Ticker Change Thursday - 11 Weeks!

Baby is 11 weeks today and about the size of a small lime! Baby currently enjoys a 1:1 ratio between body and head, and has skin so transparent that blood vessels show right through. But, fingers and toes are no longer webbed, and hair follicles, tooth buds and nail beds are forming -- setting up a significantly more attractive future.

How far along? 11 Weeks Today
Weight gain/loss: I'll find out on May 3.
Maternity clothes? I just bought my first pair of maternity jeans and I love them. I found a great boutique in Costa Mesa with cute stuff - I may need to stay away to save my credit cards from serious damage.
Stretch marks? Nope! I just bought some special belly oil so hopefully it'll stay this way.
Sleep? I would love to have more.
Best moment this week? Being able to easily find baby's heartbeat on the doppler every time I try now.
Movement: Not for a long time, but I can't wait!
Food cravings: Orange ricotta hot cakes with a warm berry compote from Haute Cakes Caffe in Costa Mesa. Yum!
Gender: I'm still guessing girl.
Belly button in or out? Still in.
What I miss? Nothing today.
What I am looking forward to? My NT Scan. That should be really fun. 13 more days!!
Milestones: The lady at the maternity boutique asked me if I knew whether I was having twins because I was showing so much for how early I am!
What I'm nervous about: STill nervous about the NT Scan and also nervous about the scale on Monday.

NT Scan Scheduled

We will be having our NT Scan on May 12. 18 days to go!

First Belly Picture

I am going to start trying to post a belly picture every friday. Here's mine from today (in my work restroom!). It may not look like much to you, but it feels huge to me already!

Ticker Change Thursday - Double Digits!

Baby is 10 weeks today and about the size of a prune. With bones and cartilage starting to form and vital organs beginning to function, baby is making major progress. Body length will almost double in the next three weeks, and arm joints are now working. (Soon, legs will too.)

How far along? 10 Weeks Today
Weight gain/loss: I'm sticking with ignorant bliss on this one until my appointment on May 3.
Maternity clothes? These are pretty much a must now. According to my ultrasound, my uterus is an entire week ahead in terms of size, so I'm definitely showing a little now. Most people would still just think I am a little chunky but not pregnant.
Stretch marks? Nope!
Sleep? We bought some amazing pillows last weekend when we ordered new mattresses and they are wonderful. I can't wait for the bed in a few weeks!
Best moment this week? Seeing the baby moving around at the ultrasound yesterday.
Movement: Not for a long time, but I can't wait!
Food cravings: Green apples.
Gender: I'm guessing girl and so is my acupuncturist.
Belly button in or out? Still in.
What I miss? Not too much right now. Maybe wine.
What I am looking forward to? My NT Scan. That should be really fun.
Milestones: The nausea is going away and I am starting to feel more like myself again.
What I'm nervous about: The NT Scan. I hope we get some great results. Assuming we do, Jay and I will officially "come out" to our expanded group of friends.

Next Steps

Today was my last regular first trimester ultrasound. So, what's next?

Well here's what:

* First, I am going to get a bunch of blood work done tomorrow morning. These tests are checking for indicators of certain types of birth defects, like cystic fibrosis and probably a bunch of other routine tests of my hormones and such.

* After my doctor gets those results, I can schedule my NT Scan. This is a special ultrasound at a high risk center that will measure the baby's growth in detail and look for signs of problems such as spina bifida and down's syndrome. For more on this scan, you can look at this article.

We will have the NT Scan sometime between week 12 and week 13 (so in 2 or 3 weeks). This is supposed to be a very fun ultrasound because the image quality is much better and the baby has developed enough that it will be moving all around. The ultrasound technician may even be able to take a guess at the gender of the baby.

* On May 3, Jay and I go in for our next OB appointment. This is probably just a routine check up but will involve me finding out exactly how much weight I have gained. Eek.

* We move on May 8.

* We go to Hawaii at the end of May/beginning of June for a friend's wedding.

* When we get back from Hawaii the second week of June, I will likely have the full anatomy scan ultrasound where we should be able to find out for sure whether the baby is a boy or a girl.

That about sums up the next two months. I will keep you updated!

Ultrasound Results

Jay and I went in for our third ultrasound this morning. It was really fun this time because we instantly saw the baby and he or she was moving its little arms and legs and looked like it was dancing for us. Very cute.

Baby is measuring 10 weeks and 2 days, so 3 days ahead, which is great. Baby has a heart rate of 167 bpm, which is also great.

I apologize for the picture quality. The scanners at my office aren't the greatest. We should get much better pictures at our next ultrasound in 2 or 3 weeks.

If you can't tell what you are seeing, baby's head is on the left and it looks like he or she is laying on her side facing the camera.

Ultrasound was a success! I'll post details later.

My acupuncturist took a guess

He thinks we are having a girl. He said his accuracy rate is about 80% and based his guess on me having stronger "yin" than "yang" in my pulse. We shall see...

Next Ultrasound Tomorrow

Our next ultrasound is tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. I can't wait!

Wish us luck that our little one is healthy and growing.

Very Cool!

I purchased a doppler on Amazon.com and it came in the mail today. In case no one else reading this is a crazy pregnant lady who researches everything, I will explain what a doppler is. A doppler is a hand-held medical device that looks kind of like a walkie talkie with a microphone. The microphone part is actually a little wand that you use, with ultrasound gel, to find a baby's heart beat and the other part of the device is a computer that tells you what the heart rate is. It also has speakers so you can hear the heart beat if you find it.

You can see the one I purchased here.

It is generally recommended to wait until 10-11 weeks or later to try to find a heart beat on your own with a doppler, as it can be a little difficult. I was hoping that shipping would take a little longer and that I wouldn't get my doppler for another week so I wouldn't be tempted to use it too early. Unfortunately, or fortunately, it came today and I did not have the will power to leave it in the box for another week.

So, after about 4 minutes of moving the little wand around and getting the hang of using it, I finally found the heart beat and could hear it on the speakers. At our previous ultrasounds we have only seen the heart beat but never heard it. It was such a great sound!

Big Milestone Today!

I am officially the most pregnant I've ever been! My last pregnancy ended at exactly 9 weeks and today I am 9 weeks and 1 day. It's only one extra day, but it feels huge to me. Yay!

Ticker Change Thursday - 9 weeks!

Baby is 9 weeks today! Baby has graduated from embryo status to fetus. With basic physical structures in place and increasingly distinct facial features, baby is kind of starting to look like an actual baby!

How far along? 9 Weeks Today
Weight gain/loss: I have no idea. About 2 weeks ago I was up 6 pounds. I think I am still around the same size.
Maternity clothes? Yes! Only certain of my normal clothes still fit.
Stretch marks? Nope!
Sleep? I want to sleep all of the time. It is sometimes hard to stay awake at work.
Best moment this week? It's been a pretty uneventful week, which is sometimes very nice.
Movement: Not for a long time, but I can't wait!
Food cravings: Bagel breakfast sandwich from Panera. Yum!
Gender: I would still guess girl, although I have been referring to baby as "he" now and then, so I guess it's up in the air.
Belly button in or out? Still in.
What I miss? Energy.
What I am looking forward to? My next ultrasound on the 21st - only 6 more days!
Milestones: I am getting so close to second trimester now!
What I'm nervous about: I've been pretty calm this week. I guess I'm nervous about how our new place is going to look and whether we will be able to fit all of our stuff in it.

Six Months Ago

It has been exactly six months since we said goodbye to our first baby. I am incredibly grateful to be pregnant today with a healthy baby but it is still hard to think about what we lost.

Next Ultrasound Scheduled

We have our next ultrasound on Wednesday, April 21st. Only 12 more days to go. We should actually be able to see little arms and legs moving at that one, which will be pretty cool.

Ticker Change Thursday - 8 Weeks!

Baby is 8 weeks along and approximately the size of a raspberry. Baby is now moving its tiny arms and legs!

How far along? 8 Weeks Today
Weight gain/loss: As of last Thursday, I had gained 6 pounds. I'm not thrilled about that, but it is what it is so I'm not going to worry about it.
Maternity clothes? Definitely need the maternity pants and dresses but I can still wear my normal shirts.
Stretch marks? Nope!
Sleep? I still wish I could take more naps. I didn't sleep very well a few nights this week due to faulty smoke detector issues.
Best moment this week? Seeing our little one's heart beating at a healthy 171 bpm and being able to tell where it's little head was. So cool.
Movement: Not for a long time, but I can't wait!
Food cravings: It totally varies from moment to moment. Bagels with cream cheese pretty much always sound good but a lot of food grosses me out.
Gender: I would still guess girl.
Belly button in or out? Still in.
What I miss? My normal appetite.
What I am looking forward to? My next ultrasound on the 21st.
Milestones: Making it through the 8w u/s - our doctor said we should get excited if everything looked good so we are!
What I'm nervous about: I'm feeling pretty good right now and not too nervous. This is a first!

(Yes - I cheated and did this on Wednesday. I think I am going to busy tomorrow morning at work but wanted to make sure I finished this post.)

Ultrasound Results!

We had another successful ultrasound this morning! What a relief.

Baby is measuring at 8w2d, so about 3 days ahead of schedule and has a heart rate of 171 bpm. This is great news.

We are so happy!

Next Ultrasound Tomorrow!

We are thrilled and nervous for our ultrasound tomorrow. The doctor said we should get excited after this one as the chances of something going wrong after this are very low.

We are crossing our fingers we see a nice strong heart beat!

Our appointment is at 7:30 a.m. and I will try to update the blog via cell phone while there.

Wish us luck!

Our New Place

Jay and I are thrilled to announce that we have put a deposit down on a new place to live! We will move in on May 8.

Let me tell you about the place. It is a 3b/2b downstairs unit in a duplex. It is located in Newport Shores, which is a neighborhood north of the Peninsula on Pacific Coast Highway. We can walk or bike to the beach in just a few short minutes and will also be a stone's throw away from a great Italian restaurant and a few little dive restaurants.

We will have a great front patio with plenty of room to relax and entertain outdoors. The inside has travertine floors, a beautiful fireplace that is wired for a flat screen on the wall, granite counter tops in the kitchen and bathrooms and stainless steel appliances in the kitchen.

We are counting down the days until we can call this place our new home.

First OB Appointment

Jay and I went to our first OB appointment yesterday afternoon.

Here are the highlights:

* We get to have an ultrasound on Wednesday, two weeks after that and then another one two weeks after that. This is unusual but we are really happy the doctor is letting us get all of these.

* I can start light exercise again, but can't do anything that is so strenuous that I can't have a conversation while doing it.

* We go back to the OB every month for the next 4 or 5 months and then start to go more often after that.

I think that's it.

Ticker Change Thursday - Seven Weeks!

Today marks the end of my seventh week of pregnancy. Baby is currently the size of a blueberry.

How far along? 7 Weeks Today
Weight gain/loss: Still not sure exactly but my clothes are telling me I've gained a few pounds. My first appointment at my OB is today so I will have to get on a scale. I'm dreading it.
Maternity clothes? I love my maternity dresses. They are very comfy. I can wear most of my normal dresses too but definitely can't wear my skirts any more. Yesterday I had to use a bella band to wear my work pants (see here for an example).
Stretch marks? Nope!
Sleep? I wish I could take more naps.
Best moment this week? Finalizing our name choices.
Movement: Not for a long time.
Food cravings: Crispy beef tacos with refried beans from El Ranchito.
Gender: I would still guess girl.
Belly button in or out? Still in.
What I miss? Nothing!
What I am looking forward to? My first appointment with my OB today and my next u/s on Wednesday.
Milestones: I told my boss I was pregnant yesterday and it was a huge relief. He was so excited for me and promised to fix our maternity leave. I think he was terrified I was going to tell him I was quitting.
What I'm nervous about: I'm hoping we find the perfect place to live soon.