He's a Fighter

We had our 11 week appointment this morning and all is well! The doctor wasn't able to find the heartbeat via doppler but was clearly able to see it via ultrasound. The baby was doing somersaults and even gave us a front-facing, muscle-builder pose. Although I'm not feeling up to working out, apparently he is! As soon as I can figure out how to change a pdf of the pics into a jpg, I will post the images.

Sibling Rivalry

Jasper has been a good puppy and a wonderful comfort while I've been sick. This week, as I returned to work mostly full time, he decided to show his displeasure by being naughty. Wednesday night, I came home to find glass shards on the bedroom carpet - Jasper ate my glasses. I looked all over the house and could not find the rims so we went to the Emergency Vet. $300 later, he turned out to be just fine but is now back in his kennel while we're at work. The little puppy is going to have quite a shock when the baby comes!

Bud

There is so much we don't know about having a baby and our friends have been a tremendous help. Dawn and Meg recently had little boys and have given great advice, lent maternity clothes and provided moral support.

Chris and Lucy gave us a dozen books, including a name book from which Kevin has picked "Rusty" as the lead candidate - regardless of the baby's gender. For now, we've agreed to call the baby "Bud" and use "he" as the pronoun instead of "shim" or "it."

Now, the debate is whether we find out the gender. Kevin wants to wait for the surprise but I would like to know. As Dawn put it "there will be enough firsts, newness and complete shock when the baby's born, knowing the gender in advance won't detract from any of the chaos!"

Some Relief

At week 10, I wanted to be done feeling so terrible and my doctor prescribed an anti-nausea medicine. All hail Zofran! It makes a huge difference - I was able to walk on the treadmill, do laundry and work a full day. While not ready to go for a jog or a night on the town, it is wonderful to feel a little better.

Morning Sickness is a Misnomer

The term "morning sickness" would lead me to believe that nausea would go away by noon. Apparentely, I have "all day and all night sickness." My routine is pretty consistent: eat Saltine crackers and Cream of Wheat, drink sparkling water, lay on the couch and run to the sink or the bathroom a few times a day.

Our friends, Chris and Lucy gave us a large bag of Chinese ginger candies. Kevin bought me Sea Bands and mom made "nausea friendly" dinners. My boss has been very understanding and is flexible with a part time work schedule. I am blessed to have so much support.

Everyday is one closer to feeling better!

We're Having a Chicken

On December 29, we had our first ultra sound. Kevin was excited on the way there but his expression changed to one of surprise and a little fear when he saw the ultrasound device. Luckily it looks a lot worse than it is!

It took just a few seconds to isolate the image and there it was - our chicken? The technician pointed out the head, the spine, the little arm buds, the heart beat and..the yolk sac. Yolk sac isn't a term we were familiar with so Kevin and I were a little confused. She explained that that's the baby's food source for the first few weeks and that everything was healthy and normal. Good, it's not a chicken, that would be awkward.

Christmas Gifts

This year, we had one additional Christmas gift. While celebrating the holidays in Iowa we shared the news with an impromptu announcement by Kevin. My father-in-law, in perfect Hugh Thompson style, proceeded to tell me about the trails and tribulations of past deliveries in the family as well as some from the Heifers on his farm.

When we got back to MN, we bought a book about Grandparents and Grandchildren and gave it to my parents. Mom was relatively subdued in her reaction - jumping in circles, grinning and, in her head, beginning to make plans for baby showers. Rachel's response: "I don't like kids."

In the Beginning

December 7, T-5 days before Kevin and I leave for Mexico. It was Sunday night and I figured I should take a pregnancy test just to make sure I could enjoy Pina Coladas on the beach. I was fairly certain it would be negative but as I was about to throw it away, I noticed a very faint, second pink line.

Of course, I could be pregnant but I didn't feel pregnant so I decided to take another test. I ran up to Walgreen's and picked up four more, different tests. The results were clear: +, "pregnant", :) and "yes" - we're having a baby!