13-Week Sonogram

*Written Saturday, March 15th

Friday I had my 13 week OB appointment - doppler sonogram time! I’ve basically been waiting for this appointment for things to feel a little more real. 8 weeks we saw a moving bean, but this past Friday we did hear a heartbeat - whew. The heart rate was around 150 beats per minute. Nora was always around 160. I’m not going to guess - whatever the gender is will be lovely. *The heartbeat theory says If your baby's heart rate averages in the 110 to low 130s range, the thought is that it's more likely a boy, and if it's in the mid 140s to 160 range, it's more likely a girl. Mid-130s to 140s is unpredictable -- and where a lot of heart rates fall.

Now I feel like I can look ahead, bust out some maternity clothes, pregnancy books and start telling people! 

Thursday night I had dinner with a few girlfriends - it was great to get out socially as well as tell the news. We’ve been calling a few friends as well. I’m mainly ready to tell my coworkers - I’ve been having to hide this pooch for a while now and I swear they all know. Especially after turning away wine frequently. Hello, obvious. 

My studio is so new and small they don’t have a maternity policy - ! I’ll be the first of a handful of women who also want second children. I’m sure they’ll be fair, but I’ll definitely be suggesting what I’d prefer - 12 paid weeks. But I’ve only been there 6 weeks - ! We’ll see... 

A Heartbeat on Valentine’s

*Written February 14, 2014

I had my first visit to my OB today for Kron #2. Tim came with because I thought we’d be able to hear the heartbeat with the sonogram.

Apparently that doesn’t happen until next visit, but the Nurse Practioner said we could still see the baby with an “unofficial” ultrasound - yes please! So I got the cold goo and she moved her wand around and the little bean was already moving and squirming! We saw the fluttering heartbeat - whew! Very exciting and a very appropriate experience for Valentine’s Day : )

Typical “bean” shot where nothing is recognizable. But hey, it’s OUR bean!

The White Lies Begin...

*Written January 27th, 2014

The white lies and alcohol-dodging are in full effect. Below are the events that have happened where I wouldn’t be drinking and their outcomes; 

1. College friend dinner - no questions asked; whew!
2. Landor Happy Hour - no questions asked; whew!
3. Bookclub - no questions asked; whew!
4. Friend’s 40th birthday weekend in Athens - now this was complicated…

When we decided to try for #2, we originally thought we’d give it a go after this weekend in Athens. Then I became nervous that it might not happen as quickly as Nora did. So we tried earlier. 

Two weeks before we’re scheduled to go out of town and for my Mom to come watch Nora all weekend, we got the positive sign. DOH! 

First Task; fib to my family that the weekend was rescheduled due to reservation/scheduling flubs. Vague, right? 

Second, we’d already agreed to go in on a small rental so we were going to pay for that regardless. I told Tim to just go without me. And as the weekend got closer, I bailed on the weekend because I was “sick” we told our friends.

Since I had the day off Friday between jobs, I took Nora up to my parents house for the day. Stephanie was able to make it too. My Mom had bought me a bottle of champagne to celebrate my new job to which I replied, “Well too bad I can’t drink it.” Confused, gaping stares from Mom & Stephanie. “…because I’m about 6 weeks pregnant!” Tears and excitement : )

I probably wouldn’t have even told MY family this early if it hadn’t been for the debacle of canceling on my Mom to watch Nora all weekend. 

As I write this, I’m 6 weeks along, my first appointment is in two weeks, so once we see everything is going well, we’ll be headed onto the Krons!

My Second Rodeo

*Written January 19th, 2014

It’s been about 3 years since I’ve been pregnant and I feel like I need to re-learn everything; not a lot of caffeine, easy on the herbal teas, watch the soft cheeses, no lunch meat [no big deal there].

I’m going to try and keep running a bit - maybe 2X a week, no more than 6 miles. I want my body to focus on the task at hand. Will try to fit in some yoga and strengthening.

I think my body has evened out after this past weekend - now that I know I can’t have any alcohol, I think it’s done wonders. I’ve been sleeping awesome now and my skin is clearing up - ha!

Assuming everything goes smoothly, I will miss having a pregnant friend to do this with - with Nora I had a few close friends who were pregnant around the same time. This time, not so sure unless someone surprises me.

Feb 14th is my first exam - hoping that we hear a heartbeat on Valentine’s Day!

No, Really - 2014 is CRAZY.

*Written January 12th, 2014 (2 Weeks left at Landor, 2 Weeks before starting new job)

I’ll be forthright: Tim and I do want a sibling for Nora. Tim would like to extend the family before he is 40. Assuming things proceed, I’ll be pretty nervous about getting back into that rodeo. 

Well, everyone - saddle up.

This past week has been uncomfortable for me, specifically terrible sleep. Thursday night’s sleep was so bad I felt like a zombie at work on Friday. Tim went to hang with friends Friday night, so I went to bed around 10pm, had an okay night sleep and thankfully Nora slept until about 7:30am so I felt pretty refreshed. 

Saturday morning we woke up and I had my usual weekend coffee, and by about 10am on Saturday, my stomach was fighting back. My stomachache/nausea didn’t go away until about 5am Sunday morning. Additionally, last night I was sweating all night - I swore it was the new microfiber pillows we purchased - however, Tim was simply fine. 

Signs? Signs?

Today thankfully the stomachache was gone and my parents were coming down for the afternoon and to hit 50West for my Dad’s birthday. I’d eaten some meatless crumbles around 2pm to fill up a bit… We got to 50West around 4:30 and ate a lot of appetizers and ordered drinks. I filled up on appetizers and about halfway through my beer, did not want it anymore. 

By the time we got home, my G.I. system was embarrassingly outraged which I attributed to the meatless crumbles. My body is a hot mess!! 

My cycle is supposed to start on Tuesday. I’m very regular and probably should have started by now. So I went upstairs with the ol’ pee stick this evening...

Po-si-tive.

Well, that explains a lot! 

Here we go agaaaaiiinn! 

Friends: Round 2

We hosted a small cookout with more of our close friends to spread the news - again, it’s so nice to have people happy and excited for us, spreading their love. I’m also thankful for friends who’ve been down this road before that I can look to for advice and knowledge!

I had been up since 7:30 nonstop with cleaning and getting ready for the day, so by 11:30 I was toast.

We laughed that 2-3 years ago our party would have been “just getting started” - but I’m happy. I can truly say my 20s were for me and having fun and now in my 30s I don’t feel like staying up late and I enjoy waking up early : )

I feel like after our 12-week check-up, the news can now be “public” and I don’t have to hide this gut anymore... well, maybe a few more days at work - ??

Work will be a whole ‘nuther ballgame to deal with!