Cheers to 12 weeks!

Completely thrilled to have crossed this milestone - after 12 weeks, and a visual or audio of the heartbeat, all systems are go! We went to the GBMC Harvey Institute for a Nuchal Translucency screening to make sure Baby Lovelace was a healthy grower at 11 weeks 6 days. 


It was a great experience! Glenn's sister is an ultrasound technician and was pleased we were going to be seen by Dr. Jari and her team (who went to school in Pennsylvania where Regina works with one of Dr. Jari's colleagues). I think it gave us a little bit more "visual time" to share this tidbit with the technician.


Everything looks great! The Nuchal Translucency measurement is at 1.5-1.6, and baby is completely healthy. Anything 2.8+ is a marker for Down Syndrome or other chromosomal abnormalities. We got a good half an hour or so of time looking at Baby, and the technician was very thorough with detailing the heart, arms, and legs as well as taking many measurements. 


I apparently follow directions too well, the technician said my bladder was ginormous and let me "release" about a cup and a half to be more comfortable. In that time baby had flipped upside-down! It's crazy to see how much they move around. I can't wait to start feeling those movements in these upcoming weeks!

We also shared the news with the world, aka FACEBOOK! It was a very exciting moment to tell everyone, and the enthusiastic feedback makes me smile! It's nice to see how much love is out there for a new baby.

Baby Lovelace's big debut...eating a "burrito" like Erin said :)

12.5% of  my facebook friend population is excited, ha! We also told our respective jobs, so it is good to have that cat out of the bag, or the baby out of the bunting as it were....my boss was supportive and offered to call HR to get me some feedback on the maternity leave policy (as it has been at least 5 years since anyone was pregnant at the company). I am curious and excited to see how the rest of the company will react to the news! One thing is for sure, at least everyone will know what this bulge is, and why I've been drinking all that gross decaf coffee. 

little teeny wiggle worm 

Below is one of my favorites, because you can see the full development of the hand, much like baby is waving at us! Sup Ya'll?! See ya in May!

The shot on the left is taken sorta "head down" so you can see the arm waving, and to the right we see Baby "giving us 5" . I have upcoming standard prenatal visits, and next ultrasound is the anatomy at 18-20 weeks! Stay tuned!

Things I noticed after working out 3 times in 2 weeks (insert golf claps here)

Of note:


-- I miss running


-- I miss running outside


-- I miss Tuesday Night Class (I was just starting to get real muscles dammit!)


-- I am scared to do any leg lifting, back, squats, etc because of my damn cervix


-- I've been doing the elliptical and it is boring


-- I did a "new" version of the elliptical tonight and it was....you guessed it, still boring


-- I finally have purchased a heart rate monitor so at least I will be doing this safely 


-- It's weird to not be fully "showing" yet but be walking around with a belly that looks like I had too much fun drinking beer on Halloween. Or eating cake. Or eating cake and drinking   beer.


-- I ate alot of Halloween candy this week and going to the gym probably won't cancel it out


-- I am starting to get a ton of blue veins on my back, stomach, legs and boobs. Creepy yet    scientific! Flow, blood, flow!


-- I wish I could make myself work out everyday...but some days are just way easier than others. On others I like to take naps.


-- That being said, working out makes me feel really refreshed and energetic and keeps headaches away


-- My water intake is amazing


-- I have gained either 3 pounds or 6, it ebbs and flows. I should research what is considered healthy


-- I lean over now and I don't have "rolls"...it is like one big roll, the making of a bump? 


Exciting?


-- Number of times someone has almost walked in the bathroom whilst I awkwardly take photos (4)

curvature of gut

ain't no bakery up in here! (no rolls, but a bun in the oven harharhahrharh okay I quit)

Salvation through technology: On being one's own advocate

I am neurotic to a fault. I like having control and hate waiting. Being frustrated with these weeks of waiting and lack of diagnostics during our initial prenatal visit, Glenn and I purchased the Sonoline B fetal doppler at around 8 weeks.

It's a handy little doppler that comes with gel and is basically a $50.00 plastic piece of mind. I have been trying fruitlessly since 8 weeks 2 days to get a heart beat. (Doctors tell you it's difficult to hear the heartbeat before 12 weeks)

I can find my own heart beat, and would hear the "woosh woosh" of my placenta/cord(?) but couldn't get the actual baby's heartbeat. Upon research I knew it should sound faster than mine (anything 125 and under is mom), and should sound like a train or galloping horses . I would start right above pubic line and move left to right (weeks this early in the first trimester the baby sits very low behind your pubic bone). Well after a week and a half of trying, I finally got the lil bugger!

There is indeed a baby Lovelace growing in there! Words cannot express how happy this makes me, and the feeling of reassurance that all these symptoms and feelings I have are not for naught.  I had to go wake Glenn up to have him listen....he was delirious but excited! So high on baby love right now! 




Without further ado: Baby Lovelace at 9 weeks 4 (well, 5 at midnight) days:

First official cravings & obligatory belly shots

Today was a bit of a trying day, after the high of this weekend's socializing. I learned a high school classmate had passed away unexpectedly and was feeling pretty bummy on an otherwise beautiful Sunday afternoon. After some quality couch time I decided to do something with this day, and satisfied one of my current cravings -- oatmeal chocolate chip cookies!

The good thing about cookies is that they taste great with milk, so I have been quenching that calcium thirst all day. Delicious!

And without further ado, peep my weekly growth ya'll:

hooray new yoga pants!

grow baby, grow!

do I look pregnant yet? 8 Weeks - 3 Days!

This week, other than feeling hormonal my boobs (albeit small looking here) have been really achey and feeling heavier. When I hug people the pressure hurts. I've been waiting 28 years to have boobs, I hope we get that C cup! I also have been having alot of dull headaches that come off and on, and some vivid dreams and now obviously....cravings. Delicious!

Bearing of good news - my social life still exists! (8 weeks pregnant update)

After much consideration and fatigue from being MIA and making up stories, we decided to share the news with our football team. At least this way they could look to pick up another girl for the team, or better determine subs from here on out. Everyone was overjoyed and excited for us, which is a nice feeling after sitting in 8 weeks of silence! I can cross that stressor off my list. The girls are super enthusiastic about the baby - I am looking forward to them sharing their own baby tales, and giving me hand me downs. Yay free stuff!

We also went to a good friend's birthday party and gave the heads up to some other dear friends. We are kinda the "first" of this group to be pregnant so it was fun to hear all of the different people's reactions. Everyone is really nice to you when you're pregnant. Especially drunk people, I've since found out!

the birthday boy and a bunch of delicious treats

my big dumb toytle friend who will totally come to my baby shower

Pretty Shineza

I especially love "straight guy" questions and concerns about pregnancy. It's like I am a science experiment in action and they are quizzical about everything. It is actually quite endearing. The women folk mostly tend to be very protective and affectionate. I do love attention, so being pregnant and being open about it rules. Kidding about the attention part. Kidding about not kidding. 

While we didn't wait the 12 weeks to share the news with alot of our friends, I am still being very optimistic and figure the good juju of other's happiness and excitement for us can't be a bad thing. One thing I do know, Baby Lovelace is already loved. 

7 weeks and some colustrum

So this has been an interesting week full of decision making and novelty boob references. I have been sleuthing the baby boards for information about women's 1st prenatal visits. I had an appointment made for weeks, and decided to do some follow up to get a grasp on what all actually went down.


Well the darling receptionist couldn't tell me squat. They maybe would do an ultrasound but probably not, and my insurance probably didn't cover it. They may do  blood test, but probably not, unless they were worried something was wrong. (Again, how would they know if we don't do any tests?) They probably would do a pap/pelvic if I was due, but it depended. On what? This chick was useless in providing me any info, or reassurance about a nervewracking first visit, so I decided to look elsewhere.


Using (again) the babyboardsphere I did some research and found another clinic that still works within my hospital network, and IMAGINE THAT they even had a website! With...*gasp* prenatal checklists! The receptionist was not only warm and friendly, but offered me realistic guidance and was able to fit me in this coming Monday! So there! It sounds like we will get a dating sonogram - and probably a prescription to have blood drawn to take my levels. These people make sense!


In other revelations I have begun feeling more energetic as of late, and managed to work out twice this week. (Thus far) It had been a month and a half since I went to the gym, and doing the elliptical for 40 minutes felt surprisingly refreshing. I ran (not walked) 2.5 (albeit slow) miles and felt amazeballs 3000. Glenn says this baby gives me super powers. I don't know about all that but I did feel pretty rad.

is my uterus changing shape?

Obligatory weekly photos:

Sorry about the boob sweat

you can be pregnant, but won't forget how to pose

In other fun news I noticed what I thought was dry skin on the ol' nips and did some preliminary research and realized it was in fact dried colustrum. THE LIQUID GOLD. I am hoping this bodes well for future breast feeding, Niter (the original matriarch of nursing) is  of course thrilled. Valerie gave me This Book, which is full of anti formula propaganda and fear inducing statistics. I always knew I wanted to breast feed but this book INSISTS on it. Hopefully this delightful new collection on the party I call my nips will bode well for the feedings to come. 

I haven't had any morning sickness (brief feelings of nausea), nor have I had any food cravings, but I would like to hand it to Trader Joe's for having the best frozen healthy meal options ever. Shoutout to chicken gyoza and spicy edamame! Eating good like I know I should.

Even more delicious in real life!

This weekend my Grandma and Papa Howie are in town and will be staying at the chateau de Niter in West Virginia. I am making the hour and a half trek to share the good news and do some festival hopping. I love festivals any time of year, but especially in the fall! This one promises tons of vendors, and I hope the weather is gorgeous. I shall be on the lookout for cute baby oriented ish, of course! I hope my grandparents are elated, word on the street is Grandma has already begun an afghan! Each week I get more excited! 

6 weeks & counting - Sharing good news

Glenn and I were headed home this weekend to see some fam and I arranged to connect with my college girlfriends in order to share our good news with everyone in person. Again, I know it is very early, but I pretty much wear my heart on my sleeve and have been excited to communicate about this ever-changing new lifestyle.


Erin, Val and Maria are 3 of my best girlfriends from Clarion - and we have all stayed in touch post college, from weddings to pregnancies and 2 new babies! We don't often all have schedules that can coordinate at the same time, so I was especially excited to "surprise" them.

Erin, Maria and I at Sal's. Watching people do shots made me want to vom.
So different from 6 years ago when we would all be doing shots!

There is only one first time you can tell people, and I have cherished the looks on people's faces. Alot of genuine excitement and shrieking and story telling! Erin and Val are mommies and provided me lots of reassurance, crazy boob stories, maternity clothes and breastfeeding books! We also ate funfetti cake, which is a treasured pasttime of ours. Maria also managed to fix my hair and rid it of its horrible rootiness, so now I am fresh-for-fall semi red-head!

Miss Claire Isabella and myself

Glenn also got alot of quality baby time in - throwing Val's son in the air and cuddling Claire. If I wasn't pregnant already my ovaries would be swooning in full effect!

so dreamy!

We got to tell Glenn's family this weekend as well (although it didn't go as I anticipated). We had bought his mother a frame that said "family" as we couldn't find a "grandma" one to give her as a surprise --  and when we arrived at his sister's house she was fussing at him for not calling and telling her he was coming into town that I think she didn't realize what was happening. Regardless she (and the entire family) are elated and looking forward to the new arrival. They are all team pink when I strongly feel that Baby Lovelace is team blue. Soon enough we will find out!


We also got to spend a brief brunch with John and Lindsey - who will be proud parents this month! Emilia Antionette is due October 31st but we are all thinking she will make her grand debut a bit earlier. It was nice to catch up and share preggo tales (
why are my boobs doing this? Were you constipated? I can't stand thinking about eating meat!"). Looking forward to being able to meet their new baby soon!

6 weeks and ....32 weeks?

6 weeks - 1 day

Taken right before another road trip to Pittsburgh! - don't worry my roots will look better in future photos

Full disclosure : I ate 2 pieces of pizza that day

distendedness

5-6 weeks - My boobs hurt

September 26^th, 5 weeks, 4 days – Have to attend a mandatory sales meeting and my patience is about lost 3 minutes in. I find my tolerance for bullshit is slim to none these days. I mostly try to grin and bare it. Feeling gross bloated so attempt to do a bit of a “Speedwalk” around the ol’ cul de sac with 2 lb weights strapped to my legs. I do this for about 2 miles then did some arm lifting programs by way of Exercise on-demand. Feel less gross/healthy for the first time in 4 weeks. Brava!

September 28^th, 5 weeks 6days – Have 2 events today and being on the phone for 4 hours has given me a headache and made me feel completely drained. Officially in the “I want to take a nap under my desk stage”. On top of a fun workday, have an hour long commute to my Komen meeting, which lasts a good hour and 45 minutes. Have dinner with GBFF and avoid any baby talk and try to hide bloat. Good times!

September 29^th, 6 weeks! I weigh about 148.2 these days.Discover that my boobs have some blue veins in them on top of the Montgomery Tubercles. <-- black and white medical drawings from the 70's are scary.

 MY BOOBS ARE CRAZY YA’LL! I’m hoping they keep increasing in size so I can feel like a real lady for the first time in my life. Well, in the boob department that is. Glenn and I go to see Fela in DC at the Shakespeare theater. Have dinner at a Thai restaurant and I miss being able to drink a glass of something with my meal. Water is so boring. The show was awesome and we don’t get home til Midnight. Clonk out at approximately 12:05. This pregnancy thing is doing wonders for my insomnia! We have crossed the first scary threshold of 6 weeks – supposedly rates are decreasing week by week of loss. I am confident that there is a lil bugger in there still sticking.

September 30^th – 6 weeks, 1 day – Friday half day-day, hooray ray! Am currently typing this at work because my brain and will has ceased to function on legitimate work oriented things approximately an hour ago after fumbling through back and forth emails with a highly impatient client. So yeah, that happened. We are headed home to Pittsburgh to see Glenn’s fam (and share the news) and to see some of my best college girlfriends (2 of which currently  have little beebees of their own). I am excited to enmesh myself in a sea of estrogen and share all this joy with the girls. I am predicting Glenn’s mom will freak out, cry, hug me really hard and probably start praising Jesus. I know she really wants a girl but I am thinking this kid is a boy. Still a blessing! The girls will also be excited – however I predict Val will yell at me for telling them so early. No matter what, I have no regrets – they’d be the same people I would share any not-so-happy news with as well. This shall be fun as some of the new mommies wanna booze and it’ll be interesting to be that sober one. I hope I don’t get completely exhausted.

4- 5 weeks pregnant -- bloated observations

16 DPO, September 19^th, (4 weeks 4 days pregnant) – Wake up very bloated, casual twinges of cramps here and there. Still excessive saliva. Boobs definitely hurting. Is it also possible that nipples have grown in length? Have been told I have porn star boobs so this is especially hilarious. Glenn states that they feel “fuller”. Randomly take temperature and it’s in the higher 98s, when usually my temp is around 97.  Obsessively reading things on the internet and trying to be really in tune with body. Read that miscarriage rate from 3-6 weeks is 10% and risk after 6 weeks is 5%.

17 DPO, September 20^th, (4 weeks 5 days) – Still very bloated, constant swallowing and thirst. Starting to feel really tired, especially after lunch time. Took a walk after dinner with Glenn to get some exercise, and it was nice to get some fresh air, if only a mile and a half. Discussed what we are going to do about football. Glenn and I agree that it’s not a good idea, limited contact or not. If I’m not even running right now like usual, I am not about to run all over the field. Plus our team is a jolly good bunch of folks who enjoy their beer on the sidelines. It is going to be ridiculously obvious. As of now I am skipping this weekend to “help out in WV”, and next weekend we will be in Pittsburgh and by then we will be at 6 weeks.

18 DPO, September 21^st (4 weeks 6 days) – Not as bloated today as yesterday, but I feel like it comes more in the afternoon? Boobs till hurting. Slept like a BRICK last night. Did some sort of introspective reading about meditating and being authentic to how you feel. Have joined some “baby boards” where every cramp, change in temp and appearance or disappearance of symptoms is documented by pregnant ladies everywhere. This and a number of friends personal stories have filled my head with negativity about the viability of a pregnancy. What I want is to feel like this baby is meant to be – it is wanted, it was conceived, and I am thankful for everything I have experienced thus far. Why be worrisome and negative until there is something to be worried about? I just feel intuition wise this is meant to be. Tomorrow will be 5 weeks – we are getting closer to the first 6 week “safety zone”. After that, 11 days until our first visit! (Approximately 7 weeks and 5 days at that time)

classy

and attractive

September 24^th – 5 weeks, 2 days – Off to a camping trip with friends. End up sharing news with majority of the crew because it’s hard to not drink autumny beers and not have a reason to. Take a hike through the woods and enjoy the fresh air. My girlfriend on the trip is  bigtime protective of me and won’t let me step over big logs or touch any fungus. Adorable. Am bigtime bloated still. Meet mom the next day for brunch on the way back home and she provides me with 3 massive baby books. Quality reading indeed!

September 25^th , 5 weeks 3 days – Sunday night, slept for about 2 hours on the couch during football, exhausted. Then of course as I always do on a Sunday after a trip, I can’t sleep for crap. Fall asleep from approximately 3:00 – 5:30AM until Glenn wakes me up because we forgot to get our car from the dealership after an oil change. Am peeved and exhausted then sleep another hour upon arriving home. Feel like I am in slow motion all day and have no common sense. Pregnancy makes me feel dimwitted. Or maybe it’s just the exhaustion. Arrive home from work and don’t even attempt to take work clothes off – sleep from 6PM until Midnight. Wake up and shower, sleep from 3-7. BALLING!

Oh look - another baby blog!

Sept 2 – Ovulated but wasn’t aware….after a week of medical issues (blood in pee, possible UTI). Had bought Ovulation strips and only on Saturday morning did it show positive. No sex during the week, just that Friday night = Night we conceived!

1DPO – Sept 3^rd, went to visit my mom in West Virginia. Mad at Glenn for leaving me during ovulation weekend. Little did we know! “I got that super sperm – it’s all, invading your fallopian tubes bein like, what’s up eggs! I’m here to party! Where’s the keg at?”

babydaddy

2-6 DPO – get terrible acne. Current weight – 147.

7DPO – September 11, flew on a plane and drank lots of wine. Got to destination at 3 AM, slept for about 2 hours, got up at 6am. Felt like HELL all day, but figured it was no sleep/slight hangover. Was shakey, dizzy and nauseous all day. Laid down for about an hour, which didn’t help. Went to dinner that night with coworker, had one drink but everything in my body said NO to it. Was exhausted, slept at 10PM

9DPO September 12^th – Tuesday. Flew home, thought “hey maybe I am actually pregnant and that’s why I feel crazy?” Made sure to eat a nice breakfast and get some OJ to stop shakes. Still felt quite nauseous. As soon as the plane landed drove to the closest Dollar Tree to stock up on cheapie pregnancy tests. Took home and peed on 2. Very very faint lines showed. I thought this must’ve been a negative until I did further research and learned a LINE is a LINE = pregnancy. Excitedly researched the internet all hours of the day/night and waited frantically for Glenn to get home from work at approximately 10PM. Brutal. Was also very hot/sweaty, had a temperature of 99.3 (beginning of implantation?) at this time. Felt crampy and like my stomach had a lot of warmth. Headaches begin. Constantly thirsty but have excessive saliva?  Glenn finally arrives home and I share the good news and we both are in shock and cautious excitement. He is exhausted and we are both just, dumbfounded and full of joy. Decided to keep POAS every day to track any changes.

holy crap guys - can you see the faintness? IT'S THERE!

10DPO September 13^th – First day back in office, completely swamped with work and catching up on emails. Terribly frustrated at the inability to further enjoy this experience, document my changes, adjust to this new life. Ongoing headache, dull at times but consistently there. Bloated feeling, warmth, twinging in lower abs/pelvic area. Ongoing gross excessive saliva. Constantly swallowing. Cease use of caffeine and fake sugar products, glass of wine with dinner out. Suprisingly easy to do.

11DPO September 14^th – Pee on more sticks, continual darkening of color. Send photos of these to Mom, and share the news. Still cautiously excited. Bloated, crampy (not like period cramps, similar but different in the same way), still having headaches. Still having excessive saliva. Call my favorite doctor ladies to make initial payment, am bummed to find out that my Gyno does not delivery babies. Am referred to 3 different doctors, one of which is on the Baltimore’s Top Doctors list and works out of GBMC, the hospital we will ultimately deliver. (She seems to have a really warm bedside presence, doesn't she?)Have first week appointment (around 8 weeks) on October 11^th. Glenn will take off work for this special occasion.

I can't figure out how to make this horizontal - note the lines, bitches

12DPO, September 15^th – Pee on more cheapie sticks, and first official REAL stick, aka we paid more than $1 for it. There is a definite plus sign and I am feeling confident! Go to an art show and dinner with a friend, exhausted. Had an interesting conversation with said (full disclosure, male) friend about women’s fertility and basic anatomy and was shocked by his ignorance about how a baby is made.. Delighted to be pregnant and able to bite my tongue.

Ma & Pa pulled out the big guns for the expensive test

13DPO, September 16^th – Bloated, exhausted. Take a night to myself to just sleep on the couch. Chill night at home with Glenn. Sleep approximately 11 hours.

14DPO September 17^th – Have a birthday dinner for a friend where a number of other folks will be drinking/notice I am not. Drink mocktails of cranberry and soda water and noone seems the wiser/assumes it’s “Glenn’s night” for beverages. Am still bloated and tired, wear a dress because I figure if I didn’t wear it then, may never get an opportunity to wear it. Am still somewhat crampy (on and off) and after standing around all night lower back hurts. Perhaps mom was right about the heels. Notice that when hugging friends goodbye my boobs hurt. Smelled something like burgers on the way to dinner that turned my stomach and gave me mouth sweats.

Thank goodness for jackets that hide bulge -- favorite girls at dinner

15DPO, September 18^th – (4 weeks 3 days pregnant!) Join babycenter.com in the May 2012 forum. Excited to hear about other people’s experiences/get support from some questions. POAS and line is darkest it’s been yet! Trying not to obsessively pee on sticks…may need to make another Dollar Tree run. Go to a clothing swap party, share news with one friend who is excited for us as she knew we were trying. Another pregnant lady is there, 6 months along and I desperately want to discuss all things baby with her but try to hold  back. Picked up some good pieces of wardrobe in the swap, realize majority of it would be too small in upcoming months. Go home and pass out on couch at 6AM – sleep til 2AM. Up from 2AM until 6AM, have very vivid weird dreams. Also dream multiple times about peeing on sticks in recent days.