19 Weeks

Almost half way there!

We had our anomaly u/s at 18w6d. All went really well. Seven had really grown and his appearance is starting to shift from alien to more human like.  We're starting to see his little features instead of just a skull.  They said he would get cuter as he puts on some fat, but he's already cute to me any way you slice it.  Seeing his little nose for the first time just made me fall in love with him even more.

Here's some of the photos we received:

And a couple more from Kerry's camera (yeah, he could afford to put on a little fat!):

Here's the videos given to us by the tech.  Despite me intentionally eating grapes right before the u/s to increase his activity, he was quite sedated.  We got to see him yawn, swallow and move a bit, but he was definitely not doing the jig like I had hoped.  Maybe we're going to be blessed with a calm, peaceful baby.

I had the tech measure how far up my uterus is and it was shockingly 2 inches above my belly button, so no wonder that I'm really showing.  She thoroughly viewed my cervix and found it nice and closed.  It went from 33mm to 43mm!!!  But that could be because all previous measurements were trans-vag and this was trans-ab.  Either way, I'm very happy.

I talked to my ob/gyn.  She said everything looked great.  We asked when the next u/s would be and she said, that's it, you're done.  Say what???  21 weeks to go and no more u/s???  She then said we could come back in 2 weeks for one last cervix scan just to be safe and then I would be done.  I'm holding out hope for at least one in the 3rd tri.

Here's our anomaly report.  Too much to type, so click on it to view it if you're interested.

Symptoms:

None other than I *think* I'm starting to feel Seven move!!!  At 18w2d, I felt one thump, maybe a kick, and that was it.  At 19w, I felt one flutter.  It's not super obvious, but leaves you wondering, was that what I think it was?  Then today at 19w1d, I've been feeling flutters all day off and on.  Surely that's the baby, or I just have lots of gas.

Belly Shot:

Every week I take a photo for my own keepsake and think there's no need to post it as I haven't grown any since the previous week... then I compare and my eyes about bug out.  I'm going to be a whale if I keep up this speed!

In Other News:

We bought our first major baby item. It's just a crib mattress, but with it came some reality that we could actually have a baby in our house at the end of this. I used my bday money to buy it. I know it was meant to spend on myself, but this was the best gift ever. Thanks Jean & Crew! As Kerry drove me to every baby store in town (that's what I wanted to do for my bday), we kept looking in the backseat and exclaiming, OMG, we got a baby mattress in our car and it's ours! Very surreal!

We have our nursery furniture picked out and will probably order it soon as it will take up to 12 weeks to come in. As far as the bedding, I'm so indecisive. I'm now back to wanting blue/brown over giraffes. Who knows what we'll end up with.

As far as names, no further progress.

Thank You's:

A huge thank you to Kellie (my IVF#1 buddy) for loaning me some very cute maternity clothes! That was so sweet of you and saved me quite a bit of $$. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Thank you hubby for the u/s frame, I love it!!!

37 and My Wish

Today's the big Thirty-SEVEN!!!  My wish as I blow out candles has been the same for the last several years.  But this year, that wish has come true.  I found myself thinking about what I'd wish for this year. I'm feeling so incredibly blessed that I've decided I want to give away my wish to all my friends still battling infertility and the constant heart break that never leaves your side.  I wish for all of you that your dreams come true and your hearts are filled with joy.  May this difficult, emotionally-mentally-physically-financially draining path end soon and a new amazing journey begin. Sincere love to all of you!

18 Weeks

18 weeks and getting bigger by the week.  I'm feeling great and really enjoying this phase.

This week's belly shot is from Kerry's view when he stands behind me and looks over my head.  He calls this the "$100k baby front property" view.  As you can see, I can no longer see my little size 5.5 feet without leaning over a little. Right before he took the picture, he tried to pat my sweater flat thinking it was sticking out.  He then realized that bump is all belly.  He said; honey, you're huge, are you sure you should be this big already, should you go see a doctor?  LOL!  With my uterus being the size of a cantaloupe this week and being short-waisted, where's he expecting all my abdominal organs to go?  I agree I am big, but not to the point of needing to have a doctor check me out. What do you think?

I did have to buy a few maternity items as I'm starting to get uncomfortable in my regular bottoms. I bought some hubby-approved low riding underwear, loving them! I also bought my first pair of maternity jeans with stretchy material that covers your entire stomach, loving them too! So comfy!

Symptoms:

Occasional heartburn and feeling full all the time.

Urinary incontinence!!! With the extra weight sitting on my bladder and the hormone relaxin, I now pee when I sneeze/cough. Well more like a quick squirt. I started taking the crossed-legs stance any time I feel one coming on and that has helped significantly. I also decided it was time to start doing my kegels which I quite frankly don't enjoy.

The other night, Kerry and I were in bed watching tv and I took a big chug of water. It went down the wrong pipe. I threw the bottle of water and jumped to the floor. I was on my knees choking horribly, dry heaving and had tears pouring down my face. Kerry was behind me patting my back. After the episode, he asked if I was ok. I said no, I just peed my pants!  We laughed hysterically and then I peed some more!  Kerry said he's going to get me some Depends. ;-)

Still haven't felt the baby move yet.  Come on Seven, shake it baby!

Thank You's:

Thank you for all the comments/emails with help on boy names and bedding!!  As of now, we gave up on the chocolate/blue theme and have found a good possibility in a giraffe theme.  As far as names, keep the suggestions coming.

Thank you Jessica in AZ for the (50 lb !!!) box of boy items, you rock!!! I insist on reimbursing you for the s/h, so it's on its way. =)

Thank you Alexa for the surprise gift at my door, that was so sweet of you!

Up Next:

Anomaly u/s in 6 days!

17 Weeks

The past week has been very surreal. Kerry has to keep reminding me that I no longer have to call him an "it". It's really nice being able to say him, he, boy, son!!!

Now that we know we're having a little boy, we've kicked it into high gear with trying to pick out nursery furniture, boy bedding and boy names.  This has been a ton of fun but challenging at the same time.

On the bedding, I'm having a hard time finding the colors and theme I want in one.  I think I've viewed every baby bedding site out there.  I really love chocolate brown and sky blue as colors.  I love contemporary/modern themes that would be easy to find in the chocolate/blue combo, but they are sometimes too simple.  On the themes, I seem to be drawn towards lions, giraffes and monkeys, which are usually in nature colors such as browns and light greens.  So who knows what we'll end up with.  Let me know if you run into any brown/blue giraffes!

Before I was pg, my mom had a dream that I brought my baby over for her to babysit.  When I showed up, I had a real baby giraffe for her to watch.  Then after the transfer of Seven, my mom saw a huge 7 on a truck in her rear view mirror.  It was encased in a large blue circle.  She had been convinced since then that I would be having a boy.  She asked me what I thought all this meant and I said; I guess that means I'll be having a tall baby boy.  Therefore my draw towards cute nursery giraffes.

Regarding boy names, boy oh boy are we struggling!  We've had a girl's name picked out for about 6 years but can't seem to find the perfect boy name for the life of us.  I've been through the entire alphabet on numerous baby name sites and while I have a few "maybes", I have yet to find one that could be "the one".  I know we still have tons of time, but this has proven to be a lot harder than I ever imagined.  I'm finding there is a ton of responsibility put on your shoulders to name someone as they are stuck with that for the rest of their lives.  Help!

Symptoms:

None, really.  I'm surprised at how long I've gone without feeling any growing/stretching pains.  I'm feeling so normal that every few days we check to make sure there's still a HB, and there is.  I guess I could say that I've been more gassy lately.  I was never the burping type, but now I seem to burp often, especially after drinking water.  Maybe it has something to do with my abdominal organs being pushed up a little.  Flatulence incontinence has caught me off guard a few times and unfortunately seems to be increasing in frequency.  I've had several incidents of walking through a store and I'll out of the blue cut the cheese.  It takes me by complete surprise! No warnings, no opportunity to hold it, it's just like hello world, here I am! I act innocent hoping that bystanders will think it was someone else and then I get out of there as fast as possible. Compliments the beer gut phase nicely I suppose.

My week 16 and 17 "what's going on" updates have said I could start feeling the baby move any time now. So far, no luck.  I'm really really looking forward to this one, but for now, I'll have to be patient.

Here's this week's belly.  I was thinking I hadn't grown any, but after seeing the pic, maybe I have?!? I'm up a total of 7 lbs at 17 weeks.  There's a few more 7's for ya.

I'll leave you with a little funny.  I went to the movies with Kerry, his business partner and my step-son.  I didn't want to pay $3 for their bottled river water, so I snuck in my own bottled water under my coat.  The 4 of us were standing there and my bottle of water fell out from underneath my coat.  We all just stood there staring at it and then one of them yelled in a panicked tone; oh no, your water broke!!!

It's a ... (15w6d)

It's official, we're having a little boy!!!  We've joined team blue!  See for yourself... we've got 2 legs straight up in the air with definite boy bits in between.  The tech said she was very confident that this is a boy.

So now for the details...

We arrived and the u/s tech told us she was just checking my cervix.  I said; we're not going to look at the baby???  She said; not really.  I just kept asking; can we take a short look???  After asking a few times and her seeing the disappointment in my face, she caught on and said; don't worry, we'll see if we can figure out the gender for you.  Kerry jokingly said; if you want to go home tonight, you'll look between the legs!

They were testing out a brand new u/s machine and I gladly volunteered to be their guinea pig.  So I ended up getting lots of time viewing detailed views of the heart and brain.  They said everything looked perfect.  They then tried out the 3d/4d transducer (after forewarning me that baby would look scary at this stage).  Baby didn't cooperate too well and kept his face hidden.  Here's a few more u/s pics from today:

Face / Heart

Profile

Head / Arm / Hand

Foot

Head / Hand / Crossed Legs

(3d/4d) Wow, look at that spine!  I think he inherited Kerry's 10 extra vertebrae!

Here's the u/s stats:

HB: 153 bpm

Fetal Movement: present

Amniotic Fluid: normal, 9.6cm

Placenta: posterior

They checked my cervix and said it was nice and closed and at 3.3cm.  Not the 4cm I had hoped for, but my ob/gyn said that was completely normal and to not worry.  They checked my weight and according to their scale, I haven't gained any weight in several weeks.  My scale begs to differ.

Here's the latest belly shot:

I bought a few books.  Baby bargains has come highly recommended and will help me figure out what I need to buy for Seven.  Baby 411 is everything I need to know about taking care of a baby for the first year.  The Birth Book will teach me everything about labor and delivery and things like how to avoid a c-section when not medically needed.  Hopefully I'll be well prepared by time baby arrives.

I want to send a thank you out to Mags for the surprise gift in the mail!  You were right, it's a boy! Thank you!!!!

Symptoms:

None really, I feel completely normal.  If it wasn't for my growing belly, I wouldn't even know I was pg.  I did have one very constipated bowel movement episode.  I think I lost.  I was in so much pain and was thinking I may need intervention.  At one point, I panicked thinking it was the baby coming out because of the extreme pressure, but all was good in that region.  After a long labored delivery, I about passed out.  Kerry said I gave true meaning to the phrase "ripped a new one".  I now have a fiber drink every morning and night which has helped significantly.

Next step:

An anomaly scan in 3 weeks.  They will check my cervix again then.

Happy New Year!!! (15w2d)

A year ago I wrote:

As the new year arrived, I found myself reflecting over the last year, the good, the bad and the in between. I made a few new year resolutions, some the same I made last year and the year before, you know the ones you never manage to follow through with. This will be our 4th January we’ve said “this will be the year of our miracle baby”. I’ve tried so hard to follow through with this one, but once again, I failed.

I finally fulfilled my 4 year running New Year's resolution!!! It may have taken me awhile, but I persevered. I'm feeling very blessed in 2010 and look forward to what this year will bring forth.

Speaking of being blessed, I ran into the following post on Kerry's blog:

The gift of life!

Well, I hope you all had a great Christmas. I thought it very fitting to take this opportunity on Christmas night to tell you about the best gift that I received this year. It was to wake up on Christmas morning and see my beautiful wife 14 weeks and 2 days pregnant. After 4 years of a fertility journey that I wouldn’t wish on anyone, we found out on October 19th that she was finally pregnant. Week after week we’ve had ultrasounds and confirmations that everything is going great. So we thank God this Christmas for the little answer to prayer that is growing in her womb. I encourage you to never give up on the things that you are believing for. We should find out on January 5th if it’s a boy or girl. The suspicions from previous ultrasound clues are leaning towards a boy. As you might imagine, we will be thrilled with either. I’ll keep you posted. Have a great weekend and be safe this Holiday season.

I know I may be partial, but in my eyes, I am blessed with the best hubby ever!

You may remember from my last post that Kerry bought me some "boy short" maternity underwear because he was concerned that my current undies were getting too tight on baby. Here's the maternity undies after washing and drying them. They now look like "toddler short" underwear. I held them up to Kerry and said, you think these will be less restrictive??  He looked at me puzzled and said, are those the ones I bought you???

I received a surprise gift in the mail.  It was a mom-to-be Christmas ornament.  I love that the pg angel is holding a bucket of ice cream and a jar of pickles!  Thank you Jean, Betty, Sheree, Rachel and Lyndsay!!!

For New Year's Eve we went to dinner with a few friends.

As soon as I took my coat off at the restaurant, the friend next to me, who last saw me 3 weeks ago, looked at my belly and exclaimed; girl, are you sure you don't have twins in there??  I just laughed.  I'm quite shocked myself at how fast my belly is growing.  I think baby is going to have daddy's height!

We then returned home for a quiet evening alone. We watched the countdown on tv and then crashed.  Happy New Year everyone!  May you all have a very blessed and prosperous 2010.