17 weeks

We are in the 17th week starting tomorrow! I am getting more and more excited. Evertime I see a baby I find myself imagining what ours will look like, how it will feel to be out with him or her, and watching DH be a father! Breathtaking already.

I have started to feel slight flutters and some faint "bubbles". It happens so quick that it stops me in my tracks and leaves me wondering and waiting for it to get stronger.

My new "diet" is going very well. Lots of fruits and veggies, soups, chicken and some sandwiches. Popsicles are my new fav desert. All it takes is for me to remember the pain of the gallbladder attack and the fact that I don't want surgery while I'm PG. Cutting out fats and oily foods is hard but knowing its for baby makes it so worth it. Bright side I won't have to lose 80 lbs.

Next appt is Feb 16th, then we will schedule the ultrasound. I've been checking Youtube for the weekly u/s videos. Can't wait for a glimpse of our little one and find out if its a boy or girl!!

Watching what I eat from now on!!

Everything was going great on Monday until that evening. Had pizza for dinner and watched TV with DH. At first I thought maybe it was a little indigestion. Then my back started to ache, nothing out of the ordinary with my job leaning over the sink and cutting hair. Later my stomach felt like I'd swallowed a brick and pain went right through and connected to my back. I couldn't lay down, lay on my side, sitting up didn't help, nothing gave me relief. DH even tried giving me a back massage. Then came the vomiting and more stronger pain with no relief. Funny thing is I didn't think I needed to go to the ER, DH mentioned it so I tried to call the on call ER nurse . . . no answer. By now it's 1:30 am, still not getting better and in tears. I called my sister, RN and ER charge nurse herself, woke her up to tell her what was going on, her advice was obvious . . . go to the ER!!

Yep, gallbladder attack. Got a nice little (big, long) shot in the arm that wouldn't affect baby but made me feel better in minutes. Got to hear baby's heartbeat again too!! Finally got home at 3:30 (which really amazed me, very prompt service), and in my loopy stuper fell asleep painfree. Up at 7 am to go get ultrasound to verify gallstones, then home again. Took a nap, hungry but still to scared to eat . . just had water. Back to clinic at 2 pm for follow-up with my Doc.

I was still a little sore and very tired but managed to go into work to get a couple client done. Had a great nights sleep and feeling 98% better today. I got a little nausated from the medication but still better than the pain!!

Still afraid to eat much, toast with a little jelly, water, chicken broth. Nothing says "Change your diet" as much as gallstones. Hopefully if I watch what I eat I can avoid surgery til after baby is born. Bright side is that I won't allow myself to indulge anymore like I was doing and maybe I won't gain an outragous amount of weight like I was heading towards!!

15 weeks plus

We had our 2nd OB appt today and it was much faster than the first. Got to listen to the heartbeat which put me on cloud 9 for the rest of today (and will keep me patient until our next appt). We are babysitting our nephew so he was with us at the appt. Mitch is a not so patient 7 year old but kept us entertained during the wait. After we asked him what he thought about hearing the heartbeat . . . "it was weird".

Baby's heartbeat was in the 160's and Doc found it right away! I am still so amazed at that wonderful sound which is the only thing (other than the expanding belly) that makes this so much more real. Up next I can't wait to start feeling the flutters and movement, hopefully I recognize it when it happens.

I am officially in maternity pants but still wearing regular shirts with longer tanks underneath.

In other parts of life, work has been steady. Its so great to keep busy with the way the economy is. Thank goodness people consider their hair appts as a necessity!!

The weather is starting to warm up, at least its above 0, not by much. I still love seeing the snow fall, it's very calming and keeps me inside to work on paperwork (trying to prepare taxes) ;P

Jerry and I had a date on Sat., went to "Grand Torino" with Clint Eastwood. Loved it. Very humanizing, some (ok, lots) of racial name calling, but it makes it more realistic. Has humor, grief, and "life purpose" aspects.

Finally, here are the first baby belly pics:

Coming to the end . . .

of the first trimester!! Just a quick update, feeling great, energy is coming back and excited about our next appt with the doc in a week and half.

Its a great relief to have made it this far without any problems! I feel very lucky especially after seeing how my other pregger friends are doing and hearing the stories of past pregnancies!!

I'm starting to show, though sometimes I wonder if its just from the wonderful treats at Christmas!?!? I bought some maternity jeans and yoga pants (on sale) and after trying to wear them I realized I should wait a few more weeks.

Sleep is going well even though I'm a stomach sleeper and have been working on staying on my side through the night. The last month I have had a problem with insomnia. I usually awake at 2:30-3:30 AM and am wide awake for 2 or more hours. Leaves me a little tired right away in the morning but makes me ready for bed at 9:30 in the evening. I hope it gets better, but if thats the worst I'll be happy with it!!

Happy New Year!

Pretty uneventful night for us! I did manage to stay up to watch New York ring in the new year, fell asleep, then woke up at 12:30 to give my DH a kiss . . . "Happy New Year", back to sleep.

Hope all of you, that had a glass of wine, champage, beer or shot for me, don't suffering too much in the celebration aftermath!!

Thanks to all of you making 2008 a great year to remember, and cheers to what memorial moments 2009 has in store for us!!

**Baby Gibby this is your year, and many joyous ones to follow!**