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.