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!**

Hormones, Holidays, and Hope!!

DH, MIL, FIL, and I went to "Marley and Me" yesterday and it was great, but bring tissues (especially if pregnant)!! All I kept thinking about was my Roscoe!!


The Greatest Dog EVER!!

I am super hormonally sensitive lately. For those of you who don't know me personally, even before I was pregnant I would cry at commericals and when I was younger I was not allowed to watch "Lasie, "Flipper", "Benji", or any thing with animals in danger or lost. Tears would flow at the thought of any of them getting hurt or killed. So can you imagine me now!?!?

I feel so much conflict after reading some of my other bloggers experiences. I am drawn back into the "what ifs" and "how comes". I've found that with my emotional state so very sensitive, it keeps me in check to the awareness of others' losses and my own blessings.

To Emilies family over at "Lemmondrops", her husband Steve and their two boys (2 years old and 9 months old) I am so sorry for the loss of her to cancer. Her blog, even though I had only been reading it for the last couple months, gave me a clearer understanding of the importance of daily life. Emilie and Steve's dedication also showed the strength of the faith they shared as a family.

And to my friend over at "Life in our Nutchell", Chell's miscarriage and the honest emotions she shares since then. I wish I could wrap my arms around them and make them feel whole again. I know this is not my purpose and this "well wishing" won't change anything, but I feel like I am only able to wave at them from the other side of these life events with pangs of guilt for how far I've made it so far. Yet they still have understanding and strength to say the best of prayers for the rest of our journey.

I always have those mixed feelings after the holidays. The relief of them being done and no more hussle and bussle, but the blahs of back to work and the daily grind. But this year I am so thankful I still have baby to keep me looking forward to 2009. I can't believe that I am at 12 weeks, it so surreal! Excited about having a baby bump, feeling the first kicks, my next u/s to "see" our little one, finding out if its a boy or girl, getting the nursery ready, anticipation of the arrival, and the homecoming. Cheers to 2009!

My hopes for 2009 are to quit, lose, and save.
QUIT taking my life and family for granted,
LOSE my would've, could've, should've attitude,
and SAVE my memories that have renewed my faith in god, people, and the future.

Happy HoliDAZE!!

I am already exhausted and Christmas is still 5 days away!!

I had my first offical OB appt on the 10th the day we left to go up north to Lutsen. All is great and the best part is that I am not considered "high-risk"!! So I won't be having the amnio and other additional tests. We just went over the rest of what to expect over the next couple appts, had a pap, blood drawn, and urine. Pretty simple.

Lutsen was relaxing and great to catch up with everyone. Got some more great presents for the baby. Bibs, book, journal, and musical frog. So sweet that I would rather open things for baby than myself, but I did get some cute maternity tops from my brother (he drew my name, and my SIL helped)!!

**my pics from Lutsen didn't turn out, only had my cell camera, need one with zoom etc**

This last week has been HELL. This time of year is crazy for me at work, on my feet all day! Its great money, but hard to get everyone in which makes for some long days. Two more days left (Mon and Tues) then I can relax again for a little while.

Tomorrow we are headed to the cities, DH Christmas present from me is a trip down to the Vikings/Falcons football game! We set a limit this year so it worked out pretty good, at least it's something I know he wants and will enjoy!!

To all of you I wish the simple joys of being with loved family and friends. Happy Holidays!!