Week 11... Or So We Think

As you probably noticed the title, I am considered to be in Week 11, however our ultrasound showed me as Week 9 as of this week.  According to our doc, she said that the dates don't normally change to much and to keep Week 9 as our week... But I want to make sure one more time that we are not 9 and we are 11 and this little nugget in me was just growing slow to start!

One of my good friends from childhood had the most amazing blog I had ever seen someone write in regards to her pregnancy and she is a big part of why I wanted to make a blog and keep everyone from family to friends informed.  So a big thanks to Katie Mathis lol :) And Katie, I am stealing your adorable little question chart you did every week!

How far along? 11 Weeks (Supposedly)

Total weight gain/loss: -14 lbs (not from nausea but from the UTI... I couldn't keep food down)

Maternity clothes? Not yet... but my life is currently in maxi skirts and yoga pants :)

Stretch marks? YES.... I already had a couple stretch marks before we got pregnant but now they seem to be multiplying even with my weight loss.... 

Sleep: What is sleep?  I have been getting at least 7 hours but I am so exhausted I need at least 12 per night... Too bad we have so much going on!!

Best moment this week: Clark and I go on walks every night and it is our talk time and just relaxing time... I love that about my week (even if I feel like I have to drag myself to do it)

Have you told family and friends: Yes... everyone should know by now!

Miss Anything?  I miss meat... We bought some amazing filet mignon's and I can't even look at them... yet alone the smell of cooking meat.

Movement: Nope

Food cravings: Corn and anything salty

Anything making you queasy or sick: Moving super fast and the smell of cooking anything 

Have you started to show yet: Yep.... I am starting to pooch out a little

Gender prediction: BOY!  I am convinced it is a boy lol... between the gender prediction we did and the old fables in regards to how to tell... everything says boy!

Belly Button in or out? In

Happy or Moody most of the time: A little bit of both... depends on how much sleep I actually get at night!

Looking forward to: My next doctor's appointment and the next ultrasound and my nieces birthday this Saturday!

Bloodwork and the Joys of Pregnancy

So, I didn't really talk much about bloodwork on the last post, because I just simply forgot!

I went into the CMH lab because my doctor is on the board of CMH and she really likes her patients to go there.  I was all fine and dandy with no food or water in my stomach as requested.  They did a full blood panel on me in regards to STDs and glucose.  The nurse used a small slow flow on me and by the end of the blood draw (7 vials later) I almost passed out.  I literally got super hot and the nurse had to break open 3 ice packs and give me the trash can to spit up what I could.  It was quite traumatizing!  

Usually, I am soooo good with blood draws and normally never have any problems.... this time was different for sure.  Allie (one of my best friends, who is studying to become the most awesome nurse ever) said it was probably because I was dehydrated that they couldn't find my veins, etc.  

My sister-in-law, Jessica and my best friend, Bryanne, have been my go-to lifesavers.  Both know how to calm me down when I am freaking out and when I am worried about something I always go to them first.  It is amazing to have such a good support system all around from family to friends.  

On my complaint note... food aversions are the absolute worst.  Clark and I walked into Vons, got 4 amazing pieces of filet mignon and the next day when I got home and looked at them, I almost had to run to the bathroom because they just didn't look appetizing anymore.  I haven't been able to eat much meat, chicken, anything of a good protein source.... Eggs either!  Which, in return, I have lost 12 pounds.  I am not sure if it is my muscle or just the fact that my diet is VERY limited in regards to what I can eat or even look at.

My amazing husband is having to cook his own meals now because I can't simply stand the smell of cooking.  It has been quite the struggle and even though I am very excited there are times where I go... is this karma for being a horrible child haha!  I say that because I have already had my first UTI as well in this pregnancy.  My doctor said it is quite common due to the fact that your hormones are changing so frequently and it has nothing to do with cleanliness but just the plain fact of your body working overtime.  I have been on antibiotics for about 5 days now and I am finally starting to keep food down and my backache has gone away.  My nausea was caused solely on the UTI and I am so grateful that the nausea isn't continuing on.  

Enough with the rants... On a positive note, my face has been pretty stinking spotless other than a couple here and there and my moods (other than exhaustion) have seemed to start reining themselves in.  I don't know if my husband can say the same but I think so, so it must be true, right?!  :) 

I go in for my next appointment in a couple of weeks and will update the blog again after that appointment!

Thank you for reading :)

Ultrasound, Bloodwork and a Doctor's Visit

March 7, 2014

The doctor's appointment went really well.  We see Dr. Lois Barnes and she is on the board of Community Memorial Hospital, where we will have Little Ostrander.  She said everything looked good, and we went over any questions we had, etc.  I left with a really cool tote bag with magazines, information packets and some samples of prenatal vitamins (however, we are sticking with the ones we have).

I had wanted to schedule the appointment for the ultrasound and bloodwork as soon as we left the office, however, since my insurance card is in limbo at the moment, I can't schedule anything without it.  I had the opportunity to upgrade my insurance for maternity which wound up really benefiting us in a huge way!

On another note, it has been very frustrating to actually get my insurance card because they switched my policy number around so many times.  

March 14, 2014

As I was settling in from the beginning of work, I received a call from Grossman Imaging saying that they had an earlier date, if I had wanted to come in.

I said, SURE!!  I had finally gotten my insurance cards, so why not?

We got there, stomach pumped with water for the ultrasound.  It was very nerve racking... It still felt surreal too!

I had the belly ultrasound and I guess that I wasn't bloated enough, so we did the vaginal ultrasound afterwards.  Boy, did that make me want to run to the bathroom when they did the second one!!  

The baby measured at 7 weeks, but I am 9 weeks according to the doctor and the ultrasound tech said it is quite normal to still be measuring small when you are in the first trimester.  She said by 10 - 12 weeks the ultrasound will be more accurate at measuring and giving you a better due date, so I am still going with the fact that we are 9 weeks and not 7.  

What made me the most happy, was we got to hear the heartbeat.  It was quite surreal and I was convinced it was my heart for the first few times!  It was 140 beats per minute and the sound was something I have never experienced or even imagined of before.  It was truly amazing!  I didn't cry but I laughed.  I saw Clark jump out of his seat just beaming at it and he had wanted a closer look.

All in all, it was just that much more of a "pinch" to realize we are having a baby!

Here is Little Ostrander.... He/She is sooooo tiny!!!

Yes, We're Pregnant!

March 3, 2014

I am making this blog because so many of the family and friends that we love are farther away from where we are and I wanted to keep them informed. 

Yes, we are very much pregnant!  I was a week late from my period and noticed that it had not come so, so I was explaining my symptoms to my sister-in-law, Jess on Valentine's Day.  Yes, we celebrated Valentine's Day at my in-laws house because my father in law, John, was born on V-Day :).  Jess had mentioned having cramps (really bad ones) could be a sign of implantation bleeding.  So, as most people who know me, know I am VERY impatient!  Clark and I wound up going to Rite Aid after dinner to get a pregnancy test.  

It said NEGATIVE.  

A few days later, I decided to retest because everything hurt.  

Our results were POSITIVE.  

The funny thing is, I buy the pregnancy tests on Ebay which come from China but they are bulk ones that the hospitals use.  Clark saw the test and threw it away and said we can't rely on that chinsy thing!

So, I had to wait to pee again.  I peed on one of the First Response tests and it came out to be positive (a VERY faint 2nd line).  The next morning I did the same thing and the line was a little bit darker.  (The picture is a little harder to see).

After, literally, 6 pregnancy tests, we gave up and got an electronic one!  Yes, they were all positive, but we still couldn't believe it.

Here is what the electronic one said... Yes, I might have taken 2 of those as well!

Clark and I told everyone a little more prematurely than we had wanted, because the excitement was overwhelming to us.  We are 7 weeks as of today... and we will be verifying that with our doctor on Friday, our first prenatal visit.  After that we have the blood panel and the ultrasound to do! 

I will be posting another blog post once we get our first ultrasound!!

Thanks for reading and love to all of you!

P.S. this was the chinsy test Clark didn't like :)