No, it's not what you think. And I said bump... ;)
I had to pop in one more time this weekend to share a pic I took this morning while laying in bed. The first legitimate "bump" picture!
12.5 weeks. hips, bump, belly button, ribs, and sleeping husband feet in background. Also, yes we have been in our house for 6 weeks and still have no window treatments in our bedroom. The mornings are very, very bright!
Everyday when I wake up, I lay in bed on my back for a while, and rest my hand on my lower belly. It's a time I use to connect with the baby, just laying there quietly and thinking about the tiny little peanut growing inside me. I have noticed a change over the last few weeks, it went from nothing at all to a small round bump in the very lowest part of my belly. This morning though, it seemed like it had hit a growth spurt overnight! There was a very obvious roundness that wasn't there the morning before. I will say though, a full bladder as I usually have in the morning seems to push the uterus way up in the abdomen making things a lot more noticeable, but even still it was pretty awesome. Keep it up little babe...
This week was another exciting one for us. We had our first visit at
the Birthing Center, as well we shared the big news with our extended
family and friends/co-workers!
The appointment was on
Tuesday morning, and I couldn't have asked for a better experience for
our first visit. We saw a NP this time, and for future appointments
will be meeting with the midwives. From the time we got there to the
time we left, it was an entirely positive experience. I never once felt
pressured into a test or procedure I didn't want, as well the NP was
super friendly and spent over an hour talking to us and answering
questions. We heard the heartbeat via doppler, and we wouldn't be us if
I didn't have Erik take a video of it ;) See below for a clip:
I thought I would get all emotional again
and start crying, but as soon as the heartbeat came across so loud and
clear, I suddenly felt like everything was exactly as it should be. It
was really there, and the anxiety of miscarriage is starting to quickly
fade. Of course I know that really anything can still happen and just
because I have made it this far doesn't guarantee everything will be
okay from here on out, but I know that the chances of miscarriage at
this point are very, very low.
It was really neat to
hear the little "blips" on the doppler that she said were movements from
the baby. I didn't know you could detect those with the doppler, that
was a fun surprise. All week now I have pictured that little one
flipping around and having a dance party in my uterus, haha...
After
the appointment we were too excited not to share the news with our
co-workers since we were both working that day. I had already printed
up announcement cards in anticipation of the big reveal, and shortly
after I got to work secretly hung them up for someone to discover...
It
took a while for someone to notice it, but finally they did and of
course everyone was very excited! A few people told me they already had
suspicions that I was pregnant, and others were completely surprised.
All week long there have been people congratulating me as the news
slowly filtered out to other departments. It was a lot of fun to share
the news this way!
The next morning I e-mailed out the
announcement to our extended families, and received back an
overwhelming response of love and excitement. Since I couldn't send out
the same announcement I hung up at work (obviously they would know it
was us coming from my e-mail address) I made something a little
different, but used the same picture.
So this brings me to the 12 week update (and I promise no more pictures of our feet!) Happily I can report I am feeling great
now. I had one morning this week of being a little nauseated but I
really think it was from a poor night of sleep, and fortunately it
didn't last long. I think that I would be sleeping a lot better if I wasn't getting up so many times in the night to use the bathroom. Who designed our bodies to have the uterus right next to the bladder?? ;) I feel like mine has shrunk down to 1/4 it's original size, haha...
12 weeks - sorry for the grainy photos. Poor lighting today + point and shoot camera = not great photos!
I
took these photos in the nursery today. The "birdcage" on the right
side of the photo is a really neat photo display that I plan to
eventually hang on the wall and use for displaying ultrasound photos,
announcements, and other baby related things.
Baby
is the size of a plum this week, measuring in at 2.1" long and 0.49
ounces. Most of the critical systems are fully formed and baby is about
to enter the growth and maturation stage, in which the organs and
tissues will grow and develop rapidly. The fingers are starting to open
and close, and the baby can curl their toes as well. I found this one
kinda cute - the reflexes are now developing and if I poke my belly
he/she is likely to move around in response!
I am
not really having any weird cravings or anything, although lemon (and
not just a slice - I am talking 1/2 the fruit per glass) in my water is
still a necessity. Sushi (vegan of course) with avocado, carrots, and
extra ginger is something I have been eating at every opportunity.
Recently I requested we go out for sushi twice in the same weekend,
which is a bit unlike me!
I guess from here on out it's really just grow baby, grow :)
Finally..... We got to share the happy news of the pregnancy with all of our immediate family! We told my parents and sister last weekend on Friday night (E's parents were unavailable then), then on Saturday morning got to make the big announcement to his family. Everyone was of course, very excited - and I think we did a pretty good job surprising all of them! I captured their reaction on video... See below for a clip of the best parts! (Side note: if you are just starting to read this blog, at the time
of writing this the settings were still set to private. It did not go
live until after we shared the news with everyone...)
To tell my parents, we called them up and told them that we were thinking of getting something for the house, and we wanted their opinion of it first. They asked what it was, and I said it would just be easier to e-mail over a picture so they could see it for themselves. The picture we sent over was the ultrasound photo. My Dad has really been wanting to buy us a housewarming gift of our choice, and before he saw the photo he asked if this might fall in the budget for their gift to us. I laughed and told him I didn't think so, because this "item" was going to be very expensive. We all had a good laugh over that once they learned what it was!
(note: this is really more of just an audio recording than anything else since I basically just recorded me holding my phone to capture their reactions. The video of Erik's parents reactions was much better since I actually recorded Erik instead of just the phone. Rookie mistake!)
It was a little trickier trying to think of a surprise way to tell Erik's parents since we are in North Carolina, his Mom is in Michigan and his Dad is currently on the east coast for work. We had to call them on a 3-way call to tell them both at the same time. To set up this video for you a little - Erik and his Dad are always joking about building this huge garage in our yard and making the upstairs an "in-law" apartment so they can move down and be closer to us. At the beginning of the video, Erik starts in with their usual back and forth commentary on this "planned project" and asks them how many kids we would need to have to get them to move on down and live in the not-yet-built "in-law suite." I don't think his Dad realized right away where Erik was going with that question, haha ;)
So here we are at 11 weeks (actually almost 12) and I am feeling even better than last week. The nausea has almost completely subsided, and most days I don't even have any. Energy levels are still not quite normal but pretty close to it. The biggest change this past week is in the belly area. I am still not really looking pregnant, but there is a lot more roundness going on down there. I read somewhere that this is the time to wear "loose, flowing clothing" to hide the beginning of the bump, but I have found myself embracing what is there by wearing fitted tanks and shirts (except for at work where I am still trying to hide it!) It's a little bizarre to look down and not see my usual self, but it's also pretty awesome to think about what is going on in there.
11 weeks + 3 days
The baby is as big as a lime this week (that seems huge to me!) Measuring in at about 1.6 inches long, he/she has about a 1:1 head to body ratio, and now weighs in at about .25 ounces.
Developmentally, the fingers and toes have lost their webbing, and tooth buds, hair follicles, and nail beds are forming. Apparently this little one is also already waving it's arms and kicking it's legs quite often. I wish I could see or feel it, but I know that comes much later...
Yesterday I went yard sale-ing (a favorite Saturday morning activity of mine during the spring/summer) and scored a few sweet things.
In my treasure hunting (primarily for baby stuff in recent weeks) I am always on the lookout for wooden toys and found this little Haba fish. Since these things cost anywhere between $12-18 new on amazon, I was pretty happy to pick up this little guy in excellent condition for only $0.50. I have scored a few other Haba toys for around the same price at previous sales. I also hit the jackpot at the thrift store and picked up five new pregnancy/baby books (for only $1 each), including two by Dr. Sears. I have read great reviews on his books and I am looking forward to reading those. When I got home, Erik and I had a lot fun reading through the Baby Name Wizard together. He picked out names that I said "no way" to and everything I picked out he didn't like either, lol... Fortunately we have some time to settle on just the right one. Although I will say -we do have a girl name that we both agree on, but that will remain between just us for now.
The shoes in the above photo were not found at a yard sale, I actually had to buy those from the store... But I do have a good reason for baby shoe shopping already... This upcoming week is when we are planning to share the pregnancy news with extended family and friends. I thought of a clever way to tell my co-workers and it involves this photo (and the baby shoes) below...
I plan to secretly hang the photo up at work this week on the bulletin board with the caption below it "Someone's family is expanding by two feet. Can you guess who?" I have a feeling it won't take them very long to figure out who put it up there, but it will still be a fun little way to share the news. Our first appointment at the Birthing Center is on Tuesday, and if all goes well we are going to share the news with everyone else. Just two more weeks left of the first trimester - I am so happy to be right where I am :D
Somehow I kinda skipped over my 9 week update didn't I? Oops.. Well, I have been busy! I have been meaning to start taking weekly photos since the ultrasound but with the move/unpacking and having my camera equipment scattered around the house it just didn't happen. Yesterday I took a few photos though, as I am now 10.5 weeks and there are some noticeable changes starting to take place!
As previously mentioned, my parents were supposed to visit this weekend, and the plan was to tell them the news while they were here. Unfortunately, they had something come up and couldn't make it, so we told them over the phone last night. They were of course, very excited! We tried to tell Erik's parents but they were not available by phone so the plan is to tell them later today. We also told my sister Megan the happy news last night. It feels great to share the news with our family. We have known for 7 weeks now - I have no idea how we kept it a secret this long. I managed to catch their responses on video and plan to share them in my next post.
This week has been an important milestone to me, as I am now past the point where the last pregnancy ended. Actually, last weekend was exactly a year since the miscarriage. It was a strange few days for me, remembering where I was a year ago and what a difficult time it was. Thankfully, I am in a very good place right now, which I am sure made this "anniversary" a lot easier to get through. It's crazy to think of everything that happened in the last year, from the terrible time surrounding the loss of the baby, to buying the new house and renovation, and needing to wait so long to try and conceive again... It's certainly not a year of my life that I would ever want to repeat. But, I guess it got me to where I am today, and that is a pretty good place to be...
10.5 weeks
Ok... On to the 10 week update! According to thebump.com, this week the baby is about 1.2 inches long (about the size of a prune) and weighs about .14 ounces. He/she also has working arm joints, and the cartilage and bones are forming. Hair and fingernails are starting to appear, as well the baby is already swallowing and kicking (although it's going to be a couple months yet until I can actually feel those kicks...)
For the most part, I have been feeling great these past couple of weeks. Nearly everyday I still get a wave or two of nausea (more so if I didn't sleep well the night before) but it usually resolves in just a short amount of time. Only a few times recently have I become really nauseated and needed to rest or stop whatever it was that I was doing. I have not been nearly as fatigued as I was in earlier weeks, although I do get periods of that from time to time as well. In the past week, I have really noticed some roundness in my lower abdomen. It's probably a lot of bloating/food right now, haha... But even in the morning with no food (and not feeling bloated) there is still some new roundness present. I have been the most comfortable wearing loose dresses and skirts lately, and I think I can safely say that my tight jeans will be out of circulation for a while now!
Here are a few photos that I took yesterday:
Side note: this skirt (by old navy) was bought recently at a thrift shop for only $3, and is my new favorite piece of clothing. Stretchy waistbands are my new best friend ;)
My first appointment at the Birthing Center is coming up in just a week and a half, at which point I will be 12 weeks along. If all goes well and we hear the heartbeat, we plan to spill the beans to everyone else after the appointment. I can't wait to tell friends and coworkers. I have been waiting to share this happy news for a long time now! I even have a cute little surprise planned to tell them the news...
Here is looking foward to another week of feeling good and growing bigger ;)
