Week 14 - HELLO 2ND TRIMESTER!!!

LIFE IS GOOD!!!

I know it's been a long time since I last wrote.  About 8 weeks have zoomed by like nothing it seems.  Yes, the days seem to drag on and it seemed like I'd never get to the 2nd trimester, BUT THEN...
BADA-BING, BAD-BANG... Here we are at the start of my 14th week!  HOLY MOLY!!!

Reality still seems like a dream and at times I'm still in shock that I'm actually pregnant!  I know I feel pregnant, I see the ultrasounds, I hear the heartbeat... but it's still hard to believe.  I've dreamed of this so long, planned for this, and now my dreams are finally coming true.  I'm still awe struck.

So a lot has happened in these nearly past 2 months.  Good news, and then some not so good news.  First the not-so-good-news (I don't want to call it "bad news" because nothing is bad about being pregnant finally)...

• Well "Baby B" didn't make it.  :(  Baby stopped growing at 6 weeks and even though we got to see and hear his/her heartbeat twice, it was always slower than Baby A's.  By week 8, Baby B had not progressed past 6 and a half weeks.  It was sad, but bitter sweet as we saw Baby A was growing phenomenally.  By week 9, it was clear that Baby B would just be a memory in our dear hearts.  No heartbeat was found and the sac seemed to be getting smaller.  They call this phenomenon "Vanishing Twin Syndrome" (Disappearing Twin Sydrome), literally, one twin will for no apparent reason stop growing and will dissolve into the woman's body.  My doc (and from what I've researched) says it actually occurs more often than caught, but since it occurs at such an early stage in pregnancy, most women never know they had ever conceived twins because by the time they see their OB in their 10th week, the sac has disappeared.  I would have probably never known, had I not been monitored as closely and as early as they do with fertility specialists.  This will have no effect on Baby A whatsoever and I am expected to have a completely normal singleton pregnancy.  So while this is sad news, I was not devastated as something deep in my gut told me not to get my hopes up.  I tell ya... I've done a lot of research and I knew statistics on fertility treatments, multiple births, as well as the risk of things like this.  I was sad especially because Baby B's sac hung in there until the 12th week and it was a little disturbing to see it every time I'd go in to check on Baby A.  Either way, we will cherish the memory.
• Morning Sickness is no joke!  I have yet to have a week go by where I don't experience some kind of nausea.  Yes, it has gotten a lot better since my first trimester.  During which, I was sick every day- morning, night, and noon.  It was worse at night and hard to sleep and enjoy dinner.  It made some days a little hard to concentrate at work and some weekends were wasted sick in bed.  I'm thankful I have never gotten to the point of throwing up, but some days just wish I would so that maybe I could feel better.  Now that I'm in my second trimester, the nausea is still there but not nearly as bad.  Now it's usually worse after I eat, or when I'm really hungry.  I still haven't found a cure-all, but I did buy some SEABANDS which seem to help.
• Food Aversions:  Of all things... I completely hate vegetables.  C'mon you've got to be kidding me!  Something I'm supposed to be getting plenty of and now I can't stand the sight of much less the taste of.... how will I get proper nutrition?  I'm hoping my prenatal vitamins are helping to carry this load for me.  I try to cook them, steam them, grill them, dip them, mix them and no matter what, they make me nauseous, enough to ruin a meal for me.  I hope this doesn't last much longer.  I used to love veggie plates.
• And to make it worse.... I'm absolutely craving red, juicy, beefy, meat.  You know that stuff you're supposed to limit yourself to once or twice a week?  Nope, Baby wants the good stuff.  And forget chicken.... One of my all-time faves, go-to meals, Chik-Fil-A lovin'... nope... not satisfying enough.  At least it doesn't make me sick like the veggies do.  But I'll just pick at the chicken and never seemed to be satisfied with it.  But throw me a juicy steak, and I'm in heaven.  What a 360 degree turn around (I never used to be much of a red meat eater)!

Which brings me to the good news...

• Baby is growing like a weed!  Today baby is the size of a beet.  We still won't know the gender, but my intuition is telling me it's a boy because of all the red meat I'm craving.  LOL.
• We went in for our first trimester screening and baby is perfectly normal.  Plus we got to see 2 arms and 2 legs at the ultrasound! And baby is moving up a storm!
• Mom is doing great as well.  Got clearance on all my labwork and everything is looking good! Even despite the lack of veggies and the carnivorous appetite.

So what else have we been up to?  Well we officially graduated from our RE's office 2 weeks ago.  I was so sad to leave them.  They really took care of me and I was very fond of the doctor and staff.  I left them a thank you gift (fruit basket) and hugged them all at our last appointment.  Now that I'm part of the mainstream women at my OB's office, I feel like I'm just another number.  Our first appointment with my current OB was about 3 weeks ago.  Though she seemed nice, I just got a bad vibe off her.  She seemed really negative, and though I know she's just trying to be realistic and can be a bit blunt, I don't appreciate that kind of attitude with my first... long awaited... pregnancy journey.  And since we've decided to forfeit the birthing center option (more on that later), when I asked her opinion on natural birthing and doulas, she seemed to brush off the idea and stress her opinion on what's necessary for the health of the baby (yes, I know... that's my first priority too... duh!), so she kept saying the word C-section and I totally drowned her out.  Anyways, I decided to finish my pregnancy work up with her (labwork, genetic testing, etc) and now I'm in the process of switching doctors.

Back to our hospital birth decision.  So as you recall, there was a time when we thought we would be having twins.  So immediately to me, that threw out the idea of having a birthing center birth.  I figured the risks were too high and I didn't want to put us or our babies through that.  So naturally I started researching OB doctors.  I asked around and checked some reviews online.  I found one doc that I was really interested in, but when I called to make an appointment back in September, they said she had no availability until November!  So they suggested her associate... and that's how I got stuck with my current OB.  Now after we heard the news of Baby B, I considered switching back to a birth center, but my RE was adamant about getting an OB.  And then I started doubting myself.  All this we've been through, I didn't want to risk any chance of having anything go wrong.  So I made up my mind and stuck with the hospital birth.  I figure if all goes well with this delivery, I will choose a birth center for our next pregnancy.  Anywho, now I'm Gung Ho about making this hospital delivery experience as natural and beautiful as possible.  I'm insistent on hiring a doula, starting prenatal yoga, going to birthing classes, doing peritoneal massage, learning breathing techniques all so that I can make this as natural as possible.  I know I'm still gonna get an IV, and I know there's a chance I'll get scared into a C-section.  But I want to train my mind and my body that I can do this.

So we started interviewing doulas.  The first doula we met with seemed really good and she has a lot of experience.  I probably would've hired her on the spot if I weren't told to interview at least 3 doulas before making a decision.  So now I'm going to research and find two more to interview.  This weekend I am going with a friend to do prenatal yoga (yoga newbie here).

And speaking of... I know quite a few ladies with EDD around my date.  It must've been one hot and steamy summer... LOL.  Speaking of one in particular... one of my very good friends is about 1 week later than me!  I was so excited for the both of us as this will be our firsts!  It's so fun to have someone who is like a sister going through the same thing as you.  I can't wait to share our bonding experience together.  She's gonna be my bump buddy and yoga partner.

I plan on getting a 3D/4D US sometime in November, since I can't wait until Dec 15th for my scheduled anatomy/gender scan.  We're too impatient.  We want to know Baby Frijole's gender like yesterday!

By the way, we finally revealed to the world we are expecting.  Here are our photo reveals:

Ok, I'm tired of typing I'll leave you with a pic of baby Frijole.  Until next time...

A Change is Gonna Come - Weeks 4-5

BETA #1 (8/25/2014) -  219
BETA #2 (8/27/2014) - 605
BETA #3 (8/29/14) - 1258

It's official!  We're pregnant!  I still can't believe it!

I tested another 2 times before the first BETA testing day came.  Then a couple of more times after that.  I was so paranoid.  I sent DH out to the dollar store to pick me up a few HPTs so that I could keep testing.  Finally after BETA#2 came back more than doubled, that eased my mind and I stopped POAS.  I was a little relieved.  Then my BETA#3 couldn't come soon enough and seemed like it took FOREVER for the clinic to update my results.  Everything is looking so good.  Our BETA #4 and first pregnancy ultrasound is scheduled for Wednesday the 3rd.  I can't wait!  DH will go with me. We will get to see the first picture of our little Frijole!

Symptoms Week 4-5: 
I am still unsure of how far along I am.  My pregnancy apps are calculating from my LMP (5 wks), but I know I ovulated late, so I adjusted it to when I think I ovulated and so it puts it back a few days (4.5 wks).  I'm looking forward to Wednesday so they can better calculate my EDD based on baby's measurements.  As for symptoms, I'm still having the twinges of pain/cramp-like sensations every once in awhile, but not as often as the first few days.  My breasts are still really tender to the point where it hurts to even wear a shirt sometimes.  I've noticed that they are changing too.  They are getting darker and my nipples are getting bigger.  I told this to DH and he looked at them and said he doesn't notice anything.  No real cravings yet, although I seem to be liking spicy, hot foods a lot more lately.  I have always liked spicy foods, but it seems l am adding hot sauce to a lot more things now.  Also my sense of smell seems more sensitive.  I am still on the progesterone which will probably continue through my first trimester.  DH took my first pregnancy photo today.  I'm a mess, but I couldn't care less... there's a baby growing in me!  As you can see, not much has changed.  I'm a big girl mind you, so most of what you see is me in all my natural glory,  LOL.

 

 

I've been doing a lot of research and reading.  It's so fun and interesting.  So far I've been reading.  "The Day-By-Day Pregnancy Book",  "How to Exercise When You're Expecting", "Your Pregnancy Week By Week", and "What to Expect the First Year".

 

 

 

I'm learning a lot of new things about not only pregnancy and how my body will be changing, but about what to expect for the future and how to take care of myself and baby.

 

I've also started looking into birthing centers, which if you recall from my earlier blogging, is where I would like to labor and deliver baby.  So far, I'm leaning more towards a birth center not too far from where I live.  I called them a couple of days ago to ask how soon I should come in for my first visit since I just found out I'm pregnant.  They said as soon as I can.  I told them I would schedule an appointment as soon as my RE released me from his care.  I explained that I had fertility treatments.

 

I am also looking forward to my local Birth Fair, which is a small convention/symposium catered to Natural Baby care (i.e. cloth diapering, baby wearing, birth centers, holistic therapy, breastfeeding, etc.)  It will be in early October.

 

The other day I had DH bring in and dust off the boxes of pre-baby buys I had stored away.  I remember how sad a day it was when I packed up everything for storage.  It was such a sweet, sweet feeling having him bring it in and opening it up again.   I've also started working on a baby/registry list.  I'm a planner and I'm OCD when it comes to making lists, just ask DH.  So I've done some research online and on community message boards so that I know what to expect when baby comes home.  We have a few things already from my pre-baby buying a few years ago and I started an Amazon Baby Registry back then which I've slowly added to over the years.  I still keep up with my YouTube Vloggers, and some of them have had babies, so whenever they would recommend a product, I'd add it to our registry.

 

Hubby and I have already discussed wanting to know the gender of baby Frijole.  We want to know as soon as possible so that we can start planning buys and decorating the nursery.  Plus we still have the name thing to figure out.  Even before getting KU, we had pretty much decided on a boy's name but even now, we are still undecided on a girl's name.  And for some reason, both of our mom want a  boy.  DH and I would be happy either way.  We also decided we would be doing a 4D US as soon as we're allowed.  I already know of a few places, and Groupon offers some great deals as well.

 

I am invited to one of my BFF's friend's daughter's 1st birthday next weekend, which will be out of town.  I am thinking of sharing the news with her then.  Plus, I also lent her a bassinet when she first found out she was pregnant, so I'm hoping I can bring it back with me. 

 

So I think I will let my sister know this Friday about our good news.  Our relationship has been kind of strained recently with all that's been going on in my family.  But I hope she can put that aside and be happy for us.  I want her to know she will know before any of my friends.

 

So now to enjoy the rest of our Labor Day weekend....