12 Weeks - I Can't Believe We're Here!

OUR BABY IS 12 WEEKS OLD AND THE SIZE OF A LIME.

FINGERS AND TOES CURL WHEN HANDS AND FEET ARE TICKLED.

I am so excited to finally be out of the 1st Trimester!  This seems like such a huge milestone :)  This week we have another appointment and ultrasound, and I can't wait to see that our little boo is still doing well in there.  Once we see that we will FINALLY make a public announcement!  I will send an email announcement to our family (since unfortunately everyone lives far away so we can't tell them in person) and will also make it facebook official.  We're not gonna do anything super clever or funny, just a straight forward "We're Pregnant!" announcement.  This past week I have started to feel like I have more of a "belly"... which may be a real baby or it may be a food baby.... or equal parts both lol.  Unsure.  But it definitely feels different.  I've had some stretching pains in my sides, letting me know things are growing and moving around in there.  This is so exciting!   

8 Weeks - 2nd Ultrasound, and It Went Well!

OUR BABY IS 8 WEEKS OLD, ABOUT THE SIZE OF A RASPBERRY, AND CAN KICK.

ALL MAJOR ORGANS, MUSCLES, AND NERVES ARE PRESENT.

What better way to kick off the New Year than with a positive ultrasound!  We went in for our follow up on Jan 3rd and found the baby measured 8w3d (although I was 8w2d) and had a healthy heart rate of 174bpm.  It was so cool to see that little gummy bear with it's little arm and leg nubs!  It was a relief, although I wasn't as nervous going in to this one as I was with the last one.  Last time, it seemed like I had to wait YEARS from the time I scheduled the appointment til it actually took place.  This time we had Christmas and New Years in between and that kept me so busy that before I knew it our next appointment was here.  

I am still having some persistent symptoms.  I'm definitely bloated (sexy), and I feel nauseous every single day (super sexy).  Nowhere near puking, thank God, but it is still not very fun.  When I'm nauseous I can't decide if I'm hungry, thirsty, or just have to pee.  It's a very odd sensation lol.  

7 Weeks - A Christmas Surprise!

OUR BABY IS 7 WEEKS OLD AND ABOUT THE SIZE OF A KIDNEY BEAN.

IT'S ALWAYS MOVING.  ELBOWS AND FINGERS START TO FORM AND FOOT PLATES APPEAR.

We surprised my family with the great news over Christmas and it was such a success!  As soon as we arrived at my parents house, we gave them and by siblings an early Christmas gift.  First up was a box that contained matching pajamas for everyone to wear on Christmas morning.  This has nothing to do with the baby, I just thought it would be hilarious and it was meant to throw them off and provide a good excuse as to why we were giving them this gift early.  Of course they had to have their pajamas before Christmas morning in order to wear them!  They all thought it was a really funny idea.  Next we gave them gift bags and said "And you can use these while wearing your awesome PJs!"  Inside were mugs that said "Worlds Most Awesome Grandpa" and "Worlds Greatest Aunt", etc.  It was so much fun to watch as they (quickly) figured out what it meant and started freaking out!  They were all so happy, it was such a special moment.  They loved their mugs and used them for the rest of the weekend.  My Dad kept joking that it was the easiest award he had ever won (Worlds Most Awesome Grandpa... ha ha, Dad ;).  We did not tell our extended family unfortunately.  I do not feel comfortable doing that yet.  It's a shame though because the reaction would have been great and it would have been amazing to tell everyone in person.

My symptoms have tapered off a bit which worries me, but I have had increasing nausea over the past few days so that seems like a good sign.  I just hope everything is still going well in there!  We'll find out soon at our next ultrasound appointment on Jan 3rd.  Until then I'll just keep my chin up and hope for the best!

5 Weeks - Symptom Tracking

OUR BABY IS 5 WEEKS OLD, ABOUT THE SIZE OF AN APPLE SEED.

THE HEART BEGINS TO BEAT.  EYES, EARS, MOUTH, AND LIMB BUDS ARE VISIBLE.

There are already many differences between this pregnancy and the last one that I've noted.  I have many more symptoms this time around!  I get slight cramping pretty much all the time, which my midwife says is normal.  My sense of smell is through the roof!  I can smell EVERYTHING, and sometimes I swear a smell poop in the oddest places.  There has been the typical sore boobs, lower back pain.  No nausea yet, although I get queasy at the mention of anything gross in relation to the human body (surgery, blood, etc), which is not normal for me!  It's probably a good thing that The Walking Dead is on their mid-season break right now... I'd probably want to puke at the sight of those walkers!  I am SO TIRED yet have a hard time sleeping too, so that's fun.  Hunger is always present as well, and I really crave sweet things a lot... an old wives tale says that predicts a boy, so I guess we'll see!  I have had moments of "pregnancy brain" but that might just be my normal spaciness lol.  When I heard that pregnancy brings on spaciness, easy distraction, and forgetfulness I was like OH NO!  I already am like that, so if that's true then I'm screwed....  what was I talking about again?? ;)

We've already begun telling people we're pregnant as we see them, although we know it's very early and the risk of another miscarriage is still there.  We are just open and honest about the miscarriage, and it's amazing to find out how many other people have been through it too.  We told Tim's family this past weekend when we saw them for Christmas.  We celebrate Christmas early with them because we visit my family on Christmas, who live much much further away.  We had to do Christmas earlier than usual this year though because Tim has to work this coming weekend and then the following weekend we will be travelling for Christmas.  It was fun to tell them, and we broke the news to a few of our close friends too.  It actually helped alleviate some of the worry I've had!  Telling people helps heighten the excitement and positive vibes, which are good for me and the baby.