18 weeks!

I am excited that we are only 2 weeks away from finding out the sex of our little sweet potato! That is about all I can say about week 18. At least we are getting closer to week 20!

I survived my first camping trip of my pregnancy this weekend with no problems. I felt my stomach muscles getting upset when I would do too much lifting or bending so I tried to let off when I felt weird so I wouldn't hurt the baby. Camping was fun and it was good to get away for a while.

I had a few nights that I didn't really feel any soreness in my belly which was concerning because I had been feeling it every night for a while. It was back last night so I am thinking everything is ok. I guess not having an ultrasound for so long just makes me worry. Its hard to know if everything is ok in there.

Not much else to add for last week. Glad this week is a short one because of the Memorial Day holiday! Here is a photo of my belly...people are starting to touch it so must be pretty noticable haha

5.5 inches and growing

When I told frank that the baby is about 5.5 inches now he pulled out a ruler and was amazed! He said wow no wonder why you are showing! Haha anyway, here is the photo he took and put on Facebook this morning because he was so excited :)

17 weeks!

The good news is that week 16 went pretty fast and we are moving right along! And, I am not blowing up like a balloon as far as my weight. Summer-like weather brings good looking fruit to our area so have been snacking on much healthier things like bananas, cherries, nectarines and tangelos!

Family is noticing my baby bump now and commenting on it which is kinda fun. I still say it is just fat but that isn’t totally true because it is getting pretty firm.

I know that people say how hard it can be being pregnant in the summer months but I am hoping that it makes the time go fast. We are always really busy in the summer with camping and various other trips. Actually we have a camping trip this weekend for Memorial Day which I am so excited about because I feel fine. In January when we booked the trip I had no idea how I would be feeling. We also have a great trip planned for 4th of July weekend down in Santa Cruz and then we will be going to an awesome Lodge for my birthday weekend in August. We will also need to have a baby shower sometime around the beginning of September. I am glad that we will have lots going on so I don’t have to sit around and wait for the baby. Plus, it will keep me active and maybe I won’t gain as much weight as I might have with a winter pregnancy!

Nothing much else going on from the past week. Just glad things are going well!

Here is a belly photo…clearly belly is the key word!

16 weeks! A day late

It really seems like such a long time since I last posted! This has been a long week for sure.

Frank returned from Singapore late last Wednesday night after barely making his flight. I was glad to have him home but had to get up for work the next morning so I couldn’t listen to everything he was so excited to tell me. He ended up going to bed at the same time as me and waking up in the morning to continue a normal schedule. I was so surprised that he was able to get right back into the swing. But when I got home that night he thought he was coming down with some illness. That got me worried because I thought, great, what did he pick up over there? We went to bed like normal but he had a 3am photo shoot to be at the next morning. That really screwed with him. He did the shoot but when he got home he slept forever! I’m not kidding like 20 hours straight. He just kept saying he was sick but now we believe it was just bad jetlag. Anyway, it’s nice to have him back now that he is feeling better!

New this week, we got the results of the second chromosome test and everything was negative which is good! No more testing for while, yay! I have a bad kink in my neck that Frank had made go away for a day but now it is back. Plus, I have also started feeling a lot more than just fat. I have started feeling the crazy growing pains of my stomach, especially at night. I believe that is why I have been having trouble sleeping. I wake up and feel like I can’t move. It really is a weird feeling because it feels like I shouldn’t use my stomach muscles to change sides. I have a feeling this pain isn’t going to be going away, in fact, I bet it will be getting worse later in my pregnancy so I will try to work around it. Maybe if I get a body pillow it will help support things, I don’t know, it’s worth a shot.

I put in my FMLA paperwork a work this past week. We get 12 weeks but it is unpaid. I think it is a horrible deal. It is so hard for me to think of leaving my 12 week old or younger baby with a stranger. I did not grow up in a daycare and I really don’t want my child to. I know Frank has a different point of view because his son went to daycare but I just have a bad feeling about it. I am really hoping that something comes up between now and then that might allow me to stay home at least until the baby is a little older.

So many things to think about but it is almost summer and we have our first camping trip at the end of the month! Sometimes I get so overwhelmed with all the thoughts in my head but I need to just relax, it isn’t time yet to worry so much and once it is time I am sure things will work out. Also, once we find out if we are having a boy or girl then my mind will have a little more clarity on some things.

That’s it for now!

15 weeks!

Ok I have to think what has happened this week? Well, I went this morning to get my blood drawn for the second half of my chromosome screening. Glad that is now done.

I realized this morning that I will be buying more maternity clothes than originally planned because I hate wearing this belly band thing! Last week I bought a pair of work pants that are larger than my pre-pregnancy size that I could wear for now. I also thought it would be good to buy 2 pairs of maternity work pants that could grow with me. Well, I need to get one of the pairs hemmed because I am too short and the other pair are capris because I thought it was summertime, turns out I jumped the gun because it has been raining and like 50 degrees for the past 4 days. So anyway, I was left with the only option of wearing some of my pre-pregnancy pants this morning and using the belly band. Let me tell you, if you had (like myself) a bit of a belly before pregnancy and now have a bigger belly 15 weeks into pregnancy, the belly band is not a good option, especially when you sit at a desk a lot. I feel fine when I am standing but as soon as I sit down I feel like a whale! I can tell that my pants are fully unbuttoned and unzipped and it feels like my gut is just exploding out there for everyone to see. Wearing the maternity pants, even this early on is a much better option for me, then even help hold in my belly a little. That was kind of a rant, sorry. Obviously feeling fat today!

What else? Oh yeah, Frank is still in Singapore. He returns tomorrow night really late. I am excited to see him. Being pregnant I find that I cry even easier than before. It has been hard missing him at night, sometimes I would cry but I know it is just the hormones! So with him being gone still I do not have a photo to post today. I’m sure he will want to take one on Thursday so maybe I will post later.

We have decided that we will do a gender reveal on June 15th which is also the day that my grandparents are throwing us a summer party/late reception to celebrate the fact that we got married in December last year. It is important to her that everyone get to celebrate with us because we did not tell anyone at the time and just went to the courthouse. So that will be fun! We were thinking it would be great because most of our closest friends will be there. We will fill a box with pink or blue balloons and then open it in front of everyone. We might even set up a little guessing table where everyone can tell us what they think the gender will be. Yay! Just about a month away, wish it was sooner.

One last thing, I am so glad that I started this blog! I just looked the other day and we have had over 500 views! I would have never thought anyone would care to read it but I love it. I love that I can look back at the steps and share it with friends and anyone that cares to know about what week by week IVF and pregnancy after IVF is like, at least for me!

14 weeks ( a day late )

Official start of my second trimester!!

I had another OB appointment yesterday which was mainly just a checkup. We got to listen to the heartbeat so that was nice. I am doing ok so there wasn’t really much to discuss. The first results from the chromosome testing came back looking good and next week I will complete the other half. Pre-natal lab work came back good as well. Yay!

This past weekend I went to the Motherhood Maternity store near my house… after I was weighed at my appointment, I am convinced that I have just gained too much weight to fit into my normal clothes. This is upsetting to me. It didn’t seem like I was really gaining that much but even just in the 4 weeks since my last appointment I had gained 4 pounds. Anyway, I bought some work pants, a bathing suit and some leggings. I was so surprised how easy it was shopping for maternity clothes. So much easier than regular shopping! It was a great experience. I wish I could afford to buy more of the cute stuff they have but for now I will try to keep squeezing into what I have available. It does get pretty pricey!

Also found out that we won’t go back for another appointment for 5 weeks this time. The next time we go in will be for the Anatomy Scan ultrasound…that is the one where we get to find out the sex!!! Ahh, I’m so excited! The appointment is June 11. Seems like forever away.

We took another photo that I have posted here. I am not noticing much difference in the photos but I sure feel it. I seriously look in the mirror and think…how could I only be 14 weeks! And crap, what will I look like at 30 something weeks if I already feel big…haha oh well it’s all new to me.

Frank is in Singapore this week for a photo shoot. I dropped him off at the airport this morning and the water works were flowing. He will be gone 8 days which is hard because we are always together. I can just focus on having me time and it will pass quickly…watch the shows only I like, paint my nails (and toe nails while I still can!), do a purifying mask…actually sounds good!