hoo!:happydance:

Last night I used the doppler again and picked up the heartbeat, so DH was able to hear it for the first time. I handed him the reciever end of the doppler and he held it to his face with this look of shock, it was so cute. The second I wiped off the ultrasound gel, he started kissing my tummy and hugging me... it just made him really happy, I think. And yeah, it's a little freaky to hear the heartbeat. The first time I heard it, my stomach felt like it was relocating itself to my throat, but it was so cool. I am just happy that I was able to pick it up a second time for DH.

Six days 'til the ultrasound, and I'm so impatient! The only bad thing about getting my BFP so early is that it feels like I've been waiting for this appointment fooooorrrreeeeeevvvvvveeeeerrrrrr... next week cannot come soon enough!!!! I feel like an anxious kid waiting for Christmas to roll around.

Five days until the ultrasound, now, though my mind has been a bit occupied by work lately (which has been sucky beyond my wildest imagination). For example -- there's a trashcan located a few feet from me that people have been dumping into for the past week... which wouldn't be so bad, but it's a little trashcan, and the garbage is literally overflowing. Which wouldn't be terrible, but it's filled with old food, and this morning I honestly thought I was going to retch from the smell of week old hamburgers. So I finally took it out, though I was a little peeved, as I hadn't even used the trashcan. I just think that when the can is so overflowing that you have to teeter things on top of the 'mound' to keep it from spilling, it's time to man up and take the damned thing out. But then, I'm crazy that way!

Yesterday was more fun with the doppler. I think I'm getting better at locating the heartbeat, now that I know where to find the bean (more on the right side than the left). I just locate the placenta noise, and the heartbeat is always around there. So yesterday I got the perfect angle, and DH and I were listening to it for at least 3 minutes, until my hand got tired from holding the doppler in one place for so long. DH recorded it on his phone, and we sent the sound file to our respective parents, who really liked it. I calculated the hb at around 150-160 -- man, that sucker's fast, so no mistaking it for my heartbeat, thank goodness. So that part was really cool, and almost makes up for the fact that work sucks. Hardcore sucks. Thankfully I'll be getting some time off for a few days... I could use a vacation!

Tomorrow is my ultrasound! And today is my one-year wedding anniversary with my hubby (he got me a gorgeous white gold and diamond band, and I got him a Wii), and we're having a great time. Still, I am so excited about the ultrasound!

Heard the heartbeat again today, and it was stronger than ever before (which made me happy, too). I guess I'm just in a really happy place right now. I will make sure to post some pics (though probably poor quality, knowing me) of the ultrasound tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Ultrasound day! I couldn't sleep last night... I kept waking up, worrying that I was going to miss the appointment. DH and I left super early, and I showed up 30 minutes before my appointment time. The wait wouldn't have been so bad, but the doctor was running late, and I had to wait an additional 45 minutes AFTER my 2 pm scheduled time until I was seen! That was not a good time to make me wait. I don't think I've been that antsy in a long while.

Sooo, I went in to the room, got weighed, blood pressure, etc. Then came the questions about family history (again), and the nakedness, and the speculum. Dr. did a feel of the uterus, told me it was a "nice size", and that I didn't have any weird growths (like fibroids) or bony protrusions that would make for a difficult birth. Whew. The less difficulty, the better. She told me everything felt good, my labs were good, and it was time for the ultrasound. Yay! Oh, a transvaginal ultrasound. Well, you already violated me, and I'm up for another go!

So I got to see the baby, and WOW, it was cute. I mean, not in the sense that ultrasounds are really that cute, per se, but because it's *my* baby, that automatically made it cute. When it fidgeted I got to see its little hands (with defined fingers!) and little legs kicking... ooh, it was so cool. Definitely the most fun I've had looking at a grainy blob. And she's told me to call back in about two weeks to be scheduled for my next appointment, and then an ultrasound at 20 weeks (I didn't know I'd get a second one!), when I'll be able to find out the gender. All in all, I'm over the moon. She said that the baby looked really great, and there was no reason to worry. I'm a low-risk pregnancy. And I really couldn't be happier.:cloud9:

Pics were included in the seperate first tri thread, but here's a couple again (I can't resist):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v326/SpikeBotz/body2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v326/SpikeBotz/face.jpg

On a side note, she measured me at 10 weeks and one day, and though it's not 100%, that's what I've changed the ticker to. So baby is officially a fetus, and over a big hurdle.

Grr. Grr! Yesterday was awesome, but today has been seriously grr.

So I had to get up about 6:30 to drive a half hour to take some upgrade testing for my job. A little backstory -- I have been studying for this test for about five or six months now, and have been waiting about two months to actually get a good date to test. Mostly this is due to the training supervisor over at my office. See, he didn't really know much about where to test or how to get it scheduled, despite that it's his friggin' JOB TITLE. Anyway. So after jumping through tons of hoops, I finally got my test scheduled. And I studied last night for something like five hours, just prepping my mind.

Woke up this morning tired, but determined. Despite that it was my day off (I decided to take the rest of the afternoon off as a kind of "hurrah, the test is finished" thing), I got up early to finish the damned thing once and for all. So I drive down, take FOREVER to find parking (which sucked, and was about a mile away from the building), and find the room I need. The people at the testing center seem very nice. The first question they ask: "Did you bring your answer sheet with you?"

I blank. Answer sheet? "No, I was never given one." And then a worried look. They go back to search for my answer sheet, and can't find it. I'm then informed that the friggin' moron training supervisor needed to give one to me before I took the test. I get on the phone with said moron, who says that perhaps someone from the office can drive one down. Me: "I have no problem with waiting if someone will bring the sheet to me." Him: "Okay, so we'll reschedule you." Wha?! Ummmmmm, sure then. I am given a new test date of Thursday.

So I get back to the car and drive another half hour back to work to see the training supervisor. He informs me that he must have forgotten to tell my supervisor that I needed to pick up the test booklet before I tested. Whoops! But if I come back at 3 in the afternoon I can get it from him. So I am still pissed. This is my day off, for goodness sake, and now I have to come back to the office in a few hours for another time to pick up the thing I was supposed to have recieved a week ago.

But whatever, I let it roll off my back. I get back to the office at 3 and make a B-line for the training supervisor's office. As soon as I get in he smiles at me and says, "I don't have the training sheet. WHY DON'T YOU COME BACK TOMORROW MORNING?"

No problem. No problem except that TOMORROW IS MY DAY OFF, JERK!!!!! Grr, I am so mad right now! Not only did he eff me over in the first place by sending me out for an hour's drive without the proper test supplies, but then he tells me to come back for the test sheet and decides to blow it off because he is just too effing lazy to pick the damn thing up! And it's not a matter of the sheet not being ready for me -- he just has to drive ten minutes and get it from one of the other buildings. But I guess it's not his fault, he probably had too much work... after all, he only had FIVE HOURS to do it! God, he makes me so mad! :hissy::hissy::hissy:

Sigggghhhh... okay, needed to vent. I feel better now.

On the plus side, DH and I went shopping for some baby stuff. We just got a few things -- a couple of unisex baby gowns (my mom loved these things and cannot stop recommending them), some baby mittens, and a baby sleeper that swaddles. I kind of feel like a total fake shopping for baby stuff so early. Like if I'm not sporting a big, pregnant belly, security is going to escort me out of the store or something. It was the same way at my appointment yesterday. Every woman there had this massive, beautiful, third-trimester bump, and I had nada (my only bump comes from my love of pizza and Cheezits). I'm sure I'll feel better at my 20 week appointment, when I'll hopefully at least be sporting something preggie-looking. Though because I'm tall (6'), my mom is convinced I won't show 'til the 5th month. God, I hope not. I swear, it's the only time I've been sad that I was the thinnest woman in the room. :blush:

Sorry your boss jerked you around like that.

Wont be long till you start showing I noticed a change about 13 weeks but this is my second.

xx

The test went okay today, I think. I'm positive I passed it, but I'm not sure it was with flying colors... ah, well, I'll know in a few weeks. Right now I'm just happy that aggrivation is behind me!

Baby's heartbeat has been coming in SUPER STRONG on the doppler, lately. This morning DH had a listen and honestly thought it was my own heartbeat ('til he compared my pulse to the pulse on the doppler) because it was so loud. I'm still a little baffled as to why I'm able to hear it so early and so strong. I figured it would take me some time, mostly because of my height. So I wonder if I was able to hear the heartbeat early, does that mean I might start 'popping' earlier, too? I wonder if the two things have any correlation... or if I'm just wish-dreaming.

I can't believe next week I'll be at 11 weeks. I am so close to the second trimester, I can taste it! Mmm. Tastes like victory.*




*Please excuse the corniness.

Eleven weeks! I don't know why this seems like a milestone, but I'm happy, so I'll just roll with it.

Morning sickness definitely seems better, so I'm getting more of my sex drive back. I even initiated on Saturday (I know, TMI), so DH is happy about that. I think he's crossing his fingers that my "I don't want sex" attitude is in the past. Hey, I'm sure we'll have enough of that once the baby is born, anyway!

So lessened morning sickness has led to increased need to pee, and that sucks. I was always the person who could down a bottle of water right before bed and not need to go 'til the morning. Well, not anymore. I got up twice last night to relieve myself... the latest one I remember was 4:45 in the morning. Not fun. This has been happening every night for the past week or so, and I KNOW that I'm not drinking a crazy amount more than I used to, so I'm completely blaming the bean.

So yesterday I took a pic on my cellphone to compare my stomach to when I was at the 6-week mark, and I swear it's shrunk since then! Ha, maybe I'm just less bloated. Well, I just felt positively thin this weekend, which was so odd. The girls are definitely getting bigger... I'm up to a full D cup now, which DH absolutely LOVES, but which are kind of annoyingly big to me (they seem to get in the way a lot -- more so than when they were a C). And it's weird, but my nipples have been bugging me; they just seem to tingle a lot, and I have to avoid the urge to scratch at them in public -- I've heard public breast fondling is frowned upon in today's society, but it could just be rumor.

Oh, to be showing. I am so insanely jealous of the girls who are outgrowing their pants, which I realize sounds ridiculous. But all of my pants still fit just fine, and it's annoying me. Other than a bigger bust, it's all nada. Though I'm hoping to take after my mom in the pregnancy department -- absolutely NO stretchmarks on her tummy and super fast labor/delivery. Of course, this will probably mean that I'll have more strechmarks than normal skin and I'll be in labor for 36 hours, or something.

im glad everythings going well. enjoy the thinness youll get a bump in no time. your scan pics look great!

Glad everything is going well and YAY you made it to 11 weeks!! Only 2 more weeks and you'll be scooting off to 2nd tri!!

Thank you guys for your sweet comments! :hug:

Things are going pretty well so far. I have had a few bouts of mildish cramping which, because I'm a paranoid freak, worry me... but I always go and check the hb with the doppler afterward, and it's always beating as strong as ever. I figure that I'm not going to REALLY stop worrying until my 20 week scan. Or until I've delivered. Or until it's 18 and off to college. You know, one of those.

Ugh, work has been super slow and terribly boring... and though it does give me the time to peruse pregnancy sites, I can't help but feel like my time would be better spent at home, on the couch, watching TV. I have been counting down the days, and I can't believe it's only Wednesday! Two more days 'til the weekend? Oh, dear.

So next Monday I will be setting up my 16 week appointment. The clinic only books 4 weeks in advance, so I figure if I call exactly 4 weeks before the date I want, I'll be set! This is mostly exciting to me because I know at the 16 week appointment, I'll be able to book for the 20 week scan, which is what I'm really dying for. I'm praying that LO won't be shy, because I really want to know if I should decorate in blue or pink!

Speaking of decorating, DH has been sweetly cleaning out the spare bedroom for the bean. Just seeing the empty space makes me want to buy all kinds of baby stuff to fill it up, even though I know it's a little too early. Still, sometimes I just look into the room and picture what it would look finished... just makes me happy, I guess.

What doesn't make me happy? A few of my coworkers have taken it upon themselves to give me unwanted advice about my dietary habits. I have now found out that I'm "not eating enough" and "not drinking enough water". I think if I came to work eating a big sandwich they might feel better. Can I help that I do my snacking at home? It just makes me grr to be told by people I never see outside of work that I'm doing things wrong, when they have no idea! I guess that once you're pregnant everyone feels like they need to give you advice, whether or not you ask. I know they're trying to help, but I wish they'd just keep their criticisms to themselves! :hissy:

Had a series of crazy, crazy dreams last night... one was so weird that I just have to share it. Hopefully it will make some sort of sense written down, because it had a kind of crazy logic in my dream.:sleep:

I'm arriving at work for the day and I sit down next to a colleague. I ask him how he's doing, and he tells me that his wife is having a baby. Then he gestures to a small, plastic flowerpot on the desk at his side. Inside the pot is some potting soil, and poking out in the middle of that soil is a baby's head, in miniature (about the size of the tip of your thumb). It is giggling and moving about. I put the palm of my hand over it, and suddenly its arms -- which are two large, colorful flowers -- come out from the soil, and they start waving about. When I remove my palm, its arms are normal baby arms, though still very small. So now you can see the head, torso, and arms.

I tell my coworker how cute the baby is, and he thanks me.

Later I am strolling with my family, and I mention that my palm hurts. I look down and see a large, slightly bloody wound in the center of my palm. That makes sense, I say, the baby must have stuck its head through my hand when I put my palm over it. They do say that it hurts when you're having children, after all. But, I add, I didn't know that my unborn child was in a flowerpot... I thought it was in my womb!

It is, my dad says, but there's another way to have children. You can buy the seeds. There are a few brands but one, called Golden Tiger, is very expensive because it implants early, my brother adds. During this conversation, I can't help but wonder if maybe I was a sucker to not just buy the seeds.

And then the dream veers off into a whole other, non-baby direction. Hopefully it is not too weird to understand, but it was just so BIZARRE and vivid! I wonder if it means anything... other than that I should stop watching TV right before I go to bed. I think that tends to effect my dreaming.

12 weeks! Only a few weeks 'til the second trimester... umm, not that I'm counting or anything.

So I keep dreaming about this baby as a girl. I think it might have something to do with the fact that DH and I went bowling with his work last Friday, and his coworker's wife was there with their gorgeous baby girl, Sophia. Ohh, so cute. At one point she had found a plastic lid and was gripping it with one hand and banging it against the table, just giggling in sheer glee... which was so adorable. When DH and I got home, I told him how seeing Sophia made me want our baby NOW, and he agreed.

And then today I just thought of my bean as 'she'. Probably because of all those dreams, and the recent encounter with a baby girl. All of this gender wondering has me impatient for the 20 week scan. I want it noooooow!

oww that baby sounds lovely!! im glad your happy and enjoying everything!

Well as soon as the countdown to second tri is over you'll have to 20wk scan to count down to .. im sure it'll come round in no time hun

oww that baby sounds lovely!! im glad your happy and enjoying everything!

Thanks, guys! Yes, she was such a cute, well-behaved baby! The few times she cried, she was easily quieted. If I can have a baby that calm, it will be a blessing! Plus she had this darling fixation on napkins. Her mom would wave a napkin in front of her and she would just grip it and wave it about with baby glee. At one point she had three napkins and was just happy as a clam.

Just a quick update to say that I have my next appointment scheduled for June 5th at 1:40 pm (odd time, right?). I'll be about 15 1/2 weeks then; I think it's just a weight/palpation thing to make sure that LO is growing like he/she should, but I'm still looking forward to it! The receptionist was figuring out the date and confirmed that I'm 12 weeks this week... so cool to hear someone say it out loud (that isn't me)! :blush:

So now I've got another concrete date to look forward to. Woo hoo!:happydance:

13 weeks today! One week until the second trimester officially begins, so I'm really happy! I was reading the different sizes of the fetus during development, and I just realized that the bean is almost three times as big as it was when I had the ultrasound taken. That's so crazy! The heartbeat has been really strong on the Doppler lately, and I am a total dork and use it every day. I just love that reassurance that LO is there and doing well. I'll probably use it every day until I start to feel the baby kicking... but who knows when that will be! At least a month, I would guess, but probably more.

So my breasts have grown a TON since becoming pregnant. I realized this when I went bra shopping on Friday... and found that I can now fit into a 38DD from my original 36C. Wha--? I was looking at the bras and thought, "No, that can't possibly fit, it's huge!", but what do you know, it did. I really hope my girls decide to slow down a bit... I have a newfound sympathy for women with naturally large chests, because it is really hard to find anything halfway cute that's over a size C! Or at least it seemed that way to me.

hehe yep it is hard to find pretty bras here too over a D cup and your in trouble

Oh god hun I know, bras here are horrible! I have to go for a nursing bra for my 36H's which is horrid! Unless I want to spend £30-40 for sexy ones, which I don't see the point as they should deflate a little every time!

I used my doppler alot too at the start, such a nice reassurance!

36H?!! Oh sweet geez, I will never complain about my breast size again!

So on Sunday I hit the 14 week mark -- second trimester, woo hoo! I told myself that I would relax a little more once I got here, and I am, kind of. Part of me is still worrying, of course, because things can always happen... but it's a lot less of a constant worry than it was early on. At the 24 week mark I will relax further, 'cause then the baby will be viable with prenatal care, even if born early. But 24 weeks seems soooo far away...

I remember when 14 weeks seemed really far along, but now that I'm here I feel like I'm impatiently watching the clock, wanting my pregnancy to have progressed already! I feel like I'm in limbo... I don't know the sex yet, I haven't felt my baby kick yet, my bump isn't all that bump-y yet (I just look kinda chubby) -- grr!

On the plus side, I did just get back from a nice four-day weekend from work, and it was lovely. Although I did get burnt after a work picnic last Thursday, and it sucked! I had forgotten how awful sunburns were! I spent Friday and Saturday moaning and whining and having DH slather me with aloe burn relief gel. And then Friday morning I felt awfully ill with a bad headache so I downed some ice water; a couple of glasses in only a few minutes, which I promptly threw up. Funny, that was the first time I've puked in my whole pregnancy, and I didn't even have morning sickness. I don't know if the sickness was sunburn related, but it was not fun. But I've kept everything down since and not even felt a little sick, which is great.

So Monday was Memorial Day and I had the day off, while DH worked. This was great for me, because it gave me time to CLEAN! The house was becoming a serious sty, so I cleaned for about seven hours and finally got a shower around 6 pm.

See, DH has this terrible habit of letting his dirty clothes pile up, so by the time I did his laundry there were about five loads from his stuff alone (to compare -- I had three loads total from sheets, towels, and my clothing). When he has enough dirty clothes to fill his hamper, he doesn't stop there... he just shoves his dirty stuff in the back of his closet and leaves it there. So when DH came home I let him know that I will not, I repeat NOT tolerate the massive piles of dirty laundry. I swear, half of his wardrobe was mounded in the closet! But anyway the house is clean, my entire body is sore from the work, but I feel so much better about it.

But I have been having a problem lately -- getting to sleep! Last night I must have tossed and turned for an hour. I just can't seem to get comfortable at night anymore... I can't imagine how bad this will be when I'm in my third trimester... ugh.

One last thought -- I am so glad this board is back up!!! I looked at some other pregnancy forums and they all sucked butt in comparison. So when I got on this morning and found the site back up, I was thrilled (that makes me sound like a sad, board-addicted person, I know). I just hope this doesn't happen again, 'cause I missed my BnB!

This week is going really fast, but dragging at the same time. Tomorrow's friday, so it's almost the weekend, but DH has to work and it's never the same when he's gone.

So on Tuesday (or was it Weds?) I made a formal request to be released from my work contract, and I really, really hope it gets approved. It's not that I'm against working, but work would need me back 6 weeks after the birth, and I do not want to leave my child in care at that young an age. I've done some budgeting and I know that we can survive off of DH's salary, though we would be cutting our income in half (ugh). The big boss is coming back from vacay next week and he's the one who approves or disapproves the request, so... fingers crossed! I've asked to leave in October, which would be perfect timing, I think. 'Til then, we've been saving up money for baby and/or a rainy day. Nearly $10k so far, woo hoo! I still feel like we've got a long way to go, though.

Pregnancy is progressing fine, as far as I can tell. I'm excited over my next appointment -- only seven days, now! I know there isn't going to be a scan or anything, but I do want reassurance that everything is growing as it should. Because I can't feel kicking or see a big bump, a part of me worries about the bean. Though really, what else is new?:dohh:

15 weeks today. Woo hoo? I guess 15 weeks just feels like another week on the long, long, long... long, did I mention long? path to being full term. I am so impatient for something significant to happen. I want to feel that baby kicking, dangit! I want my bump to be so obnoxiously big and pregnant that I'm smacking into strangers when I round corners! Ahh, well, all things in time, I guess.

This week is pretty insignificant but for my checkup on Thursday (woo!). Then next week my in-laws will be in town... which is good, but a little stressful. Oh, and my boss is back this week, so I'm curious if he's going to say anything about my request or if he's going to mull it over. And DH is off of work today, and I am so mopey and wanting to spend time with him -- I am seriously throwing myself a pity party this morning. Boo hoo, me.

So lots of things going on this month, but nothing super exciting, especially on the pregnancy front. But now it's only 5 weeks (possibly less if I beg) I will get a new ultrasound and hopefully know the sex of the baby!!! And then it will be a pink or blue shopping frenzy, and I will time myself to see just how quickly it takes me to empty out my bank account (kind of like "0 to 60 in 4 seconds", but in reverse) when I'm truly motivated.

I'm right there with you at the pity party camoQueen. I really didn't want my OH to go to work this morning either. :)

I'll be great to get some authorized retail therapy. :happydance:

its awful camoqueen when things go slow!

but its going fly by now you just watch.

Thanks, carmen, I know it's going to go by pretty fast, in the long run, and it helps to hear someone else say it! I was just thinking about all the stuff I'm doing this month, how I'll be 17 weeks by the time the in-laws are gone, then a few more weeks until my 20 week ultrasound. At that point I'm 1/2 through the pregnancy and I can start counting down instead of up! Then at the end of August I will be starting my 3rd trimester! So it's really not all that far away, it's just when I'm focusing on it on a day-to-day, hour-to-hour basis. I should probably find some hobbies to keep my mind off of the waiting!:dohh:

Tomorrow is my (early) 16 week visit with the doctor. I guess that means weight and blood pressure and fundal height check... not too exciting, but the little things get me all worked up, anymore. With any luck everything will be great, and I can make my 20 week app't so I'll have a concrete date to count down to!:happydance:

Yesterday I could not resist and bought just a few things for the bean. DH thought we should get this soft ring teether, and I picked out a cute, plush butterfly rattle. I put the stuff with the few baby items we have already purchased. Ahh, it's so tempting to go out and just buy, buy, buy! Especially the smaller items. I am going to have to hide my debit card until next month, I swear!

So yesterday I had my '16 week' checkup. My doctor insists on going by my LMP, so she has it that I'm already well into 16 weeks... but hey, I'm going by the ultrasound and by when I'm pretty darn sure I ovulated, which is the date on the ticker. Anyway.

I was so nervous and excited about getting there that I wound up at the hospital 45 minutes before my appointment. Ended up waiting an additional 50 minutes past my scheduled appointment time -- grr -- but this is actually way quicker than I was seen last time, so I guess I can't complain too much. Dr. asked a bunch of questions about my health and well being, first.

Then I lay down on that butcher paper while she measured my fundus. Apparently it's 3 finger-widths down from my belly button, which is right on track. Yay! Then she listened to the heartbeat with the doppler... baby was on the left side again. The heartbeat is down to around 151 now from 162 at my 10 week appointment, and it turns out those occasional loud noises I hear from my doppler are the baby moving/kicking. Aww! Listening with the doppler must piss bean off, because he/she was kicking up a storm. In the end, basically I got told that I am completely where I should be and everything seems like it's going well, which is just what I wanted to hear. I like the reassurance.:blush:

Then I got my blood drawn for a quad screen; only 2 vials, so not so bad. And THEN I got sent down to the ultrasound lab so I could schedule my next appointment. Anyway, they up and scheduled me for an ultrasound when I'm 19+1! I'm so excited! I don't even have to wait until next month for the ultrasound, because they're doing it on JUNE 30th at 1:00!!!! This is so great because not only does my DH have that day off, but he's still on day shift at this point, so he won't be exhausted from missing sleep!:happydance: I still need to schedule another OB appointment a few days after the ultrasound so we can discuss the results... honestly, I am just so psyched to be able to know if the bump is pink or blue! I am going to be counting down the days!

Still, I'm not looking forward to following the ultrasound instructions I was given. So apparently 2 hours before the appointment I need to empty my bladder and drink 32 ounces of water, stopping no later than an hour before the ultrasound. And then I can't pee. Seeing as I feel like I need to pee when I have a teaspoon of water in my bladder, I am NOT happy about that. If I pee myself I will completely blame the doctors.:dohh:

i know i akso worrying about holding it in for so long before a scan ..... its ironic really when your pregnant you need to wee all the time........ then they ask you to hold it for two hours ..lol:bodyb:

I did all that and they told me I had to 'let a bit out' :huh: :sad2: It's not as easy as it sounds believe.

Aw but you'll have the knowledge then though. :blue: or :pink: :dance:

"Let a bit out"? Oh, geez, better start doing more kegels.:dohh: Or any kegels. I would ideally like my pelvic floor to be rippling with pee-stopping muscles by the time I'm due. I'm already dreading the thought of wetting myself when I sneeze/cough/laugh/breathe too deeply.

So tomorrow is the last day I have at work this week until my in-laws arrive in town. I am happier about their visit now that my husband has gotten his time off approved -- I love his family, but the thought of being alone with them for three days trying to entertain is a bit scary. Besides, I haven't seen them since DH and I got married in April of '07, so it's been a while! Hopefully it will all go smoothly and we will be able to keep his 6 year old sister entertained. Though I'm anticipating her confusion at my lack of obvious baby bump... she's known we're expecting for a while now, and little kids usually have an image in their head of what pregnant looks like -- and I don't exactly fit that!

Good news at work. I sat down with my supervisor today who informed me that his supervisor told him I was requesting out of my contract. He was kind of pissed I didn't let him know beforehand (and I feel really guilty about this, actually, 'cause it looks bad on him and the man isn't psychic), but said that he fully supports my decision and hopes that he will still be able to have me working there through the summer. So it looks a lot like I'll be able to leave in October like I wanted!:happydance: I already had a coworker come up and say that she's sorry I'm leaving... I don't want to get my hopes up too much, but fuck it, they're already waaaay up there.

OK, and I gotta say, I am still way too paranoid that something bad will happen. I need to stay off of Google! In reading about pregnancy I keep accidentally finding stories about women who have lost their babies in late miscarriages or, even worse (IMO), through stillbirth. Missed miscarriage/stillbirth is such a major fear of mine. Stupid Google!!! :hissy:

Sweetie, it's a fear of every one of us on this board so you're in excellent company. :D

Glad to hear that you'll have the united front in dealing with your In-laws and I am right there with you. Mine are lovely but they're 73 and living in a totally different time reference to us. I couldn't be alone with them for three days either. :trouble:

It's great that you're getting the maternity leave you're after as well, you can look forward to a peaceful fall.

Google is bad .. stay away . I have learnt if i am bad to stay away from google ... OH said i have had everything going and am pretty healthy through all of it...lol.

17 weeks! And only 2 weeks left until my ultrasound and bump gender identification! I really hope that the bean uncrosses its legs for us, though if LO takes after his/her daddy at all, they won't be shy to show it all off. DH definitely carries the pervert gene.:dohh:

In-laws are leaving today, so they should be off by the time I'm home for my lunch break. I actually didn't have such a bad time. They ended up coming at about 8 pm on Thursday night, and I was met with hugs and tears from MIL (who touched my bump very sweetly and almost made me tear up), and nice hugs from SIL and BIL. Though the house got pretty messy and chaotic (I'd forgotten how crazy and LOUD a little girl can be), I had a pretty fun time overall. And I'm actually sad to see them go... :cry: Especially for DH; I could tell that he was having a really great time seeing his family again. Oh, and MIL brought the LO an adorable stuffed bear and a vibrating baby rocker, which I thought was so sweet of her! I love getting presents! Free stuff totally rocks. :happydance:

So I could swear that I've felt movement from LO these past few days, but I am cautious to label it when it might just be intestinal gurgling or muscle twitches. I don't want to get ahead of myself and be all excited over gas.:blush: I figure if I wait a few weeks I should get a good and proper kick that I can be proud of. I mean, I used the doppler this morning and bean was fidgeting all over the place, so I figure he/she's gotta be a pretty active thing. I know I'll feel it eventually, but the waiting sucks!:hissy:

Ugh, back at work... I am really tired of all this stupid office stuff. I wish I could just stay home with DH today and watch old movies and just veg. My four day weekend wasn't so calm with all the visitors in the house, so I don't feel like I've really had too much in the way of downtime. Thankfully DH is off this weekend as well, so we can spend some time together relaxing. Which to me means sleeping 13 hours at a stretch.:sleep: Ahhh...

Glad you enjoyed their visit, the next one wont feel so daughnting now either.:D

Glad it went well with in the in laws and possible movements of LO. I was in denial for about a week until I asked my mum if thats what I was feeling and she said most likely. After I excepted it movements got more frequent throughout the day and it's normal to feel LO now. Hope it's not long for you. x

18 weeks and up a ticker!:happydance:

I am so excited! ONLY ONE WEEK UNTIL MY ULTRASOUND!!! :happydance::happydance: This week is going to draaag by, I know it! DH has been rubbing my belly and kissing it and talking to it, all of which is very sweet. He's been so nice about me going on and on about the ultrasound... I'm just dying to see LO again and find out if it's a little boy or girl. I will be stuffing my face with peanut butter cups before my appointment so bean is nice and active.

Speaking of active, I really think I've been feeling the movements! For the last few days I've been feeling little almost... flicks in my lower abdomen. I guess it's kind of like a muscle spasm, almost, but it only happens maybe once or twice and it varies where I feel it. Plus when I was using the doppler last night, bean was moving like mad! So I guess I'm feeling the LO, which makes me happy. I figure he/she must be pretty close to the surface anyway, 'cause I've been able to hear the HB since I was 8 weeks, so there's no reason I shouldn't feel bean by now. Aww, I love my baby.:blush:

So I have been presented with the opportunity to start a new job after LO's born... the pay is really great (starting at around $70-90k a year), especially at my age. BUT the hours are crazy -- 12 hour shifts varying days and nights -- and finding childcare would be a real chore. I'm still a little torn on what to do, but I'm leaning towards declining so I can stay home with the baby. I'd love the extra money, but I don't know if it's worth it.

Ahh, wish it was next week already. I'm so impatient!:hissy:

*jealous* youve moved up a box lol

Funny how we wish the time away when we're pregnant isn't it. :lol:

Wow that's some job offer but I can see where you'd be reluctant, that's some serious chopping and changing of hours etc. It is a good sign though that you'd be able to get whatever you want when you're ready. :D

19 weeks! Today is the day I have been waiting for -- THE BIG ULTRASOUND!!!! Three hours until I get to see LO again!!!!!!:happydance::happydance::happydance:

I heard that the hospital I'm going to usually doesn't try and find the gender on their own, so I'm going to make sure that I push for them to look for it during the appointment. It can't be that much extra work to look for a willy or lack thereof, right? I will beat them if they don't even look for the gender. :hissy:

Anyway, I have spent the past weekend wishing away the time, and now the appointment is almost there! Bean has been having a nice time kicking me these past few days, so hopefully he/she's pretty active during the ultrasound. I'm planning on eating a spicy lunch about an hour before the ultrasound, maybe that'll help! But I am still just counting down the time until I leave for the hospital!:happydance: Eee!

Still, there is the fear that there could always be something wrong... I mean, it is an anamoly scan first, and a gender scan second. I guess I'm just feeling optomistic today. I really am crossing my fingers though that everything turns out fine for my LO. And that I can manage to hold on until 1 o' clock! I'll make sure to post pics and give the full scoop here after the ultrasound is done, 'cause I definitely will want to share!

My little boy!!!!!



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YAHAHAY!!! A Little Boy!!! :blue:

Congratulations :)

So can we take it that everything is hunky dorey with the little man then?

Can you recognise any of his features as being inherited yet. On Charlies 20wk scan in profile you could see that he had my nose and mouth and OHs chin! He still does as well. :laugh2:

YAHAHAY!!! A Little Boy!!! :blue:

Congratulations :)

So can we take it that everything is hunky dorey with the little man then?

Can you recognise any of his features as being inherited yet. On Charlies 20wk scan in profile you could see that he had my nose and mouth and OHs chin! He still does as well. :laugh2:

Thanks! I would say that LO has his daddy's pouty lips, from a profile shot we got, they look quite kissable. lol

So I figure I might as well recap what went down on the big ultrasound on Monday! DH and I got there about twenty minutes before the appointment, and I had to pee BIG TIME. I mean, I had to pee the entire way there, but it was just painfully bad once we got to the hospital. Thankfully we got called back only five minutes after our scheduled appointment time, so there wasn't too much waiting to be done.

The tech who did our ultrasound was super, super nice. She was really smiley as she whisked me over to the ultrasound room. I pulled my pants down and she poured some warm (they had a gel warmer -- I was so grateful!) gel on my lower tummy. The first things she looked at were the placenta and the cervix... she took some snaps, wiped off my belly, and told me I could go relieve myself (this was so nice it was practically the highlight for me!:rofl:).

So I peed (ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, relief) and went back in and got all gelled up again. Then she proceeded to take about 70 still shots of the baby's parts... the femurs, the heart, the liver, stomach, bladder, head (the circumfrence of which was bigger than the length of bean at the 10 week scan!), on and on. She said that the hospital does a more indepth scan than lots of places, so thats why it took so long. I wasn't complaining though! It was SO cool to see LO again! He looked so much bigger than before; his legs and arms were so long -- and he had bones!

She pointed out the umbilical cord and all the different parts. Then she asked if we wanted to find out what we were having, and of course we did! She looked towards the legs and stopped the screen when she found the boy parts (which didn't take long). She asked me what I thought it was and I said, "It looks like a boy..." which she confirmed.:cloud9: Said if it was a girl you definitely "don't want that part," lol.

We saw the heart beating and the four chambers (so neat), waited for LO to straighten out so she could get a good shot. He took his sweet time, but he finally moved. She got some good shots of LO's face -- we even caught him yawning! Aww, it was so cute! Then he stretched, scratched his face... oh, geez, it's not like it's anything that significant, but it seemed so significant to us. I just love that little boy to death.:blush: At the end she told us he weighs 11.5 ounces, and that everything looked good to her, though the doctor would still need to have a look.

So this morning I went back to the OB/Gyn for the checkup. I've gained 10.8 pounds in total so far, my blood pressure was fine, and my fundus measured on track. The midwife found the HB as soon as she put the doppler down, which was nice. Then we went over the results of the quad screen and ultrasound. The quad screen tests all came out negative!:happydance: Such a load off my mind. Then she tracked down the doctor's comments on the ultrasound -- all normal with a posterior placenta!:happydance:

I'm finally feeling like I can start to relax and enjoy my pregnancy. I mean, at this point I'm practically halfway through the pregnancy and the odds of something really bad happening are very, very small... and the baby looks like he's doing wonderfully. My most recent paranoia -- that I had an incompetent cervix that would painlessly dilate and make me go into premature labor -- has been calmed by the normal length cervix they found at the ultrasound. Soooo... I guess I'm just feeling really good right now! This has been such a great week!!!:happydance::happydance::happydance:

Awww lovely piccies hun congrats on your lil boy!!

Aw, mini daddies smackers, fab!

So glad you enjoyed your scan hon. Now you can chill and totally enjoy being pregnant. :hugs:

Oh wow! It sounds amazing. I can't wait until it's my turn. All those little things him stretching and yawning sound so cute. Congrats! x

Just a quick post to say -- I'm 20 WEEKS TODAY! Halfway point! Now I can start counting down instead of counting up! :happydance::happydance::happydance:

LO has been kicking up a storm for the past few days! It seems like every time I sit down to watch a movie or TV, he starts to wallop my insides. Which is really cool; he's too small to be hurting me when he fidgets, and it reminds me that he's there and healthy and thriving.

So we bought the main baby furniture a few days ago -- the crib, dresser, and changing table. Today we're going to get some drapes to put up in the room (I would like a nice baby blue); DH is happy because he likes to put stuff together like a real manly man, lol. Then we need to register for all the baby stuff, because family has been bugging us about it, and I would like them to kindly shut up.

I still have to fight that stupid feeling like I'm going to be 'jinxing' myself for shopping for the baby. Though I did read the odds of a death after 20 weeks was something like 1/200, so it seems silly to worry. I figure that I'm just going to put my blinders on to all the negative thoughts and fix up the baby's room and be happy!

Still working on boy's names, though. I tend to like more traditional names, and DH likes weird ones. He honestly suggested Moses as a boy's name, which I think is ridiculous. But then he'll joke about calling it Leonitus, after that movie 300, just to get a rise out of me. Oh, I hope we'll be able to find a name we both can agree on.:dohh: I do know that I'm not naming my son after a Spartan, though.

21 weeks! :happydance: Today marks 18 weeks and 6 days until my baby's due date.

Sometimes it seems like November is forever away, but then I think of the weeks until the baby is due and it seems like nothing. Every day is a step closer to the third trimester (which I'll be in late next month!)...

So this weekend was not as lazy as most weekends. On Saturday I went to an engagement party for a coworker. I was there from 5 in the afternoon and got home at 1 in the morning. I had a really good time despite the necessary sobriety, but I got so worn out after a while! My abdomen started to hurt from sitting for so long... I don't know if it was all the extra weight or what, but then my back started to hurt around 11. By the time I got home, I was so sore!

Then yesterday LO was pretty quiet; he didn't move nearly at all that morning. I was worried so I had a listen on the doppler, and there was the heartbeat, strong as ever. Later he began kicking some more, but not as much as usual... and now today he's up to his normal kicking self, lol. I guess all that partying wore him out, too!

And then there's this funny thing with my bump that's kind of bugging me. Okay, so I know that the baby is fine and growing, and my bump is getting bigger and bigger (above my belly button, now) so that's normal, but sometimes I notice that when I'm laying down, it's bigger on the right side than the left. Noticeably bigger, sometimes ridiculously so. It's been this way since I've ever HAD a bump. Like I'll notice if I've been sleeping on my right side, the bump will be all the way to the right but very small on the left. But then sometimes it's nearly even, or completely even. I don't know if that's just the way that my uterus sits -- more to the right than the left -- but it looks so funny! Why can't my bump be even?!:hissy: And for that matter, why can't my boobs stop getting these damn stretch marks? They are all the way to the top of my breast now (some above the bra cup line), so I can't wear shirts that show any chest at all. It's so frustrating!

But on a more positive note -- less than 3 weeks until LO is viable outside of the womb! :happydance:I am seriously counting down until 24 weeks... and then I'll be able to breathe a little easier.

Hiya hon.

Don't worry about the lopsided bumpiness, it's just where littley is sitting atm. :hugs:

Congrats at 20wks. :dance:

Hiya hon.

Don't worry about the lopsided bumpiness, it's just where littley is sitting atm. :hugs:

You know, you're completely right... I guess that LO just likes to hang out on the right side for some reason! I have never seen him sit on the left except for the other night. I felt him shifting (such a weird feeling) and I looked down to see the left side of my tummy had gone all lopsided! It gave me a total happy to see that LO had moved and that it wasn't just my weird anatomy. But today he's back to the right side again.

So I'm 22 weeks!:happydance: Tomorrow I'm moving up a ticker -- the last ticker in the second trimester!!! Five weeks until I'm in the third tri; I can't wait. It seems like just yesterday that I was entering the 2nd trimester. Ooh, and two weeks 'til baby is viable!:happydance:

Yesterday LO was having a good time kicking me. I told OH and he put his hand on my belly and felt a good four kicks in a row! He was all giddy over his active little boy and I'm happy that he could feel LO moving again. I guess it was all the kicks one after the other that surprised him. Doesn't really surprise me, though; when LO decides to fidget, man does he move! And lately he's been moving more in the mornings, too. Usually bubs doesn't take to kicking until afternoon, but for the past few days I've been getting morning kicks, too. It's kind of nice.:blush:

Oh, so I ran into an acquaintance I haven't seen in a while. I told her that I'm pregnant and I've been having backaches lately which kind of sucks, but that I know it won't let up for a while. So then she went on to say that it won't be bad forever, that the first trimester tends to be the worst but the second is better. Umm, yeah, thanks for assuming I'm in the first trimester. Not all pregnant ladies have huge bumps, ya know!:hissy: I was just like, "Yeah, okay, I've gotta go," and didn't bother correcting her. What I wanted to do was slap her with my pimp hand and shriek, "I'm 22 weeks, you cow! I left the first trimester two months ago!" I just thought it was a little rude to not even ask how far I am, just assume from my lack of apparent hugeness that I must be very early on. Stupid people.:cry:

But on the plus side, this might mean I'll be like my mother and never get the dreaded stomach stretchmarks. If only my boobs could have been so lucky.

Your Buba's so cool. :coolio: He's like yeah i'm just over here chillin'. I might go over there in a minute, I just don't know. :-= Walloping Daddy, stomping on Mummy and generally making his presence known. :dance:

Some people are so dense. We saw our neighbor at the Golf club on Sunday and I appologised to him for the state of our garden. Since I got pregnant i just haven't been able to keep on top of it. "You're not pregnant again?" He says, "Haven't you people got a Tele?" :saywhat: I was so stunned that I didn't even say anything I just turned around and went back to my practice swings. :rofl:

Some people!

Some people are so dense. We saw our neighbor at the Golf club on Sunday and I appologised to him for the state of our garden. Since I got pregnant i just haven't been able to keep on top of it. "You're not pregnant again?" He says, "Haven't you people got a Tele?" :saywhat: I was so stunned that I didn't even say anything I just turned around and went back to my practice swings. :rofl:

Some people!

Oh my God, I can't believe he said that! I swear, some people really ought to think before they speak. Some people want larger families and some people want smaller families; just because you wouldn't follow someone's exact life plan doesn't mean you should criticize them for it!

So DH and I have agreed on a middle name, but people might think we are being silly and/or crazy or evil to do this to our little boy, but I LIKE IT and DH LOVES IT and I think it's fun and cool... okay, so we can't agree on the first name but we do know that the middle name will be Danger. You know, as in "Danger? Danger is my middle name!" Yeah, we're kids like that. I figure might as well give our kid a normal first name and if he hates his middle name he never has to use it. But it seriously makes me happy thinking about it.:blush: And I'm not gonna take crap from no one for it! So any naysayers can suck it!!!

Though I imagine I will get loads of ribbing from the family, lol. Ah, well, my kid, my name.

Up a ticker today! And 8 days 'til my next visit with the midwife -- kind of scared to see how much I've gained. I came into this month intent on eating healthier, but a few days in I collapsed into the soft, loving folds of chocolate cake. And brownies. Oh, and pizza and burgers and french fries and burritos and... everything terrible for me. Oops!

im glad everythings ok babe x

WooHOO! Up a ticker :dance: Yeah!

I think Danger as a middle name is a fantastic idea! :laugh2: It'll probably turn into his nickname too. :coolio:

Oh the loving folds of comfort food! I'm planning on having an experimental weekend to see if I am still as allergic to wheat as I was (since it doesn't kill me) I am just so sick of saying, "oh no i can't". I wanna :lolly: just eat :pizza: what I want :icecream: for a :cake: weekend. :munch: You might wanna pop by my journal sometime next week it could well make a funny read if it all goes Pete Tong. :lol:

P.S. Yeah I think my neighbor thought he was being comedic or something but even still. :roll:

WooHOO! Up a ticker :dance: Yeah!

I think Danger as a middle name is a fantastic idea! :laugh2: It'll probably turn into his nickname too. :coolio:

Oh the loving folds of comfort food! I'm planning on having an experimental weekend to see if I am still as allergic to wheat as I was (since it doesn't kill me) I am just so sick of saying, "oh no i can't". I wanna :lolly: just eat :pizza: what I want :icecream: for a :cake: weekend. :munch: You might wanna pop by my journal sometime next week it could well make a funny read if it all goes Pete Tong. :lol:

P.S. Yeah I think my neighbor thought he was being comedic or something but even still. :roll:


I'm going to have to give it a look, it sounds like it will be pretty entertaining!

23 weeks (and a day)! Less than a week until LO is viable!:happydance: Less than a month until the third trimester!:happydance:

So it's Monday and while I'm not ecstatic to be back at work, I'm feeling pretty happy. I guess it's 'cause DH has the next few days off, so that means more time with him when I'm at home. And I made a chicken green chile casserole the other night for him to take to work, and he came home and said it was, "OhmyGod delicious," which of course makes me happy. I didn't have a chance to eat any as I was still full from lunch so my dinner consisted of a cream soda (full calorie, too, and it's been FOREVER since I've had a non-diet cream soda, and it was gooood).

I've been looking a lot more pregnant lately, too! Bump seems to have grown a lot in this past week. I put on a shirt the other day and I looked in the mirror and I swear, I looked like an actual, factual pregnant lady. And LO has been kicking me higher lately; the other day he was having a great time kicking me square in the belly button! It was such a weird feeling!!!

Wednesday I go to see my midwife for a checkup. I actually really look forward to these checkups... which is kinda silly, because she's not really doing anything all that interesting. I know what's going to happen -- weight check, blood pressure check, questionnaire (how are you feeling? any pain?), fundal height check, heartbeat check. Rinse and repeat, see you again in four weeks. But there's just something so nice about being able to see the midwife every month and getting bigger and being able to share your pregnancy with someone whose job it is to pretend to be interested. DH really wants to go, even though he's on night shift right now and he's supposed to be sleeping when I have my appointment. I told him everything that's going to happen and that it won't be very long or very interesting, but he's still intent on going. I love that silly man.:blush:

I weighed myself this morning after I peed and it looks on my HOME scale that I've gained only about a pound since last appointment... but that's my own personal scale, so you know when I go to my doctor's office it's going to show me as having gained five pounds or something. I'm trying not to get too optimistic about my weight gain... but if it comes up as 4 pounds or less gained, I'll be a happy camper. I know with my diet lately I'll be lucky to get away with that little.:dohh:

Oh Babe I am SO chuffed that my MW doesn't check weight. :happydance: I'd be off the end already! :rofl:

LO kicking behind the bellybutton used to make me feel all funny. :lol:

Oh Babe I am SO chuffed that my MW doesn't check weight. :happydance: I'd be off the end already! :rofl:

LO kicking behind the bellybutton used to make me feel all funny. :lol:

Oh wow, can I have your midwife? I wish I didn't get my weight checked! Oh, and congrats on losing your wheat allergy... that opens up a whole new world of deliciousness for you! Though that could be a scary thing, depending.

So this morning I had my 24 week appointment (due to the hospital saying my due date is the 18th, and thus them considering me 24 weeks already). DH insisted on coming, like he said he was going to do. Found out I've gained 14.1 lb so far, making my gain in the past four weeks almost a pound a week!!! Thankfully the midwife said that the weight gain was a perfectly normal amount to have gained at that point, so I'm not feeling too bad about it. I guess it could've been worse.

I got my fundus tape measured for the first time today -- I am measuring 25 cm, according to her. So pshaw on all those people saying my bump is super small! Bubs is a great size, what do they know. The hearbeat was still 150. I've been scheduled for my 28 week appointment on the 27th, and I'm going in for my RH shot and my glucose screen the day before. It's so crazy to think that I'll be in the third trimester by my next appointment! Found out that they don't start doing appointments closer together until you're 36 weeks... I always thought they would do that sooner, but what do I know. So I'm going to get a 28 week app't, 32 week, 36 week, 38 week, and then one every week until I give birth. Oh my sweet baby JESUS, that seems soon! I mean, by Friday it will be August!

Still gotta call the 3d/4d place for a scan in three weeks. I am so excited about that! I had a dream about the baby last night; I had an ultrasound and he looked just like DH... I mean, he was even growing a little baby goatee and mustache like he'll get sometimes if he doesn't shave for a day or so, lol. Pretty cute, though.

Hehehe.

Yep, sadly my biscuit addiction hasn't been curbed any. :lol:

Aren't you quite a fit lady? Wern't you like in the gym or running everyday or something because that can have an effect on the external 'appearance' or your bump size. Because your abs are stronger than say, mine, (coz I'm crap and don't go to the gym anymore) your uterus doesn't push out quite as prominantly. Doesn't mean your bump is small it's just fitted differently. :laugh2: It also means you're fit bird. *looks once again for jealousy emoticon*

Hehehe.

Yep, sadly my biscuit addiction hasn't been curbed any. :lol:

Aren't you quite a fit lady? Wern't you like in the gym or running everyday or something because that can have an effect on the external 'appearance' or your bump size. Because your abs are stronger than say, mine, (coz I'm crap and don't go to the gym anymore) your uterus doesn't push out quite as prominantly. Doesn't mean your bump is small it's just fitted differently. :laugh2: It also means you're fit bird. *looks once again for jealousy emoticon*

Not really that fit... I used to be a lot more in shape than I am now, but I let myself go.:blush: I figure my bump is smaller than normal because I'm tall (six foot) and LO has more room to grow up before he grows out!

Though I did feel huge this weekend! Bump is definitely growing now. Most of my pre-pregnancy shirts no longer fit right... they keep riding up over my stomach when I walk, which gets really annoying. I haven't had any comments on my pregnancy from strangers yet, so I'm still wondering if I just look pudgy or if I'm starting to edge into the "I think she's pregnant" realm. Well, I hope so.

24 weeks! Baby is viable this week!:happydance: I feel like I should be doing more celebrating, but I'm really tired today. I know it's a good thing to be at this week, and it does feel like a weight has been lifted off me. For a while there I was paranoid about preterm labour from an incompetent cervix, which would cause me to lose the baby. But knowing that LO would have a fighting chance if he were to be born today really does make me feel better. Kind of crazy to think about, though, that he's getting that big! Now there's just the worry about stillbirth, but hey, I figure most pregnant ladies are allowed to be paranoid from time to time. The odds of having a healthy bundle of joy are heavily weighed in my favor, so I really shouldn't even be thinking about such negative things. The end.

So on Friday DH brought home 40 cooked hot dogs from work. :rofl: See, I came home from the gym to find this giant crockpot on my kitchen counter. Turns out a coworker brought a bunch of hot dogs to work for everyone eat, and there were loads left over that my husband, for whatever reason, volunteered to take home with him. How he thinks that two people of a normal size are going to be able to eat 40 hot dogs in a matter of days is beyond me! But I just love his plucky optimism! I had a really good laugh about the hot dogs, and he had such a sheepish look on his face when I asked him if he really thought we could eat them all.:dohh: Ahh, I love my ridiculous husband. And to his credit, he has been eating hot dogs all weekend.

Let's see, what interesting stuff is going to happen soon... well, I'm going to try and set up my 4d scan for some time in the next three weeks if I can. Since the place I want to go to has no set hours, it's kind of a crap shoot as to when you can get them on the phone. Hopefully I can get ahold of them today. And I've got a little over 3 weeks until I have to go to the hospital for labs (RhoGAM and glucose screen is all, I think) and then a checkup. By their estimation I'll be just 28 weeks by appointment time. Only a few more appointments to go! And only a few weeks 'til the next trimester!

Ah yes, being 6ft would explain it! :D

If your shirts are riding up, it's a good indication of bump! It's an evil law of sod, withour clothes isn't it, that skirts ride up but trousers slip down!!!! :hissy: Why can't they damn well stay where I put them??? :grr: :rofl:

Congratulations on 24wks. It's amazing how much it does help to boost your confidence but then worrying is natural. just means you're gonna be a good Mum! :laugh2:

If your shirts are riding up, it's a good indication of bump! It's an evil law of sod, withour clothes isn't it, that shirts ride up but trousers slip down!!!! :hissy: Why can't they damn well stay where I put them??? :grr: :rofl:

Oh, I know what you mean, my shirts are always pulling up over my bump and my pants (which I've had to get larger because I'm expanding) fit fine in the morning but then are looser by afternoon, and start to fall down when I'm walking. But I don't want to wear a belt -- how uncomfortable! But then I don't want to be flashing innocent passerby my sexy granny panties, possibly traumatizing them for life! :shock:

I have been really stressed lately. I found out that I'll be leaving work in three weeks, and I am running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to fit in all the appointments and things that I need to get done before I can have the all-clear. And it seems like for every person I talk to, I get at least two wrong answers that I have to clear up before I can complete a task. Everyone I run into seems to have the same reaction: "You're leaving in three weeks?! Why didn't you come to me sooner???" Well, I was only told two days ago that I'm leaving on the 28th!!! Most people have months to get ready for this! So I have been coming home at night exhausted and cranky and have had bad headaches for the past few days, trying to deal with all of this crap. Thank God for DH; he is my rock. I can whine and bitch to him for hours, and he lovingly replies, "You poor thing. Let's go get you some ice cream." He knows just what I need in times like this.:icecream:

At least this afternoon I have whittled down some of the stuff I need to get finished. I still have buttloads of appointments coming up, though. The funny thing is, on the day I need to go in to get my labs done, I have one appointment at 9:30 and one at 2:00, and I'm hoping that I can squeeze my labs in in-between. And then I have a meeting a few hours before my midwife appointment on the 27th! There is no time for rest!:hissy:

Thank goodness I have some Ben and Jerry's birthday cake ice cream in my freezer right now, otherwise, I don't know what I'd do.:D

LO has been doing well. He had a few quiet days last weekend -- he would move, but only a little bit. I don't know if he was facing the back of my uterus or what, but being me I freaked out, even though the doppler showed a normal, strong heartbeat. And then on Monday I went through a pint of cookies 'n cream ice cream and within half an hour LO was ramming against me, stronger than he ever had! I swear, it felt like he was trying to bust his way out! I guess all babies have their lazy times, where they'd rather sleep than kick.:sleep: I'm sure I'll miss that once he's born.

25 weeks! Another week down, and less than two until the third trimester!:happydance:

Still trying to get all this outprocessing stuff done, and it's a PAIN IN THE BUTT. But I think I'm finally getting somewhere. The worst part is, DH had to work all weekend and we only got about a few hours a day together, and it sucked because I really wanted to just relax and veg out with him, and I couldn't!:hissy: Thank goodness he has the next weekend off, so we can actually spend some quality time together. I miss him every single time he leaves.

Oh, and I caught DH looking at porn on Friday. I was so angry! See, I had asked him a few times to refrain from doing so because I was feeling really low and unattractive and big as a whale, and he would always agree, but then I kept catching him. The last time we had this big argument and he said he'd stop and begged me to forgive him, and I had even asked him recently if he had been looking at porn, which he denied. Then to find out that he'd been doing it again, well, I was furious. I wasn't crying like last time we talked, I was more like, "How can I trust you in anything if you're going to lie to me about something like this?" and "How can you say you're ready to sacrifice for a child if you can't give up something so f%#$ing small for me, when you know how much it hurts me?" and all kinds of things. I finally just said that it wasn't so much about what he was doing, but that he would lie to me about it. That in the future he needs to come to me and tell me what he's done, and that I wouldn't be so upset if he slipped and told me, 'cause that shows he's trying to change and that we can work at it together.

So that's our agreement. He's going to try his hardest not to do it, and he's going to (in theory) tell me if he does. I realize that kind of stuff can be hard for guys to give up, and he'd been doing it a lot when we were together before we got married. It never bothered me then... just something about being pregnant, I guess, that's making me very insecure. Oh, and I was so angry, I could've just beat the hell out of him with my pregnant fury when I found out what he'd been doing. I just don't tolerate lying like that!:hissy: But things are much better now. I forgave him in a kind of, "If you ever lie to me like that again, they will never find your body" way. Ugh, I really did not need that stress, though; it was a really shitty way to start the weekend.

But again, lots better now. LO is getting so big! It's kind of weird to think I'm even as far along as I am in my pregnancy... or that I'm due in 15 weeks. Fifteen! That's nothing! Sometimes it feels like there's all the time in the world, and other times like I can't possibly get ready fast enough. Ahh, well, hopefully this week will fly like the last few have!

26 weeks!!!!! Less than a week 'til I'm in the third trimester!:happydance:

I am seriously feeling upbeat today, which is a huge difference from the way I was feeling last night! I was seriously riding the emotional rollercoaster BIG TIME and in not such a good way! See, at first I was feeling happy because DH was home this weekend and we were getting to spend some time together. But then I tried on my favorite dress just to find that I couldn't wear it not because it didn't fit, but because the stretch marks that are overtaking my boobs were peeking over the top. So then I threw it off and had a big twenty minute sob-fest of, "Oh, I'm so ugly, I'm so fat, I'm a cow." And DH was very sweet and cuddled me and told me that I'll be fine, and I felt better.

Then later I was watching the news and they were talking about tropical storm Fay, and how it might become a hurricane and head over our way. Oh, I flipped about that. I got very upset and started spouting off about how it was probably going to come and tear our house down and we would have nothing and have to sleep on the floor, and how could I be a good mother if I couldn't even have a decent place for LO to live? Again, DH had to come and cuddle with me and calm me down, but it took longer this time. And then the weather forecast this morning said that it's only about a 10% chance it will even affect our area, so I feel stupid now.

But I feel so bad for poor DH! He has had to put up with my terrible moods so much lately, I don't know how to make it up to him! I feel just like the worst wife in the world right now, I know it can't have been easy putting up with me like that. I'm going to have to give him a nice back rub when he comes home, something like that...

On a positive note, I did go shopping yesterday! I love shopping. I bought two maternity shirts to replace some of my shirts that I can't wear anymore :hissy:, and they are beautiful. A nice loose dark blue top and a clingier raspberry one with 3/4 sleeves... both in size small. OK, I get that a maternity small and a regular small are totally different, but how happy was I to be able to buy a small? Way overly happy! And then we bought the crib bedding! It's soooo cute, this yellow and green fuzzy safari print, just adorable!!! It gives me a happy just to think about it. It won't be too long until we can actually use it, too!:happydance:

I will be happy if LO comes at 37 weeks, really. I have been having this problem for the past week... see, every time I'm standing or walking, I get this ache in my groin area. I don't know how to describe it. It's kind of like the internal muscles just above the clitoris, or that's how it feels. It doesn't really bother me when I'm sitting or lying down, but when I'm vertical it is just very uncomfortable. I figure that the weight of the baby and everything related must be pressing down on nerves or ligaments or something, but it's very uncomfy! I really hope it doesn't stay this way or get worse, because 14 weeks of it would definitely not help my crazy rollercoaster moods!!!

All right, ending this on a happy note -- by next week I will be in the 3rd tri, and if all goes well, I will be leaving work! So things should be looking up!:happydance:

Up another ticker! Yeee, THIRD TRIMESTER, yeee!:happydance: I am such a sad sack that I actually mark the day off on my calander when my ticker will move up... yes, I'm just that pathetic.:blush:

I am feeling under the weather today! I have a runny nose and I noticed a very painful and swollen bug bite on the back of my leg the other afternoon, and it hasn't gone away yet! It's red and swollen around the bite and it's very itchy, but hurts to scratch. Ouch! So of course I worry that it will effect the baby. I will watch it over the weekend to make sure it gets better; otherwise I'll be out bugging the doctor again.

So we bought the crib mattress yesterday. It's a Sealy Baby Posturepedic, if that means anything. I did some research the last couple of days and it seemed to get good reviews overall, so I snatched it up. DH and I then proceeded to put the mattress and sheets/blankets/bumper up in the crib, and it looks soooo adorable! I kept peeking in during the evening to take a look at the crib. I think I'll put pics up once I take a few decent ones, but right now I'm just happy fantasizing about having my LO sleeping peacefully in there. Well, in an ideal world, anyway!

And it seems that Tropical Storm Fay is going to head over our way this weekend. It's supposed to rain pretty heavily all Saturday and Sunday. Which reminds me, I need to get a drainage extender today. See, our downspout leads our right next to our back patio door, which can lead to flooding of the patio in case of excessive rains. It's really a stupid place to put a downspout; right next to the foundation of the house. We're expected to get a couple of inches a day, so I want to extend it out to the lawn where it won't rise so near the house. But I am not very happy about the lousy weather this weekend. I am just crossing my fingers that the power doesn't go out! I just went shopping a week ago and bought loads of frozen stuff, and it will all spoil if the power is out too long!:hissy: Grr!

Off to the hospital today to get some labs done. I'm doing the glucose screen test and getting my Rh shot and getting something else done (can't remember what, just know it's scheduled). DH wants to come and keep me company, bless his heart. I just know the hour wait to get blood drawn will SUCK, and I have been eating very low sugar foods this morning. No morning OJ for me, and I do love my morning OJ.:cry: Instead I had a soy hamburger for breakfast.:dohh: I got some weird looks from DH for that one, which was probably fairly warranted.

And Monday I am going for my next MW checkup. I had to move it ahead due to scheduling stuff, but I'm happy to be seen again! I'm seeing another new person this time. I guess that's what happens when you change your appointments at the last minute... which sucks, 'cause I really like the other MW a lot. I wonder if this person will be any good? At any rate, I just want to hear that everything's swell and possibly sign up for a childbirthing class.

Ahh, holy crap, that sounds so crazy. ChildBIRTHING. As in, "Yes, maam, you will be pushing this baby out of your vagina.":shock: Though hopefully not anytime soon. I was reading through my medical records (which I requested, and hadn't seen 'til yesterday) and read that my cervix length was a little over 6 cm during my 19 week scan, which is super freakin' long. Which is great! I don't want LO going anywhere any time soon, that's for sure! Okay, so it was over 7 weeks ago that they measured, but I'll still reassured. I gots me a long cervix, and I'm damn proud of it.:smug:

27 weeks! Another week down, less than 13 to go!:happydance::happydance::happydance:

So I have figured an upside to the hospital listing my due date as November 18 -- if I go a week over their supposed due date, I'll be induced. Meaning if I go to November 25, they'll induce me. Which would mean less time to be spent being huge and pregnant, and worse case scenario, I'll be induced 2 days past my (actual, I swear, I was tracking ovulation) due date!

On Friday I had my glucose test and a couple other blood draws. Well, when I first went to the lab they sent me in, took four vials of blood, and told me I was finished. Confused because I hadn't been given the drink, I asked the person at the front desk... who said the last guy I checked in with was an idiot, and didn't give me the drink when I was supposed to get it. SO I had to go back in, drink the sugar (which was so sweet it felt like my tongue was getting punched), wait an hour then get my blood drawn a second damn time, so both of my arms were bruised and bandaged. I was miffed.

Then I went upstairs for my Rhogam shot, which wasn't bad at all. Yes, bending over and dropping trou was not exactly the most dignified experience of my life, but the shot itself barely hurt and afterwards there was almost no pain whatsoever.

So I saw my MW today, who said that all my tests, including the 1 hour glucose, were NORMAL. Oh, thank God, I won't have to drink more of that awful sugar stuff!:happydance: Blood pressure was great and so far I have gained a little over 16 and a half pounds... which isn't so bad for where I am, right? I figure if I can gain no more than 30 I will be so super happy. Less weight to lose later! And I have been trying so, so hard to eat healthier lately. It's really tough, especially when you crave junk all the time!!!

Fundus was measuring at 28, LO's heartbeat was faster this time at 160, but then, he was moving a lot. Got told I need to sign up for loads of classes, so I guess I should get on that pretty soon... breastfeeding and childbirthing classes at the minimum, I think. Maybe I'll give them a call tomorrow.

I set up my next appointment for the 22nd, just another checkup thingie even though I'll be 31 weeks which seems really far to me! And I've scheduled my 4d ultrasound for the 12th, which I am SO EXCITED FOR!!!!! I can't wait to see my little boy again, to see what his little face looks like! I'm getting it done only 4 days before my 23rd birthday, so it's like an early B'day present for me! I couldn't imagine anything better.

And I'm leaving work in two days. I am having a pretty damn good week.

Hiya Honey. :hi:

I'm back off my holiday and super pleased to hear you going on so well and so happy. That stork is getting ever so close to that finish line now. :happydance:

Have you got any piccies up on here anywhere? I don't remember seeing any recently. I'm glad your sugars were good coz it's horrible if it comes back positive. I have to stick my finger everyday 4 times a day just to check that I'm not getting it again this time. They monitor you like a hawk and just bring everything down. Plus if it is + they prick the LO's heel every hour from birth to check that they haven't got diabetes so...yeah not very nice.

I have to say hon that I thought you handled the whole Porn thing really well. I would've slapped my OH if he even looked at it (I hate the stuff, got a bit of history :lol:) let alone then lying about it so, brownie cookies to you. :hugs:

Did anything happen with Hurricane Fay, or did you get lucky?

Hiya Honey. :hi:

I'm back off my holiday and super pleased to hear you going on so well and so happy. That stork is getting ever so close to that finish line now. :happydance:

Have you got any piccies up on here anywhere? I don't remember seeing any recently. I'm glad your sugars were good coz it's horrible if it comes back positive. I have to stick my finger everyday 4 times a day just to check that I'm not getting it again this time. They monitor you like a hawk and just bring everything down. Plus if it is + they prick the LO's heel every hour from birth to check that they haven't got diabetes so...yeah not very nice.

I have to say hon that I thought you handled the whole Porn thing really well. I would've slapped my OH if he even looked at it (I hate the stuff, got a bit of history :lol:) let alone then lying about it so, brownie cookies to you. :hugs:

Did anything happen with Hurricane Fay, or did you get lucky?


Ooh, did you have a good time on vacation? I love getting away from it all. Last time I did that was last year on Christmas, when we went to visit family... luckily I really get along with mine, so it actually WAS a vacation, rather than a trip from hell.

As for pics, I actually just posted a new bump pic in the third trimester, the first in a while! I can see I'm getting bigger, but people still tell me I look small for where I am... ah, well, screw 'em. Maybe I'll be able to stay away from the dreaded stomach stretchmarks!

And thankfully with DH, I really don't think he's looked at any porn since I chewed him out again. I know that he's trying really hard, and I think that it helps for him to know that if he does screw up, I'm not going to automatically toss him out on his butt (even if I want to). Besides, our sex life has been really great lately. I dyed my hair a burgundy the other day, and he absolutely loooooves it. Keeps calling me his "hot redhead".:blush: Here's a pic to give you an idea... okay, so it's a cell pic taken in my bathroom, not really the best out there, but it's what I can do with what I have:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v326/SpikeBotz/rachel2-1.jpg

It's actually a pretty deep/bright red, but I think I can pull it off. That, or I'm pretty delusional. And ignorance is bliss, so...

Tropical storm Fay actually DID miss us, thank God, but now there's hurricane Gustav that I'm worried about. Thankfully it is on track to hit Louisiana (though that's not so good, because the levees might break again, and it's only been 3 years since Katrina), so we should only get tropical storm force winds and some coastal flooding, but nothing like what we would get if it were to hit us head on. It's going to at least hit landfall as a category 3, but right now it's a category 4 and getting stronger.

Ugh, I am so sick of tropical storm season, I'm ready for the winter already!:hissy: It seems like every other day I'm hearing about some catastrophic storm that could possibly quite maybe blow my house down. The season is supposed to end in November, so I shouldn't have to worry about any storms when I'm due (knock on wood, of course). But it's stressful.

Ooh, and I signed up for childbirthing classes!!! DH and I are going to our first one on September 9th. I'm actually pretty excited! It feels like it's getting so much closer now, that David is going to be born soon! I mean, it's practically September already, and I'm due in November, so not that far away. Plus my birthday is next mont