Just Peachy!

Our baby is forming teeth and vocal cords... we're savoring their non-functional phase. Baby is approaching normal proportions, with a head now only one third the size of the body. Intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy. (Much more convenient.)



How far along? 13 weeks!


Weight Loss/Gain? I don't know! I was too scared to weigh myself after all of that holiday food!


Maternity Clothes? I've worn two of my shirts, but I'm still wearing my normal jeans.


Stretch Marks? No new ones to report, but I'm keeping my eye on the ones I already have.


Sleep? They say you are supposed to get your energy back in the second trimester, so far this is not true.


Best moment this week? Telling the family we are having a baby! Grandma Nolan opened the picture looked at it and said "oh that's nice" and set it aside! She had no idea what it was! LOL Kellie had to tell her. Grandma Benge knew what it was immediately!


Food cravings? Anything salty and oranges


Gender: I'm back to thinking boy.


Labor signs? Thankfully, no.


Belly button, in or out? In


What I miss? I'm really bummed about not getting champagne on New Years!


What am I looking forward to? Finding out if the kid is sporting a penis or a vagina.


Weekly wisdom? Patience is a virtue!


Milestones: We are now officially in the 2nd trimester!

Forget prunes! We have an actual plum!

As we move into the second trimester, baby shifts into the growth and maturation stage. After weeks in the critical development stage, almost all of baby's systems are fully formed! Woot!


How far along? 12 weeks 2 days!


Weight Loss/Gain? Down 5 pounds.


Maternity Clothes? I got a ton for Christmas from my momma, though I haven't worn them yet. I tried my maternity jeans since my belly is poking out, but they are too big.


Stretch Marks? No new ones to report, but I'm keeping my eye on the ones I already have.


Sleep? Still OK, but I'm trying to train myself to sleep on my left side like I've read I'm supposed to and it's really hard! I'm a stomach sleeper darnnit!


Best moment this week? Spending Christmas with the fam.


Food cravings? Anything salty and oranges


Gender: I'm back to thinking boy.


Labor signs? Thankfully, no.


Belly button, in or out? In


What I miss? Not having to pee every 5 min. and having to get up 2 or 3 times a night. Grrr!


What am I looking forward to? Telling everyone on Christmas!


Weekly wisdom? Patience is a virtue!


Milestones: Reproductive organs are distinctly male or female. A 3D ultrasound could possibly make a pretty good guess at the sex now (though that is not something we're going to get so we'll just have to wait until February, boo!)

Lovely Little Lime

Our little lime currently enjoys a 1:1 ratio between body and head, and has skin so transparent that blood vessels show right through. But, fingers and toes are no longer webbed, and hair follicles, tooth buds and nail beds are forming -- setting up a significantly more attractive future!


How far along? 11 weeks!


Weight Loss/Gain? Still down 3 pounds.


Maternity Clothes? I bought 3 dresses and a pair of jeans b/c they were on sale, but I don't need them yet.


Stretch Marks? No new ones to report, but I'm keeping my eye on the ones I already have.


Sleep? Yes please!


Best moment this week? Best this week?! Try best moment of all time! Definitely seeing our precious babe's heartbeat and getting to see her/him squirm around in my belly!


Food cravings? Anything salty and oranges


Gender: I've been secretly calling the babe a she!


Labor signs? Thankfully, no.


Belly button, in or out? In


What I miss? Nothing! I wouldn't change a thing.


What am I looking forward to? Telling everyone on Christmas!


Weekly wisdom? Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...


Milestones: Baby had it's first picture taken and he/she is very photogenic!

We have a Perfect Little Heartbeat!

Our first appointment was awesome (though very long)! Our appointment was at 2:30, and by 2:4o they were calling us back! The first order of business was to get a look at the babe via ultrasound. The lady took us into a teeny tiny room where I was told to disrobe from the waist down. I must admit I was pretty scared/nervous about what we were going to see.

I was also surprised she didn't use a wand on my belly with the goop stuff, but instead it was done with the dildo cam. Once that was in place she promptly said "oh there's the heartbeat!" I cannot even express my relief! I cried a little and couldn't get the silly smile off of my face for pretty much the rest of the appointment. Grant and I loved seeing the little heart just beating away and how the babe would squirm around when the u/s tech would press on my belly.

Seeing the baby was definitely the best part of the whole appointment. The next stop was where they gave us a ton of info plus all the do's and don't's. Then we waited around forever for a little meet and greet with the Doctor.

Anyway, without further ado, here is the u/s pic of our beautiful baby:

A Dried Plum (OK, OK, it's a Prune!)

In an effort to make people want to eat them, the makers of prunes got together and decided that in order to change the image of prunes they should change the name, thus we now have a dried plum! But honestly, who are they kidding? It's a damn prune, and while the name may not inspire you to run out and grab a bag (unless you are pregnant and very constipated) it is what it is. You know, a rose by any other name and all that jazz.

Anyway on to the little prune in question:...

With bones and cartilage starting to form and vital organs beginning to function, baby is making major progress. Body length will almost double in the next three weeks, and arm joints are now working. (Soon, legs will too.)


How far along? 10 weeks!


Weight Loss/Gain? I'm down 3 pounds.


Maternity Clothes? Nope


Stretch Marks? No new ones to report fortunately.


Sleep? And then some!


Best moment this week? There have been moments that I haven't felt nauseated, those were pretty good.


Food cravings? Anything salty


Gender: Honestly, I just don't know!


Labor signs? Thankfully, no.


Belly button, in or out? In


What I miss? Sushi, I would really like some please.


What am I looking forward to? We get to see the baby tomorrow!!! I'M SO EXCITED!!!


Weekly wisdom? It's OK to feel scared as long as long as the good thoughts outnumber the bad.


Milestones: The baby has passed the stage when it is most susceptible to damage. The danger zone for congenital abnormalities has passed.

Baby Instructions

So, Grant and I are thinking about getting this framed so that we can remember everything there is to know about baby care.

(Click to make it bigger)

The Babies!!!

This documentary is so full of cute I just can't stand it! I want to see it!

Olive You!

Our little embryo has now officially graduated to fetus-hood! With basic physical structures in place and increasingly distinct facial features, baby is kind of starting to look like... well... a baby with fingers and toes and eyelids and ears! External boy and girl-parts are present, but won't be really distinguishable for another couple weeks.


How far along? 9 weeks!


Weight Loss/Gain? Same as last week.


Maternity Clothes? Nope


Stretch Marks? No new ones to report fortunately.


Sleep? I'm sleeping great and often.


Best moment this week? Playing board games with all of my favorite people.


Food cravings? Fruit and any form of potatoes, mashed, baked, french fries, chips, I don't discriminate.


Gender: I've been feeling girl lately.


Labor signs? Thankfully, no.


Belly button, in or out? In


What I miss? I'm not really missing anything, I'm even almost over missing caffeine so much.


What am I looking forward to? My doctor's appointment in 2 weeks! We're going to get to see the baby! AHHHH!


Weekly wisdom? It's OK to feel scared as long as long as the good thoughts outnumber the bad.


Milestones: I threw up for the first time, and hopefully the last! Ugh!

I Have an Appointment!!!

The Dr's office called me today! Woot! My appointment is on December 7th at 2:30. I can't wait and I'm so excited!

I'm pretty sure they should do some sort of ultrasound so they can measure the size of the baby. I will be 10 weeks 1 day and we should be able to hear the heartbeat! The thing I want most in life right now is to hear that heartbeat. I have told myself that I will be positive (or as positive as possible) throughout this pregnancy, but I still have that corner of my heart that is living in fear. It nags at my brain and tugs at my heart that it was at someone near and dear to me 10 week ultrasound that they discovered there was no heartbeat.

Grant keeps telling me that I have no need to worry because he has super sperm and that nothing can happen to our baby because of it. LOL. How men can be so proud of a bodily fluid I'll never know.

So, now we wait these two long weeks. It's going to be TORTURE!!! I'm still feeling really tired and my back hurts sometimes. My nausea comes and goes and it has only been bad the day of the dry heaving. I really can't believe that I haven't been puking, that is the one thing I expected from pregnancy and it didn't happen. Go figure!

Pretty Little Rasberry

The baby is growing like mad, putting on about a millimeter every day and continuing to straighten out in the trunk. Though it can't be felt yet, baby is moving those little arms, legs and (now only slightly) webbed fingers and toes like crazy!


How far along? 8 weeks!


Weight Loss/Gain? Back down a pound


Maternity Clothes? Nope


Stretch Marks? No new ones to report fortunately.


Sleep? Sleeping OK, but I can't make it through the night w/o getting up to pee.


Best moment this week? Going out for birthday dinners!


Food cravings? I can't eat enough oranges!

Gender: Still thinking boy.


Labor signs? Thankfully, no.


Belly button, in or out? In


What I miss? Not feeling like I'm going to dry heave at any moment.


What am I looking forward to? Still waiting for the darn Dr's office to call to schedule my 1st appointment. They should have called by now and I'm SO annoyed they haven't.


Weekly wisdom? I'm too sick to feel wise.


Milestones: The baby almost doesn't have a tail anymore!

Beautiful Blueberry!

Baby's brain -- both hemispheres! -- is growing fast, generating about 100 new cells every minute. Arms and legs are emerging as joints start to form, and a permanent set of kidneys (baby's third!) is now in place.

How far along? 7 weeks!


Total weight gain/loss? Back to my starting weight.


Maternity Clothes? Nope


Stretch Marks? No new ones to report fortunately.


Sleep? Sleeping OK, but I can't make it through the night w/o getting up to pee.


Best moment this week? Spending time with my sister.


Food cravings? I still wouldn't say that I have crazy cravings, but I did eat half a jar of dill pickles last night.

Gender: Still thinking boy.


Labor signs? Negatory


Belly button, in or out? In


What I miss? Not feeling so ever loving tired ALL of the time.


What am I looking forward to? The new OB office to call me and tell me when my appointment will be. I'm so axious for it!


Weekly wisdom? Don't let negative people get to you, they'll just pull you down with them.


Milestones: The baby now has an appendix! Not that he'll/she'll ever need it, but it's there now!

Pregnant Women are Smug

Estimated Due Date

So there seems to be more math involved in pregnancy than I ever knew. So first thing I need to do here is get this "how many weeks am I?" and estimated due date thing straightened out.

Last Tuesday I reported that I was 6 weeks, well that wasn't exactly accurate because I was basing that on the date of my last menstrual period. That is how the doctor's estimate a due date. However, the problem with doing that is that is assuming that I fit the "norm" and ovulated on cycle day 14, which I did not. I ovulated 6 days later on cycle day 20. So when adjusted for those 6 days, I was just 6 weeks yesterday and my estimated due date is actually July 6, 2010.

So, there won't be another size update until Sunday when I will be 7 weeks!

Officially Pregnant!

So, I had my doctor's appointment yesterday, so that Dr. Stanton could tell me that I'm pregnant. Fortunately, I did not have to pee on the doctor, but in a little cup instead. I waited patiently in the room until Jill (Dr. Stanton) came in. She said, "Guess what?! You're pregnant man!" And she held out a the pregnancy test in a little baggie.

I told her that I had kind of suspected I was when I got a positive on the 5 (OK let's be honest here it's been more like 10) tests at home. She laughed and said, "Yes but this is the official one"

So without further ado, b/c I know everyone is just dying to see it, here is my Official Doctor's Office Positive Pregnancy Test (in it's very own bio hazard bag):

Jill was very excited for me and told me how relieved she was I didn't have to go to a fertility specialist. The sad news is that she is no longer doing deliveries, so I'll have to go to a new OB. I'm really sad about that because I was hoping to stay with her throughout the pregnancy. She gave me the option of staying with an OB in their practice or going to a specialist. She recommended the specialist since I have PCOS, and people with PCOS can end up being a high risk pregnancy. Hopefully that won't end up being the case, but to be on the safe side I decided to go with the specialist.

So, she is making the referral and they should call me with my first appointment in 7-10 business days!

Sweet Pea, Apple of my Eye...

The baby is the size of a sweet pea!

Growing like crazy, our little Godzilla baby is starting to sprout eyes, ears, nose, cheeks, and a chin. The little sweet pea's hands and feet-still webbed like paddles-might start to wiggle by week's end! The heart is beating (almost twice as fast as mine!) and blood has started to circulate.

All that growing the little pea is doing is making me tired. Did I say tired? I mean E.X.H.A.U.S.T.E.D!!! Making it through the day is torture. It's like trying to swim upriver in tree sap. Everything I do feels like it takes SO much effort.

I guess I should feel lucky that I have yet to throw up on one of my students. While that might make the day slightly more interesting, it might not put me favor with their parents. Actually, besides the cat vomit and a brief run in with some shady looking Mexican food, I haven't had much of an upchuck reflex, just a mild feeling of nausea here and there.

How far along? 6 weeks on the dot!

Total weight gain/loss? Meh, I didn't weigh myself this morning.

Maternity Clothes? Nope, but I bought a bella band and I'm in love with it!

Stretch Marks? Nope

Sleep? Still sleeping through the night. Haven't had to get up and pee or anything.

Best moment this week? Having a good laugh with the family about naming the baby Cooter.

Food cravings? Nothing, I'm a little disappointed. Where are all my wacky cravings?!

Gender: I'm thinking boy.

Labor signs? Negatory

Belly button, in or out? In

What I miss? Mass quantities of caffeine and wine, beer and margaritas.

What am I looking forward to? Having the doctor tell me I'm pregnant this Friday!

Weekly wisdom? I'm pretty short on wisdom this week, too tired to be wise.

Milestones: The heartbeat should be detectable on an ultrasound!

We have an Appleseed!

The little embryo (looking kind of like a tadpole) is starting to form major organs (heart, kidney, liver, stomach) and systems (nervous, circulatory, digestive). Baby's presence in the uterus triggers production of HCG (the hormone detected by pregnancy tests...which triggers all those awesome pregnancy symptoms!

How far along? 5 weeks 2 days!

Total weight gain/loss: still down 1 1/2 pounds.

Maternity clothes? Nope.

Stretch marks? No new ones to report

Sleep: Sleeping OK, I've been really congested, plus I've been having some crazy dreams.

Best moment this week: Having a temperature spike this morning

Food cravings: Nothing really

Gender: I just don't know

Labor Signs: Nope.

Belly Button in or out? Still in

What I miss: Rock Stars

What I am looking forward to: My first Doctor appointment

Weekly Wisdom: Throw away the damn thermometer, it just cause unnecessary anguish!

Milestones: I've got baby bloat

So, Apparently I'm Not Pregnant Yet

I called the doctor's office today to schedule my 1st appointment. I know it's super early, but my doctor is only there past 3 pm one day a week so I figured if I scheduled now I would be sure to get an appointment where I wouldn't have to take any time off work.

So when the lady answers the phone I tell her I got a positive HPT and I needed to make an appointment. She was pretty snippy and said, "Well, you know that you aren't pregnant until Dr. Stanton says you're pregnant?" So, I said, "um, OK, so I guess I need to make an appointment so that Dr. Stanton can tell me I'm pregnant."

What I really wanted to say is "So, does that mean that if I don't come in and Dr. Stanton doesn't tell me that I'm pregnant, does that mean I won't be having a baby in 9 months?"

I guess the 4 pregnancy tests I've peed on don't mean much. Maybe I need to go pee on the doctor?

My appointment is next Friday, so apparently I'm not pregnant until then.

Our Little Poppyseed

In week 4, now safe in the womb, the ball of cells (blastocyst) splits in two, becoming the embryo and the placenta. The amniotic sac and fluid are forming around baby, and will act as a cushion for the next eight months.

How far along? 4 weeks 5 days!

Total weight gain/loss: down 1 1/2 pounds.

Maternity clothes? Nope.

Stretch marks? psssh, please. I've had stretch marks since I hit puberty.

Sleep: Sleeping great at night and taking fab naps during the day.

Best moment this week: Getting my Big Fat Positive pregnancy test!!!

Food cravings: Green olives

Gender: No clue. & I have no inclination either. However the Chinese Gender Chart says Girl!

Labor Signs: Nope.

Belly Button in or out? Still in

What I miss: Rock Stars

What I am looking forward to: My first Doctor appointment

Weekly Wisdom: I will try not to spend the next 12 weeks in fear. I'm pregnant now and I'm happy now. Be optimistic!

Milestones: Two lines on the test strip!

Two Beautiful Lines

There they are. The two most beautiful lines I've ever seen! OK to be honest, I actually tested on CD 11 and as I moved the stick around every which way, stood on my head, and squinted at the tiny test strip I could have sworn I saw a ghost of a line. I tried not to get too excited and told myself it was best to wait to test again on CD 14, which is the day my period would be officially late.

Of course I didn't do that! I tested again the very next morning and low and behold, that second line appeared and there was just no denying it was there. So I ran into the bedroom, jumped on Grant, proclaiming the existence of a second pink line. He wasn't that thrilled to be ripped out of his sleep in such a fashion, but once he woke up he felt the appropriate mixture of joy and fear.

So here we are, ready to start this journey and tackle the many adventures it holds.