12 weeks, 5 days

Wow, the holiday break has flown by!  I can hardly believe that tomorrow is New Year's Eve and that I will be back to work in 2 days (ugh!).  Ever since getting back home from visiting the in-laws for Christmas we have been extremely busy with trying to unpack our house, going furniture shopping (there are lots of deals right now for  the holidays but it's definitely time consuming), plus all the every day stuff like laundry, groceries and cooking to keep up with!  Oh yeah, and we got to go to a very beautiful wedding for two of our good friends from church yesterday - what a treat!

A picture of us at the wedding reception

I will definitely be posting some bump pictures soon but at the moment I just wanted to give a little update before I'm past the 12 week mark...eeeeek!!!  I can't believe I'm almost in the second trimester!  (And I know, I know, some people say it's when you hit 12 weeks but I'm observing the 40 weeks divided by 3 = 13 weeks 3 days method.)  So, here you go:

How far along?: 12 Weeks

How big is baby?:   Your baby is the size of a 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. 

Any appointments or updates this week?: Nope!

Body changes?:  Not really 

Maternity clothes?: Not yet, although my sweet family already gave me some Christmas gifts of maternity clothes and a gift card to a maternity store!  I also bought some new bras which are helping a lot...as you can see from the picture above I'm more busty these days ;)

Best moment last week?: Spending time with family for Christmas

Food cravings?: Bagels, Pizza, Cheez Its

Symptoms?: The nausea has been going away, now I just get moments when I feel like I need to eat immediately or need to rest but otherwise things are going great.

Exercise?: Art and I went for a walk around his parents' neighborhood once.  Once things get back to normal I'm hoping to get back to yoga.

What I miss?: I won't lie, I did miss being able to drink champagne when I was at the wedding and I had a moment when I would have loved a glass of red wine today, but it's all gravy!  I'm so grateful to be growing a baby.

What I'm looking forward to?: I'm still really excited about getting to the 2nd tri.

Different this time: I'm going to stop answering this question from now on because at this point I'm in uncharted territory.  It's so exciting to see this pregnancy progress like I never have been able to experience before.  I feel so blessed.

What our baby looks like this week:

The True Meaning of Christmas

ICLWers:  You may want to start reading here, there are several links to my loss and infertility journey and you can avoid the pregnancy posts if you wish to (I completely understand, trust me).

I have always loved Christmastime.  It's such a wonderful time of the year.  I love the decorations, seeing little children all dressed up and excited, Mall Santas making memories, cheerful music, great food and of course family.  It's one of the few times of the year that everyone really slows down and appreciates each other.

One special thing that I got to be a part of this year was an Adoration service with the Bishop of Orlando.  To explain for anyone who isn't familiar with it, adoration is a form of worship in which Catholics pray and honor God by celebrating him in the form the holy Eucharist.  It is a beautiful form of worship and at this service we sang and dimmed the lights while praying.  Since it was so close to Christmas we had a statue of pregnant Mary and while praying I was overcome with a sense of awe that Mary actually carried Jesus exactly like I am carrying my Sweet Pea right now.

I always knew intellectually that it was a huge honor for her and that she was very blessed but being pregnant during Christmas put it into a totally new perspective for me.  I feel so honored to be carrying our baby and I cannot imagine how much more honored she must have felt.  What an incredible miracle.

11 weeks, 4 days

Only 199 days to go!  Woohoo!

I am super happy to be pregnant but it's still exciting to see the number of days counting down :)

11 Week Update:

1. How far along?: 11 Weeks
2. How big is baby?:   Your baby is the size of a lime! Now about two inches long, baby has been pretty busy this week, growing hair follicles, fingernails, and ovaries (if she's a girl). She has distinct human characteristics by now, with hands and feet in front of her body, with ears nearly in their final shape, open nasal passages on the tip of her tiny nose, and a tongue and palate in the mouth. What else makes her look human? Those hands and feet have individual fingers and toes (meaning good-bye to those froglike webbed hands and feet). Hooray!
3. Any appointments or updates this week?: No updates this week, my next appointment won't be until January.
4. Body changes?  Not really.  My pants feel tight sometimes but I haven't switched to maternity clothes yet.
5. Maternity clothes?: No
6. Best moment last week?: Seeing our little Sweet Pea on the ultrasound machine
7. Food cravings?: None really, I've had more aversions than cravings lately
8. Symptoms?: All the same except a little more nausea than usual
9. Exercise?: I haven't done much lately but I am planning on going on a long walk around the mall :)
10. What I miss?: Being able to eat anything and as much as I want.  If I eat too much I feel extremely sick.
11. What I'm looking forward to?: Getting to the 2nd trimester!
12. Different this time: More nausea

This is what our baby looks like at 11 weeks:

What Do You Want?

First, a big welcome to any ICLWers who may be reading.  Welcome to my blog!  I started this blog after getting pregnant (for the second time) because I wanted to be able to have a place to record a lot of things about my pregnancy.  But, my trying to conceive journey hasn't exactly been a smooth one.  I am a Pregnant After a Loss mom, as well as Pregnant after Infertility.  I set out to write an introduction with my story and that turned into 6 short posts.  You can read them here, if you are interested:

1. The Beginning
2. Trying to Conceive After Loss
3. Taking the Next Step
4. Our Appointment with the RE
5. Surgery
6. Our First Medicated Cycle

But mainly, welcome!

To get to my post title and what it means, it seems like everyone likes to ask "What do you want? A boy or a girl?".  For me, it's like nails on a chalkboard to hear this question.  What do I want?  All I care about is that my baby is healthy!  Truly, honestly, that is all that I care about.  I will be equally excited for either one.  I actually refuse to answer the question...I just hate the way that it's phrased as if you wouldn't want a baby of the opposite sex.  I guess this is just one of those Pregnant after a Loss things.  Before loss, I probably wouldn't have even given the question a second thought.  But now it really bothers me.  Just another reminder that I'm no longer a naive first time mom.

Second Ultrasound Today!

We got to see our beautiful Sweet Pea today!  It was so amazing, I was crying with joy as the doctor pointed out all of the features of our little Sweet Pea.  Plus we got to see him or her kicking and moving their arms which was so cute.  It was such a special moment for Art and me.  I can't believe our baby looks like a baby now! 

One of the pictures:

Although I am exactly 11 weeks along according to my due date, the doctor measured and Sweet Pea is measuring 11 weeks 5 days, which means he or she is a little bit ahead.  We are really happy about that because it means the growth is going well. 

It will be hard to wait for our next appointment, since it's a month away, but the doctor said we would probably find out the gender at that one!  I can't wait!  We are truly so in love with this little baby.

Playing Catch Up!

Wow, has life been crazy lately.  I feel terrible for neglecting my blog but I can explain.  After moving on the 8th and 9th, I went to work on Monday and figured that Tuesday I would do my regular weekly update.  Unfortunately my husband Art's grandma passed away so we went out of town Tuesday and Wednesday to attend her funeral.  When we got back on Thursday I got hit with a really nasty cold.  I was sick as a dog for two days straight and I could barely get out of bed.  Luckily by Saturday I was feeling a little more normal but I'm still recovering.  So I hope you will forgive my lack of posts!

Now, on to the fun stuff!  I realized I never shared my 9 week picture and I just barely got my 10 week picture taken (luckily Art convinced me that I should so we took it tonight).  Without futher ado:

In our old house with clutter and boxes!

In the new house with the Christmas tree!

Art says my bump looks bigger in the 9 weeks picture, which I attribute to the dress I was wearing plus the fact that I got so sick that my weight might have gone down a little bit.

And since I am 10 weeks 6 days today, I am going to give you my 10 weeks pregnant update!

1. How far along?: 10 Weeks
2. How big is baby?: Your baby's growth is fast and furious.  He or she is nearly an inch and a half long and the size of a prune, but not nearly as shriveled (even with all the time it spends in water). In fact, your baby is really taking a human shape now. Bones and cartilage are forming, and small indentations on the legs are developing into knees and ankles. The arms (complete with elbows) can flex already. Though your baby's arms are taking shape and getting stronger, each one is only about the size of this number 1. 
     The tooth bud fairy is making her appearance this week, heralding the arrival of your baby's little choppers, which are forming under the gums. Other systems are go, too. Your baby's stomach is producing digestive juices, the kidneys are producing larger quantities of urine, and, if your baby's a boy, he's already producing testosterone (wow!).
3. Any appointments or updates this week?: My next OB appointment is tomorrow.  Art is coming along and we are really hoping that my doctor does an ultrasound so that we can see our little Sweet Pea again.
4. Body changes?  Not much due to being sick.  This is the first week I've actually had full morning sickness.  Vomiting is not fun!
5. Maternity clothes?: None yet.
6. Best moment last week?: Settling into our new house
7. Food cravings?: Firehouse subs
8. Symptoms?: Mainly fatigue and constant thirst
9. Exercise?: Does unpacking boxes count?
10. What I miss?: Mainly just having my health, it's tough to be immune compromised.  I pledge to use MUCH more hand sanitizer from now on.
11. What I'm looking forward to?: Seeing Sweet Pea again at our next ultrasound tomorrow!
12. Different this time: Vomiting...ick!

10 week old baby, isn't it amazing?

Thanks for reading!  More updates coming soon, I promise.  

House Update - We own a new home!

So after a lot of stress, multiple walk-throughs checking every little thing on the house, and a few desperate e-mails, we finally closed on our new house on Wednesday!  What a relief!  Considering that we were planning to move on Saturday it was getting down to the wire. 

So all week we have been packing and getting ready to make the move.  I'm so excited!  Here is a picture of what our living room looks like right now: 

As you can see it's pretty much organized chaos.  I can't believe how much stuff we have crammed into our little 2 bedroom townhouse over the years.  And it's a little bittersweet because this is the first home we have lived in since we got married.  But we have made lots of great memories here and are ready to move on to the next chapter of our lives. 

We are hoping to finish up the packing tonight and be ready for Moving Day!  Luckily we have the world's best friends who are coming to help us.  It's going to be hard for me to just watch them since I'm not allowed to lift any boxes but I suppose I will manage somehow ;)

Our plan is to pick up a U-Haul truck in the morning and load all of the boxes and small things like chairs and end tables into it and unload it at the new house.  Then we have professional movers coming in the late afternoon to pick up our big furniture.  I'm looking forward to having everything moved in one day so that we can actually sleep at our new house on Saturday night! 

Stay tuned for more updates! 

9 Weeks Pregnant!

1. How far along?: 9 Weeks
2. How big is baby?: Your baby is now 1 inch long, (the size of a blackberry or green olive) and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. 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.  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.
   
3. Any appointments or updates this week?: Nope, just patiently waiting for my next OB appointment in 2 weeks!
   
4. Body changes?  I've gained some weight already due to being constantly hungry.  I can definitely start to see a little bump!
5. Maternity clothes?: I haven't been wearing any yet, although I'm thinking of getting the Bella Band.
6. Best moment last week?: Going to get Indian food with Art and his friends and then getting my 8 week belly pictures taken by him afterwards :)
7. Food cravings?: None
8. Symptoms?: Hungry, thirsty and tired!
9. Exercise?: Walking/jogging on the treadmill once and walking around some stores on Sunday.
10. What I miss?: Sleeping well, I keep waking up at odd times and tossing and turning lately.
11. What I'm looking forward to?: Seeing our little one again at our next ultrasound!
12. Different this time: More symptoms, definitely hungrier!

This is what our baby looks like at 9 weeks, it's amazing because it's actually starting to look like a little human!

More Frustration!

We found out this morning that our house did not pass one of the inspections, so we won't be able to close until Wednesday at the earliest now.  It might seem trivial but this house thing is totally stressing me out!  I know it will all work out in the end but I really wish I didn't have to wait any more.

Sometimes it really feels like God is giving me a test of patience.  I have never been a patient person and as I've gotten older I can see how I will need to be more and more patient...especially once we have a child!  I guess it's good that I'm getting these lessons in patience now, as much as I wish I wasn't.

So stay tuned for more house updates soon, I can't wait to share pictures and start getting moved in!  I will be praying all week that we still can move this weekend. 

We're moving!

Over the past few months (even before we got our BFP) we have been talking about moving to a bigger house.  We found our dream house and signed a contract on it the day we found out we were pregnant!  Since then, we've been waiting patiently for November 30th to close on the house.  Well, Friday came and that didn't happen...unfortunately the builder didn't get everything completed on time to get all the final inspections done by the county.  Talk about a stressful day!  But in the end, we did sign most all the paperwork and now are just waiting on one more final paper which will probably get done on Tuesday after the final inspections (IF they get done on Monday). 

So it's moving time for us!  Art and I put together a plan of attack yesterday (3 stages, rooms used least to most) and then he awesomely priced out boxes at all the stores and we went to buy supplies.  Today we jump into packing!  3 boxes down, a million to go.  Except that we forgot to buy tape, so Art went to WalMart to get that.  Packing while pregnant isn't exactly a picnic.  I get winded every five seconds.  And after 3 boxes I am tired.  So I will be taking lots of breaks.  But, I want to keep the momentum going so that we can hopefully be moved in next weekend.

Luckily the new house is only a few miles from our current place, so our plan is to start moving boxes over as soon as we get the keys.  We decided to hire movers for the big stuff, considering that I won't be any help and Art just doesn't want to mess with it.  But, our goal is to get the little stuff out of the way so that when they come everything else will already be moved over.  We will see how it goes...stay tuned!  

Bump Pictures - 5 & 8 weeks!

Okay, I know that 5-8 weeks is REALLY early to start taking pictures of my pregnant belly but I'm so excited and I am already seeing subtle changes.  Been there, done that moms all say that it's only bloating at this stage but I don't care - I'm pregnant and I want to document everything :)

So without further ado, here are my 5 weeks and 8 weeks pregnant bump pictures...the 5 weeks one was taken by me in my bathroom and my dear hubby Art generously took the 8 week picture (and helped me with photoshopping the words on and everything).

The 5 weeks picture is kind of a "before" picture, although the 8 weeks picture was taken right after going to a delicious Indian restaurant for dinner so it's kind of a curry belly more than anything!