Whoosh Whoosh!

At 10 weeks, my nausea is finally starting to subside.  Thank goodness!  I have actually been able to eat dinner for the first time in 5+ weeks!

We had our first prenatal visit with the doctor this week.  After the struggle of having to pee on command (why is it I can pee every hour on the hour unless it's requested of me??), everything checked out normal - no signs of protein (a marker of kidney issues) or glucose (a marker of gestational diabetes.  The doctor also said that everything looked and felt good, sized for the 10 week mark.

He used a device called a Doppler, which is basically an ultrasound/sonogram machine without the visual part (we use these commonly in veterinary medicine for detecting the sound of pulses in the limbs and then using the pulse to measure blood pressure), to find the baby's heartbeat.  The device puts out sound waves and receives them back so that the resulting pulse or beat sounds kind of like a "whoosh" or a train.  It was neat that he was able to find the heartbeat, and I was able to record it on my phone.  (Technology is so cool!)  Of course, I got a little teary eyed because it meant (yet again) that there is a little miracle growing inside me.  [In order to post the heartbeat sound, I had to pick a photo to pair it with.  So, the photo is a month outdated (the one from Feb 27th), but it was the only way I could add the sound to our blog.]

We also were scheduled for an additional ultrasound in two weeks.  It will be exciting to have a new picture of the baby to share with family and friends since it is almost the end of the first trimester and the time we decided to share our news.

10 weeks pregnant

There's a Baby in There?

It's hard to remember (when I'm not nauseous!) that there's a baby growing in my belly.  No signs of a baby bump yet (which is fine with me), and "the girls" are not expanding at an incredible rate as I'd hoped!

Baby is the size of a green olive this week.  Hard to believe it's that darn small and wreaking so much havoc on my digestive system!

Baby is the size of a green olive this week.

Craig and I are eagerly awaiting next Wednesday's Dr's appointment.  We're supposed to be hearing the baby's heartbeat via Doppler.  It'll help reaffirm for us that there's still a baby in there, since we haven't seen or heard anything directly from it in 3 weeks.  I will admit that most of the time I'm scared that something bad will happen and I'll miscarry again, but I'm doing my best to pray and trust in God that all will work out this time.

Some days I want to go out and buy up a bunch of baby stuff, but other days I'm happy to not have the house overrun with tiny clothes and colorful toys quite yet.  I "treated myself" to a free (shipping cost only) carseat canopy, which I just received this week.  And I bought 2 small canvas bins for baby toys on sale the other day.  I can't help it; I'm a planner and organizer.  I could have the whole room ready to go before I'm even into my 2nd trimester!

It looks like we'll be getting the baby room's floors refinished in the next month or so, along with the 2nd floor landing and the small office upstairs.  Then a fresh coat of paint in the baby's room, and the upstairs will be mostly done for renovations, aside from fixing up the bathroom eventually.  It's fun to be nesting, but I wish it didn't have to be at the same time as work.  At least June and July will be free for me to craft a lovely nursery!



9 weeks pregnant

What to Expect?

Baby is the size of a raspberry this week!  Yum, raspberries!

Baby is the size of a raspberry this week.

On the 12th, we went to our OB group class.  There were about 5 couples, at least 3 of which are also due in October.  We learned about what to expect during the first trimester, which pretty much followed what I had already read in various sources.  Eat this; don't eat that.  This is a normal side effect of pregnancy; this is when you should call the Dr.

I went for the first round of prenatal bloodwork, including the wonderful pee-in-a-cup part, the following morning.  Everything looked good.  I also got tested for toxoplasmosis, the causative agent of which can be found in cat feces.  I've worked in the veterinary field for over 14 years; I figured it was pretty much guaranteed that I would test positive, which wouldn't affect the baby at this point.  But no!  Amazingly, I was negative for antibodies, thus implying impeccable hand washing hygiene on my part!  However, now that means I have to be extra careful at work.  I am waiting for a Dr's note excusing me from doing any fecal parasite testing or cleaning of litter boxes at work, but that's a card I don't quite want to play yet.  My coworkers aren't stupid; the moment I say I can't handle cat feces, it'll be pretty obvious that I'm pregnant.  And I prefer to keep that a private matter for as long as possible.  Legally, you don't have to request FMLA maternity leave until 30 days prior to its start, but I'm sure that my return to work in August with a 7 month expanded belly will be tell-tale enough!

Anyway, we're two-thirds of the way through the first trimester.  My nausea continues, and I've lost 5 pounds since I haven't been able to eat much or often.  That silly crackers trick doesn't work for me - I can't even think about crackers without getting nauseous!  Well, at least the nausea is a reminder of the happy miracle growing inside me!



8 weeks pregnant

Morning (and Evening) Sickness

I find myself praying for a speedy next 5 weeks to get us past the first trimester.  You'd think this is because I want to spread the news of our pregnancy, but no, it's because I'm hoping the nausea will pass!

Baby is the size of a blueberry this week.

"They" lie when they call it morning sickness.  The only time I'm not nauseous (though thankfully not throwing up... yet?) is at lunchtime.  Otherwise, morning and evening is filled with a feeling of inappetence and no desire to cook.  Poor Craig!  (Or maybe it's good for him, since I am not the World's Greatest Cook anyway!)  The only foods that go down easy are fruit, dairy, and eggs.  I've managed to swallow a few carbs and veggies, but meals are definitely not "balanced" at the moment.  I've lost 3 lbs in the last 3 weeks, which is good for me and probably isn't bothering the baby.

I'm still experiencing the frequent urination and exhaustion symptoms as well, but everything else feels wonderful.  I just really dislike when anything comes between me and my meals, so the nausea is frustrating!  But it's a reminder that we're expecting!

I also had a "craving" for Craig's Swiss Rolls yesterday - and I made the excuse that "Baby wants one!" to get them from him - but wow, were they sickly-sweet processed baked goods!  Good thing that's not my usual craving; I much prefer plain applesauce currently.

But, hello?  Where is my increased cup size?  I was really looking forward to toting around some great looking "girls" for the next few months - I hope they catch up!

7 weeks pregnant

The Most Amazing Sight!

I am still on Cloud 9 from two days ago when we first saw Baby LaTour on ultrasound!  His/her heartbeat was 123 beats per minute and his/her length from crown to rump was 0.45cm.  Wow, so tiny!

Baby LaTour & yolk sac at 6 weeks, 2 days.

Yes, I cried.  Whether the tears were from the hormones or the fact that we're finally having a baby, I'm not sure.  But it was an amazing moment for Craig and I in the ultrasound room.  The best part is that since everything is looking good, we won't have another ultrasound for another 12 weeks, until I'm 18 weeks along in mid-May.  Although, I'm sad we won't have an updated picture until then!

I went ahead and scheduled doctor appointments through June (I'll be roughly 22 weeks by then!) so that I could make sure they would work with my work schedule.  One is at a lovely 7:30am so that we could fit it in, but we have to do what we have to do!

Most of my nausea is still being held at bay by the lovely works of my acupuncturist.  I've been able to eat better this week than last week this time, when I was having more "morning" (aka comes at any time of the day) sickness in the form of nausea.  Otherwise, I'm just trying to enjoy the moments while Craig and I plan the updates/upgrades in the baby's room:  way too many to list here!

6 Weeks Pregnant

I also bought this maternity shirt with 40 numbers on the front to cross out as you go through weeks, for photos.  I thought the largest size would fit, but apparently this manufacturer thinks that pregnant women are a size 0 and that spandex is flattering!  Well, it's worth a shot to see if it gets better looking once my pregnant tummy fills it out more!  At least it makes "the girls" look pretty good!

The not-so-wonderful countdown shirt!

HCG Take Three!

Good news:  HCG level is up to 15,580 as of yesterday.  We've scheduled our first ultrasound for the day after tomorrow!  I can't wait to meet our baby!  Craig and I are so excited.  I hope everything will look normal and healthy.

HCG level on 02/23/14

As long as all is ok, we will probably tell the immediate family about the baby.  I am excited to share the news!

I'm still praying daily that this little one will be perfect and everything will go smoothly.  Thank God for this blessing so far!

Overwhelmed at the Baby Store

It only took 30 minutes, and I was feeling closed in and overwhelmed by the Babies'R'Us store!  Somehow, shopping for baby things to put on the registry was so much easier online.  Yes, it was nice to see some things in person, but boy (or girl!), there are a lot of cute, fuzzy, colorful things in that store!  I did get to pick up my "gift bag" (aka buy-from-us bag) of various coupons and baby paraphernalia.

I have been nesting in the form of crocheting lately.  I told Craig that since we weren't really talking about the baby, I was making everything crochet I could think of to nest.  While I was out near Babies'R'Us, I stopped at Michael's and bought 5+ pounds of yarn (to put this in perspective, yarn doesn't weigh that much!) in a variety of baby colors and some fiberfill.  I finished my first crocheted stuffed animal - a cute purple elephant.

My first attempt at crocheting a stuffed animal!

This morning, I go to the lab for a repeat of my HCG level.  Here's to hoping and praying that it's over 15,000!