Josh, Sharla, & Jackson

Ok, so I typed up a blog, and then hit the backspace key (trying to delete some text) and IT WENT BACKWARDS ON MY INTERNET BROWSER, losing my entire post. So I'm just going to hit the high points:

Still having consistent bouts of nausea, just about every afternoon / evening after I eat (and sometimes not very hungry at all) - not much of the namesake "morning sickness"
Very tired! Sleeping more, and zapped of energy when I am awake
First prenatal doctor visit is Friday
Very happy that this pregnancy is progressing normally thus far!

6 week belly pic:

I was in Atlanta for a business trip for most of this week, and was able to get away from work activities one night to see my best friend, Amy (the pic above is not from this week - we forgot to take one! It's us at her Cinco de Mayo party earlier this year).

We had dinner at Strip, and then headed back to the hotel to just hang out (I was SO tired!) and watch So You Think You Can Dance.

Amy gave me my first "pregnancy" gift - this book:

and some really cute pregnancy stickers that I can use in my pregnancy journal or baby book! Thanks Auntie Amy!! I'm so glad we squeezed in a visit! :)

The symptoms have really kicked in this week!! Still peeing ALL the time, the chest area is feeling much larger and very sore and sensitive, and the nausea has come on full force! It's more prominent in the afternoon and evening, and especially after I eat and then get up to move around. It was really terrible yesterday, where I was sick most of the evening after lunch, and couldn't move around too much. I wasn't even hungry for dinner... But, it's a positive sign that my hormone levels are up enough to produce nausea, so we'll take it!

I have scheduled the first prenatal appointment with my doctor on June 29th - we were hoping to request an ultrasound, but the woman scheduling the appointment made it sound like that wasn't an easy thing to request, so we'll talk directly to the doctor about whether we can get an early one. I don't know what will happen at the first appointment, but I'm hoping we can hear the heart beat at least.

Here's the 5 week belly pic -

Happy Father's Day to Josh - his first ever!!

Josh & I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary this week on June 12th. Josh surprised me with flowers (a mixed bouquet - my favorite!).

- Sharla smelling the sunflowers of the lovely bouquet from Josh

I, on the other hand, due to "pregnancy brain," forgot to buy a card and was stuck at work all day without my purse / wallet. Poor Joshy!

On Friday night we went out to eat a new restaurant in the area, Old Stone Steakhouse. It was a nice place, but not a favorite. I had crab cakes and Josh had a steak, as usual.

- Josh & Sharla after dinner on Friday

It gets even better, because my gift is yet to come - Josh has hired a handyman to look at our squeaky kitchen floor to see if it can be repaired - that was all I wanted! (I'm such an old married lady....)

What an amazing husband!

Tonight we went out to eat at a local pizza place to celebrate Alan's birthday. I was SO hungry, I couldn't wait for the food to come out. I happily enjoyed some of the cheesy bread appetizer, and then scarfed down my normal 2 slices of pizza....but I couldn't stop there! I was still hungry, so I started on the third piece....and sure enough, I got called out by Alan, Stephanie, & Lynn! They were joking about me eating a lot more than normal.

On top of that, I couldn't stop yawning, and I had to pee right after dinner! Lynn & Steph were in the bathroom with me - and I got a bit of a wave of nausea, but I was able to fend it off.

It's like Baby Teeny was loud & proud saying "I'm here everybody!" - hopefully they didn't catch on!!

The exciting news is starting to sink in! And so are the symptoms - having to pee constantly (even waking up in the middle of the night!), a huge increase in my appetite, the beginnings (possibly - more later on this) of cravings, the lovely bloating / gas situation, the fatigue (actually just got up from laying on the couch for a couple of hours - very unlike me!). And of course, the enhancement to the chest area - my most favorite symptom of all! I haven't had much nausea, but I have had a few brief encounters, usually right after eating & moving / getting up or when in a bathroom (the HH Gregg bathroom the other night with Mom was the worst - YUCK). So hopefully that one will stay away (although I know it would really make Josh feel more confident in the viability of the pregnancy if I'd just throw up already!). But I just have to wonder....aren't my mood swings & irritability enough proof?! Haha :)

So about the cravings - during my last pregnancy, the only thing out of the ordinary that I really ate was peanut butter. I would eat it on graham crackers with bananas just about every night. I haven't really had the hankering for PB yet, but I'm starting to think Baby Teeny has a thing for asian food. On Wednesday I was out running errands and when it was time for lunch, I decided to get Chinese food - odd for me, because I haven't actually chosen to eat Chinese in probably a year! Then, two days later, I wanted Japanese for dinner! We'll get Japanese about once every couple of months, so again, out of the ordinary! We'll see if it continues....I know it's not healthy!

Here's my belly pic at 4 weeks:

Josh & I went to see Knocked Up last night after hearing great reviews. It was awesome! A very funny movie with a sweet (albeit standard comedy) story line. It did feel a little long towards the end (it's over 2 hours!) and there were a couple of OMG / TMI grossed-me-out moments, but all in all, a great movie. And it really got us in the baby-spirit! :)

Here's one of the trailers - please to enjoy!

BFP (Big Fat Positive) at 8 DPO (days past ovulation) - lots of TTC lingo!!

Break out the (non-alcoholic) champagne - it's time to celebrate! After a good while of TTC - trying to conceive (including obsessive temperature charting, ovulation sign frenzies, and too much scheduled relations), Josh & I are finally "knocked up!" This is actually our 2nd pregnancy - the first one ended unfortunately as an early miscarriage a few months ago - something difficult to deal with, but in all likelihood, a fluke / chromosomal abnormality (we miss you baby Grub). But, we are excited to be back in the game, with this new wonderful creation - baby Teeny (as we're calling him/her for now).

This was our first cycle trying to conceive again after the miscarriage, so we were extremely surprised when it turned out to be successful - it took us 5 cycles last time, which is very close to the average for couples our age with no fertility issues. I don't know if I was more in tune with my body after already having been pregnant once before, or if there was something different about this pregnancy, but I felt pregnant as early as 4 DPO (which medical science would scoff at, since you're not supposed to feel any effects until after implantation, around 7 DPO). In either regard, I began to feel "twingy" and crampy around 4 DPO, which was the major indicator. Slightly later, I began having some of the other common symptoms, including changes in CM (you'll only know what that means if you're familar with the TTC lingo), excessive saliva, variations in appetite, vivid dreams, and frequent urination. By 7 DPO, I told Josh I was 90% sure I was pregnant.

I wasn't planning to test until 10 DPO (which is still considered early) because I didn't get the BFP with the last pregnancy until 11 DPO. But, being the Pee-on-a-stick-holic that I am (hey, there's a website devoted to those of us with obsessive personalities), I caved and tested at 8 DPO with 3 tests - a Fact Plus blue-dye + type (which are known for issues sometimes, the type, not the brand), a Dollar Tree cassette test, and a CBE digital. Unmistakable negatives from the Dollar Tree and digital; however, faintest of the faint line on the Fact Plus! But for 1 out of 3, and for the known issues, just couldn't get my hopes up yet (even though my body said - 90% certain, Sharla! The next night, based on my symptoms still being out-of-this-world-for-sure-pregnant, I tested again at 9 DPO. I went straight for the digital. BFP, baby! So I must have crossed the threshold of HCG levels from 8 DPO to 9 DPO (which is still extremely early for a BFP - some don't get it till 14 or 15 DPO).

Baby Collins' due date is Feb. 11, 2008. We go for our first prenatal check up with my OB-GYN, Dr. Lynch, at 7 weeks, towards the end of June. Hopefully, we'll get to have an ultrasound and hear the heart beat (since we've already had one miscarriage, that would really calm our residual fears). So we'll see!

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