Slacker Update

Yes, I've been lax about posting again... sorry!  But, in my defense... I've been very busy!  Doing really fun stuff like sanding furniture, pouring over safety articles and registering for baby stuff!!  We found out almost 2 weeks ago that we are having a BOY!!!  We are so very excited & he's got the cutest profile...

This weeks marks 20 weeks pregnant... halfway!!  Next milestone is viability at 24 weeks... but we'll still shoot for 40 :).  Pregnancy is going well, was diagnosed w/ a partial placenta previa, but Dr. Shiny Head thinks it will move up as the baby gets bigger. Otherwise, just really tired & having some swelling in my feet and ankles at the end of the day, along with some pressure and stretchy feelings in my belly. I think the latter is due to Little Bean (BOY!) moving around and stretching out.  I feel very blessed.

The name game is still a go... Darling Hubby and I are at a disagreement about the names, but... we have time. I'd just like to be able to call him something!

In the meantime, continuing to round out, bump seems to be lower as baby comes up out of the pelvic area and the bloating in the upper belly goes down (finally).  Get another ultrasound at my next appointment in 2 weeks thanks to the low lying placenta... a blessing in disguise!  So happy to get another look at our son. So weird to say that... gotta get used to it! Son, son, son...

15w1d Update!

Life has been treating us pretty well these days, I'd say.  Our TV just died, the internet & cable got turned off (can't pay it till next week, sorry!), rent is still behind and my hubby is working 7 days a week/12 hour days.... but we are happy!  We are catching up on our bills, slowly but in the right direction.  Little Bean is doing wonderfully and we are really quite happy about it!

Monthly OB appointment was yesterday at 15weeks. I was hoping for an ultrasound, but got the doppler instead.  Was so fun to hear that heartbeat again & to see hubby's face light up when he heard it :)  Totally made my day... WHY don't I have a doppler yet!?? I really have to fix that.  But the best part is that I was able to schedule my Gender Scan!!  I am so excited to find out the gender... I am pretty convinced it is a girl, but totally prepared to be wrong.  Still almost 3 weeks away, I hope it goes quickly!

People are starting to ask on FB what names we've chosen & I'm just not sure I'm ready to share yet.... I don't give a hoot, really, what people think; but I am also not inclined to hear someone give me their negative opinion on a name that has taken us months to pick.  I know you can't please everyone, all the time, but I think once we know the gender & are 100% on the name, we'll share.  The girl name is easy... Genevieve Isabella. Classic, lovely, perfect.  The boy name is a bit harder.... early on we decided we would maybe use our fathers' names, because it would mean so much to them & we both love & respect our Daddies very much.  That name would be Nathaniel Grant (Father, FIL).  Good, strong name... perhaps Nate for short.  But i'm just not sure on it... I like it, quite a bit. But it doesn't do the same thing for me that the girls name does.  Also, I mentioned the name to my stepmother, whom I love dearly... and she was absolutely thrilled that we were thinking of using Nathaniel (my father, her husband) - apparently my cousins have said on several occasions that they were going to use the name but didn't. So it would mean quite a bit to them.  That alone makes me want to do it!

The only thing that makes me not sure is that our personality & style is quite different... the other name we are liking right now is Maverick Xavier.  Unique, strong, fun.  Certainly better than "Thor" (another story...).  So, I'm still a bit up in the air, I may wait until the gender scan to give it much more thought.  If it is a girl, well then... that was easy.  If it's a boy, I'll see how it feels then... and still have several months to change my mind. Because it's what I do best.  That, and trying to put my toaster away in the fridge...again.

Little Bean is doing well as far as I can tell, I increasingly feel stronger (though still slight) movements and 2 days ago, Hubby was able to see one of the stronger pokes, right through my shirt... "Whoa!!! How'd you DO that!?"  :) It was very cute, really.  More of a very small twitch, but at least it is starting to be visible... so fun!  One thing is for sure, though, I am getting progressively rounder.  That, in itself, makes me feel good; I keep expecting to find that the baby has stopped growing or something isn't right. We've waited so long for this, it still seems surreal to think that this may be my take-home baby... just unreal & I am loving it.  Taken in the bathroom at work... in a dirty mirror :)... Here's the proof that Little Bean is thriving:

Fun With Cabbage

So I ran across something quite fun on the Interwebs yesterday... and perhaps because I've not had much to wee on lately (my TTC friends will understand this!), it sounded like fun!  So the idea is this... you chop up and boil down some red cabbage, then strain out the cabbage & save the water. The boil water is supposed to act like litmus paper & measure the acidity of your wee... supposedly a more alkaline result (blue/purple) is a girl and a more acidic result (red/pink) is a boy.  A Cabbage Gender Test!  Can you see, now, how I couldn't resist??  

I've been talking myself out of buying the Intelligender test ($39!?) so this seemed like a lovely alternative...AND I just happened (tee hee!) to have some cabbage.  So I collected & poured equal amounts of cabbage water & wee into a mason jar.... and.... it looked like cranberry juice.  Kind of a reddish purple... hey!!  What gives!?  But if I must be objective, I'd say it was more red than blue, so according to the Rather Silly, Really, Cabbage Test... it's a boy :) 

Ummm, yea, I'm totally not painting the nursery blue yet!

I Dream of Baby

Blech.... home sick, day 2.  Hubby is recovering from the flu and I was afraid I'd caught it too... however, I think I've gotten lucky & it's just a sinus/ear infection combo.  Still sucks, but it's way better than having flu while pregnant!  Note to self: Go Get the Flu Shot!  Head is pounding & a bit dizzy, but I seem to be on the mend... woot.

So last night I had a really cool (fever?) dream... I dreamt of my baby.  I've dreamt of the same 2 children many times over the years, but I've never seen one of them in this much detail.  In my past dreams, there is a blonde haired toddler boy & a dark-haired infant girl... and I know that they are mine.  My gf who has some pyschic talents has told me that those are likely my children from a past life, coming to say hello... those dreams are always happy & peaceful.  This same dear friend also read that she didn't think I'd ever have children... and while I didn't want to believe it, I also believe her gift is true and good.  However, I also believe that circumstances change outcomes... I have had many changes in my life physically since that reading & believe that now I have children in my future, if I didn't then.  Maybe that right tube was blocked before the HSG? Maybe my exposure to paint fumes at my last job was keeping me from becoming pregnnat? I don't know, but I'm glad I am!

Anywho... I'd always assumed that those 2 children were my future babies, but I often wonder if the little boy was my ectopic pregnancy... or will I get to meet him in April?  It was the little girl that I dreamed of last night... she was perfect in every way... in my dream I was looking at her up close, loving every little detail.  She was tiny, so I'm thinking newborn; a head full of dark brown hair, tiny perfect ears, little pink lips and fingernails & long lashed dark blue eyes.  Very similar to how I looked as a baby, but enough differences that I knew I wasn't just filling in the blanks.  Is this my sweet little girl I'll get to meet in less than 6 months?  Oh, I do hope so....  Her dream image fits with the name we've chosen... Genevieve Isabella <3.  I'm already in love!!

50 / 50

50/50... the chances of having a boy or a girl...more or less.  I can't help but think girl... but that may be because we both are hoping for a girl.  And in hoping, think I am jinxing myself and that I'll have a boy.  Which of course, is fine too!  Boy or girl, we'll be happy... but I want to know now. Not in 4 weeks, not in 6 weeks, now please.  Sigh... I'm rarely this impatient, but I'm dying to call her (him!?) by name and buy her cute little dresses (overalls!?) and pick out bedding.  Now that I am finally convinced that we are really gonna have this baby (yay!) and not checking my panties every time I wee for a tinge of red. Having this peace of mind now, I'm ready to start registering!

It took me over a year to come to terms with the idea of registries.... I love having them for when I need to buy someone a gift because I know what they want or need.  Plus it reduces the risk of getting duplicates and junk they don't like or need.  But for myself, I couldn't help but feel it was like asking for presents... a huge no-no!!  But, after many hours of pouring over Emily Post's words of wisdom & reading countless others' posts of their own registry woes... I think it's a good thing.

With four sets of First Time Grandparents eager to spoil their new Grandbaby... it'd be good to tell them what we need, right?  Otherwise we may end up with no crib but 3 Diaper Pails. =)  Can I register for a breast pump!?  I'm so clueless....

Whoa, Momma!!

Heading into the 2nd Trimester and my boobs are heading into the next county. Darling husband loves it, of course... but can't seem to keep his hands off them. Ouch. Quit it. This shit better slow down or I'll be a stinking J cup come delivery.

That said... I took my a belly pic at 11w4d yesterday, I really don't think I should be this big yet. Darling hubby keeps reminding me, "Have you SEEN the size of me!?" Good point, he's huge. I really shouldn't be thinking about tearing quite yet, should I??
Here it is!

(Pictures removed while I figure out why my layout is all jacked up!!)

Happy Updates

It has occurred to me that for this blogging thing to work, I've actually got to write, don't I? Well I've got happy, wonderful news! In my last post, I wrote about it looking like I would ovulate from the right side... well I did, and got pregnant just a few days after I wrote that post! Here's the details:

9dpo - early morning HPT test, kind of thought I saw a line... but it was after the time limit. Had already scheduled blood work scheduled and she submitted some to the lab for an Hcg quantitative test. Later that evening, I got nice solid positive test on an HPT, then another, then at DH's insistence, on the digital test. I was over the moon!

10dpo - Nurse Freckles called with the results of my Hcg blood work and the result was 10... positive but still low. Years of TTC has showed me that it's really early for a high number and you've got to start somewhere... so I'm not worried.

Subsequent blood work shows great rises on P4 & Hcg... I'm pregnant! At 6w4d, we went for a viability ultrasound and were SO relieved to find that the baby was in the right place and measuring a few days ahead. The tech surprised us by flipping on the speakers when she found the heartbeat... we got to hear it!! I had no idea that was possible that early... I babbled, grinned and cried, it was awesome.

A few days after this scan, we headed North for our wedding. We shared the happy news with or family & friends and had an amazing wedding. Everything was near perfect and we were so very happy with the way our lives are heading <3>

I am now almost 11 weeks... we had our second scan last week and got to see our tiny little bean kick and wave... totally amazing. We are so very happy. I'm having a bit of a rough time with nausea and vertigo, but all in all... so worth it.