Pandas

I thought I'd take this opportunity of getting off work a little early to explain the panda in my sig on the Nest/Bump.

This little guy is Xi Lan. He lives at the Atlanta Zoo. We went to visit him in June.

He was about 10 months old at the time and look at him!!! So freakin' adorable. I was standing in the little viewing area snapping photos while one of the zoo volunteers was spouting information off about Giant Pandas. The thing that jumped out at me (and hit home) was that pandas can only get pregnant once a year and they have about a two day window to do so. ONCE A YEAR. Are you kidding me? That's worse than human chances...no wonder these cuties are majorly endangered. The good news is that it does happen for them. Little Xi Lan up there is proof, as is his older sister. (There also was a new panda born recently at the San Diego Zoo.)

I put him in my siggy, 1) because he is adorable and 2) that if pandas somehow manage to get knocked up with seemingly worse chances, dammit, so can us infertiles. He went up the week we got back from Atlanta, which was the week that the miracle cycle started. Call it coincidence, but I think he's my lucky charm.

I have a newfound respect and love for pandas! Giraffes and sharks used to have my heart, but pandas are right up there now. You might even see me with a new panda tattoo in a couple years. ;-)

9 Weeks and 2 Days

Sorry for slacking on the updates. I think I've hit the "feel like crap" stage of pregnancy. Overall, everything is fine and believe me, I am more than grateful to have symptoms.

I had some spotting on the 14th that really scared me. It was bright red drops when I would wipe, but luckily it seemed to end as quickly as it began. They still put me on pelvic rest for the weekend and had me come in first thing on Monday. I saw the nurse practioner, she took a look inside, and proclaimed that everything appeared to be fine and my cervix was closed as it should be. I've been spotting off and on since, but its been mere specks...nothing heavier or as bad as it was the first time I saw it. I've been trying not to stress about it, but regardless, I don't like to see it.

I had my first "official" OB appointment on Thursday, it was uneventful. They drew some blood, did another pee test (which was still positive) and ordered another ultrasound for the following day because of the spotting.

Here's a belly pic from last Thursday, 8 weeks and 4 days.

I think the nausea really kicked in last week. Most mornings I can't stand to drink water...usually not until 2 pm does it sound even remotely appealing. I think the nurse on Monday jinxed me because she asked about the nausea, which wasn't bad, and said, "Oh well if you haven't had much by now, you probably won't have much more!" Yeah. If that's not a jinx I don't know what is.

Anyway, the ultrasound Friday went wonderfully, we could see SOMETHING in there, something more than a blob!!! The baby's heartbeat was up to 180 bpm, a little over a week after it was at 153 bpm last ultrasound. And it's still growing! Here's some pictures:

Well, that's all I have energy to post today. I have my next appointment next Thursday (3rd) and I think I'm coming out to work next week! EEEEKKK!! :-)

Saw the Heartbeat!!!!

I had another ultrasound today as the doc wanted me to come back so they could better date the pregnancy. I saw the sac on the screen as soon as they reached it, it had definitely gotten bigger. We got to see a little flicker on screen and it was the most incredible thing. I could have watched it all day. It was measuring 153 bpm, which they said was about average for how far along I am.

I was measuring right at 7 weeks, 3 days, as previously thought based on my LMP, not a week behind anymore, which is great! I can be out of 1st Tri faster!

Not the greatest pic ever, but on-screen I could see it very clearly.

I've discovered that brushing my teeth is a bit of a challenge. I dry heaved over the sink the other morning, which was unpleasant. I've tried to be very careful since then about my technique and that seems to have helped. I'm varying degrees of nauseous in the mornings, I haven't thrown up yet though. It seems that when I get over the nausea hump, I seem to be incredibly hungry for just about anything and everything. Everything sounds delicious! It's created a bit of a dilemma trying to decide where to go for lunch. I'm worried I'm going to be that girl that gains 100 pounds. I'm already a little afraid to step on a scale. The good news is that I don't have a sweet tooth, so I'm not filling up on junk. My real craving lately has been a sausage, egg, and cheese McMuffin, which I haven't indulged yet, but by God I could have one now.

My biggest problem is just fatigue. I'm worn out from Roatan last week and we have company coming this weekend. I need to try to pick up the house, but I can't get off the couch tonight. I feel so lazy, but seriously, I can't function after I leave work.

I will leave you with a current belly pic. I am so bloated I have few pants that fit right now.



Happiness is the feeling you're feeling when you want to keep feeling it. ~Author Unknown