12w3d

Visit with the inlaws...complete.

It was a good visit. I spent some good bonding time with my MIL. She is absolutely crazy excited about the baby. She has 5 other grandkids, but confessed to me that she is most excited about this one. She told me that out of her 3 kids she has always looked forward most to T becoming a parent. She said that when it began to look like we may not be able to have kids it broke her heart that he may never be a daddy...It broke my heart too. On to happier things. Instead of hanging out by myself yesterday my MIL and I went to the spa - a massage and a pedicure...it was fabulous. We started the day with a wonderful big breakfast and did a little bit of shopping then went to the spa - back to the condo by 3:30. I couldn't have scripted a better day for myself!

My parents come 2 weeks from this Thursday. My mother is also in full throttle baby mode. I let her tell people this week. I can't believe that she has lasted this long with out exploding. I was going to make her wait until this Sunday because according to one calender that is the start of the second trimester. After further investigation I discovered that there are several theories about when the second trimester starts - I am sticking with the 13 week mark. My mom is definitely pumped up for baby shopping...I am not there yet, but I suppose I have a little over 2 weeks to get there. Hopefully she will be a shopping/buying mood for a little something for expanding me!

Today on my weekly pregnancy update that gets emailed to me it said that my waist "may" be starting to expand and that it would probably be several more weeks before maternity clothes. My big pouchy gut obviously did not get this memo. I have not fit into any of my pants since January and with my buxom chest and pouchy gut my normally petite shirts are too short. Maternity pants are so much more comfy at this point. Luckily work clothes are not an issue, as I wear hospital provided scrubs...it's like wearing jammies all day long.

Thursday I go for the nuchal fold ultrasound/bloodwork with the Perinatologist. I really wish that these screening tests could be earlier. That technology is almost mainstream. I know of a company that is about to release a test that is noninvasive ( a cervical swab) that definitively tests (not just screens) for many chromosomal abnormalities and the sex of the baby as early as 8 weeks. This, however is not useful to me, as the rep ( a pal of mine) tells me that it will not be released until the middle or end of the year and was unable to hook me up...darn it! I tried...

I am feeling more peppy and less queasy. My haircut last week was a big success, the best I've had in ages. I have been turned on to the straightening iron, I must say I almost look hip!

The best jeans ever??

As I am approaching the 12 week mark, I am actually relaxing. I am not obsessing about time - therefore time is going faster, and each day I become more convinced that we will be parents in September.

As happy as I was to discover that the dopplers at work were wonderful for a baby check whenever the urge hit, this week I moved on to bigger and better things. There are ultrasound machines in our department. My boss asked me the other day when I was going to have one of the techs scan the baby...What a brilliant idea! So on Tuesday I had an ultrasound at work. It was so amazing how the baby has changed since the 9 week scan. At nine weeks it was still quite blob like, on Tues it looks like a baby. We could see 2 arms, 2 legs, fingers, toes, and the little monkey was sucking its thumb and squirming all over. I rushed home to show T only to discover that the tape wouldn't play in our VCR...I was so disappointed I wanted to cry. I took the tape back to work and it played just fine, yesterday I tried it in our other VCR and it worked...There is really someone in there!

I am looking pregnant. I know that at 12 weeks this seems early. But I think that the woman in my family have some odd genetic defect that makes them pop out at the moment of conception. My mom, sister, cousin all in maternity clothes before the end of the 1st trimester. I am following in their footsteps. I have been wearing maternity jeans from the Gap. I love places that offer jeans in different lengths as I am only 5'2"...Last week I put them on and T went on and on about how great they looked and they may be the best pair of jeans I've ever had. What?!? I am usually rather petite (110lb) I wear a size 4, and apparently the stretchy panel maternity jeans are the best I've ever done?? Go figure - love is blind or maybe drunk....

T's mom and husband arrive tommorow for a visit. They are at our house until Sunday when the four of us head an hour west to the mountains to stay in a condo in Breckenridge. They ski/board, I can manage my way down the mountain on a board but will be sitting it out this go around. The image of me curled up on the couch at the condo reading a book while they are out skiing makes me happy. I like them, and they have been so incredibly supportive and generous during our struggle with infertility....but, she definitely takes more energy to deal with then the other sets of parents. I somewhat struggle with bonding with her, partially because of geography and partially because T and I have been to together for only 3 years. I want a closer relationship, but it doesn't seem to be coming naturally. My last MIL I knew from the time I was 19, we lived close and spent a lot of time together, so that relationship came easily, I wish it was that easy now.

Valentines day was nice, nothing too outragious, just dinner out at our favorite restaurant. Other highlights of my week include getting an appointment to have our hardwood redone on March 3...with 2 large dogs it is time. Getting an appointment with a fancy shmancy hair stylist on the day and time that I need it - tomorrow. I am trying to grow out my hair, it is so frustrating, I don't think that anyones hair in the history of earth has ever grown slower than mine. I was hoping pregnancy might make it grow quicker - no such luck! And here's a big one...Girlscout cookies arrived today!! Just what I need!

Falling in love with the monkey...

10w3d

Feeling good, just tired. We had the first OB appointment last Tuesday. It was great. I love the nurse practitioner. We had to wait over an hour to see her, but it was definitely worth the wait. She was with us an hour and fifteen minutes. She did an ultrasound and spent plenty of time talking. I think it is a blessing that she also works at my RE's office. She totally gets it. I realize that technically this pregnancy is now just like any other ( you know, the ones where pregnancy is actually a result of having sex) but emotionally, I'm not there yet. Slowly, we are getting there. This week we are starting to get excited and are starting to believe that there is a very good chance that we will be having a baby come Sept 2.

My advice to my mother to curb her enthusiasm has gone right out the window. She cooperated for the first 8 weeks - that is over. My parents live in OH. They are coming to visit in about 5 weeks ( I'll be 15 weeks when they come) Since we don't see them that often it will be necessary to fit 6 months of mother/daughter bonding into 5 days. She wants to register. This would not be my choice of timing, but since I don't know when we will see them again - 15 weeks it is. She wants to buy us the crib, dresser, stroller and a glider (YA!!!!) She was asking me the other day if I had looked at these things and if I knew what I wanted. No, not exactly. I am not complaining, we are thrilled that they want to be a part of planning for the baby and helping us out by buying some of the big stuff...but it seems odd that in a month we will own a crib.

Last week at work I discovered that the dopplers that we use to listen to patients pulses in their feet are also very effective in listening to the heart. I don't listen long, maybe 10 seconds a couple times a week...but it is the best 10 seconds of the day. At the ultrasound last week we could see the begining of facial features and it was moving all around. I think it looks like a monkey. So until proven otherwise, we are assuming we are having a monkey and that is what we call it. I am so in love with the monkey.

Not much else happening in my life. This coming weekend is the last quiet weekend before a storm of company over the next 6 weeks. T's mom and husband, my parents, T's dad and wife, some friends...so I am enjoying doing nothing at the moment. Today we go to have our taxes done. This morning I added up the total of medical bills for the year...$36,528 (this is all IF, we do have health insurance) Yes, the Lexus that I've been wanting is in my uterus. We have our fingers crossed for a big refund!