14w5d - Exciting weekend

Another week down, and out to more friends.

Friday was a fun day. We went to the Science Museum of Minnesota to see the CSI exhibit. While we waited for our show time, we wandered through the Disease Detectives area. One of the experiment stations was an ECG display. It was the strangest thing to see, the machine was picking up baby's heartbeat along with mine. If I didn't know better, I'd think I had some major heart issue. So cool.

Saturday evening we went to our friends' White Elephant Party. It's been a few years since we've been able to go so it was great that our schedule was open and allowed us to make it this year. We had a good time telling some close friends that we're expecting. Once again, shock and excitement took over. Seeing reactions like this makes me feel so good about not telling anyone when we were trying. For all these years everyone just kept thinking we didn't want kids.

My next OB appointment is next week. 16 weeks. Can you believe it? Time sure is going fast. I continue to feel great every day which must be contributing to the time going so fast. I feel so sorry for the girls who are so sick throughout their pregnancies. Why can't everyone feel this good? I know I have a long way to go, but surviving the first trimester without an ounce of nausea or morning sickness sure was a blessing.

What's happening with baby: Week 14 - Lemon

Your adorable little fetus is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, and (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over the body for warmth.

13w - Someone's Excited!

It's official! Grandma got bit by the new grandbaby bug. I think it's safe to say she's anxious for the new little one. She hit the clearance rack at Kohl's and came bearing gifts. 16 maternity tops that should get me through a good majority of my pregnancy. There is a lot of short sleeve stuff, but if I toss on a sweater it should be about perfect through out the winter. She really scored and got all of this for about $100.

Week 13, Wow! that feels like such a milestone. The first trimester is almost over. I have my next OB appointment scheduled for the week of Christmas, and our Level II 'Big' u/s is already scheduled for January. Having been the one watching other people's pregnancies for so long, I never thought my own would be going by so fast.

What's happening with baby: Week 13 - Peach

Your fetus is forming teeth and vocal cords... savor this, their non-functional phase. Baby is approaching normal proportions, with a head now only one third the size of the body. Intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy. (Much more convenient.)

12w4d - Spilled the Beans

Finally, the cat's out of the bag. Our families are really excited and were certainly surprised by the news. I made a collage of the few photos we have of baby and gave each set of parents a copy.

We'll slowly now start telling the rest of our family and friends with most of them finding out through our Christmas card. For now, we have sworn our families to secrecy. It's been such a long journey that we really want to tell people ourselves. If we've been able to keep this secret for so long, it really shouldn't be that much to ask for them to keep it to themselves for a few weeks.

I didn't see my sister for the holiday, but did tell her over the phone. She seemed pretty excited to be a "real" aunt and said she didn't think it would ever happen. She has several nieces and nephews through her husband's side.

Of course we got the "I thought you didn't want kids" comment. I just replied that we changed our minds. We told our families what we went through to get here, but I don't think they really grasped the magnitude of the challenge or the extremes of our journey.

After telling my mom, I found out that I have her to thank for no morning sickness. Apparently she and my sister never really had any to speak of either. Here I was thinking maybe it was because of the constant fluctuations of hormone levels through so many cycles of treatments. At any rate, I feel very thankful to have been skipped over by the morning sickness fairy. (So far at least!)

The first 12 weeks have gone by pretty fast. I just can't believe how close I am to being out of the First Trimester.

And now, what's happening with baby: Week 12 Plum
As you move into the second trimester, baby shifts into the growth and maturation stage. After weeks in the critical development stage, almost all of baby's systems are fully formed.

11w5d - NT Scan complete

Not much to update today, but I do have some new photos to share. :)

Baby was quite active at the beginning of the scan, but then decided to take a nap when it was time for the most important measurement. We tried a few tricks, but baby wasn't budging and wouldn't get into position for the neck measurement. We gave baby about 15 minutes and a small bottle of cold water to try to wake them. It worked in that baby woke up, but it was still a challenge to get that little stinker into position.

By measurement, baby was actually measuring a couple of days ahead this time. 12wks exactly. Heart rate was just about the same as last time at 168. It was really cool to see the 4 working chambers of the heart and also the brain.

Seeing baby again today was the reassurance I needed before we start telling everyone later this week. Based on u/s, everything looks good. The u/s tech said she can't say normal or abnormal. Ultimately, we'll know more when the blood work comes back. Speaking of blood work, since when did a finger prick hurt so bad? Ouch! Actually, it was more of a finger slice than a finger prick.

Anyways, as promised, new pics! Look at the 2nd one, it looks like baby could be sucking its thumb.

11w4d - Thanksgiving week

It's almost here! Thanksgiving and our big reveal. While plans have not gone exactly as we had hoped, both families will be here (individually) this week so we can tell them in-person. It was looking like both families would be here for pre-Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday, but that just isn't going to work out. At least we'll be able to tell both sets of parents in-person within 24 hours of each other. That still beats a phone call any day!

I'm getting really excited for our appointment this week. Can't wait to see how much baby has changed in the last 3.5 weeks. It's going to be a busy week, but I'll try to get on to post updates after our appointment. But for now...

What's happening with baby: Week 11 LimeYour fetus currently enjoys a 1:1 ratio between body and head, and has skin so transparent that blood vessels show right through. But, fingers and toes are no longer webbed, and hair follicles, tooth buds and nail beds are forming -- setting up a significantly more attractive future.

10w4d

It's been another quiet week with little to report. I'm still feeling really good. I think I've felt some of those stretching pains in the last few days I also often feel something when I'm in bed switching positions. We went and worked out for a while yesterday. First time in I don't know how long! I did 30 minutes on the treadmill keeping my heart rate under 120.

We have family photos on Saturday and our next appointment is next week already, so I have those things to look forward to this week. Hopefully this week goes by fast!

We're down to 10 days before the big reveal. Our Thanksgiving Day plans haven't completely come together yet, so that's a bit of a stress point. How are we gonna do this? We are ready to host dinner if everything falls into place. I even 'won' a 14.6 lb turkey at a meat/turkey raffle on Saturday!

What's happening with baby: Week 10 Prune
With bones and cartilage starting to form and vital organs beginning to function, baby is making major progress. Body length will almost double in the next three weeks, and arm joints are now working. (Soon, legs will too.)

9w - 1st day in maternity pants

And boy is my belly happy. My poor stomach has been getting so sore when I sit for a while and after meals. Yesterday I went out and got a couple pairs of jeans that actually fit and are super comfy. My belly is so much happier today.

Us IVF'ers have so much bloat to start with from all the stim meds that the belly just sort of keeps expanding instead of a natural conception without any of the drugs where you might actually lose a little bloat before the belly actually starts to pop.

It's been an uneventful week. I'm still feeling like a million bucks..beside the belly issue that has now been resolved. Still getting tired in the afternoons, still no nausea or morning sickness to speak of.

This is our little secret for 3 more weeks. The big reveal will be on Thanksgiving, and honestly, at the rate I'm going, the belly will reveal itself without us having to say anything.

What's going on with baby this week: Week 9 Green Olive

Your little embryo has now officially graduated to fetus-hood. Adding to the excitement, a Doppler ultrasound device might be able to pick up the beating heart. With basic physical structures in place and increasingly distinct facial features, baby is kind of starting to look like... well... a baby!