Eleven Weeks

There's not much to report at this point, but I know some people are looking for an update.  According to what I have read online, the baby is now between 1.5 and 2 inches.

I can definitely tell a difference in my belly already.  I'm sure that most others don't even notice, but the people who know I'm pregnant have told me that they can see my little bump already, and I've been wearing my Belly Bands for a little while now (thank you for those, Sue!).  For the past two days, the left side of my belly is bumped out a little more than the right side.  I don't know the real reason, but I like to say that the baby is lying on my left side.

The past 5 weeks have been rough as far as "morning" sickness is concerned.  When I was exactly 6 weeks pregnant, I started getting sick.  I was sick all day, but it was much worse at night.  I started feeling unbearably sick around 4:30 every day, and I would wake up every two hours because I was so sick.  I couldn't keep anything down.  I lost weight, and I was becoming dehydrated.  My doctor said I had to take medication because of the dehydration.  I wasn't thrilled with this idea (I'm trying to not take any medication during my pregnancy), but I knew it was important to stay hydrated.  The medicine has helped some, but it's not a miracle cure for me.  I still feel queasy most days.  I think it's starting to get a little better, though.  I've heard that there is hope that it will go away completely when I get to 12 weeks.  We'll see.  I don't mind being a little queasy because it lets me know that the baby is still there and doing well.

I've also already dealt with some pretty bad heartburn and fatigue, today I've had a dull headache all day.  I do feel a little more energetic tonight, though.  I think Scott is surprised that I'm still awake right now.  I actually cooked, too, which hasn't happened in awhile.  Maybe as I come to the end of the first trimester, I'll start to get back to normal.  Or, maybe tomorrow I'll be exhausted and sicker than ever.  Time will tell.

Sue's Birthday

My mother-in-law's birthday is still seven months away, but Scott and I have already decided on the PERFECT present for her...another grandchild!  Sue's birthday is September 14th, and that is also the due date for our first child!

Our road to becoming parents didn't begin as smoothly as we had hoped.  The first time I got a positive pregnancy test was on September 20, 2010.  Scott and I were so happy! 

We went to Eddie Merlot's the following night to celebrate our baby.  The next Saturday, we went to see my family in Columbia City.  We had Quentin wear a t-shirt that said, "I'm the big cousin" and waited for everyone to notice.  The next day, we went over to Scott's parent's house.  We gave Sue an "early retirement" present...a positive pregnancy test.  Of course, everyone was excited to welcome a new baby to the family.  Quentin even gave the baby a name...Grovo.  Unfortunately, we never got to meet Grovo.  On October 26th, his heart stopped beating and my heart broke.

I suspected that I might be pregnant again a few days after Christmas, but I didn't take another pregnancy test until January 1st.  Scott and I decided that 2010 was an unlucky year, and we wanted to start fresh in 2011.  On December 31st, Scott came home from work and said, "so are you testing at 12:01?"  Absolutely!  Right after watching the ball drop to ring in the new year, I went upstairs to go to the bathroom.  I figured I would take the test back downstairs, and Scott and I would watch for it to change together.  That wasn't possible.  Before I even left the bathroom, I could tell that it was starting to turn positive.  As I walked down the stairs, I said, "Happy new year!"  Scott said, "oh my gosh!  You're kidding!"

Before taking the pregnancy test, we had talked about how different it would be this time.  Our innocence was gone.  We no longer felt like nothing bad could happen to us.  We worried that we wouldn't be able to allow ourselves to get as excited this time around.  All of that worry was gone as soon as we saw the positive test.  We talked about how we couldn't believe how happy we were.  We were definitely more nervous than we had been with Grovo, but we were just as excited as we had been with him.  As the weeks go by, we continue to get more and more excited to meet our new baby!

Two weeks ago today, I went to my first doctor appointment (with a new doctor, by the way).  At that point, a "good" heartbeat would have been 126 bpm or higher.  I was so thrilled to hear a strong heartbeat of 150!  The baby was smaller than expected, but it's not like Scott and I are giants.  The doctor wasn't at all concerned about the small size, but I was, so he said I could come back in two weeks to see that the baby is growing.  I went back today.  The baby has grown just as it should.  It is exactly two weeks bigger than it was two weeks ago.  It's heartbeat is 166!  And this baby is lucky enough to have an older sibling up in Heaven watching out for it.

So, this has officially become a "Mommy Blog."  Let the countdown begin...