So sweet!!

I had to post this because it was so sweet!! My pregnancy cravings for the past few months have been pretty normal with what most women want-- chocolate, pickles, ice cream, salty stuff and sweet stuff as well as citrus things but recently I've been craving cole slaw really badly, and not just any cole slaw. Theres a little mom and pop diner by us called "Shut up and eat!" that makes the BEST homemade cole slaw. All the waiters and waitresses wear pajamas and patrons are encouraged to come to breakfast in their pajamas as well (you get a 12% discount on your check if you do!) and we usually have breakfast there on Saturday or Sunday mornings. We go so often that they now know us there and everyone is so nice. Today I walked in NEEDING their cole slaw like no ones business. I was telling our waitress about how badly I was craving their specific cole slaw during this pregnancy and we ordered a side of it to take home with us because the store bought stuff wasn't doing it for me. Not even the good deli cole slaw could compare with this, and any pregnant woman knows that when you're craving something, you want that and only that. There is no settling. A few minutes later the owner walks over to our table with a side of cole slaw for me to eat with my chocolate chip waffles, which I devoured immediately and then she gave me an entire bag of cole slaw and said it was on the house because it was for the baby! So sweet!!

21 week update with pictures!!

I had another ultrasound this morning, accompanied by my husband and my mommy. If we hadn't gone to the ultrasound tech last month, we would be finding out the gender of the baby at today's appointment, so I almost laughed when the doctor asked if we wanted to know the gender, not knowing that we already knew, and we all said yes, and then he told us and no one seemed all that excited about learning that fact because we've all known for over a month now haha. Anyway, we got some great ultrasound pictures and we saw him moving and waving his arms and legs again. I'll post 2 of the good ones and then a few other pictures from this week :)

His little profile

This picture we all got such a kick out of. Sometimes babies are uncooperative during their gender scans and the doctors can't tell right away, but this little guy was ready for his close up!! Those are his 2 legs, spread eagle showing the world that he is, in fact, a boy!!

My husband came home with this last week. We've been having so much fun buying clothes for this little guy.

This is me with my other baby... my 9 month old English Mastiff Ruby, who acts like a toddler most of the time, but as we have learned already, is WONDERFUL with children. They can pull her tail or her ears and run around her and she is so gentle and just sits there and allows them to do whatever they want to her. She's gonna be a great Nana in a few months and we love her so much.

And finally, a picture of the little baby bump. Please don't mind the pasty complexion lol, It's been a long winter and even though I live in NJ, pregnant ladies can't tan, no matter what Snookie thinks. People keep saying I look great for 21 weeks pregnant and that my belly is still pretty small, and once again the doctor told me today that my weight gain was relatively low (7 pounds since the start of pregnancy) and I really find that hard to believe because, as I told Dr. C this morning, I crave the most random foods including chocolate pudding which I've been eating almost on a nightly basis (and then also for breakfast this morning lol ) and tons of Taco Bell which I have to lie to my husband about for the most part :P

We still keep up with our prayers and thank god daily for this gift. I am also thankful for ice cream, chocolate pudding, taco bell, cole slaw, chocolate chip pancakes and pickles! And I hope that I can find good excuses to eat all of these things after the baby is born lol

So much to write about!!

It's been quite a while since I've posted and part of it is because I haven't been to the doctor very much, like I was during the in-vitro process and that's when I would mostly blog, but I'm in my second trimester now and so much has happened!!

I'm now in week 20, so according to my doctor I've officially hit the halfway point in my pregnancy!! For someone who never EVER thought they would ever be pregnant, it's very surreal to me, as well as my mom, who seems amazed to see her daughter with a pregnant belly and some ridiculous food choices/cravings. We've been working on our nursery and it's actually almost finished. When we first moved into our house in November of 2010 the room across the hall upstairs was sooo creepy that we actually kept the door shut until I got pregnant. We used to refer to it as the crack den because it looked like a creepy room you would do drugs in.. no floor, no light fixtures, the walls had one coat of primer over a very dark paint color, the windows were full of dust and in the middle of the room was a small couch and an old box of tissues lol. For a while it turned into our junk room from all our other projects throughout the house, but then this past November I got pregnant and we realized we could actually start working on that room!!

We painted the walls a nice yellow color and we now have our crib, dresser, changing table, pack n play, bouncer, and a ton of new clothes for the little guy!! My mom informed me that my shower was going to be in May, but we were so excited to be having a baby that we already have diapers and clothes and socks and already a large selection of onesies and bath towels... My husband and I do like to plan ahead and make sure we have absolutely everything we need!!  The only piece of furniture we didn't buy was the rocking chair and that is on our registry along with a few other cool things at babies-r-us. Oh and this past weekend we put up dark blue curtains that goes very nicely against the yellow walls.

Onto the little guy in my belly... ok so about 3 weeks ago I was reading my pregnancy app on my iPhone (it gives me a tip every day about how to deal with various things throughout your pregnancy and how to prepare yourself as well as your partner for the arrival of your little bundle) and it was mentioning that I should be feeling him move. Now when my second trimester started I was feeling absolutely wonderful! Not even pregnant!! No nausea, just a little tiny bit of acid reflux but really barely that at all. Now anyone who knows me well knows that I worry about just about everything and being pregnant has been no easy ride for me. Every little tiny feeling has had me worrying and calling my husband up crying and freaking out and calling the doctor. That only got worse in my second trimester. I started feeling great and thinking there might not be any baby in there because I'm feeling so great!! Of course that was so far from the truth because my belly was growing so much and I wasn't even really noticing it! Finally my husband lost it on the 4th day in a row of me calling him up crying and complaining that I could swear something was wrong and he told me to go online and rent a Doppler, which I did and have only used 3 times now when I was really freaking out... anyway, last week on Thursday evening I was in NY and watching a Broadway show and right in the middle of the second act I felt 2 kicks right in my lower belly!! Of course I started texting everyone and I was so excited but that was all I really felt. It was very sporadic. I'd feel him every other day and only at night until yesterday, he was moving ALL day since the afternoon until dinner time and then this morning again around 6:30 am. I've also found that he moves when my giant English mastiff's head is on my belly snoring. Apparently that wakes him up and makes him move around!!

So I think it might be time already to return the Doppler. My next ultrasound is a week from today and both my husband and my momma will be there for it and we are all very much looking forward to it! I promise to blog again soon and not get lost in the world of "those who used to blog every now and then." Those people annoy me, I certainly don't want to become one of them!!! We are still praying, and now thankfully we can pray for a healthy delivery!!

We couldn't wait!!

I know I wrote in my last post that we were going to find out the gender of the baby on March 1st but my husband and I were fairly impatient and scheduled an appointment for Friday evening instead, lol!  Now throughout this process of becoming pregnant and being pregnant, everyone I have come in to contact with has given me their reasons and theories on why I am pregnant with a girl or a boy... for example, "Oh your really nauseous...it must be a girl", or "oh your showing early, it must be a boy", so basically by now my husband and I were completely confused and we had absolutely no idea what it was going to be, but for some reason, we were both expecting for it to be a girl...I don't know why.  Anyway. we got to the appointment last night and we got so see the baby and after about 30 seconds, she said ok are you ready.. its 100 percent...a BOY!!! Now that was the most exciting thing that ever happened to us.  And from last night to this moment we've been shopping, shopping, shopping, for all things boy.  I still have another appointment on March 1st that my mom is coming to with me so well get a nice little update by then and maybe I"ll have gained some weight this time.  So at the moment we have permanent smiles tattooed on our faces and we can't wait to meet our little man! :)

14 week update :)

I don't even know where to begin!! Well... tomorrow marks the 14th week of my pregnancy and I'm finally calm enough to blog about it. I haven't said anything in over a month because I was nervous that something was gonna happen and then I'd be blogging about no more baby, and so I didn't want to get too excited about being pregnant because I didn't want to jinx it so I waited and waited and waited and waited and FINALLY decided it was ok to blog about everything that's been going on the past month. So here goes...

My last ultrasound was a month ago and I went to my first appointment with the new ob. There are 4 doctors in the practice and the first one I met was really nice. The last time I saw the little one, it had arms and legs and looked like it was waving at me on the ultrasound screen. I had an appointment yesterday and they used the doppler to hear the heartbeat, so even though we didn't get to see it, it's nice to know it's still doing well in there. I still can't feel it though, so when I woke up yesterday I was still nervous that the doctor was gonna give me bad news (which is also why I was reluctant to blog until after that appointment), but he found a nice strong heartbeat in my belly. It's still weird to think there's a heart beating in my chest AND in my belly lol, and it's moving. Last time it was on the right side of my belly and yesterday it was all the way on the left. The only other thing was, the doctor said I'm not gaining enough weight. He said I should have gained a little weight since my last appointment and, in fact, I lost half a pound since the last time I was there so I spent all day trying to eat more yesterday, but really, I'm not that hungry. It didn't help that a total stranger that we bought some baby furniture from said "omg you're so tiny!" Nice to hear ANY other day but yesterday lol. So I had peanut butter and jelly and a piece of pizza for dinner. I wish I could eat like that all the time, but really since I became pregnant I've been craving healthy foods and really eating mostly fruit... and doritos.

My symptoms are starting to fade now that it's the 2nd trimester, which is nice. Still nauseous but only at night before bedtime and in the middle of the night, and food aversions to garlic and ground beef, and yes, I have eaten the fabled pickles and ice cream combo, and really, it's delicious. Some of the combos that i order when we go out to eat are kind of ridiculous.. Sunday morning we went to breakfast and I had a cheese quesadilla with salsa and turkey bacon on the side. And I went out with my mom and had french toast and french onion soup, so the pickles and ice cream thing doesn't sound so bad. My belly is starting to grow and I'm actually starting to look pregnant

Also, we started work on the nursery this month!! Well... when I say we, I mean Bill worked and I sat on the floor with the dogs and we all kept him company. He put a wood floor  and a ceiling fan in and painted the walls a nice pale yellow. And on Saturday, when we went to visit my mom in NYC, we bought a crib!! It's actually starting to look like a nursery now. We also found a changing table that we bought yesterday and I've walked into the nursery about 8 times today just to look lol. We still need a few more pieces of furniture but we're well on our way and it's so exciting!

In 2 weeks, I go in for bloodwork and then on March 1st we find out the sex of the little one. I can't believe it's that time already!! I apologize for not writing with an update sooner, but I was too nervous to jinx this whole situation. Talk to you all soon!!

Morning sickness and maternity pants.

Its been a crazy 2 weeks.  We had our second u/s and we were finally released from the fertility specialist.  He gave me the phone number of a new gynecologist, so I called to make an appointment.  They gave me an appointment that was 2 weeks away, so the only thing I could do was sit around and wait.

So 2 weeks ago all my symptoms kicked, which is kind of bitter sweet in a way.  Its nice to experience, but it kind of sucks experiencing it too.  There are days I am too dizzy and nauseous to get up, and the thought of eating anything is absolutely disgusting.  But then again, It's nice because it feels like I am on the right track with this pregnancy, until a week ago, 2 weeks after my last us with doctor B, when all of my symptoms mysteriously went away.  So of course I panicked for 3 days straight and then called Dr B, crying, totally freaked out.  and he was very sweet on the phone and had me come in for an u/s, even though he didn't think anything was wrong.  and of course there was nothing wrong at all...the baby was fine.  and then he spent quite a long time explaining to me how symptoms can come and go and that I should just relax for the next 8 months.  And so that's where we are at at the moment.  I still have a whole week before my appointment with the regular ob/gyn and luckily today, my symptoms are very weak. and that's good because its my husbands birthday and I can feel good enough to celebrate with him today.  In the meantime the only thing to do is to work on the nursery.  Even though it still early, the room we are going to use is completely bare, no floors, walls etc.  Hopefully when my first trimester ends in a few weeks my symptoms will leave with it.  This morning sickness and evening sickness and afternoon sickness is making me exhausted.  Oh, and also, I had to go and buy my first pair of maternity jeans because all my pants stopped fitting at the same time.  So that was exciting... We're still praying for a happy and healthy pregnancy and an even healthier baby in 7 months. I'm not sure how this appointment with the new doctor will go on Friday (I wish I could stay with doctor B. this whole time, but he doesn't deliver, AND he's moving to Maryland in 2 months!!), but I'll have an open mind for Dr. R and though I know no one can replace Dr. B, I guess I'll try... Talk to you all in a week.

Little miracles do happen :)

My husband took the day off yesterday to go to my first ultrasound with me and we were so incredibly nervous. It looked ridiculous, we sat in the room waiting for the doctor to come in, heads down, no talking... just waiting (me with my paper skirt and no pants on). I kept looking at my husband going.. go get Dr. B!! I can't sit around much longer, I'm going NUTS!! Anyway, he finally came in and we talked very little about symptoms and what not and then he said, "well you're at 6 weeks, so today we might be able to see a heartbeat, but if we can't, it doesn't mean it's not there, it just means it's too small to see right now so don't be nervous if that doesn't happen.", Then he stuck his magic wand in me and I think time stopped for a second. It's really hard for a non-doctor to read those ultrasound screens. Especially when you're as nervous as my husband and I were. We weren't seeing anything at all.. we weren't sure what we were looking for to begin with, but we were sure that we weren't seeing anything until Dr. B said.. "there it is" and everyone let out a huge sigh of relief!! We got to see it's little heart beating there on the screen and then he magnified the sound we actually got to hear the little heart beating. It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen and heard and I'm still in shock at this moment.

Then we talked about symptoms. Yesterday morning was the first time I got morning sickness throughout this whole experience. I've been having dizziness, but no real sickness caused by food, however, sitting at the diner with my husband and my mom, the combination of all the different smells was completely overwhelming and I couldn't eat anything without the thought of throwing it back up. We actually had to clear most of the plates from the table and then eat saltines. So I told that to Dr. B and then I also mentioned that nothing seemed appetizing to me, which is very true. I walk around the kitchen constantly looking for something to eat and I have a million options and I don't want any of them. You know, and then I don't feel well. So Dr. B said, he doesn't mind if I'm not gaining weight right now, but he does mind a lot if I'm losing weight, so I need to force feed myself whatever I can swallow right now. I've been working on that.

Ok and the best part about this whole thing? No more PIO shots!!!!!!!!!!! Dr. B said they officially ended yesterday and all I have to do is continue with the progesterone cream from now until the end of the first trimester which is January 25th and my official due date is August 8, 2012. The crazy thing is, Dr. B said next week on Friday is our last appointment/ultrasound with him and if everything looks good then, we can start going to a regular ob/gyn. Amazing, but scary. We are switching doctors though, or last gynecologist, when we told her we were having problems conceiving, she blew it off and told us we were worrying too much. Sounded like every other person we knew, saying "oh, you need to relax." Right. That's why we had to go through the all these fertility treatments before getting pregnant through IVF. We wont be going back to her, I can tell you that. Now that I am pregnant? I'm gonna need someone who takes me seriously, especially during these next 8 months.
Anyway, that's all for now. Talk to you all soon :)