12 weeks

Happy "end" to the First Trimester- Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!

I never thought I'd get this far b/c time was creeping by at the pace of a slug on the pavement in the middle of summer. Ugh.

But here we are! Baby B is a PLUM
Already a biggin : ) Lol. So, it's funny. Mike and I had a weeks worth of facebook status posts to put up leading up to the 13th week. We were all excited to post them and the very first post, Danielle, called me out. Man, people are good. Not that this was a toughie or anything. But I thought people would be curious to see what the rest of the posts say. Lol. It's great. So I guess the cat's out of the bag. Although, I am not responding to anything anyone is saying until I am 13 weeks...I don't want to jinx anything! Plus, I want to finish our posts of the rest of the week. I called Mike and all he said was, "I told you." Meaning people can read me like a book- no surprises here : ) He knew people would know what I was going to say. Blah.

Hate it when he's right. But love it that more people know. Little baby B...we've got 28 more weeks together. Let's make this go by quickly. Here's the belly @ 12 weeks:

My Little Lime

Baby B is the size of a lime. Man, these babies grow fast. I feel like last month baby B was less than, or roughly, half an inch. So, it's not a basketball in my tummy, it's a LIME! We went to the doctor today and heard the little heartbeat. Doc says that he can't guarantee that we are "in the clear" but he said we have less than 1% chance of miscarrying with the progress we've made this far. Good news...yes. What we wanted...I think so. But I'd rather be 13 weeks already!!!! Aaahhhh!!! Why is time flying by sssssssssssooooooooooooooooooo slooooowwwlllllllyyyyyyy?????

Since we didn't get to see baby today, I looked online for pictures of 'fetuses' at 11 weeks and found a couple of cool images. I guess it's more real that way. Baby B has eyes, a beating heart, bones, skin, a few 'functioning' organs, and a whole bunch of other stuff. He or she no longer has a tail or webbed feet and hands. The body is slightly more straight and more baby looking. I still can't believe I have something, a being, growing inside my gut. A growing gut at that.

Belly @ 11 weeks:


Goodnight to all- besos!

10 weeks- 6 days

Tomorrow is THE day : ) Yayyyyyy! 11 weeks tomorrow, doctor appointment to confirm all is well inside, and the news will be out. I will probably post a pic on facebook, but only after calling my grandparents (soon-to-be Great Grandparents...how exciting!!). Still can't help that I wish my Nana was around for all of this. I know she is here...just watching from above in the form of my guardian angel. It's just hard and not the same. I am thankful I have other grandparents to share this joy with. Our family wouldn't be the same without them around. I love all 4 of them in Rolla, MO...I even have a set of Great Grandparents myself. It'd be awesome to get a picture of 4 generations once Baby B is born : ) How cool to think about. I also have a set of grandparents in Chicago. Getting married is fun because you get more family!!

On the down side (even though I know the post was a downer), I AM SICK! Ugh...not sure what I caught or where. The kids at work might have had it first, but either way I cannot take anything to feel better! Just standard tylenol. I think it's a head cold and I hope it goes away quickly. Runny nose, slight fever, sore throat, plugged ears, and aches all over...just a stuffy head overall. Blah. I can't help but think this is a bad start to the 'flu/cold' season, but hopefully being positive will nip that in the butt : )

Lets hope tomorrow is a happy post- cheers!

9 weeks and 3 days

Still feeling good. Hoping and praying that this baby sticks around. We are almost in the clear! In just 2 weeks we can go way public...I mean like screaming from the rooftop that we are expecting our first. That's also when I will post all these 'belated' blog entries I've been hiding : )

However, I just read that once you hear and see the heartbeat there's a 5% chance of miscarriage. Seems like we're in favor...even though SO much can go wrong.

Question: Do these prego hormones change your 'positiveness'? I feel like I'm way more 'chill' and 'blah' than usual. I guess it's because there is SO much unknown in our lives right now. And it's stressful. Really stressful. Especially for my personality type. I like to be in the know, in control even. I also seem kind of bored...my 'to do' list daily doesn't have too much on it. Workout, eat proper meals, nap, shower, and work. Maybe I am slightly 'depressed' b/c the wedding planning is over...the wedding itself is over...and we've moved on from that to the next step in our life. An expected step, a planned step, an exciting step...I've just transitioned from newlywed to mom-to-be : )

I guess it doesn't help that I don't really feel pregnant. I mean, I eat more, I'm exhausted, and I no longer get to enjoy a glass of wine or Captain and Diet. I have a pooch...that normally isn't there, but it doesn't look like a 'baby bump' and therefore, just stresses me out. I don't want to gain too much with this pregnancy, I don't want to be stuck with a load of weight to try and work off post baby's arrival. And that's probably more stressful than I really think...it lingers around my head fairly frequently. I know I am going to gain weight, I know I will have a baby pooch and my 6 pack with disappear, but I also know it can come back. I've seen it before. No I won't be the same, but that's OK. I've accepted that. It's just the process of feeling the urge to eat everything terrible for me, that I haven't eaten for years, right now. I'm pretty sure my body is in shock!

So I don't know what to do...I'm bored. I'm lonely. Mike's at work most of the time and he doesn't really understand this process (a friend of mine told me yesterday, "Please don't tell me you expected him to understand?!?!" but I did). I don't have friends here...and I wish my family was closer. Kind of has me down. Work has been stressful b/c the twins seems to be irritable, fussy, cranky, and fighting the majority of my time there. Little Miss Caitlin challenges everything I say and do. And Colleen is just bored and needing attention- school in her near future will hopefully help!

A happier post to come for sure. Next appointment is August 24th!

First Ultrasound

OH MY GOODNESS- how cool!! The ultrasound was amazing! We saw the amniotic sac first, then found baby. Such a tiny glop of stuff. We measured you from top to bottom and the computer told us you were 8 weeks...so your due date still stands. March 15th it is. The placenta is forming, as is the umbilical cord. We saw both of those. But I think the coolest part was seeing your little heart beat : ) You are alive in there and it was ridiculous to see. Even daddy was stunned, saying, "wow- that is really cool." Since we were able to see the heart beating, we were able to hear it!! I got the goosebumps and tears filled my eyes. I think your heart is beating at 155 beats per minute. Which was well over the minimum and fairly fast for a lil' bean! We also got to hear mommy's heartbeat in comparison and it was louder and faster, but interesting to hear what you are hearing too.

Happy 8 weeks of life in my tummy!! Only 4 more to go until we are "in the clear." I am still praying these 4 weeks fly by! Our next appointment is August 24th. I cannot believe it's already August...where did time go? How is it almost 2 months since our wedding day?

We got a great book for mommy to read about you in the mail from Grandma Kim (we aren't sure what you are going to call your grandparents yet). And we got a lullabelly from Grandpa Keith- it will play music for you once I download some "Baby Einstein" on my iPod...lol. Your Auntie Hannah (I call her Scooby), helped pick it out.

Also, on a fun note I changed my name on my driver's license yesterday! Now it is official, Chalfant is no longer my name. SO SO SO weird. ID changed, SSN changed, credit/debit cards changed, passport update needed, and I think that's it! We got some good pictures of these highlights last night.

I DID IT!!!!

The little things in life that mean so much : )

Baby B, I had my blood drawn for the very first time ever in all my 26 years of life!!!! I was so brave. I am not being modest here at all...I am downright PROUD of myself! I didn't have an appointment (huge issue #1), so it was all up to me to drive my booty to the lab and know what was in store for me at that time. I was sick to my stomach, no vomit (I haven't done any of that thus far). I am TERRIFIED of needles (huge issue #2). I am TERRIFIED of seeing blood...especially my own(huge issue #3)! I tend to get light headed and pass out at the sight of anything real gory. I have no idea what got me into my car, turned the key, and made the drive to the lab. It was like I was in autopilot and my head was in a very different place than my body : ) But I did it for you Baby B. I knew I had to...and I did. The nurse told me I did a great job. Even she seemed proud of me.

Whew that's over....and I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW! Mommy and Daddy get to see you for the first time in my belly.

Ultrasound #1 tomorrow at 11:15 am. Off to work now, but will report in tomorrow, of course!