Before I Forget...

Peanut has a face!

They performed an ultrasound to check out my cyst, which is causing me EXTREME pain.

Next time we see the baby will be in ten days at our NT scan!

A Handful of Quick Updates!

I have to get Sookie to the groomer pretty soon, but some updates on life here in Wichita!

I have my NT screening scheduled for November 10th, which is great. I (hopefully WE!) will get to see the baby again, and once again be reassured that everything is ok. If we're being honest, I could care less about the results of the screening. I highly doubt that my child will have downs or trisomy 13 or anything like that, but even if so, I would not terminate the pregnancy because of it. I scheduled this because it's covered by my insurance and I'm paranoid about the health of my baby. I probably won't stop being paranoid until he or she is safely delivered!

After that, I will have my second official OBGYN appointment on the 14th of November, and this time we will actually meet Doctor Breit! I'm excited for that, and I hope she's really nice. I'm nervous going into this not being familiar with the practice, but so far it seems amazing. I will need to tour Wellesly (sp.? I should find this out) and Via Christi to decide where I want to give birth, so I can let them know. I doubt I'll pick Via Christi. I'm hoping to explore my options with Jessie while she's here. Anyway, we will also get to hear the baby's heartbeat (as opposed to SEEING it), for the first time at this appointment! Well, that might not be ENTIRELY true...

...because Eric gave in and let me buy a fetal heart doppler online yesterday :) When it arrives, we will be able to hear the baby's heartbeat whenever we want for the rest of the pregnancy! I'm hoping we can pick it up on the doppler right away, but I'm only going to be 10 weeks on Saturday, so it MAY be early. Who knows!

So Jessie is coming to visit on November 17th (seriously, November is a super FULL month for me...I have another mommy to be class the day after she leaves!)...I'm seriously hoping we get to the Sedgwick County Zoo and check out some of the museums in the area, as well as scope out the hospitals. And on that note, it's time to get Sookie into the car and get her nails trimmed!

8w5d

How far along? 8 weeks and 5 days

Total weight gain/loss: a whole lot. Ten pounds, which is mostly bloat (this is the first time in my life that I can see the bloat and recognize bloat vs. fat)...I also blame quitting smoking.

Maternity clothes? nopers, still using the BeBand to help with jeans and bloat

Sleep: Too much

Best moment this week: seeing the baby for the first time!

Movement: no, but I saw baby move!

Food cravings: cheese and ice cream and BAGELS

Gender: I still feel like it's a girl.

What I miss: being able to go to the bathroom like a normal person.

What I am looking forward to: Hearing the heartbeat on the doppler in November :)

Weekly Wisdom: corpus luteum is more painful than that time I ripped my thumbnail off

Milestones: still pregnant (!!!), and saw the baby!

Random Thoughts...

...while my iPhone updates to iOS 5. Yes, I was super excited for the update and yes, I waited two days to do it. I AM THAT LAZY THESE DAYS.

Not TOO much to update you on. The ultrasound put me at such ease. I know the risk of miscarriage is still there, but the chance of carrying to full term after hearing a healthy heartbeat at 8 weeks (and seeing a baby that is growing on schedule!) is something like 96%. I will take those odds, thank you!

My next appointment is on November 14th, right before Jessa gets here. Won't be doing another ultrasound (unless this cyst is still here and still hurting...more on that in a sec), but she'll do the doppler at each appointment to hear the heartbeat. I was too early for the doppler to pick anything up when we went (8 weeks along, doppler won't pick up until at LEAST 10 weeks...although I've heard of rare occasions where it happens). I'm excited to meet the doc at that appointment! I don't think Eric will be able to make it (or most of them, though he swears he can...I know it'll be hard for him to get the time off)...but that's ok! Mostly, I just want him to be at the ones with the ultrasounds so he can see the baby. He was so cute when he saw it this last time. :)

Now about this cyst. FUCK this cyst. It's not even that big (the sonographer checked it out for me while we were there)...but sweet baby Jesus, it is killing me with pain. It hurts at the place where my thigh connects to my torso and upwards just a little bit, and now it radiates into my VERY lower back (like the top of the butt cheek. Hell, maybe even a little bit of the cheek.)...I don't know what aggravates it. I wish I did. Because last night and the night before, I've had to limp to the bathroom to pee at night before bed...it's like it holds off until the sun goes down and then BAM! PAIN!

Well, on the bright side, it SHOULD be just about ready to reabsorb. They say usually by ten weeks, the body is ready to produce the hormones needed on its own and the cyst can start to go away. I'll be 9 weeks on Eric's birthday (this Saturday!), so that's one step closer!

Introducing Baby Bean!

We are out of hiding, 8w2d into pregnancy! Had our first GYN appointment today and was sent for a sonogram to accurately date the pregnancy...turns out we are one day ahead of where we thought we were!

Words can not express what it was like to see the baby moving around on that screen. It was absolutely surreal. The heartbeat (169!) was SO COOL. It looked like this tiny little strobe light, flashing about. I can't believe it...it's real now. I saw my baby!

And here he or she is!