12 week ultrasound

we decided to do the "bun" screening to test for down syndrome and other trisomy disorders. i enjoy the ultrasound part of the process (of course!) and we got some great pictures of little baby 2.0. husband and finn were along and it was great to share that experience with the soon-to-be big brother.







the last one is the top of the head with tiny little hands! we did have a u/s at around 6 weeks and were able to see the little speck with a heartbeat and it was so amazing to see the changes in just 6 weeks. the baby kept bring its hand near its mouth like a tiny wave and did a few jumps. the heartbeat was 147 bpm. the bridge of the nose is present and the fold at the back of the neck was within the expected range.

to complete the testing, i had to produce enough blood via finger prick to cover 4 circles on the test strip. as i mentioned a time or two, i don't do well with blood. not at all. at my first appointment (where they take all of your blood and leave you with almost none) i asked to lay down first and in the middle (needle in) i got really sick and a passing ultrasound tech had to come in and hold a trash bag near my face while cooling my forehead with a wet cloth. i am embarrassed when this happens but i have no control over it and try as i might, i couldn't even make it through the finger prick without a scene. after i left the chair i was feeling sick but ok, but as soon as i walked into the main part of the hospital i got dizzy and confused. i handed my husband my water and coat and someone saw me struggling and offered to help. they pointed me to the bathroom and i tossed my cookies (err, salad, which is awful, honestly.). multiple times. over a finger prick!

i guess it was all worth it when i got the call a week later that my results came back fine and the baby's risk of having the tested syndromes were quite low.

12 weeks

compare to first pregnancy here. i don't think i'll be much smaller in the belly this time around, but i'm hoping to keep working out and maintain some sense of athletic ability so i can bounce back slightly easier. i'm crossing my fingers!

how far along? 12 weeks

total weight gain: 5 lbs (in my boobs and legs)
maternity clothes? no
sleep: pretty good, very tired
best moment this week: seeing baby on u/s
movement: none
gender: we'll find out in january
labor signs: none
belly button in or out? in
food cravings: salads and comfort foods
what i miss: cocktails!
what i am looking forward to: finding out the gender
weekly wisdom: hmm, i don't have any :)

2nd pregnancy thus far

while i'm in my second trimester now, i wanted to make sure i wrote down a few notes from the first trimester before they are long forgotten. it's true what everyone says. the second flies even faster and there's just not the same amount of time to dedicate to every little detail of the pregnancy.

we found out that i was expecting our 2nd baby on october 2, 2012. i was 3 weeks and 2 days pregnant...or barely at all. it wasn't unexpected so i was anxious to test and find out. i had a lingering cold that just would not go away and i was feeling slightly tired with an extra sore, swollen chest. i had tested two days prior (way too earlier, of course) so when i tested with fmu that morning i didn't expect much. at just 9 dpo i really wasn't expecting to see anything even if i was pregnant. i was wrong and saw that faint second line on an internet cheapie test. i left it on the counter for husband to see when he hopped in the shower and i went back to snuggle with finn on the couch. (oh, the differences began early!) when he didn't notice all morning, i asked him if he had seen the test. since he assumed it was an opk, he didn't think twice about the strip laying there. he brought it out with a grin and said "that's a positive pregnancy test, then?" and gave me a big forehead kiss (still sick). he was mostly excited to find out the gender and when i reminded him that we had to wait 20 weeks he asked when things would be "safe" enough to tell. i reminded him 12 weeks or so and he said "ugh, i forgot there's so much waiting!". indeed. i tested a few more times with internet tests and then requested a digital just to see it say pregnant.



my symtpoms leading up to and within the week of taking my pregnancy tests included:
-swollen, tender breasts
-spotting from days 7-13 (just like last time!)
-cramping
-slow to roll immune system

for posterity's sake, here's me before everything gets stretched out for a second time:


my symptoms during the first tri were almost exactly the same as last time. i was very hungry for comfort foods and extra salty, briny foods like olives and pickles. i was sick almost everyday between about 1 pm and midnight but i only threw up on the two occasion in which blood was involved (an ER visit for finn and a blood draw for me). the worst part for me was being so tired. with a toddler, you just can't rest. anyone who has more than one child surely agrees: the first pregnancy is the likely the easiest and you just don't know it until the next time. i started feeling less sick around 13 weeks and am just starting to feel a bit more energy. i've been working out at least 3 days a week (unlike last pregnancy) and i'm hoping i can maintain a lower weight overall compared to last time.

oh, hello!

it's true! my absence has been caused by the first trimester of my 2nd baby. today i am 14 weeks 2 days and finally not feeling quite as sick or tired (mostly). i can't wait to get back to blogging about my big boy who is almost 3 (THREE?!) and the new little baby that i'm just getting to know.

pregnant women shouldn't grocery shop alone

i'm a healthy eater.

i like candy, sure, but in general i purchase healthy food at the grocery store. i rarely enter the center aisles, mainly for peanut butter and pasta on occasion. i don't buy many, if any, processed/premade foods and don't keep chips or sweets in the house on a regular basis. in most cases i am perfectly happy snacking on an apple and tend to make dinners from scratch.

today, on the g20, while the grocery stores are being targeted and picketed, i decide to pick up a few things...alone. it started off great. romaine lettuce (to satisfy a crunchy, light lettuce need) some apples, peaches, asparagus, and tomatoes. and then...

• caramel to melt over apples
• butterscotch pudding snack packs
• chocolate cake mix (this is for work!)
• sour cream french onion dip
• ripple chips
• chef boyardee double stuffed ravioli

sorry for the sodium, baby h3b.

13 weeks 5 days

and going strong.

sort of. i keep thinking i'm feeling better, with a more reasonable appetite and more energy, and then i have to stand at work for 4 hours straight on g20 duty. then my hips hurt, my feet hurt, my head aches, and i'm an all around whiny baby.

in truth, things are going well. i rarely have lasting morning sickness. i get full faster and thus feel a little sick after i eat, but that i can handle. i still sleep a lot and feel tired when i'm at work, but i don't crash at 5 pm anymore. my skin remains the same...i wouldn't call it "glowing". my chest is still large and in charge, bursting out of pre-pregnancy tank tops in a manner not appropriate for work. (of course, this is large for me...which is still smaller than probably most of the female population when not pregnant.)

the belly is sticking around. in fact, yesterday i got my first comment! embarrassingly, it came while i was paying for my large order of fresh cut french fries covered in ketchup. the women said, "hmmm, you cravin' french fries?" as she eyed my belly. i think when i'm not shoveling food into my mouth, most people would just wonder if i missed abs class for the last few weeks. i'm not sporting a real baby belly, but i do have a very low, hard bump that only i can see when undressed.

baby h3b is growing!

13 week belly

here's the rounder, 13 week belly. if it were after a meal and i didn't suck in even a little it would be quite a bit bigger. i compare this stage to being constantly full from thanksgiving dinner.

13 weeks

wow!

i cannot believe i am 13 weeks today. it honestly felt like time took forever to get here, but when i look back on these past few months, it seems like yesterday that we found out. it really does go by so fast! now that i feel like i'm more in the clear, i've really let myself get excited for this baby. talking openly with friends has been great - it is so much more real and i'm glad to have so many people to lean on and chat with.

i think i'm getting less morning sickness, although this morning i had to rest on the bed while getting dressed because a wave of nausea hit. i do know i'm more open to a variety of foods and even cooked some full meals this week, which i hadn't been doing for a while. shockingly, chocolate sounds disgusting. even more shockingly, i have had a bag of gummy candy in my pantry for 2 months, open and half eaten and i have not touched them. if this baby doesn't like candy, i'm not sure i'm it's mother.

today i'm wearing some low rise maternity jeans. they are huge in the belly and are being held up by the bella band, but so much more comfortable than unbuttoned, unzipped anything else. i popped a crotch stitch in pair of non-maternity pants while bending at the beginning of the week and have since given up on most pre-pregnancy bottoms. it does nothing for my emotional well being to burst the ass seam of my fat pants.

belly picture soon.

12 week belly

here's covered and bare. luckily i've told work, family, and friends because i can no longer suck this mini belly in. rockin' the larger breasts, though.

12 week ultrasound pictures

here is a nice profile shot of baby h3b. adorable little face and legs kicking away.

a little bit of the hand showing here, legs still moving around.


baby h3b fell asleep in the middle of the 30 minute scan. little hands up covering the face and legs crossed at the ankles. the cross section view of this from head down was adorable.

i saw baby h3b

baby h3b is indeed occupying my uterus!

i had my first trimester screening and 12 week check up today. we started with the ultrasound. a very nice tech brought us back to a dimly lit, warm room with a screen for us to watch. i was pretty nervous because i had no idea what to expect. i laid down and as soon as she put the wand to my belly, we could see the baby. it was instant! just laying there in profile, heart beating away in a flicker...it literally took my breath away. i teared up but didn't cry...instead i laughed. i couldn't stop giggling about how amazing and crazy it all was.

she talked us through all of the measurements and showed the limbs, brain, ribs, and all 10 fingers. baby h3b started jumping and twisting all over the place and it was pretty surreal to be watching this moving, clearly human, object on a screen, knowing that it's inside of me. mind=blown. it looks like march 26, 2010 is accurate as baby h3b measured right on at about 2 inches crown to rump with a 160 bpm heart rate.

i finished with some quick bloodwork (did not pass out or vomit!) and a visit to my dr. we talked a little and then she laid me back to use the doppler. it took a second, but then we heard loud and clear the fast woosh woosh heartbeat. having just seen it, i knew it was there...but hearing it was fabulous.

mr. h3b and i went out and bought a few little baby outfits (our first pregnancy purchases for baby) and enjoyed a celebration lunch. i finally feel legitimately excited about this pregnancy. we're telling family, work, and friends now and it's becoming more and more real with each milestone.

2nd tri soon.

11 week belly

ha. note the quadboob - the top half of my breasts no longer fit in the strapless bra i'm wearing here. this picture is again from the morning. i prefer to remember these early weeks by the morning images...

11 weeks

11 weeks and i'm in maternity jeans.

between last week's 10 week picture and now, a lot has changed. while the bloat used to show up midway through the day and was worst at night, now it's staying around for good. i wake up with a tummy. it's still soft, so not baby yet, but it's hard to hide and even harder to fit into my pre-pregnancy pants. i've been wearing dresses a lot, but i only have so many. so yesterday when i tried to wear a pair of capris with the belly band and realized there was just no room for the post lunch bloat, i made the decision to buy a pair of pants that fit.

thank goodness for the tummy panel. i'm never taking these things off. future thanksgivings are looking so much better. i bought a size up so there's a little bit of awkward space in the crotch, but i figure it won't be long until they fit there, too.

things are going well otherwise. i'm feeling queasy throughout the day, but it's manageable. i'm starting to get excited about moving into the next trimester. it's getting so close. in fact, i scheduled my first ultrasound for next week thursday. mr. h3b and i will finally get to see the little one. then i can shout it from the rooftops. it's been hard to keep it a secret, but i think the adjustment period of having everyone know will be strange as well. it's very personal and private right now and i'm trying to get used to the idea of people knowing and being able to let my belly show through more form fitting clothes.

i'm ready to get excited.

10 week belly

i'm going to start posting my belly pictures weekly (as best i can) in their own posts. i like to see that on other blogs and i want to share my growing bump.

i take them in the morning, usually, so it still seems small here. by the end of the day, imagine it doubled or tripled in size...

hello, bloat and softness.

10 weeks 3 days

i've made it to week 10!

i'm still battling morning sickness, which hits on the dot each day from 10 am to 12:30 pm and sometimes later in the evening for an hour or so. i was just sent preggie pops from a friend and tested one out yesterday. sour raspberry does seem to help the empty, queasy stomach.

in other news, i can't hide the boobs and belly for much longer. my two girlfriends at work that know both commented in the last few days that i'm showing, at least to them. it might be that they know...but it could be that my porn star breasts and bloated belly are actually giving me away. only a few more weeks before i let it out for real. i want to see that u/s image so bad...it's hard to wait with this unknown.

i had a dream the u/s showed two babies. thanks mom, for getting the twin notion so deeply embedded in my brain that it's coming out in my dreams. i was shocked and nervous and woke up feeling a little uneasy. one baby is enough, i think, for now. not that i wouldn't be elated and for sure could manage twins...but...one baby, ok?

10 weeks and growing...

9 weeks!

today i am 9 weeks.

it's exciting that things are moving along. i feel pregnant (ie: tired, nauseated, and acne covered) and am getting closer to seeing the little h3b.

we told our immediate families this past weekend. it was so great to get the news out! all weekend my extended family had been teasing me about being pregnant, probably with twins...talking about my larger breasts and lack of drinking, but i denied, denied. so when it came time to tell my parents and sister, they had heard the "rumors". mr. h3b lined the 4 of us up to take a photo. first he said "say cheese" and we did. he claimed i blinked and lined us up again, then said "say baby". my mom laughed and said "twins!". after a pause, i said well not twins, but 8 weeks. after some confusion and a few "what, really?"s, it sunk in. they were so excited.

the next day, mr.s h3b took a business trip to his home and gathered his family together. when he asked his mom how her dogs did around his cousin's baby, she started to answer. his brother interrupted with "he's only asking because mrs. h3b is pregnant". mr. h3b said yep, 8 weeks. more confusion and shock...then excitement. they called me right away to congratulate.

it's still a secret to friends, extended family, and work...but it is so much better to know my mom(s) know, and that we have family support. to close, here's a picture of my belly, filled with macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes from the premade grocery section. and i swear, that's a shadow behind my ass...it's not that big yet.


must haz comfort foods.

1st appointment

it was anticlimactic.

i went in with the idea that they would do something to show me there was a baby inside of me, like a dopplar for the heartbeat or an ultrasound for some visual aid. i was told over the phone last week that, yes, they'd make sure there was a pregnancy there and they'd confirm it was living. well, that meant by dipping a generic pee stick in my urine and seeing two lines. yep, i saw that weeks ago, thanks! dr. did an internal and gave me an outline of dos and don'ts. they weighed me (yelp, up already?!) and then i got to have blood work...i was near fainting during, dry heaved a bunch after the needle was removed, took a huge gulp of water, almost passed out and was moved to a bed-chair, then threw up all the water into a hazardous waste bucket. good times!

so no, we didn't see or hear h3b. plus, the dr. changed my due date based on my estimated ovulation date (instead of my last period, which i was using), so now i'm bumped back a bit. without a u/s, this isn't a great way to determine dates...but my new due date is march 26, 2010.

for all of my life, the numbers 2 and 6 have been my worst fear. it's hard to explain, but i like 3, 5, and 8 the most, and 2 and 6 have been dreaded. turning 26 (which i am now) was dreaded. and now my lucky march due date is the 26th. i'm trying to wrap my head around that and look at those numbers in a new light. it seems silly, but i've been convinced of this since i was...2? maybe 6 years old? here's to being a bit more rational...

march 26, 2010.

8 weeks 1 day

2 months in!

i can't believe i'm already 8 weeks. i know i have months to go, but i swear it feels like yesterday that i was only 4 weeks some odd days. not much has changed since last week, except that my belly is taking over. it's plump and mushy and sticking out like whoa. it's hard to hide because my clothes don't fit and i'm so not ready for maternity wear. and yes, i still know that it's not my tiny little embryo showing...but pregnancy has done this to me. i can't wait until i'm 12+ weeks and i can just let it all go, free and "out there". since i can't really suck it in, i'm trying to stand tall and pretend i'm just fat for now.

more important than a bloated stomach is my first appointment! tomorrow at 8:30 am mr. h3b and i go in to hopefully see or hear baby h3b. i'm sure i'll also do some bloodwork, which should be really fun. let's hope i can get through that part without crying, passing out, or curling up into the fetal position requiring multiple people to hold me down. not that any of those things have happened to me before...

see you soon, h3b!

morning sickness

what a lie. while, yes, it does happen in the morning, mine actually peaks at about 11 am and lasts for about the rest of the day and into the night. for the third day in a row i have been rendered practically useless for about 2 hours midday. one of these days involved a lengthy nap on my carpeted cement office floor. while i still have not thrown up, the dry heaving, gagging and general discomfort in my stomach region has been less than fun.

sure, i'm happy i have enough hormones to cause this...i get that it's all good in terms of baby growth and being pregnant. but damn, when i wake up at 3 am sweaty, nauseated, and full-bladdered, i dont know what to do. pee first? eat a snack first? pass out from heat exhaustion? it's a toss up.

i'm excited, though. because all this queasiness makes me hope for the best at my appointment next tuesday. i'll be just over 8 weeks and hopefully we'll get to see or hear the little one. and finally, we can tell our family the news (it's true, only two people know right now).

secretive 7 weeks 5 days.

7 weeks 1 day

that's what i am today.

not too much has changed, except that i am nauseated for much of the day and it's even worse at night. i take my prenatal vitamins before bed, so this and less constant food might be the source of my frequent night heaves. i'm still eating like a horse, downing pickles, pizza, olives, and fruit. while "morning sickness" isn't keeping me from consuming most foods, it has made me gag on occasion (mr. h3b's mention of pan asian cuisine yesterday had me sweating).

i'm already up a cup size and my not-yet-porn-star but hardly-fit-into-my-work-clothes chest is being admired, from afar, by mr. h3b. no touchy, thank you. add to this an expanding waist line and my clothes are already tightening by midday. i know it's not baby, but this pregnancy is showing. i pray that it spares my already generous thigh and ass region. i guess besides the health of me and the babe, this will be my new 11:11 wish.

i learned that the baby has a tongue already and is practicing "walking around" in my uterus. a tiny dot doing laps down there.

grow, baby, grow.