boingy

My doctor's appointment on Tuesday went well. It wasn't a huge one; the doctor just listened to the heartbeat -- a fast 130something per minute -- and talked about how the pregnancy was going so far.

I had another appointment yesterday at the university medical center downtown to have a first trimester screening ultrasound. It wasn't required but we decided to go ahead and do it. Everything they look for in the ultrasound came out fine, and we got to see the Taco again. For the first time, it looked like an actual baby!


It was really awesome to watch the Taco move and jump around. It really did like to jump -- boingy, boingy, boingy! It's about two inches long right now. How cool.

Sadly, we won't be able to peek inside again until our next ultrasound at 20 weeks, sometime in mid-February. Then we'll be able to find out the sex. Exciting!

still here

Yeah, I hadn't really dropped off the face of the earth or anything. These past few weeks have just been so tiring. It's amazing how quickly I get tired lately, but I think that is starting to wear off. There were some days where I would come home from work and absolutely fall asleep on the couch, wake up long enough to eat some dinner, then go to bed.

My next doctor's appointment is tomorrow, so hopefully that will go smoothly.

It's been hard to do stuff for Christmas this year, mainly because of the tired thing. It took us forever to finally go shopping. Now we've shopped, but I've still got to wrap presents. I'm going to try to do a little bit each day. I've got about a week to get it done! The cats already tried to get into one of their shipped packages.

Crazy to think that this time next year there'll be a six month old crawling around, trying to get into the litter box. Hopefully we'll have found a better place for that. With one cat, just the smell alone will chase you out of the room. God knows what her little nuggets taste like.

sweet release of secrets

Ahhhh, that was wonderful. So now our family knows -- it was so awesome. Everybody was shellshocked, especially my mother.

Sadly, my camera's batteries were out of juice and I didn't notice it until right before we sat down, but no matter. I'll never forget the expressions on everyone's faces for as long as I live.

I am so tired now -- totally beat. It's been a long day!

the time is nigh

Ooh, Thanksgiving Day! A time to celebrate family and the expansion thereof! I woke up early this morning -- I tried to go back to sleep, but alas, I felt like a schoolchild on Christmas morning. So up I got and had some Cocoa Puffs to start the day.

People will start arriving in about four hours, but we will still have to keep quiet for another hour or so until we all sit down to our Thanksgiving meal. Gosh, it seems forever!

I started cooking the stuff I need last night. A lot of buttermilk and eggs were worked through. The cranberry sauce is made and I will start to mix up the dressing here in a short bit. I was dead tired when I finished but I didn't do anything compared to The Husband, who has single-handedly cleaned the entire house, top to bottom. He is an absolutely amazing man.

I wish I wasn't so tired. I like to think optimistically that I'm saving all my energy for when the baby gets here.

"Hey, Waiter! Bloody Mary -- O positive."

Our second OB appointment was today. I was both looking forward to and dreading it -- looking forward because I like to know our baby is still doing okay, but dreading it because we might find out something's wrong. There never was a worrywart like an expectant mother.

Our baby, happy to say, is doing wonderfully. We got to both see and hear the heartbeat, which was a fast 173 beats per minute! It was amazing to actually see that little heart flutter.

We got to have another picture of our little Taco, too. It's upside down -- the head is at the bottom and the round thing at the top is the yolk sac. It's heart is on the right side in the middle.


In less than 48 hours is Thanksgiving, and all our family will know. Giddyness upon giddyness.

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But now comes, what was to me, the unexpected kicker. We were going over my progress, upcoming tests, and other such. My OB mentioned my blood work was normal, then she says, "Oh, and you have O positive blood; didn't know if you knew that, but thought I'd tell you."

BOOM.

I'm sure the look on my face was of utter shock as I said, "What? No, I'm A positive."

She double-checked her papers but that's what the lab tests showed. She asked how I knew and I replied they tested me when I was a baby. It's written down in my baby book.

This knowledge has really blown my mind. I always closely identified myself with my blood type. I'm not quite sure why; the only explanation I can think of is because of the science-y/genetic aspect of it. In school, I was always proud that I knew my blood type -- a lot of my classmates did not. We used blood types as an example when learning the Punett square technique of genetic probability, and I found it fascinating.

Apparently I didn't know what I thought I knew.

How could they have mis-typed my blood when I was born? Did they even really test it or just assume since both my parents were A positive that I would be, too? Surely not. I'm just astounded. I can't WAIT to talk to my parents about this.

why did they have to pick that guy? what a horrid name!

I'm still battling the Mild Nausea War. Yesterday I bought some SeaBands bracelets that help with motion sickness and other forms of nausea. I think they're helping, too. At first I wasn't sure but when I took them off to take my shower this morning I quickly started to feel worse and couldn't wait to get them back on once I got out.

I've noticed the weirdest thing. There is a word, a certain word -- well, a name, actually -- that will bring on my nausea whenever I hear it. This is sad because the newspeople on NPR won't stop saying his name. Ugg, I can't even type it, it makes me feel ill. Suffice to say, it's the name of the new Attorney General they've just sworn in, hence the nonstop blathering on the news.

It isn't to do with anything political, it's just that his name is so closely related to another word that has been making me feel ill lately because I've been sick. Once again, it nauseates me too much to type it, but it's like boogers, but not as fun and more slimy. Eww eww eww.

If you come up to me and say his name, I might barf on your shoes. You have been warned.

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On a happier note, a week from tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we'll finally get to share the news with our family. We're going to have a full house, too -- there will be 12 people here counting myself and The Husband. Ohh, the looks on their faces . . . I can't wait. Can't wait, I tell you!

Next Tuesday I have my next doctor's appointment with the OB. They're going to do another ultrasound, so this time we should be able to clearly see the baby and hear the heartbeat. I do hope everything is okay. I feel so crummy that surely everything must be fine.

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Ooh, The Husband is home! I hope he is pleased that I finally got off my butt and started dinner. It's the only productive thing I've done all week! He's so patient!

feed me, Seymour!

My Horrific Cold of 2007 seems to finally be breaking. I am ever so happy since the horrible cough wasn't helping the morning sickness at all.

This week was the first week where I had all day bouts of nausea. That plus the cold really slowed me down at work. Thankfully there's been no barfing yet, and the nausea has let up some the last two days.

On one side, that is awesome -- I hate the feeling of nausea. On the other side, my Worrygear(tm) sets in; I begin thinking, "Oh no, I'm not sick -- there must be something wrong." I'm trying not to fret on it too much and just attribute the lack of barfy feeling to the miraculous little wonders known as Reese's Snack Bars that I force myself to eat before I even get out of bed.
I'm certainly still eating a lot. Kinda disturbed by that -- I have a fear of gaining 50 pounds during this process. But sometimes I HAVE TO EAT NOW. A few days ago I was in my office and I realized if I don't get a McDonald's cheeseburger right now, I'm going to barf. It was 10:00 in the morning. Best-tasting cheeseburger McDonald's has ever made.

Need to stop eating so much; this is stupid.

a bizarre feeling

It is truly a bizarre sensation to feel absolutely, completely nauseated and at the same time be quite hungry; so hungry your stomach is growling in a most unpleasant fashion.

So what do you do?

I have learned that you get a Subway sandwich at 9 in the morning. Just eat it slowly. It will last you until 2 in the afternoon.

Incidentally, Subway is AWESOME for serving sandwiches at this time of day. They get a gold star from me.

one step closer

Every day I feel a little closer to barfing. Eww eww eww.

Dear God, just let it be at the house.

dirty little liar

My mother called me last night to tell her her best friend is going to be a grandmother. Her son and his wife are expecting their first child next June -- a day after I'm due, actually. I just grinned and nodded while we talked about that. I know my mom's ready to be a grandmother as well. Little does she know.

Later I talked to my sister about the same baby news. Since the topic was all baby, she eventually flat-out asked me a question: "So are y'all ready to have a baby yet?"

I pause a moment, vividly aware of the little Taco growing inside me, and say, "Nooooo . . ." I go on to say how the cats keep me happy and occupied.

I hope I lied well enough. The Husband thinks I didn't pull it off and now she knows. Well, we'll find out in three short weeks.

That's right -- three weeks. The Husband and I quickly decided that there is no way on God's green earth we're gonna be able to wait until Christmas to hold this secret in, so Thanksgiving is the mark. It really works out well. Both of our immediate families will be gathered in one spot -- it will be huge. It might even make The Event of the Week!

Now if I could only rig up my camera to snap a picture right when the cat's out of the bag to get a shot of everyone's faces. There's gotta be a way.

it grows

Each day I feel more reassured and less worried about our little taco growing inside me. Yesterday we had our first appointment with the OB and it went wonderfully. It was our first time to meet her, and we reviewed everything that had happened so far and the ER escapade. She feels right now everything is quite normal and progressing well. At one moment while we were talking, I had a weird thought: "Wow, she's going to be the one to deliver our baby! We're going to have a baby . . ." Wild.

And the best part is right here -- The Taco's first picture:


They could see the yolk sac as well, though it doesn't show well on this picture. Technology is awesomely mindboggling.

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Yesterday I told my boss. Even though I'm so early, I felt I had to, really, especially since I was MIA most of the ER day. I can't quite recall for sure, but I think I actually used the phrase, 'I'm a little bit pregnant' when I told her. Ha, I'm such a goof. I do know I started off with, "I think there's something in the water here," because two other guys that work there are expecting with their wives.

I was nervous about telling her because I have not been working there very long yet and haven't established myself. I want them to know I still care a great deal about my career and I certainly plan to continue to pursue it. When I was gearing myself up to tell her I was expecting those type of questions since, hey, this is work, but it was totally the opposite. She was very supportive and excited for me. We talked a lot about pregnancy in general -- morning sickness, fatigue, no more wine -- and not a word was mentioned as to how this will affect my work.

It's a great relief to know I am supported there; such a weight off my shoulders.

b-b-but Sudafed was my friend and I loved him!

Remember I mentioned The Husband wasn't feeling good last week? He had a hell of a cold. He slowly started to get better as the week went on and I thought, "Ha! I'm in the clear -- I didn't catch it!" Then Thursday morning rolled around and I woke up with the rawest of throats. Oh bugger.

I am so used to self-medicating myself when I get sick like this. Now I can see just how irritating it is to read, " . . . as with all medications, if pregnant or breast-feeding please consult a doctor before using." I think it says that on vitamin bottles, too. So I don't take anything and put in a call to my OB's nurse.

She calls back later in the day and says, "Well, since you're so early, we'd prefer you not use anything at all . . ." Oh, my God; seriously? She continued, ". . . but you can take Sudafed, Benadryl, and Tylenol." Yeah, but to me, that first sentence is what I'm going to try to go by, especially since the scare from earlier in the week. I will take nothing and like it.

At least, until this thing turns into a sinus infection, as colds tend to do with me. I hope antibiodics are okay.

will I have any blood left when they're done?

Today was More Bloodwork Day, but I didn't mind. I'm one of those weird people who like to watch the needle go in my arm anyway. All the people at the OB's office were extremely nice and helpful, and I was so grateful for that. They went ahead and scheduled a regular appointment with me next Monday no matter what the blood work showed so we can make sure everything is okay.

They called me back this afternoon with my new HCG level and it is 882, which is a really good rise. My baby is still growing, and all is well so far. It's the first time I've felt relaxed all week.

Today is also the first day I really had what I would call nausea, though I was still a very far piece from barfing. Just an uneasy, queasy feeling I've had most of the day. I did eat lunch, though later on I wished it hadn't been leftover pizza.

a scary day

Yesterday was not a fun day. I noticed I had some light pink spotting when I went to the bathroom so I called my regular doctor since I didn't have an OB yet. They told me to make my way to the ER to make sure I wasn't miscarrying. Though that was the worry going through my mind ever since I first noticed the spotting, hearing someone say the word is about the worst.

So after a morning meeting at work I headed up to the hospital and called The Husband to let him know what was going on. He's been fighting a head cold so he left work to be with me -- his co-workers thought he was just going to the doctor, which wasn't that far from the truth.

We were there for six long hours. They asked many questions, took a lot of blood, and I even had my introduction to the vaginal ultrasound, though I am so early (4 weeks, 1 day yesterday) they didn't expect to see anything, and nothing was seen.

The doctor's final verdict -- other than "we can't really know for sure, and we couldn't do anything about it anyway" -- is he felt I was not miscarrying. He gave me a 75% chance in favor of being all right. They told me to take it easy and watch out for more spotting which, knock on wood, I have not seen any more of.

Also, at the end of the day, I got my OB referral in from my GP and my first appointment is in 2 1/2 weeks. However, I called them today to inform them of the ER thrill ride and they want me to come by tomorrow for some more blood work, which I am actually ecstatic about. See, they can actually measure the amount of that hormone that makes home pregnancy tests possible -- the amount in your blood should rise at a certain pace every 48 hours. Yesterday mine was 380. Hopefully it will have risen tomorrow. That's the logical, science-y part that my brain can wrap around when I'm feeling so worrisome otherwise.

A long way away

Surprisingly, I didn't cry when I told The Husband. He was really so happy I just grinned as much as he did.

When I handed him the package of baby stuff covered in Fanatic Fan images, I told him I saw a cute shirt in Wal-Mart and I just had to get it for him. He proceeds to pull out a baby onesie and holds it up against his chest for a moment. He told me later that his first thought was, "This is not going to fit me at all. What was she thinking?" A few seconds later and then it clicked.

"Oh, my God. Are you serious?" he asked, looking from me to the onesie.

"Yeah."

"But you told me it might take six months -- oh, wow!" Then he proceeded to hug me and cover me with kisses and take me out to a lovely Italian restaurant, where I almost choked to death on my ceasar salad because sometimes I forget how to chew.

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It's really hitting us how far away Christmas -- and thus, our mark for telling family and friends -- really is. A couple of times over dinner a friend's name would come up and The Husband or I would get excited about telling them about our news and then we'd remember -- we want to wait. Damn.

Even before I knew I was pregnant, I had already thought of how I'd tell the family via the if-I'm-pregnant-this-cycle-this-is-how-I'd-do-it route, and it worked out great since I would tell everyone around Christmas. A perfect excuse to hand out gifts to everyone!

The Husband tells me he will wait until I tell him it's okay to spill the beans -- it's my decision. Don't tell me that! I can think up any number of logical excuses to use Thanksgiving instead. The family will be gathered together as well -- in fact, more will be around. Besides, I guarantee you my mother-in-law will figure me out before Christmas anyway. She is good like that :-)

I am practically dying to pick up the phone and call my mother right now. It's 6:34 a.m.? So what? Eight weeks is a long, long time when you have the best secret in the world.

A BFP and spontaneous hugs in the store

I actually didn't even intend to test this morning. It surely would be too early -- no need to prematurely crush your hopes and all that.

But then I got to thinking, "You know, you have three of those little buggers. You wouldn't be that upset if you don't get that second line yet, now will you? It's like a science experiment!"

So there you go. All good science experiements should involve human pee.

And the first thing I said?

"Where's my camera?!" Yep, that's me.

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I do have another weblog that I have regularly posted to for quite a few years now, but since everybody I know and all my mamma's friends know about that site, I'm gonna keep all the oh-boy-we're-havin'-a-baby stuff hidden away deep within the internet until we, you know, tell people. Hopefully I can keep my trap shut until Christmas. We'll see how that goes.

Right now, at this very moment, only two people in the world know. Myself and the lady that rang me up in the Fanatical Fan Sports Store in the mall. I went by there earlier today to get some Fanatical Fan-branded baby gear to break the news to The Husband with. At first the lady guessed I was going to a baby shower.

"No, actually . . ." I replied, " . . . and, oh my God, you're the first person I'm actually telling, but I just found out I'm about to have a baby, and this is how I'm gonna tell my husband . . ."

At this point I started to loose it, then she started to loose it, and she ran around the counter and gave me a big hug and her congratulations. It was a wonderful moment, actually, and the first time so far I've had a happy cry about the news -- of course, I've only known positively myself for about 12 hours.

The Husband will be home soon, then three people in the world will know. I know I will cry when I see the look on his face.