Belly Pic Bonanza

First off, I just need to say that I think it's so fabulous that I'm posting U/S and belly pics and talking about my OB appts. Instead of talking about OPK's, failed cycles, and RE appts. I honestly can't believe that I'm here and it's actually happening. I keep waiting for bad news. So far this has been the perfect pregnancy. No spotting, no major cramps, baby's growing right on schedule. It seems impossible.

Today we experienced another milestone. I got my doppler that I had bought on ebay. Which by the way, I ordered on Friday afternoon and it was in my mailbox on Monday morning. That guy is gonna get some good feedback! I waited until Rich got home from work to try it out. At first all I was hearing was my pulse and swooshing sounds. And then I found the spot and heard baby's little heart beating loud and clear. It was FANTASTIC! And it was actually kind of nice that the first time we heard it was at home, just Rich and I. I fear everyday that the baby might just stop growing and I wouldn't even know. It's so nice to know that our little one is still alive in there! And I can check on it at anytime. Sweet.

Ok, here they are...belly pics.

These first ones are 11 Week pics, taken on Friday:


And here's the progression of the belly in close up form:





The 6 week pic is essentially a "before" and as you can see I started out with a little belly. It's gotten a lot bigger but I don't see that much change since 9 weeks. Of course at 9 weeks I was really bloated from being constipated and now I'm not. So my 11 week belly is more baby than the 9 week one.

So there ya go! Probably more of my belly than you needed to see!

11 Weeks and a new Doc

Another week down. They're going by faster these days. We had an appt at our new OB/Gyn on Wednesday. They did another U/S. Mainly just so we could see our little one again. She spent a lot of time and made sure we got a good look. She also printed out 5 pics for us. This one is my favorite:



It's looking so much more human-like. It was moving all around and in this pic it was waving it's hand up by it's face. One of the pics is of it's feet and boy/girl parts. It's obviously way too early to distinguish between the two but it's nice to know baby knows how to cooperate once the time comes.

I think I'm going to like this new practice. I only got to see the NP this time. I'll meet my new doc at next months appt, which is in 4 weeks. Partly to break up that and partly because I want the info, we scheduled the NT test for my 13th week. It involves an U/S so we'll get to see our little baby again. I also bought a doppler on ebay today so we can hear the heartbeat at home whenever I feel like it. We actually haven't heard it yet. They've never turned on the speakers during any of my U/S. I always forget to ask because I'm mesmerized by watching the little being that's inside of me.

Honestly, the thought that there's something living inside me and moving around in there is a little freaky. I mean, I think about my belly getting bigger and giving birth and having a baby all the time. But somehow the fact that it's actually in there now doesn't quite make sense to me yet. Maybe that'll change once I can feel it kicking.

I'm going to have Rich take a new belly pic tonight and I just might post some of them for you. Stay tuned...

Graduation Day

I've never actually graduated from anything before. I hated high school so much that I attempted to graduate a year early by going to night school. Turns out, going to school both night and day is not the best plan for someone that can't stand being in school. I failed my daytime classes because I missed 6 days in one semester. Even though my grades were all A's and B's. So I didn't end up with enough credits to graduate early. At that point I just couldn't imagine staying in high school for another whole year. I was already planning the rest of my life. So I quit and took my GED. In retrospect, I really should have stuck it out. It's rather embarrassing to have to list GED on job applications. I took some classes at our local community college but never enrolled anywhere. I didn't want to commit to 4 years of my life until I knew exactly what I wanted to do, so it would be worth it. And that never happened. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. For right now, stay at home mommy is pretty high on the list.

On Wednesday I had a different kind of graduation. I graduated from my RE to my OB. I must admit that over the last 6 months I've watched other women and couples graduating and been jealous. Especially while I was going through the ectopic pregnancy. It's ridiculous that I could be jealous of those women. Women I know went through some sort of infertility before getting to that point. Most of them, probably more than us. I should have been happy for them and happy to see that it does work. But no, I looked at them and wondered why. Why do they get this joyous moment, walking out with their U/S pic in hand? Why do they get to see everyone smiling and telling them to send pics of the baby when it's born? Why do they get that and we don't? On Wednesday, I finally got that. It was finally our turn.

First we got congratulations and goodbyes from my favorite nurse, Bree. She's still my favorite even though she bruises the crap out of my arm everytime she takes my blood. Then we got to have our last U/S with Deb. Here's the pic:



I actually like last week's gummy bear pic better than this one. But you can tell how big baby has gotten. I'm now measuring 10 weeks. Deb actually said she'd like us to bring the baby in so she could see it in person and not just on the screen. Sigh. I'm going to miss these people. I wish I could continue going there through my whole pregnancy.

Then we got to see the Dr. one last time. I asked him what we should do about our next pregnancy. (Assuming this one goes well) Our original plan was to just never use birth control again until we know we're done having kids. This one will have taken 2 1/2 years to get here by the time it's born. So it seems silly to use birth control when we know we want at least 2 kids. And I'd sooooo much rather just get pregnant while not preventing instead of going through all the stress of TTC and fertility treatments again. But I was worried that if we get pregnant on an unmedicated cycle that my low progesterone may cause another miscarriage. Or worse, another ectopic. The doc thinks we should go ahead with our original plan and call them as soon as I get the positive test. He said that a good pregnancy changes your body and "hits the reset button" So there's no reason to think I wouldn't have another healthy pregnancy after it. He would want to monitor me closely again through the first trimester. And if it does end badly again then we would know not to do that anymore. I don't know how we feel about that yet. We'll revisit it after we get through this one. I'm always the planner though. I figured I'd get those questions out there while I still had access to the RE.

After that we got to walk out to the desk with our little U/S pic. Get the big smile from the receptionist when she sees the word "Graduate" marked on my chart. I tried to be quiet about it and to put the U/S pic in my purse as quickly as possible. I felt the looks from the other women in the waiting room. I wanted to be respectful, but I can't deny that it felt awesome to be on the other side.

9 Weeks

I guess I forgot to do an 8 week post. Oops! We had another U/S on Monday at 8 weeks 4 days. Here's the pic:



Isn't it a cute little fetus? Hehe. It was measuring big at 8 weeks 6 days. That was a relief since it had been measuring small last time. It had a nice strong heartbeat of 164 and a spine, and arms and legs. So cool! Then we got to see the best thing ever. The tech made me cough really loud a few times and got the little gummy bear to move! It looked like it was napping and we woke it up so it wiggled around and got comfy again. It was so adorable!

Apparently my RE doesn't want to let me go. Or he wants another $500 from my insurance company. In any case, I get another appt with him next Wednesday. I'll be just a day shy of 10 weeks. Then the following Wednesday I have my first OB appt and I've been told I'll get another U/S at that appt. An U/S a week until I'm almost out of the first trimester. I'm a lucky girl!

On the symptom front I've had very little nausea, for which I'm grateful. However, the bloating and constipation has set in with a vengeance. My stomach is sticking way out and making me look 3 or 4 months pregnant. I can't say I don't enjoy putting on maternity clothes and pretending that's all baby. But I know what it really is. I'm trying to get a little relief from that before I post a belly pic because I'm not trying to pass it off as a baby belly. But I promise, it's coming soon!