Week 14

So I’m a little more confused about whether or not I am “showing”.  I definitely have a belly.  I can hide it if I wear fitted/tighter pants and it’s easiest earlier in the day before I’ve eaten a lot.  But by the afternoon (or wearing a dress) I would say you can see a small bump there.  It’s not the baby yet, as Baby hasn’t yet popped up above my pelvic bone, so the “bump” is mostly just my bowels being pushed up as Baby gets bigger down in my pelvis, with some bloating thrown in.  Perhaps I’ll figure this out as I go but right now I’m not sure what to say when friends who haven’t seen me ask if I’m showing!  Basically I've just been telling them I look fat...

How far along: 14 weeks, 2 days
What did baby do this week: Baby is the size of a lemon or nectarine at about 3.4" long.  If our baby is a girl, her eggs will have already developed inside her ovaries.  If our baby is a boy, his prostate gland is developing.  Lanugo - tiny hairs like peach fuzz - is growing all over Baby's body.  S/he is practicing breathing with the amniotic fluid - and also peeing!
Total weight gain: 7.6 pounds
Symptoms: Maybe I should have mentioned this earlier since I’ve noticed it for probably over a month - but I frequently have a bad taste in my mouth and I’m not sure if this is pregnancy related or what?  Perhaps it's cuz I can't quite brush my tongue as far back as I used to - but I feel like there's something more going on here.
Queasy or Sick: I shall carefully answer this question with a very timid......no?  I still have the sensitive gag-reflex, but it's just in the mornings when I'm brushing my teeth or need to cough (yes. weird - gag after I cough.)  Maybe a month ago, I stopped taking large pills in the morning (I was taking 2 Calcium/day but figured since I've been drinking a lot of milk I can go with just 1 at night.)  But I might soon be able to handle it again.  And since maybe 8-9 weeks I had to eat something NO LATER than about 9am or I was for sure going to be queasy.  But today it was 12:30pm before I got around to eating.  I was hungry - but not queasy.  yay!  Maybe 14 weeks *is* the magic number?
Sleep: Fine, although I've found that some afternoons I get really sleepy - probably could easily take a nap if I allowed myself, but then even if I don't take a nap, it sometimes takes me a while to fall asleep at night.  However, I stay asleep and can fall back asleep after getting up to pee.  Speaking of which - I seem to be peeing a little bit less overnight.  Like maybe getting up 1-2 times instead of 3-4!

Best moment this week:  Just feeling a WHOLE LOT BETTER overall.  Not needing to stuff my face every other second in order to fight off queasiness.  Also - after 3.5 months, I FINALLY went to get a pedicure!  I just asked them to put me in a well ventilated part of the salon and brought in my own (as I mentioned in Week 7) Knocked Up Nails polish and base/top coat.  It's AMAZING how good I felt after this!
Hardest part of the week:  Feeling a whole lot better.  I know this is bizarre, but with no doctor visits on my calendar for another 3 or so weeks, there's this weird part of me that almost liked the queasiness because I thought it means that the baby was doing great.  In this weird way, if I feel good - it almost feels like I'm not pregnant!  Then I start to doubt if this is real, then I worry if something's wrong, etc.  I hear this is pretty typical about this time so I'm not really concerned.
Looking forward to:  OMG, seriously - WHEN is my butt going to stop hurting from the progesterone shots?!?  We stopped them a month ago!!  Fortunately the part of my butt/thigh area that used to feel numb is now more tingly which means it's all SLOoooOOOooowly improving.  But My Gosh.  Whenever my butt jiggles (going up/down stairs, if I were to try to jog or run) it's noticeable.
Movement:  Same as past weeks: LOTS but still probably over a month before I'll feel it.  My OB, Dr. R said that since my placenta is in the front of my uterus, it might be even more time for me to feel since it will cushion any kicks a little bit.
Food cravings:  WHY can't I crave salads and kale and whole wheat toast?  This past week I went to Taco Bell; twice.  TWICE!  Prior to that, I don't even think I've been to Taco Bell in the past year!  And what is it that sounds so good?  Bean burritos.  OK at least I'm eating fiber!  If I look up the nutritional value of a bean burrito it's one of the better items on the menu calories/fat/fiber-wise.  Soft-serve vanilla ice cream has also been sounding really good.  And I definitely noticed that in the pamphlet Dr. R gave me on nutritious eating during pregnancy... ice cream does NOT fall into the "Avoid" column and instead falls under the "Eat X servings of Calcium" column!  Hell yea!!!
Happy or moody:  Mostly pretty even.  Definitely emotional about things I wouldn't' otherwise be.
Labor signs: No
Maternity clothes:  Last weekend, the pants I wore around were maternity pants.  But the rest of this week I got by without maternity clothes.  However... read my Final Thoughts below.
Belly button in or out: In
Wedding rings on or off: On
Stretch marks: No
Learnings from the week:  I think I brought this up before but I really can't get over how my fingernails have been growing.  They are SO strong and I MUST cut them about once every two weeks.  They do not break!  My hair on the other hand, I was expecting to get fuller and thicker (I tend to have pretty fine hair) but I don't really notice this yet.  And it seems the same amount falls out as pre-pregnancy too.  Maybe further on down the road.  Or maybe I'm just not one of the lucky ones!

Final Thoughts: I've been continuing to squeeze into 1 last pair of pre-pregnancy jeans and wearing them to work, since they make me look not so pregnant (and I haven't told coworkers yet).  But they ARE getting pretty tight.  They're probably more appropriate for standing in, and not sitting in...  So yesterday I wore them to work, then lunch with some coworkers, then had to pick a friend up at the airport which was a half hour drive away from my lunch spot + a 45 minute drive home.  So that meant, right after lunch I sat in my tight pants for over an hour.  I noticed about 20 minutes into the drive that I was feeling some uncomfortable cramping (or that's what I thought).  By the time I was near home I was getting super worried that I was having serious cramping and something was wrong with the baby!!  But then I got inside, unbuttoned my pants, put on sweats and realized: my pants were just squeezing the crap (um, maybe literally?) out of me.  Note to self: stop it with the tight pants.  Or for God's sake just unbutton them when driving!!  Yes, I think it is time to move along to...maternity pants.

Week 13

WHUDDUP 2nd trimester?!?!  It's very nice to meet you!

It's a little confusing to figure out when the 2nd trimester starts.  Some books/apps I read say at 12 weeks and some say 13 weeks.   Since 40/13 = 13.3, I am going to say that I am in my 2nd trimester tomorrow.  So I'm close enough!  The other added confusion is something I've struggled with all through pregnancy (but came to a conclusion on over a month back) is: when I'm "13 weeks", have I just started my 13th week or am I just ending it?  Of course I'm just ending it since after that, you go on to "13 weeks, 1 day" which is more than 13 weeks and therefore, into the 14th week.  Make sense?  Like how when you're born you're in your 1st year and when you turn 1, you have finished an entire year - you're not about to start it.  Anyway... having said all of this, I've concluded that I can celebrate finishing my 1st trimester in this post.  Yes, I can.  :)

Hello, 2nd Trimester!

I've talked all through this blog about how many hurdles we must overcome to get to our end goal of having a family.  I feel like I've just gotten through one of the bigger hurdles and I'm ready to celebrate it a little bit!!  One whole first trimester!  3 months of nervousness, disbelief, pinching myself, keeping secrets and worrying, with a dash of queasiness thrown in on top.  I feel like it's a major milestone to get here and I'm very (still cautiously) happy.  A friend and I recently "came out" to each other and realized we're less than a week apart as far as due dates go.  And then she proceeded to ask me "how was your first trimester?" which struck me a little.  Like it's this secret rite of passage all we mamas-to-be have to go through and very often we go through it alone.  But if we're fortunate, we come out on the other side and can share the trials with friends after the fact.  Such a weird existence we live in that limbo of "The First Trimester".  Glad to have it behind me...

How far along: 13 weeks, 1 day
What did baby do this week: Baby is the size of a peach or pear and is about 2 1/2" - 3" long (crown to rump).  At this point, baby will grow about 1 inch per week!  All 20 teeth have formed and are hidden under the gums and Baby has fingerprints!  Baby can smile and its vocal chords are developing.  And Baby's head, which last week was about the same size as the rest of its body, will slow in its development as the body catches up.  Already its head is closer to 1/3 the size of the entire body as opposed to 1/2 last week.  You may catch your baby on ultrasound, with its thumb in its mouth - it is practicing for nursing, but the sucking muscles have not yet fully developed.
Total weight gain: 7.4 pounds (ugh!!!! seems like too much too soon!)
Symptoms: Still nothing new from past weeks.  My breasts are not nearly as sore as I'd been expecting they'd be when I found out I was pregnant.  But occasionally I do feel a painful tingling almost like the feeling when a body part falls asleep.  It's VERY different than soreness around your period.  In the past week I've also caught myself with an occasional slightly flushed face.  I don't normally have a tendency to blush so feeling my cheeks flush (like randomly - not after exercise or anything) stood out to me.  But with further thought, I suppose this is the "pregnancy glow" you always hear about.  I've also noticed a few more headaches over the last week.  Usually in the afternoon and nothing seems to help it.
Queasy or Sick: That sensitive gag-reflex is still here.  So is the queasiness, but it's better than it was last week.  I've been able to leave the house without stuffing my face a couple of days this past week (which I count as success since I've gained more weight than I'd like to at this point thanks to feeding my queasiness all day long).  I hear that 14 weeks is sort of the magic number for that queasiness to go away so maybe I just have ONE MORE WEEK?
Sleep:  I don't seem to be getting up to pee overnight QUITE as much as a few weeks back so this is very nice.

Best moment this week:  I haven't been doing a lot of exercising this first trimester.  Bad me, I know.  It's not that I've been feeling horrific but I've been hesitant to plan things in case I'm feeling queasy that day.  And then when the day hits, even if I feel okay and don't have anything to do - I just feel LAZY.  Like sitting on the couch sounds awesome.  So it actually felt SO GOOD that Hubby and I got out for a hike this past weekend!  It's a trail we're familiar with and actually last hiked it just prior to our transfer.  That hike was a piece of cake even if it's a little hilly.  Well this time I took it MUCH slower and with only 1 rest stop (and a lot of slow, steady breathing) along the way up, I made it!  We probably hiked around 1.5-2 miles.  Nothing crazy, but it felt great to be outside, exercising and gazing at the beautiful views in our area.  And just a couple days later I returned to yoga...something I have done for years prior to getting pregnant.  I'm doing a prenatal yoga class instead of my regular class though - less lying on your back and not really any ab work, just stretching and core strength.  I hope to keep this up until delivery!  Ahh...feels good.

Hardest part of the week:  Honestly, accepting my weight gain.  Pre-pregnancy, I was normal weight, but with a BMI of about 24.2 (where "overweight" is 25+).  I've always been a little self-conscious of my weight.  I carry it well and am very muscular (which makes me look a lot thinner than the scale says) but I still can't stand seeing the numbers go up to where I'm now considered "overweight".  I know, I know, I'm pregnant so it doesn't exactly work like that.  But I'm also scared of gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia (things I've come close to through family/friends) so I really DO NOT want to gain too much weight with this pregnancy.  I'm hoping that feeling better in the 2nd trimester will allow me to eat less (eating is what has helped the queasiness) and exercise more.  My OB said IVF patients tend to gain more water weight in the first trimester and it should level out a little as I go into the 2nd too.  I really hope so!!
Looking forward to:  NO MORE queasiness!  And finally telling everyone (we've been waiting for an event next weekend, where we'll be seeing a bunch of friends and plan to share our news.)  All of our family knows, but we still have coworkers and friends (and Facebook!) to tell.  Once "the world" knows then I'll feel like I can just let that belly hang out and not have to hide anything anymore.  That will be nice...

This was taken last week at our NT Scan, but I thought
I'd share since it's so cute: little hands up by its face,
kinda like "you guys are driving me nuts!" :)

Movement: Supposedly tons, but still not feeling it yet.
Food cravings: Nothing too serious lately.  But definitely still having trouble coming up with ideas for dinner and making a lot of things sound good to me.  I don't have any strong food aversions per se, but just have a hard time thinking of what I want.  This has been pretty consistent the past couple months.
Happy or moody: I really don't think so.
Labor signs: No
Maternity clothes:  Not QUITE yet but OMG soon!
Belly button in or out: In
Wedding rings on or off: On
Stretch marks: No
Learnings from the week:  We FINALLY met with our OB this week.  My first appointment.  At 13 weeks.  I would have liked to see her probably 1-2 weeks earlier, but because of summer vacations, her schedule was really tight when I called almost a month ago.  If I might suggest to you - figure out your OB at least a few weeks prior to your last appointment with your RE (for us that was at 10 weeks).  Dr. A was totally there for me if I had questions (or needed a referral for my NT Scan), but I did kinda feel like I was 12 weeks pregnant and doctorless for a little while.
Final Thoughts:  I came across this blog post at some point or another recently and it is HILARIOUS.  I shared it with Hubby immediately since in addition to being so funny, it's funny because it is so accurate!  Hope you get a few laughs...

Week 12

Ugh.  OK, so maybe in last week's post when I said that the queasiness was waning - I was a little off.  I've definitely had some queasiness this past week.  Still not as bad as that random Thursday I mentioned around Week 10, but this past Monday was kinda rough too.  I had another one of those morning episodes where I gagged (while coughing actually - my allergies have been kinda acting up) and then threw up the water I'd drunk when brushing my teeth!  WTF?!  I went on to feel kinda blegh until about 4pm but then recovered and proceeded to join a friend for a lovely dinner.  Mornings are the roughest - but at least they're not all rough.  I've definitely been getting going later and can't always get myself into the office before 10am (thank goodness they're forgiving!!!)  It's so weird how pre-pregnancy (actually pre-week 7) I could take these giant horse pill vitamins, sometimes 3 at once, with no problem.  Now I have to take them later in the morning after I've eaten and 1 at a time and then sometimes I STILL gag on them.  This gag-reflex sensitivity is no joke...

But of course any queasiness/gagginess just means one thing: my little baby is doing great!  We had our nuchal translucency ultrasound this morning and everything looks perfect, so we're very happy!

How far along: 12 weeks, 1 day
What did baby do this week: Baby is the size of a plum or clementine and is about 2" - 2 1/2” long from crown to rump!  Its eyes are now in front of its head so s/he no longer looks like an alien.  :)  Baby is developing its reflexes and if poked, will likely move (though it’s still too early to feel this!)  It can open and close its fingers and curl its toes too.  I read somewhere that Baby is a perfect miniature human now in terms of all the organs being there - but of course it could not survive on its own yet.  There is still a lot more growth and maturation which needs to happen.
Total weight gain: 6 pounds
Symptoms:  Still nothing too bad other than the queasiness.  Still occasionally thirsty, itchy skin on my boobs, midsection and (very much so) just above the middle of my butt.  I really don't understand that one.  But I'm feeling lucky overall.  Sleeping well, no constipation, soreness, heartburn, acne...
Queasy or Sick: Yes.  I feel like it's gotten worse this last week.  That's what I get for thinking it was all going away last week.  But the silver lining of course is knowing that if I'm not feeling good - baby is likely doing well.  And we had proof of that in our NT Scan this morning.
Sleep: No problems with falling sleep, staying asleep or even getting really tired during the day.  Enjoying this while it lasts!

Best moment this week: Our Nuchal Translucency Scan this morning was pretty cool.  Baby was 2 1/4" long (head to butt) and had a heart-rate of 168 BPM.  I didn't really know what to expect from this appointment, other than we'd see more pictures of the baby.  We did this with a local perinatologist and the request was sent by Dr. A since we don't have our first OB appointment until next week (it's normally ordered by your OB).  When we got to the appointment, we were ushered into a large, dimly-lit room with an exam table (for me to lie on), an ultrasound machine next to it and a large plasma-type wide screen TV on the opposite wall.  There was an ultrasound tech who did my abdominal ultrasound - not transvaginal (my first like this).  Much more pleasant!  I just had to pull the waistband of my pants down a little - boots remained on!!  We got some very cool images of our little-one.  First the tech measured the thickness of the liquid behind Baby's neck (kinda the whole point) and deemed it perfectly normal.  We knew this, but - Yay still!  Then we just got to see some cool views: profile, little butt and feet, heard the heartbeat, got some pretty amazing (for this early in the pregnancy) 3D images.  The Dr. came in afterwards to just do her own review and chat with us briefly, tell us about recommended upcoming appointments/screenings and that was it!  They even gave us a CD of some of the images they'd captured of our little baby and sent us home with this.  Very cool.  :)  I'm looking forward to the anatomy scan at 20 weeks.  This one is supposed to be similar, but longer and baby will be way more developed by then.  Can't wait!
Hardest part of the week: Dealing with the queasiness and super-sensitive gag reflex.  It's faint, but there in the background most mornings.
Looking forward to: Feeling the baby move!  And looking legitimately pregnant instead of just fat...
Movement: Yup - in fact we saw it moving today at our nuchal scan!  Not the crazy dancing we saw at our 10 week ultrasound, but still a little wave or two!
Food cravings: I get random cravings that I think about for a week or so and then need to satisfy.  A few weeks ago it was cracked crab.  This past week it was bagels and cream cheese.  I have no idea.....  Fruit still tastes amazing - especially Clementines (perhaps I crave fruit the same size as my baby?) and Satsuma oranges.  But I recently looked into the sugar content of different fruits and am trying to be a little more aware of what fruit I'm eating.  For example - strawberries seem to be pretty low, while pineapple is quite high.

Our little one this morning at the NT Scan!
2 1/4" from crown to rump!

Happy or moody: Still feeling pretty even keel.
Labor signs: No
Maternity clothes: Getting closer and closer.  I'm mostly just using the rubber-band trick on my pants and wearing baggy sweats at home.  Oh and I did buy some belly support bands - more on that below.
Belly button in or out: In
Wedding rings on or off: On
Stretch marks: No
Learnings from the week: With my bowels being pushed up into my belly (from my growing uterus) I definitely need some relief from my clothes around my midsection.  I've mentioned this in past weeks too, but it was time to do a little more about it.  I finally bought one of these in white and one in black.  I wore it for the first time - to smooth out the look of my unbuttoned pants behind my shirt.  It feels a little weird to wear, but I think served its purpose.  I always hear about the Bella Band, but I was able to buy 2 of these for the price of 1 Bella Band so that made it an easy decision.
Final Thoughts: It's nice to basically be finished with the "risky" part of pregnancy.  I feel like I can relax a little more.  We've told a lot of friends and family at this point - I plan to tell coworkers in another couple weeks.  I kinda can't wait to start looking pregnant so there's just NO secrets anymore and I can relax and just "enjoy" the rest of my pregnancy.

Week 11

The pooch.  It's coming.  I mean...it's kind of already here.  And with the joys of hormonal fluctuations, it's basically THERE for all to view by dinnertime.  I'm still able to squeeze into my regular pants, especially in the morning.  But I've been doing this by post-lunch:

Still getting into my Gap skinnies!

and by dinner I basically need to switch to sweats.  Ah yes - giving up my body for my child.  What all women do.  But we don't have to love it.  I'm allowed a little venting.

How far along: 11 weeks, 1 day
What did baby do this week: Baby is the size of a fig or small lime and is between 1 3/4" - 2" long.  Its head is the same size as its body and will stay that way for a while.  S/he is going to start growing quickly now and goes through a growth spurt over the next three weeks.  The ears are moving to the side of the head.  Fingernails are beginning to form!
Total weight gain: 5.6 pounds
Symptoms: Same as I've had which really hasn't been a lot (*thankful*).  I've been noticing that my breasts and belly (and my lower back just above my butt) have been really itchy the last week or so.  I don't know what's going on with my lower back, but I was guessing that the itchiness on my breasts/belly was because of my skin stretching.  I haven't noticed much growth in my breasts - my bras feel fine, but my belly has definitely gotten bigger as I mentioned above.  A good friend gave me some oil to keep stretchmarks at bay.  I'll talk more about it at the end of this post.  :)
Queasy or Sick: I think it's getting better, even though it was never too bad to begin with.  Essentially I started noticing slight queasiness a little past 7 weeks and here I am a month later thinking the queasiness is subsiding slightly.  That's really not a bad deal at all.
Sleep: Haven't been very tired.  In fact I feel like I'm back to my pre-pregnant self going to bed around midnight.  I do get at least 8 hours of sleep since I've been getting into work a tad later while I tend to my slight morning queasiness.  And I haven't had much trouble sleeping other than the same peeing all night...
Best moment this week: Telling more friends and family!  After we got the MaterniT21 test results back mid-week (read more about this below) I felt VERY comfortable sharing our news with some close family and friends.  We plan to tell some more family at a 4th of July party this weekend!
Hardest part of the week: This week was good!  No complaints.  :)
Looking forward to: When my butt no longer hurts and my upper-outside thigh is no longer numb from the progesterone shots.  We stopped the shots a week and a half ago, but it’s still recovering, I guess.  Dr. A said this can take a while to go back to normal.  I keep waiting...

Movement: I keep reading that there is LOTS of movement going on just like we saw in our ultrasound last week.  I can't wait until I can feel it!
Food cravings: Basically the same as I've been having.  Carbs are AMAZING.  Lately I've really been craving Rice Krispy treats but trying not to give in.  I'm trying not to eat too much sugar (I know...I've been eating carbs and that turns to sugar) in order to avoid gestational diabetes if possible.  There's a slight family history of diabetes (occurring late in life) so I feel that I should try to be cognizant of this.
Happy or moody: Just feeling normal.  And lazy...still with the lazy.  Not even always directly associated with queasiness.
Labor signs: No
Maternity clothes: I've come to the conclusion that I do need maternity pants/shorts.  I went shopping this past weekend thinking I could just get away with the next size up in pants.  But that's not the case.  I guess (it's a good thing) the size increase is really just in my midsection, so a size up in pants is way too big around my butt and legs even if it fits my waist.  It feels too soon for me to buy maternity pants - but I guess I'll have to do it.  I bought some maternity lounge pants/shorts but just couldn't bring myself to buy any work pants.  I don't know what my problem is.  So I keep doing the rubber-band trick I shared above.  Maybe I'll bite the bullet and buy some maternity work pants in the next couple weeks.  At least it'll let me feel like I made it out of my first trimester in regular clothes!
Belly button in or out: In
Wedding rings on or off: On
Stretch marks: No
Learnings from the week: A good friend gave me a bottle of this as a "pregnancy gift".  She used it all through her pregnancy and had zero stretchmarks.  Her sister had twins and had the same results.  In fact, my friend said, in addition to reading the reviews on the website, everyone she's given the oil to has avoided stretchmarks.  Now maybe everyone has amazing genes and oily/moisturized skin and it's just a coincidence.  But I'm planning to use it every night starting this week and will likely keep up through pregnancy.  It has a very strong herbal smell, but I can tolerate it even with my heightened olfactory system!
Final Thoughts:  I mentioned above that we did the MaterniT21 test.  It's a blood test taken at week 10 and takes about a week for the results to come back.  Now obviously we did the PGS on all of our embryos and were about 99% confident both on the gender of our baby and that there were no chromosomal abnormalities.  But there is always that small margin of error.  MaterniT21 is inexpensive ($165 with my insurance) and gave us another confidence that our baby was Negative for abnormalities in chromosomes 21, 18 and 13.  It also confirmed our baby's gender.  So no surprises at all for us and we now feel 100% (ok I have to admit: 99.9%) comfortable sharing our news with more and more of the world in the next weeks.  It's a fun time being near the end of the first trimester and about ready to start letting the cat out of the bag!!