Random Updates and Pictures

1. We have told people we are pregnant. It is quite a fun task. We have gotten all positive reactions with some surprise. People ask me the same three questions

a. How are you feeling?

b. When are you due?

c. Do you want to know if it is a boy or girl?

Answers:

a. I feel much better. Each day I feel better and better.

b. May 12th (and because we work in schools we get a ton of -- oh, great timing - if they only knew...)

c. Yes, we want to know. We are only have one so decorating must be perfect.

M gets the following question: Are you having it or is E? Of course, she says I am.

2. I am feeling much better. Each day I am less and less queasy. I am able to go much longer without eating and I seem to have stopped expanding so my pants are holding steady. I still have cravings. Yesterday I had to have a chef salad with ranch dressing -- yum.

3. M's Murary Lawnmower died. She has had it for 16 years and paid 100 bucks for it, but it finally died with one last lawn cutting to go this year. So, last weekend we went out and bought a new lawnmower. We promptly used it and know it will sit in the garage until next spring.

4. We have four days off and it is great. We didn't have to work Thursday or Friday this week so we are having a great time getting a list of things done. We thought we would go maternity clothes shopping, but I am nowhere near ready for maternity clothes yet. (We are rookies...what do we know...) So, instead we are redecorting our guest room. I am not painting due to the fumes, but M is doing a great job of trimming and rolling.

1st OB appt.

We went to our first official OB appointment yesterday. We waited for almost an hour to leave the waiting room. This is the second time we have had to wait a long time. I asked the nurse "Does she always run this behind schedule?" The nurse claims she doesn't, but I have yet to see that. We really love the doctor, but the clinic is so slllooowww.

We also had a "student teacher" nurse which was quite fun. As educators we got a kick out of watching the tenured nurse teach the baby nurse how to ask us all the crazy questions like - "Have you been using street drugs?" or "Have you or anyone in your family had (insert every known disease here)?" The nurses left, I changed and in came Dr. E.

Dr. E. is about 57 year old, tough as nails, and very focused when meeting with us. She answered every question completely and spent almost 45 minutes with us yesterday. We chose her because she is so tough. I need someone who can boss me around and that list is usually pretty short. She gave me a physical exam and listened for the heartbeat. Nothing. Nada. I had a noisy placenta, but she couldn't find the heartbeat. When she was done trying she said, "I'll have you come back in seven days and we will listen again - it is still early. Or, I could order an ultrasound." We said, "Yes, please...the ultrasound." She said, "Yeah, I thought that would be your answer." See -- that is what I like. She gets it that we are 1st timers who spent a fortune on this kid already.

This morning I called the ultrasound place, and they said I could come in this morning at 9:30a.m. or next Thursday afternoon. Of course, we both promptly left school and went to see the cool funny looking pictures.

The baby is doing great. It has arms and legs. Its heart was pounding away and it was bouncing all around the uterus. Wild to see and know that it is happening inside of you. We were both thrilled. Baby is just over 1 inch and is measuring perfect.

We started telling people today and that is a kick.

9 1/2 Weeks

I am happy to report that I am feeling so much better. The last two days have been much easier on me. I haven't felt as sick to my stomach and I can go longer without eating. The weekend was by far the worst. From Saturday afternoon until Tuesday morning I was totally uncomfortable with feelings of nausea. Thank goodness we made it through that phase. I am hopeful that my symptoms will continue to slowly decrease as I move toward the second trimester. My chest is still sore and I am still very tired come 7 pm, but finally the stomach has learned how to deal with the hormones.

Clothing
So, I have a pair of black pants that are my favorite dress pants. They are soft, have great lines, and are very comfortable. I wear them once a week from October until March. I also often where them to special occasions. I paid a small fortune for them and take excellent care of them so they will last forever. Last week I thought "great it's October time to bring out the great pants!" M looked at me and said, "you'd better hurry or they won't fit." I tried them on. I could button them and as long as I had no need to sit, kneel, or squat I would be fine. However, my job requires all three positions. I was heartbroken. My favorite pants.

This morning I put on a pair of gray pants that I love and they were fine, but they didn't fit as good as they used to. Most of my pants still button and are just a tiny, tiny bit too small right at the waist band. So, I had an idea. I have a pair of spanx. If you don't know what spanx are they are basically a suck-it-in pair of panyhose that runs from your knees to right below the bra line. I bought my pair for a great summer dress I wore to a wedding. I thought...what the hell I will wear the spanx to school and then it hit me! I bet I could get into my favorite black pants with spanx underneath. I tried it and yes the black pants fit (for the most part).

Two hours later I was sitting at my desk and I emailed M and said, "I feel like Scarlett O'hara going to the Wilkes B-B-Q all trussed up." It was very uncomfortable and I have learned my lesson. Do not wear pants that don't fit anymore -- even with clothing aids.

M and I work for the same school district and for the next two days we will be at a conference together. We will work with our own schools, but it will be nice to just know she is right there -- near me all day. We used to work in the same school for years and had a great time working together. That changed when our friendship turned to more......needless to say you can't be in a "relationship" and be in the same school. So, I miss having her in my physical work space. And, no kids for four days...it is gonna be great.

E-

boo!

Like It's Taking a Village, we had our own "what happened to the symptoms?" scare this week. E had a big cramp on Wednesday...just one, but then she woke up early Thursday morning and didn't have her usual symptoms. No queasiness, not as tired, no sore boobs. She called the doctor's office as soon as they opened, and they said we should come in. They would listen for the heartbeat and maybe send us across town for an ultrasound.

Our regular doctor wasn't in, so we were sent to a nearby clinic to see the doctor on call. The doctor on call turned out to be a female Doogie Howser. I do not think much about which doctor sees me when I go in. I figure they've all been trained, and I take their word as truth. E, on the other hand, wants someone who looks more than 12 years old and is willing to run any test needed.

Doogie assured us that she was not worried at all that the pregnancy was anything but normal. She said sometimes the symptoms take a break, and worst case scenario there was still nothing they could do and we had done nothing wrong. (They must take an entire class on how to say "you've done nothing wrong.") E was not assured and I was forced to say the clinic sucked. E is not sure she can stay with that clinic. We'll see.

Anyway, later that day she started to feel pregnancy normal again. Within 24 hours she had every symptom to the same degree.

Here's what we learned...
1. Women frequently confuse intestinal, ovarian, and bladder changes and pain as uterine cramps.
2. If there is no bleeding, it's probably not a miscarriage.
3. If you've heard the heartbeat, it's unlikely it will stop and you will have a miscarriage.
4. Symptoms will wane...especially near the end of the first trimester.

So, we'll try not to freak out so much the next time things change...and we hope the next "Boo!" is a trick or treater at Halloween.

m

All in 10 different colors

We did it. We finally took the huge step in accepting we are going to have a baby. It was monumental. We went and walked around Babies-r-Us. If you have never been to Babies-r-Us it is like a huge Target just for baby stuff.

We walked around for about an hour just browsing and checking this out. Tons of choices. Too many choices. Bottles, wipes, diaper bags, cribs, sheets, chairs, nuks, bibs, clothes, car seats, playpens, huge strollers, little strollers, toys, mobiles, and all in about 10 different color choices. Completely overwhelming. I finally looked at M and said, "Okay. I have had enough."

Where do you start? On Little House on the Prairie they had a cradle at the end of the bed that Paw had made. Woman in 3rd-world countries are lucky to have anything at all and I spent an hour of my life in a mega store for someone that is currently the size of large tadpole. I know that I am blessed to live in an industrialized nation and I do have the means to provide for my child in almost any way, but good grief. How much does one tiny person need?

So, my question to blogland is this: If you already have a child.....What did you really need? And, what was just crap?

E-

bowlin' night

Tonight was my first night of bowling for the season (my 6th, I think). It's E's favorite night of the week. I'm not supposed to know, but I have a strong idea that E and the dog lay on the couch together. I'm on a team with three women I currently work with or have worked with in the past. They're all a generation older than me, but we have a great time together. Only one of them knows we're pregnant, and it's very fun to watch her wait for the others to leave to ask questions.

E is feeling queasy quite a bit and has a hard time finding foods that sound good. She's eating lots and lots of small meals every day. She told me that she thought she would love being pregnant, but she hates it. I think that will change when the second trimester rolls around. We are both adapting to going to bed at 9 or earlier every night. I've been getting lots of reading time, which I love. I also frequently get to eat whatever I want because E's not interested.

I still can't wait to tell everyone. Keeping a secret for months is crazy.

m

use your words!

We had our 6-week ultrasound today, and on the drive over we got more and more nervous. We have read in a number of places, and the doctor confirmed, that sometimes you can hear the heartbeat this early. So, we wanted to hear the heartbeat but had convinced ourselves we wouldn't be too disappointed if we didn't.

I would say E and I waited comfortably to be called back for the scan, but her full bladder made her a little squirmy. The technician introduced herself and did the first abdominal scan. It was very quick and there was nothing I saw that I recognized. Then she began the vaginal ultrasound. Unlike the first scan, this one seemed to take a very long time. As she clicked around, I thought I saw something that looked like a baby but then I thought, "How the heck would I know?" Finally, the technician said, "There's the gestational sac." It was just a black spot on the screen. I thought, "There's nothing there" and my heart sank. The technician continued the scan. At one point, E asked if something was normal and the technician said, "Yes" but that was all. Although E and I were glued to the screen and not looking at each other, I could tell we were both anxious.

The technician finally told us where the baby was and how big it was (4mm) and E asked if that was the right size. The technician confirmed it was. E then had to hold her breath for a bit and then let it go. This went on a few times. There was a display on the bottom of the screen that looked like a display on a stereo that shows sound output. In my mind the technician was looking for a heartbeat and it would show on this display. I couldn't see any pattern to what was happening on the display or E's breathing. Again, my heart sank.

Finally, the technician said, "Okay, I'm going to look for the heartbeat. It might get loud." I thought, "Finally! Holy cow, what was she looking for all this time if not the heartbeat."

And then she turned up the volume and within moments we heard a very loud and distinct...thump, thump...thump, thump...thump, thump. I got tears in my eyes. In a matter of a half hour, my heart had sunk and now soared. That's my baby in there! E and I have both said this seems so surreal. That moment was evidence that this is real. Even though E doesn't look pregnant and few people know, we had live evidence today and it felt great.

And we have a new photo hanging on the refrigerator.

m