OB Visit 1.5

Today was the second half of my first OB visit where I actually got to meet my OB. I liked her very much and found her to be pretty down to earth and straight forward. All in all, there was more waiting involved in the appointment than anything. Very un-doctorish. The appointment itself was rather short (mostly med history) because the doctor wasn't feeling very well, and therefore thought it would be better if she didn't do a physical exam this time around. Damn. And I'm so good at letting people poke around downtown these days. I've got another appointment around week 12. I also need to schedule an Integrated Screen (for Down's) around the same time. So March is shaping up to be a bit of a busy month.

I've found that the exhaustion is fading, and I'm starting to get my energy back. Jeramy, on the other hand, has been really tired lately and falling asleep very early in the evening. Perhaps its sympathy symptoms on his part?

OB Visit 1.0 a Success

Yesterday marked my first visit to an OB/GYN ever. It seems like most women have been to one before getting pregnant, but not me. My primary care doc takes care of my annual physicals complete with the ever fun pap smears, and he also did my initial IF work-up. I was referred to the OB/GYN I'm seeing now when he couldn't figure out what was going wrong with my cycles, but I skipped them and went straight to the RE because I didn't want to wait 4 months to get an appointment (I definitely don't regret that decision!). Apparently, they can fit you in much sooner when you are pregnant than they can when you're having problems trying to get pregnant. Go figure.

The ultrasound went fabulously. I kind of had to chuckle though when the tech explained that it would be trans-vaginal and asked if I'd ever had an ultrasound done this way before. Ummm...yeah. Like 2 dozen times this year. Anyhow, it is astounding how much Spot grew in just two weeks. S/he went from looking like a blob to a gummy-bear like baby who measured a couple days ahead at 9 weeks 2 days. The heart was beating away at a healthy 166 bpm, and I think I even saw a tiny bit of twitching. Spot was much less shy about being photographed today, and here is the lovely pic:

After the ultrasound we met with the nurse. She gave me a couple of samples of prenatal vitamins with stool softener in them. Hallelujah! I remember Katie mentioning these little miracles. Oh and I got even more reading material, which is great seeing as I'm a voracious reader of anything pregnancy related these days. Then after peeing in a cup and giving the vampire a few tubes of blood I was done. Also the nurse confirmed that my due date is September 29th. There had been some mention of October 1st, but I'm glad it is the earlier date. I know it is only two days but it just sounds so much earlier.

On Thursday I go meet the OB. Hopefully I like her because I sure don't want to have to jump through the hoops of a first appointment somewhere else. Although I would probably get another ultrasound out of the deal. Hmmm...tempting....

lazy

I had a very lazy weekend. I'd say it was lazy with a capital 'L', but I'm afraid my slothfulness extended even to punctuation. I ventured out of the house a couple of times for lunches and grocery shopping. But while I was in the house nothing much got done unless napping and watching TV counts. I really need to get myself out of this lazy slump, because otherwise I might not know how to handle everything if/when a baby arrives in 31 weeks. But then again, I probably won't be able to find the baby because by then my house will have reached new heights in terms of messiness.

I did finish the last element of the ensemble for Debi's baby, which was a hat. It does not follow any specific pattern, but I incorporated the pattern stitch from the sweater I made. I'm a little concerned that it is too small relative to the sweater but oh well. I'm pretty sure that at one time or another the baby will fit the hat, sweater and booties even if it is not all at the same time.

This afternoon is the first half of my first OB appointment. I get an ultrasound and meet with the nurse today. On Thursday I'll meet with the doc. So provided everything goes well, hopefully there will be another picture to share of Spot by tomorrow.

Two Things I Adore

Late February is my favorite time of year when it comes to treats for 2 reasons...

AND

Some people buy those exorbitantly priced cookies because they can't resist those cute little Girl Scouts. Not me. Honestly I find the Hannah Montana crowd a bit irritating with their high pitched voices and shrill giggles. No what gets me is those Samoa cookies. You know...the ones with the sugary trifecta of chocolate, caramel and coconut? Yum. And the peanut butter patties come in a close second given my love of the PB/chocolate combo.

Screw those nasty, tasteless Peeps. Cadbury Cream Eggs with their gooey, sugary center are my favorite Easter treat. As with all holiday related items they seem to come out earlier and earlier each year, but I'm not complaining even if it means more damage to my waist line. Now they have the mini-cream eggs too, but I don't like those quite as well. I greatly prefer the higher cream to chocolate ratio that the full size provides.

Luckily my food aversions have not included these two treats. But then again maybe I'd be better off gorging myself on something else. I somehow doubt that chocolate and sugar are the ideal fuels for baby-growing.

Too Cute

I knitted the cutest booties to go with the sweater I made for Debi's baby Kiera. I saw them on ravelry and simply couldn't help myself. They are pretty easy, although I couldn't quite figure out how it all came together until the very end when I began the straps. Once I reached that point a little light came on. As a bonus I have just enough yarn left to knit a cap, which I started last night.

Here is the pic and the details:
Pattern: Saartje's Booties
Yarn: Rowan Wool Cotton
Needles: size 4
Time: 4 hours total over 5 days
Ravelry Link: here

Wishing I had something interesting to say

The title of this post really says it all, I'm afraid. My weekend, all three days of it, was wonderfully boring. I did just a little housework. A little knitting. A little napping. A few errands. Part of me wishes I had been more productive, but the rest of me just doesn't really care. I guess the only real problem is that I now have absolutely nothing to blog about. Well nothing interesting at least.

Things seem to be progressing on the pregnancy front. I am now 8 weeks and 1 day, and my next glimpse of Spot is now less than a week away. In the meantime, I am trying to take assurance in the statistics I found via Dr. Google and assuming that everything is just fine. I think I'll feel better after the ultrasound. And a little better after I pass the 10 week mark. And a little better after I finish the 1st trimester. And a little better after the 20 week ultrasound. And a little better after I actually give birth to a living human being. But of course actually having a child will kick-off a whole new cycle of worry I'm sure.

Now on to symptoms, which I'm pretty sure nobody but me cares too much about. I am happy to report much relief in the constipation department and things seem to be *ahem* moving along. I still don't really have what I would call morning sickness, but my stomach frequently takes on a general feeling of discontent. Also instead of cravings, I've found myself repulsed by some of my favorite foods like pepperoni pizza and coffee. Oh and I'm still tired but the exhaustion is not nearly as bad as it was a week ago. So basically I'm feeling fine and not particularly pregnant.

Valentine's Day Ramblings

I got up this morning to find Jeramy had set out my Valentine's Day present...
Yup, a chocolate fish! What more could a girl (especially one that loves to fish) ask for? He also got me a few other items, because he is an awfully sweet husband after all.

I finished blocking and sewing buttons on to the baby sweater for Debbie. Everybody in my knitting circle was very impressed and wanted to borrow the pattern. I think this may be my favorite knitting project to date.
On the pregnancy front, I'm assuming that things are going swimmingly in the spirit of my new found optimism. I'm afraid that constipation continues to plague me, and the extra fiber plum juice I tried last week did nothing to help things along. So this week, I'm trying the less pleasant option of prune juice. I've managed to gulp a cup down yesterday and today along with a breakfast of a high fiber cereal. I'm just wondering how long it will take to work. Oh and if one cup a day is enough. Does anybody know???

Here is the pic

This pic shows how Spot got its nickname. I mean what else do you name a blurry blob? Luckily my RE was kind enough to put in a little arrow to help me find Spot. I have to admit that I find ultrasounds a little bit confusing (okay...a lot). But it is amazing the amount of information that can be derived from fuzzy black and white images. I am definitely looking forward to my next one to see how much Spot grows in a couple weeks.

The Ultrasound

My ultrasound this morning went very well. "Spot" (yes we have a new nickname) measured right on schedule at 7 weeks 2 days. And we saw the heartbeat, which was a nice 145bpm. I'll post my picture later since the scanner at work produced an image that was even fuzzier than the already fuzzy picture. I'm afraid my RE didn't find Spot to be particularly photogenic as s/he was hiding in the corner of the gestational sac and it was difficult to get a good picture.

Since we have now graduated from the RE's office, I went ahead and made my OB appointment. The doctor's schedule is really tight during the next couple of weeks, so I had to split my first visit up into 2 sessions. On February 25th I'll have an ultrasound and meet with the nurse. On February 28th I'll have the appointment with the OB.

I hardly know what else to say. This feels a little more real than it did yesterday given the evidence, but it still feels awfully surreal at the same time. And while I feel some relief, I don't feel quite as much as I would like. I certainly have no reasons for pessimism, but all the same it is a bit difficult to let go of the nervousness. I guess that I do it for self protection, although I know that those efforts are useless as I'd disappointed with anything but a healthy baby. So for the next couple of weeks, I'm just going to try my best to abandon fears and enjoy all of this. I just have to figure out how.

Exhaustion

A new symptom has emerged over the past few days: exhaustion. I've heard of this being a symptom of pregnancy before, but I never really believed it. Cynically, I figured it was just a lame excuse used by women wanting to get their husbands to do the housework for a while. I think I might have been wrong. Late last week I came home from work completely wiped out and fell asleep very early both nights. Yesterday I took naps so frequently that I think I slept for 18 of 24 hours and still was able to fall asleep by 10pm last night and slept quite soundly. Jeramy seems quite concerned by this. Admittedly sleeping is one of my favorite activities, but even I am growing a bit alarmed as well. As it is now my house is a disaster, there are piles of laundry to be folded, and grocery shopping to do. I hate to imagine the potential state of things if this trend continues.

Between naps I managed to finish knitting the baby sweater for Debbie. I have been surprised how quickly this has knitted up, and it really is one of my favorite projects so far. I am a bit irritated with how I did the button hole spacing, but hopefully the unevenness won't be blatantly obvious in the end. I hope to get it blocked and buttons sewn in over the next few days.
I'm currently 7 weeks 2 days (if you use the IUI date) or 7 weeks (if you use my LMP date) pregnant. My ultrasound is in exactly 25.5 hours. My feelings about it have varied greatly as I quickly swing from entirely pessimistic to quite optimistic and back again. I just really hope that we'll find that whatever is growing in me has a heartbeat.

Mid-week Ramblings

My ultrasound is now less than one week away. I finally feel like it is almost within reach, and luckily I've been keeping busy this week so time has moved by a bit quicker. I'm both excited about it and nervous at the same time. But I am doing my best to keep my emotions in check.

One thing I find odd is how everybody asks me if I have any symptoms or if I've been very sick. It is not that the question itself is odd, but do people really want to hear my puke stories? I mean it certainly is not dinner conversation, but of course that won't stop me from telling you them. The truth is that I've had little so far in the way of symptoms to reassure me that this pregnancy is not a figment of my imagination. Most of the cramping from weeks 4 and 5 has subsided. At times I've felt hints of nausea, but that is mostly after a big meal and it goes away rather quickly. The only real symptom that has developed in the last week is constipation, which is not at all glamorous and not particularly reassuring either. I mean it's probably just all that iron in those dang prenatal vitamins. Anyhow between increasing my fiber intake and the purchase of some plum juice advertised as good for digestive health, I think things are starting to *ahem* move along. Not that you wanted to know or anything.

Well...on to more palatable fronts...

I've finished the sleeves on the baby sweater I'm knitting for our friend Debbie's baby girl who is due in May. It was a little tricky to figure out as the instructions in the pattern are very brief, but I was able to figure it out with help during a couple knitting circle sessions. It is kind of strange to see a sweater coming together from the top down rather than the bottom up, but I really like the fact that the design is almost seamless. I also really love the lace pattern stitch. If I have a girl I am definitely knitting another one for her. I have been compiling an impossibly long list of all the things I want to knit for "the growth", but I refuse to let myself start anything before the second trimester.

Fun in the Snow

I've decided that if all I had between now and my ultrasound were weekends, that the time would fly by much faster. It is just so much easier to endure the wait when you are having fun. And while I like my job well enough, the rest of life is just so much more enjoyable. This weekend was definitely good as I learned how to knit the second sleeve on the baby sweater, I went to Jaime's party where I watched the Patriots the lose the Super Bowl (woohoo!), and Jeramy was away from home long enough Saturday to allow me to watch not one but two Jane Austen movies. But definitely one of the funnest parts of the weekend was our trip into the mountains this morning to play in the snow. We met up with friends for breakfast and then we all headed out to Greenwater. Here are the pics of our fun:

Jeramy throwing a snowball

Ryan trying to figure out why his 4-year-old logic of getting to throw snowballs without having them thrown at him is not working out

Me.

Skyla

William at one with the snow.

A snowball fight action shot. I think it's Aaron taking a shot from Jeramy.

Want a little more snow there Bob?

This isn't a very high quality photo, but I just love the expression captured on Brian's face. He takes his snowball fights quite seriously.

The truck with the new tires and rims Jeramy had put on Friday. It almost feels like a new truck they look so good.