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!

6 Weeks - First Ultrasound!

OUR BABY IS 6 WEEKS OLD, ABOUT THE SIZE OF A SWEET PEA.

TINY EYELIDS ARE FORMING AND HAND PLATES APPEAR.

We had our first ultrasound on 12/19 and it went so well!  My doctor's office doesn't usually like to see people before 8 weeks, but I wanted to get it early to make sure we could see the heart beating before going home for Christmas.  We are planning to tell my family at Christmas and I'd just feel so much better after seeing a healthy heartbeat.  Well, the baby measured exactly what I expected it to (6 weeks 1 day) and we not only saw the heartbeat but heard it too!  It was a healthy 114 bpm and I was so relieved!  I had been pretty nervous that morning, dreading that something was sure to go wrong.  We will go back in a couple weeks for a follow up.

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.

Charting and Tracking - I Can't Praise This Enough!!

I am a true advocate of charting and tracking your cycle if you are actively TTC.  It worked like a charm for us!  Both times I got pregnant, it only took one cycle of charting to get the job done.  By using an OPK (ovulation predictor kit) in conjunction with charting my temperature (which confirms ovulation when I see my daily temp rise as shown in my chart above) I know exactly when I will ovulate so we know when to *ahem* do the deed ;)  OPKs are little pee sticks that I use every day until I get a positive, detecting the hormone surge that kicks off ovulation.  This tells me that ovulation is about to happen.  Temping confirms for me that ovulation actually did occur when I see the temp rise, which happens in the the days after ovulation.  It is possible to get a positive OPK but not actually ovulate.  Temping only tells you about ovulation after it occurred, so by the time you see a temp rise it can be too late to conceive.  So temping alone, or using OPKs alone, is not enough.  Using both together gives you all the info you need to know exactly when to make that baby!

When we started TTC I didn't chart the first cycle.  We just kept to our usual routine and hoped for the best... and nothing.  So the 2nd cycle I decided to try charting and BAM!  Pregnant.  It was awesome!  But of course, that ended in miscarriage.  So after waiting one long wonky cycle after miscarriage to get my body back on track, I charted again during the 2nd cycle and BAM!  Pregnant again :)  The chart above is my latest chart, and where the blue line turns green indicates when I entered in my positive pregnancy test information.  I love seeing that beautiful green color :)

4 Weeks - Taking Things Day by Day

OUR BABY IS 4 WEEKS OLD, ABOUT THE SIZE OF A SESAME SEED.

THE BRAIN, SPINE, AND CIRCULATORY SYSTEM HAVE STARTED TO FORM.

Welcome to my blog :)  This is my first post and today marks 4 weeks in this dubious little journey called Pregnancy.  We are excited but cautious because we are coming off of a miscarriage.  Back on August 25th I had a natural miscarriage at 10 weeks.  Actually, the fetus died around 6 weeks 2 days, and we found out at our first ultrasound at 8 weeks - it was measuring way to small, and there was no heartbeat.  Then nature took it's own course.  It was disappointing, but we have moved on and started TTC (trying to conceive) again right away.  On only the 2nd cycle after the miscarriage we found ourselves pregnant again!  When I took that first test and saw the result... "Pregnant"... I can't tell you how excited I was!  And thrilled that it didn't take very long.  But of course, because of our previous experience, we are extra cautious this time.  I find myself trying to not get my hopes up too high.  I have worries in the back of my head that it could happen again.  But what I try to keep at the forefront are all the positive thoughts I have about the new baby.   I also try to stay calm and unstressed, keeping a peaceful outlook for the sake of the baby.  I am beyond excited to become a mother!  This is something I have dreamed about all my life.  We are hoping and praying for a healthy baby to welcome into this world next August.

Our little bugger is due August 13th, 2013!!