14 weeks

So....ummmmm.....I'm 14 weeks now.

And this is my confession:
The above photo: how I take Gage to school most mornings!
"Hello, Slacker Mom. Are those your husband's boxer briefs???"
Yes. Yes, they are.
And they are the most comfortable thing in this whole house.

The above photo....well, Hubby was lucky enough to see me like that in person. Also picture, no make-up with a messy bun. That completes the look! Hubby and I were both laughing about my comfortable choices. I could only be described as "a vision."
A vision of what, I can't tell you!

Pregnancy updates:

Size of Baby: TheBump says lemon. {Oh great. We've got a lemon!}

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Up 5 pounds. Though....let's discuss this. I discussed it with the dr at the last appt. I put on SEVENTEEN POUNDS during the IVF process. I got pregnant, which was the goal, but they don't count those 17 pounds as pregnancy weight. So, they calculate my pregnancy weight from the ending IVF weight. Technically, I'm up 5 pounds. I look like I'm up 20+ pounds, and I FEEL like I'm up 20+ pounds.

Maternity Clothes: Yes, mostly, though also a few non-maternity tops.  What sucks: maternity clothes shopping out here in the sticks. Nobody out here has petite/ankle length maternity clothes....and thanks to the internet I can get whatever from wherever...but there's no instant gratification from internet shopping, and the returns are a pain. But---oh well! I mostly live in my hubby's underwear, so why am I complaining, right!?

Gender: I think it's a girl. We'll find out in about a month....

Belly Button In/Out: In.

Sleep: Hit or miss. Still wake up usually once to use the restroom, and the stiff back has already started. We have a sleep number bed (which I love!) and I've tried every range of number from 35-100. It doesn't seem to matter how hard or soft the bed is...I just get back aches! I think they are starting earlier in this pregnancy than when I was this far along with Gage....

Cravings/Aversions: My meat aversion earlier in this pregnancy was wicked. Meat is starting to be okay again, so that's good. I'm getting better about eating all kinds of stuff now!

Feeling: Better, overall. The energy is coming back, so that's great. But, I'm finding that I get out of breath doing the most normal of things. I can't make the bed without stopping to catch my breath! It's crazy. Another thing that's new with this pregnancy: tailbone pain. I swear it has to do with all of the progesterone I've been on. I feel like my bones are truly moving down there! Or....this little one is pushing up against my tailbone. I dunno....either way, I didn't have this discomfort with Gage.

What I Miss: Sleeping soundly through the night.

What I am Looking Forward To: Feeling this little one. I remember vividly feeling Gage's first kick. (Well, it wasn't his first time to kick, but it was my first time to feel it!). I was in my 14th week and I was sitting in the grocery store parking lot. I had just pulled into my space and was getting ready to go into the store.
...of course, I was thinner then....

Milestones: I've officially graduated from the RE's office, which is bitter-sweet! I miss seeing them all the time. I miss the security you feel when you have someone watching over you and your pregnancy so closely. But, I'm venturing into the realm of "normal singleton pregnancy," and that's both frightening and comforting, if that makes sense...

Baby Milestones: From www.smartmomma.com:

This week, your baby is strengthening her muscles by moving and kicking a little more. She is becoming more flexible and stronger every day. She is even practicing moving her facial muscles, as she frowns, grimaces, and squints. Your baby is in the midst of an impressive growth spurt. Within the next month or two, she will triple in length and grow to reach the one-pound mark.

Next Appointment: Just before Christmas. (That seems so far away!!!!)

So that's the update on me & baby.
I have to scoot b/c I have morning plans, and lunch plans, and afternoon plans!
It's going to be QUITE the busy day today!
:)

13 weeks

This picture taken 11/24/2012, by my...2nd neice? I dunno! It's my cousin's daughter. She and Gage are 3 weeks apart.
:)

So, I wasn't 13 weeks exactly in this photo....but I was in my 13th week.

Funny thing about this picture: I didn't ask for a belly shot, and in all likelihood, I was smiling. But, this is what I got when I uploaded the pics.

Sweet girl had a TON of fun with my camera that day!
:)

Hello, blog.

Sorry I've been away for a bit....

Updates:
* Had Thanksgiving at my mother in law's house.
* Hubby woke up sick that day, so I did all the cooking. Kudos to me for pulling it off!!!
(I made: veggie tray & dip, dressing, giblet gravy, cranberry sauce, & green bean casserole)
* That night: Black Friday Shopping.
(I hit Target, Dick's, then Ulta, then Belk's, then Old Navy, then Bath & Body Works, then HOME.)
(Dear Old Navy: you SUCK for not including maternity jeans in your $15 deal. Suck, suck, suck.)
(Dear Baby: I had to cut it short this year because of you. My feet hurt...I was tired....I was home some time in the 3am hour, and going to bed by 3:45am. Best deal of the night: a YEAR supply of my favorite shampoo/conditioner for $45. It usually cost me about $30 for a 3week-1month supply. Whooohooo! Thanks Ulta!)
* That afternoon: hit the road to Tyler. Hopped in Mamasita's car and we headed to Palestine for a wedding.
* Next day: Thanksgiving celebration at my Mema's in Corsicana.
* Started to help my mom decorate her house for Christmas on Sunday.
* Came back home on Sunday.
* Monday: Gage back to school. Cleaned house. Did all the laundry.
* Tuesday: washed all of the sheets....got baby stuff out of the attic!
(WHY did I pack away Gage's diaper bag fully packed? Seriously---about 5 years ago, I left that bag fully loaded and put it into a box with baby blankets. What happens to an open tube of Desitin that has been in storage for 5 years? It turns to concrete. The powder & lotion in the bag? Straight to the trash too. I just can't bring myself to use them even if they are perfectly fine. Blankets in the bag....some of Gage's toys were in there... I'm glad I didn't find a 5 year old dirty diaper in there! What on Earth was I thinking 5 years ago!?)

That's about all I know for now....
:)

Happy Thanksgiving!

NT Scan Sono Pics !!!!

For the record: I am CONVINCED this little one is a girl. I saw no evidence otherwise during the sono yesterday!

The wonderful pics from yesterday:

That's "Judy's" profile, with her hands up by her face...going in for some cute thumb-sucking action. So sweet!

How she spent MOST of the sonogram:

Laying on her belly instead of her back. She was NOT a fan of the sono. She was kicking and thrashing about. She'd snuggle down on all fours, belly-down, and then whip her head to the side so that all we could see was the back of her head. She was NOT having the sono. Not one bit.

....but let me back up though, because yesterday was quite the emotional day.

Scan appt. time was 10:45. I got there at 10:30. I filled out the consent for the test, and that's when it started to hit: this wave of nerves, and fear, and panic, out of nowhere. Don't get me wrong---I get nervous before sonos. I just do. But, yesterday, I flat out lost my shit right there in the waiting room. I just lost it. I started crying, and I couldn't stop. There were no tissues anywhere. I went to the bathroom outside the office waiting room, out in the hall. I get in there, get in a stall, and just start bawling. Some lady came in, and she was so nice to me. I came out of my stall, and she just gave me the biggest hug..... {She's a mom, her dtr's 30yo, and she was there for a study relating to a blood clot in her leg...} Anyway....she got me to stop bawling. I returned to the waiting room with that sniffly, shiver with the exhale type of existence. Niiiiice.

I will never, ever, ever go to a sono alone again. Granted, it all turned out okay, and my reaction was very disproportionate to the situation.....but I don't care. I was freaking out, and unable to reign it in, and I had nobody there for distraction.

The sono lady, Brandi, was so sweet to me. She collected me from the waiting room, and I was just so upset and barely able to speak on my way to the sono room. I'm telling you---I was a mess. A completely unwarranted mess. Well, maybe not completely unwarranted... but, certainly, I've had no sonos during THIS pregnancy that would suggest my baby is anything less than perfect. It's just somehow a combination of being hormonal, normal pregnancy anxiety about so much of this development being out of our control, trying so hard for this pregnancy and all that we've gone through to get this far, and having a history of being THAT girl who goes in for a sono and gets devastating news. You put all of that together in my mind, and my thoughts were like a freaking tornado spinning out of control, resulting in the bawling pile of pregnant that I was. I miss the naive, happy-go-lucky mentality I had when I was pregnant with Gage. When nothing had gone wrong in my pregnancy, and I had no idea how the other side felt....

And then....I was laying on the sono table and with the first swipe of the scanner, there was my baby on the big screen.... All fabulous and big and waving and kicking....

In the end, the child was not cooperative for the scan. She needed to by lying on her back, looking straight up, for the perfect profile picture. She wasn't having any of that. ....or......she knew exactly what her Momma needed: a 40 minute movie of watching her flip and flop and give attitude.  Maybe she wasn't so much uncooperative, as she was just achieving a different goal. In the end, the sono tech was able to get 2 "acceptable" NT scan images for measurement. Ours are well within the range of normal, so unless the blood work shows anything waaaay off, then we are probably just fine!

How was the rest of my appointment: fine. I'm FINALLY coming off progesterone! Yaaaay! At 13 weeks, I'm FINALLY done with it!

So, we've got 4 more weeks until we go back. Since this pregnancy began, that is the longest I will have gone without seeing the baby, or hearing the heartbeat. I am sooooo looking forward to feeling the baby move, because it will just quiet those fears when they sneak in.

Grow, baby, grow! And kick me!
Right now, you are 7cm crown to rump, and you look like you have looooong legs and arms. Grow, grow, grow! {...except for a penis. don't grow one of those.}
:)

So...the heart rate over time...
6w0d = 92 bpm
8w0d = 180 bpm
8w6d = 170 bpm
12w0d = 148 bpm
13w03 = 155 bpm

Gage's School Thanksgiving

Gage's school didn't have a Thanksgiving Feast. Instead, they had a "Give Thanks" night. It was the night before the final tally on the food drive. Each grade was competing against the other to see who could collect the most food for donation. I don't know if the 1st Grade pulled it off.... Last I saw, it looked like they were getting beat by a bunch of Kindergarteners...
Hmph.

I can say that it wasn't for a lack of trying on the part of Gage's household! Gage sent me to the store while he was at school one day so that we could feed the homeless, and they would "WIN." He's a highly competitive individual.

Anyway.... here are pics from the Give Thanks night...

 Gage enjoyed making the Thanksgiving bead bracelet. He did not enjoy making a corn husk doll and we opted out. The kids wrote/made cards for soldiers and thanked them for their service. They had fun activities set up for them in the gym. They made ipad pictures in the art room.... and this BIG activity (as in, most challenging for Gage, and most time consuming): making this turkey. You have to go line by line and solve a math problem. When you get the answer, you look for that # on an envelope around the room. You take the corresponding piece of construction paper out of the envelope and glue it on your paper. Then you move on to the next problem. It was a good activity, but.... man, it was chaotic in there! Gage had to count on his fingers for a few of them.

We had fun.
:)

NT Scan

I was supposed to have my NT Scan (Nuchal Translucency Screening/Scan) today, at 12w6d (12 weeks & 6 days), but Dr.B has to be in surgery during my appointment time, so it had to be rescheduled for Tuesday. And, since this is a time sensitive test, and Dr.B didn't have any openings, I will be seeing one of his partners. I already know her from being a long-time patient there, and having a baby with them before....so, it's not THAT big of a deal. Obviously I prefer Dr.B, and that's why I continue to be his patient, but whatever. They make you see all of the other docs during the prenatal care regimen so that you're familiar with each of them and they are familiar with you...

Anyway...
What is the NT Scan?
It "is a noninvasive screening test for fetal Down syndrome and Trisomies 13 and 18. This test is available to women between 11w4d and 13w6d of pregnancy" (www.hopkinsmedicine.org).

Here's more Info:

Down syndrome and trisomies 13 & 18 are chromosomal disorders that cause mental retardation and birth defects. Babies with Down syndrome have an extra chromosome #21 (trisomy 21) which causes mental retardation and various medical problems involving the heart, digestive tract, and/or other organ systems. Trisomy 18 (having an extra chromosome #18) and trisomy 13 (having an extra chromosome #13) are more severe disorders which cause profound mental retardation and severe birth defects in many organ systems. Few babies with trisomies 13 or 18 survive more than a few months. Anyone can have a baby with these chromosome abnormalities, however, the chance increases with the mother’s age.

First trimester screening is not a diagnostic test, which means it cannot tell you whether your baby has Down syndrome, trisomy 13, or trisomy 18. Instead, the screening provides a probability that the baby might have Down syndrome, trisomy 13, or trisomy 18. This probability, or chance, is based on three criteria: your age, information obtained on a sonogram (ultrasound), and bloodwork. The screening results can either alert you and your doctor that your baby is at an increased risk for one of these chromosome disorders or be reassuring that your baby is at a lower risk for these conditions.

This screening includes a sonogram and maternal blood work performed between 11 4/7 – 13 6/7 weeks of pregnancy. The sonogram will confirm how far along your pregnancy is. In addition, a measurement of the fluid underneath the skin along the back of the baby’s neck, called the nuchal translucency (NT), will be taken. The sonogram will also determine if your baby’s nasal bone is present or absent. A maternal blood sample is used to analyze two chemicals called free beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and pregnancy associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A), which are found in the blood of all pregnant women. In some pregnancies when the baby has Down syndrome, trisomy 13, or trisomy 18, there is extra fluid behind  the baby’s neck and/or the hCG and PAPP-A results are higher or lower than average. Additionally, a baby’s nasal bone may be absent in some pregnancies with a chromosome abnormality. Combining your age-related risk with the NT measurement, nasal bone data, and blood work provides you with one risk figure for Down syndrome and one risk figure for trisomy 13 or trisomy 18. Your obstetrician will receive your screening results from NTD Laboratories within approximately one week.

Guess what?
I'm on the cusp of advance maternal age.
ADVANCED MATERNAL AGE.
wtf?
Apparently I'll miss being IN that category by 2 weeks. Why? Because they look at the mother's age when the baby is born. I'll be 35 mid-June, and the baby is due at the end of May.

The up-side to this test: Yet another chance to see the baby in utero! I truly can't get enough of seeing her (or him).
....and I'm kind of convinced it's a girl at this point.
I'll be exactly 13 weeks on the day of the test.
Can't wait to see her {or him} on the screen!!!!

Expect to see more sono pics soon.
:)

Turkey Strike 2012.

At Gage's school, the 1st graders dress up as turkeys and go on strike before Thanksgiving. Each kiddo has to bring a turkey hat and make a sign for the strike. Gage's sign read, "Save the Turkeys. Eat More Cake!" That's my boy!!! Mommy's with you on that one! {...though, I do love a good Thanksgiving feast...}

Pictures at the house in the morning before the strike....
....my little contrary turkey. He wasn't super cooperative with any sweet turkey shots...

Excited to show off the 'turkey butt.'

The Turkey Strike at school...

Parents and students from the other grades line the halls for the parade. The 1st grade teachers dress up like turkey farmers and lead their striking turkeys through the halls. Gage was happy when it was over. I asked him if he liked doing it, and he said, "Kind of." I asked why he didn't smile. He said, "Because I kind of didn't like it."

Well, there you have it.

12 Weeks.

On Tuesday, I was 12 weeks.
:)

I feel: round all over.
I crave: PROCESSED FOOD. Seriously. This is NOT good. Cheese in a can? Do you know how freaking good that sounds to me? Who needs crackers?! If I HAD a can, I would spray it directly into my mouth, and that's NOT GOOD.
My daily must have:

...and, to make myself feel better, I get the SpaghettiOs with added calcium (not pictured, b/c I ate them all...)

What good thing happened at 12 weeks?
Another sono!
Sadly, it's....well....it's not the BEST picture of this baby I've seen so far. In fact, I'll post it, and let's see if you can find the baby....

So, I taped a copy of the sono picture to a piece of paper & labeled it...

So far, "Judy", you have a giant head. Hope you're going to be smart. You're usually quite active at sonos, but this time, you were sleeping. It was sweet. You'd move a little, but not much. Your little heartbeat has slowed down quite a bit. This time the heart rate was 148.

So...the heart rate over time...
6w0d = 92 bpm
8w0d = 180 bpm
8w6d = 170 bpm
12w0d = 148 bpm

According to the old wive's tale, it's still a girl {over 140 bpm = girl}.
According to Intelligender, it's a boy.
According to the Chinese calendar, it's a girl.

The downside of going to the RE: I have to stay on progesterone still. UGH.
But---whatever it takes to stay pregnant!

Okay, that's all for now.

Last Friday Night!

Last Friday, I took Gage and his buddy, R1, to see the last Tyler Lee football game of the season, and Mario's last football game of his Senior year.

Who were they "versing?"
Rockwall Heath Hawks.

"Goooooo Mar-yo!"
{Said Gage and R1!}

The only two pics of the game:

NINE Years.

Hubby and I have been married for nine years.
NINE years.

How did we celebrate our 9 year anniversary?
Apart.

He was on a business trip to Asia and I was here....
But he sent me these....

With this....

Did you read the card?
Did you really read it? Hello, forgotten word. "I love sooooo much"???? Who took that message down? Ugh. 

And while he was gone, he bought me all new bedding and bedroom lamps...he just doesn't know it yet!
{Honey, they're perfect! I need more throw pillows, but I didn't see any that I liked at the stores yet...}

I also still haven't decided on curtains....

I got him:

Now what's the traditional gift for 9 years of marriage? Pottery. Hence the new mug.

My pottery? I'll take it in the form of my new "I Dream of Jeannie" lamps. {that's what they look like to me...}
(Anyone else have that theme song playing in their head???)

The business trip timing was clearly not great, but it was necessary. Hubby used to travel a lot more than he does now...It's just that he's had a Vegas trip and now this big trip close together. He should be staying put for a while now!

Happy Anniversary, Hubby!

Our Eddie-versary.

Gage still misses Eddie and asks about Eddie often. He asked me earlier this year to let him know when it was our anniversary of Eddie's death, so that we could send messages to him in Heaven.

So....I did.

Sadly, Daddy was out of town, and didn't participate, but we had him covered....
Our notes to Eddie (our Rottie) in Heaven....

We rolled the notes up into little scrolls, and had them put into balloons at the party store. While I thought this might be a sad experience for Gage, it wasn't. He was happy to send up love notes to Eddie. And honestly, when you think about it, Gage had almost no closure at the time of Eddie's death. Eddie was there one moment, then Gage went to his grandmother's, and by the time he came home, Eddie was gone. His body was taken for cremation, and Gage never really got to say goodbye....

So, maybe this brought Gage some closure...

...and then it was off to play at the playground!

...after that, we headed off to get gas!
Why? Because we were living on the edge. {Woohooo!}

...then it was off to the voting precinct to vote!
And by "vote," I clearly mean, "wait in line and finally get to vote."
Ran into several neighbors there. One was waaaaay ahead of me in line. She said, "Hey, Gage, are you bored?" and then he got to go home with her to play with his friend & classmate, H. Gotta love neighbors!
I finished up voting and headed to her house for a bit to get Gage.

After a bit, we came home. Had dinner, and climbed into bed....veeeerrrry early.
...and we read....

He was very excited to sleep in Mommy's bed since Daddy was out of town, and he's very excited that we've almost finished his Diary of a Wimpy Kid book.

It wasn't long until I looked over and these two were asleep....BEFORE bedtime....

To note: his shirt IS on backwards. He was informed of this detail, and declined to change it. What you DON'T see in this picture are the 3.5 feet of empty space on the other side of the dog, also known as "Daddy's side." You also don't see the narrow 12 inches I was allotted on "Mommy's side." I swear....they were sooooo close snuggled up to me....we could have all been on a twin mattress and it would have been the same.

I tried to stay awake for the election coverage....I fell asleep at some point, and woke up to discover Obama was re-elected.
Texted Hubby the news....

That was our Eddie-versary, 2012.