Bad Girl

I've been a bad girl and haven't posted any updates here in so long! Unfortunately, it's because there isn't much to say. I'm still pretty much the same - tired all the time, nauseous (although this is getting better), craving weird things, bloated, etc. :-)

I guess one really cute thing I can update about is Shayla starting to grasp that there is a baby in mommy's belly. Whenever I ask her where the baby is she lifts up my shirt and points to my belly. Then she leans over and kisses it. <3

July is going to be one busy month. I'm off the 4th (obviously), then again on the 6th for an ultrasound. The 6th - 9th Paul is off so he can redo our bathroom. We hadn't been planning on doing the bathroom this soon but we found an awesome deal on a beautiful Victorian vanity because the model was discontinued so we figured we might as well just get it over with. Then on the 10th we are going to Sesame Place - woohoo! We had won tickets at an auction - we got 4 of them for $65 - so we (my mom, my dad, Paul, Shayla, and I) are all going to spend a day at Sesame Place - it's going to be so much fun. The 10th also happens to be our 8th wedding anniversary. <3 The 14th is Irish Night at the Lakewood Blue Claws stadium so we are going to go see the baseball game and listen to bagpipes and have a grand old time. The 21st Paul and I are going up to the city to see M&M!! I've already talked to my parents and they are going to watch Shaylabean for us - woohoo! Then the 28th-29th we are going to the Poconos for a weekend. When we were kids we used to go to this zoo up there called Claws & Paws so we are excited about taking Shayla for the first time. So that's July for us. We don't have 1 weekend free - haha!! But it's ok because I'm looking forward to all of it!

Belly Belly

6wks4days


8wks2days

Another Ultrasound

We had another ultrasound yesterday. Baby looked perfect with a heartbeat of 161BPM. They saw no evidence of blood in my uterus and honestly have no idea why I was bleeding. The baby is starting to look more like a baby and less like a blob - lol. One of these times I am going to remember to take one of the ultrasound pictures so I can share it with you all.

After the ultrasound and appointment with the nurse (which was extremely redundant because it was the exact same stuff she went over with me two weeks ago) we went to lunch at Saladworks. It was so nice spending the afternoon with M&M. I really wish we could spend more time together.

Oh, and I gave M&M a copy of the book "Your Pregnancy Week by Week". I figured they would really like to know what is going on with my body and the baby every week and that book is fantastic at explaining everything. I hope they read it the whole time and enjoy it!! I think I'm going to go get a copy for myself as well (I gave my copy away after having my daughter) so that I know what they are reading each week.

And I think tomorrow I will be brave and post belly pictures - eek! I took one at 6 weeks (which was nothing more than my leftover fat from my pregnancy with Shayla - lol) and I'm going to take one tonight. I definitely 'popped' a little over the last week or so. This is so exciting!!

Update on me

Everything is pretty good this week. Monday and Tuesday I pretty much took it easy and let Paul spend time with his brothers. The rest of the week I've worked, picked up Shayla from the sitter, went home and napped, made dinner and ate, and then Paul took over for me. I haven't been picking Shayla up or exerting myself at all. I'm still spotting but it's very light so I'm trying not to worry. Again, I'm just taking the extra precaution by putting myself back on lifting restrictions.

This weekend is going to be fun. We are going to Cheryl's house tomorrow. Paul is going to help Rich finish the nursery while Cheryl and I sort through baby clothes and maybe go swimming. We are then going to Brick to have birthday cake for my mom. We are all staying in Brick overnight and then spending Father's Day with my dad. It should be a good time. I'm excited about spending the whole weekend with my sister. I <3 and miss her so much!!

Monday is our repeat ultrasound - yipee!! MA is going to be able to come this time :-) MB might be there but we aren't positive yet. I hope so - I would love to have them both there. I would be worried about the ultrasound with this bleeding and spotting but I have been so nauseous and exhausted this week, I *know* everything is fine. This baby is kickin' my butt - and it's worth every second! :-)

Huge Scare Friday

On Thursday I didn't have many symptoms which worried me, of course. Then Friday I didn't have many either...but I had some really major cramping. I was really upset all day. I kept telling Paul to remind me that everything was fine. Well Friday when I got home from work, I felt a huge gush. I ran upstairs to the bathroom and found my pad filled with blood. I called the clinic and talked to the doctor who told me it was very common and it sounded like a burst capillary or blood vessel. She wasn't concerned but if I continued bleeding or needed reassurance I should head to the hospital for an ultrasound. I waited until after Paul got off work and we ate dinner - I was still spotting a little and I just couldn't get it out of my head that things could be going terribly wrong and I wouldn't even know it. So off we headed to the hospital. They were really great there - took me right in to a private room, had the doctor examine me and then rushed me off to ultrasound. The doctor said my cervix was closed but she found a lot of blood. The ultrasound tech was quiet for the first few minutes, which of course made me very nervous. She finally said "well, everything looks fine from my end". PHEW! The baby was there, heart beating away at 122bpm, had grown from my last ultrasound and everything. I've spent the last few days at my parents house but I've made sure to take it easy. Sorry for taking so long to update but I haven't been home because Paul's brother is here from Colorado. I'll be home tomorrow night so things should be back to normal in another day or two. :-)

Potatoes are my friend

Seriously, I love potatoes. Last night for dinner the only thing that didn't make me want to hurl was a big ol' helping of mashed potatoes. For lunch today I had a baked potato with sour cream. I might have more potatoes for dinner - lol! I know, I know - potatoes are not the best thing to eat because they are nothing but carbs. However, I think right now I am going to eat whatever doesn't make me want to puke. If that means I survive the first tri on potatoes, then that's what it means. :-)

I've also discovered italian ice. Ok, I haven't discovered IT - I've discovered it helps with my nausea. It was a trick the nurse at the clinic gave me on Monday. I was extremely nauseous last night so I asked Paul to run and get me some. It was such a huge help! I felt so much better after eating that! And she said the added bonus is that it helps keep you hydrated. Woohoo!

Unfortunately, there isn't much else to talk about right now. Nausea is it - haha! Like I told MA on the phone today - as long as I'm not puking my guts up, I'm not going to complain. :-)

Ultrasound

Today was our first ultrasound. Yes, I said first...meaning there are more to come - yay!

I got out of work early (took a 1/2 day) and drove to the clinic. I sat in my car because I didn't know when MB was going to be coming and if he would want to grab lunch. I actually sat in my car and played video poker - people musta thought I was nuts!! Anyway, MB calls me to let me know he's on his way and will be there right on time. I decide to go inside to pee and sit and read a magazine. I'm not inside long when he walks in - we of course hug and say our hellos. I then explain to him that I didn't sign in because they are so fast at this clinic that I would have been called before he got there. I don't know if he believed me until I signed in and the nurse was waiting behind me - she called my name the minute I walked away. We went back to the ultrasound room (which is entirely too small, by the way). I got all ready and the nurse had MB stand behind her shoulder so he could see the screen - meaning I couldn't see it. So this is all I hear from her:

Ok, we have one gestational sac. {moves the wand around a little more in there} And there's the yolk sac. {points to the screen for MB} Hmmm...we may have a fetal pole but it's very small. {moves the wand around MORE} Oh yes, there it is {points to the screen again}. And, we have a heartbeat! {points to the screen to show MB the heart beating away}.

YAYAYAYAYYAY!!! I was so nervous at the beginning of that when she was just talking about the gestational sac...I was beginning to wonder if we had a blighted ovum. I felt so much better when she mentioned the yolk sac! And of course the fetal pole and heartbeat were the kickers!

We were then sent back to the waiting room because I had to meet with a nurse. Of course this part took forever. We were waiting and waiting and waiting. Finally we get called back for the normal stuff - height, weight, blood pressure, etc. We go and sit with the nurse and she goes over all kinds of stuff with us - my meds, symptoms, ways to help with nausea, etc. She was very nice and was good with explaining things to us. She sent me to get bloodwork and told me to come back in two weeks for a repeat ultrasound.

So, we have a beautiful, healthy baby with a wonderful heartbeat! M&M - I am so happy for you! I can't wait to share this pregnancy and journey with you. And I am so excited for the day I get to make you daddies! *hugs*


*And on a side note, I have decided to stop using M1 & M2 - that makes it sound like one is more important than the other, which is very untrue. I will now be using MA and MB and anyone who knows them, will understand why ;-)

Uhhh...thanks

Thank you all for the positive thoughts and prayers. It's apparent that you were all out there thinking of me. You obviously all sent your positive thoughts to me. However, you sent a few too many doubling beta vibes. Haha! My beta on Tuesday was 778. Today it was 7,918 - holy cow!!! I almost fell over when I heard that. My beta went up over 10x in 3 days. My doubling time is something like 21 hours (it's supposed to be 48-72, slowing down as you get higher in numbers, not getting faster!).

The good news - after speaking to other surros and finding out their beta #s around the same time as mine today - my number is actually not THAT high. It just jumped up really, really quickly.

I knew something was up today though - the nausea hit me BIG TIME. I haven't been able to eat more than a few bites at a time all day. I won't complain though. As long as I'm not puking my guts up, I will be quite happy with all day nausea ;-)

Tomorrow night I am going to a silent auction and comedy show fundraiser for work. My co-worker's daughter is taking Shayla for the evening so Paul and I are actually going to get a night out by ourselves - yay! It's going to be the first time in a LONG time that we are getting to do this. Yippee!

Symptoms
Nausea - Obviously, since I just told you all about it.
Headaches - gone. Thank goodness.
Sore boobs - not today!
Backache - a little bit.
Dizzy / lightheaded - kept me up all night last night.
Exhaustion - see above about being up all night!