Week 7

WHEW!!!!  What a relief!!  I seriously have never been so nervous for an appointment with Dr. A, or really any doctor ever.  EVER!  And to then hear her say the words "your little baby is growing nicely.  It's right where we want it to be and we can even see the heartbeat," made EVERYTHING right in my world.  Waiting a week and a half (since my 3rd hCG beta test) to know if our little baby was doing okay and growing as it should be, was so, so hard.  I know I said in my Week 6 post that waiting for the pregnancy test is the hardest wait, but I'm not so sure now.

The anxiety was just excruciating and I thought I was gonna lose my sh*t as we sat in the waiting room - but it's no different for women who conceive naturally.  In fact, the wait for them is even worse since it's typically not until 8-10 weeks and many of them don't have the hCG tests, PGS/chromosomal screening to feel more confident.  We had excellently climbing hCG numbers from a week and a half prior and most importantly: a perfectly graded (5AA) and chromosomally normal embryo.  We kind of had nothing to worry about and yet I was about to lose my mind.  Man, I feel for those ladies...
How far along: 7 weeks today!
What did baby do this week: Baby is the size of a blueberry or cranberry.  It's about 1/2 inch long from crown to rump and has doubled in size since last week.  The arm and leg buds have grown longer and are beginning to segment into future fingers and toes.  Baby has eyelid folds which are partially covering its eyes (which already have some color!), the tip of its tiny nose is forming and so are little tooth buds.  Baby has an appendix and pancreas.
Total weight gain: 1.6 pounds
Symptoms: The usual fatigue, thirst, hunger and needing to pee so much at night.  Some faint, occasional cramping too but not daily.  My boobs started hurting over the weekend - leaning over or lying on my side in bed. Mostly just my nipples - almost like a stinging feeling.  And only occasionally, it kinda comes and goes from day to day.  No spotting at all - little of that “black pepper” looking stuff Fri-early this week, which Dr. A said was a side effect of the progesterone and totally normal.  Speaking of progesterone, after our ultrasound last week (6w exactly) we got the okay to move to doing the shots every other night instead of daily (still doing twice daily Crinone applicators).  We checked my levels after switching to every-other-night and it was at 42.4 ng/mL, which is just great.  Thank GOD!!  After about 3 weeks of nightly shots, the spot on my butt where Hubby gives the shots has been getting more painful/irritated/lumpy/itchy.  I can't wait to be done with these - but anything for Baby!

Queasy or sick: Absolutely nothing until about Sunday and then it was extremely faint.  I've started to notice a VERY slight queasy feeling mostly in the mornings the last few days.  I hope it's not a sign of things to come.  Usually it goes away after I eat or as I carry on with my day.  But I also noticed it while driving home from work yesterday.
Sleep: I wake up a lot - mostly needing to pee.  Probably on average about 3-4 times overnight.  Fortunately I can usually fall back asleep without a problem.
Best moment this week: Seeing our tiny baby at our first ultrasound and watching its heart flicker.  There are two hearts beating inside me now! (not twins, Silly.  You know - counting my own!)  The other great moment was telling my parents which we did Monday night over dinner.  Even though I've told a handful of good girlfriends, telling my parents was a little scary for me.  I think because it's still so early and they would have the most to lose (after us, of course) if anything went wrong.  My friends would be sad, but it would't be a personal loss for them like it'd be for my parents.  So I was nervous about opening them up to that vulnerability.  But we are hopeful that the possibility is so low, it's something we just won't have to worry about.  We'll tell Hubby's parents when the coast is a bit more clear, but I wanted my mom to know - and she and my dad have no secrets so... :)

Hardest part of the week: Just being nervous about an upcoming trip we have this weekend.  We'll be flying - a short flight, but a flight all the same and I'm so worried that my queasiness will hit me all of a sudden just before the trip.  UGH.  I'm stock-piling ginger candy and crackers and snacks and anything I can think of that might help if I'm feeling bad.  Dr. A said there's no problem flying, just don't carry heavy luggage (thank goodness for Hubby!) and avoid the X-Ray machine.  The metal detector is okay.
Looking forward to: That next darn ultrasound!  It's still over a week away.  They're 2 weeks apart right now and I get so worried in between that something might not be right.  I know this is typical for ALL pregnant women, so at least I'm not alone.  But it's still a very uncomfortable feeling.

Our tiny baby at our 6 week ultrasound! 1/4" long!

Movement: Of course not.
Food cravings: Not really, though I tend to be craving more "basic" foods and less fancy/rich foods.  And not really craving so much as rich foods just don't sound good.  I haven't had food aversions, but sometimes it's hard to think of something that sounds good to eat, which I've never had a problem with before.
Happy or moody: Don't seem to be either, really.  Feel pretty consistent.
Labor signs: Newp
Maternity clothes: Newp - tho I did order some from the Gap since I had a 40% off coupon that was about to expire!
Belly button in or out: In
Wedding rings on or off: On
Stretch marks: No
Learnings from the week: I probably won't use it until after our 10 week ultrasound JUST to be sure, but a girlfriend told me about Knocked Up Nails and I ordered a couple colors.  I can't vouch for it yet, but have read that while it should have fewer chemicals - it doesn't mean it is odorless (some people complain that it still has a strong smell).
Final Thoughts: We got the okay to have sex, after our great looking 6 week ultrasound.  But now that we got the okay, I kinda don't want to.  I mean - I'm not really feeling like it plus it makes me nervous overall.  I've been polling some girlfriends who said they didn't at all during the first trimester and in the second and third, not a lot.  Maybe I don't feel so bad for feeling like this, then.  But poor Hubby...!