Bumpdate: 17 weeks

Sorry, sorry, sorry!  I've been bad about keeping up with this the last week or so.  The holidays are here, and I've been busy rushing around trying to get everything in order!

Nothing really exciting happened in week 16, so don't worry, you didn't miss anything.

Oh wait, I lied.  Last week, at 16 weeks, 5 days, I was sitting at my computer, and I felt a bunch of little bumps and bloops!  Little Sprout was moving around!  It lasted part of the morning and then was gone.  Since then, I've felt a couple more little bumps, but nothing major.  I'm still waiting for some big kicks!  Luckily, Sprout's bones are continuing to harden this week, and Sprout is now almost 5 inches long, so, I should be feeling more soon :)

When I hit 17 weeks last Thursday, I had one of those, "Holy crap this is going fast!" moments.  I'm almost half-way done with this pregnancy!  It doesn't feel like it because I still don't always feel that pregnant, but it's true!  I bet the last 20 weeks of this craziness is really going to fly!

I'm grateful to be a lot more awake now - finally.  I can stay up all day w/o needing a nap.  I still feel like I need one around 2 pm, but I can move past it and actually get stuff done.  Hooray!  My nausea is gone, and my eating habits have returned mostly to normal.  Whenever anyone mentions any particular kind of food, I want it, but other than that, the cravings are pretty low key - anything juicy and cheeseburgers.

I'm getting lots of guesses about Sprout's gender.  Most people are guessing girl, but there are still a few on the boy train.  I was convinced Sprout is a boy, but now I'm not so sure.  Either way, I'll be happy!  Only 23 more weeks (ish) until we find out!

Sprout has been getting lots of Christmas presents.  We've got the crib and pack 'n' play - thanks Grandma Alexis and Aunt Adrian!  Aunt Lauren bought some adorable baby clothes, and we've gotten tidbits from others, as well.  It's fun to see all the baby stuff in our house!  It makes it feel more real, for sure.

Without further ado - the 17 week bump...

Bumpdate: 15 Weeks

Today, we got our first real Christmas tree as a married couple!  Growing up, we always had real trees.  Since Louie and I have been together, we've had a fake tree because we've lived in apartments.  So, today, I took Louie out to Braun's Christmas Tree Farm to chop down a tree!  This is a tradition I hope to keep when Sprout gets here.  I loved having a real tree in the house over the holidays, and I want my baby to have those same wonderful memories.

In other news, I continue to feel little bumps and bubbles a couple times a week, but no obvious kicks.  I still wonder if what I'm feeling is actually baby or if it's just some other random thing going on in there.  I ordered more maternity clothes because 1 pair of jeans and 3 shirts that fit properly really isn't cutting it anymore.  I can still wear some of my other tops, but I just don't feel pretty.

I went Christmas shopping yesterday and was surprised how sad I was that I couldn't buy myself all of the adorable sparkly non-maternity clothes!  It's silly, but I do miss my old body.  I'm sure I'll love my current body even more once I start feeling kicks and Sprout really starts to grow, but it is challenging to deal with such drastic body changes.

As I was heading to the Gap, I heard a live orchestra playing Christmas music right near where kids were getting their pictures taken with Santa.  As I got closer, I realized it was a children's orchestra.  I have no idea why, but I started crying in the middle of the mall!  Something about little kids being talented and playing moving Christmas songs I guess.  Needless to say, I ducked my head and hustled into the Gap.  Pregnancy hormones: 1 - Carmen: 0

I keep meaning to take pictures of all the cute baby stuff I have gotten so far.  I'll get to it.  I promise.

Bumpdate: 14 weeks

Well, I've officially popped - at least in my eyes.  Granted, it's more of my uterus pushing all my organs up rather than actual baby, but hey, I'll take it!  My clothes don't fit right anymore, and I'm slowly purchasing maternity clothing.  Thank goodness it's cute!  It's nice to not have to sacrifice fashion.

We have gotten lots of baby stuff over the past couple of weeks!  I've gotten some sweet hand-me-down stuff from some friends.  Then, on Black Friday, Cotton Babies was having a sale, so I bought most of the rest of our stash.  We'll be using Flips for the most part with disposables as needed and prefolds with covers for the newborn phase.  I'm thinking about getting a few pocket diapers to use for overnights based on the recommendations from a friend.  It's hard to choose what to use because there are so many different kinds of cloth diapers and everyone has a different opinion based on what works for them.

We had an appointment with our midwife on Thursday at 14 weeks.  It took forever to get back into the exam room, but once we got back there, it was a pretty snappy appointment.  All of our 1st trimester screening came back normal.  I have to go in for some blood work next week for additional screening, but I'm not worried.

Note: All this screening is routine and can be turned down if you don't want it.  We figured it's better for us to know about any issues prior to birth so we can be prepared to handle them and not be surprised.  Things are all normal so far.  Yay!

We got to hear Little Sprout's heartbeat again!  Jane put the doppler right between my belly button and my pubic bone and found the heartbeat in no time.  It's wooshing steadily along in the 140s.  Seriously, there is no better sound!  We scheduled our next ultrasound for January at 19 weeks.  This is one of the longer ultra sounds that we get.  The tech will take their time looking at all of Sprout's organs to make sure everything is developing correctly.

How am I feeling?  Tired.  Starving.  Rotund.  But all in all, I'm feeling good!  Just waiting to be kicked...

Bumpdate: 13 Weeks (a little late)

Sorry this post is a little late!  Thanksgiving happened, and I didn't get a chance to blog.

So, what's happened this past week?  WELL, my belly has popped a bit.  It's not totally obvious that there's a baby in there (to everyone else), but before this week, my belly would start out small in the morning and get bigger (thanks bloat) by the evening.  This bump isn't going away!  Let's compare...

Day after positive test vs. 13 weeks.  Please pardon the disgruntled looks.  Waking up in the morning is hard.

This past week we also shared the news with everyone.  It was an exhausting day, but it's so nice to have shared the news!  Now, when people see me sleeping at my desk, they won't think I'm a slacker... right?

Probably the most exciting thing that has happened since I last updated is that I found out my wonderful cousin and his wife are expecting a baby in June!  I am so thrilled to have someone in the Fabian family to share this experience with.  Babies very rarely show up singly in our family.  More commonly, the come in pairs.  I've been waiting excitedly to see who the number 2 was, and now I know!  Congrats Steve and Kim!!!

How am I doing?  Well, tomorrow I enter 2nd trimester.  Holy cow!  I'm 1/3 of the way done!  I'm still feeling the 1st trimester sleepies, but hopefully that will diminish soon.  The nausea has subsided for the most part, except for when I brush my teeth.  Yuck.  Sleep has become more difficult and uncomfortable.  I haven't had a chance/the energy to move around much lately or go to yoga, so I'm very stiff.  I'm planning to schedule a massage and return to yoga in the coming weeks to work out some of these kinks.  

All-in-all, things are going great!  Baby is almost 3 inches long!  I have an appointment with my midwife on Thursday, and I'm hoping we get to hear the heartbeat again.  I'm looking forward to our next ultra sound and feeling baby's first movements.

Until next week!

Bumpdate: 12 Weeks

Today, we had our first ultra sound!  You may remember from this post that we didn't get a dating u/s after our 9 week appointment because we got lucky enough to hear the heartbeat on the doppler.

I was feeling very excited and nervous this morning.  I woke up around 5 am and couldn't get back to sleep. I was too excited to see our baby!  Around 8:30 am, I started getting really nervous.  In all 12 weeks of being pregnant, I hadn't seen our baby.  What if something was wrong?  What if the heart had stopped beating?  What if baby had 5 arms?  What if they nuchal translucency measurement was above 3.0 mm?!

Sidebar: For those of you who don't know, this ultra sound is part of the first trimester screening which is not only used to measure baby's progress, but also to check for markers for Downs Syndrome (nuchal translucency - the fluid surrounding the spine at the base of the neck - measuring greater than 3 mm and the absence of a nasal bone) as well as Trisomy 13 and 18.  The ultra sound can indicate these problems, but further blood work, and sometimes a CVS (chorionic villus sampling) or an amniocentesis is required to confirm the genetic abnormality.

Anyway, so, Lou was supposed to meet me at the Botanical Gardens at 9 am so we could drive together.  At 9:15 am I find out that his car won't start and I have to go pick him up.  Que panic.  I hate being late for things.  So, I call the hospital and tell them we're going to be late.  Of course, everyone is driving like an idiot AND only one of the elevators is in service, but eventually, at 10 am, we got there.

Commence filling out paperwork and watching a really terrible children's tv show.

Around 10:15 am we get called back.  I get on the table, Lou sits next to me, and we look up at the monitor.  The tech squeezes some warm jelly (yes, they warm it at the hospital!) onto my belly and touches it with the wand.  BAM!  There's baby!

It was so surreal to see our little sprout up there on the screen rolling and punching and kicking!  The tech was able to get the crown to rump measurement easily; I believe little sprout is measuring 3.5 cm or 12 weeks, 2 days!  Then, she started measuring the nuchal translucency.  She must have measured it 3 or 4 times, and each time it measured about 1 mm.  Perfect!

At one point, the tech had to leave the room to go grab more paper for her printer.  She left the profile of our baby frozen on the screen.  It is so strange to recognize someone you've never met.  I've seen ultra sound photos before, and they're cool, but this was different.  This was MY baby, and I could totally tell.

Overall, the scan lasted about 15 minutes, and that was one of the best quarter hours of my whole life!  I've got a whole slew of pictures that I can't wait to show off, and I can hardly wait for our next ultra sound when I get to see our little sprout again.  We are still awaiting blood work to confirm that everything is OK, but after seeing our little one having a ball in my uterus today, I'm feeling quite confident that everything is just dandy!

Without further ado... our little sprout!

1st Prenatal Appointment

We had our first prenatal appointment on October 25th, two days after our 2nd wedding anniversary and exactly on the 9 weeks pregnant maker.  I was SO excited, because during my phone-intake appointment 3 weeks earlier, the nurse said we would get to listen for the heartbeat!

I've decided to deliver at U of M hospital with a certified nurse midwife.  This way, I'll (hopefully) get the intervention-free birth I want in an environment prepared for emergency.

OK, so, Louie and I met at the doctor's office, and they immediately called me back.  They had me fill out MORE paperwork even though I was certain I'd already filled this stuff out.  They weighed me, and I was actually kind of nervous about this part because I know that I will gain upwards of 30 lbs with this pregnancy, but I've never been over 130 lbs in my life.  I weighed in at 132.  I guess that's to be expected considering the copious amounts of food I've been eating.  Seriously, I'm eating more than Louie.

The nurse checked my vitals and had me change into a gown (oh joy).  The midwife, Jane, came in a few minutes later and oh my gosh, I just love her!  She's sweet and calm and has a way of leading the conversation to find out answers to certain questions and provide you with information w/o just asking you questions or telling you stuff like you're dumb.  She's been practicing for 10+ years and is fully supportive of med-free child birth, movement during delivery, intermittent fetal monitoring, delivering in showers, tubs, standing up, whatever, and she even said she's let husbands catch the baby before!  *swoon*

Jane said we'd try to listen for a heartbeat, but at 9 weeks it was unlike we'd hear anything since my little sprout is still tucked in behind my pubic bone and is only the size of a raspberry.  She pulled out the doppler and squirted that cold ultra sound jelly on my belly and started poking around.  We found my heartbeat and listened to it for a second so I would be able to tell the difference between the two.  After poking around a little more BAM!  There it was!  Woosh, woosh, woosh!  We heard the heartbeat for about 10 seconds before I giggled too much and caused the doppler to move.  Jane was as shocked as we were!

Jane had been planning to send us in for a dating u/s if we hadn't found the heartbeat, which I was super excited about because I'd been DYING to see my little sprout.  However, since we found the heartbeat, we scheduled an u/s for 12 weeks to do some 1st trimester screening and get measurements, etc.  Three more weeks?!  Gah!  There is so much waiting for this little baby!  I'm sure it will be worth it.

Jane proceeded with a routine pelvic exam (joy) and sent me on my way.  Louie and I were both on cloud nine and in total awe of getting to hear our baby's heartbeat!  There really is someone in there!

Since then, my love for this kid has multiplied to ridiculous proportions.  I am SO excited to know that baby is growing, and I can't wait to meet him or her!  Yay!!!

1st Tri Complaints

I always thought I'd be one of those women who loved all aspects of being pregnant and that I'd never complain because I'd be so grateful to finally be pregnant.

I was wrong.

It's not that I don't love being pregnant.  It's just that right now, at 6 weeks 3 days, there's little to show for how much I'm feeling.  How am I feeling, you ask?  Gross.  I'm either starving or too full.  Everything makes me nauseous.  I'm tired ALL. THE. TIME.  There are other things, too, but I'll spare you the yucky details.

I feel like if I could feel baby or see a bump or something like that, it wouldn't be so bad.  But right now it's just feeling bleh.  It's surprisingly hard to deal with.

A line is a line!

After 7 months of trying to get pregnant, I finally got a positive test.  I was sure I was out this cycle, but I am THRILLED that I was wrong!  The line may be faint, but it's there!

Being a mother is the one think I have always known I've wanted to be.  This is a dream come true.  Yes, I'm terribly nervous.  There are so many things that could go wrong.  But, I'm also hopeful!  Today, I am pregnant.  I'm pregnant!!!  

Oh little baby, please snuggle in tight and grow!  I am so excited to meet you and watch you learn and grow. I love you already, little sprout!

<3 Mama