A Journey to Our BABY!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

14 weeks!

How in the world have I made it to 14 weeks already? I swear that just yesterday I was going in for our embryo transfer. Time sure is flying by. The baby is the size of a lemon this week and growing like crazy. Our adorable little fetus is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine, and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys, and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over her/his body for warmth.

We did go ahead and call the Ultrasound place and we have an appointment December 27^th. I will be so close to 16 weeks that it should be pretty accurate. We decided that either way we get to see the baby one extra time that is always a plus. If we go and it’s like “Hey, look at my penis” then we will tell people the gender. If it is questionable then we will wait until the 20 week scan. We decided to invite our parents to the ultrasound as part of their Christmas gift too, to see the baby instead of just by pictures.

Best Moment of the week: Getting a FREE pre-natal massage this week. It was heaven. I died. The massage school by my house wer offering them.

Epiphany of the week: I have to pee all the time now so know where all the restrooms are on any outings at all times.

Entertaining question/comment of the week: We receive a big tin of butter cookies at work for a Christmas present. Score! So I happened to grab a few and got made fun of then another co-worker grabbed some and they all said "well, it's expected" and I said "yeah well I'm expecting".

Obsessions: Still obsessing over my little baby bump. I can now start to feel what is hard (uterus) and what is still soft (bloat). My uterus is definitely getting bigger by the day.

What I am most looking forward to this week: I am looking forward to finishing off the tin of cookies.

What I miss the most: I really, really miss feta cheese this week. We went to Bonefish last night and my favorite appetizer is Saucy Shrimp and I didn't get it because I would have been too tempted to eat the feta.

Symptoms: Headaches! I have gotten an aching headache every evening for the past week. My midwife said for some reason they are very common between 13 and 15 weeks so here's to hoping they are gone next week.

Milestones: I did end up making it through the whole night last night without getting up to go pee. That's a huge milestone for me. I hope it lasts.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Cloth Diapering

Me: "I plan on cloth diapering our baby"

Friend or family member: "oh, really? How do you pin the diapers? That's gross" etc, etc, etc...

After all the technological, scientific and health advances over the last 30 years why do people still think cloth diapering means prefold diapers with safety pins? They really think that industry has stood still with no advancement whatsoever. I am getting really aggravated by peoples remarks when I tell them we are going to cloth diaper. The only person supportive is my good friend who is now cloth diapering her baby girl and absolutely loves it. I think my Mom is coming around after we babysat the other night and after she changed the diaper she told me they were really neat and so easy.

The Captain and I decided we would cloth diaper for many reasons, economic, environmental and just better all around for our baby's bottom. I think I am going to need to start arming myself with arguments for peoples comments. Any advice?

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Ultrasound places

I can not stop thinking about having to wait another 8 weeks or so before we find out the sex of the baby or see the baby again. I have been doing some research about local ultrasound places and there is one 5 minutes from my office that offers a gender determination ultrasound for $89. I would love, love, love to find out before Christmas to tell our parents. What do you guys think? Would you do that or did you do something similar? I think $89 is totally worth it, they also have these huge rooms with sofas to accommodate 6 people to watch the ultrasound, should have our parents go the appointment with us to all find out together. That would make a pretty cool Christmas present, huh?

13 weeks!

Hello second trimester, nice to meet you! Only 189 days to go until we meet our baby. That does not seem like a lot of time left to get things done. I thought I would wait until after the holidays before I really started doing anything but now I am not so sure that is a good idea.

Baby is now the size of a peach! Your fetus is forming teeth and vocal cords...savor this, their nonfunctional phase. Baby is approaching normal proportions, with his head now only one third the size of his body. And intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy -- much more convenient.

Best Moment of the week: Making it to the second trimester and realizing there are less than 200 days left to go.

Epiphany of the week: Do not stand up too quickly or you will get a sharp pain in the side. This is all from the round ligament pains. I have been feeling a lot of growing pains the last week.

Entertaining question/comment of the week: The Captain thinks it's entertaining to remind me how many cookies I eat in one sitting :) but hey I haven't gained any weight so I think I am allowed to have a few.

Obsessions: I can't stop looking at our last ultrasound picture, it is just too sweet.

What I am most looking forward to this week: My check-up on Friday. I can't wait to finally hear the heartbeat on the doppler. I am going to record it since The Captain has to miss this appointment, he has been so awesome about making every single appointment.

What I miss the most: Nothing this week, I am happy to be sober and wearing pants with elastic waists.

Symptoms: Round ligament pains, yikes! and of course going to the bathroom constantly.

Milestones:The baby is forming teeth and vocal cords. The better to bite your nipples and scream in the middle of the night with, my dear.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Christmas Card 2010

Here's the Christmas card we will be sending out this year. We took the pictures this morning. I think it turned out great.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

NT scan today

We had the best appointment today! We saw the baby for nearly a half hour this morning during the NT scan. It was quite a little jumping bean every time the Sonographer would press down with the wand. The baby would waves its hands and feet as if to say Hi Mom, Hi Dad! We got some really great profile shots where you can see the most perfect plump lips and little button nose.

Stats

Length: 63 mm (2 1/2 inches) long

Measuring: 12 weeks 5 days

Heart Rate: 159 BPM

Monday, November 29, 2010

12 weeks!

We made it to 12 weeks already, I can't believe it. At the end of this week we will be in the second trimester! Maybe, just maybe, some of the worries will start to cease. Our little peanut is now the size of a plum. Can I still call it a peanut then? The peanut is shifting into the growth and maturation stage after being in the critical development stage for weeks. Almost all of it's systems are fully formed now.

Best Moment of the week: Buying maternity jeans! I went the the outlet mall with some girlfriends over the weekend and they had a Motherhood Maternity store. I got one pair of skinny jeans and one regular boot cut pair. I can't wait to start wearing them on a regular basis.

Epiphany of the week: Popcorn with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top is a really delicious snack! Try it, I am begging you. Try it.

Entertaining question/comment of the week: I was looking up the meaning of our last name, Pollard, and it turns out one of the meanings is "remarkable head", aka large head, aka holy crap, aka this is going to hurt. By the way the Captain does have a rather large head. Please, baby take after me.

Obsessions: Not really a pregnancy obsession but I love Christmas time so this week is spent obsessing over decorating the house for Christmas and taking our Christmas picture for our Christmas cards.

What I am most looking forward to this week: Our NT scan tomorrow morning. We will get to see the peanut for an extended period of time tomorrow morning. I hope we get to hear the heartbeat again too.

What I miss the most: I don't miss, waiting for my period, buying tampons, being disappointed every single day, needles, medications and being told to just relax.

Symptoms: I think I am starting to feel round ligament pain. I keep getting sharp pains in my pelvic area if I do a lot of an activity or move a certain way. My bump hasn't really gotten any bigger than last week except that it is there 24/7 now, not just in the evening.

Milestones: Making it to 12 weeks, duh! Moving into the second trimester.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

A Thankful Day

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone eats their weight in turkey, green bean casserole, stuffing and mashed potatoes today. I know I am going to. We have a lot to be thankful for this year but I am most thankful to Dr. Robert Edwards who devised the fertility treatment, IVF. Without him I am sure I would not be pregnant right now and my husband and I would still be longing for a baby. I pray everyday that those still waiting for their miracle receive it soon.

I am thankful for my husband, our dogs and of course the little peanut growing inside me. This is our first holiday as a little family and couldn't be happier.

I am thankful for all of you. Without your support and encouraging words I would be lost. Most days I did not even want to get out of bed in the morning but then I would see a comment from one of you and I knew things would be better. Your friendships mean the world to me and I cherish each and every one of them. Thank you.

Oh yeah and one more thing. . .I am most thankful that I am not a turkey :)

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

11 weeks!

I decided I need to start organizing my updates a little better since I am coming out of my pregnancy brain induced fog. I am thinking a lot clearer these days. No more milk in the pantry instead of the fridge fiascoes. I am taking a cue from some other ladies about how to organize my weekly update feelings/thoughts.

11 weeks! Holy freaking cow! I can't believe we are here already. It is going by way too fast and not fast enough at the same time. Our little peanut is now the size of a lime. He also no longer has webbed hands and feet! Our little peanut should be able to open and close his fists and is moving around quite a bit in his roomy womb; even though I won't get to feel him for quite some time.

Best moment of the week: Honestly it's being able to come off of the progesterone. No more meds! And no more shoving things up my lady chute every morning. Hallelujah!

Epiphany of the week: "I'm pregnant so let me have the last bowl of ice cream" ok not really an epiphany but I really wanted the ice cream.

Entertaining question/comment of the week: My hard drive went kaput yesterday at work and my boss's wife was trying to be helpful (insert sarcasm) and she says to me "Maybe it just doesn't like pregnant women" huh?

Obsessions?: Belly photos and wondering if I am just really bloated all the time or if this is the beginning of a baby bump?

What I am most looking forward to this week: Thanksgiving! I get to eat, eat and eat some more and no one can say anything because they are all doing the same thing.

What I miss the most: I have to say that so far I really miss red wine. There is something about getting together with your girlfriends drinking wine and chatting. I used to love having a glass of wine and take a hot bath while reading a good book at the same time.

Symptoms: Still nothing too drastic; the bloating, peeing more often and the sleepiness. But I think the tiredness is easing up because I actually stayed awake past 10:00 all week. Go me!

Milestones: Baby is now the proud new owner of non-webbed fingers and toes. Yay for not being a fish with a tail anymore! And now his little legs are kicking like mad to match his movable arms. Of course, I won't be able to feel this for some time but it's pretty sweet to think the baby is mobile now.