14w; 13 week review

From my weekly email:
Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.

How far along? 14 weeks
How big is baby? The size of a lemon
Symptoms? Getting some more headaches in the afternoons, but nothing too bad.  Feeling good otherwise.
Weight gain/loss(166 starting point - yikes!)? Up about 1-1 1/2 lbs
Stretch marks? None
Maternity clothing? No
Sleep?  Good, every morning I wish I could sleep in!
Exercise? Nada
Cravings? Nothing this week
Movement? Nope
Belly Button? Looks normal
What are you looking forward to this week? Sleeping in??

12w6d; 12 week review

From my weekly email (12 week): The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.
Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.



How far along? 12w6d
How big is baby? The size of a lime
Symptoms? Bit cranky this week, maybe because of a late night on Saturday for Fe & Wag's party?  Feeling good otherwise
Weight gain/loss(166 starting point - yikes!)? Up about 1 lb.  Still fluctuating daily
Stretch marks? None
Maternity clothing? No
Sleep?  Good, wish I had more time for it
Exercise? Nada
Cravings? Hankering for french fries one day - bought them and felt terrible afterward!  Figures!
Movement? Nope
Belly Button? Looks normal
What are you looking forward to this week? Last week of 1st Trimester!  Feeling so good about this.  I've been anxiously awaiting this week.  Feeling as though it took so long to get pregnant that I didn't want to get too excited about the baby in case something happened.  Another Drs apt this week, so maybe we'll hear the hearbeat!
Misc thoughts? Feeling as though my belly has really popped this week.  Work people say they've begun to notice the bump : )  Between my boobs and belly pop, don't know how I've only gained 1 lb!

12w; 11 week review

From my weekly email (11 weeks): Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.
She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

How far along? 12 weeks!
How big is baby? The size of a fig
Symptoms? Feeling good, less tired.  Still having to pee a lot at night, but I'm guessing that's here for the duration.  Boobs are feeling much less sore, too.
Weight gain/loss(166 starting point - yikes!)? Still even as of this morning.  Up and down 1/2-1 lb each day.
Stretch marks? None
Maternity clothing? Nope, but limited in my pant selections 
Sleep?  Good, not as tired in the evenings, more tired in the mornings.
Exercise? What?  Went paddleboarding on Sunday.  It's been raining most evenings so walks are not possible.  Would really like to be running more, but can't.get.out.of.bed in the mornings.
Cravings? Not really, eating lots of fruit
Movement? Nope
Belly Button? Looks normal.  Belly itself is getting a noticable!
What are you looking forward to this week? Seeing family at Fe & Wag's vow renewal and making an offer on a DEAL in Country Place.  Our house process is moving along nicely, second contract is in place and the buyer is so excited about it!  Also, one more week until we're into the 2nd trimester!

9 & 10 week review - Catching Up!



 

Week 9

 

Week 9



From my weekly email (9 week): Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

Week 10



Week 10

 From my weekly email (10 week): Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.

He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.

If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.
In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches

Reward at the End of a Bad Day

It was finally here - the day I'd been waiting for for weeks!  This was no regular hump day, this was the day we would would first see our little one on camera!

8w6d, 7 & 8 week review

From my weekly email (7 week):  The big news this week: Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.

If you could see inside your womb, you'd spot eyelid folds partially covering her peepers, which already have some color, as well as the tip of her nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of your baby's brain are growing, and her liver is churning out red blood cells until her bone marrow forms and takes over this role. She also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in your baby's growing intestines is bulging into her umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from her tiny body.

From my weekly email (8 week): New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.


Hi Momma & Daddy!


How far along? 8w6d
How big is baby? The size of a kidney bean
Symptoms? About the same.  Have to plan pee breaks, nausea when I get an empty stomach.  Still sore and enlarged boobs!
Weight gain/loss(166 starting point - yikes!)? Even.  Have gone up and down a pound or two - not eating very well last week or so.  Better this week.  Love me some mint ice cream
Stretch marks? None
Maternity clothing? Nope, a lot of pants are tight, but they were tight before I was pregnant. 
Sleep?  Good.  Need more!
Exercise? Running in the mornings when I'm not too tired.  Not because of pregnancy, just being lazy!  Need to get in the grove before I'm too big to be comfortable. 
Cravings? Juice/chocolate milk.  Getting sick of only water.
Movement? Not that I can feel!
Belly Button? Looks normal
What are you looking forward to this week? First ultrasound next Wednesday!  can.not.wait!  Trying to catch up on more sleep this weekend.  Slept Sat night from 9pm until 8:30am.  Felt so good.

7w4d, 6 week review

From my weekly email (6 week):  This week's major developments: The nose, mouth, and ears that you'll spend so much time kissing in eight months are beginning to take shape. If you could see into your uterus, you'd find an oversize head and dark spots where your baby's eyes and nostrils are starting to form. His emerging ears are marked by small depressions on the sides of the head, and his arms and legs by protruding buds. His heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through his body. His intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to his lungs has appeared. His pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of his brain, muscles, and bones. Right now, your baby is a quarter of an inch long, about the size of a lentil.

How far along? 7w4d
How big is baby? The size of a lentil or sweet pea

Symptoms? Still having to pee a lot.  Feeling some nausea when I am getting hungry.  Still bloated, but not as tired this week.
Weight gain/loss(166 starting point - yikes!)? 1 lb loss total, but have been making bad choice with food this week.  Lots of carbs…but they’re so good!
Stretch marks? None
Maternity clothing? Nope
Sleep?  Sleeping well, but averaging getting up to pee 3-4 times a night
Exercise? Pretty good week running. Started with 3 runs on Anna Maria. 

Cravings? None
Movement? No
Belly Button? Looks normal

What are you looking forward to this week? My body continuing to get used to pregnancy.  Hopeully hormones settle down a bit.

6w2d, 5 week review

From my weekly email (5week):  Deep in your uterus your embryo is growing at a furious pace. At this point, he's about the size of a sesame seed, and he looks more like a tiny tadpole than a human. He's now made up of three layers — the ectoderm, the mesoderm, and the endoderm — which will later form all of his organs and tissues.  The neural tube — from which your baby's brain, spinal cord, nerves, and backbone will sprout — is starting to develop in the top layer, called the ectoderm. This layer will also give rise to his skin, hair, nails, mammary and sweat glands, and tooth enamel.

His heart and circulatory system begin to form in the middle layer, or mesoderm. (This week, in fact, his tiny heart begins to divide into chambers and beat and pump blood.) The mesoderm will also form your baby's muscles, cartilage, bone, and subcutaneous (under skin) tissue.  The third layer, or endoderm, will house his lungs, intestines, and rudimentary urinary system, as well as his thyroid, liver, and pancreas. In the meantime, the primitive placenta and umbilical cord, which deliver nourishment and oxygen to your baby, are already on the job.

How far along? 6w2d
How big is baby? The size of a sesame seed
Symptoms? Pretty much none this week.  A few times I've gotten overly tired, but that's only happened two or 3 times.  Had one bout of nausea which passed in about 10 minutes.  Feeling less bloated.  Few cramps early in the week, but none now.  Having to go pee ALOT though.
Weight gain/loss(166 starting point - yikes!)? 3 lb loss total
Stretch marks? None
Maternity clothing? Nope
Sleep?  Sleeping well, but averaging getting up to pee 3-4 times a night
Exercise? So-so.  Ran a few times early in the week, but got lazy.  Did P90x twice
Cravings? Still just very thirty, adding to the peeing issue
Movement? No
Belly Button? Looks normal
What are you looking forward to this week? Telling the fam 4th of July weekend.  They will all be ecstatic (especially my mom).  Also our doctors apt set for next Friday.

Repeated Confirmation

Later that day, I purchased a test with a digital result.  I took it and before I looked to see how long it would take, I saw the result - Pregnant.  I yelled for Scott to come look.  For some reason, this result made me question myself less.  I was beginning to let it sink in.

Monday and Tuesday I felt like I was already 3 months pregnant.  I was super bloated.  Painfully bloated.  After eating, I had that uncomfortable feeling you get after a large meal.  I wasn't sure how I would be dealing with this for 9 months.  Luckily, it subsided by Wednesday.  Of course, then I questioned myself so I had to re-test.  Still positive.

Last few days I've been feeling a bit of cramps.  Let's just say Scott's been loving my boobs, but they're so sore, they are totally out of play right now.

There's a What, Growing Where?

So with one more month of attempts under our belts, we waited. 

Scott kept telling me I was pregnant.  Part of me wanted to believe him, but I'd gotten my hopes up way too many times thus far.  I tested 8 DPO, with a negative result.  I knew it.  Same result as always. 

Scott was out in Orlando for work Friday night, June 17th.  Saturday, we had plans to meet my brother to go out on the boat.  Scott left his conference early to get home so the plan was to meet at his office.  I was scurrying to get us packed when I decided to do another test since I may partake in a few drinks on the boat.  I put the test down and watched the results come up.  Negative again.  Ugh!

Wait...

am I imagining something?

is that a shadow?

could i be?

seriously?

i walked away several times, but kept coming back to it.  The second line certainly wasn't as dark as the first line.  (guess i should have re-read the directions).

i had a perm-smile and put the test away for safe keeping.  Only went back to look at it about 10 times before i left.

Honestly, I still wasn't convinced.  I was anxious to get home and take another test the following day.  At the time I hadn't googled everything you possibly could about pregnancy tests to know that ANY line there was a positive, no matter how faint.

Father's day Sunday.  I retested in the morning.  OMG, another test with 2 lines.  I REALLY AM!!  I wanted to scream out for Scott to look at the test, but I also wanted to surprise him in some way.

I cooked breakfast and managed to sneak the tests next to his plate.  (Of course, he later thanked me for putting a pee stick near his breakfast...germaphobe!)  "Happy Father's Day", I told him.  He was amazed.  Happy.  Not nearly as shocked as I expected.  Per usual, he handled it much more maturely than I did!

Positively Excited

Father's Day 2011 turned out to be a memorable one for the Parrish Family even if we weren't able to spend the day with either of our dads.  The news we've been anxiously waiting for was finally revealed. 

Let's back up.  This story begins in January of 2010.  Yeah, that date is correct.  January of 2010 I stopped taking my birth control pills with the anticipation of waiting 3 months before trying to conceive.  That's the rule of thumb I've always heard and what my obgyn suggested to get my cycle back on track.  In March of 2010, Scott and I were taking a 10 day cruise to celebrate my 3oth birthday.  At this time we decided to "pull the goalie".  We tried and and we tried and we tried. 

Prior to going on birth control, my cycles were very irregular and infrequent.  From March-August, there was no real opportunity to conceive.  In August 2010 I decided to set an appointment with my doctor to discuss my situation with him.  At that time, he prescribed me Clomiphene (aka Clomid) which is used to induce ovulation in women who do not produce eggs but wish to become pregnant.  Basically, he told me it would be like "ovulating on steroids".  The plan was to take the pills on days 3-7 of my cycle (with cycle day 1 being the first day of menstruation).  According to most my doctor and everything I read, if Clomid wasn't successful in 6 cycles, it probably wouldn't work in future cycles.  After several weeks, I still hadn't begun menstruation, so I called called the doctor to see if there was anything that could induce it.  I was prescribed Progesterone.  In women who are not pregnant and not going through menopause, this medication is used to restore normal menstrual periods that have stopped for several months (aka amenorrhea).  This worked and I began my first Clomid cycle.

Clomid is notorious for terrible side effects - moodiness, night sweats, blurred vision.  I was nervous about feeling like crud for basically a week, but luckily, I had no side effects to speak of.  I fully expected to get pregnant that first month.  We used ovulation testing kits to know when to expect my ovulation.  Until this point, it was totally a guessing game - could be 15, 25, 40 days.  I was so excited when I saw my first positive ovulation test.  It was amazing to think my body was doing what it was supposed to (and WHEN it was supposed to).

Each month, we coincided our attempts with the positive ovulation kits.  In March of 2011, I was getting close to the end of my prescription of Clomid - 6 tries if it's going to work for you, remember...I decided it was time to set another apt with my obgyn.  It was set for the second week in April.

Our lives took a bit of whirlwind at that point.  Scott's mom was in a major car accident and we had to fly up to Indiana, staying for 10 days.  My apt was set for the time we were out of town, so I had to reschedule my apt.  At the time, I thought it was odd that the next appointment available wasn't until May 17th.  I was frustrated because the last time I told them I was having fertility issues, they got me right in.  This time, I had to wait a month.  ANOTHER MONTH.  In the fertility world, that's an eternity.  Every day and week felt like another missed opportunity.  I felt deflated - but encouraged that this appointment would be very productive once I told him how the Clomid was making me ovulate, but I was still not pregnant.

When my appointment date came, I was called to the back.  The nurse proceeded to tell me she had me down for my annual appointment.  I looked at her in shock and told her that's not at all why I was there.  I gave the nurse the quick rundown of my history and all she could do was ask if I wanted to proceed with the annual since I hadn't had one since 2009.  She threw in that "after the exam, I could ask him about my other issue".  Seriously?  Oh, I was steaming. 

I had my exam and it went as well as any of those can go.  Then I told him how I had completed my final refill of Clomid and asked for suggestions or plans of attack.  His response in a nutshell was "keep trying".  His advice for moving forward was to 1) have Scott's swimmers checked 2) for me to undergo a laparoscopy.  

From Webmd:   Laparoscopy is a surgery that uses a thin, lighted tube put through a cut (incision) in the belly to look at the abdominal organs or the female pelvic organs.  Laparoscopy is used to find problems such as cysts, adhesions, fibroids and infection.

Needless to say, I was a bit taken back.  Surgery is the next step for me?  Not blood tests?  Ultrasounds?   I thought it was a bit extreme.  I asked him about the possibility of trying another cycle of Clomid, which he said was fine (no real advice here, just appeasement?)  I mentioned that I'd read on the internet that some doctors will increase the dosage to 100mg.  He paused and with no feeling, interest or information on why this would be positive or negative, said he'd write me a prescription for 100mg...

I inquired more about testing Scott.  That seemed like the easiest, and least invasive first step (especially since he didn't suggest blood tests for me).  We discussed "the only guy in town", who I found out was a local fertility doctor specializing in IUIs and IVFs.  My obgyn said he could also do the test...stating it wouldn't be the official test or written report that would be done by the fertility doctor, but that he would be able to tell if there was an issue. 

I walked out of the office with much less insight that I'd hoped for.  My intention was to have a plan of attack and I walked away with nothing more than a prescription I requested and the name of another doctor in town I was itching to research.

After much discussion, Scott and I decided our best route was to set up an appointment for the fertility doctor.  We both thought the laparoscopy was far to extreme for our current situation.  I researched the fertility doctor and spoke with their office.  We completed and submitted our paperwork and initial payment and waiting for the call to make an appointment.  We set the apt for Thursday May 19th.

Suprisingly, my period had come just prior to the setting of the appointment.  I called the office to see if they wanted me to begin the Clomid or if that would foul up any testing that would need to be done.  In hindsight, it was very lucky that their office closes at noon on Friday and they didn't get my messages.

I began taking Clomid that Saturday and took it for 5 days.  Our appointment with the fertility doctor was exciting.  For about an hour, we discussed my history in detail along with a plan of attack.  This was exactly what I'd been yearning for.  We discussed the topic of performing a laparoscopy.  He quickly mentioned that that was not necessary at this time, which satisfied both of us.  Our plan consisted of testing Scott (which ironically was done that same day, lol), blood tests for both of us (much more extensive for me), and an Hysterosalpingography (hsg) for me.  An hysterosalpingography is a procedure to look inside the uterus and fallopian tubes, using an x-ray and a dye to diagnose problems in the female reproductive system.  

Ironically, the office called me the following day to see if I could schdule the hsg for the next Tuesday.  The price was higher than I expected since it wasn't going to be handled by insurance.  I told her I'd call her back when I figured out if I could manage with work.  Obviously, I discussed it with Scott.  He told me the decision was up to me, but he didn't know what the point in waiting was. 

I can't explain it.  In my heart, I just wanted one.more.try by ourselves prior to this major step.  I called to tell them I would be holding off until my next cycle.  I was instructed to call during the first few days of my cycle so we could schedule the blood tests and the hsg.  We had one more chance to prove that my body could work properly. 

We did a few things differently this round...who knows what was the deciding factor? 

• After reading about FAM, I began charting my bbt, or morning basal temperatures.
• My clomid dosage was 100mg
• Since clomid is known to dry women out, I read about taking Mucinex during several days prior to and thru menstruation
• Didn't wait until a positive ovulation test to begin trying.  In past months, we "saved up".  Based on my research, I found the few days PRIOR to ovulation are the most fertile

4 Weeks 6 days; 4w6d

Seems weird the way they calculate how far along you are.  For those who are unaware, the clock begins on the first day of your last menstrual cycle.  So by the time your baby is actually conceived, you've already chalked up 2+ weeks of "pregnancy".  In any case, that's how they tell me its done, so who am I to argue?

So with that, I am 4w6d (even though I'm only 15 days past ovulation...ok i won't always to that, just setting up reference point).  (Edit -apparently I was off on my counting.  When I wrote this entry, I was actually 5 weeks!)

(Photo taken 5w3d)

 From my weekly email:  This week marks the beginning of the embryonic period. From now until 10 weeks, all of your baby's organs will begin to develop and some will even begin to function. As a result, this is the time when she'll be most vulnerable to anything that might interfere with her development.
Right now your baby is an embryo the size of a poppy seed, consisting of two layers: the epiblast and the hypoblast, from which all of her organs and body parts will develop.

The primitive placenta is also made up of two layers at this point. Its cells are tunneling into the lining of your uterus, creating spaces for your blood to flow so that the developed placenta will be able to provide nutrients and oxygen to your growing baby when it starts to function at the end of this week.
Also present now are the amniotic sac, which will house your baby; the amniotic fluid, which will cushion her as she grows; and the yolk sac, which produces your baby's red blood cells and helps deliver nutrients to her until the placenta has developed and is ready to take over this duty.

How far along? 4w6d
How big is baby? The size of a poppy seed
Symptoms? Feeling VERY bloated in the belly, like I'm already 3 months pregnant.  Going to try eating smaller meals to not feel so full.  Standing and moving helps tremendously.  Slight gassy/crampy feelings in lower abdomen.
Weight gain/loss(166 starting point - yikes!)? 2lb loss
Stretch marks? None
Maternity clothing? Nope
Sleep? Fine as of now.  Been working out more so more tired at night.  Waking more in the mornings.  Excitement?
Exercise? Doing good so far.  Scott and I decided it was way too hot for me to be running the bridge at 6pm.  We've changed our workouts to run in the morning and do p90x/pilates after work.
Cravings? Nothing now.  Although been watching my junk food, which I surprisingly haven't had any cravings for.  Been very thirty, drinking a lot of water.
Movement? No
Belly Button? Looks normal but last night found strange small red streak running vertically.
What are you looking forward to this week? Telling SAT the news and discussing doctors with her.  I'm really looking forward to setting an apt for my first prenatal visit.