Virgin Mary Please

Well, there wasn't anymore hiding it at work this week. The cat is out of the bag and my staff knows I'm pregnant. I seemed to "pop" in the last week or two and hiding it really doesn't work anymore. I was a bit overwhelmed with everyone finding out and knowing.

My students (3rd graders) were so cute & innocent. On Thursday, a few of them gathered the courage to ask me..."Do you have a baby in there?" I smiled and said it was either a baby or maybe I just ate too many donuts. They thought that was hilarious and couldn't stop teasing me all day about donuts..ha.

My appointment with the OB this past week was pretty uneventful, which I suppose is a good thing. I guess I was disappointed I didn't get to have an ultrasound this time. They took a urine sample, weighed me (+ 5 pounds), answered the questions I had, and listened to the heartbeat. :) Then the OB was on his way and I was left already anticipating our next appointment in 4 more weeks!!!!!!!!! The next appointment will be at 20 weeks and will be our anatomy scan. Counting down the days already.

Symptoms wise - it depends on the day. Some days the upset stomach only acts up at night and others it comes and goes throughout the day. I am still extremely tired and craving lots of sleep/rest. I'm waking up multiple times throughout the night and oftentimes it's difficult to fall back to sleep. My doppler is still making me very happy and I'm down to using it only once a day (instead of twice). This week I'm aiming towards only using it every other day. We'll see how that goes. This past week my aversions seemed to be breakfast food including eggs, hash browns, and bacon - which is not at all like me since breakfast is usually my favorite meal of the day. The one thing that always tastes good to me (since week 8) is a Virgin Bloody Mary. I've had one the past 3 days in a row..yum! :) Don't worry Dad - I get them with very little spice.

15 Weeks

I have a lot on my mind and I really don't even know where to start, so I apologize if this post is all over the place.

Tomorrow is 15 weeks - I can't believe it. Every morning I wake up and just thank God for giving me another day of this pregnancy. It still doesn't feel real. I'm still having trouble allowing myself to feel excited. I've been let down so many times, it's hard to accept that this could possibly turn out good. My biggest struggle the past three months has been letting go of the fear and it continues to be an ongoing challenge. Those of you that have experienced miscarriage/s before, is there ever a point in your current pregnancy where you were just able to completely let go and be excited?

I did take a step forward this weekend...a big step forward. I purchased my first round of maternity clothing. I was really getting sick of wearing leggings to work nearly every day and the one pair of dress pants I had left were officially too snug. And wow what a difference the new clothing makes. My favorite buy was a pair of maternity skinny jeans - super cute and SO comfortable. I'm actually a bit shocked at how much I grew this past week. I was going to try and make it one more week at work before spilling the news, but I don't think I'm going to make it. The plan is to tell my principal tomorrow morning before work and just go from there with the rest of the staff.

I went ahead and ordered a Doppler and it arrived last Tuesday. I LOVE IT!!! :) I was surprised with how quickly we found baby's heartbeat the first couple times using it. When I decided to get one, I told myself I would use it like once every few days or so. Well, that has not been happening. I have been using every single day. It just helps to provide myself with that extra reassurance that everything is okay in there. I got the Sonoline B (3hz) and would highly recommend it.

Symptoms wise - My nausea really seems to kick in the evening after dinner. I haven't been sleeping all that well -waking up numerous times throughout the night with an upset stomach. My body is still demanding 10+ hours of sleep each night.

My midwife called on Friday evening with our NT results. It was a great way to start the weekend because all the tests came back "normal" and negative for Downs. She didn't give me specific numbers/odds - but I'm sure I'll get more details at my next appt.

Speaking of the next appt....I'm looking forward to an appointment with our OB this upcoming Thursday afternoon. :)

First Trimester Recap

Yes, you read that title correctly. On Monday, I will be 14 weeks and officially out of the first trimester. I didn't want to officially blog about the first trimester until I was reassured that the baby is okay. And yes, he/she is doing very well. We had our NT scan yesterday and it was amazing. I cannot believe how much the baby has grown and how much it actually looks like a real baby now. We won't receive results from the NT scan/blood work for about a week - but that's okay - we were just absolutely thrilled to see the baby measuring on track with a strong heartbeat and wiggling around like crazy.

Okay, on with the recap....

Symptoms:
Weeks 6-12 - "all day sickness", lots of dry heaving, throwing up from time to time, complete loss of appetite, nothing really tasted good to me and I was eating because I had to, sore breasts, bloated to the max, some lower back pain, a "pulling" like feeling in my lower pelvic area, FATIGUE (I'm still getting about 12 hours a sleep every night), and crazy dreams.


At the start of 13 weeks, I started feeling more like myself. I currently have waves of morning sickness, but I am so relieved the all day sickness has dissipated. My appetite has also picked up this week. I had my first ever foot-long meatball sub from Subway, and yes I ate every bite. The pregnancy brain has also kicked in. I actually forgot my phone at home when I went to work the other day and I've been making a lot of simple mistakes at work. There are days I don't feel safe driving because I feel so out of it.

Cravings: None really.

Aversions: Starbucks hot chocolate. I used to have one of these every single morning before work and the thought of one or any Starbucks related drink makes me actually gag.

Maternity Clothes: Not yet, although the only thing I wear to work is leggings because my pants are all now too snug. A few of them I can't button anymore and the ones I can still button are just too uncomfortable to wear all day at work. I plan to buy some more leggings this weekend and some additional loose fitting tops.

What I Miss: Absolutely nothing!

What I'm Looking Forward To: OB appointment in 2 weeks, telling the rest of the family, "showing" more, feeling movement, and eventually finding out the gender.

I start and end my days in the exact same way - in prayer. I thank God every single day for blessing me with each day of this pregnancy. I pray that he continues to keep our baby healthy and growing each day. I also pray that He comforts me and helps me to let go of any fears I have and that those fears can be replaced with faith and trust in Him.

And here is a picture of our lil one from the scan yesterday. Sorry, it's not the best quality - taken from my phone.