Milk Cow in the Making

On Wednesday we had our 20 week appointment, which was really exciting. We are having a little boy! When the Technician first started looking at the baby with the Ultrasound he was sitting Indian Style and was not showing us a thing. After a few minutes he grabbed his feet with his hands and pulled his legs up to his face, as if he were saying Peek-A-Boo. The technician examined all the babies organs and took his measurements. We got a kick out of watching the positions he would get in like putting his elbows on his knees and his feet in his face. The Dr said the baby looks wonderful but she also warned that she still saw some of the blood clot that caused the big scare a month an a half ago. She said I might still bleed so she said don't be too alarmed. Russell finally got to hear the babies heart beat and I was very entertained by him during the ultrasound. Instead of sitting in the chair and watching the screen I was watching Russell stood directly behind the technician and watched on her computer screen while pointing to different things asking what is that and is that normal? I have never in my life felt so relieved to go to the restroom since they make you have a completely full bladder for the ultrasound and then they push pretty hard. I have already started lactating and the Dr said while that is not common it is normal. She said that I shouldn't have any trouble with my milk coming in since I will get twenty weeks of practice lactation. Russ and I have agreed that I am a milk cow in the making!

Two pounds and a stretch mark

Russell joined me yesterday for a Dr's appt. My Dr was very excited that I had gained two pounds, since I have lost eleven since I became pregnant. She said that I am growing as I should be and she said the morning sickness should subside soon. She said most people with bad morning sickness have it until about week 18, so hopefully next week I will start to see it go away as well. I made my appt for the big ultrasound, it will be on Nov 12th and we are planning to find out what we are having. I am so excited I can't hardly wait. Nov 9th will mark the beginning of my 20th week and the half way point in my pregnancy. My first stretch mark showed up this last week, it's small and right above my belly button. I am sure there are many more of those to come. Russell finally broke down and told his boss and coworkers that we were having a baby, he also noted that he was scared to death but looking forward to it. I am glad he is finally talking about it. His boss has a little boy and is very understanding and is trying to give Russell advice. It's kinda cute really and funny at the same time to see how men view things. He also was telling Russell that he needed to be helpful and understanding because my body was going through hard times. I was like Thanks Scott!

You are just one of those people!

I woke up on Tuesday morning to a pool of blood and another scare. I was planning on working all morning and then flying out to return home for my grandpa's funeral. Instead I stayed in bed and called my Dr as soon as her office opened to schedule an emergency visit. I had my third ultrasound and the babies heartbeat was strong. The said that the placenta was really low, about an inch from my cervix. They said it should move up by itself but if it doesn't I will be having a c-section. The Dr said the bleeding was from not only the location of the placenta and but the place that was causing me to spot earlier in my pregnancy was finally bleeding out. The Dr also said I was just going to be a bleeder so not to compare myself with any of my friends because things were going to be different for me. She told me some signs to watch for and said that everything else looked great. She said to continue to rest and not to lift anything heavier than a milk jug. A friend and I have been working on a baby registry. A few of my girlfriends are throwing me an online baby shower so that those of you who can't come to my shower can still participate. There will be more details to come on that.

12 Weeks and Growing

12 Weeks and Counting

I am just around the corner from the second trimester and I couldn't be more excited. The morning sickness is getting better. I am no longer sick all day just mornings or just evenings. I will definitely be glad when that part is gone altogether. Although, I have such a week stomach and and am so sensitive to smell, I have this feeling that my days of hugging the throne are far from over. The other day I stepped on a bug and that got my stomach in a knot and some of the foods that people eat at work really make me nauseated. I won't see the doctor again until Sept 26th but I am looking forward to it already. My belly is getting a little bigger each week. I am going to try to post pictures at the end of every month.

Eat, Drink and Be Lazy

I had my first official appointment at the Women's Clinic on Thursday Morning. That day started off really rough. I was already running later than I had hoped and on the way there I had to stop twice to deal with morning sickness at its finest. I passed a sewer plant on the way there and normally I could deal with that awful smell but not this time. I also decided that my Dr's Clinic is in the best and worst location all at the same time. It's right across the street from the hospital in Loveland so that is convenient however for us weak stomachs it is not very fun to drive through 5 roundabouts to get there, hence the second stop on my way to the clinic.

I arrived ten minutes late and only to received a blessing from GOD. My doctor had just finished delivering a baby and was running late as well. It was nice to finally meet the woman who is going to be taking care of me and the baby. She was really sweet and seemed very compassionate when I told her how awful I had been feeling. She did an exam on me and then went into the hallway to retrieve the Doppler heart monitor machine. She spread ultrasound goo all over me and started looking for the babies heart beat. She couldn't find it and said that it was because I was still very early into the pregnancy but she wanted to reassure me and check into the reason I was spotting to see if the spot was healing so she ordered another ultrasound.

While I was waiting for an ultrasound she told me that she was a little concerned about my weight and I asked why. She said well you have lost 7 pounds in one week and that's not good.

We went in for the ultrasound and the baby had a strong heart beat of 167 beats per minute and the baby looked great. The spot I was bleeding from is healing and my Dr was very pleased. Her final note that she left me with was eat, drink and be lazy. I have to monitor my weight and if it decreases any more they are going to put me on medication for nausea and a strict diet.

I am so excited that even through all the scares and though all the times I have spent hugging the porcelain God that the baby is doing wonderful. I hope my second trimester is going to be so much better than the first. God has truly blessed us.

First Ultrasound

After many prayers an a lot of stress I called into the Nurses hot line on Tuesday night as I had been spotting for four days. The nurse asked a million questions and then gave me some ideas on what could be causing the bleeding. The next morning the nurse that helps my Dr (whom I have yet to meet) called me to check on me saying she received a message that I had called in and was a little worried. She scheduled me for an emergency ultrasound just to make sure that everything was alright. So I took the afternoon off from work and went to see the Dr. The Dr's first words were we have a baby and we have a heart beat.......I sighed a huge sigh of relief because your chances of miscarriage go down once the baby's heartbeat is found! So she showed me the baby up on the screen from every different angle and I made the comment to her that it looked kinda like a lizard at this point and she said no more like a dinosaur. Then she turned the sound on so I could hear the babies heart beat, she said it was beating 171 beats per minute. After looking around on the ultrasound she came across a spot behind the placenta that was hemorrhaging and said that sometimes that happens and it will heal over. I was so relieved to figure out what was causing the bleeding and that the baby was looking good. I sure wish Russell could have been there to see the ultrasound and hear the heart beat however he is in California on a wildfire. He will have other chances though. The Dr I saw for my emergency appointment is not the one that I have chosen however she was the only one available that day so I will see my Dr. on August 28th. Until then I have been told to take it easy and to not lift anything heavier than a milk jug. I told my mom darn I can lift the detergent to wash laundry or the Clorox jug to clean. YEAH RIGHT! I will try to post ultrasound pictures soon, they are not scanning clear enough so I am going to have to figure out some other way to get them on here. I will update my blog after my next appointment on the 28th!

8 Weeks

Russell and I are very excited to announce that we are pregnant with our first bundle of joy. I am due on March 29, 2009 four days after our second wedding anniversary. I have already been to the doctor to confirm my pregnancy with lab work, but my first official visit will be on August 28th and we will be able to hear the babies heart beat then. I will post pics of the growing belly on here as well as the ultrasound pics.

For those of you who haven't heard the stories of how we let our families know and how I told Russell I will fill you in. I wrapped up a very small paint brush, some sand paper and a small roller brush with a note that said "There's prepping, sanding and painting to do. Will it be pink or will it be blue?" For our moms I sent them a picture frame with a sheet of paper in that I decorated with baby stickers and it said Picture Coming March 29, 2009. For our siblings I sent them a framed sheet of paper that said "Roses are red, Violets are blue, I need an aunt, In 9 months it's You!"

We have reached the eight week mark! I started experiencing morning sickness the first day of week six and it has been going strong for a few weeks. I have finally made it to a point where I can keep food down, but I still am constantly dealing with nausea. I have been craving cheese burgers like crazy, I often go to Sonic at seven o'clock in the morning because that is the only place I know that serves the full menu all day. I have to eat just about every two hours or I feel sick and I start to get a headache. I have already started wearing maternity pants most days because I can't get my regular jeans buttoned. I am starting to show a little bit already.