newly titled: "No One Told Me About..."

**everything is fine with me and the baby**

I've heard so much about morning sickness and braxton hicks contractions and epidurals and labor pain, but no one ever told me about this!

Everything was fine until I woke up Sunday morning with awful cramps. Menstrual type cramps. I thought I ate something bad or something like that. I took Tylenol, laid on the couch, and inspected TP all day, but never any blood or anything usual. But man it HURT! And wouldn't let up. It hurt below my belly - above my hairline, and in my groin. Ugh. By late afternoon I pulled out my pregnancy books (even the forbidden one) to see if I could get some answers.

They suggested:

1. round ligament pain

2. miscarriage

Um, ok, that's quite a wide range of possiblilities. By the time Z got home from the grocery store I was in hysterics. I had showered hoping warm water would help but it didn't. He made me call the dr. The on-call dr. called back pretty immediately and listened to my issues. She suggested I come to the hospital ante-partum area and she would meet me there. She said we would both sleep better. Amen to that.

Wet hair and sweat pants on, Z and I headed to the hospital. It took us a while to find where we were going and on a Sunday night there was not a lot of personnel around to ask. I was teary again by the time we got to the Labor & Delivery desk to check in.

Anyway, they quickly took us to a room and hooked up the monitor for me and baby. They did the usual work up (urine, blood, questions, blood pressure) and discovered my insurance and address needed to be updated. Seriously? So Z had to leave me to head down to the ER to do that. I thought I would lose it in that room alone, but I watched the clock, rubbed on my belly, and turned on the TV for some distraction. 15 minutes or so later, a nurse came in with the doppler and Zach walked in about the same time. We would FINALLY be able to hear the baby.

After several tries and what felt like the longest minute or two of my life, there it was- a beautiful baby heartbeat - in the 150's. Thank GOD. I cried from relief and calmed down a bit.

2 hours later the dr came in. She had been waiting for my labwork. She had thought perhaps a bladder infection (I tend to get them) but no. She checked my cervix (OUCH!) and said it was high and closed. She had me show her exactly where the pain was, and yeah, she said ligament pain. She said I may have some scar tissue from the surgery last summer that is making it worse. But ya'll, the last time I had cramping this bad was the few months before my surgery discovering the stage 4 endo. This pain is debilitating. It hurts to just sit still. It hurts to bend over at the waist. It hurts to take a deep breath. Call me a wimp. Labor is gonna kick my butt.

I've since been at home, laying in bed with a heating pad. I tried to go to work today but I woke up kinda panicky about it and wound up vomiting in my driveway. Seriously. I haven't vomited the whole pregnancy, but I sure did today.

The pain is still there but not as bad. It's not constant anymore- more random like I had read it 'should' be. Again, Thank God. I called the dr. back today to see if she could offer suggestions to help relieve the pain, b/c quite frankly, Tylenol isn't cutting it. She said hot bath, heating pad, and maybe try a maternity belt. Anyone used one of those before? She said this will probably be around till at least my 20w mark. Yay. So I've gotta suck up the pain and deal b/c there's no way I can stay at home in the bed for the next 4 weeks.

Have you had this round ligament pain? What did you do to help?

PS> I know I had said belly pics, but, as you can see, I was in no shape to pose for pics Sunday! We will do some soon!

catching up + 16 weeks!

So, I've been a stranger to blog land! A whole month has gone by! OOPS! Hope everyone is doing great! I've been good for the most part. Work is a nightmare, but everything baby related is wonderful. My belly has popped on out there (pics tomorrow!), maternity clothes are so comfy, and I've gotten the cleaning and decorating for baby buzz!

I can't believe I am 16 weeks pregnant. It still seems so surreal. Only recently when my belly popped out I truly allowed myself to get excited. A lady at work the other day told me I was 'just the cutest pregnant lady' and I told her I sure appreciated that sweet comment! I always wanted to be 'cute pregnant'. I worried with my ivf weight gain going into pregnancy I'd look more puffy than pregnant. I'm still feeling a bit puffy but better about it! haha! I haven't taken a single belly shot yet... it seems that I went from puffy bloat ivf belly (I carry all my weight in my belly anyway) to a baby bump! So belly shots seems a bit hard to let myself do! haha! But Zach has insisted it's time so he's going to take some tomorrow. :)

Speaking of the belly, I bought some Burts Bees Belly Balm and Palmers belly lotion last night at Tar.get. Anyone used either or heard of one that works good? I feel like this belly is gonna get BIG and the girls are too! Oh, and speaking of the girls, is it totally weird that my left nipple itches all the time!?!?! Crazy!

Here we go: 16 weeks

weight: I'm not sure! I don't remember my 'pre-injections' weight. I'm gonna say +5 (I do know I have held steady since Labor Day!

sleep: Thought it got better in the 2nd tri! After being told I could only sleep on my left side I sleep terrible. I wake up constantly - on my back- freaked out b/c I wasn't sleeping the right way! And I wake up 1-2x to pee.

exercise: I know I need to, but after being on my feet and walking the halls, playground, and classroom all day I can't muster the energy when i get home!

cravings: peaches, pineapple, and salty stuff! Weird, right!?! I used to be a HUGE dessert girl and lately I don't really want any. It's freaking Zach out! haha!

maternity clothes: yep! I have 3 pairs of maternity pants and a few tops. I need to shop! I also think it might be time for some maternity bras and undies!

mood: pretty emotional during the week. but i know it is b/c of work. My county is crazy and they are cutting teachers and increasing class sizes every 2 weeks. I currently have 24 5-year-olds in my Kdg class. It's a zoo. Kids keep coming in, but no expectations of your job responsibilities or timelines change. it sucks.

gender: we were thinking girl all along, but then 2 weeks ago we were driving down the road and I turned to Z and said "i'm thinking boy" and he said "me too!" Now we just can't choose! I am currently scheduled for a reg appt Oct 18 and the big anatomy scan and all that on Nov 2. I REALLY hope to talk someone into telling us boy/girl on the 18th!!!

baby: the size of an avocado! can't wait to feel him/her move!

A 'Thank You' for RE?

so.... we graduate tomorrow from the RE!!! Y-E-S! Did you guys do anything special as a 'thank you' for your doctor and/or nurses?

I feel like they gave me this amazing gift that I should have some small token of thanks for them tomorrow when we part for their program...

I mean, I know we'll go back and visit once the little one is born; or at least send a card with pictures or something.

But in the meantime, do you simply say thanks and shake their hand, or is there an appropriate gift for this occasion?

The Cat's outta the bag

with my class of kindergartners... :)

I was in the middle of a math lesson on the smart board (which usually keeps their attention really well!) when all of a sudden one of my boys raises his hand and says "Is there a baby in your belly???" Um, I couldn't help but smile and say "How did you know!?!? It's only this big! (I showed an inch with my fingers in front of my belly)". He laughed and the kids were like, whoa!

And then that was it.

No one has mentioned it again.

I keep waiting for one of my girls to say something since they are always hugging on me, but no. I keep waiting for one of my parents to say something since I figured they went home and told (since they tell EVERYTHING else!), but no.

Hmmmm, I guess I worried about telling them for nothing! haha!

PS. Kinda funny, but one of my little girls from 2 years ago saw me the first day of school and knew immediately. She didn't ask me, but asked her current teacher. The teacher asked her how she knew, and the little girl said "she's wearing a pregnant dress!" (it was just an empire waist dress from the LOFT, nothing maternity!!!) Then later, she saw me in the hall and whispered, "how's the baby Mrs. P?" I just gave her a big smile. Every day now she asks me if the baby came out yet! I keep telling her it's gonna be a while! haha! They are so cute.

Now I guess I just need to break the news on face.book. Everyone else in my life knows!

Oh -- 11 weeks today AND I think this is my 100th post! Not a very exciting one for 100... I'll have to make post 101 better!

We've got a thumbsucker on our hands! haha!

Here is one of our u/s from last Tuesday (17th) when we were at 9.5 weeks... It was SUCH an awesome experience! We couldn't believe how much more the baby had grown in just 3 weeks! Baby is measuring a little over an inch. The heartbeat is super strong (and loud!). We got to see the developing brain, umbilical cord, blood flow, little leg buds, and.... FINGERS! Seriously! We couldn't believe it! The baby was sucking it's thumb! Can you believe a baby that is only a little over an inch long can suck it's thumb!!?!? We were floored! The u/s tech tried to capture it for us in these pics, but it's a little blurry. Oh, another thing that was cool was the baby was kicking! Kicking it's little leg buds like it had somewhere to go. :) Zach was like 'can you feel that?' and I was like "no but wow you can really see it!!!" I mean, really, baby was just a going to town kicking in there. So neat.

We go back again next Tuesday (31st) for our 11.5 week scan and graduation from the fertility doctor. I must say, we are sad to go. We feel so safe there with them... but, like Dr. K said, we don't want to stay with them b/c that would mean something is wrong. Our graduation is a sign of a happy, healthy baby. :) So we'll move on to an OB the next week (week 13). We're almost out of the first tri! WOOHOO!

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!