13 Weeks

Here we are at 13 weeks...just one week left in the first trimester! It still feels surreal...especially now that everyone knows that we're expecting. It still catches me off guard when people ask me how I'm feeling, but I'm getting more comfortable with believing that this pregnancy will be happy, healthy, and lead to a precious little one in a few months! We had a good appointment with Dr. Basham this morning, and we got to hear Sprout's heartbeat again. S/he was much more cooperative this morning, and his/her Mommy and Daddy were very thankful. I'm going to try to be brave and go 4 weeks between my next appointment! Hope I can hang in there and not go crazy! Here's the scoop so far:
How Far Along: 13 weeks! Yay
Weight Gain: Somewhere between 3 and 4 pounds total. I'm just glad I got to weigh before Thanksgiving!
Maternity Clothes: Not quite yet. The "fat pants" are still working for me, but getting a little tighter. I did look at some maternity clothes online the other night, but I still think I'd feel like an imposter if I wore them. I'm getting a little bump, but it's nothing that can be seen through my clothes just yet.
Stretch Marks: Still nothing new!
Sleep: Still sleeping like a champ. Trying to get used to sleeping on my side, because I know that I won't be able to be a belly sleeper much longer!
Best Moment This Week: The week is still new, but so far, it's definitely hearing the heartbeat again! I can't imagine much of anything that could top that.
Gender Guess: I really can't say that I've got any hunches on that one. Except that one morning this week, while praying for the baby, I found myself praying for "our little girl." Wonder what that means?!
Belly Button: An innie...can't imagine that'll be changing anytime soon.
Cravings: Nothing, really!
What I Miss: I can't really say that I'm missing anything...I'm quite content!
What I'm Looking Forward To: maternity pants, and another ultrasound (whenever that will be).
Milestones: I'm nearly out of the first trimester!

12 Weeks

Wow...it's hard for me to believe that I can even type 12 weeks in the title. There was a time when I wondered if it would be possible. But here we are, and things seem to be going perfectly! We had an appointment on Monday with Dr. Basham, and we were able to hear Sprout's heartbeat. Dr. Basham said it sounded great, so we're very happy and optimistic. Here's the weekly update (even though I forgot to do it last week):
How Far Along: 12 weeks!
Weight Gain: 3.2 pounds, as of Monday. But I think it's probably more.
Maternity Clothes: Not yet, but I think it won't be too long. David said just this morning that it looks like I have "a bump, not just fat." Thanks, honey! :) Still wearing the "fat pants" though, and I'm getting by.
Stretch Marks: None that weren't already there!
Sleep: Still sleeping really well! I can't get enough of it!
Best Moment This Week: Definitely hearing Sprout's heartbeat on Monday. What a relief! We're in uncharted territory now!
Gender Guess: Still no idea...I can't even make a guess. I always refer to Sprout as "him" though, but it doesn't mean I think Sprout's a boy.
Belly Button: An innie.
Cravings: Well, I finally got my fried fish sandwich on Friday. I think I've moved on to Mexican food now. And sweets. Oops!
What I Miss: Sometimes I find myself wishing that I could stop worrying about the baby, but I figure that I'll be worrying about this kid until my dying day, so why not start now?
What I'm Looking Forward To: I'm really getting an itch to buy something for Sprout. I haven't let myself do that just yet, but I think I'm ready.
Milestones: Hearing Sprout's heartbeat! Grow, baby, grow!

10 Weeks

When we starting trying to conceive after our loss in February, I decided to start charting my cycles (which could very easily make any woman crazy, by the way). It turns out that a woman's body can give a ton of information if you know what to look for. For instance, the fact that I can pretty much tell you what day I ovulated for about a 4 month period. That might not seem like important information to a lot of people, but when you're desperate to have a baby, it's like hitting the jackpot. And as a result, I can pretty much pinpoint when our little one was conceived this time around. And so, today, by my calculations I'm about 10 weeks along in this pregnancy!
How far along: 10 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: About 3 pounds. It would have been less if we hadn't gone on that cruise two weeks ago. But it was worth it!
Maternity clothes? Not quite yet. But I have gone to my "fat pants." They're at least a size larger than I normally wear, and they're a little saggy in the rear and the thighs, but they're much more comfy around my belly! I think I'm in that "in between" stage right now.
Stretch marks? None that weren't already there.
Sleep? Absolutely no problem sleeping. In fact, it's all I want to do! I'm usually asleep on the couch by 8:30.
Best moment this week: Sneaking peeks at that ultrasound picture and loving our little secret, but itching to tell. And trying to figure out names with David.
Gender guess: I have no idea. I was certain that during my last pregnancy we were having a boy. Now, I don't care. I just want this baby to be healthy and alive.
Belly button in or out? Still an innie!
Cravings: A fried fish sandwich, like you get at a church fish fry. McDonald's Filet-O-Fish and Long John's won't cut it (I've tried!).
What I miss: being completely oblivious to all of the things that can go wrong.
What I'm looking forward to: sharing our news with friends and family this week!
Milestones: On Saturday of this week (11/5), I'll be more pregnant than I've ever been!

We're Expecting...Again!

Well, here we are again. David and I are over the moon with excitement about the little one we're expecting in late May/early June of 2011! It's certainly been a tough year for us, but it looks like the year will end well. Our journey to this place started in November of 2009, when we decided that it was time to add someone new to our little family. We were very surprised when it didn't take us long to get that first positive pregnancy test in early January 2010. After an uneventful first prenatal appointment on January 28th, we learned that we would be expecting our baby on September 18th, 2010. We couldn't wait for February 25th, the date we would get to hear our baby's heartbeat. Unfortunately, February 25th turned out to be a horrible day. Instead of hearing that beautiful sound, we learned that our little one was gone.
After two surgeries, months of grieving, avoiding other pregnant women like the plague, and finally finding solace in a wonderful support group, we were blessed with wonderful news. On September 18th (our due date for our first baby), we learned that I was pregnant again! My wonderful OB, Dr. Khristen Basham, has been so good to us through this. She agreed to see me immediately, and here's what we found:
a beautiful, tiny baby! Our sweet little one is .83 centimeters in this picture...about the size of an apple seed. This image was captured at 6 weeks, 5 days into my pregnancy. At this point, no one could really tell us much except for two very important things: our baby was alive and there was only one! Dr. Basham wanted to see us again two weeks later, where we saw...

a baby that's beginning to look like a baby! This image was taken at approximately 9 weeks, 2 days. Again, we were able to see that our baby's heart was beating. we could also see two tiny arms and two tiny legs. David and I are both in love. David has decided that we'll call this little one "Sprout" until he or she is born. And by the way...I don't want to know if Sprout is a boy or a girl until he or she gets here (but I'm still trying to convince David about this).

So that's where we are right now. We get to see Dr. Basham again on November 8th, and the plan is to actually hear Sprout's heartbeat then. I think I will probably beg for another ultrasound, too...just to get another peek at Sprout's progress.

So please stick around for awhile. I'm planning to document this pregnancy as much as possible, because I want to remember everything about it. There's a lot of anxiety that goes along with a pregnancy after a loss, so we'll probably deal with that, too. But as I told David, I want to enjoy this for as long as it lasts, whether that's for a few more days, or until Sprout arrives in May or June.