25 weeks...and some change

Today marks 25 weeks 3 days > 102 days left!.  LO is the size of an eggplant this week and Parker is now about 1.5 pounds and is approximately 14 inches long from crown to rump.  His movements are becoming more pronounced every day and I love to sit up in bed and watch my belly jump and roll.

My mom and I picked up the nursery furniture yesterday!  =o)  It's so exciting...I wish I had a nursery to assemble them in (we're in the middle of some renovations).  But that's okay.  It will be just as exciting, if not more, in the next few weeks.  We bought a set from Burlington Coat Factory with a crib, chest of drawers and changing table.  I like them very much.

As far as pregnancy symptoms this week?  Well, the heartburn is back...with a vengeance!  I keep a bottle of Tums with me at all times!  And my ankles!!!!!  Oh man, they're beginning to swell.  It's not cute, especially since I'm on my feet all day at work.  I've had some people remark that I have that "glow" now, which I don't see at all.  But hey, I don't mind them saying it one little bit.  And I love how I've begun to notice how people/patients no longer question whether or not I'm pregnant.  Instead of hesitantly asking "are you pregnant?" like they don't want to insult me, they now ask "when are you due?"  It's fabulous and I know that I light up whenever someone asks.

I have my glucose tolerance test next Monday - the day after Mother's Day.  I'm nervous but slightly excited for the simple reason that it marks another milestone in my pregnancy (I will be just 2 days away from my last week of the 2nd trimester).

I'm attempting to do better with my posting, so I will write again soon!

14 weeks!!! :)

I officially passed the 14 week mark on Saturday, and am now in the 2nd Trimester! Mr. DBud and I are SUPER happy to have made it this far, and can't wait for what's to come!

Luckily, the MS has let up, and seemed like it was just a temporary thing. I actually started to think that it could've been a slight virus. In this area, "something" has been going around... And since I work with a lot of teachers and lots of students (I work at an extremely large school) I was bound to catch something. As you may know, I had that terrible cold, followed by pink eye. I've never had "morning sickness" before, so I am not really sure what to expect or how to really differentiate between MS and a mild stomach virus, but what I do know is that my stomach felt weak, sometimes to a point that all I could eat and drink were saltine crackers and sprite. Eating small, bland, meals more often helped a lot. I have been sticking to sprite, which has continued to help keep the nausea away.

Other than that, I still feel tired and drained. The weather this week is extremely gloomy and rainy, perfect for cuddling up in bed all day. It has been like this for the past two days, and threatens to remain this way through the rest of the week. I am hoping that it clears up a bit... But it doesn't look too hopeful :-/

We started a registry with Buy Buy Baby, adding gender neutral items that we will need. I even picked out "boy" bedding and "girl" bedding, until we find out what we are having. We can't wait to find out!!!! I am considering one of those 3D ultrasounds to determine gender. I have to pay for it out of pocket, but we are willing to do that :) Definitely entertaining the idea ;)

Anyway, we have our next OB appointment tomorrow. Hopefully we will be able to hear the heartbeat on the Doppler. I am also hoping that the weight gain won't be too excessive. Starting off the pregnancy overweight is bad enough, so I am constantly thinking about my weight gain throughout the pregnancy.

Speaking of which... I have one more thing to discuss before I wrap up this post, and that is unsolicited advice. I don't know where people get off thinking that their advice is welcomed and appreciated. I feel like wearing a t-shirt that says "Yes, I'm pregnant... No, I don't want your advice". Granted, there are some people who's advice I love and appreciate... But there are some people who who need to keep it to themselves. I don't know how many times I've already heard the whole "make sure you're eating right" speech. No... Really... I am going to eat only junk and greasy foods. I don't know if it's the hormones getting the best of me, and making me a little more cranky that usual... But I am already getting tired of the unwanted advice. Yes, I am aware that I am overweight, but I didn't get like this only because of my eating habits. PCOS is also to blame... But it's hard for some people to understand that. Oh well!

Anyway... Thanks for reading :) Until next time!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

27 weeks

I am now 27 weeks. It is the last week of my second trimester!
To recap my pregnancy so far-
The first trimester was really hard. I had a very hard time with my progesterone shots which I took twice a day until I was 13 weeks, and they caused me a lot of muscle pain. I also threw up constantly and never felt very good. I was pretty tiered too. The highlights were finding out I was pregnant after a tough 2ww, a good 6 week ultrasound with a heartbeat and another ultrasound at 9 weeks with a good heartbeat.
The second trimester really couldn't have gone any better. My nausea went away, I stopped all my meds, we found out we are having a girl. I had tons of energy and felt great. We met our embryo donors and their children too and really liked the whole family.  This trimester has gone by so quickly, it is hard to believe I am 27 weeks. I have still been feeling great except for heartburn here and there, but nothing too bad. I am excited to be heading into my third trimester soon, and hope and I keep feeling this great for a while longer. Oh, I believe I am 19.5 lbs over my pre  pregnancy weight. Yikes! Almost 20 lbs!

Our baby is just over 2 lbs and 14 1/2 inches from head to toe. She is now sleeping and waking at regular intervals and can open and close her eyes and may even be sucking her fingers.
I am still going to my yoga class once a week, and Mr. Lucky Bud and I are approaching our 4th Bradley childbirth education class. Both classes are fun and I look forward to them.

24 Weeks

This week are baby is officially viable! It is hard to believe that my friends 3 year old twins were born at 24 weeks. I am happy to say that they are perfectly healthy and both thriving! They are both little miracles!

We met with our donors last weekend. At 24 weeks is also the when our donor mom went into labor with her twins. She went on strict bed rest and was on her back for 12 weeks until they were born. I cannot imagine 3 months of not getting out of bed.

So, as you can see, we finally met our donors! This is something we have been looking forward to, and anticipating since we were matched. Our donors are wonderful, and it was so nice to finally be able to meet them. They even brought their 3 year old boy/girl twins, which I wasn't expecting. It was really cool to get a glimpse at what our daughter could look like.
I was touched to hear how much work and effort they put into just being accepted as donors by the National Embryo Donation Center. There was a lot of testing and paperwork that they had to go through in order to donate their embryos.

I also really felt for the mom, who this was clearly a difficult decision for. I could see that along with her happiness that their embryo will be able to have a life, there was also sadness that they weren't able to have her themselves. It makes me sad to see her pain. Thinking of being in their shoes, I honestly don't know if it is something I could do myself. I am so grateful for what they have done for us.

At 24 weeks our babies face is basically complete, and looking much like she will look when she is born. I am still feeling great with pretty much no pregnancy symptoms. I still have a cold, but am starting to feel a bit better. It is good because I have not been sleeping well with being so congested. I have my yoga class each week, which I look forward to. I am 153 lbs now. That is... 18 lbs over my pre pregnancy weight. Yikes. The pounds are adding up fast these days.

Baby girl is moving around tons these days. I am looking more into names lately. I think we do want an Indian name after all (did I mention our donors are East Indian?), so I am looking more at Sanskrit/Hindu names and trying to find one that I like that will be easy to pronounce and spell for Americans. I don't really know any Indian names right now, I am going to have to look at them one by one on the name website I have and see what stands out. Are there any Indian girl names that you know that you like?

24 Weeks

22 Weeks

I am 22 weeks pregnant now. This week our baby is almost 1 lb and 11inches according to babycenter.com, but different websites say different things for each week. I can feel her moving a lot these days, and the moment is stronger. I received the Doppler that I ordered. It is fun to be able to listen to her heartbeat and is a great reassurance.

I gained another pound this week which puts me at 12 lbs over my pre pregnacy weight. I am still feeling great overall. I do have some pain from my round ligament sometimes, but it is fine if I take it easy when it is hurting. I started a prenatal yoga class last week and am planning on taking it once a week until the end of my pregnancy.

We bought an '04 Toyota Sienna on ebay last weekend and Mr. Lucky Bud drove to Ohio to pick it up. We always have driven beaters, so this is the nicest car we have ever had and we are really excited.

22 Weeks

Things I Wish I'd Known

Several of these things are specific to being pregnant after a loss, but not all of them. These cover things through about Week 20 or so of the pregnancy. Maybe I'll do another one of these after delivery...



1) Getting pregnant after a loss is scary.

When I was TTC after my loss I had it in my head that getting pregnant again would magically make everything OK. It doesn't. Its scary to be pregnant again with a little one that you want so badly when you know so much about what can go wrong.


2) Spotting doesn't always mean miscarriage.

It can, in fact it did for me the first time around. This time though I spotted a lot (see chart) and he's still very much still around. I guess I'm pretty much a great example of the 50% chance they give you of a miscarriage when you're spotting. Spotting is terrifying though, especially when you've been down the road of it meaning the beginning of the end before.


3) Symptoms can come and go.

For a lot of ladies, the bulk of 1st Tri symptoms don't really start to kick in until around 6-7 weeks. For me, weeks 7-9 were the most worst. Its totally normal to feel nauseous or tired as anything one day and fine the next. The same has held true for my 2nd and 3rd Tri symptoms so far. Movement has come and gone. Swelling has come and gone.


4) Its common for 1st Tri symptoms to drop off around 10ish weeks.

My symptoms completely tanked around 9 weeks and were all but gone by 10 weeks. Turns out a ton of the ladies on Pregnant After A Loss (a board on The Bump) were experiencing the same thing. Pretty sure around that point is when the placenta takes over, making those annoying 1st Tri symptoms fade.


5) Not everyone gets morning sickness (or other 1st Tri symptoms) really bad and every pregnancy really is different.

I'd heard all these horror stories about morning sickness. None of them were true for me. To this day I've not puked when pregnant. I had nausea, sure, but only a handful of times was it to the point where I thought I might puke...and it was never in the morning. I was an evening nausea girl. I never had Super Smell with this pregnancy (did a little with the first one), just a sensitivity to a few odors. With my first pregnancy I was exhausted, this one just a few days here and there.


6) Make Mr. Metamucil your BFF.

Taking Metamucil (I'd recommend the clear and free kind that dissolves in just about anything) can really help you if you get backed up...something that is common in early pregnancy but that people don't often talk about. Other things like colace, fruit, drinking tons of water, etc can also help.


7) The days before ultrasounds are nervewrecking.

Having had my miscarriage confirmed via seeing my empty uterus on the big screen, I was terrified going in for ultrasounds early on. The worst, by far, was the one where I knew there should be a heartbeat but I had no tangible proof that the heart was in fact beating. I was scared beyond words walking into that appointment. Seeing that beautiful flicker was absolutely amazing, there just are no words. I've gotten better about ultrasounds now that I can feel him and he's passed his anatomy scan, but I still worry a little.


8) When you get news that your child might have something that will make his/her life more challenging...nothing else matters.

OK, I kind of knew that in theory going into pregnancy, but processing the news that our little one had a 1:10 chance for Down Syndrome (courtesy of the Quad Screening) was hands down the hardest moment thus far for this pregnancy. I just wanted our child to have the best chance at the best life possible...and hearing s/he might face extra challenges was hard. It did put things into perspective though and helped me realize that as disconnected as I'd felt from this pregnancy (emotionally protecting myself from another loss, I think) that I really did love the baby already.


9) The amnio wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

It was scary seeing the needle in the amniotic sac on the ultrasound screen, but the procedure itself didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. The worst part of the whole experience, by far, was waiting for the results. Given that I'll be of advanced maternal age for future pregnancies, thus increasing my risks for several things the amnio can check for, I'll likely get an amnio instead of the Quad Screening in future pregnancies. So many of the other tests they can do just give you odds of a problem or can't rule things out completely. With amnio they are checking the DNA and you get a definitive answer. Sometimes just knowing one way or the other what is going on is necessary...at least it was for me.


10) The first movements don't always feel like flutters.

For me it felt like a bug was crawling inside of me. Why everyone else gets butterflies and I got a giant beetle...I have no idea. I've heard other ladies describe the feeling they had as it being like a vibrating cell phone.


11) Its totally normal to only feel movement intermittently before the start of 3rd Tri.

Even if your little one has been predictable as anything with their movements, when they are still relatively tiny, sometimes they can get themselves into a position where you can't feel them. Sometimes their sleep/awake patterns can change as well. If you have any concerns, absolutely call your doctor or go into Labor & Delivery (I did)...just go in knowing that in most cases the baby is fine.


12) Registries: Baby Bargains, Lucie's List and a game plan

Walking into a Big Box baby store as a first time parent is overwhelming. I found doing some research beforehand really helped me calm down. I highly recommend the book Baby Bargains (2011), available on Amazon for about $11 (image credit: http://www.amazon.com/). They literally go through and rate every product by pretty much every manufacturer and outline things like features, recalls, etc. The book will more than pay for itself. Seriously. Another thing I found helpful was http://www.lucieslist.com/. This website outlines the bare minimum of what you really need for baby. I don't agree with all the recommendations for big ticket items (a personal preference thing), but the listings of how many of this, that and the other thing you really need was helpful.


When it comes time to actually register, do what you can online. When you go to the store (there will likely be things you'll want to see in person), keep in mind that you don't have to do it all in one day. We did strollers and car seats one week, cribs and pack n'plays the next...you get the idea. You can always tweak it online at home. Oh and another important tip-If you get tired, that's a GREAT time to try out the gliders. Just sayin'.

Double Digits!

(Image credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Go_99.png )

99 days until my due date!

Unbelievable to me to get this far. I've come a long ways from the 280 that the pregnancy started out at! 65% of the way done and inching ever-so-close to the 3rd Trimester.

Since I'm here, might as well do my 25 week update.

How far along: 25 weeks 6 days

Total weight change: Last I knew I was up 11.5...but its probably closer to 13 now. I really need to try and weigh myself again at home.

Maternity clothes: Round 2 of the maternity clothes has officially begun...courtesy of my boobs. They are apparently having another growth spurt. Up to a 40F from the 36D that I started out in. In the past couple weeks I've outgrown the bras I got at the beginning of 2nd Tri and it also became clear to me that a sundress I'd been hoping to enjoy in 3rd Trimester was too snug for the girls. I'm really hoping they are about done growing. I'm running out of places that sell my size bra & they are getting huge, sweaty and annoying in the summer heat.

Stretch Marks: Maybe the start of one. I'm not sure yet if its a stretch mark or a varicose vein.

Movement: He had the hiccups one morning earlier this week! The same movement repeated in the same place at an even timing for a few minutes. I used to get hiccups in utero all the time according to my mom, so at least I know the kid takes after me in some way. Other than the hiccups he's been pretty lethargic this week. I'm writing it off to the heat though. Our temps are up a good 10-15 degrees and we don't have AC. I figure if I'm lethargic, the baby probably is as well.

Sleep: Better than last week...at least its just the peeing waking me up now. Hint to those who have arms fall asleep when they sleep on their sides: Stick a pillow (I use my snoogle) under your ribs about where your boobs are. That seems to allow the blood to keep flowing to the arm for me.

Best Moment This Past Week: Fetal Hiccups. Distant second and third are reaching double digits and having shower gifts start showing up.

Most Difficult Moment This Past Week: Dealing with the heat this past week. For the most part I'm getting by, but there are times when it feels like I just can't cool off.

Belly Button In or Out: Definitely still in, but I think its getting shallower.

Cravings/Aversions: Icy cold goodness in any way that I can get it. Have I mentioned it's hot here this week???

Symptoms: Fetal hiccups, kicks, hunger, and the ever growing giant belly.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Getting past the EDD for my first pregnancy (July 15th). I can't believe that its just a week from today.

Bonus Bump pic for you:

View from above this morning

24 Week Update

How far along: Technically I'm a slacker and am doing the 24 week update a little late. I'm 25 weeks exactly today.

Total weight change: Had a doctors appt in the 24th week. I'm up 5 pounds in the last 4 weeks (apparently pretty par for the course for this stage of pregnancy). I think that brings my grand total to +11.5 at the doctors office. I guess this is the best spot to put that I had my glucose test this week. Passed the 1 hour!

Maternity clothes: I'm actually starting to outgrow some of the maternity clothes I got in 1st Tri. Mostly the belly is starting to poke out the bottom, but one sundress the girls are about to bust out of. Time for more shopping!

Stretch Marks: Still none. Counting my blessings on this one. For now.

Movement: This has been a touchy subject this week. From about Monday-Wednesday I was feeling little to nothing. A very pronounced change from the regular schedule and good wallops he's given me. I had a trip to labor & delivery to check up on him because of this (see previous post). He was fine, just burrowed in deep in my uterus so it was hard to feel him. He seems to be coming out of his hiding place some though. I saw my stomach move for the first time last night. So surreal! Oh & the most classy of all my symptoms this week, I had my very first sniss. Yup, passed the glucose test and snissed for the very first time right after finding out. Classic!

Sleep: Getting to be a joke. I'm up 2-3 times a night for bathroom trips and was up twice last night because my hands fell asleep (circulation issues).

Best Moment This Past Week: Hearing his heartbeat and finally feeling him move again when I was in L&D. I'd been so scared his change in movement was him giving me a sign something was terribly wrong. Finding out he was apparently fine brought tears to my eyes.

Most Difficult Moment This Past Week: Hands down the worry that came with not being able to feel his movements.

Belly Button In or Out: Definitely still in, but I think its getting shallower.

Cravings/Aversions: I've been loving me some brownies this week.

Symptoms: I actually had a decrease in movement for most of the week. New this week is an achiness in my extremities, especially my fingers. I'm not sure if its edema or carpal tunnel brought on by pregnancy...but either way its not too comfy. I've also found that my hands tend to get numb if they are raised above my heart (sleeping positions, carrying something, etc). Heartburn is stepping it up a notch, now coming a few times a week rather than once a week. My energy isn't what it used to be earlier in 2nd Tri either. Oh & I saw movement for the first time just yesterday.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Feeling this little bugger more, last week really gave me a scare. I'm also looking forward to being under a hundred days (double digits!!) during my 25th week.

20 Weeks!

(Image credit: http://humanities.byu.edu/elc/student/idioms/idioms/over_hill.html)

How far along: 20 weeks 5 days

Total weight change: +8 if you go by my scale at home, +6.5 if you go by the doctors office. I'm going by the doctors office, lol.

Maternity clothes: Pretty much all the time.

Stretch Marks: No, but I found a varicose vein. Boo!

Movement: He gave me a few good thumps a few days ago, but has been pretty inactive since. I'm still feeling a little something each day, but its less than before. Not liking this. I'm trying to remind myself that it's still early for regular movement and that there is a good chance he's facing the wrong way or something.

Sleep: Still up about 3 times a night for the bathroom.

Best Moment This Past Week: Crossing the halfway point in the pregnancy. Half baked, baby!

Most Difficult Moment This Past Week: Just the lessening of movement. He's still moving though, so in the scheme of things it really hasn't been difficult.

Belly Button In or Out: Definitely still in

Cravings/Aversions: Food. Especially ice cream.

Symptoms: Mostly the appetite. My feet are starting to get a little achy sometimes and of course the heartburn now and then.

What I'm Looking Forward To: DH being able to feel his son kick.

***I'll probably be kind of scarce around here the next couple of weeks. We have some traveling coming up and then are moving (again) as soon as we get home. If I'm not commenting or posting much, that's why. Good luck to everyone that is in their 2ww!***

24 week update

I can't believe 2nd trimester has flown by so quickly. I'm 24 weeks this week (24 weeks, 3 days today).

Back at the beginning of this pregnancy (~21 weeks ago), I thought this point seemed *so* far away. The point where I'd be done with appointments every four weeks, and be going every two. The point where I was getting ready to take my GD test. The point where our furniture would be delivered, or where we'd decide on names. The point where I'd finally be showing so the world wouldn't think I had just eaten too much. The point that we're almost done with childbirth classes. You know, the I'm-a-crazy-planner-so-technically-all-the-pre-baby-necessities-are-taken-care-of point.

Yet here we are. Crazy!

We had our 24-week midwife visit this week, and I'm measuring right on track. Fundal height is 24cm, which is right where it should be. I'm up 19 pounds (oops), but the midwives think it's on track, even if I gain another pound every week until the end. Baby's heart rate seems to stay between 135 and 145 every time it's checked, and s/he is moving around like a kickboxer throughout the day. My next appointment at 28 weeks will include my GD test and the start of every-other-week appointments (until 36 weeks).

I'm feeling great. Very little swelling (even with 95+ degree days), no constipation, less heartburn than I've ever had in my adult life...really I have no complaints right now. Of course, you could probably guess that my sleep is interrupted with frequent pee breaks, but when I'm not up to pee, I'm sleeping. I started acupuncture again this week, and my acupuncturist wants to see me again in 8-12 weeks, depending on how I'm feeling. At that point, we'll come up with an induction plan for once I'm full-term. In the meantime, she prescribed massages every 3-4 weeks, and chiropractic appointments to make sure everything's aligned (and stays that way).

Baby's furniture is being delivered tomorrow morning. I can't wait! We already have the co-sleeper and crib, and tomorrow our glider and dresser arrive. We've narrowed down our names list to two girl options and one boy option. Since we both think we're having a boy, we made sure we LOVE our boy name. We love both of our girl names, so we're keeping all three close to our chests so we can recycle the names for the next baby.

I think that's it for now! I hope I'll get the nursery a little closer to being finished in time for my next post so you all can see pictures!

Ohhhh, We're Halfway There...

(Image courtesy of http://www.thebump.com/ )

Half Baked, Baby!

So incredibly excited to get to this milestone. It seemed so unattainable before and now, here we are, halfway. Baby is also a freakin' melon for the first time in my fruit ticker, which is exciting and a little scary all at once. The ironic thing is that I can't stand melons, and I'll be seeing a lot of them from here on out.

Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day Weekend!

19 Weeks

How far along: 19 weeks 3 days

Total weight change: +8. The 2nd Tri packing on of the weight has begun...

Maternity clothes: Pretty much all the time.

Stretch Marks: No, but sometimes the skin feels tight.

Movement: I'm feeling the little guy most times when I sit/lay still. Usually its rolls, occasional flutters. Still no solid thumps.

Sleep: Better than last week. Still up about 3 times a night for the bathroom.

Best Moment This Past Week: Feeling more regular movement and not having the stress of the week before.

Most Difficult Moment This Past Week: Nothing really comes to mind. In the scheme of things, its been a really great week so far.

Belly Button In or Out: Definitely still in

Cravings/Aversions: Food. Lots of it.

Symptoms: Mostly the appetite and our wiggly little boy. My feet are starting to get a little achy sometimes. I'm thinking their changing like I've heard some womens feet do while pregnant. Editing to add in that heartburn started up during the later half of the week.

What I'm Looking Forward To: DH being able to feel his son kick.

15 weeks: A light at the end of the tunnel

Silly Blogger.  Sorry I haven't posted in so long, every time I tried to log in, it would tell me there was an error, and after a while, I stopped trying.  I can't believe I'm at 15 weeks!  Even more unbelievable, after today, I only have 8 more days of school.

After school is out, I'll have about a month off, in which I need to do tons of things to start getting ready for baby, as well as many teaching related things. I need to start looking at registering, and all of the baby furniture/items we want.  Start thinking about names, looking at daycares.  The list is a bit overwhelming.  In addition to that, there is the school stuff - I have a 3 day training on drug awareness and prevention, and I have to prep a completely new class to teach in summer school this July.  June is just going to fly by!  In July I'll be teaching summer school.  Then comes August with more baby stuff, the 1st baby shower, a family trip to Niagara Falls, and possibly a trip up north with friends.  Oh, and of course prepping for the fall and my long term sub.  Whew! 


I've been looking for a check in list to use for myself, and for my posts.  I want to get better about keeping track of this pregnancy.  I finally found one I like on Buttercup Bud's posts.  I hope you don't mind me stealing it Butter Cup!


Belly Measurement/Weight: At my last appointment last Wednesday, I was still barely back up to my prepregnancy weight.  I think this is because I was overweight before, and the hyperemesis gravidarum.  Also, it wasn't until after we found out I was pregnant that I started the medicine for my thyroid, which could also be keeping the weight gain off, and keeping me at a healthier weight. 
Physical Progress: Baby is now the size of an orange according to the bump.  Everyone keeps saying that is so big!  Also, I'm in maternity clothes pretty much all the time.  I was lucky enough to get a tub of them from another teacher who had her last baby almost 2 years ago.  I'm so glad I don't have to buy all new clothes, just select pieces. 
How I am feeling about my body:Pretty good.  I like that I'm showing, though it does get a little uncomfortable.  I do have one stretch mark.  Of course I'd rather I didn't have it, but oh well.  I wish that I could stop throwing up, that is the one thing I can't wait to be done with.  Whoever said m/s stopped at 12 weeks lied. It has gotten better though.  I generally only vomit once a day after dinner.  Once or twice a week I get away without even that.  I'm hoping that it's better enough soon that I can get off the Zofran (because yes, that is still on the Zofran.) 
Cravings/Aversions: No real craving - but I have an aversion to many, many things.  Food in general most of the time. 
Energy Level: It's getting better.  I'm not as dead tired, and I don't even need a nap most days anymore! 
Baby Movement: None yet that I'm sure of- I'm hoping I'll feel some for sure soon. 
Thoughts/Feelings/Emotions: Just happy.  ^_^

18 Weeks

Seeing as I'm 19 weeks tomorrow, I guess I best get this update in.

How far along: 18 weeks 6 days

Total weight change: +6

Maternity clothes: Pretty much all the time.

Stretch Marks: No, but sometimes the skin feels tight.

Movement: Yes. This week it started to go from sporadic (every couple days) to more regular (each of last few days). Mostly I'm feeling rolls.

Sleep: This week my sleep has been pretty lousy. Lets just say that worries about the amnio results coupled with a UTI equals not a lot of good sleep.

Best Moment This Past Week: Finding out the results of the amnio. Baby is a perfectly normal little boy.

Most Difficult Moment This Past Week: Waiting for the results of the amnio. Torture. The UTI also sucked, but not nearly as much as the wait.

Belly Button In or Out: Definitely still in

Cravings/Aversions: Food. Lots of it.

Symptoms: Mostly the appetite and our wiggly little boy.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Telling the rest of the family we're expecting a son!

Results Are In!

Normal Baby Boy.

No trisomy of any kind. No neural tube defects. Just a healthy little boy on the way.

I can seriously not even put into words what a relief it was to get that phone call. Knowing that there is a decent chance there may be an issue with your child and then having to wait to find out for sure...its torture.

Getting this news is seriously one of the best days of this entire pregnancy.

15 weeks!

Hello week 15! Here is a little update on Baby Buttercup Bud and I:

Belly Measurement/Weight: As of my last appointment I had actually lost 3 pounds and am at 120. I have not measured my belly yet.

Physical Progress: I wear maternity clothes all the time now. As you can see in the picture above Baby BB is making him/herself known to the world with that bump.

How I am feeling about my body: Actually, I am a little embarrassed to admit this but I feel sexier now that I am showing. I also feel empowered walking around "showing" the world what my body can do. Pregnancy is pretty amazing.

Cravings/Aversions: I LOVE pickles, red chewy candy, slurpees, potatoes and bread. Not really any aversions anymore.

Energy Level: Way up from 1st trimester, I feel like myself again!

Baby Movement: None yet but hopefully soon!

Thoughts/Feelings/Emotions: I am so excited to be able to enjoy my pregnancy. The weather is getting nicer and I can be outside with the kids playing. We have started grilling again too, yum. In 4 1/2 weeks I am graduating culinary school and I am so happy about that. I cry if anyone around me or on TV cries. It is really insane.

That is our update, more next week!

16 Week Update

I figured now was as good a time as any to do my 16 week update. Lots of changes going on in the last week or so. Namely that the tummy is becoming more visible. On Easter weekend my bump was visible to myself and those that know me well. Now...well, lets just say that a stranger asked if I was in the insurance office to discuss maternity care. Made my day to be asked that (remind me I was happy to look pregnant 6 months from now, lol).

The last couple nights I've been having trouble sleeping. Namely whenever I accidentally roll over onto my back I'll wake up with my ute area in pain. I'm figuring this is Mother Natures way of telling me to stay off my back. Unfortunately, the theory I had of sticking a spare pillow behind me to slow my roll didn't work, I woke up in pain with the pillow next to me. I ordered one of those Snoogle things from Amazon (credit to them for the image). I'll report back to let you know how it works. Its gotten rave reviews from everyone I know in real life and online.

I may be switching back to my civilian OB. Long story short I don't have much faith in my one at the military hospital. I'm to the point where I'm nervous about their competency in such things as basic as interpreting test results and administering an epidural. I'm terrified of an emergency coming up on delivery day and them being unable to handle it. Right now we're just looking at financials to see if I can make the switch. So far its looking promising. I guess I'll update on that as well. I'll be sticking with my current care definitely though my appointment (office visit & doppler check) on May 9th. Not positive if I'll still be there for my anatomy scan at the end of the month...leaning towards not. Guess I'll update on that too.

How far along: 16 weeks 4 days

Total weight change: +3 (Lost a pound in the last week. Not sure how I pulled that one off seeing as I'm eating like a teenage boy)

Maternity clothes: Pretty much all the time.

Stretch Marks: No

Movement: Not yet.

Sleep: Just having to get up a couple times a night to pee. Last couple of nights I've woken myself up when I accidentally rolled onto my back. Apparently my ute doesn't approve of that anymore. We'll see if the Snoogle remedies the situation.

Best Moment This Past Week: Tuesday a stranger looked me up & down and asked if I was asking specifically about maternity care.

Most Difficult Moment This Past Week: The lack of symptoms/movement and potentially switching OB care. Again. The nerves about my appointment next week are starting up as well.

Belly Button In or Out: Definitely still in

Cravings/Aversions: Food. Lots of it.

Symptoms: Not really much to be honest with you. Little bit of RLP today, but otherwise nothing blatant. There have been things like a big appetite, tiring easy and a bit of a bump though. Oh & skin tags are popping up like nobody's business. Joy.


What I'm Looking Forward To: Movement

Here are a few belly shots from the past week. They were taken near the beginning of the week in the evening (belly is a little bigger in the evenings).

What a week, er weeks!

We had quite a scare after our NT scan last week, so I decided not to post until we got some results. Baby's Nuchal Fold was measuring 3.5 mm and the office where I had the scan done likes to see it below 3 mm. Luckily my 12 week appointment was after the scan so the doctor at the other office had time to call my midwife so she could give us more information.

Mr. BCB and I went next door to the office finding information on Google to make us feel better. We went into the office and our midwife's assistant got us and took us back to the room. She took my blood pressure, which was normal and my weight, I lost 2 pounds. My midwife Sarah came in soon after. She made a little small talk before she informed us that the doctor who read our scan results said that our chances of having a baby with Down Syndrome were 1 in 6! What?! 1 in 6?! My midwife kept telling me she was sorry and hugged me and I broke down. She told us our options were to have a CVS in 2 days or an Amnio at 15 weeks. We opted to do the CVS so we would know sooner.

Mr. BCB left the office worried, calling our immediate family and best friends to let them know and ask for prayers. Our friends and family were very supportive through the whole process and I think Mr. BCB and I became closer. So we banned the internet so we wouldn't worry more than we needed to in the time we waited for the CVS. We showed up for the CVS in good spirits. The tech who was supposed to check baby's heartbeat decided to retake some measurements. Baby BCB's Nuchal fold was measuring only 2.7mm. Had that been the measurement the first time we would have had a simple blood test and not been worried. After we got some more pictures of our sweet little baby we went to have a consultation with the doctor before the CVS.

Dr. F was incredible. She was very positive and answered all of our questions with patience and care. She told us the initial test, called a FISH test would just be looking at Chromosomes 13, 18 and 21 for those corresponding trisonomies. If baby had Trisonomy 13 or 18 we would have had to look at a D & C because baby would most likely die during or after birth. Trisonomy 21 is Down Syndrome and we would have had to make a a decision about that as well. Mr. BCB and I decided to move forward with the test.

Dr. F did the CVC transcervically so it was not painful. I had to have a full bladder and that was the worst part. Dr. F and her staff were funny and Mr. BCB and I joked with them the whole time. That whole office was amazing and I have a lot of respect and admiration for the staff.

I just got a call from Dr. F this morning and Thank God, our baby does not have any of the above mentioned chromosome abnormalities. Dr. F said that the rest of the results back soon but she is not worried because it is very rare that anything comes back abnormal with the other chromosomes. We are so relieved and thankful.

Dr. F also let me know that they know the gender of baby BCB but we are team green so she didn't tell us. I kind of wish she would have accidentally told me because I do want to know but Mr. BCB and I agreed to wait.

Other than that craziness I feel good. We are rounding the corner into second trimester, woo hoo! I am starting to get my energy back and I am happy to have a "normal" pregnancy. We have not bought anything for the baby but I am hoping since we are in second trimester now we can begin our purchases.

I still really want to eat, potatoes pickles all the time. Yum!

Here is a picture of my healthy little baby. I cannot wait to meet him/her.

Good To Be Back

I had a great visit with friends and family back in New England. Pretty much the Baby Tour of Massachusetts. I got to see my best friends 3 week old daughter, three of my nieces (ages 14, 6 & 6 months) and my nephew (15 months). Also got to spend some time with my extended family and some good friends. I even got to color Easter eggs! Mine is the pink one with the tulip, the rest are the two eldest nieces.

Seeing the newborn was a good reminder of just what we'll be in for come October. Sleep, Eat, Poop, Eat, Squawk Like a Pterodactyl, Sleep, Look Cute, Poop. Sweet little girl. Its good to see my friend adjusting so well to motherhood, and its even better that they have their little IVF miracle home in their arms now.

The nieces & nephew are all growing like weeds. I hadn't been home in 6 months. Its amazing how much they change. The 2 day old (in Sept) is now learning to crawl! Crazy.

It was great to be around family and friends with regards to the pregnancy as well. There was so much excitement, it really was catchy. Several of my aunts mandated I show them belly pics as things progress. Not too fond of that idea, but will probably send enough to appease them. My MIL and SIL took me on a maternity clothes shopping spree. The were soooo generous. I'm really glad I got over my issue with being ready for maternity clothes and was able to embrace the situation. My parents were honestly a little luke warm with regards to the pregnancy. They are excited, but having issues with the 3,000 miles between us. They want to be there for our little family and spend all the time they can with their grandbaby...but distance & finances are throwing a wrench in that. We'll make the best of it.

I did get some unexpected news on Easter. I'm not the only one in my immediate family expecting. I'm going to be an aunt again! My brother and his wife have a baby due in late November.

For those curious about air travel while pregnant: One of the airports I went thru security at had back scatter and one didn't. I just went through the metal detector. For the back scatter, the sign said it had the equivalent of two minutes in a plane of radiation exposure. If I'd been running late, I'd have just gone through. I mean, I was flying clear across the country...two minutes of exposure isn't going to make much difference. I wasn't in a hurry though, so I asked for a pat down. TSA was pretty good about it, though the pat down was a little more intimate than I'd have liked (running hand under and between breasts, getting inquisitive about the band on my maternity jeans). All in all it wasn't a big deal.

Probably should include my 15 week update since I'm at 15 weeks 5 days already.

Been feeling pretty good this past week. My biggest news is that I think I'm starting to have the beginnings of a bump! I was putting on my PJs one night on the trip and noticed my belly was sticking out further than my boobs. Glance at a mirror & sure enough! It seems to be more in the evenings when my muscles are tired. This timing also coincides with when my back tends to ache and when my lower abdomen muscles ache (both recent developments). No new cravings or aversions assuming I told y'all about the pork aversion issues that began last week. I've been hiding from the scale...will face that one in the coming week. No appointments this week, so nothing to report there. Best moment of the last week was spending time with family and sharing the excitement of the pregnancy with them. Worst was dealing with my parents issues with the distance between us.

19 weeks already!

I cannot believe how fast time flies during 2nd trimester. I've been traveling almost every week for work, and on the weeks I'm home (about once a month), we've been doing *something* baby related. I'm writing to you today from my hotel in Asheville, where I'll be until tomorrow. This might get long, I apologize!

Here's where things stand:
Today I'm 19 weeks, 3 days. My last doctor's appointment was at 15 weeks, and my next appointment is on Tuesday (20w1d). (I'm supposed to be going every 4 weeks, but the last two have been 5 weeks apart thanks to scheduling limitations on my part--I'm hoping to schedule the rest of my appointments at Tuesday's visit--24, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41). Baby is now the size of...something. The fruit tickers seem to be off. Apparently this week is a mango but next week is a cantaloupe? Seems like a large jump to me!

I'm feeling great--energetic, my appetite is back, I've lost most food aversions and am not having too many cravings (and none for weird foods), and I'm physically comfortable. Emotionally, I'm doing well too. Mr. Magnolia Bud and I still worry about the financial aspects of having Baby MB--especially daycare--but we're budgeting and will make it work.

Speaking of daycare, we decided a few weeks ago to put off looking for a placement until we'd each hammered out our leave options at our respective jobs. This week we were able to do that--he'll be taking a full week once the baby's born, and then working half days for the next two weeks. I'll be taking off from the time the baby's born (sometime in September) until work resumes after the New Year (Jan. 3). Most of my leave will be paid, except for December--which is do-able for us financially. We're both so excited I'll be able to stay home for almost four months, and that the baby won't have to start daycare until he/she is a smidge older than we originally thought.

We had our anatomy scan on April 20, and everything looks great. I was 18w2d, and baby was measuring 19w2d--a full week ahead. Femur and humerus were measuring 19w4d...so we're hoping that means we're going to have a tall baby, just like us! Baby also weighed in at an estimated 10 ounces last week. Here are our favorite pictures--the first is baby with his/her hand behind head, and the second is baby pointing which direction is "out" {it was head down, heehee}:




I've also finally started showing! Some days I still just look a little chubby, but here's a pic from this week:


Mr. Magnolia Bud finished painting the nursery, and we finished our registries at Babies R Us and Amazon. If you have any suggestions for registry *must haves,* please let me know! Almost everything on our lists came about as a result of recommendations from other moms and mommy bloggers.

I think that's it for now. Hope you're all having a great week!
Love and baby dust to everyone...
Magnolia Bud