29 Weeks, 1 Day

How far along: 29 weeks, 1 day
Total Weight Gain: Ugh...who cares. I know it's more than 20lbs now. My doctor has said all is right on track, but at this point I'm avoiding the scale since it's kinda freaks me out.

Symptoms: Heartburn has really eased up. I have it occasionally, but nothing too severe at all. Other than that I feel pretty good most of the time. I'm always hungry too. I feel like a big round-rolly-polly who's movements are compromised, but I still feel really healthy and that's what matters!

Sleep: I'm needing more of it these days and fortunately I still sleep well so that's good.

Best Moment Last Week: Trading in my beloved Mustang Convertible (not baby or car seat friendly at all) for a Cadillac CTS (sporty-mommy car). I absolutely love the new car so that made it easier to say goodbye to my old one.

Movement: All the time. I think I can feel every little thing she does now. I love it, but sometimes at night I wonder if she's ever going to stop squirming so I can fall asleep. Oh and she's gotten the hiccups a few times now which feels really funny.

Food Cravings: Skyline Chili (It's a Cincinnati thing.)

What I Miss: My mom and dad. I haven't seen my dad since November and I last saw my mom in March, but only for a couple days. They are coming to town this summer for 6 weeks over my due date ensuring that they'll be here for Morgan's birth so that will be wonderful to have their support and company!!

What am I looking forward to: This weekend is my first baby shower!!!  It's hosted by my sister-in-law up in Dayton, Ohio where my husband's family lives. I am looking forward to seeing everyone on his side of the family!!

Milestones: Visiting the hospital for their maternity tour. It was really nice to be able to see where everything will take place so we can picture it. Certainly makes it real now!

How is Daddy? Great! He's taking tomorrow off so we have a 4 day weekend together!! Rare that he has that much free time with his busy work schedule. Looking forward to pool time at his parent's house!! :)

We finally got PICTURES!!!

Third time was the charm!! Here is my baby's sweet little face. I am sooo in love!!

In this photo she's making Daddy's grouchy face.

Doc appt. & 3D/4D Imaging Take Two

We had our last monthly appointment with our OB on Wednesday (from now on we go every two weeks until the last month when we'll go every week) and every thing looked great!! My blood pressure was low (111/62) and Baby's HB was 160. My belly is measuring just right and my weight is right on target. I also had my glucose challenge and hemoglobin blood tests. Hopefully they come back just fine (they are supposed to call me with the results today). If they do come back normal, I will have an excellent bill of health. Something I definitely will not take for granted in this 28th week. Health is such a blessing, especially during pregnancy! I have tried to stay as healthy as possible throughout...yoga class, walking daily, lots of veggies, lean protein, and water. No caffeine and plenty of rest. Most days I really couldn't feel better!

Last night we went back to the Becoming Mom Spa to try again to see our baby's face. Last time she was sound asleep and totally curled up with all her limbs in front of her face and she didn't budge during the whole 30 minute session. This time I tried something new to get her moving...Dr. Pepper! I drank the whole soda with dinner just before our appointment hoping that she would be very active. Not so much! She was STILL in the same position and the caffeine had no effect on her, but it sure did on me since I haven't had it in so long! 

We spent another 30 minutes looking at her as she occasionally would shift a leg or an arm just a bit, but not enough to uncover her whole face at once. We got a glimpse of her nose and eyes as she sucked on her wrist, then she'd move her hand up covering the upper part of her face and we could see her mouth still moving as she tried to find her arm again. It was so sweet!! My heart almost melted!! We got to admirer each little digit of one foot and her hands and we saw her tiny little knee bent up against her chest. It was incredible and I enjoyed every moment of it. Since this place has a guarantee that they can get a whole face shot they sent us home again with another appointment (free of charge) scheduled for next week. 

As Ben and I walked to the car we felt like we were getting the best deal ever. We only paid for a 20-30 minute session last week, but since our little munchkin loves having her hands and feet in her face so much we have already had an hour of their time to just watch our baby on the big screen and we get another 30 minute session next Thursday! (This must be unusual otherwise I have no idea how this place makes any money!!) I know their objective is to photograph her face so they keep apologizing for making us come back, but to us, every inch of her body is beautiful so all these extra 3D/4D sessions are absolutely fine with us!! I'm just thinking, "Sure! I'll come back again and again to spend 30 minutes looking at my child!!" It's almost like my wish of turning my belly into a fish bowl, so I can watch her all the time until she's born, is almost coming true!! (For those of you wondering...YES!! THESE ULTRASOUNDS SESSIONS ARE COMPLETELY SAFE FOR THE BABY!!)

And finally, here's my most recent belly pic...

UPDATE: Doctor called and my GTT was normal!! Yay! I can still eat chocolate!!

I am the proud Mama of a Pretzel Baby!!

For my first Mother's Day Ben's gift was to take me to Becoming Mom Spa to have a 30 minute 3D/4D session with out our little bun in the oven. (3D because the pictures are taken in 3D and 4D because we can view her movements live on the TV screen...That's for Sonja who asked and anyone else who was wondering.)

So we go there and of course we were both VERY excited to see what her face looks like. The tech put the wand on my belly and instead of seeing her face we saw everything but! Not only were her hands covering her face, but her FEET were too! She couldn't have done a better job hiding herself. The tech was even a little surprised by how curled up she was. We tried moving me from side to side and I even got up to dance around a bit to see if we could get her to move, but she was sound asleep and not budging.

It reminded me of how our dog Libby sleeps:

The good news is that everything looked perfectly healthy. Her heartbeat was 148, the fluid was in good supply, and all her limbs looked great...and long! We even got a few moments when a hand moved just slightly so we could see her mouth moving as it inhaled and exhaled amniotic fluid practicing for when she'll be breathing air. With her feet clear up to her forehead we got a excellent view of, well.... it's definitely a GIRL! There was no mistaking that!

Thankfully this Spa guarantees a full face shot so we were able to reschedule another 30 minute session free of charge. We go back this Thursday evening, and maybe then she'll be ready to show us her sweet little face!!

I know...I'm so impatient!! I just can't wait 'til August to get her first picture taken!! :)

What are these unstoppable tears all about?

I took my dog, Bunny, to get spayed this morning.


She just turned 2 last month, so Ben and I finally made the decision that the right thing to do is have her spayed. It was really a topic we didn't want to address while we were in the depths of infertility and IVF. I guess we just assumed that if we couldn't ever have our own babies, some day we might breed her and keep one of her puppies. It wasn't a clear thought out plan but nonetheless it was on the back burner.

We've been through three heats with her, and let me tell you, it sucks for all of us when she has to wear doggie diapers for 2-3 weeks. With an approaching 4th heat we've decided that now that we have a baby due in just 3 months it's as good a time as any to get it taken care of. We definitely don’t need to worry about our newborn AND changing our dog’s diaper at the same time!

I drove her to the appointment this morning and felt this icky feeling in my stomach. I know that 99% of the time dogs make it through this procedure without a problem, but I couldn't help but thinking, "What if something horrible happens to her? What if they call me and tell me that she didn't tolerate the anesthesia?" I know...I was being totally paranoid and perhaps a little over dramatic. I just love her so much, so naturally I was worried.

They called and everything went perfectly. I could pick her up at 2 PM.

When I got there I paid the bill and they explained how to care for her over the next 14 days. Then they brought her out and put her in her pet taxi. I thanked them and got out the door with her as quickly (and carefully) as I could. We barely made it into my car before burst into sobbing tears. I cried and cried. She looked so small and miserable in her crate and I felt so overwhelmed with guilt and shame.

What the hell was going on? I was a puddle of tears as I drove down the road...yeah, really safe, I know! I just couldn't stop crying. As crazy as it sounds I felt (feel) so awful for taking her ability to have babies away from her. Damn! I just started crying again as I typed that! What is going on with me? I know dogs don't dream of the children (puppies) they'll have someday...at least I don't think they do. I'm pretty sure all my Bunny thinks about is her favorite ball and the park where I throw it for her. That and treats!

So why am I crying like an insane person? Pregnancy hormones? Yes, I'm sure they are adding a lot of unnecessary drama to this day. But I feel like there is something else...I guess I'm projecting my history of sadness about not being able to become pregnant on my dog. All those emotions have come roaring up from inside me and they make me feel guilty for taking my dog's fertility from her.

Call me crazy if you want. I know I sound like a loon.

Getting this out has already made me start to feel a little better. I know my dog will forgive me...in fact she will probably thank me for never having to diaper her again. She probably has no clue what even happened to her today.

This isn't really about her at all....it's about what Ben and I have lived through...INFERTILITY....you bitch! You move into our lives and you never really go away. You leave some of your stuff behind and clearly those things pop up at random times and places. We are definitely scared from our past. I suppose I have to accept that and try to move forward knowing that my heart will always ache (from personal experience) for those who have trouble or cannot pregnant. PEOPLE that is. I will try not to cry every time a dog gets spayed.

He’s my little sleepy angel:

Third Trimester!!

How far along: 26 weeks, 1 day

Total Weight Gain: 17 lbs

Symptoms: Heartburn people! Every single night I wake up with the worst heartburn ever. I have a Costco size container of Tums on my bedside table. Those seem to do the trick. Also my hands have been swelling a lot too. Yesterday I was out walking with a friend and my hands started to feel like they weighed 10lbs each...I looked down and they looked like a pair of blown-up latex gloves...yikes! My wrists were swollen too so I started moving my wrists in circle and wiggling my fingers a lot and raised my hands up in the air. It was hot outside so I don't think that helped any. When I got back in the air-conditioning the swelling went down a lot. Weird! I had to remove my wedding rings cause I'm afraid that one of these days they're gonna get stuck for good. I feel naked without them...I've never taken my rings off (except for cleaning them and maybe a few times when I was out gardening) since we got engaged. Boo!

Sleep: I still sleep very well. Happy about this because the tiredness has started to set back in. From weeks 14 - 24 I had so much energy, but now I get tired very easily again ... a lot like I did in my first trimester.

Best Moment Last Week: Playing the "poke game" with my baby. We do this all the time now! I gently poke a spot on my belly a few times, and then place my palm over that spot and wait. Within a few moments my baby pokes back right in that very spot. Next I choose another place on my belly and repeat. She almost always pokes back. It's so amazing to be playing a game with an unborn fetus. I love her so much!!! It melts my heart!!

Movement: See above

Food Cravings: Max and Erma's Hula Bowl Salad! Yum!

What I Miss: My husband!! He's been away on business all week.

What am I looking forward to: This weekend! My first MOTHER'S DAY!! We have big plans too! We are going to the Becoming Mom Spa to do a 3D/4D session. I can't wait to see what our baby's face looks like! I hope they are able to get really good shots!!!!!

Milestones: Making it to my third trimester!! Yay!!

How is Daddy? He's looking forward to coming home to see me and to rub my belly. :)