Catching Up

Well, well. I knew it'd been a while - but a month-- oops! I don't have any pictures ready for this post, it just struck me this morning that I needed to update so... pics will come later! haha!

Let's see, the last time I wrote I was hating morning sickness and LOVING our first u/s. Some things never change! We had our 2nd u/s this week. It deserves it's own post, so I'll save that for tomorrow :) Now, the morning sickness never got worse (knocking on wood now!) but it has continued to stay with me. I have an underlying yuck feeling all day and night. ew. And, whoa, if I let myself get hungry-- it's all over. I am a mean, nasty, hungry machine! I get cranky and moody. I hate it. You should see all the stuff I pack to go to school! I carry 2 lunchboxes! haha!

Speaking of school, it started back and it's busy as ever. i hate august. It's so hectic and stressful trying to unpack a classroom, get things set up the way you want, all while attending meetings, learning new curriculum, hoping for a big enough class to keep all your teachers on your grade level, and this year- balance the 'ew' morning sickness factor. One of the ladies on my grade level that's been teaching Kdg for 27 years always says "Teaching K is like childbirth- if you remembered

how bad it was, you'd never do it again." Now I've always laughed at this comment b/c it never hit home for be before, but this year I was like"what!?! Childbirth isn't THIS bad is it!?!" :) It's just hard to have 20 five-year-olds (and a couple of 4 yo) for a full school day that, for some, is their first school experience. They are so clueless! Rules, routines, walking in a line, heck- lining up in the first place!, bathroom breaks, and of course- actually teaching them something all day.... whew! They just wanna play and eat. I'm with 'em! Sounds good to me! haha! They get more settled everyday and by October we'll be smooth sailing.

Let's see-- my brother-in-law turned 30 and my sister threw him a fantastic party last weekend! Let me tell ya, she should go into party planning. This party was like a mini wedding reception. Rented tables/chairs, cute linens, centerpieces, a video room where people could leave video messages, signs for all of the food and drinks stations, a band, and ya'll, she made the food herself. For 45 people. And it. was. amazing. She loves cooking and it shows! She did a fabulous job with everything! I was so happy for her! It made her so happy to throw her husband that party! My husband took a bunch of pics. Click here if you are interested in checking them out! Oh, I've got a picture for here... one of me and my mom and sister! yay! :) PS> My boobs are getting big. :( And my belly, too!

Today we have a wedding for friends, Stacy and Shane, and we're pumped. My husband is photographing it so that'll be fun, too! I m hoping the weather will turn around... it's a little gloomy. Though gloomy looks pretty cool through a camera lens too. :)

Oh, and I became an aunt for the first time today! My sister-in-law had her baby around 2:00 this morning! A little boy they named Bowen. Ya'll, she has been at the hospital since Thursday night around 8:00 waiting to have this little guy. I haven't gotten all the details, but I know she was induced (she was almost 41 weeks), she had multiple epidurals, the baby got stuck in the birth canal, and finally came out face up but with his head turned to the side, and with a turned ankle. It sounds like a LOOONNNGGG process, but we got word this morning around 9 that mom and baby are doing fine. Bless her heart. Sounds exhausting! We are going up to see them tomorrow!

Anyway, really just wanted to say hi and do a quick catch-up on things. Mostly life things, I'll put baby things in their own little posts. :) Now, I've got to go scan our u/s pics from this week. It was so cool! I love ultrasounds!!!! :)

Happy Saturday everyone!

Morning Sickness + 1st ULTRASOUND!!! :)

Thank you guys so much for the tips and ideas (and reassurance)! Y'all are the best!

This morning sickness is for the birds. And it's not just morning-- it's until 12:00 and sometimes 2:00 in the afternoon! The ivf nurse told me today to expect it to get worse in a couple of weeks and stay that way for a month (basically till the end of the first trimester). Perfect timing as I start back to work in 2 weeks. Oh well. It could be worse! I'm not throwing up; just lots of bathroom/tummy issues and nausea that keeps me from wanting to eat and a headache. I went to the store tonight and got a bunch of stuff to keep on hand to grab for a quick snack. I've heard I need to stay ahead of it and always have food in my belly. Even when I get up in the middle of the night- grab a cracker. Hopefully I can figure this all out and get it under control by the end of next week.

We had our first ultrasound today. It was SO COOL. We were told not to expect to hear a heartbeat since it is really early.... but we DID!!! It was Ah-Mazing! :) Our little bean is measuring right on the money at 6 weeks exactly and is positioned right in the middle of my uterus which they were happy with. Also, it was cool to not only see the gestational sac, but also the yolk sac, and of course, that tee-tiny heartbeat flickering. Whoa. Neither of us cried-- we were too in awe- we did get teary eyed and Zach especially couldn't believe it was so tiny. It was so special. :)

We will go back 2 more times before being released to an OB. Our next appt is Aug. 17 (only b/c Dr. K is out of town the weekend before). He was so funny- he was saying that a lot of people go into withdrawls when they are used to visiting so often and then having 2 week gaps in between appts. And since our appt is 3 weeks out, he said to make sure if we had the slightest doubt something was wrong, to come in for a 'reassurance ultrasound'. :) He was so happy for us though and it was neat to share the excitement with him and our ivf nurses. He said it was a joy to get to come into the room and report that everything was perfect. WOOHOO!

So anyway, we are right on track at 6 weeks with a due date still of March 17, 2011!

PS. We did get a couple of pictures but I need to scan them. I came home and took a 3.5 hour nap today!

Beta 3 + U/S appt + Morning Sickness?

Having not had any appointments since last Monday, this morning felt weird! But after my psycho paranoia lately I was anxious to go to make sure everything was ok.

The backstory is that my husband was off all week so we could get house stuff done. We were having a housewarming party Saturday and work starts back in 2 weeks so we were really on a deadline. We had LOTS of cleaning inside and yard work outside to do. It was hot, yes, but I had a big water bottle I kept refilling. And the whole time I felt great! We took a lunch break and all too so it wasn't like it had been non-stop working in the heat. Anyway, my MIL came by to help out in the yard and I went out to assist and she was like 'you don't need to be out here doing anything' and I was like 'I've been out here all day!'. So I walked inside and immediately picked up the preg books and looked for physical activity and worried I had done too much. I had myself so worked up that I was convinced I had done a terrible thing and that I was going to miscarry. I called my mom and sister freaking out. I was crying the ugly cry and got short with Zach. Ugh, too much. So after that I realized that I was more careful about my activity level and all when I was doing the injections and stuff than I am being now that I know our little baby is growing in there. I have to prioritize. My house is not the priority anymore-- this baby is. I need to get it together!

So glad that day is over and behind me. Back to today, THAT is why I was so anxious about today's beta. I finally got the call a few minutes ago. Here it is:

beta #1: 144 (10dp5dt)

beta #2: 850 (14dp5dt)

beta #3: 8,480 (21dp5dt)

I was very relieved and also surprised when my ivf nurse said we could do the U/S this week! Fantastic! I had been telling Zach that I really needed that u/s to make this feel 'real'. Although, lately, it's been feeling real enough. Which brings me to my third point - Morning Sickness.

I haven't done much research on morning sickness but I'm thinking that when I wake up nauseous and do not want to eat anything at all, it must be morning sickness. Today the feeling was worse than ever. I almost wished I didn't have the beta check b/c I didn't want to leave the house. I never thew up, but did have major bathroom/tummy issues. Not fun. I managed to get some lightly salted saltine crackers and water down before the appt and a plain baked potato after. I have slept 2 hours this afternoon and woke up with my usual afternoon headache. *sigh... I AM NOT COMPLAINING though. I have waited and waited for this baby and whatever he/she is going to have me go through I will gladly do. It's just gonna take a little getting used to. And I'm a bit nervous about starting back to work in a couple of weeks with this morning yuckiness. I don't think kindergartners would understand! But I'll survive!

Got any 'freak out' pregnant moment stories to share?

Anything particular I should look for or ask for at the U/S appt Thursday?

Have any ideas/suggestions/etc for the morning sickness?