14 weeks and going strong!

So here we are are at 14 weeks. I am happy to be here and so glad that everything is going well.

I asked for a doppler for my birthday so I can listen to the baby's heartbeat. I've had it since Tuesday and I've heard the heartbeat 3 times. It really is the most beautiful sound in the world and I love being able to check in with Teddy Graham when my worries are getting the better of me.
On Tuesday night when Jeremy and I listened you could hear Teddy's heart beat and mine at the same time, it was really cool :) We are only listening once a day and when we find the heartbeat we only listen for about 30 seconds and then turn it off, but the peace of mind it give me is amazing. I'm hoping it will help keep me calm between appointments.

This week has been another one that was a bit rough. Monday was my birthday and my cold from last week made another appearance, or maybe it was a new one, but either way I had aches, a fever, sore throat, and headache pretty much all day on my birthday. Luckily all of it was gone except the sore throat by Tuesday cause that's the day Jeremy took me out to celebrate the fact that I'm now 26. I wish the sore throat would go away though it is NOT fun. I guess I'm going to have to be more strict about limiting sugar. I think I overdid it a bit yesterday and when I got up this morning it was really bad.

So I'm just moving along and loving everyday I get to spend with this little one, even though I don't think being pregnant is that much fun!

Oh something else kind of exciting happened this week. It was the first time someone who didn't know I was pregnant noticed that I was. Jeremy and I were at the target in south bend where Jeremy used to work before he started Andrews looking in the baby isle and one of his old co workers walked by and noticed him. They looked at him and me and said WOW you're expecting, congrats! It was kind of fun to have someone be able to tell I was pregnant. I'm sure being in the baby isle also had something to do with it but it was still fun.

Also this week I am 10 weeks away from viability. This means that in 10 weeks if the baby is born early he/she will have a chance at life, and the drs will try to save him/her. I know it might seem kind of morbid but with what happened last time it is a milestone I can't wait to reach. Gabriel never had the chance to live, cause he was too young, so if I get to the point where Teddy Graham has a chance it will be big for me, and probably go a good long way to helping me relax a bit more.

All in all I'm doing ok (better when my sore throat leaves me!) and baby is doing awesome.


Here are some pics. Notice Zoe in all of the pictures, doesn't want to be left out, and I think still trying to figure what in the world we are doing!


My magical disapearing toes, getting harder to see everyday!


My tummy at week 14

No cravings this week

So instead of cravings this week I have been developing a very severe food aversion... ughh! Normally I love meat, love beef, love chicken, love cooking with them, but guess what Teddy Graham has been refusing to let me eat them! First it started out as only beef, then chicken also started to gross me out. It's crazy because it still smells good but if I put it in my mouth I gag. It's driving me CRAZY! I've been eating a lot of vegetarian foods for the last few days and they have been going down much better.

I read about this in my pregnancy book, that sometimes pregnant women get an aversion to meat, and I literally thought "it won't happen to me". But it DID! well no more steaks, or BBQ chicken for me right now, bring on the fri chick and grillers lol :)

Awesome Dr Apointment

So I don't think I have been this happy since I found out I was pregnant. Today was so emotional for me. We went in for our ultrasound and they couldn't find Teddy Graham's heartbeat with the doppler right away so she did a tummy ultrasound and I am so glad we got to see it! There he/she was waving hello to us, I couldn't believe it... then the baby did a little dance and jumped around for us. I felt like my heart would explode with happiness and I just burst into tears... I don't know why but seeing that little life in there doing well and growing (look how much bigger he/she looks) and MOVING! We never got to see that with Gabriel so it was a first. I am so happy and grateful, to God and to Jeremy for giving me this wonderful gift. I just can't explain how I feel, it's overwhelming. During the ultrasound Jeremy just had the biggest grin on his face and he got me some Kleenex for my big crocodile tears and gave me two big kisses... he's so cute!

Also I had questions for the Dr today. We talked about the progesterone shots which she says I will be starting at week 17, I'll be going into the clinic for my shot once a week. Also I asked her about the gasping thing I've been doing and she said "it's just nerves" I told her "no it's not" so she said "well, do you catch your breath right away after you gasp?" I said "yes" she said "then don't worry about it" She is so matter of fact about everything it's funny. I also asked her about this weird pressure I've been feeling and she says she thinks it's normal. So that's good too.

My cervix is still looking good and everything is going well, I'm floating on cloud 9 tonight!

So here is our little one, who you will notice has left looking like a gummy bear behind and has now moved on to looking like a little alien! Still the cutest alien baby I've ever seen ;) In the first pic the baby is waving hello. The head and face are at the top and you can see the babies arms and big round tummy, isn't it cute?!?!?



Now in this one you can see the face again and the arms and legs. This picture has also sparked a debate...notice the little white spot between the legs... boy parts? or not? We'll be getting our anatomy scan at 20 weeks so sometime in October, we'll probably find out the sex then... but it's still fun to guess.

13 Weeks

So 13 weeks today, and I am now officially in the second trimester :)

This last week was a bit rough. I was fighting a cold at the beginning of the week. I had a sore throat and felt achy and was extra tired. I decided I needed to cut back on the sugar because the few days before I got sick I was eating about 6-7 popsicles a day. I don't know why but I really liked them.

Cravings have turned into something interesting now. I'm doing so much better with the morning sickness and most food is tasting good again. So now I feel like I'm craving everything!!! Every time I hear someone talking about a food I haven't had in a while I NEED it. It's funny because I don't know if these are pregnancy cravings or me just missing liking the way food tastes, but I'll take it either way.

I've had a rough week emotionally too. I don't know why maybe it's because we are getting closer to when we lost Gabriel but I've just been very worried this week. I am analysing every single twinge and feeling and wondering if they are normal. The one that has been bothered me the most is this weird pressure I keep feeling. I just feels like something is sitting right on top of my cervix (imagine that) I'm sure it's normal but then I keep worrying that maybe my cervix is acting up and that's why I'm feeling it. I have a Dr apt tomorrow so if everything checks out normally and looks good I'll know it's a normal feeling and I can stop worrying.

Also I've loved Teddy Graham since the moment I saw the positive pregnancy test, but it is interesting how much that love has already grown over the past weeks. I feel more attached everyday and it's a beautiful and scary thing. I am hopeful, I want this little one so badly to make it home with us.

Ok enough of that for now. MUST BE POSITIVE!!! I try really hard I promise!

So what else is new this week? Well tomorrow at the Dr appointment we will be discussing whether or not I will be getting 17P shots. It is basically a shot of progesterone I'll get weekly to help prevent premature rupture of my membranes and preterm labor. I'm a little nervous about it but I'll do anything it takes to help keep this little one keep cooking until the time is right to make the big entrance :)

I also re-measured my tummy this week to see total growth since the beginning and I've grown a total of 16cm which is equal to about 6 1/4 inches. You might find this strange (my mom does) but I've also kept track of the circumference of my breasts because last time I was pregnant Jeremy and I would debate about whether they had grown and how much so this time I can tell you exactly haha well the right one has grown 5.5cm or just over 2 inches and the left 5 cm or exactly 2 inches... :)

so now for the pictures... First we have our weekly belly pic. I compared to last week and not much difference at all but here it is :)




Next we have my model shot, notice Zoe in the corner... her face says it all... What in the world are you doing mom, you look ridiculous!

It's amazing how much I can tell my tummy is changing, even the weeks it doesn't get bigger the shape is changing.

Strange Symptom

So a new symptom I am having this week is gasping. It may sound weird but for no reason as I am going about my normal business I'll just involuntarily gasp like I don't have enough air just once and then go back to breathing normally. It is so strange. It's been happening a handful of times a day since I hit 12 weeks. I didn't remember this off the top of my head but I mentioned this to my mom and she reminded me that I had this same thing around this time with Gabriel. After she told me I did remember it. It's nothing big just kind of weird!

12 weeks

Hurray! I'm 12 weeks, that means that at the end of this week I'll be entering the second trimester, how exciting!

I've been doing pretty well this week, and an interesting new way that I'm experiencing morning sickness is that, I'm not having that horrible yucky nauseous feeling all day, but everyone once in a while even though in general I'm feeling great I just have to run to the bathroom and throw up. It's so weird. This morning I was feeling fine had breakfast, an hour later I decided to get off my computer and go take a shower. As soon as I stood up I knew something was going to come up, so I ran to the bathroom and lost it all, so yucky! Another irritating thing about this random barfing is that it seems every time I throw up I pull a muscle in my jaw on the left side and then it hurts to open and close my mouth for the rest of the day.

Baby Teddy Graham is getting so big and is now about 2.5 inches long, and that is only head to rump so when you picture it you have to add on the legs :)

Nothing else too exciting or new from this week, just glad to be another week further with everything going well.

So here are the pics from this week.

I took this one just for fun, I'm starting to loose sight of my toes ;)


Here is the new timeline picture, what do you think?

A bigger version of this weeks belly pic!

Cravings

So My cravings seem to come and go, first was bananas, then green olives, which I haven't eaten in years. Mom was making me an omelet and I suddenly just NEEDED green olives, it was so funny! Next was Chinese food (which I satisfied last night) and WOW it was the best thing ever, Teddy Graham and I were VERY happy :) and now I am craving count chocula, that chocolate cereal with marshmellows.... Jeremy is going to have to run to the store!

Dr Apointment 11 weeks

This one was very short, just a quick ultrasound check, only got to peak at our baby for about 1 minute, and cervix is looking good. Biggest difference in how Teddy graham is looking is how LONG his/her arms and legs have gotten, I saw knees :) Finally got to hear the heartbeat on the doppler, 160 bpm, which I've been told means a boy, so we'll see. Unfortunataley the ultrasound picture of the baby was harder to see, the dr says this is because the baby is starting to move higher in my tummy, and they are doing transvaginal ultrasounds because the main reason for them is to check my cervix so it is going to get harder and harder to see the baby according to her. Oh well, It's still good to know that everything is going well, and baby is looking good!

11 weeks

So here we are at 11 weeks. Everything seems to be going really well,

morning sickness has still been manageable most of the time. Yesterday morning was an exception. I went to breakfast with Jeremy and his family and after eating I felt fine, so we walked out to the car and were waiting for everyone else to trickle out of the restaurant. A few minutes after walking outside I started to get hot, and then started to sweat, I could feel my gag reflex starting to act up, so I ran back into the restaurant and in a public bathroom (yuck) I threw up EVERYTHING in my tummy. I guess little Teddy graham was just reminding me that he/she is still there and kicking.

Also this week my tummy has been feeling very stretchy, just feeling bigger and I have been having a pulling painful sensation that seems to originate from my gallbladder scar that is right by my belly button. it mostly hurts if I sneeze, or move wrong, or for some reason when I am going to the bathroom. I'm going to ask the dr about it but the current theory is that maybe my stretching tummy is pulling on adhesions from my surgery.

Well when we took my picture this week and I compared it to week 9 where I was wearing the same tank top, it has definitely grown :) I've never been so excited to get fatter before... hahaha Well to me it just means the baby is growing and makes me feel more pregnant which is the fun part.

I'm now wearing mostly maternity clothes because I do not fit almost anything from before I got pregnant none of my pants, and most of my shirts look WAY too small. Jeremy's mom bought me a few new things too which is fun. I think I'm still in that stage where people look at me and think... "is she getting fatter? or is she pregnant?" hopefully that passes soon and everyone will be able to tell.

We go for another Dr apt today so we get another peak at Teddy Graham and make sure that my cervix is still looking good. I'll update with the new picture soon.

So here is my growing tummy, another interesting thing is that it is also rounding out more with each passing week. Oh and I can feel my uterus above my pelvic bone now which is fun, I can't wait till I start feeling this little one moving!