31 Weeks!

Things have continued to move along pretty quickly.  I had a Drs appt on the 23rd, so on my 31 week change over :)  Drs appt went well...I gained some weight (like 3 pounds in 3 weeks!) so I was pretty surprised about that...need to keep an eye on it for the future, ha, which will be hard with all of the xmas candy/cookies!  My blood pressure was also a little high at the appt, but I had a new nurse and she did it really quickly so it makes me question whether her reading was accurate or not.  In any case my Dr didn't seem concerned so I guess I shouldn't either.  I'm measuring about a week ahead so nothing really there that would prompt an earlier delivery than Feb. 24th I guess!  I did agree to do physical therapy once the holidays are over to hopefully alleviate some of the pelvic pain I'm having.

31 week update - Weight of 4 Naval Oranges!
This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

30 Weeks!

Another week done and gone already!  Time is really starting to cruise on by, but Feb. 24th still seems impossibly far away.  I'm still not sleeping very well due to hip pain, I wake up at least 5 or so times a  night to "flip" which is really just rolling over but somehow has become very difficult/painful to do, ha!  Its almost Christmas!  I can't believe that its almost the end of the year already, where has the time gone!  This past week we had my Christmas party, Brett's Christmas party and then my baby shower!  I received so many amazing gifts from my family and friends!  I've posted some pictures below of the nursery which is finally taking shape and I love it!

30 week update - Head of Cabbage!
Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

29 Weeks!

I'm extremely happy that this week is over.  I had a test for work on Friday and I was so stressed out about it!  I hope that work doesn't completely ruin my holidays this year like it always seems to do :(  Pregnancy wise I'm still in some pain and will probably be taking my Dr up on her offer of some physical therapy once the holidays are over.  I have my first baby shower this weekend that I'm looking forward to!

29 week update - Squash!
Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

28 Weeks!

Today marks 28 weeks and as evidenced by the photo below this pregnancy is finally wearing me down a bit. 

We had our annual baking night last night after a day spent volunteering for Habitat for Humanity wrapping presents and by 8:30 pm I was wiped out but candies weren't done yet!  My back was KILLING me to the point where I laid down once I got home and when I got up, literally couldn't walk...booo!  I tried to do some stretches and after a good nights sleep I woke up feeling quite a bit better thankfully!

28 week update - Weight of a Chinese cabbage
By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

27 Weeks!

Sorry kids, I'm a week behind so I'll try to update as best for 27 weeks :)

This week has gone by fairly quickly thanks to work and studying for an exam I need to take in early December.  Oh and probably because of Thanksgiving, ha!  Pregnant people and Thanksgiving go along great!!  I had lots of delicious food but then decided to sleep over at my parents house to hit up some Black Friday sales...that probably wasn't the best decision as I slept on an air mattress so didn't get much comfortable sleep at all.  Black Friday was a success but I did notice that I tire a lot easier now from being on my feet and after walking/standing on hard concrete my back starts to hurt quite a bit but got some excellent deals and crossed some people off of my gift buying list :)

27 week update - Weight of a cauliflower
This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

26 Weeks!

This week really flew by.  I'm super busy at work which means a very stressed out momma :(.  Bad thing is, its going to only get worse from now on out until the baby is born as we enter into "busy season".  I've been feeling the baby a bit more and she is making some pretty big movements.  At times it feels like she is just going to burst out because she is pressing against my stomach so hard!  You can actually see a lump which is pretty neat, Brett is freaked out by it ha!  We finally started painting the babies room, maybe next week I'll have a picture of that!

26 week update - Eggplant again?? according to the bump I guess so :)
The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel.

25 Weeks!

Wowza, 25 weeks! That means only 15 weeks left!!  That's a little daunting when I think of all the things we have left to do to get ready for a baby...like paint the nursery, get curtains, put together the crib,etc. etc.!  I know everything will work out but these next 8 weeks or so are going to fly by with Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I've been feeling really good, feeling baby move more and more.  She still like to sleep during the day and kick at night so I feel a lot of her when I wake up to switch sides at night (which by the way is getting really annoying!).  I do feel really big movement, which I have to assume are flips that make my stomach wiggle :)  Oh and my stomach is definitely growing, I'm scared to think about how much bigger its going to get in the last 15 weeks!

25 week update - Eggplant!

Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

24 Weeks!

VIVA LAS VEGAS!  I had a work conference this week in Las Vegas that I attended.  I'm sorry to report that I did not win that million dollars I had hoped for, nor did I even break even! haha  I didn't have any issues with the trip besides the flights.  I had a layover in MN but then a 3 hour flight to Las Vegas during which I had excruciating sciatic pain and flying in a packed coach section didn't provide for me to really get up a stretch a whole lot.  I don't have issues with walking or anything like that yet so walking around to different sessions in the gigantic Ceaser's hotel or downtown to different casinos was fine.  We tried to see the Bellagio fountains/light show on our free night Friday but it was so cold/rainy/windy that after 10 min of waiting we just left to get in the warm car :)

24 week update - Ear of Corn!
Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

23 Weeks!

I updated 22 weeks a little late so not a whole lot new for 23 weeks!  Feeling really good still.  Next week I travel for work, I hope the flight and all the walking/standing works out ok.  I'm sure my 24 weeks update will consist mostly of how the trip went and if I won my million dollars or not :)

23 week update - Large Mango!
Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

22 Weeks!

Well another week has come and gone already.  Time seems to be moving a bit more quickly now even though I'm still only on monthly appointments.  I think it will really start chugging along once the Holidays come around and I start my bi-weekly check ups.  Then busy season at work will start and before you know it..bam the berniers will have a baby!  Still seems kinda out of this world that I have a baby in my belly and that I will have a living breathing child in just a few short months!  I took a picture right around 22 weeks below, definitely rocking a baby bump now.  Had to go out and buy some "dress" clothes for a preggo belly this past weekend as I'm going to Vegas for work in November.

...i really need to start putting on some makeup or something, ha this photo is horrible!!

22 week update - Papaya!
At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

21 Weeks!

I had my anatomy scan this past wednesday and surprise, its a GIRL!!!  We are both very excited for whats to come and I cannot wait to purchase super cute little baby girl clothes :)  I had the same ultrasound tech that I had at my 14 week NT scan and once again I received absolute crap for pictures which really bums me out because I think that this was my last ultrasound!  I got one good profile shot and the only other decent one is of the babies foot.

Baby girl wasn't being very cooperative at first but once I was finally able to empty my bladder the ultrasound tech was able to get most of her measurments.  She is weighing in at 13 oz, no clue on length...did I mention I hate this certain ultrasound tech? :)  Dr said everything looks good as far as the baby goes.  She is a little concerned about some cysts that are on my ovaries (largest one is 5cm) that haven't gone down/away since becoming pregnant.  Because they aren't causing me any pain and aren't really a threat to the babe we are just going to wait until my 6 week post partum appt where I'll get another ultrasound to check on them and discuss our options for removing them at that time.

21 week update - Carrot!
Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well.

Halfway there! 20 Weeks!

Well I've officially hit the halfway point of 20 weeks.  It seems weird to be this pregnant and for it to feel so far away yet to when I'll actually have a baby!  I'm almost getting a little nervous...like when was the last time I honestly changed a diaper...8th grade??? and when has Brett last changed a diaper, if ever?!  Its going to be so weird, yet so so exciting to have a little one around I just can't imagine all of the changes!  5 more days till we find out if its a he or a she, god please make the time go quicker!  Oh and I took a picture last week at just over 19 weeks... here it is for the world!

20 week update - Banana! (because saying a cantaloupe is in my stomach is waaaay to big :))
Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)
He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

19 Weeks!

My first week in maternity pants, haha!  I had previously purchased a pair of "half panel" pants from old navy where the waistband resembled the waistband on yoga pants.  The band kept folding over or falling down so I finally sucked it up and purchased some full panel maternity pants...and they are WONDERFUL ha!  I'm still able to wear a couple of my pre-pregnancy jeans and hope that I'll continue to be able to throughout the pregnancy as they button pretty low and aren't near my "bump".  Only a week and a half away from finding out if its a he or a she in there!!

19 week update - Mango!
Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.
Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

18 Weeks!

Well it was another slow week, I can't wait until my ultrasound on October 12th but then Im a little nervous because I'll have another 20 weeks after that and wont have any big appt's to look forward to!  We moved offices for work this week so at least some of my day was busy with packing up my desk and helping move some stuff around.

18 week update - Bell Pepper!
Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

17 Weeks!

This week went by super slow for some reason.  The weather got a lot colder and I am realizing I really don't have any fake maternity (what i like to call my fat clothes) for winter!  I went to my monthly Drs appt today for a checkup.  I've only gained 4 pounds so far, which I think is good for 17 weeks!  I want to stay below 20 for total weight gain so Im hoping its attainable :).  My Drs office also recently got handheld ultrasound machines, they are like crazy little compact looking things where the base looks like an ipod and it has a flip up screen.  She used that today instead of the doppler so I got the added bonus of seeing little babe kicking and punching and a heart beating away, very cool!!  Now I just need to wait another 3 weeks and then we can finally say "he" or "she" for sure!

17 week update - Onion!
Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop

16 Weeks! 4 Months!!

I hit a new milestone, 4 months! yay!  Baby went to their first packer game last night, felt what might be some twinges?? so Im going to say baby was fist pumping "Go Pack Go"! haha

16 week update - Avocado!
Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

15 Weeks!

Another week down! Nothing really new to write about this week...Im feeling a bit more energy, meaning Im staying awake past 830, ha!  It really doesn't feel like Im pregnant except that my stomach is getting a bit rounder :)

15 week update - Apple!
Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")

14 Weeks!

Im a day ahead of myself put wanted to get some pictures up from my ultrasound yesterday :)  It was my first abdominal ultrasound and Owie!!! those things hurt!  Well maybe if my tech wouldn't have put both hands on the doppler and proceeded to push all of her weight into it to get the baby to move it would've been a more enjoyable event!  Baby is doing well, kicking and punching its arms it even looked like it was talking but was probably just swallowing and baby still has a good strong heartbeat at 152.  The tech wouldn't even take a look "down below" to guess at gender which combined with her torture device called a doppler made me dislike her :)  Anywho, yay 2nd trimester, finally!!!  Now I have to wait until October 12th for my next ultrasound to find out gender...it seems so impossibly far away!

14 week update - Lemon!

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.
In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.



13 Weeks!

13 weeks! Yay!  This past week has gone by pretty quickly.  I "released" the news at work as there were some rumors already flying around.  Its great that everyone knows but now I'm a bit more nervous so I cannot wait until my next appointment this coming Wednesday!  Its my Nuchal Testing scan where they test for a couple of genetic disorders (downs, etc) so while I'm really excited to have a longer ultrasound and hopefully some great pictures to share (and hopefully a gender guess :)) its a little daunting to think I could find out something might be wrong with this babe.  I only have positive thoughts though so hopefully everything is great!

13 week update  - Peach!
Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.

12 Weeks!

Well I officially hit the coveted 12 week mark! yay!  And after such a great ultrasound at almost 12 weeks Im finally feeling a bit better about this pregnancy!  We had a friends wedding reception this weekend and I broke the news to my close girlfriends so slowly more and more people are finding out :)

12 week update - Plum!
The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.
Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

11 Weeks!

11 weeks! Wow time is going both slow and fast!  It seems like it takes forever to get to the next friday where I increase a week but when I look big picture Im almost 3 months already!  Im feeling good, no spotting since 9 weeks...yay!!!  Im having anxiety though with having such a big break in between appts (9 weeks to 13.5 weeks), I bought a doppler for at home but haven't had luck finding the babies heartbeat yet.  I might call the doctor sometime this week or next and just see if they can get the heartbeat for me so I can have a little reassurance...ha my doctor is going to LOVE me! :)

Update - I caved and called and scheduled a day for me to come in and try to hear the babies heartbeat at the Drs.  I went in on Wednesday August 10th, I was 11 wks 5 days.  After 2 nurses failed at finding the heartbeat via the doppler I was squeezed in to get an ultrasound just to make sure everything was ok.  Baby was bouncing around and shaking its booty on the screen so that was reassuring.  Heartbeat was a good strong 162 which is excellent for 12 weeks.  I got a couple of photos as well...The front view of the face is kinda scary...cross between skeletor and a transformers mask, haha!  Its crazy to see how much development has happened in just about 3 weeks since my last ultrasound!  Baby has full legs and arms, and used those arms to have them constantly infront of its face!  The babe was also "sitting" with its legs straight out which is why no legs show up in the face picture :)

11 week update - Fig!
Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.
She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

10 Weeks!

This week actually went by very quickly! My best friend had her baby on Monday and it was my birthday on Tuesday.  Between all of the driving to go see the new baby and meeting friends and family for bday dinners I was suddenly 10 weeks pregnant!  I feel like Im going to jinx myself but so far no spotting this entire week!!!  Im crossing my fingers that it lasts throughout the weekend and if so, maybe its a sign that my body is getting ready to transition in the 2nd tri in the next couple (ok 4 :( ) weeks and is not being so sensitive!  I hope these nexts couple of weeks continue to move quickly as I don't have my next ultrasound/dr's appt till Im 13wks 4 days and that seems forever away, ha!

10 week update - Prune!
Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.
He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.
If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.
In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

It looks like a baby!

We had our 9 week appt on Friday July 22nd.  This was the first appt Brett was able to attend for both pregnancies so I was pretty excited!  Baby is measuring right on for 9 weeks, has a heartbeat of 182 bpm so everything is looking great!  I like to call the babe "Baby TRex" because of this photo and how disproportionate its arms are to its head :)

We got to see a tiny bit of movement as Baby T waved his arm a bit and did a couple of head nods...or as I told Brett he was practicing his head banging ;).  It still seems a little surreal and I hope that someday soon I can really enjoy this pregnancy and not be worried about what might happen next!

9 week update - Grape!
Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

its got arms and legs!!

I had a scare today, I started having some spotting last night and it continued this morning.  I called the nurse and asked if I could be seen and she set me up for an ultrasound in the afternoon.  I know spotting is "ok" but I had a small clot pass and I completely freaked out.  The ultrasound turned out to be positive.  Little bean has a head and arm/leg buds.  Its little heart was pumping away at 165 bpm and I was actually able to hear it this time!  The u/s tech and my doctor both seemed very positive about such a good scan as development was spot on, but of course if there is any bleeding its considered a "threatened abortion" so I'm trying to take it easy. *Update* The spotting has stopped! Yay!  Im still taking it easy and one day at a time, I just really hope no more spotting occurs!!  My Dr put me on progesteron suppliments so I don't know if that helped at all but I will be on them for the next 4 weeks, hopefully everything will be smooth sailing from here on out!

8 week update - Raspberry!
New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

Updates!

I didn't realized how long its been since I've last updated!  How quickly that time flies, but how in real life weeks drag on and on!  I'll try to update the best I can :)

After the last blood draws, I was a bit disappointed with my numbers so I called my Drs office and spoke with my nurse (who is absolutely great!).  She said I could come in and get another blood draw if I'd like to calm my nerves so I headed in on Wednesday, June 22nd for another HCG draw.  Since it was more than 48 hours I was hoping for my numbers to be somewhere around 400 (133x2 (48 hr double), then 266x1.5 (additional day "doubling") but I got an excellent surprise of a 582 result.  I finally felt relief :)

5 week update - Sesame Seed!
He looks more like a tiny tadpole than a human. He's now made up of three layers — the ectoderm, the mesoderm, and the endoderm — which will later form all of his organs and tissues.
The neural tube — from which your baby's brain, spinal cord, nerves, and backbone will sprout — is starting to develop in the top layer, called the ectoderm. This layer will also give rise to his skin, hair, nails, mammary and sweat glands, and tooth enamel.
His heart and circulatory system begin to form in the middle layer, or mesoderm. (This week, in fact, his tiny heart begins to divide into chambers and beat and pump blood.) The mesoderm will also form your baby's muscles, cartilage, bone, and subcutaneous (under skin) tissue.
The third layer, or endoderm, will house his lungs, intestines, and rudimentary urinary system, as well as his thyroid, liver, and pancreas. In the meantime, the primitive placenta and umbilical cord, which deliver nourishment and oxygen to your baby, are already on the job (taken from babycenter.com).

Friday, July 1st-  My first ultrasound!!

I took my mom with me to my first ultrasound, 6 weeks based off of my LMP, since Brett wasn't able to get off of work to come with me.  I was so nervous I woke up at 3:30 am and wasn't able to fall back asleep!  Luckily my appt was at 8:45 so I didn't have to sit around anxious the entire day.  We had decided that my mom would just come pick me up and we'd drive to the appt together since she'd have to basically drive past my house on the way to the Drs.  In my mom's true fashion I get a call at 8:15 (the time she was supposed to be arriving at my house) telling me that she's running late and she is just leaving home (about a 1/2 hr away).  The Drs office is luckily pretty close to my house and only takes about 10 min to get to so I decide to just wait for her and we'd still drive together.  Being late for the appt actually cut down a lot of the downtime sitting in the waiting room so we were called back to the u/s room shortly after arriving.  I got all settled in and made sure mom stayed behind my head the entire time (since it was a transvaginal :)) and we started.  Almost immediately I saw a blinking on the screen, little beans heart just pumping away at 105 bpm!  We weren't able to hear it quite yet but were able to measure the sound waves from the doppler.  I felt immediate relief, then I got a little nervous when the tech said that the babe seemed to only be measuring somewhere around 5weeks 2days instead of my 6 weeks.  She kept repeating that this was perfectly normal and not to be concerned but of course I still worry a little bit about it.  During ultrasounds they also look at your ovaries and measure and make sure everything looks good there too...turns out I'm ultra fertile as the tech put it and she said "I can't believe I'm only looking at only 1 baby in there", guess I have a good chance of twins based on how many follicles both of my ovaries have.  I'm going to keep my due date until my next u/s appt July 22nd just in case little bean wants to catchup in growth so I'll provide the 6 week and 7 week information below.

6 week update - Lentil!
This week's major developments: The nose, mouth, and ears that you'll spend so much time kissing in eight months are beginning to take shape. If you could see into your uterus, you'd find an oversize head and dark spots where your baby's eyes and nostrils are starting to form. His emerging ears are marked by small depressions on the sides of the head, and his arms and legs by protruding buds. His heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through his body. His intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to his lungs has appeared. His pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of his brain, muscles, and bones. Right now, your baby is a quarter of an inch long, about the size of a lentil. (babycenter.com)

7 week update - Blueberry!
The big news this week: Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.
If you could see inside your womb, you'd spot eyelid folds partially covering her peepers, which already have some color, as well as the tip of her nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of your baby's brain are growing, and her liver is churning out red blood cells until her bone marrow forms and takes over this role. She also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in your baby's growing intestines is bulging into her umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from her tiny body.(babycenter.com)

I did have some brown spotting on Thurs, July 7th.  But only during the afternoon and it hasn't come back.  I went in to the Drs on Friday to get a blood draw and my HCG was up to 66,606!!  Hopefully it was nothing since it only lasted a couple of hours but still got me pretty worked up.  I cannot wait until the u/s on the 22nd, I want to see a wiggling baby and a strong heartbeat especially since this will be Brett's first one!

HCG Levels

On Friday, June 17th I went into my Dr's office to get my first blood draw for a baseline on my HCG levels.  I had to leave work to get there at 9, it took about .5 seconds for my draw so I was back to work within a 1/2 hour!  I got my results back that day...a 54.  My stomach sank a bit...54?  Wow that is low I thought to myself!  The nurse assured me that I was barely 4 weeks (4 weeks exactly based on my last missed period) that this was a fine number and was consistant with an early pregnancy.  Well of course my anxiety took over, I scoured the web trying to find someone else or some chart that would show at 4 weeks my level was "average".  I found one source and said "thats it, i can't stress" everywhere I found gave such a large range of normal and stressed that the actual number wasn't that important, it just needed to double within 48 hours.  So I went into ThedaClark on Sunday, on my way to my parents to celebrate father's day to get my second draw.  That one took a little bit longer as I had to weirdly register in the ER and then wait for a lab person to come draw my blood (and it took her two stabs!! owie :( ).  I had to call the on-call nurse for the results, which Im sure she loved since its a non-emergency and it was Sunday, and it was father's day!  The nurse told me my numbers came back at 133, she didn't know my beginning so I told her 54 and she seemed satisfied and said that is was good they doubled.  133 still seems low to me but I found a graph to help my anxiety, but cant figure out how to post it on here as a PDF file!

So I guess Im just on the "low" end of the scale, but as long as they are doubling I can't let myself freak out...doubling is good!  Doubling is what matters!

My next step is my 6 week ultrasound on Friday, July 1st...Im praying that I will be able to hear a strong healthy heartbeat at that appt.  During my last pregnancy I found out I was miscarring at about 8 weeks, but the baby had stopped growing before reaching 6 so I think if everything turns out well at my ultrasound and shows that this baby is doing well at 6 weeks a ton of stress will be lifted!

4 Weeks!

Well we offically hit the 4 week mark!  Crazy to think that not to long ago this was the earliest you could find our you were pregnant with Home Pregnancy tests, they've come a long way, ha!  I went into the Doctors today to get my blood drawn to get a quant check.  I hopefully will find out my levels this afternoon, then will check those against Sunday's draw and make sure they are correctly increasing.  I'm feeling pretty good...Ive been going to sleep at like 8 pm everynight which in the summer is kinda sad since its not even dark out yet!  Kinda tender bb's but not as bad as the last pregnancy, maybe thats still to come!  I've also been feeling a bit nauseaus, mostly at night which is ok by me, which I didn't have at all during the last pregnancy so I'm hoping thats a positive sign!  No actually puking yet which can stay that way but i want all symptoms that I can have :)


Baby Center update - Right now your baby is 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.

Its definitly a Big Fat Positive!!

Im so excited! but soooo sooo nervous!  I've already called the doctor and because of my previous miscarriage I get to see them a bit earlier which hopefully will calm my nerves!  I go in on Friday (06/17) for a blood test to get a baseline on my horomone levels then I will get another test on Sunday (06/19) to make sure my levels are doubling (they don't consider a pregnancy "viable" if your numbers don't double).  Then I have a 6 week ultrasound scheduled this time (before I had to wait until 8 weeks...and that time I had to scream and beg because I knew I was miscarrying so I had one at like 7 weeks).  I'm crossing fingers, toes, everything I can that this pregnancy is it!

Its a........BFP!!!!

Soooo excited! I started testing this month at 9 DPO...got a BFN...tested @ 10 DPO and got a nasty indent...then this mornings test (11 dpo) i swore was just an indent again but it started to get a little pink after a bit. I posted the tests on babycenter.com to get tweaked and got a lot of "looks like a BFP" to me! Im going to test again tomorrow morning, ill be 12 DPO and use FMU so im hoping for some more distinguishable lines!!