1st ultrasound & a week further than we thought

So, today was the big day to see our little peanut on the monitor.

I was SOOOOOOOOO nervous before going in. Our appointment was at 7:30am and I had to drink 32 oz's of water before going ( that was fun lol).

We got right in and I really thought I was going to need the vaginal ultrasound because I've heard that's what you get for your 1st one. I was prepared, I shaved my legs for the occasion and well, that doesn't happen very often. haha

Little did I know, I didn't have to get the vaginal. YAY! I thought that'd be a little weird with Daddy A in there with me. Yes, I know he's going to be seeing a lot more giong on with my body than a little vaginal ultrasound but still.

She found the baby right away....we both cried. Daddy A tried to hide it but I could see the tears in his eyes. :-)

Then she said, "lets hear the heartbeat." Well, she didn't have to say that twice. There it was. We cried some more! haha WHAT.AN.AMAZING.SOUND. I was prepared to be emotional but not THAT emotional. It truly was the best sound I've ever heard. It was beating at 155 beats a minute and the heart was flickering so fast. It was just amazing. I'm sorry, there's no other word for it.

Also, I thought I was 7 weeks 3 days but I guess according to the size of the baby, I'm 8 weeks 2 days. YAY to almost a week further along than we thought!

I love my little peanut more than anything and I can't wait to see him./her again in December when we find out the sex. I hope he/she cooperates!

Here is the picture you've all been waiting for.

7 weeks

OK, I'm really bad with posting these on the actual day that I turn the next week. I'm sorry but I'm pretty tired now a days. lol

So, here we are at 7 weeks as of yesterday! Wow, I can't believe we've known about this pregnancy for almost 4 full weeks. I feel like it was just yesterday that we found out. Is that a precursor of how fast this whole pregnancy is going to go? I'll be honest with you, I do want the first trimester to go fast because well, a couple reasons; 1) I'm hoping the morning sickness will go away and 2) after the first tri, your chances of miscarrying go way down.

In 2 days, we get to see our peanut. OMG, we're sooooo excited to finally see what's going on in there. I'm preparing myself that we may not hear the heartbeat but I know we will see it. I'm also hoping that my due date will be changed to make me further along. I really don't think that's going to happen though as I KNOW when I ovulated so we shall see.

How am I feeling?.... Well, actually, pretty good. No wonderful but ok. I have my good and bad days. When it's a bad day, it isn't fun, all I want to do is lay down and take a nap. I really hate working right now and I blame it on being pregnant. I mean, I've never liked working but right now, I HATE it! I'm not sure why.

What am I looking forward to.... I told you, I'd talk about it every week until it happened SO.....I'm really looking forward to our ultrasound on Wednesday morning. It's going to be such a surreal feeling.

Any weight gain yet? Shockingly, no. I'm really happy and surprised about this. Although, I haven't been eating a ton because of the m/s and I haven't been craving any sweets. The mere thought of sweets actually makes me feel sick and I'm a sweets lover! Nothing has really given me a craving yet except the McDonald's fries and Mac 'n' Cheese. My good friend, Taylor, helped me with the Mac 'n' Cheese though. She made us a big tin of it and let me tell you, it's yummmmmmmmmmmmmmy!!

I bought a belly band. I'm not in need of it yet but I thought I would probably need it in a few weeks so I bought it to be prepared. It feels so weird, it's pretty tight feeling but I guess it has to be tight to hold on my unbuttoned pants. haha

How big is baby?...Aww, the size of a blueberry. How cute! :-)

Sleep?...I'm still doing pretty good with sleep, thank God. I know that will change once my belly gets bigger.

Emotions...Well, they go up and down. haha Today I had a down day. I just wanted to cry at work for no reason too. Sigh!!! And it's only going to get worse. My poor hubby!

New sensation...my nipples are burning. Oh what fun! HA! They are also growing already. I really hope they don't grow TOO big TOO fast because bra's are expensive and I'm not ready to buy newer, bigger ones. Sheesh!

Well, here is what you're all really waiting for....week 7's picture. Now, I swear, I don't look like this in normal street clothes and I'm not pushing it out at all.

Here's week six next to week 7.

Week 7's picture makes me think it's a girl because it looks pretty high. Now, I know this isn't an accurate indicator but I'm going to think that. lol I can't wait to see what the heart rate is going to be so I can guess on that too. :-)

Here is a little prayer for week 7 from a book my Mom got me. It's a beautiful book that I think every pregnant woman should have.

     "Lord, my baby's heart has been beating for a couple of weeks, but now it can be detected by an ultrasound. I can't wait to see and hear that little hear beating for myself!

     My baby's heart has both a right and left chamber now. Every day his inner workings get more and more complex- readying this little person for the outside world.

     God, I know that the actual heart isn't where our emotions live-but that's the symbolism we  use in our culture. I so want my child to be tender-hearted, never calloused or uncaring. I want him to empathize with the plight of others. I wan his heart to be pliable-easily squeezed with joy and even easily constricted with pain. I hate to think of his heart being broken, but a heart heart lacks the capacity to know true love.

     Lord, will you give him a soft heart, yet protect it as well? May he have a heart for the things you love.

     In Jesus' name, Amen."

Wow, more great news!!

September has been such an amazing month for us. On September 1^st, we found out we are expecting and then yesterday, September 22^nd, we got a call from our Realtor that we FINALLY got a house. We have been looking since the middle of January and we put this offer in on May 15^th. It has been over 4 months and we were beginning to think it was never going to happen.

Well, little did we know, the Lord had a big plan in store for us. He got us a baby AND a house all at once. Wow. We are SO happy and a little nervous at the same time. We can’t wait to get out of our 1 bed/1 bath, 800+ square foot apartment. It’s too small and there’s no room for baby stuff OR a baby. Haha

We enter escrow on Monday, the 27^th and we should know more information about when we’ll close and stuff. Woohoooooooooooooooo!!

So, Daddy A was at class last night when I got the call from our Realtor. Of course, I couldn’t wait so I text him the good news and he was super excited.

I was making tacos and I just started crying. I couldn’t stop. I was so thankful for what the Lord has given us this month that I truly feel extremely blessed. It’s such an amazing feeling. Our lives are moving forward and we couldn’t be happier!

I will post pictures when I get home!

Telling my In-laws

So, we wanted to tell my in-laws in person since we were going up to see them shortly after we found out. Also, because I wasn't able to tell my parents in person.

Keeping this secret for 2 weeks was SO hard.

Thursday, the 16th, my Father-in-law had to work until 2:30ish so we had to go the whole day without telling his Mom. Wow, that was hard. We even started talking about sleep and some other things that I'd have to get used to when we did have a child.

After he got home from work, he had to run some errands but we told him to grab a beer and take a seat outside with us before he did these said errands. That's when my anxiety hit. I knew we had to do this soon. I went inside to use the bathroom and heard Daddy A's phone beeping so I thought, well, perfect opportunity to call him inside. We grabbed the onesies and the picture.

The onesies said "What happens at Grandma's stays at Grandma's" and "I heart Grandpa" and we put the "We are pregnant" picture in the middle.

We told them to close their eyes and that we had gotten them a present. When they opened their eyes, it was hilarious. Here is the video....

6 weeks

I was 6 weeks as of Sunday, September 19th.

We were in Northern California visiting Daddy A's family and Daddy A was in a wedding on the 18th as well. We hadn't told any of his family yet so we were really looking forward to sharing the news with his family. I will do another post about all that.

So, Sunday I make 6 weeks and the nausea hits FULL force. I was feeling so sick Sunday, the whole ride home on Monday and realllllly bad today at work. I was on the verge of crying until my friend Sarah saved my day. She brought me some Organic apple slices and I was surprised at how well they settlled my stomach. Thanks Sarah!! Oh, and I went out and bought my own during lunch. hehe

How am I feeling?....Well, I wish I could say I was feeling good but I'm not. :-( I wake up feeling nauseas and it doesn't really go away. The only time I feel ok is when I'm sleeping. ha I wish I could just sleep the first trimester away. I know, I know, I shouldn't wish any of this pregnancy to go faster because it'll be over before I know it.

What's been on my mind?....Other than the neasea, you mean? Just keep thinking about the first ultrasound. Also, been thinking about the birthing process and preparing myself to go au-naturale. Yes, with NO pain medication. I am planning to prepare myself in every way possible so that when the time comes, I am in the right mind set. I know I can do it. Many Many MANY women have done it so I know I can too! I will have many people there encouraging me as well; Midwife, Doula, Daddy A and probably my Mom too.

What am I looking foward to?....This won't change until after the 29th......THE 1ST ULTRASOUND!!!

Without further ado, here is my 6 week picture. I don't feel like I look this "big" and I quote big because I know I'm not but I really don't think I look like this. Maybe it's just a little bloat. lol

And here are weeks 4, 5 and 6 all next to each other....oh, and I'm not pushing it out either. lol

1st Doctor's appointment

Yesterday, September 13th, I had my first Dr's appointment. I was sooooo excited even though I knew I wasn't going to be getting an ultrasound.

When I got there, I had to pee in a cup so they could do a pregnancy test, even though I had positives at home. I think this is silly but whatever.

I get in the room and there's a "diaper bag" full of pamphlets, little books, a pregnancy book to record stuff through the pregnancy. It was really cool and I was pretty excited about it. I read through a few things before my Midwife came in (yes, I am using a Midwife, not an OB...this will be another post later).

I had seen her a month ago for my annual visit and we talked about infertility testing. That appointment was originally for yesterday but when I found out that I was pregnant, I called, cancelled that appointment and made my first prenatal visit. That was a great feeling.

So, my Midwife walks in and says "Stacy....are you knocked up already?" We both laughed and talked about how excited we were. She's wonderful, I really do love her and can't wait to go through this process with her. I can't wait for Daddy A to meet her.

So, they did blood work and she asked me some medical history questions and other questions to get us thinking, like "will we do genetic testing?", "if we have a boy, will we circumcise?", etc.

My first ultrasound appointment got set up and it's on SEPTEMBER 29th at 7:30AM!!! I had to do it at this time as Daddy A is in school and it was just too hard to do it later in the evening. We cannot WAIT for this day....to see/hear the heartbeat, see our little peanut in there moving around. I can't even imagine that feeling but I know I'll be crying. haha

And of course, she asked me how I was feeling. I responded with "great, I'm tired and hungry all the time but no nausea yet." Well, I should have knocked on wood because it started TODAY!!! I woke up not feeling so hot and it never went away all day. It's not bad, thank God, but it's there and I guess it's Baby A's way of letting me know he/she is doing ok in there and for me to relax. Thanks my little peanut! :-)

Tomorrow, we are making our way up to Northern Cal to see Daddy A's family. Daddy A is in his cousin's wedding on Saturday. We are making the long road trip, of about 10+ hours. We are hoping to leave around 1pm instead of 3:30pm. I really HATE driving through the night, I just can't stay awake!

I will update while we are there and after we tell Daddy A's parents that they are going to be Grandparents. Oh, how fun!!

5 weeks

Wow, 5 weeks already?! I feel like I just found out...ok, well, I really did just find out. lol

Tomorrow is my Dr's appointment and let me tell you, I AM SOOOO EXCITED!!!! I won't be having an ultrasound but I'll be having bloodwork, I believe and probably some other things. I'm not quite sure.

So, how am I feeling?.... I feel really good, still. I'm VERY tired though. I took a nap today and on Friday. It's not like me to take naps because I usually wake up even more tired than I was when I fell asleep but I just couldn't help it. I'm still very very hungry all the time. Also, my thirst has been off the charts as of today. It's crazy....I think I've had probably 6-8 big glasses and I'm STILL thirsty! Sheesh.

What's been on my mind?....Finally going to the Dr's and my first ultrasound. I hope they tell me tomorrow when I can get the ultrasound. I will feel a LOT better once I see my little peanuts heartbeat.

What am I looking foward to?....See above. lol

Random thoughts....We're heading up to Northern California Wednesday after work and we're really excited. We're finally telling my In-laws that they will be grandparents. We can't wait. And Daddy A's cousin is getting married and he's a groomsman, it will be a lot of fun.

Without further ado, here's my 5 week picture. I don't think there's much of a change yet. lol

Again, no make up, my hair isn't straightened, I just got out of the shower and was getting ready for bed.

Here is my 4 week 1 day picture compared to 5 weeks.

Now that I look at them next to eachother, I think my boobs have gotten bigger. haha Oh geez, just what I need. And I do notice a little bit of a difference. Week 5 picture looks pointier. (I'm wearing the same pants and same shirt for reference. What do you think?

My first baby package & gift

I got my first baby package today from my Mom and her Boyfriend. They included some NY Giants and NY Yankees gear. YAY! Our child, boy or girl, will be wearing both of those teams along with the SF 49er's and possibly SF Giants. Oh BOY!!! haha I love them all. Giants booties, along with a boy and girl set of booties and a Yankees bib! Awwww!!

Also, my friend Sarah got me 2 onesies the day after I told her I was pregnant; 1 for a boy and 1 for a girl.  Then she bought me a cloth diaper at a new store in Scottsdale. It was so cute and teeny tiny. Then today she brought me another one she won on Ebay, a cow pattern. She's so nice! :-)

Here's our diaper stash so far....they are all cloth. The ones in the front are more for newborns and the ones in the back are for bigger babies but will grow more with them than the newborn sized ones.

And here's our onesie stash so far. Yes, I have an issue with buying baby things, I know this. And once we know the sex, it's going to get even WORSE!!! Woohooo!! The pink striped, ones on the left, were the very first baby items I bought myself and of course when I bought them, probably 8 months ago, a girl in line asked me if they were for me. I had to lie. hahaha

And finally a set of bibs I bought the other day. Gender neutral stuff is few and far between, it makes me a little upset. lol These are really cute though.

Restlessness is starting already?

Really? Is that possible? I thought I had 8 more months to get ready for this peanut to come out and give me as little sleep as possible.

Well, apparently, I was wrong.

Last night, I was exhausted but could  NOT fall asleep. I couldn't get comfortable, I was hot, then I was cold............

If this is how the next 8-9 months are going to be, Daddy A is in a world of hurtin' too. hehe

I really hope I can get some better sleep soon because restless nights won't be fun especially when the belly comes, which I really can't wait for.

Also, I had my first really weird pregnancy dream last night. It's hard to explain but I was on a plane with 2 random people and we were going to London. I sent my carry-on bag under the plane so I didn't have my ticket or license but apparently that didn't matter because I got on the plane anyways. The plane was HUGE! I started crying (not sure why) so I got up, ran off the plane, wondered around the airport for a little while and then tried to get back on the plane but they wouldn't let me. And that's all I remember.....WEIRD!

Reactions from Family & Friends

Originally before we got pregnant, I always said I wouldn't tell people until I was close to 12 weeks, except my family, of course. Well, I threw that rule out the second I found out I was pregnant.

We found out Wednesday, September 1st....bad idea, I know, because I had to go to work but I just HAD a feeling that I was pregnant. How in the heck was I going to be able to function at work knowing this wonderful secret that I just wanted to yell to the whole world? Well, I had to tell my closest work friends, Sarah and Kayleen because they knew our trials and tribulations of trying to get pregnant.

So, I brought the pregnancy test to work with me because 1) I wanted to look at it over and over again throughout the day and 2) I knew they wouldn't believe me if I just told them. lol

They were so excited. Sarah cried a little and Kayleen basically tackled me to the ground (ok, not really but she jumped on me).

I went to lunch with said friends to celebrate. Once I got in the car, I just HAD to call my Mom. She's known everything since we started TTC and I just couldn't keep it from her any longer. I really wanted to try to do something cute after work, maybe Skype or something but my excitement got the better of me.

I called and we made small talk about the weather back in NY and what she was doing. She asked if we had heard any news on the house (that was her first thought, that we got the house) and I said "nope, no news on the house buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut I'M PREGNANT!" She swore a little, didn't believe it to be true at first but then started crying, which caused me to cry and then Sarah and Kayleen joined in with some tears. What a fun thing to tell your Mom. She's going to be a GRANDMA for the first time. Woohooo!! I felt a lot better after telling her. We continued talking throughout the day through text messages about how excited we were. :-)

Now, I knew my sister-in-law (SIL) would be asking me any day if I had gotten my period. She asked me the week before and I told her I should be getting it the following week so she said "ok, I'll ask you again next week." So, I text her and told her. She couldn't believe it. I think she may be having a harder time keeping it a secret than I am. She wants to tell everyone too that she's going to be an Aunt. Well, we haven't told her parents yet (we're telling them next Thursday when we see them up in Cali) so it's been difficult for her.

David & Lacey...my cousin-in-laws and very good friends. Lacey has been following me with my TTC journey as well and knows about when I was ovulating and when to expect my dear friend Aunt Flo so she was asking if I was going to take a test soon. (this was Thursday) I had to lie to her because, again, I wanted to tell her in person. So, Friday we went over to their house just to hang out. I was soooo anxious to tell them that I got one of the pictures of us below (holding the pee stick) and I said "I have a picture for you but first I want to apologize for lying to you" and I handed it to her. It took her about 2 seconds and then she screamed, hugged me and then we both started crying.

Aaaah, it's so fun telling people in person.

My close girl friends here in AZ, were ecstatic as well as they knew how badly we wanted this and how long it had been taking us. I love them!

We have more family to tell when in California and hopefully even more after the first ultrasound. Not sure when that'll be, maybe 3-4 weeks. Seems like forever, I know, but I'm sure it'll be here before we know it!

I love my family and friends. I really do feel truly blessed to have them all in my life and our little one (LO) will have soooo much love given to him/her, I just can't wait to meet him/her!!! :-)

First picture

So, I took my first "belly" picture last night. I wish I took it on Sunday as that will mark the start of a new week but I just didn't think of it on Sunday.

I don't really have a pregnancy belly yet. My stomach was NOT flat before I got pregnant so there's a little bulge but it's not from said baby. haha

How am I feeling?..... I feel pretty good. I'm constantly hungry and my lower back is really hurting. Go figure. As if I could go through this pregnancy with OUT back pain. I can't go a day even when I'm not pregnant without any back pain. No nausea yet, thank God, although I have been hoping to have some just so I know things are going the way they should be. But, I will appreciate it now as I heard it usually starts around 6 weeks. As of today, (Tuesday 09.07.10) I'm only 4 weeks 2 days.

What's been on my mind: I just want to go to the Dr to get my bloodwork done and get my first ultrasound, just so I know everything is ok. I've been a wreck and honestly, I didn't think I would be. I haven't been able to sleep in. I've been able to fall asleep and stay asleep but once I'm up, I'm up and that's never been the case.

What am I looking forward to? Seeing our little peanut on the monitor with a strong heartbeat! That's all I can think about. I know I probably have around 4 more weeks until then too. Gosh, it's going to feel like forever. lol

Well, without further ado, here's my first photo....now, I had NO makeup on, my blowdryer broke the day before so I didn't do my hair, it was right before bed and I just wanted a picture so I don't look so hot. haha

First letter to Baby A

To my little miracle, my shining star....

Tomorrow will mark the day that you are 4 weeks (according to my calculations). From now until 10 weeks, all of your organs will begin to develop and some will even begin to function. As a result, this is the time when you'll be most vulnerable to anything that might interfere with your development. I want you to know that I will NEVER do anything to jeopardise your health or development. I have been taking prenatal vitamins for over a year and I'm giving you Omega 3's with DHA to help your brain develop so you can be a little smarty pants! ;-)

Right now you are an embryo the size of a poppy seed, consisting of two layers: the epiblast and the hypoblast, from which all of her organs and body parts will develop.

I cannot wait to see you on the monitor moving around, looking like a little peanut. You are my little peanut. You have made me realize there's a love greater than I ever knew possible. I knew I loved you before you were even conceived but now that I know you have made a little home inside my belly, you will never understand the love I have for you.

Daddy and I talk about how excited we are to see you grow and can't wait for the day that we can meet you.

I went to a baby store today with a couple girl friends to look for cloth diapers for you. There are SO many different kinds to chose from. I have a few already saved for your little bottom. Oh, that little bottom....it's going to be so sweet and soft.

Well, my sweet angel, you continue to grow healthy and strong. Your Mommy and Daddy love you more than anything!!!

xoxoxo
Your Mommy

It's official....WE ARE PREGNANT!!

I'm still in a state of shock, I'm not going to lie.

Let me give you a little background for those of you who don't know our journey.

We started TTC (trying to conceive) in October 2009. We thought, lets just see what happens. It can't be that hard to get pregnant, right? I mean, I see atleast 2 pregnant women a day.

Well, we quickly realized it wasn't as easy as we thought. So, when we realized it was a lot harder than just having sex (sorry folks), we knew we had to do something else. I started charting along with a few other things I won't mention. If you don't know what charting is, it's when you take your temperature every morning at the same time. You monitor your temps and when it spikes and stays up, that means you've ovulated. When it starts to go back down past your cover line (your average temp) then that means your period is about to come.

I charted for 7 months....wow, it was starting to consume my life but I know it's the reason we are pregnant today!!

I also went to a see a Naturopathic Dr, Daddy A got a Semen Analysis (came back normal) and I set up an appointment for Sept 13th to talk about testing. HA....don't need that appointment anymore. YAY!

So, Wednesday September 1, 2010, I woke up at 5:30 am to take my temperature and noticed it had gone up. I was only 11 days past ovulation (DPO) but thought, "eh, why not, we'll see what happens. If it's negative, I'll take another one tomorrow." Well.....the first one was a cheap test and the second line was VERY faint. I had only 1 digital test and decided to go for it......................PREGNANT!!! I stood there, with my mouth to the ground freaking out. Daddy A was sleeping and I had to shower so I hopped in. I immediately start to cry and thank the Lord for blessing us with this miracle.

I get out of the shower and decide I just have to tell Daddy A (I really wanted to do something cute lol) and I said "I took a pregnancy test and it said pregnant." He said "holy shit, are you serious?" I would NOT lie about something we've been waiting, hoping and praying for, for 10 months.

Unbelieveable day. A day, we will never forget. A day, I will tell to many many people. A day I still have to tell to a few more very important people!!

This is the beginning of a very important journey for us and I hope you're ready to watch Baby A and my belly grow because I'll be putting it all out there (here).

My first Dr's appointment is set for September 13th. There will be no ultrasound but probably just blood work to "confirm" pregnancy. I can't waaaaaaaaaaaaaait!!!!

Here's a picture for your viewing pleasure!!