Everything is Okay

I'm still at the dr's office, but we just had our ultrasound. Baby is kicked back...healthy and happy. Looks like it is a bladder issue because I just emptied my bladder before the ultrasound, and it was completely full during the exam. More details and pics to come later today.

Going to Dr...worried

Please pray for us. I had some sharp pains over the weekend in my cervix, and my nurse doesn't like the sound of the pain. We are going in at 10:30 central for an ultrasound. Please pray!

2nd OB Appt

It was such a wonderful feeling to get in the car on our way to our 2nd OB appointment. We didn't get to make it to the second appointment with Baby Faith so I was so excited to reach this milestone. There wasn't nearly as much anxiety with this appointment since we were blessed to hear baby's heartbeat on the doppler a couple days before our appointment. I did the normal check-in stuff and then headed over to look for a magazine to read while we waited. I didn't pick up Fit Pregnancy or Parents Magazine, I picked up...Conceive Magazine. I didn't want to read anything that could contain women complaining about pregnancy. I don't think I could stomach it. I don't feel comfortable in the mainstream view of pregnancy. For some reason, pregnancy is now celebrated as the time in your life where you can complain all of the time...and "it's all about you." Next to "What to Expect When Your Expecting" on the bookstore shelf is a book called "Pregnancy Sucks: What to Do When Your Miracle Makes You Miserable." Everyone is constantly asking me how I'm feeling. I don't know what to say to them. Yes I'm tired, but I don't want to complain. I probably feel better than I have felt in at least a year. I don't have hot flashes, hormonal headaches, heartache, and constant worrying about follicles, timing, and what's next. I'm blessed. I love pregnancy. I love every second of carrying the miracle that God has given us, and it's not "all about me."
Okay done venting now...

After pointing out to Shaun how convenient the Gonal-F pen is compared to mixing all of those drugs (he was very impressed with the pen), we were called back. The nurse weighed me, asked me how I was feeling. and told us that "we are just going to listen to your belly today." She is so pleasant. I really appreciate nice nurses after my former not-so-nice OB nurse.

Courtney- "So how many pounds did I gain---2? 3??"
Nurse- "Ummm actually...looks like 6 pounds."
Courtney- "Oh wow okay."
Shaun- (huge smile on his face)
Apparently my sweet Shaun was proud of the weight gain.
Dr comes in....
Doctor-- "How are y'all doing??"
Shaun (immediately perks up)- "We are doing great!! She gained six pounds!!"
Doctor--(trying not to laugh) Well that's good!
Courtney- (laughed at my cute husband)

After just a minute or so of searching (Doctor: "Come on Peanut")...we heard our baby's heartbeat just beating away. Dr. said it was in the 160s, which according to him is just right. He told me that I could stop the progesterone whenever I wanted to, but I decided to decrease my dosage to once daily until next week (12 weeks).

Special Birthday Present

My 25th birthday was yesterday, and I got the most wonderful present...we heard sweet pea's heartbeat!! I decided to get the Doppler out again last night when I got home from work because I had a very full bladder. I searched and searched really low, and I was about to give up on finding it, but I decided to try several inches below my belly button in the center (a little higher), and there it was...the most wonderful sound!! I pressed the record button as soon as I heard it. Shaun was still at work so I called him and told him I had something to play for him. I could tell he was extremely excited and relieved to hear our baby's heartbeat. We have our second ob appt on Tuesday morning, but at least there won't be as much anxiety since we heard the heartbeat. I will admit now that not finding the heartbeat last week really got us both scared. Click below to hear sweet pea's heartbeat at 10w3d..172bpm.

Finally!

Hey Girls! I'm so happy to finally be able to post a few updates on what has been going on with us the past two weeks. My work computer won't let me post, and my home computer is currently broken so I'm very, very excited to get to blog. I'm 10 weeks now!! Can you believe it??!! I can't! Well I hope you enjoy the updates and belly shots below, and I will try to blog again really soon :).

9 Weeks

Not the best photo of me, but you can definitely see the bump in this picture. Wow!! 9 weeks :). Look how cute our baby looks now on the sidebar in the 3d thingy (awwwwwh!!). I'm still not comfortable with being a normal patient. I'm doing all that I can to just relax and enjoy every minute, but I think I would do a lot better with this if I didn't have to wait an ENTIRE month to see my doctor. At least we only have one week left until my appointment, I think I can make it. I also made a huge mistake last week which did not ease my fears in the slightest. I decided to rent a doppler. For those of you outside the IF community, you probably have never heard of this, and you think I'm crazy, but renting a doppler is a very common practice with women who are pregnant after infertility or loss. I unfortunately decided to order mine early...(are you surprised...remember me testing at 9 dpIUI??), and we couldn't find the heartbeat. We did think that we heard the sounds of the placenta, which sounds like wind whooshing through the trees, and maybe a couple fetal movements (maybe??) which was probably gas. Everyone on the WebMd boards assures me that it was way too early for my weak doppler and to try in a couple more weeks so I will at least wait until the day before my appt before I try again. I woke up at 3 AM that morning in a major panic, but I feel back asleep to a wonderful dream. We delivered a baby girl in the mall (strange I know), and I can't even begin to describe to you the feelings I had when I held her in my arms, and she opened her eyes for the first time. Then I gave her to Shaun, and she smiled so big when she heard his voice. I had this overwhelming feeling of protection for my daughter, and I remember not wanting very many people to hold her. I woke up feeling a little better, and I told Shaun that we needed to remember that there is a 95% chance (according to our dr) that we have a safe and healthy baby.

Update on symptoms: Finally starting to feel a little nauseous in the evenings...it is a very welcomed feeling. I also have what I like to call "pregnancy gag attacks." I think these started around 8 weeks. I will just be in the middle of a conversation feeling fine, and all of a sudden something will come over me, and I just gag...and it is the funniest sound. This also happens almost every time I brush my teeth now too. Shaun laughs every time I gag. I know that sounds really mean, but I have to laugh too because it sounds so funny. We both just love it when I have pregnancy symptoms. We are really having a lot of fun together lately. There is a lot of laughter in our home. I realized this weekend in the middle of block.buster while we were both acting silly just how much infertility was draining us. It feels really great to be myself again.

First Bump Photo: 8 weeks

This was New Year's Eve...If you look closely, you can see a little bump. I think the progesterone supps are making me show earlier, but I did show early with my first pregnancy, and I wasn't on progesterone with that pregnancy.



We had a great time at the New Year's party! I drank lots of sparkling white grape juice (I love that stuff) and cuddled up next to Shaun as much as possible (I've been a little clingy lately). I wanted to cry uncontrollably when we counted down to 2009, and we all toasted in the new year. 2008 was a very tough year, and it felt really good to say goodbye to 2008 with so many wonderful expectations for 09. The next day...we headed to Birmingham, AL to meet our newest little nephew, Noah and to give lots of attention to Noah's big brother James (15 months) to help with the transition. I know I'm very partial as an Aunt but let me just say that they are both absolutely adorable! It was a really great experience for us especially for Shaun to get to see the first couple days home from the hospital. I told my sister-in-law that it was like that TLC show Bringing Home Baby except that this was the LIVE Edition. It really made Shaun and I realize just how much we have left to learn! Shaun really paid close attention to everything and asked lots of questions (too cute). I also got to go to Motherhood with my Mom. It was a very special afternoon because we have both been looking forward to that day for a long time. We spent hours in that store, and we found a lot of cute clothes ;). Our favorite purchase was a black and white polka dot dress...I know it doesn't sound that cute but I have to admit that I love it, and I can't wait to wear it.