7 Week Fun Facts

How far along? 7 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: +1
Maternity clothes? Nope (but I did just get a shipment from Old Navy that I got at a fabulous discount, and I bought the cutest maxi dress this weekend!)
Stretch marks? Please no.
Sleep: Between needing to pee and Sierra, who's getting a good night sleep? No one in our household.
Best moment this week: We went on a window shopping trip at Babies R Us after church on Sunday. It was so much fun!
Movement: Not yet.
Food cravings: Still craving chocolate. Also discovered a new aversion to raw spinach which is really strange considering I usually eat a spinach salad everyday for lunch and a small one for dinner. I had to choke it down last night. Ugh!
Gender: I still think it's a girl.
Labor Signs: Um, nope. And hopefully not for another 33 weeks!
Belly Button in or out? Still in.
What I miss: My toned abs.
What I am looking forward to: Organizing the two guest rooms and selling stuff on craigslist to get ready for baby; finding a job!
Weekly Wisdom: Smaller meals really is much better for nausea and bowels...too much food or not eating soon enough is bad, bad news!
Milestones: 2nd doctor's appointment this past Saturday.

7 Weeks...

This week your baby's brain is growing at a mind-boggling 100 cells per minute within a see-through skull. If you could peer inside, you'd see those tiny brain cells growing and growing and growing (about as quickly as you feel like yours are shrinking and shrinking and shrinking with your "pregnancy brain"!). More high points include:

Your baby's face is becoming more defined this week. A tiny mouth hole (which will be ready to wail before you know it!), tongue, nostrils and ear indentations are visible. His or her eyes are wide open, but he doesn't have irises (the colored part) yet.

Baby's arm buds are growing. At this point they look more like microscopic ping-pong paddles than arms. Baby's leg buds are also forming and will look like tiny paddles by the end of the week.

The umbilical cord—the connection between your baby and the placenta—is now visible.

Your baby is now between 1/3 and 1/4 inch long—about the length of a Tic Tac and about as heavy as an eyelash. While that sounds tiny, he or she is approximately 10,000 times bigger than at conception. Crazy, huh?

*3D Pregnancy

2nd Appointment...

and apparently still not my first official maternity appt. I'm so confused! Okay, so I guess this is strictly speaking for insurance purposes, but I find it a bit annoying...with maternity benefits, I just pay one $20 copay at my first appt and then no more until the hospital stay, which is $200/night. These last two appts have each been considered gyno appts and had a $30 copay. And I still have the $20/copay at my next appt. Boo!

This appt was fairly quick with another pelvic exam and more labs. This time they took 4 vials of blood. Nice! Have I ever told you that I have fainted before at the sight of blood? So I look away with my eyes shut the whole time. :) The doctor gave Mike and I a bunch of literature to read over before the next appt (cord blood banking, labor options, prenatal yoga, infant classes, etc) and discussed genetic testing options with us. Because I'm under 35 with no family history of genetic disorders, we'll just be doing the NT Scan (1st Trimester Screening) and then won't have to do the CVS or Amnio unless something comes back abnormal or risky from the NT Scan. I am so happy about this since the NT Scan is simply a blood test and ultrasound and does not include the same risks to baby (of miscarriage) as the CVS or Amnio.

Our next appt is not going to be until Monday, April 6th (just over 4 weeks from now) since Mike will be in Korea for 12 days at the end of March for work. The doc tries to see you every 3-4 weeks until the 26th week (and then it becomes every 2 weeks and then every week until delivery). I think Mike's trip is officially March 26th - April 5th (yes, he's getting back on my birthday). I am so excited for him (I'd love to go to Korea!), but I think much of his trip will be on a naval ship. So maybe not so fun...I don't know.

Other than the next doc appt, we're scheduling the NT Scan (ultrasound) for Friday, April 10th (11 weeks, 3 days). The test has to be done between 11 and 13 weeks, and it's recommended to do it on the early side in case you need a CVS which has to be done in the 13th week. I love the idea of Friday, April 10th because it's 2 days before Easter. We're hoping to tell family and friends (other than those who already know) about Pumpkin on Easter. So hopefully all will be well and we'll see him/her on Friday (with a strong lil' heartbeat), and then be able to spill the beans on Sunday since we'll be so close to being out of 1st tri! I can't wait!

I think we're officially out of first tri on April 24th (13 weeks, 3 days).

Off to eat some ice cream! Happy Saturday!

xoxo
V

There must be something in the water...

because last night we found out that EVEN MORE of our friends are pregnant. Jim and Jess Murray are due October 5, 2009! I think that's so exciting! Their little guy or gal will be just a few weeks older than Pumpkin! I love the idea of having friends to hang out with and do playgroups with, etc., and I love that Mike will have guy friends to talk with about all the new experiences and things related to fatherhood! So you ask...EVEN MORE?

I now know of 10 women in my life who are pregnant. Yes, 10! A couple are mere acquaintences now from law school (1) or college (2), one is a wife of Mike's friend, Drew (Laren(3)), who've I've now met twice but don't know all that well. When we grabbed drinks with them over Christmas in Odessa (they now live in Roswell, NM), Laren was 11 weeks pregnant and due in July. Oh, and one is a friend I met on The Bump. Her name is Michele (4), she lives in Laurel, MD, so not far, and other than my mom...she bought Pumpkin his/her first gift...a Harvard t-shirt and bib. I should say that Michele also went to Harvard, so we have that in common and the gift (right after testing positive) was so thoughtful and sweet. We also have a lot of other weird commonalities such as both moving to DC area at the same time, both starting to TTC at the same time and both getting pregnant within 5 days of each other. Michele is due October 22nd. I really hope to get to meet her in person sometime during this pregnancy journey!

Other than these first 4, the other 6 are all real women in my life who I call "friend," and I am so excited to be going through this experience around the same time as them even if they (i) don't know I'm pregnany yet (a few of them do) or (ii) live far away! So...who are they:

Melanie (5) and Kate (6) are two wonderful DC friends and running partners. They live nearby, and I can't wait to do baby playgroups and excursions with them. And running with baby joggers next Spring! They're both first time mommies too! Mel is due July 14th with a BOY, and Kate is due August 22nd (I think). I already mentioned Jess Murray (7) since she's the one I just found out about last night! We're getting together with Jim and Jess this Saturday, so I can't wait to hear more details from her (two men emailing doesn't produce a lot of information, if you know what I mean!). As mentioned, she's due October 5th.

Jill (8) and Kevin are our DC friends that moved to Salt Lake City, UT in November. They have a lil' baby, Dylan, that just turned 6 months yesterday (Happy Birthday, Dylan!). And they're pregnant again! Jill is probably about 14 weeks now and is due August 25th (I think). We went to visit them over President's Day weekend and had a lot of fun. We actually found out we were pregnant at their house on Valentine's Day! So, of course, we had to tell them right then...Jill guessed! I'm hoping they come out to visit us sometime this year, but if not, I look forward to going to visit them sometime in 2010 with Baby H in tow!

Leslie (9) and Beverly (10) are both sorority sisters and live in El Paso and Tucson, repsectivey. I usually see Leslie when I go home to El Paso although we missed each other this Christmas, and I am so sad about that! She's due in April with her 2nd baby. Her son Johnny is an angel and this time...it's a GIRL! Beverly is due on June 19th with a little BOY. I got to see Bev in January when we ran the Phoenix RnR Marathon, and she was just glowing! I can't wait to get back to Phoenix (hopefully later this year) to see the little guy!

Woo! Anyway, that's it...10 pregnant ladies! Now you have to agree with me...something is in the water! ;)

6 Week Fun Facts

I saw this on another blog, and just thought it was a great way to track my "progress"...

How far along? 6 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: Same
Maternity clothes? Nope
Stretch marks? Oh my, never!
Sleep: Love sleep (especially in the new King size bed). Now, if I just didn't have to wake up in the middle of the night to pee, it would be perfect.
Best moment this week: We saw the pumpkin's heartbeat!!!
Movement: Of course not.
Food cravings: Sweets! I have been craving ice cream and chocolate like there may be a shortage, and I need to fill the reserves before it's too late! Thank goodness for Easter right around the corner (can you say "dark chocolate mini eggs")
Gender: So long as it's healthy, I'll be 100% happy. That being said, I can't help but think it's a girl. Mike thinks it's a boy.
Labor Signs: Um, nope. And hopefully not for another 34 weeks!
Belly Button in or out? Still in.
What I miss: My libido.
What I am looking forward to: Organizing the two guest rooms and selling stuff on craigslist to get ready for baby; finding a job!
Weekly Wisdom: Limit to one hot dog per week due to nitrates(which stinks because I had two last night and I was seriously craving another chili cheese turkey dog for lunch today...then I googled it! poo! I hate knowing too much!)
Milestones: HEARTBEAT!!! I can't say it enough! :)

Houston...

we have a heartbeat! Woot!

We had our first ultrasound today. It's amazing how nervous you can get before it actually happens. So many crazy things can go through your mind..."what if there's no hb?" "what if there's more than one?" or my favorite (asked by Mike two minutes before it began)..."what if it's just the hernia?" Umm...so that one I was fairly certain I knew the answer to -- there was no way that an inguinal hernia gave me a positive pregnancy test!

Pumpkin was measuring exactly 6 weeks, 0 days and looked like an engagement ring inside my belly. Heartbeat was 102 bpm (which is perfect (avg is 90-110 bpm)) and sounded so wonderful! I can't wait til we get to hear it again during the 1st Trimester Screening in 6 weeks.

xoxo
V

6 Weeks...

This week starts a period of rapid cellular development for your baby-to-be, who looks like a mini tadpole, with a tiny head and tail. His or her eyes, ears and mouth have begun to form (though they're a little more Discovery Channel "creatures of the sea" documentary than Gerber Baby at this point).

Other exciting milestones include:

Your baby's heart is now beating to a regular beat, although it's still too faint to hear.

His or her arm buds are just beginning to, well, bud. They look like teensy swollen bumps at this point. In a few days, they'll resemble itsy-bitsy flippers.

Your baby has grown to ⅛ inch long—about the size of one of the chocolate sprinkles on your last cupcake (and your last ice cream cone, and your last sundae and your last giant cookie ... maybe there is something to those rumors about pregnancy cravings!).

*3D Pregnancy