13 weeks

Yesterday I had my 2nd appt. with my OB/Gyn. Overall, everything looks great. She's amazed with how well I've been feeling. We were able to hear the heartbeat externally which was awesome! I'm right on the cusp as to whether or not the heart would be developed enough to hear it audibly externally, but we could hear it loud and clear. The rhythm was steady, no skips. . . . perfect. :) 165 bpm. I scheduled my next appointment for August 25th when I will be 18 weeks. I will have another ultrasound and should be able to determine the sex of the baby.

I'm beginning to outgrow some of my clothes. Many of my pants/shorts don't fit well anymore. Today I bought a pair of shorts- a size too big to get me through the summer- and a pair of khaki pants that roll up to capri's. Those are actually maternity, but fit well and should get me through fall. It's kind of fun to begin buying some new clothes, but I'm kind of a awkward size right now to find items that fit and will be useful a few months from now. I'll figure it out as I go. :)

I talked to my boss about the fact that I want to take the full 12 weeks for maternity leave and then return part-time 2 days a week. He did not seem surprised and expected that is what I would do. So, that is a relief to be getting that figured out. Also, my sister offered to watch this baby when I return to work part-time. That was a major answer to prayer!!!! So, it seems all is coming together! God is good!!! :)

12 weeks and counting

I've had some requests for new posts. I've gotten kind of lazy lately. Anyway, I'm now officially 12 weeks pregnant. I've taken a couple belly pics- the first one at 8 weeks, the 2nd at 12 weeks. I've been continuing to feel great. I've felt nauseous only a few times and lasting only 10 minutes or so. I've been a little more tired and hungry, but otherwise can't complain. It's nice to finally reach that 12 week mark and relax a little more. We've only just loosely began talking about names, but nothing too serious yet. I go back to the Dr. next week on the 22nd. I won't have another ultrasound until end of Aug/beginning of September to find out the sex of the baby. And, Yes, we're going to find out. We've had enough surprises that we want something predicatable for a change. :) Well, it will be a surprise either way, just whether or not we find out sooner or later. Well keep you posted. :)

9 wk OB appointment

Today I actually saw Dr. Fenoughty (my OB). Basically I just had to have 4 viles of blood taken, pee in a cup and I talked with her for 15 minutes. I'm increasingly confident in her taking over my care as I found out today that she herself underwent IVF for at least one of her children. She took a lot of time to answer my questions and helped alleviate my anxieties about this being an "IVF pregnancy". She thinks I will go earlier than January 28th since she said many of her IVF pregnant patients go early for whatever reason. We'll see. :) I'll see her again July 22nd- I think.
We've decided we'll be announcing this pregnancy within the next week. Yeah. :)

1st appt with OB nurse

Now that I'm released from Dr. Jarrett's care, I had my first OB appointment today. I didn't get to see the Dr. yet- but I'll see her this Friday. Today I just had an ultrasound and an appointment with the nurse. The ultrasound, as you can see is looking much more like a baby, than a blob. You can actually SEE a head and arms and legs. And, it was even wiggling! It's crazy!!! She took the heartbeat and it was 176bpm which she said was perfect. Also, to the right is a 3D ultrasound. At the top is the head, umbilical cord in the middle and you can kinda see legs at the bottom. Isn't that awesome?!!!! According to the ultrasound, they gave me a due date of January 28th- one day sooner than Dr. Jarrett had found. So that puts me at exactly 9 weeks today. It's still a little early, but we're getting more and more excited and may begin telling people this week or next week our happy news. We are SOOOO thrilled. I can't even tell you how much!

I continue to feel great. Slightly more tired/lazy at times. I'm hungry A LOT. But, really nothing else. My tummy is starting to feel a little tight and Curtis and I notice it's a little bigger, although probably no one else would notice yet. So far this pregnancy thing is agreeing with me! Thanks for your continued prayers!!!!

2nd OB Ultrasound

Today I returned for my 2nd US. Dr. Jarrett again did the ultrasound. He said everything looks perfect. We could see the heartbeat and even HEAR it at 160bpm!!!You can see the heart rhythm in the bottom left picture. You can even see the beginnings of arm and leg buds to the sides of the blob looking thing. According to the picture I noticed it dated me at 8 weeks exactly, but he gave me a due date of January 29th. Well, either way, we're due the last week in January. :) Yeah!!!!! So far I've been feeling awesome. Can't complain. No nausea, no extreme fatigue. . . . the only appreciable symptom is increased hunger that can become an "I'm so hungry, I don't feel good feeling", but no nausea. Even the breast tenderness has begun to subside. Initially I was worried that I wasn't "feeling" pregnant, but it was nice to confirm that all is well even if I don't feel much different. Dr. Jarrett officially released me from his care today. Typically he would see me one more time in 2 weeks, but he said he would be out of town and doesn't feel that I need to come in again as everything is looking good. So, I'm officially released to see my OB/Gyn. :) And, even my ovaries which were the size of grapefruits 2 weeks ago, have calmed down to normal size so my restrictions are lifted- although still to be cautious. We are so excited and continue to be more so with each confirmation that this is real and everything looks fine. This has been such an answer to prayer, a miracle from God. We are so truly grateful and blessed! I'll keep posting with new updates and pictures. . . .

1st OB Ultrasound

Our much anticipated first ultrasound was this afternoon. We were anxious hoping that everything would be developing correctly and also hoping for a heart beat. We had been told that there MIGHT be a heartbeat today, but it was still early. Well, Dr. Jarrett himself did the US and was quick to point out ONE yolk sac with the embryo and yes a BEATING heart. It was so neat to see. It's just a little white blob, but it had a quick flicker to it- the heart beat. Dr. Jarrett said everything looked perfect!!!! We were so excited and so relieved!!!! It's nice to see physical proof that I really am pregnant even though I don't feel too much different other than sore, swollen bbs. I think I'm right at about 6 weeks pregnant. We are so blessed and overjoyed with this pregnancy. We praise God and give HIM all the glory for this miracle!! We continue to pray for Him to sustain this life all the way through until we have a healthy baby in our arms- which should be about the end of January. :)
We are SOOOO excited and finally feeling as though it's real. I will have another ultrasound in 2 weeks and then another 2 weeks after that. Then, I'm released to my OB/Gyn. At that point (about 4th of July) I'll be 10 weeks and we'll probably start telling people. At least those that don't already know. :)
Keep looking for updated ultrasound pics. :)

2nd test results

I finally got my results from my 2nd blood test. I went in this morning before work. Typically they call between 2-3pm. The whole afternoon I was anxious waiting to hear back. I worked today, but was very distracted waiting on this call. It soon became after 3pm and they hadn't called yet. I felt like I was going to have a heart attack waiting. I called the office requesting that the nurse call me ASAP. Finally she called about 3:30. My levels didn't completely double coming back at 360 when we were hoping for 400ish. But, she said she checked with Dr. Jarrett and he was still pleased with the numbers. It was a 73% increase and he likes to see at least 60%. So, despite some anxiety about the numbers, it appears that everything is ok thus far and I am officially pregnant. :) :) The progesterone levels came back high which is a good thing. I am now scheduled for my first OB ultrasound on June 2nd. This should indicate a yolk sac and possibly a heartbeat. If there isn't a heartbeat yet, we'll do another ultrasound a week later to make sure there is. We are definitely excited, but still cautious. We want to see a healthy ultrasound before we start to relax about all this. I have read a lot and talked to a lot of people which makes me anxious. Those that do IVF do have a slightly higher miscarriage risk primarily because positive pregnancy is determined way earlier than "normal" pregnancies. We are definitely still having to put our trust in God and his protection. This whole IVF thing is so anxiety provoking even after getting a positive result. Whew. Will my heart every slow down? It's definitely continuing to teach us to trust God and not to fear. He has this little embryo in His hands and we have to trust him with that. Thanks so much for all of your encouragement, prayers and well wishes!!!!