The countdown to 12 weeks ended today. :) (Although my ticker sucks and is stuck on 11 weeks, 5 days. I'm 12 weeks today!) The new countdown to 13 weeks begins tomorrow. (Yes, I look forward to every weekly marker!) Who knew I'd be so excited about Wednesdays?!
Which means, new belly picture will be taken tonight! I think I look exactly the same as last week, though.
The countdown to my next doctor's appointment ends tomorrow. My appointment is at 2:00, and I'll get to hear our baby's heartbeat through their doppler!!! It was so exciting seeing the heartbeat flashing on the screen at our 8 week ultrasound, but I know that finally hearing it is going to be amazing too. I'm honestly really curious to know what the heart rate is. I know it's just an old wives tale, but it's the first clue as to whether it's a boy or girl. :) Go figure, now I'm curious.
Then, Friday is our ultrasound!!! Ryan's really excited about this one, too, since it'll be done with better equipment, AND it will be a longer ultrasound. I'm excited because I know our baby is going to look a LOT different that he/she did 4 weeks ago, and will look more like a baby (moving around and everything!) and less like a little, blinking gummy bear. :)
So, that means that this is my last full day of work for the rest of the week. Tomorrow I'll be leaving at 1:30, and I'll be leaving at 2:15 on Friday. Very nice indeed!
In other news, I'm pretty anxious to get into my second trimester, and hopefully get some of my energy back! EVERY morning, without fail, no matter how much sleep I get or how deeply I sleep, I feel completely exhausted at my desk at 9 AM. I'm talking it's a STRUGGLE to keep my eyes open, much less be fully functioning. That's why my weekends are so precious. :) I get to sleep to my little heart's desire.
I think that theseare a really neat idea. (not to mention adorable) Now the question is... dog or frog? The duck is kinda cute, too. Decisions! ;-)
I've been absolutely swamped at work, and yet, now that I have some time to write an entry, I'm completly drawing a blank. I'm pretty much exhausted all the time, and thinking up things to talk about just takes too much energy. :) But I'm happy!
I'm awfully hormonal lately.. not a mean or hot-tempered-kind of hormonal.. but more like sentimental, weepy, sappy, and even nostalgic. What's more, I cry at the drop of a hat! I watch CMT every morning while eating breakfast, and oh man, watch out when songs like "When I Get Where I'm Going," "My Wish," "I Loved Her First," "I've Been Watching You," and so forth come on. Instant tear-fest.
The good news is that I think my body is finally getting over the nausea. I still have moments, but it's not a constant thing like it used to be. I hope I'm not jinxing anything by saying that. It was replaced, though, with my new symptoms: light-headedness and dizziness, thanks to the baby needing the majority of my blood flow. And the heartburn. Holy cow, the heartburn. I never really got heartburn before getting pregnant, so this is a new, fun little thing. (Haha! :)
I'm somewhat annoyed by my ticker on the left-hand side. It's not accurate. I KNOW for a fact that our baby is 2 1/2 inches by now, not still stuck at 1 inch. I liked that ticker simply because it's small, but I think it kinda sucks.
One thing I simply don't understand is why some people Google me. If you already know that my Xanga name is vsgreeneyes, why the need to search it? It's equally weird to see "emily and ryan" "blogspot" as a search. All you need to do is put some dots and a com in there, and that's my address. I really don't care, honestly, it just seems like a waste of time is all.
If you're wondering, the banana pudding on Sunday was fabulous. :)
Believe it or not, Ryan and I are now actually leaning towards finding out whether our baby is a boy or a girl. Well, Ryan has been leaning towards it the whole time, (just for our first) but I just started to feel the urge to know as soon as possible. I mean, we still have 6-8 weeks before we CAN find out, (depending on when they schedule the ultrasound) so I'm sure at least MY opinion on the matter is going to flip-flop before then. Ryan says he's going to ask the technician to tell him regardless of whether or not I want to know! Not sure if he's serious or not.... ;-)
In other news, I suddenly feel very old. My memory is leaving so much to be desired right now, it's not even funny. It's so not like me. Can I blame it on pregnancy brain yet?? Speaking of which...
Week 11: (from my What to Expect When You're Expecting Newsletter)
Are your two favorite positions these days sitting and lying down? Not surprising. Your pregnant body works harder at rest than your nonpregnant body did on the run. That's because you're running a baby-making factory that's in business 24/7 (and since you're the only employee, you're on the clock around the clock). And for the next few weeks, a baby's not the only thing in production — so is the placenta, the magnificently complex mission control that will serve as your baby's life support system until delivery. The result? You feel overworked, even when you're not doing a darn thing. Your energy should pick up once the placenta's up and running and your system adjusts (as best as it can) to the hormonal changes of pregnancy — probably early in the second trimester. In the meantime, keep your blood sugar level up with frequent snacks of complex carbs and protein (cheese and crackers; nuts and dried fruit), try a little exercise (which can actually give you an energy boost), and most of all — listen to your body. When it calls for a break, take one.
I won't lie, I was a little bummed when I got home after work yesterday. I saw flurries off and on all afternoon at work, which absolutely made my day, but nothing stuck. What a snow teaser.
Once I got home, I took Tucker out to do his thing in the frigid cold. The wind started to whip around, so I pulled my ski hood over my head, and held onto it to keep it from flying off. Just then, I noticed flurries coming down from the corner of my hood, and before I knew it, it was like a BLIZZARD. The snow was coming down fast and furious as the wind continued to blow around. By the time Tucker was finally ready to go in, we already had a light dusting on the ground! :)
So, hey, it wasn't the 5 or more inches of snow that I've been dreaming of, but it was good enough for me!
Furthermore, we had a package at our front door from our good friends Derek & Emily up in PA.! (They also have two adorable kids, Grace & Gavin) It was almost as if Emily had read my mind about yesterday's thoughts about pink & blue... do you know what she sent us? A blue "Little Bulldozer" sleeper for a boy, and a pink "Cutie" sleeper for a girl, which are both so cute! Her note included, "You can use one for this baby, and one for the next!" :)
It's thankfully Friday at last.. what a good feeling. :) I woke up at 3:30 this morning for a bathroom break (I wake up 1-2 times each night) and for some reason, thought this morning was Saturday. Ahhh!
I'm not really sure what all we're doing this weekend just yet. Hopefully I'll be feeling good like I do today, and will maybe get something accomplished other than laying on the couch feeling queasy. :)
My current craving is banana pudding, and my Mom offered make it for us for Sunday afternoon after church. It's a a BYOB--I'm supplying the bananas, and she's making it. ;-) Yum. She makes awesome banana pudding!
Just think, this day next week, Ryan and I will be going in for our 12 week, 2 day ultrasound!! I absolutely can't wait to see how the baby is doing, and see how much he/she has grown since the last one. I get to hear the heartbeat next Thursday, then see him or her on Friday! :) Definitely a lot to look forward to!
Even before I became pregnant, I've always liked the idea of taking pictures of my belly as it grows during pregnancy. I think it'll be really neat to see the progression. :) Grace asking yesterday if I had taken any belly pics yet reminded me that I hadn't posted any yet! So, here we go...
I know it's blurry, but I couldn't get a good picture of it for the life of me!
4 Weeks! Just a little bloated...
4 Weeks, Front Shot
5 Weeks - VERY bloated...
11 Weeks! Taken by my hubby last night :)
I really feel like I'm bigger than I look. Right above the drawstring of my pants is where my belly is already hard. I also have another belly pic from Jan. 10th, but I haven't had time to crop it yet. I pretty much stayed the same from 5 weeks to 10 1/2 weeks. Ryan's going to take pics for me every week from now on, though. :) So, I guess Thursdays will be my belly pic days.
Regarding yesterday's post about keeping the baby's sex a surprise, here's my reasoning. As anyone who knows me knows, I'm not the greatest when it comes to surprises, and I'm actually a little surprised that I want to be surprised! :) Despite that, I have thought about the fact that if everyone knows we're having a boy or a girl, any clothing we get is going to be pink or blue. Don't get me wrong, I love pink or blue. :) But the thing is, we plan on having more than one child, and hopefully at least one of each. This will be the first baby in both of our families for a LONG time, so I don't think I can count on getting hand-me-downs. So, whatever we get for this baby, it would be nice to be able to contine to use with our next babies.
But who knows? Maybe we'll find out and just tell our parents. We haven't totally decided yet, but we've got several more weeks to figure it out. :)
Well, Ryan saw snow yesterday (he's about 30 minutes away from where I work) and my Mom e-mailed me to say she saw snow, too. (and she's only about 15 minutes away) I, on the other hand, didn't see a single flake! They're calling for snow showers again this morning, so I'm still holding out hope that I'll see some! :) What I'm really ready for, though, is a big snowstorm... the kind that will keep us stuck at home. :)
I'm currently waiting patiently, staring out my windows, hoping to see the snow that my hubby saw at work about 15 minutes ago. They've been calling for snow showers this morning, more like flurries, but Ryan said it SNOWED there. A lot. Hopefully it'll make it's way over here. :)
I'm still not feeling good today. Last night was so bad that I could only eat about 5 small bites of the dinner that had sounded good when I started making it, (cheeseburger hamburger helper) and I had to throw it out and munch on pretzels instead. (which I picked the salt off of) I guess I just got too hungry, and it made me sick. Oh well, at least Ryan enjoyed the dinner. :)
I did change my ticker over there on the left. I figured that if my Dr. says I'm 11 weeks today, then I'm 11 weeks today. I know it's only a 2-day difference, but that's 2 days closer to getting out of the first trimester!! Hopefully I'm not one of the unlucky women who experiences morning sickness through the whole pregnancy. I don't even want to THINK about that! ;-)
Through it all, I want for nothing more than for our baby to be growing strong and healthy inside. I'll take the sickness (and all the other fun symptoms.. there are many!) any day, if it means our baby is doing well in there! :)
A few of you asked if we plan on finding out if it's a boy or girl. Honestly, we haven't completely decided yet! Before getting pregnant, we were pretty set on not finding out. Before meeting Ryan, I thought EVERYONE always finds out, but he warmed me up to the idea, and I started to see how fun it would be to not know. Almost immediately after finding out I'm pregnant, Ryan was talking about finding out "just with the first one." I, on the other hand, have gotten used to the idea of it staying a surprise, and I don't think I want to find out! I know I'm only 11 weeks, but as of right now, I'm not DYING to know. I just kinda think about how fun it would be to wait, and keep it a surprise. :) I guess time will tell!
My husband is the sweetest. I came home after work last night, and there was a PINK Starbucks Valentine's day coffee mug with hearts all over it sitting on the counter. He got some coffee yesterday morning, saw it while in line, and thought I'd love it. I obviously can't use it for coffee right now, but it'll be perfect for me to cart around my chocolate milk I'm craving every single day. (sometimes more than once a day)
Well, this snow we got on Sunday was Tucker's first snow, so I was anxious to see how he'd react to it. At first, he didn't really seem that interested. So, I gathered together a small, barely packed snowball, and threw it at him. The snow covered his little nose, and stuck to his whiskers. From there on, he thought the snow was pretty darn cool. We stayed outside for close to half an hour as I made snowballs and threw them for him to go catch. (and eat) He got so excited that he was racing around the yard. :) He LOVES the snow!!
I was nauseous all of yesterday, and have a feeling it may stick around all day today. I even woke up with it, (along with a nice headache) which isn't as common for me. More than that, though, I'm absolutely, completely, utterly exhausted. I keep getting plenty of sleep at night, yet every day, just like today, I sit here fighting the urge to close my eyes!
Well, my due date is technically August 15, but my ticker on the left-hand side is calculating my pregnancy based on an August 17th due date. Reason being, the baby was measuring at 7 weeks, 6 days at my 8 week, 1 day ultrasound. Well, I just found out the other day that doctors will keep the same due date, because the baby can measure a day or two ahead or behind, but still be right on track. If that's the case, I'm really 10 weeks, 6 days today. I guess we'll find out at my next ultrasound? (Feb. 2nd) I'm new at this!
I had been under the assumption that the bloated lower tummy I've had practically since finding out I was pregnant wouldn't be the actual baby until around 12 weeks (give or take) when the uterus expands past my pelvic bones. Over the weekend, though, I definitely noticed that my lower abdomen is starting to feel hard. I even had Ryan feel it, and he agreed that it's hard now. I thought that seemed awfully early, but my What to Expect When You're Expecting newsletter on Monday morning started out with, "Your lower abdomen is probably just starting to protrude a bit now." Don't get me wrong, it's only a tiny little pooch, and no one would guess that I'm pregnant yet. But for someone who had, in my hubby's words, a "concave" stomach before.. this is new!! It's fun, though. :)
I told Ryan last night that I already have a feeling it's a boy. He said I have a 50/50 chance of being right, so we'll see. :)
After this weekend, I am a very, very happy woman. :)
I got my snow!!!!! About 2 inches of it..
Also? The Colts vs. Patriots game was the most exciting and surprising game I've seen in a long time, (and I watch a lot, thanks to my hubby) and I am so thrilled that the Colts came back and won the game! You should've seen Ryan & I... it was probably pretty funny. Anyway, if my Redskins couldn't have won, and Ryan's Eagles couldn't have won, the third best was the Colts!! I just love them. And how awesome was it to see Tony Dungy giving the praise to God after their win? You don't see that every day.
Most importantly, I'm happy and thankful for another reason. On Friday afternoon, I experienced some very light spotting. Without getting too TMI, I saw a little bit of red spotting, and completely freaked out. I called my hospital, (since my doctor's office is closed on Friday afternoons) and they paged the doctor on-call at the practice I go to. Got a call just a few minutes later, and the Dr. asked me a whole slew of questions.. and determined I was most likely just fine, and shouldn't worry, but he instructed me to go home and get lots of rest over the weekend.
So, needless to say, I spent the majority of the weekend on the couch, or sleeping. Ryan really stepped up--going grocery shopping, doing the dishes and laundry, you name it. He was wonderful. :) The spotting went away gradually over the weekend, and as of today, I have no sign of it, and seem to be perfectly okay. Thank God! I had no pain, and no cramping whatsoever. The consensus seems to be that I was just trying to do too much, and it was my body's way of saying "RELAX ALREADY!"
I have had quite a bit of nausea yesterday and today, but I welcome that any day. I'll be out of the woods soon anyway.
Oh, and my Bella Band came in over the weekend. I am in love. <3
It's been a CRAZY morning! It's fitting, though, because we had a pretty crazy evening as well. I am SO glad it's Friday!!
I walked into our apartment last night after work, and was overwhelmed by thesmell of gas. We have gas heat in our apartment.. oven, fireplace, etc. I checked our burners and oven to make sure nothing had been left on, and all was clear. I called Ryan and he told me to grab the dog, and leave.
Thankfully the office was still open over at our apartment's clubhouse, so I immediately let them know, and they sent over a service guy right away. We could smell the gas from outside, that's how bad it was. He walked into the apartment, and told me not to turn on any lights. He opened all of our windows (did I mention it's been FRIGID here??) and the back door to air out the apartment. Then he looked for the source of the leak, only to determine it wasn't coming from our apartment.
Around the time when the service guy was unlocking all of the other apartments in the building, (NO ONE else was home!) Ryan got home, so we headed over to my parents' house. Eventually, the service guy called to let us know that it had been coming from the apartment directly below us. They had left a burner running at medium, with no flame, ALL DAY. We're very, very thankful that nothing sparked, or our entire building would've blown up.
While waiting for our apartment to air out, we hung out at my parents' house and watched that show In the Womb: Multiples that I had asked my Dad if he would record for me. (We don't get the National Geographic channel) I had been dying to see it, and it is AMAZING! When they reached 10 weeks, I got especially excited, because that's what our baby looks like right now. :) Being pregnant and having a child growing inside of you is such a miracle.
We got back home around 9:00, and, although very chilly, our apartment was back to normal. I started some laundry, and Ryan and I chatted in our bedroom. Right around that moment, Tucker decided to pee... on our bed. (He has NEVER done that before!!) Thankfully it only affected our comforter and top sheet, but we so did not need that last night!
Yesterday was an interesting day as far as the pregnancy is concerned, and today is equally so. I get little waves of nausea, but nothing like before. I've been absolutely starving, and having to use the restroom every hour. I feel like I could sleep for days...zzzzz. And lets not even talk about my chest... whoa!
Still, I'm happy, because I feel like I'm getting past the gross, sick-feeling part of my pregnancy, and into the fun stuff. :) I'm sure I'll still have a bad day or three before I'm out of my first trimester, but still.
Good morning! Wow, was it ever hard to get out of bed this morning. It's a chilly, frosty morning, the kind of morning where you want nothing more than to stay in your warm bed for another hour or two. :) I'm so glad we're almost to the weekend!
Having another pretty good day as far as the morning sickness goes. Eating breakfast was kind of gross, I'm exhausted, and I am SO THIRSTY, but other than that, I'm just lovely. :) Counting down the days till our next appointment... I can't wait to HEAR our baby's little heartbeat!
If thiswasn't $20, I'd probably buy it already. Sooooo cute.
THEY'RE CALLING FOR SNOW FLURRIES THIS AFTERNOON!! I know that doesn't sound like a huge deal to most of you, but I am so desperate to see at least ONE flurry already! It's past the middle of January... it's about time. :) It smells like the perfect winter day outside today--the smell of frost, and wood-burning fireplaces. Yum.
I'm in the kind of mood today where I just feel so incredibly blessed, and thankful. Sure, I don't have everything there is to have, but I have everything I need and then some. I love my life. <3
My hubby had to be up again this morning at 4:45 AM, same as yesterday... poor guy. I heard him re-set my alarm for 6:15, and I thankfully fell right back asleep to catch a few more z's before starting my day. I woke up to see just a hint of a pink & orange sunrise peeking out, and I stayed in bed for a minute or two to wake up. I began to wonder how much longer I had till my alarm was going to buzz, so I squinted to see my clock: 7:04. Shoot!
Despite that hectic start to my day, it's been a very good morning. :) I'm feeling pretty good today, and I'm thinking it may be one of my "good" days, which I'm SO thankful for. Feeling a teensy bit queasy, but not as bad as yesterday or the day before. Hurray!
I ordered a few things yesterday, which I'm excited about. I got the go-ahead from Ryan to order a Bella Band. It's basically a stretchy tube of fabric that goes around the waist of your pants, and it allows you to have your pants unbuttoned without it showing through. My work pants are SO tight and uncomfortable, because they fit perfectly before I got pregnant, so I can't wait for it to get here. It's cheaper than buying a bigger pair of pants. :) My jeans are easier to wear, because they're l0w-rise, but I always unbutton the top button if I'm just puttering around the house. It's just more comfortable.
I also ordered FOUR new books with a gift card my sister-in-law gave us for Christmas. I found a book on pregnancy and child care, a baby names book, a book to read to our baby before he/she is born, ("Oh, Baby, the Places You'll Go!"--looks soooo cute) and a book recommended by Focus on the Family regarding keeping your marriage strong while adjusting to a newborn. :) I can't wait till they get here!
Did anyone else watch American Idol last night? I was so excited about it, but was a little disappointed in last night's show. Definitely no Carrie or Chris Daughtry in that bunch. Hopefully the upcoming cities will have some good ones! We still love it, though.. the first couple weeks are always hilarious, embarrassing, and sometimes heartbreaking--but ALWAYS funny!
Remind me not to ever mention that I'm "feeling better" and that "my morning sickness is thankfully starting to dwindle." HAHA! Too funny. I'm loving being pregnant, honest and truly I am, but I'll be thankful when the first trimester has passed. ;-)
I wasn't feeling all that great over the weekend, but we did manage to get over to Babies 'R' Us on Saturday so I could use my one-day-only $5 off coupon. (Ryan must've asked me 3 times on the way there: "Do you want me to turn back around?" because I looked as miserable as I felt. I was determined to use that coupon!) We registered while we were there, because I found out once we got there that the coupon is good on registry items only. We had FUN! Picked out our bedding, crib, changing table, stroller, car seat, and other little baby necessities. You can look at our registry online if you know my last name. :) www.babiesrus.com.
I was feeling so terrible when I woke up yesterday that I actually called in to work and took the day off. I spent lots and lots of uninterrupted time on the couch, where I first watched three consecutive episodes of A Baby Story. "Ryan" seems to be a popular name anymore--two of the baby boys were named Ryan. One of them, Ryan Sean, was the couple's SIXTH baby! (and only boy. 5 girls, and one boy.) I just love that show. Even watching the birth doesn't phase me anymore. I cry every time the couple gets to see their baby for the first time. I'm such a sap.
I CANNOT WAIT FOR MY NEXT APPOINTMENT!!!! I figured after the first appointment, I'd relax, since we got to see the little heart beating away. Sure enough, I did! But now I'm anxious to see our baby again, and see that he or she is doing well in there. I'm really learning trust more than ever before during the past month, and I keep reciting verses that give me peace that despite my worries, God has our baby in the palm of his hands. In every prayer, I also pray for our baby. When Ryan prays over our dinner, he always prays for our baby. My prayers seem to go on longer than they used to, with so many things to pray about. It's just a blind, yet beautiful place to be in. Not sure if any of that made sense at all, but those are my thoughts, in their rambling glory.
In any event, I'm back at work today. So many people have been asking how "mama" is feeling today. :) Word got around very quickly around here about my pregnancy, which I didn't mind. It's wonderful to know so many people are interested.
The weather is AWESOME here right now! January weather has finally hit, and it doesn't look like we have any warm fronts coming through any time soon. It's so strange and unusual to wear a t-shirt and jeans in the middle of winter.
Baby: The embryo measures about 0.9 inches to 1.2 inches from crown to rump, or the size of a strawberry. The arms and legs are longer, and the fingers might be a little swollen where the touch pads are forming. The head is more erect and neck is more developed. Your baby now moves its body and limbs, and this movement can be visible during an ultrasound, but you won't be able to feel it yet.
Mom-to-be: Your uterus is continuing to grow, and you may begin to see your waistline thickening. But unless you tell people the good news, your pregnancy still won't be noticeable to others. Weight gain is still small, if at all, since you could be experiencing food aversions, cravings, heartburn, indigestion, nausea and bloating. Mood swings and weepiness similar to PMS symptoms are common, too.
I'm not sure if anyone else cares about this stuff, but I just think it's so fascinating to know how the baby is developing right at this moment. As for the "Mom-to-be" info... it's almost as if they asked me exactly what I'm experiencing right now. My morning sickness is thankfully starting to dwindle--it's not as constant as it was--but the nausea still hits pretty often, and NO food looks good if I wait too long between snacks. The exhaustion, though, is unreal! Every morning when I get up, I feel like I could go back to bed and sleep allllll daaaay. I'm so happy it's Friday!! :-D
I was very, very happy when I got home last night. Everything was clean... even random things like our toaster oven and the ceiling fan blades! I just thought it was such a thoughtful gift for Ryan to get me. It was something I never would have thought of, or asked for, but he was thoughtful enough to think of something that would really make it easier on me. I'm SO thankful for him!
My company was voted the #1 insurance company in our annual County poll. (We've been #1 for 6 years or so) We were also voted as the #2 all-around business. My favorite new smoothie place (which hasn't sounded good for weeks, but regardless) was voted #2 new business! :) I was happy for that... they're very nice people. They know my name and know that I always order #3--strawberry & peach. (not sure if they'd still remember, though!)
Hope you all have a great day, and a wonderful weekend! :)
In just a few hours, a maid service will be at our apartment, as a belated Christmas gift from my hubby. This may not seem like a huge deal, but when you're pregnant and dealing with constant sickness, and exhaustion, having someone else come and clean your home, leaving it sparkling clean for when you come home after work, is absolutely wonderful!! The tub, the toilet, the floors... you name it, it will be clean!! :)
Other things I'm thankful for today....
A huge new client just signed on with Ryan's company yesterday
The ground was covered in a thick, sparkly frost this morning, and the smell of wood-burning fireplaces greeted me on my walk to work
It's one day closer to Friday
French toast and bananas
Oh, and I discovered that Target has some really cute, neutral baby bedding. We visited Babies R Us for the first time when I was 5 1/2 weeks, just to look around, and it seemed like all of their bedding is specifically for either a boy or girl. We're thinking we may want to stick with neutral bedding, since we plan on, you know, eventually having more than one child. ;-)
It was certainly still chilly last night, (and still is this morning) but unfortunately I didn't get to see a single flurry. Ryan called me to happily tell me that he was seeing snow flurries on his way home from work last night! However, by the time he got home, it had already ended. Ah well, I will eventually see some snow this winter!! :)
Okay, down to the first official business of the day: I just scheduled our next ultrasound!! It's the optional NT exam ultrasound, so I had to call our insurance first to make sure they cover it. Anyway, it's all set up for February 2nd at 3:00 PM! :) I absolutely cannot wait! It should be a lot better, a lot longer, and our baby will be moving around, unlike the first one. :) I am so excited!
Today would've been our 13th "monthiversary," if we still celebrated them. :) What can I say, old habits die hard. Maybe I'll make a special dinner tonight anyway. ;-)
Good mornin'! It's a chilly, chilly morning here in No. VA. Brrr! They're even saying we may see some snow flurries this afternoon, so I'm definitely hoping for that. :) I'm so ready to see some snow already.
We had a very nice weekend... it was mostly spent relaxing and watching football. I was feeling pretty good on Saturday, but Sunday... not so much. I was feeling downright miserable, honestly. Yesterday wasn't too much better, and I was extremely thankful when 5:00 rolled around!
I've found that I feel my best if I eat something small every 2 hours, on the dot, or I start to feel horrible. So, I spend a bit of my morning preparing snacks for the day. Water finally started tasting good again, so I'm very happy about that! I had been living on Sprite, in all it's sugary, carbonated glory. I didn't drink soda before I got pregnant, so I'm just glad I'm back to water! I feel so much better when I can drink water.
We looked at a townhome on Saturday afternoon, which was an interesting experience. It could've been really nice.. if it had different owners. The area was really nice, and the surrounding townhomes looked great. However, the appeal stopped when we walked through the door. The family that owns it have two small children.. and they allowed those two children to scribble on pretty much every surface in the home. Basically all of their walls had lovely rainbow shades in crayon or marker. Nice, right? Oh, and they were missing the front of their oven, and a wood panel in the wall, which they covered up with a bookcase. Needless to say, our search will continue!
My What to Expect e-mail newsletter this morning said that our baby is measuring in at 1 inch now, and is approximately the size of a medium green olive. :) Funny, tell that to my pants, which have become rather tight already! :) If I had looser clothes to begin with, I'd probably be better off, but all of my clothes used to fit pretty perfectly.. no real "growing" room. Maybe I should look into those Bella bands in the next couple of weeks...
Well, back to work! Hope you all are doing great, and I hope it's a great Tuesday for you all. :) Take care~
Well, our appointment couldn't have gone better! :) My new Dr.'s office is a grand total of 2 minutes away from where I work, so that was a nice surprise. Two very nice nurses assisted me when I was first brought back. They took a urine sample,weighed me, took my blood pressure, took 3 viles of blood, and asked a slew of questions pertaining to family medical history. They also gave me two pregnancy magazines and a "First Trimester Gift" that had a book of month to month photographs of the baby in the womb, along with full descriptions of every single thing that happens during each month. It is THE most awesome thing I've ever seen! I read through the entire thing last night. :)
My doctor came in after I got into my lovely two-piece ensemble (it wasn't even a whole gown) and she seems very nice. Usually doctors offices are so cold, but their's was nice and warm, so I was thankful for that. One of the nurses went to get Ryan as my doctor was wheeling around the ultrasound equipment. Because I'm not very far along, it was an internal ultrasound, which was interesting. They turned off the lights, and instantly our little baby popped up on the screen. "There it is," she told us. Ryan stared at it, and asked, "Where?" :) She pointed out the baby, who was positioned at the top of my uterus, and printed off a picture for us. She measured our baby, and he or she is measuring a whopping 14 mm! :) Turns out I'm further along that I expected.. 7 weeks, 6 days yesterday, which makes me 8 weeks today. My new due date is August 15th! We saw the heartbeat, which was a tiny, blinking white light. It was the most amazing thing to see, knowing that this little human being is inside of me, with his or heart little heart just beating away. I'm already in love.
I put the ultrasound picture they gave us in a frame. :) I'll most likely be able to scan it in sometime this weekend, too.
A huge thank you to all of those that prayed for our appointment to go well! Seeing the heartbeat was the first milestone, and really makes it all so real. I'll get my next ultrasound sometime between 11 and 14 weeks, but I'll know exactly when I make the appointment on Monday. I also have a regular appointment scheduled for Feb. 1st, and she'll be able to find the heartbeat externally with a doppler. Can't wait to hear that!! :)
Hope you all have a wonderful Friday, and a great weekend!!
Our alarm went off at 5:45 am this morning, (Ryan had to leave no later than 6:30) and I told him excitedly, "We get to see our baby today!" I am physically feeling sick, and exhausted, but just knowing that our appointment is a mere 5 hours away makes me giddy with anticipation!
As promised, here are the pictures from Christmas Eve & New Year's Eve.... enjoy!
Christmas Eve -
Presents!
My brother, Daniel
Ryan's excited about his Lowe's gift card from Daniel :)
See? Still happy about it ~
My Dad :)
Mom opening her gift from us :)
DELICIOUS Yankee Candle that my brother got me
Ryan's new dressy coat ~
What could this be?
It says "Canon".. that's a good sign!
IT'S A DVD RECORDER!!! (see? I'm not always photogenic.. at all)
We look awfully excited, don't we? :)
And now....... my parents' BIG GIFT!
Fishing through the tissue paper....
The moment she realized what it was! She started crying right after this :)
She asked my Dad, "Do you know what this is?!"
It's official! Now they know.. there are THREE of us in this picture! :)
Happy 2007! We had a very nice New Year's Eve spent with family. (With Ryan's parents up in PA with Grampa, we had to change plans.) It started out as a pretty small gathering (as far as our family gatherings are concerned!) but we wound up with close to 20 people by the time the ball dropped.
We had reserved a spot at a new kennel for Tucker, since we were going to be gone over New Year's weekend. Our favorite place was already full, and this new kennel had ONE whole opening. Anyway, when our plans were cancelled, we found out that the kennel had a 5-day cancellation policy.. we found this out with about 3 days notice. Our options were either pay 50% of the entire stay, or just go ahead and send him. Obviously, we chose option B, and we were SO GLAD we did; it was a really nice break. :)
This place, though, was awesome. I would've stayed there if they let me. It was nestled on a 90 acre farm, complete with a dozen or so horses, and the kennel itself was housed in a picturesque barn. (complete with Christmas lights, and wreaths, even) They play classical music 24/7 to calm the dogs, (as crazy as it sounds, it seemed to work.., none of them barked when I came in) They had extras you could purchase, (which we didn't) including "nature hikes" and individual play time; oh, and you could even request scrambled eggs and other human-food for your pooch. All of the dogs had play time, grouped by size. When Ryan picked Tucker up yesterday, he was told that Tucker had played very nicely, and was welcome back anytime. (I guess you can be banned from this place) Tucker was happy and plump when he came home!
I'm approximately 7 weeks, 3 days pregnant today. :) According to my ticker, baby's fingers and toes are lengthening, and his or her brain is beginning to grow. Baby should also look more like a baby now via U/S, and is approximately the size of a small raspberry. :) My first appointment is TOMORROW at 2:00, and I couldn't possibly be more thrilled. Unless, of course, the appointment were today. ;-) Still feeling sick, and exhausted, but that's more than fine by me.
I should have pictures from Christmas/New Year's posted tomorrow morning, so feel free to check back! And I'll definitely be scanning in some ultrasound pictures after our appointment, but that could take till Monday or so.
