1st OB Appt.

I had my first appt. at the OB's office. I'm so happy to say they were ON TIME, and I didn't feel like I was a number or being rushed through at all. I was a little worried about that, since it does seem to be a big practice.

Today it was just talking to the nurse and getting labwork. I go back in 1 week for an ultrasound and pap. They also weighed me-- I've gained ~7 lbs, which isn't great for the first tri, but not awful either. And I don't know exactly how much I weighed before IVF anyway...

They also said my due date is 2/11/09 (instead of 2/10), but I'm not going to bother to change my ticker or anything. It isn't like babies are born on their due date anyway!

I got a huge bag of stuff-- booklets, birth class info, free formula coupons, etc. And now Mark and I need to think about a few things... circumcision if it is a boy and whether to have a natural birth plan. It still feels like we have awhile to decide. I wouldn't let myself think about anything baby while we were trying, so it feels really strange to be getting into this.

card from my niece

I got this card a few weeks ago-- so cute! It is a mommy flamingo with a baby flamingo hatching from an egg and a daddy flamingo watching from the side. :)

My niece is 8 and lives in Atlanta. It has been awhile since there has been a baby in our family, and she and my nephew are really excited! They were asking their mom about a baby just before our BFP! It has been fun to share the news and feel confident the farther things go along.

12 weeks today! The baby is about the size of a lime, just over 2 inches! My first OB appt is on Thursday. I also added the 11 wk u/s photo a few posts down.

Baby Heart Monitor!

After some issues with an Amazon seller, my doppler arrived yesterday! (don't buy from Medinet) I tried it out right away, but I couldn't find the baby's heartbeat. I haven't had the heartbeat measured at the doctor's office, so I didn't know where to look. After some googling and waving the wand slowly all over the place, we finally found it after about 30 min.

Oh wow! It was the most beautiful and amazing sound! I can't believe I have a little baby with a beating heart growing inside me right now. It feels more real everyday, but it still seems just too good to be true?! Maybe I'll feel differently as I start to tell more people or show more?

office stuff

I just talked to my friend/mentor who was laid off last week after 21 years! He's doing well though, and in good spirits-- he was ready for a change and with his awesome severance, he can go 6 months or more! He's going to look for work and start up his consulting business at the same time.

I also told him about the baby. He was really happy for us and thought telling next month when I'm there was a good strategy. So that's the plan (thanks girls!). He also thought I was safe for at least 6 months, which would be fine for us. I'd be really close to my due date, and severance + unemployment is probably better than my maternity leave!

When I was talking to him a few people were coming in/out of the building to smoke, so I'm pretty sure they overheard me! Oh well, no one here is really connected to anyone back there. And it is only another month...

11 weeks, last RE appt.

I'm 11 weeks today! The baby is the size of a fig. I'm so happy and starting to think this is really, really going to happen.

We had our last appointment with Dr T yesterday before I move upstairs to the OB/GYN. After waiting for over 2 hours, he finally came in and did the ultrasound. (Not going to miss the long waits at all!) The baby showed up right away and measured right on track at 11 weeks.

It was so amazing. It was moving all over the place and flailing its little legs and arms. It even waved its hand at us and turned its back. Mark said it was trying to tell the u/s to go away! So adorable. I can't believed that this little baby is moving around like that inside me all the time and I have no idea.

I said goodbye to some of the staff-- they were so wonderful to me. I'm glad the OB's office is just upstairs, so I can stop by and give them an update. Dr. T said he even fills in for them upstairs sometimes, so he might see me too-- "I put them in and take them out!"

My first OB appt is July 31!

layoffs

My company had layoffs yesterday. I wasn't affected, and since I work remotely, I didn't find out until today. A good friend/mentor of mine was let go! He'd been with the company a long time. I'm really surprised that they didn't fire me too. I know they value me, but it seems pretty easy to cut someone remote.

Anyway, I'm trying to decide if telling will help or hurt? Like maybe they'd be less likely to lay off a pg lady because of descrimination, or maybe since it is happening anyway, I'd be at more risk. I was thinking I'd tell them after the u/s on Monday, but now I'm not sure. Maybe I should wait until I go out there at the end of August? I hate my job, but I was really hoping to keep it until I delivered!

I also found out that I will probably get 6 weeks of maternity leave at 66% of my pay! I signed up for disability insurance when I first started, mainly because my mom is disabled. I didn't even think about it covering pregnancy, but I called today and they said it would. I'm not 100% counting on it because she couldn't give me the full details, but I imagine this is something I'll find out when I announce.

Double Digits!! 10 weeks!!

Yay! 10 weeks today. The baby is the size of a sugar date (or kumquat or prune). The baby is officially a fetus and not an embryo anymore! Wow, so hard to believe I only have a few weeks left in the first trimester. I'll be glad when it is over, but it just makes me think how fast this is moving! I'm 25% done with my pregnancy! But then I think back to when I had my egg retrieval, and that seems like a LONG time ago.

I continue to feel pretty good. I've only had a little bit of nausea here and there. I've also been eating Ginger Chews, which are gross, but seem to help. And I'm definitely starting to grow, just a bit. Mark can tell I'm pregnant, but no one else would dare comment since I could just be getting fat!

I still feel a little uncomfortable telling neighbors, acquaintances, etc. but I think that will change after the next ultrasound. And Mark feels with IVF we got the best, strongest embies-- so our chances are pretty darn good.

shopping!

I finally bought some pregnancy related things. I was a little reluctant and scared because it is still early, and something makes me think I'm jinxing myself or getting too far ahead, but I am starting to get more comfortable-- especially since I'm almost in double digits!!

I just bought a fetal heart rate doppler. It should be here next week, so hopefully the baby will be big enough that we can pick it up by then. It says you should be able to hear starting 9-12 weeks. I hope it doesn't make me crazy if I can't find it, though...!

I also got some prenatal yoga workouts. I haven't practiced any yoga since March, and I really miss it. I was feeling too sick to do much exercise the past couple weeks, but I'm feeling a little better and I'm looking forward to getting started again.

9 weeks! & new nephew

Hard to believe I'm 9 weeks!! The baby is the size of a grape.

Today I'm feeling good, really good actually, and I'm just trying to go with it. I feel like last week's ultrasound gave me a little boost of confidence.

I only have 1 more ultrasound with Dr. T, and then I need to find an OB. I was planning to just go to the one upstairs from his office, but they are a super-busy baby mill. Yesterday I got lost in their phone menu maze, and finally got to a place to leave a message, and no one has called me back. That doesn't give me much confidence that they will be available for me. But I know they have talented doctors over there, and they deliver at the hospital I would probably want to be. I'll have to think about it...

In other news, I'm an aunt (again!). Mark's brother and his wife had their second son, Arthur Samuel born July 4th! So adorable. We're going out around Labor Day to visit. It was kind of tough for me to be around tiny babies for awhile, so I'm happy I can visit without any of those feelings.

1st ultrasound

Everything went really well! We're measuring right on track-- 8 weeks. We saw the little heartbeat flickering (so cool!), and we even saw the baby wiggle a little, really cute. I'm still in disbelief that this baby we saw on the screen is actually *inside me*!! (BTW-- the little ball in the ultrasound is the yolk sac, which supports the baby until the placenta takes over)

I'm so relieved to know everything is okay. We go back July 21, and then it is on to the OB!

8 weeks

I'm 8 weeks today! It has been over a month since we found out I'm pregnant. It still doesn't feel real. Although the nausea keeps reminding me! Ugh-- I have felt pretty bad today and yesterday. I was fine all weekend, but now I just want to crawl in bed. But when I'm not sick, I worry that something is wrong-- so I don't even get to enjoy it!