13 weeks (3 days)

There's not a lot new to report as far as baby goes. I had my regular prenatal and the dr. was able to get the heartbeat right away. He said the baby's heart was the size of his pinkie finger and it really astounded me that we can hear it already, so strong and clear. Sometimes I sure love technology.

I have gotten my nausea back with a vengeance. This is a new twist once again. Never have I had it last this long and once it's gone it has never come back. I guess new pregnancy, new symptoms. It's actually worse at times than it has ever been. I can no longer eat food to ward off the "oh no I've got to puke" feeling and if I do I usually end up loosing it a few minutes later. On the bright side after my stomach stops heaving I usually feel awesome haha. Suckers! That is the answer. I am too cheap to buy prego pops and so far suckers have been doing the trick. They are a little on the sweet side, but so far they have helped an otherwise unpleasant experience.

This week has been an interesting week as far as feelings go. It's really hard to explain, but I'll try. I have really been feeling the distance. As you know the baby's parents live 10 1/2 hours away. I guess lately I have been feeling like everything is very mellow. All the people who are excited for the baby to come and everyone who's lives will change from this are all not here. It's ok. It's just weird. All of my people are excited for this pregnancy, but obviously not for the same reasons. We aren't expecting a baby... the baby's parents and grandparents and friends and aunt's and uncles and cousins are expecting a baby and I think that's the biggest difference. All of my past pregnancy's I have obviously been expecting a baby. I was preparing and thinking and planning and this time I'm not. It really brings to light that this is not 'my' pregnancy. It's really ok. I just needed to work through those thoughts a bit and figure out why I have been feeling so mellow and uninvolved. I got an e-mail from the baby's mom the other day and it was just so nice to hear how they are planning and preparing for baby. I think them coming here will really help to make it feel like something is actually happening. I know this baby is loved and will be welcomed by a bazillion excited people, but it's nice to re-hear that sometimes since I'm separated from all that emotionally and physically.

ok this is getting longer than I had planned. One more thing haha.

I believe that this week I can finally say I've started showing. It almost felt like overnight. Actually at the beginning of the week I would have said no I'm not. It's small, but I think it's there. It's funny people have been saying wow your small for a third pregnancy and I was standing there thinking "you really think I have this big of a gut when I'm not pregnant?" hahaha. I guess b/c I lost my waist from what feels like the first day I am just ready to shed this bloated belly and look how I'm supposed to. So here are some pics of the small, slowly growing belly.



Please excuse the mess behind me. My kids were playing as I was taking this photo. This is at 13 weeks 3 days, first thing in the morning so that I include as little pregnancy bloating as I can.



And a closer view...

Ultrasound of their baby moving!!

I think this is such a cool video. You can see the curl of the baby's back and it's large (normal for these dates) head. It looks so much like a baby already! I hope you all enjoy. :)
This is at 11 weeks 5 days... with the baby measuring one day ahead... but really what's one day. Everything is healthy and normal with the baby.

12 weeks!

Can you believe it!!??! The second trimester is right around the corner! It feels so good to have made it to this stage. We had an ultrasound on Monday at the hospital and everything looked great. I even got a CD to bring home for the parents. It's of the baby moving and wiggling and since it's so small they can see everything in one shot. It's amazing how it looks like a baby this time. The CD is great b/c they can experience it like they were there. There are definitely down sides to living 10 1/2 hours away however they will be here in less than 3 weeks for ultrasound #3 and that will be awesome.

The ultrasound tech. was very informative about my anatomy. She said that my uterus is tilted into my back a bit and that's what caused us not to be able to actually hear the heartbeat yet (since the baby is further away). This occurs in about 10% of women. It may also have been the reason I measured small for my dates with my two previous pregnancy's and can also cause me to start showing later. I tend to show at about 15 to 17 weeks so I think that I'm still in the average range for that. I was happy that the placenta wasn't' actually anterior (attached against the outer uterine wall closest to my belly button) b/c that means we may be able to feel the baby move sooner than we thought.

The last three days have been amazing. My body has done a complete 180 and it feels great. It's right on schedule with my placenta fully maturing and taking over. I don't feel bloated anymore (as often) and I can almost do up my jeans again... which is sort of disappointing ;) I'm not nausea's anymore and I haven't' vomited in a week. I remember thinking a few days ago that I couldn't possibly imagine having energy again. It's not possible. I'm going to feel like this the whole time and then not three days later I was up and cleaning and cooking. It's such a nice feeling. I was ready to feel good again.

So all in all it was a great week. It was nice to see a happy healthy baby and it's even crazier to think that it will be in it's parents arms in 6 short months!

11 weeks 3 days and 148 beats/min

We got great news today. We still couldn't hear the heartbeat, but the beats were registering on the doppler. This baby had a healthy 148 to 142 beats per minute and again we heard him/her squirming around like crazy. Apparently my uterus is up against the side of my belly so it is making it much harder to hear things. It's so crazy that the movements are SO loud on the doppler. That little one must be doing jumping jacks in there.

This week I have noticed a major decrease in my nausea. THANKFULLY!! It hasn't been awfully bad this whole time, but it's nice to start to feel like myself again. My gag reflex is still killer so I have to be careful about where I am if I need to cough hahaha. I have had a few bouts of unexpected vomiting. It's so bizarre b/c I will be feeling fine and then all of a sudden I'll be gagging running down the hallway or vomiting on my toothbrush (which I threw away). Honestly I would take this over days and hours and weeks of constant nausea. I'm just sitting back and waiting for my energy levels to return to normal and then we can get life back to it's usual pace.

We have an ultrasound on Monday at almost 12 weeks. I love ultrasounds at this stage b/c it will actually look like a baby this time and it will be small enough that we will be able to see the whole body in the screen. It's very special. I'll be getting pics for the baby's mom and dad to see and I am looking forward to them being here for the next one at 14 1/2 weeks.

Other than that there's not much new. I'll post more belly pics in a couple weeks. I still feel silly taking them since most of my gut is attributed to the pregnancy bloat, which has blown all my expectations out of the water. hahaha. My non prego pants are a thing of the past and most of my regular shirts are already looking a tad to short. It's ridiculous haha :) Oh well bring it on!

10 weeks!!

There is something about making it to 10 weeks that makes it all feel more real. This is the beginning of the fun. The second trimester is in sight and any day now we should be able to hear the heartbeat for the first time, baby has started moving and we have the first flutters to look froward to, baby's mom and dads first ultrasound is just around the corner and of course there is the belly watch that will become increasingly more exciting in the weeks to come. I can't wait to share all this with the parents and I'm SOOOO looking forward to their visit in March.

Today is also a landmark for me personally. 10 weeks marks the very last day of hormone supplements!!! I can say SO LONG to 2 tablets 3 times a day prometrium and good riddance morning and night estrace. I know pills are "easy" but I can honestly say I will not miss that extra bit of memory strain. There were days where I would be sitting there and I honestly could not for the life of me remember what dose I was on... I know I took the morning one, but did I take it this afternoon??? What's worse missing a dose or having an extra one??? I even sunk as low as asking my three year old daughter if she remembers me taking my pills. (She wasn't very helpful haha) It will just be a relief to be able to trust my body to do it's job on it's own from here on out.

I went to see my dr. again today. He is leaving for 6 weeks to South Africa and we thought it might be nice to try and get a listen to the heartbeat before he leaves. Unfortunately we were unsuccessful yet again, but got the pleasure of listening to their baby do a little giggy in there. I can't help but think IT HAS GOT TO BE A BOY!! hahaha That is one wild child. It kind of scares me to think of what's to come hehe :) The parents may be getting more than they bargained for ;) I just can't wait for them to see "him" moving around on the ultrasound!!! They are going to love it!!! I am going back next week Friday (at 11 weeks 2 days) to try one more time before my dr. leaves to get a listen. We're not worried or anything it would just be nice to get that little extra bit of confirmation and if he's willing to see me I'm willing to go.

Ok... I'm going to stop calling their baby a him b/c if it is a girl I'll feel a little silly.

9 weeks (3 days)

I'm feeling fat...

That's kind of on the forefront of my mind the last few days. I always feel this way in the first trimester. I start realizing that being a human garburator is NOT great for places like my butt and face and arms and thighs... and of course when I stay up too late all feelings are exaggerated. Grumpiness does not help you to feel beautiful. I'm ready to look pregnant. I'm sick of this constant gut that, try as I may, just will not suck in. I have been doing an ok job of convincing myself that it looks like a pregnant belly, but if I'm really honest with myself I've got to admit that it's just a little to soft and not quite round enough to pass as a "bump". These are my moans for the week... thank you for listening and I'm sorry if you got any mental pictures.

There have been many great blessings this week which make my fatness somewhat less menacing. The most exciting is by far the dr's visit we had this week... well not so much the visit itself as what we got to hear. The baby is still too small to hear the heartbeat through the doppler, but we got the next best thing. We heard it moving!!! It was so amazing. To imagine this little one is the size of a grape and it was bouncing around in there. We heard it bonk against the doppler numerous times and had it been big enough to have an audible heartbeat I doubt we could have gotten it anyways. Man this thing was wild! haha It's got to be a boy ;) haha. I had no idea they moved so much this young. It really blew my mind and after a weekend of worry it was to all of our relief that we got this great news. It made me wish that I had videotaped it for the baby's mom and dad. (when I say "we" in this chapter I guess I am referring to me and the dr)

I was a little discouraged at the end of the dr's apt. b/c it sounded like the parents weren't going to get an ultrasound around the time they were coming. My dr. wants a 12 week ultrasound done and the parents aren't coming until around 14 1/2 weeks, but to our wonderful surprise the OB (who does the u/s) is going away and the earliest he can get me in is March 8th!!! I couldn't believe my ears! That is the exact date that the parents are going to be here. :D I was speechless. Praise God! I think that this ultrasound will be just so special for the parents and I'm so excited that I get to be there for it too!

So all in all it was a good week and I've been enjoying not having to worry when I go a day without some nausea. I feel like God has been blessing us all so much with this whole thing and I look forward to what's ahead. I got a little note from the mom last week in the mail and when she said hi to baby from mom it hit me like a ton of bricks... no something better than bricks that doesn't hurt, but actually feels good... like a ton of flower pedals. :) It made me soo happy to hear her call herself mom. She is a mom already and he`s a dad. This is when it starts. They aren`t intended parents anymore they are parents. YAY!!

9 week (tomorrow)!!!

Wow!! 9 weeks!!! A few more weeks and we're done the first trimester. Next month will bring an end to this portion of the journey... and I can't say I'll miss it much. I'm ready to move on to the exciting, less nausea's parts of pregnancy. I LOVE the second trimester. It comes with such amazing joys and I'm excited to get to experience them with the baby's parents.

I got a little bit worried this weekend. I had some cramping on Friday night. We were driving and I'm not sure if it was the bumping from the road or from puking the night away, but it felt awful. It felt like the pain was in my hips, very very low and a burning that would start in my back and kind of spread into my lower abdomen. It felt like when I was in labour with my youngest daughter (only not as intense). I could feel a very distinct start and stop pattern and it was really starting to scare me. We ripped home (1 1/2hr drive), I laid down on the couch and shortly after the cramping stopped. The next day I woke up and I felt wonderful. I still had the pregnancy bloating, but not an ounce of nausea. This also kind of scared me b/c I had gone from 3 nights of loosing my supper to all of a sudden feeling perfect. It wasn't a welcome feeling. No spotting or blood of any kind so that was a good sign. The next day I woke up again feeling really good. I tried to take it easy, relax and rest, but it was nagging in my mind all day that I felt "too" good. If I still felt this awesome by the next day I would go in and request an ultrasound. I knew that if it was a miscarriage there was nothing they could do, but the not knowing was killing me. Thankfully I woke up the next morning feeling like crap!!! It was the BEST feeling in the world!!! :D It's been a couple of days and defiantly feeling pregnant. I have the first prenatal apt. on Wednesday so I will tell him about the experience, but I feel confident that everything is fine. It's probably a bit too early to hear the heartbeat with a doppler, but just hearing what he has to say will alleviate my worries. He's a VERY careful dr.

I think that the cramping and the lessening of nausea could have come from the placenta starting to work. The fertility clinic says it takes control of the production of hormones and feeding the baby somewhere around 9-10 weeks. That would fit the timeline of where we are in this pregnancy. Also I have read that cramping around this time of pregnancy is normal and ok as long as it's not accompanied by bleeding (plus it went away and hasn't come back). Of course I'm not a dr. so this is just what I'm thinking... maybe they will know more when I go in on Wednesday. Either way I feel very good that everything is going fine. I have "just" enough symptoms.

The reason I included this in the blog is not to scare everyone, but just to share the ups and downs of pregnancy. The worries and the fears. I felt a lot of comfort when listening to other women's experiences and seeing that things were ok. I had never had any sort of cramping in a pregnancy before, but this is the third one so I know it will bring different surprises and challenges. This is all part of the experience.

It just dawned on me that winter is over halfway over!!!!!!!!!