21.1mm and growing

Baby Lua is a little bigger than last week. (S)he hasn't grown as much as I thought, but I've been sick and (s)he's still within 2 days of last week's measurement. I have myself at 8w3d, so Baby Lua is 2 days ahead of my schedule and 2 days behind where I thought (s)he would measure given the reading of 8w0d last week. We're not quite an inch yet (21.1mm is about .83 inches). The heartbeat is still great, and the arms and legs are better formed.

I'm feeling okay today. I'm mostly tired. I had some trouble sleeping last night, so that's making it worse. I'm excited for my OB visit tomorrow. I can't imagine having to wait this long to see a doctor. I'm not lucky that I had to visit an RE, but I'm lucky that I got to start my pregnancy with him because it meant that I could see the baby earlier and get care sooner. If I hadn't had my progesterone checked, maybe I would have lost the baby early. You never know.

I'm thankful for: A still growing baby. Every time I get to see that the heart is beating and the baby is growing is a blessing.

Finally feeling better!

I am so excited. I am finally feeling better. I'm at about 95%! I am still pretty tired, and my stomach isn't perfect, but I feel better than I have in weeks. I don't think that's an exaggeration. I really, truly have felt miserable over the past few weeks for different reasons. Nausea. Diarrhea. Constipation. Fever. It's been a real mess. But now that I've taken some "real" medication (Kaopectate for diarrhea and Milk of Magnesia for constipation), I think my body has evened itself out. Now I just have to remember to drink, drink, drink. I was doing really well with my fluid intake a few weeks ago, but the whole being sick thing made that harder. But I'm feeling better and am recommitting myself to taking in lots of clear liquid. I don't want Baby Lua to be thirsty.

I'm thankful for: Feeling great! I didn't know when I'd feel like this again, and I sure did miss it. I think I have been taking wellness for granted all of these years. I don't want to feel that run down anymore if I can help it.

Emesis

I hate throwing up. So far, I've only had 2 episodes of morning sickness gone really bad, but I'll be totally satisfied if those are the only 2. It usually starts off with a lot of increased saliva. Then coughing and retching. And then a trip to the toilet. I can usually stop it if I catch myself at the coughing/retching part. If I hurry up and eat something small, that seems to work. But if I let the coughing go on for a few minutes, it starts to get worse.

Now, I'm only talking about vomiting twice. But I get awfully close on a daily basis. This, along with my sore breasts and extreme fatigue, make me feel like I am really, truly pregnant. So I have to be happy about that.

I'm thankful for: Only throwing up twice. It could be a lot worse...

Ouch

My breasts are really sore! I first started feeling it in the middle of the night. They just felt really sore to lay upon. then this morning, I woke up, and I feel like I should take some aspirin. Ouch! Baby Lua is doing crazy things to my body.

I've also been super tired. It's annoying. I hate being so tired. But thankfully, I have the ability to rest and relax as much as I need to at home.

I'm thankful for: Pregnancy symptoms. I know, I know...I do complain about them a little (or a lot). But I am seriously thankful. It's a good sign. It means that baby is growing.

Measuring 8w0d

Baby Lua is getting big! (S)he has arms and legs and the brain is forming. The baby measures 15.8mm or about .62 inches. It was so cool to see the baby this morning. The heart was beating nicely. It was just amazing. I can't believe I have a little life growing inside of me. It's miraculous, wonderful, humbing and awe-inspiring. I love you Baby Lua

My doctor has me scheduled for a Full Integrated Screening. That means a blood test for PAPP-A and hCG at 10-12 weeks; a nuchal translucency ultrasound at 12w2d (I've already scheduled) and another blood test for AFP, hCG, uE3 and Inhibin between 15-20 weeks. I can't say I'm worried about the screening. I trust that the baby is just fine.

I'm thankful for: Feeling better!! Man I hated being sick. It was awful...

Really getting better this time - I hope...

I still felt awful today. Not as bad as Friday. Nothing is a bad as Friday. But I still didn't feel great. It's been annoying. I don't want to eat, but I did. I had some microwave food, which so far hasn't made me sick. I also had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

I'm excited to see the baby again on Wednesday, but I am getting a little anxious about it all. The "newness" of being pregnant has started to wear off. I am still excited, but it's just different now. Now it's a matter of waiting for the next "big" thing. Like hearing the heartbeat. Or feeling the baby move. And those things are exciting. But...

I am starting to worry. I don't know what is bringing this on, but I am really starting to worry. Not so much about baby's health or anything. I only worry about that some because I am trying to do the right things so my child will be okay. But I worry about whether I will be a good mother. What if I am really too selfish? What if I don't bond with the baby? What if I get postpartum depression? What if I get so stressed out I can't handle it all? What if DH and I don't agree on some aspect of raising a child that we haven't already talked about? What if, what if, what if?

I'm thankful for: Not feeling as badly as I did on Friday! And for only having to wait a couple more days until DH comes home...

Why can't I be normal?

I'm so tired. That's not the "not normal" part. I've been sick and I'm 7 weeks pregnant. Of course I'm tired! But I have a lot of work to do, and I just haven't been able to pull myself together to get any of it done. I did feel a little better today (meaning I am only tired and nauseous). But I still didn't get any work done. And I HAVE TO before I go to sleep tonight.

Instead, I've laid around, watched TV, did some laundry, took naps, read about fundal height on the internet, etc. I've been seriously procrastinating. Part of it is fair - I haven't been feeling well all weekend. But part of it is my crazy self-destructiveness. I always put myself in these awful situations. I wait and wait and wait and then I have to do all this stuff at once and it stresses me out. Which is the last thing I need - and the last thing Baby Lua needs. I don't know what to do.

Well, I do know what to do. I need to stop stressing and start working. Not for me - for Baby Lua.

I'm thankful for: Getting better one day at a time. I know I don't feel great, but I don't feel as bad as I did on Friday. Which is a really good thing.

Not feeling well

I know I haven't updated much in the past few days, but I was feeling progressively worse and am only just starting to feel better. I had diarrhea for about 4 days, a low-grade fever of 100.0 for one and  general exhaustion for all. It's been really hard and miserable. But I think the baby is going to be fine.

I don't really have much more to say. I hope to feel well enough tomorrow to say a lot more.

I'm thankful for: Feeling better today than I did yesterday. It's a blessing.

8.2mm and growing!

I have been craving more protein and having some mild aversions to dairy (cheese), particularly mozzarella. I really crave hamburger meat and scrambled eggs, but the kind you get at a diner or something. It's the weirdest thing. I'm not craving carbs, which is great. Oh, and tomatoes. I like eating tomatoes on stuff now too.

The baby is 8.2mm and measuring at 6w5d! I was so nervous going into the ultrasound because my symptoms have been on and off. But as soon as I saw the baby on the screen, I knew (s)he was okay. The baby is so much bigger than last week! And the heartbeat was beautiful.  It was so clear. The only bad part about today is that I have to wait another week to see the baby again. It's actually hardest on Thursday - it feels like forever until I have my next appointment. But I'm not complaining. I know plenty of mothers who have to wait weeks and months to see their child. I'm blessed to be able to see the baby more regularly.

I'm thankful for: Another awesome ultrasound. It was so cool to see the baby's heartbeat so much clearer this time around. And I was so thrilled that the baby was healthy and progressing perfectly.

Can you tell the gender based on where your baby implants?

So, today on Baby Center I found a thread that talked about a study in which the following was true:

~ 97.2% of the male fetuses had a chorionic villi/placenta location on the right side of the uterus
~97.5% of female fetuses had a chorionic villi/placenta location to the left of the uterus
 
NOTE: ABDOMINAL ULTRASOUND PICS ARE A MIRROR IMAGE. So if it's on the left in the pic, it's really on the right. (This is not true for transvaginal ultrasound).

If this is true, then I think Baby Lua is a boy!!!!

I'm thankful for: My husband. I think he's swell (LOL).

Feeling weird

Well, I'm somewhere around 6w1d, but definitely heading into my 7th week. I woke up on Saturday constipated, but with no other real symptoms. I started freaking out and was worried that I felt too good. Then yesterday I started feeling badly again and started freaking out because I didn't feel badly enough. Today, I feel not great and not awful, but I am just looking forward to seeing Baby Lua again on Wednesday. I'll feel so much better once I see the baby's heartbeat. The symptom thing is bothering me, but I know it's more newly pregnant nerves than anything...

On a non-pregnancy-related note, I hate my job. I want to quit. Better said, I hate working and don't want any job. It's not that my job is bad; I just no longer want to do it. I know I sound super lazy and unmotivated, but I don't get much pleasure out of what I do. I wish I could just read or talk for a living. That would make me much happier. I have been procrastinating and don't see that stopping anytime soon. I want to just take a sick day, but I need to just push through it. I'm being a jerk to myself more than anyone.

I'm thankful for: Having a job. Without it, we'd have less money. And I like having money to buy things.

I am calm

I feel a lot better about the pregnancy this morning. I was a little stressed out yesterday worrying about the progesterone thing, but between the doctor not being extra concerned and everything I've read, I've just calmed down. Taking the Prometrium in advance of my numbers going below 20 is a great thing. And the fact that my numbers are over 20 is good in and of itself. So I really don't have anything to worry about.

Add that to the fact that I did see a heartbeat yesterday and definitely still have morning sickness. There is still a healthy baby growing inside of me, and for that I'm truly thankful. Stressing about something I can't control is not going to make me a better vessel for my child. I need to keep things as stress free in there as possible.

I had a weird craving for grilled cheese this morning. I decided to eat it with some tomato soup for breakfast. At least my little one got some calcium and vegetables. The bread was whole grain and the cheese was fat free, so it wasn't the worst meal ever.

Now if I could just shake this desire for McDonald's french fries with barbeque sauce, I'd be in good shape.

I'm thankful for: The weekend. I am always looking forward to it and always miss it when it's over...

Baby Lua's Heartbeat

We saw it today!! It was so small, but it was there. A faint flicker of light. Baby Lua is growing nicely - a healthy 5w6d measurement. I have myself at 5w3d, so it's pretty close. I'm not changing my tickers or anything yet. It's just a matter of a few days.

On a less exciting note, my doctor just called and told my my progesterone level decreased from 29 last week to 23 this week. So he's going to start me on a progesterone supplement that I'll have to take 4x a day. I don't know how I feel about this. I'm excited that we could see the baby and that my levels are above 20. But I know they are supposed to be increasing, not decreasing. So that stresses me out a little.

I am just going to focus on the fact that I saw the heartbeat this morning and that the baby is measuring ahead of where I thought it would be. This means that Baby Lua is alive and kicking. Stressing out about progesterone is not going to make life any easier for him or her, so I am going to practice some deep breathing. And I will definitely pray.

I'm thankful for: A heartbeat! It was so awesome to see it on the screen : )

So sleepy

Being pregnant has definitely made me even more sleepy than usual - as if that were possible. I am usually pretty sleepy in general, but I would nap a few times a day if I could now. The nausea is on and off - I didn't have any last night but felt it a little this afternoon. That said, insomnia is a different story. Last night was the second night that I woke up and just couldn't get back to sleep for hours. I usually don't have any trouble with sleep. It's on of the things I really love about me. When I'm ready to go to bed, I just go to bed. If I wake up in the middle of the night, I just turn over and go to sleep. But not the past few nights. I wake up and oddly enough, it's my stupid job that keeps me awake. I'm thinking about the silliest stuff that doesn't matter. You'd think with Baby Lua growing inside of me that I'd be up all night thinking about the baby's health or how we're going to afford it or how I feel about going back to work after birth. Instead, I'm worried about some stupid deadline I missed or some stupid e-mail I was supposed to send.

I think this kind of stuff is normal. Having a baby is a big deal, and everyone deals with it in her own way.

I'm thankful for: Not having gained any weight so far. I know it's not really the right measure as I know I'll have to gain some weight, but I want to do it slowly and smartly. A lot of women lose weight in the first trimester, so that's what I'm hoping for. I am eating when I'm hungry and am not counting calories, but I am definitely not indulging or eating like a starved person. But I may grab a milkshake one of these days. I think about it daily.

5w0d

The morning sickness has really started to kick in. I don't get it all the time, mostly in the early AM (12-3). It's not unbearable. Just uncomfortable. I also notice it when I'm driving. And when I'm overly full or overly hungry. But it's really not that bad.

I've started writing in my photo journal. I want to make sure Baby Lua has lots of stuff to look at when (s)he is big enough. 

I'm thankful for: Surprisingly enough, morning sickness. It makes me feel like the baby factory is hard at work!

Baby Lua

Here's Baby Lua at 4 weeks and 3 days. (S)He is just a gestational sac with a yolk sac and really hard to see. But there (s)he is!! We're so excited.

HCG: 1599

Whoo hoo! My HCG level doubled in 33.38 hours, well under the standard 48-72 hour timeframe. I thought I would hit 1000 this week, but I didn't expect that it would be so soon! 1000 was the magic number because that's when my RE would let us do an ultrasound. So tomorrow morning at 6:30 AM we'll get to see the baby!!

Now, I know not to get my hopes up too high. I know the baby won't look much like a baby, and the chances of seeing a heartbeat aren't high. But it doesn't matter. Being able to see the gestational sac/yolk sac is more than enough. Just seeing Baby Lua for the first time will be life-changing. DH and I are so excited. (I need a different word - I keep saying "excited" all the time.)

Every day that passes, I am more and more committed to doing the right things for the baby. My doctor said no exercise, so I can't really do much about that. But I can eat well and drink lots of fluids. It's good for me too as the better I eat and the more I drink, the easier this pregnancy will be. I wont' escape all of the symptoms, but I can do my part to lessen their effects.

I'm going to be a mom one day. It's scary and amazing. Only 250 days to go...

I'm thankful for: A great doubling time. It's a good sign of a healthy pregnancy!