8 Weeks 2 Days - Heartbeat!

I found the heartbeat this morning!  It was the exact same process as it was when I was pregnant with Isaiah: I looked for it for days, knowing I probably wouldn't find it yet, and then at 8 weeks 2 days I found it!  I think it's a funny coincidence that I found it at 8 weeks 2 days both times (I didn't have a Doppler with Noah's pregnancy).

I found it a few times.  The first time I thought I was recording it, but it turned out my phone was out of storage.  I tried to find it again after I made some room on my phone.  It took awhile, and at one point I gave up and wiped all the gel off my belly.  Then I was like "Whatever, I'm trying again."  And I found it after a few minutes.  I got it recorded that time!  I was afraid to even breathe because it's so easy to lose it at this point because the heart is so tiny.  But I recorded it for about a minute.

Tomorrow is my first ultrasound, so I'll go into it far less nervous than I might have been otherwise.

As for other symptoms:

-I am not nearly as sick as I was with Noah and Isaiah, but I feel like garbage a lot of the time.  With my other pregnancies, especially Noah's, I felt like I was 2 seconds away from throwing up at all times. If I even turned my head to the side my stomach would lurch.  I was useless.  I was similarly ill with Isaiah, but it was better controlled by the Diclectin (which I was also on with Noah, but I took more when Isaiah's pregnancy so it worked better).  With this pregnancy, I almost always have that feeling I get before I get the stomach flu, where I'm like "Huh... I feel really gross... I feel like I'm going to wake up at 1am puking my guts out."  So it's like a constant mild nausea.  But it's tolerable.  I can still function.  I just can't do much extra functioning.  I don't want to move around too much, so I'm not lifting weights or going for walks or doing any of that normal stuff I was doing everyday before I was pregnant.

-My body is already being stupid.  I spent two days with a leg that really hurt, then 4 days with a foot that really hurt, then 3 days with a hip that hurt so bad I could barely walk.  I didn't do anything to hurt myself for any of those things.

-My pubic bones hurts a bit (it started hurting at 5 weeks), but it's not bad.  Sometimes I don't feel the discomfort, other times I do.  I'm being careful about how I move, though.  No more lunges.

-I'm insanely, painfully hungry at all times.  It's awful how hungry I am.  I have tried to keep things under control and not overeat too much, but I've still gained 8 lbs in 4 weeks.  I've realized that as much as I try not to, it is my lot in life to gain crazy amounts of weight in the first trimester.  It's happened every time.  Yesterday was the first day I wasn't in extreme discomfort from hunger all day, and it's because I ate leftover pizza for breakfast, and pizza at my parents' for lunch.  So maybe I should just eat pizza for all my meals.  I'd probably actually end up netting less calories that way than I currently am, because nothing else fills me up.

-I'm peeing all the time.  That started sometime after 6 weeks.  And it's the "I really have to pee right now!" thing, and then when you go there's not nearly as much pee as it felt like there would be.

-I'm hating chicken.  I always cook up big batches of chicken breasts and keep them in my fridge so I have heathy protein to eat all the time, but I can't stomach that chicken now.  I can't stand the seasonings I always use on it (which I usually love), and I can't think of any other way to prepare it with the stuff I have on hand.  Or even the stuff I could buy at the store. 

-My boobs still hurt.

-My belly is still big.  I don't have an 8 week picture, but this one is from 7 weeks 4 days.

I've been hiding it with  cardigans (to hide the side view) paired with thick, long infinity scarves, but it's not working great anymore.  I can hide it with one of Justin's hoodies (he's way bigger than me), but we're finally getting warm weather here and I'm not going to be able to keep wearing scarves and hoodies.

I wouldn't mind people knowing, especially now that I've found the heartbeat, but I'm just actually embarrassed by how big I get so quickly.  I don't look forward to the "How far along are you?" questions and having to answer with such a low number.  And people think "Holy crap, how many oreos did you eat?!"  I feel shame.  Haha.  Why does this happen to me?

I think there's a few other things I could mention, but I can't remember them now and I need to move on with my day!

It's Been Too Long, and Things Are Changing

I haven't posted (or logged in) in 2 years.  I always wish I did, because so much happens and I no longer record any of it (unless you count Facebook statuses).  It's just hard to find the time.  Seriously, as I'm sitting here trying to type this post, Noah is standing beside me and won't stop talking to me ("Imagine if we had to walk to the cottage?  Can you imagine how long that would take?  Do you think we're ever going to make videos on YouTube? I think we will.  If we did I think I would...").  It makes typing coherent sentences a little difficult.

I'm hoping that will change for the next little while, because.... drum roll...

I'M PREGNANT.

What?  I know.  We did it all on our own this time, no fertility treatments.  It's something I always knew could happen, but I thought it would happen when I was, like, 40, and definitely didn't want any more kids.  We WANTED this baby.  And I'm only 31.

We'd been trying.  For over two years, actually.  It felt pointless, but I just couldn't make myself call my clinic.  They've got completely new staff and my doctor is no longer practicing, so it would be like figuring out a completely different clinic.  Plus it's an hour away and would be so time consuming and emotionally consuming.  The idea of going there was giving me anxiety.  I had almost resigned myself to the fact that we would only have two kids.

We only did it ONCE the cycle I got pregnant, because we've been dealing with a LOT of illnesses in our house.  The one time we did it we probably shouldn't have, because Justin was just starting to get sick.  But we wanted to, so we did.  And it happened to be the day before I ovulated.  And after 8 years of never using birth control and trying our hardest but never getting pregnant, that one fluke time that we basically did it just because we wanted to and not because we didn't want to miss ovulation, I get pregnant.

I was SUPER sick when I found out.  Sicker than I had ever been in my life.  I couldn't swallow, I couldn't even talk.  It was the day I was supposed to get my period (I always get it at 12DPO).  The two days beforehand I had gotten a tiny bit of brown spotting on a few occasions when I wiped, so I was kind of thinking that my period was REALLY wanting to come.  So I figured I'd have it right away in the morning.

It was 5am and I still didn't have my period.  No big deal, I still had all day to get it.  But the spotting the last couple of days, and the fact that I had that but my period hadn't arrived yet made me think I should test.  I hadn't slept all night anyway because I was in too much pain. 

I started by taking ovulation tests, because that's what I do.  Two different brands, because one of them is more sensitive than the others.  Neither of them was actually positive.  The more sensitive brand was maybe getting close, but the other brand definitely wasn't.

Still, I felt compelled to use an HPT.  I dipped it in and sat there watching it with my iPhone flashlight.  I don't know why, but I was expecting it to turn positive.

And then it did.

And I just sat there staring at it like "Are you kidding me?"  I was surprised, but I wasn't surprised.  I always thought we'd get pregnant on our own one day, but at the same time I never thought it would happen.  My mind has always been filled with a dichotomy of thoughts on the topic.

Anyway, it was 5am and Justin was still sleeping (he cosleeps with Noah, I cosleep with Isaiah).  He gets super red eyes if he wakes up too early, and I didn't want to wake up Noah, so I just texted him to let me know when he was awake.

In the meantime I texted two girlfriends, Corey and Kayla.  Corey was up nursing her baby at 6am so she was the first person I told.  Kayla was shortly after.

Justin woke up around 7am and texted me that he was awake and going to the bathroom.  So, super sick me hobbled to the kitchen and waited for him, sitting in a chair.  When he came out of the bathroom he said "What's up?) 

I had no voice, and no energy for any fanfare, so I just whispered, "I'm pregnant." 
He said, "Whatever." 
I whispered, "No seriously, I'm pregnant." 
He said, "No you're not." 
I whispered, "Yes, I am."
He said, seriously, "Why are you messing with me?"
I whispered, (and it was extremely hard to whisper this many words) "I'm not messing with you, I am actually pregnant.  Here's the test."

And then he had his hands on his chest saying, "What?!  How?!  We only did it once!!  Oh my goodness!! You're pregnant?!"  He was insanely excited and I was just sitting there, feeling like I'm dying, wishing I could muster together enough energy and enthusiasm to act really excited.

It took a little while to sink in, but I definitely has.  I'm 5.5 weeks pregnant now.  At 4 weeks pregnant I had a flat stomach and a 6 pack.  This was me in the MORNING on the day I turned 5 weeks (I'm much bigger in the evenings).  I hadn't even showered yet, but I wanted to see how my maternity jeans fit.

Just like with the other two, I am growing insanely quickly.  I don't really understand why this happens to me.  My uterus does get big very very quickly, but I don't get why I immediately get so much bloat higher in my abdomen as well.  It never disappeared with my other two pregnancies, so I don't expect it to this time.

Because I haven't been seeing a fertility clinic, this pregnancy doesn't have the same level of monitoring that my previous pregnancies have had.  Because of that I've taken like 15 pregnancy tests, and as of this morning the lines are still getting much darker every time I take a test! 

As for symptoms - at 5.5 weeks my big symptoms are major fatigue, bloating, and very sore boobs.  I had a lot of aversions last week, but they're not so bad anymore so I think it might have been a strange symptom of my illness.  I'm still getting over it and it's been 2.5 weeks since I got sick.

So, this is why I'm back.  I documented by first two pregnancies very closely, and I've enjoyed being able to look back at what happened when with both pregnancies.  Hopefully I can pop in once in awhile to record what happens with this little Bambino.

25 Weeks

How far along: 25 weeks

Stretch marks?: None appearing on my belly, but some old stretch marks in other places are extending somewhat. I don't want to talk about it.

Sleep: Holding steady.   I'm up to pee 4 times a night, and awake to change positions 5 or 6 times besides that.  It's painful because of the pubic bone separation.  Hip pain is under control due to the use of Traumeel cream on a daily basis and the enormous space I create between my legs with the massive mountains of pillows surrounding me on either side (4 king-sized pillows, 1 body pillow, and 5 normal sized pillows).  

Movement: Constant... and getting violent!

Best moments this week/month: We had my sister in law, 3 nephews, Mom, and Dad over today.  It was so fun to have everyone over and out swimming in the pool.  Noah was in his element.  He just swam out to the middle of the pool and kept yelling "YAY! YAY! YAY!" while treading water/spinning in circles.  It was cracking me up.

Food cravings: Sweet stuff.  I don't give in very often, though.

Sex: Boy!!

Labor signs?: At least 50 braxton hicks a day.  Today it was a lot more of that.  A 20-30 second contraction every 3-5 minutes pretty much all day long.  I have such an irritable uterus.

New Symptoms: The humidity is killing me.  It makes me feel like I'm breathing through a pillow.

Belly Button: Fully popped.

What I miss the most: Just being comfortable.  I can't believe I have 15 weeks left.

What I am looking forward to the most: Pregnancy related, I am still looking forward to giving birth, meeting this little guy, and seeing Noah with his little brother... he is soo sweet, gentle, and loving to his 2 month old cousin Asher - he is going to be such an amazing big brother!

Less directly related to pregnancy?  Friday is Justin's last day of "work" until September (although he is training clients full time all summer for our second income).  Next week is his one week of vacation, and it'll be so nice to have him home!  We are hoping to get the nursery and our bedroom painted next week, so that's exciting!

It's really crazy to think that by the time Justin goes back to work, I only have a month of pregnancy left!  His summer vacation always goes by so quickly, so it's really weird to think of that.  I've got to start getting the room shuffle/reorganization started!  There is so much to do this time, since there is not an empty room waiting for this baby like there was for Noah.  There's a room (the third bedroom on our upper floor), but it's currently occupied by all my husband's stuff (mainly clothes)!  All that stuff needs to be distributed between our bedroom and one of the bedrooms downstairs.  But there isn't really room in our bedroom closet or in the bedroom closets downstairs.  It'll be a huge chore, and I would like to have it done and out of the way.  But since the baby isn't due for a few more months, I'd hate to have 3/4 of my husband's clothing banished to the downstairs for longer than they have to be.  It's a conundrum.

Milestones: 25 weeks!  15 weeks left.

Pictures:

24 weeks:

25 weeks:

Seriously I can't believe I'm supposed to grow for another 15 weeks.

22 Weeks

How far along: 22 weeks

Stretch marks?: None appearing on my belly, but some old stretch marks in other places are extending somewhat.  I don't want to talk about it.

Sleep: Right after my last update at 18 weeks my hip bones started to really hurt at night, which was causing awful sleep.  I had this with Noah, too.  Also, because of my PSD (painful pubic bone separation) flipping over in bed is very painful, and it's much worse when I have to maneuver my pillows over top of my body to the other side.  I've been rubbing Traumeel cream (a homeopathic remedy) on my hips on a daily basis and added an extra pillow between my legs, and that has really helped the hip pain (I had 2 between my legs, now I have 3).  It actually also helps with the pubic bone a little bit, I think because my legs are spread further apart and it stops my pubic bone from being able to get incredibly out of alignment while I'm sleeping on my side.  I also arranged a set up so that I don't have to move pillows around at night.  I am using 10 pillows every night to sleep.  That's not 10 normal sized pillows either.  It's 4 king-sized pillows, 1 body pillow, and 5 normal sized pillows.

So the pillow arrangement helps with the pain.  Other than that, I am waking up about 10 times a night, and peeing 3 times.

Movement: I've been feeling it since about 12 weeks, and on the outside since 17 weeks 6 days.  After the 18 week mark the strength of the baby's movements grew by leaps and bounds.  By 20 weeks my belly was visibly dancing and the baby was kicking so hard it would sometimes actually startle me.  I wasn't experiencing that same strength of movement that early with Noah, so it's been fun.  I'm surprised with how much stronger movement feels so early the second time around.  And how I can already push the baby's body parts around in my belly.  I don't remember being able to do that until I was at least a few weeks further along with Noah.

Best moments this week/month: I can't think of one specific thing.  Noah seems to be more restless these days so we've been getting out of the house a lot, which is good for both of us.  We went strawberry picking today, and that was lots of fun for my strawberry-obsessed Noah!  He is also fully potty trained now (at 26 months), except for when he's sleeping, and that is a very welcome recent development in our household!

Food cravings: Jam.  That seems weird, but the past few days I have been craving jam like nobody's business.  But not just any jam, President's Choice Blue Menu Strawberry Jam.  It's the best jam ever - tastes just like the jam my Beppe (Grandma) used to make.

Sex: A baby boy!!

Labor signs?: Lots of braxton hicks and crampiness.  I had many BH all throughout my first pregnancy, too.  I also just checked my cervix recently (out of curiosity, not because I think I'm going into labour anytime soon), and it must be because I'm a second time mom with a previous vaginal delivery, but it is not at all "closed"!  There is more than enough room for 2 fingers in there.  I thought that was weird.

New Symptoms: I haven't been able to exercise much for the past 3 weeks because it just causes so much pain.  I'm starting to feel that I've lost some of the ground I gained when I was exercising daily, in that I get more easily winded.  I guess I decided that I'd rather feel out of shape than have increased pain.

Belly Button: Fully popped.

What I miss the most: I still miss eating whatever I wanted and being skinny, regardless.

What I am looking forward to the most: Right now, at this moment?  Labour and giving birth.  I've been reading a lot of hypnobirthing/Hypnobabies/Ina May Gaskin/homebirthing stuff, and I am starting to get really antsy to get this show on the road.  That sucks, because I am 22 weeks pregnant and have 4 months until my due date!  I am just really looking forward to a home birth this time around, and right now I am not feeling at all patient!

If I'm just picking something closer in the future, I am looking forward to my midwife appointment on Thursday.  Not because they're particularly eventful; just because I like her.  And I'll finally get to find out the results from my 18 week ultrasound (which my midwives still had not received from my RE's office yesterday, so I had to call them and make them fax over the report).  If we're not satisfied with the non-information my clinic is giving us about my subchorionic hematoma, ovarian cysts, and mystery fibroid which I knew nothing about, then I might consent to another ultrasound in my community.  I don't know, though.  My midwife was willing to send me for one two weeks ago but I decided to wait and see.  I haven't decided if I actually want another one.

Milestones: At 22 weeks, I'm more than halfway!

Alright, picture time.  I thought I was starting to look more reasonable for my gestation, but apparently others disagree.  I am frequently involved in conversations with people who just can't believe I'm "only" 22 weeks along.

I am bigger than I was last time.  Just for fun, this is me 23 weeks pregnant with Noah (sorry, I'm facing a different direction in all of my pictures from my first pregnancy, and the pictures are much closer up, which makes the belly appear similar in size, but if you really compare them there is a definite difference):

The second picture is definitely a smaller belly, and I'm 1 week further along in it.

The End.

Feeling it on the Outside... And 18 Week Update

I'm 18 weeks today, and last night I felt the baby kicking from the outside!  It was awesome.  I just checked, and I felt it on the outside at the same time in my pregnancy with Noah.  I thought I felt it a couple of weeks later with him, but apparently not!


K maybe I'll try and do a pregnancy update now, really quickly before Noah wakes up.  He happens to be sleeping in (it's almost 8!).


How far along: 18 weeks

Stretch marks?: Just what I have from Noah.  No new ones.

Sleep: It's not terrible.  My pubic bone is starting to really hurt at night, and I'm waking about about 8 times a night and peeing at least 3 times, but it could be a lot worse.

Movement: For the past month or so the level and strength of movement has remained about the same.  I was waiting for it to become stronger or more frequent (some days it would be more than others, but for the most part I felt movement 10-20 times a day) , but it was taking awhile.  But as of 17 weeks 6 days I can feel it on the outside!  I have to have impeccable timing and hand placement, though.

Best moments this week: Feeling the baby move from the outside.  Last night s/he kept kicking my hand in the same place almost 10 times in a row.  By the time Justin got there, though, s/he had stopped.  Of course.  Also awesome this week was opening the pool and hanging out back there with Noah.  It's going to be a great summer!

Food cravings: Nothing specific.

Sex: We find out in 2 days (Friday)!!

Labor signs?: Lots of braxton hicks.  I had many of them all throughout my first pregnancy, too.  As my uterus gets bigger (it's over an inch above my belly button now at 18 weeks) they become more uncomfortable.

New Symptoms: Nothing new so far.  For the most part I am feeling pretty good.  I am trying to be as active as possible, considering the condition of my pubic bone.  I've been working out almost every day (only doing things that don't irritate it, since going for a walk makes it hurt worse for many days), and eating incredibly well, so I think that's why I'm feeling pretty good.  But I'm finding my body gets sore really easily.  It doesn't take much for my back and pelvis to get sore and prevent me from wanting to move.

Belly Button: Almost fully popped.  It's been popped for a long time already.

What I miss the most: Eating whatever I wanted because I was actually producing a full milk supply and not gaining any weight.

What I am looking forward to the most: Finding out if it's a boy or a girl on Friday!  I'm excited!!

Milestones: In my mind, 18 weeks is a milestone.

This is my most recent belly picture.  It's not that recent though, since I am 16.5 weeks in it.  I'll have to take another one soon.

15 Weeks

I'm 15 weeks now.  Second trimester is well established, and my body can tell.  I'm feeling pretty good.  Of course, I'm comparing this to my first hand knowledge of what pregnancy can really feel like, not to how I feel when I'm not pregnant.  So it's all very relative!

I'm down to just taking two Diclectin at night (which work for the morning) for the nausea, but I'm thinking I might try cutting that down to 1 pretty soon, because I have very little nausea anymore.  Funny, I seem to remember it hanging on longer with Noah.

I've had a belly for long enough now (seriously, I had one already at 4 weeks) that I've adjusted to the fact that my belly gets in the way, and it's just my new normal.  I was really annoyed at already having to deal with a "pregnant body" in my early first trimester, but now it's just normal to me.  I'm over it.

My uterus is at my belly button.  When I wake up in the morning it's actually a good inch above my belly button.  I would love to know why it's so big, but probably never will.

(Can you see that my belly button is partially poking out?  It's been doing that for many many weeks now.)

Bambino is getting fairly active!  I started feeling him/her off and on, very faint and fluttery, around 12 weeks.  But the past week or so (especially yesterday) there has been no doubt.  Yesterday s/he was kicking up a storm, all day long it seemed!  A totally different feeling than it will be 10 weeks from now, but still very obviously the baby.  Today s/he has been calmer, but I have felt and noticed probably about 15-20 soft jabs throughout the day.  It's neat.

The insane hunger has lessened.  Although after my crazy weight gain during the first trimester, I am now seriously watching what I'm eating.  So I am just as hungry, if not hungrier, as my body adjusts to eating pretty much half of what I was eating before.  Because for the past 2 years I've been able to eat whatever I wanted and was still the skinniest my body can even allow me to be (as a nearly 5'10" woman), I had no memory of how much food I really should be taking in.  I'm not saying I pigged out all the time for the past 2 years, but I certainly wasn't concerned about portion sizes or my calorie count for the day.  If I wanted to eat something, I would eat it.  I never gained any weight, so why deprive myself?

Well, I needed a serious reality check, so I downloaded the Lose It app for my iPod.  I have been tracking every bite I eat.  It's amazing how keeping track of everything that goes into your mouth really makes you make yourself eat much healthier choices, and much less food.  I have been eating sooo clean.  Mostly fruit, vegetables, yogurt, and lean meats, with just a couple of slices of bread throughout the day.  I am getting a ton of nutrients, but way less calories.  It's hard though.  I can't wait for my body to adjust to eating less, because I pretty much think about food all day long at this point.

I am also making more of a point to exercise, now that I'm feeling more human.  Before now I would play outside with Noah, take him on walks, and obviously spend tons of time cleaning my house.  But I am making a point of being active everyday now, instead of just when it happens to happen.

To be honest, the largest part of my motivation to eat super healthy and exercise is my desire to avoid any complications that could get in the way of me having a homebirth.  I know that it's not all in my control, but I don't want to get to the end of my pregnancy and wonder if there was something I could have done differently that would have allowed me to have the birth I wanted to have (and didn't get with Noah).  Plus, I was in such excruciating pain when I was pregnant with Noah, I just want to do anything possible to maybe avoid that this time.  I expect to get more uncomfortable as time goes on, but I'm hoping to not be CRIPPLED this time!

I should probably start doing the "pregnancy survey" instead of these random updates.  Sometimes I find them limiting and repetitive, though.  Maybe next time!

11 Weeks (Belly Picture)

I realized I hadn't taken a picture in a couple of weeks, so here is 11 weeks 1 day!

Not the most flattering picture, and I'm in my pajama pants.  But I'm feeling kind of large.  Obviously I am in 100 percent maternity wear, unless it's stretchy pants like the ones above.

I've developed plantar fasciitis (bad foot pain, concentrated most strongly in the heel), which really sucks.  It came on really suddenly a couple of weeks ago.  I got some homeopathic cream and pills, and they are helping quite a bit, but it's still very painful.  It is more bearable if I do very limited walking, but if I even do something extra, like vacuuming my house, taking Noah to the park, going shopping, etc, my feet KILL, and I can't even make dinner.

I am still on 4 Diclectin a day, 2 in the morning and 2 at night.  This is two less than I was taking a few weeks ago.  I hardly ever have even a wave of nausea anymore because of it, which is great.

I am still insanely starving.  I have to eat a massive meal with tons of protein and carbs within an hour of going to bed, otherwise I am waking up starving several times and having to eat crackers.  Sometimes I actually have to get out of bed to go to the kitchen and get something more substantial.  It really sucks.  I am seriously over this whole 'starving' thing.  I don't WANT to have to eat this much before bed.  I am sick of it.  I don't want to eat like that late at night.  I am never in the mood for it, so I have to force feed myself on a daily basis.  

Sleep is going okay, as long as I have no interruptions.  I'm a bad sleeper to begin with, so anybody else would probably find the way I am sleeping to be torture.  I wake up probably 8-10 times a night, and pee no less than 3 times every night (that's with cutting my fluid consumption past dinner and peeing right before I go to bed).  Sometimes it's up to 6 times a night.  It's annoying, but unless I get hungry before I fall back asleep, I can usually fall back to sleep fairly quickly.

I'm still more tired than usual, but that may be improving slightly.  I'll need more time to be sure, though.

I haven't had much back pain so far, which is amazing!  My back started hurting really badly at 9 weeks with Noah, so I'm counting this a blessing!

My pubic bone hurts, but it's not intolerable, and I haven't injured it again yet, so that's a blessing too.

No bursitis in my hips yet, either.  Yay! 

Since 9 weeks I have been able to find the baby's heartbeat with the doppler within 5 seconds of putting the wand on my belly.  It's awesome!  This one's heartbeat is SO high!  It's never been lower than 165, and it is usually between 170 to 180.  I know there is nothing to the old wives tale that girl's heartbeats are high and boy's are low, but I've got nothing else to go on right now, so of course it makes me wonder:)  Honestly though, I really don't have a preference.  I would love to have either.  A girl would be nice, because I don't have one, and I've always wanted to have that adult mother-daughter relationship (which is different than with sons).  However, I LOVE having a little boy, and I would love to have another little boy.  Noah and this baby will be 2.5 years apart, and having two boys "close together" would be nice for the two of them.  Plus I have all the boy clothes already, so it would be cheaper!

I am sure there is more to say, but it's almost 10 and I haven't had my nightly feast yet.  Sigh.  Must go eat.

Telling the Inlaws

As I mentioned last week, I was thinking we needed to finally tell my inlaws that I'm pregnant since my FIL was leaving for Florida and wouldn't be back until the very end of March.  And because my belly looks like this:

On Saturday we went there for dinner.  As I had planned before we were even pregnant, Noah wore a Big Brother t-shirt.  We showed up, and let Noah loose.  My MIL usually pays a great deal of attention to what Noah is wearing, especially if she hasn't seen it before, so it didn't take long for her to read his shirt, which said "Most Awesome Big Brother."  She said, "What does THAT mean?" like she honestly didn't get it.  She looked at Justin and I, and we just had these big smiles on our faces.  I don't know what happened exactly, but Justin said something and she got it.

After hugging us and asking me how far along I was, she immediately started talking about cooking dinner.  I was like "Uhh, is that it?  Are we going to talk any more about this?"  But I guess that was just her weird way of processing things.  We did end up talking about it a lot more, and she got the whole story.

I was dreading telling them because they often don't respond very well to good news, but after the initial mother-in-law awkwardness (par for the course, with her), it was lots of fun.  I am satisfied with their reactions.  Haha.

Moving along to other things...

I found the heartbeat again today (8 weeks 6 days)!!  I haven't been able to find it since I found it Friday night, but I did today!  It was right around 176 again.  Man this little one has a fast heartbeat.  The highest Noah's ever was measured at was 164, and that was during my 12 week ultrasound when he was flipping all over my uterus.  The rest of the time he was usually around 145.

I'm so happy I found it again:)  It makes me feel so much better.  I get paranoid so easily.  I recorded it on my iPod this time, so I can listen to it again and remind myself I'm not crazy and I really did hear it.

Also, we bought another crib!  I have every intention of keeping Noah in his crib as long as possible.  I would even like to keep him in it until he's 3.  He just doesn't love sleep the way some other kids do, and having him not contained in his crib would mean A LOT less sleep for both me and him.  So I needed another crib.  The new one is really nice.  It's a white sleigh bed convertible crib.  We bought it second hand, of course.  I am really happy with it.  I set it up in the new baby's room today, and even have bedding in it.  It makes me happy to see it in there.

Alright, I should start getting dinner ready.  It really feels like a Friday to me.

Latest Belly Picture (8 weeks)

I've never been very good at updating things on the right days.  I don't really know how so many people out there ARE so good at it.  But here's my belly at 8 weeks 2 days:

I am definitely growing!

I still can't find the heartbeat with the doppler.  I know this doesn't mean anything is wrong.  But, it's been a week and a half since my ultrasound, and this is the point at which I start to get nervous that something has gone wrong and I don't know about it.

I am considering driving to my clinic tomorrow for an impromptu ultrasound.  I really have to plan and decide tonight though, because they are only open until 10:30, and they're an hour away.  It's not like I can wake up, hem and haw, and then decide to go.  I need to decide tonight.

Another reason to get the ultrasound: I don't want to tell my inlaws that I'm pregnant until after I hear the heartbeat again.  But my father in law is leaving on Sunday to go to Florida for almost a month.  By the time he gets back and we'd be able to tell them, I'll be 13 weeks.  My MIL is already talking about how she's going to be forcing herself on us while he's gone.

Take a look at that belly picture again.  Do you think I can wear ANYTHING that will hide that?  It's not like I normally have a poochy stomach.  My stomach is normally totally flat.  Look how much further it sticks out past my boobs now.  Even when I'm wearing something really baggy, my stomach is very obvious.  And nobody gets like that in 2 months, just in their stomach, unless they're pregnant.

I don't want to tell my inlaws already.  I don't want to tell the world already, but if my inlaws know, the world will know.

As much as I don't want to tell anyone else right now, I would also like the freedom to be able to leave my house again.  I haven't been attending church, I haven't been seeing my extended family, I haven't been doing anything.  I want to be social again!

When I was pregnant with Noah we did it in stages.  We told our parents and a couple of my siblings at 4 weeks, when we found out.  We told the rest of my siblings the next time we saw them, I can't remember if it was before or after the ultrasound.  We told my extended family at 9 weeks.  I told some of my staff at 10 weeks.  I told my boss at 11 weeks, because I had to go to an ultrasound at the end of the week.  And we finally told the world (and I told my students) sometime after 12 weeks.  That was after our third ultrasound.

My inlaws told all their friends at 8 weeks, the day after I explicitly told them not to because we still weren't telling the world.  This is why they still don't know, and why I told my dear husband that they will not find out until we are ready to tell the world.

My clinic's statistics say that 95% of their normal early viability ultrasounds end up delivering babies, and that this is pretty much as good as your chances are every going to get at any point in your pregnancy.

So tell me - if you did fertility treatments and had an early ultrasound, when did you end up telling people?

6 Weeks 3 Days

Today I am 6 weeks 3 days.

Symptoms:


By this point with Noah I was dying from all-day sickness.  It was absolutely brutal, and it started at 5 weeks 2 days.  This time around I only have the slightest hint of nausea, and it started at exactly 6 weeks.  So far, anyway.  I am taking one Diclectin before bed (which then works for the morning time), and have been since my first hint of nausea, because I didn't want to end up like I was with Noah.  But I could probably not even take it. My gag reflex is slightly more active than normal, and some things make me a little bit queasy, but it's seriously nothing.  I know how bad it can really be, so this is nothing.

I'm not really having the indigestion I had with Noah, either.

I am peeing more, especially at night.  I've been peeing about 4 times each night, never less than 3, and sometimes up to 5 or 6 times.  It's annoying.

My boobs have definitely grown, which is confusing because it makes me feel like I have more milk, which I don't.  My milk supply has taken a dip, but it is still there.  Noah is nursing 3-5 times a day.  Never less than 3, but 6 times would be very rare.  My nipples hurt, but I'm getting used to it.

I'm getting a "pregnant vagina."  Totally too much information, but hey, this is my blog.  It's still very mild, and more like when I'm ovulating.  I just don't remember this happening this early last time.  Maybe it did and I just wasn't as aware.

I am seriously exhausted.  I wake up and an hour later I could have a nap.  All day long I just want to go to sleep.  I don't think I was this tired when I was pregnant with Noah, but I didn't have a toddler and I was on summer vacation from work, so I could actually sleep if I wanted or needed to.  Now I can't.  So I am very very tired.  Luckily Justin just finished basketball season on Wednesday, so he will be home more.


Emotions:


I am all over the place.  The lack of negative symptoms (mainly: nausea) has me worried.  My uterus also isn't contracting as much as it was at the beginning.  Before I could feel it about an inch, inch and a half under my belly button, because it was always getting hard from the cramping.  But that's not happening anymore, so I can't feel it, and I would just feel better if I could.  If what I think is my uterus is actually my uterus, it's up quite high in my abdomen, which also freaks me out.

Sometimes I feel really calm, and like "Everything is going to be fine.  On Wednesday you'll go to your ultrasound and there will be one little healthy baby with a healthy heartbeat, and in October you'll deliver one little healthy baby, and go home 6 hours later, and everything will be wonderful."  This thought is wonderful.  If I substitute "Two little healthy babies" for "one little healthy baby," I can still handle life.

Then other times I'm afraid I'm pregnant with triplets or more.  I was pretty much over that fear for the majority of this week, but after pressing around in my belly to try to find my uterus (and possibly finding the fundus quite high up, as I mentioned), the fear is back.  I know some people might think I'm crazy because you're not supposed to feel you're uterus this early in pregnancy.  But, because I was so crampy, my uterus was very hard off and on, and it was definitely really far out of my pelvis.  For some reason when I'm pregnant my uterus gets really big really quickly.  When I was pregnant with Noah it was the same way.  My uterus comes out of my pelvis right away.

Then other times I worry that I'm not nauseous because the pregnancy isn't progressing as it should.

Anyway, I also sometimes have the worries about "Should we have waited until Noah was a little older, and better able to handle it if I have to be away from him?"  I would probably worry about this no matter how old he was, but obviously the older a child is, the better they can handle situations like that.

I am also feeling a little bit stir crazy.  I want to get out and socialize, but I've been staying home a lot because my belly is enormous and hard to hide, and I really don't want to tell people that I'm pregnant yet.

Looking forward to:


My ultrasound this Wednesday!  Seriously, I need to know what's going on.  I have too much worry.

Pictures:


Just remember, 4 weeks ago I had a flat belly.

6 weeks exactly (I chose this one because I thought Noah looked cute in the corner:):

For reference, here was 3 weeks 6 days (this is what I look like on an empty stomach first thing in the morning, now):

And here is 4 weeks 2 days:

And again, here is exactly 6 weeks:

I thought I was big in the first picture!  Is anyone understanding my fear of multiples, now??

This Belly's Made For Growing...

And that's just what it'll do.

Seriously, my belly has grown.  I wasn't totally sure, but it felt like it was bigger, so I took a picture to compare.

Here is today's (Friday's) belly shot, 4 weeks 2 days:

This was 3 weeks 6 days:

Hmm.  That happened in 3 days.  Can you see why I really didn't want to wait until 7 weeks 5 days for my ultrasound?

I should mention that my uterus is already halfway to my belly button.

I better not have quints in there.

Forced to Become a Hermit? (4 Week Pictures)

I am just barely 4 weeks pregnant and I am huge.  Well, huge for a 4 weeker, not huge for a person in general.

2.5 weeks ago my stomach was still totally flat when I got up in the morning.  Then my giant ovaries (with 6 mature eggs and many other medium sized eggs) gave me some bloat.  Then my uterus was already quite big 3 days after the IUI.  I could feel it at least an inch above my pubic bone.  That combined with my big ovaries gave me even more bloat.

Then my uterus grew more.  It is several inches above my pubic bone.  I am a thin person (almost 5'10", about 135-140lbs), but I have never had any extra room in my abdomen, so as soon as something extra is in there, it has to go out front.  My belly will be flat to start out, but if I eat a big meal or START GROWING A HUMAN, it all goes out front.

However, not usually anything like this.

That is what I look like now, normally.

This is me sucking is as much as I can:

Granted, these are taken at the end of the day, so I am a little larger than I am at the beginning of the day.  But at the beginning of the day, my stomach is about the size of the second picture.

It will just keep growing.  When I was pregnant with Noah I popped super early (my pants fit at 3.5 weeks, and at 4 weeks I couldn't button them up anymore), and I kept growing steadily.  By 7 weeks I was literally the same size as one of my friends at 31 weeks (granted, she was ridiculous tiny, and it was very hard to believe she was even pregnant).

We won't have an ultrasound until 7 weeks.  How am I supposed to keep this hidden for the next 3 weeks?  Maybe I'll have to become a hermit.  We were at my inlaws today (who we aren't telling until after the ultrasound, because we want to pretend like we are normal people and not infertility patients) and I felt so obvious.  I was wearing a big baggy wrap/shrug thing that I tried to keep hiding my belly, but as you can see from the above pictures, the belly is kind of hard to hide.  I did not look like that the last time they saw me 2 weeks ago.  I felt like I had "PREGNANT!" written all over me!

I am definitely not one of those people who just looks chubby when they get pregnant.  My belly gets round fast.  And I'm fine with that, because I never wanted to be someone who people looked at and thought "Is she getting really chunky?" well into the second half of my pregnancy.  I'm a little embarrassed by my ridiculous belly at 4 weeks pregnant, because I know it's not normal, but I'd rather look pregnant than chunky.  But it would be kind of nice if my belly would hold off on the crazy growth until we had our first ultrasound!!


(All that being said, I am certainly not complaining, and I love my ridiculously big 4 week belly:)

Pregnancy and Pictures at 38 Weeks

How far along: 38 weeks

Total weight gain: 16 lbs since 8 weeks.

Stretch marks?: About the same as it was two weeks ago. There is one small stretch mark above my belly button that seems to want to slowly grow upward.

Sleep: 3-5 hours a night on average, and they're the most painful hours of my entire day.

Best moments this week: A visit from an old friend yesterday. She was in my bridal party, but I haven't seen her since we got married.

Food cravings: Junk food. I'm still rocking the Mars bars. My newer craving this past week was drumsticks (the ice cream cones, not chicken). And I seem to be thinking about the freezies we've had in our freezer since last summer more and more often.

Sex: Boy

Labor signs?: Last Sunday and Monday nights I had pretty painful contractions for several hours. My cervix is all ready to go. But the baby hasn't engaged, which bothers me. I'm hoping it's okay, since I'm being induced on Thursday.

New Symptoms: High bood pressure (around 160/90) and pitting edema. Also, my back has been hurting sooooooo bad for the past 2 weeks (on top of everything else). It's like something in my belly drastically changed, even though it doesn't look like it. And my 3 times a week chiropractor visits can't touch this pain.

Belly Button: Popped.

What I miss the most: Living pain free and sleeping decently. I've never been a good sleeper, but I've never been this bad of a sleeper!

What I am looking forward to the most: 1) Snuggling with our little Bambino. 2) Sleeping without pain. 3) Walking without pain. 4) Having the ability to do things on my own.

Milestones: 38 weeks is one week past full term. Also, it's Monday, and I'm supposed to be induced on Thursday. If that's not a milestone, I don't know what is!

Pregnancy and Pictures at 36 Weeks

How far along: 36 weeks

Total weight gain: 15 lbs since 8 weeks.

Stretch marks?: The tops of some of the stretch marks on my sides have grown a little bit, but not much since I first started mentioning it. And just in the past half a week I started to develop tiny stretch marks under my belly button in the middle of my tummy to go with the tiny little stretch marks on the top and bottom of my belly-button ring hole. They're itchy. I would really like Bambino to come early so that I can stop growing stretch marks. I made it so far with so little action in that area, and now right at the end it's happening!

Sleep: It's exceptionally brutal. I don't even want to talk about it.

Best moments this week: I had a baby shower on the 20th and on the 27th. I have an awesome time at both, and Bambino got some amazing gifts!

Food cravings: Junk food. Mainly Mars bars right now. I think this is partially to try and drown my pain and discomfort.

Sex: Boy

Labor signs?: I'm still about 2 cm dilated, at least 50% effaced, and have at least 50 Braxton Hicks everyday. Sometimes they are accompanied by crampiness through my lower abdomen and back. Often in the evenings I have regular contractions (every 3-5 minutes) for several hours at a time. The baby has also dropped even further.

New Symptoms: My new symptom this week is a very strong tingly/numb feeling on the top right side of my stomach right by my ribs (where Bambino usually has his bum). It feels like someone put a conductor from a Tens machine on my skin and turned it up really high. Other than that it's the same old stuff: insomnia, hip pain, pubic bone pain (gets worse almost everyday), baby's bum and feet in my ribs, dizziness, trouble breathing sometimes, the occasional leg or foot cramp (these have lessened), fatigue, and being exceptionally warm at night time.

Belly Button: Popped.

What I miss the most: I'm going with my answer from two weeks ago, because it's only more amplified now: I miss living pain free. I wish I was just your average uncomfortable pregnant person. I hate having to use crutches.

What I am looking forward to the most: Having my darling munchkin on the outside, and then a healed pelvis so I can sleep and walk like a normal human being.

Milestones: 36 weeks! We're in the Month of Bambino! Or it better be the month of Bambino. If April becomes the month of Bambino I'm going to be quite annoyed.

Pregnancy and Pictures at 34 Weeks

How far along: 34 weeks

Total weight gain: 13 lbs since 8 weeks.

Stretch marks?: The tops of some of the stretch marks on my sides are either reddening or growing. Probably growing. I have 3 little red spots on both of my sides. And just in the past couple of days I got two tiny little stretch marks on the top and bottom of my belly-button ring hole. They're not very noticeable, and that's the tightest skin on my belly, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. But I'm still not pleased! I'm afraid of what will happen stretch-mark-wise over the next 6 weeks.

Sleep: Terrible. My pubic bone hurts the most at night (I have to use crutches to go to the washroom 6 times a night), and my hip pain is getting worse. It hurts to lie still, but it KILLS to try and change positions because of my pubic bone. I'm also excessively thirsty all night, which doesn't help with the peeing. On top of it all, I usually spend a good 2 hours awake each night.

Best moments this week: I guess this was last week, but Justin actually heard Bambino having hiccups through my belly. My belly wasn't moving with them either, I could just feel it really low down on my cervix, so he wasn't cheating! Everytime I felt a jump on my cervix, Justin heard a little glub.

Food cravings: Anything that's not good for me.

Sex: Boy

Labor signs?: I'm about 2 cm dilated and have about 50 Braxton Hicks everyday (although they do seem to have eased up a tiny bit since I've been off work). The baby has also dropped a little bit, but not all the way.

New Symptoms: I don't think there's anything new. Just the same old stuff: insomnia, hip pain, pubic bone pain, baby's bum and feet in my ribs, dizziness, trouble breathing sometimes, the occasional leg or foot cramp (these have lessened), fatigue, and being exceptionally warm at night time. The only thing new is that this week my pelvis has started to click and pop when I try to walk after lying down. But not in my hip area, in the pubic symphisis area.

Belly Button: Popped. And getting tiny stretch marks.

What I miss the most: Living pain free. And being able to take ibuprofen and various other pain medications.

What I am looking forward to the most: Baby showers in 5 days and 12 days. I'm excited to see people! I also can't wait for them to be over so we can finish up all the preparations for the baby being here. I want to know what we still need to buy, but won't know until after the showers.

Milestones: 34 weeks is apparently a great milestone for premie babies. Once a baby is 34 weeks or past they usually have way less complications than the babies born from 30-33 weeks, and usually nothing permanent.

Pregnancy and Pictures at 33 weeks

How far along: 33 weeks

Total weight gain: Only 11 lbs since 8 weeks. My gaining seems to be stalled, which might worry me if my uterus wasn't still measuring a week ahead of schedule.

Stretch marks?: Some of the stretch marks on my sides are growing fractionally. There are just little red spots at the top of 3 or 4 of them.

Sleep: Awful.

Best moments this week: Shopping at the second hand children's store and getting a bunch of almost brand new baby clothes for really cheap. It was so wonderful to do laundry and see our little guy's clothes in there. Folding and putting away baby laundry is so enjoyable!

Food cravings: Cheesecake and Coke. I am dying for both.

Sex: A strong little boy

Labor signs?: I'm at least 2 cm dilated and have about 50 Braxton Hicks everyday. I also think the baby may have dropped. I can feel his head very easily when I check my cervix, and when I compare my 33 week belly pictures to my 30 week ones, my belly seems lower down. Plus my pelvic pain has gotten worse in the past couple of days, and dropping could explain that.

New Symptoms: I started noticing the baby having hiccups. Because his head is pretty far down they usually don't make my belly jump, I just feel the sensation low down inside of me. Justin put his ear to my tummy and could actually hear the hiccups. Apparently they made a little "glub" noise. I know he was hearing them and not feeling them because they could not be felt on the outside.

Belly Button: Popped.

What I miss the most: Just being comfortable.

What I am looking forward to the most: I have two baby showers coming up, one in 2 weeks and one in 3 weeks. But most of all I'm looking forward to the baby being here.

Milestones: I'm done work! I finished at 30 weeks because of an unexpected work injury. I separated my pubic bone and am in a lot of pain. But it's nice to be off work for the rest of my pregnancy and not be using maternity leave for it.

Pictures:

Pregnancy and Pictures at 30 Weeks

How far along: 30 weeks

Total weight gain: Only 13 lbs since 8 weeks. Apparently I've been wrong about my weight gain this whole time. I think I've gained 15-18 lbs altogether.

Stretch marks?: I have some old stretch marks on my sides and a couple of them have a little tinge of pink along the top. I'm wondering if they're growing a tiny bit or if they're just getting red.

Sleep: Continues to be terrible. I have maybe 2 decent nights a week, but I'm pretty much an insomniac who is in pain all night long.

Best moments this week: Finding out that I didn't gain any weight since my OB appointment at 25 weeks. Also, I started wearing yoga pants to work instead of dress pants. They totally camoflauge, but they're way more comfortable and put me in a better frame of mind.

Food cravings: Deli meat. I've never really liked it, but because it's "forbidden" during pregnant, all I want is to eat deli meat!

Sex: A strong, hyper little boy

Labor signs?: I'm about 1 cm dilated and have at least 40 Braxton Hicks contractions everyday. Sometimes I have at least 10 in an hour. A few times I've had 8 in half an hour.

New Symptoms: I started having some mild heartburn a few weeks ago. Nothing terrible at this point, but it was new for me. I'm also very dizzy and lightheaded a lot of the time. My hemoglobin has dropped 17 points since 8 weeks, which is why I'm feeling crummy.

Belly Button: Popped.

What I miss the most: Just being comfortable.

What I am looking forward to the most: The very most? The baby being here. I also have 3 baby showers in the next month and a half that I'm looking forward to, and I'm looking forward to being comfortable again!

Milestones: 30 weeks! 30 weeks feels so much safer than any of the milestones before this. I kept looking forward to 30 weeks for that reason. Now it's here! Yaaay! Also, I passed my Gestational Diabetes test, so no issues there.


Pictures:

23 Week Pictures

Here are my belly pictures from 23 weeks:

You can see my little outie belly button if you look closely:

And my outie here:

Front shot:

I know a couple of people who keep saying that they don't think I'm growing. It's starting to piss me off, because it's absolutely absurd. The last time I posted belly pictures on my blog was at 14 weeks. I posted the same pictures on my facebook. Then I posted 18 week pictures on FB, and I was told that I looked like I hadn't grown at all. I totally had, it just had to do with the time of day the pictures were taken at. The 14 week pictures were taken in the evening, and the 18 week ones were taken earlier in the day.

Anyway, there are a couple of people who, since 14 weeks, have been trying to tell me that I don't look any bigger. Even now, at 23 weeks! It's complete crap, and it drives me nuts. My belly has grown 4 inches in diameter since I was 17 weeks (and it's not extra love handles)! Who knows how much it's grown since 14 weeks (I wasn't measuring at that point).

I just want to slap them and say "Are you BLIND?"

Clearly they are.

14 week pictures

Here is me and my enormous belly at 14 weeks:

I'm feeling pretty good these days. I threw up my banana this morning, but at least I don't have 24/7 nausea anymore. I'm exercising almost everyday, which really seems to help with the back pain. My acne is still bothersome, but today it is somewhat clearer than some other days (some days I literally want to hibernate in my house with a pillowcase over my head). My indigestion happens much more rarely than in the first trimester, when it was every single day.

My legs are itchy as heck, despite the fact that they're not dry at all and I moisturize every day. Some days my feet hurt like a bitch, even when I wake up in the mornings (after being off them ALL NIGHT!) I am literally peeing 5 or 6 times a night, which is extremely disruptive. That doesn't even count the other times I wake up and don't go pee. I'd say on average I wake up about 12 times a night. And I am exhausted every day. I can barely make it through the workday. I think I'm actually more tired now than I was through most of the first trimester. However, that could be because I wasn't working though my first trimester.

I'm started sleeping strictly on my sides, using a body pillow. I technically don't need to do that for another week or two, but I figure since I have a giant uterus I should probably start it a little earlier. I'm a back sleeper, so it's really a struggle for me, but I'm kind of getting used to it.

My abdominal muscles have already seperated. When I flex them I get a big bump down the middle of my abs... which is apparently what happens when your muscles are seperated. It kind of freaks me out.

My ligaments and joints are already loosening. I've had several occasions where my hip seemed to almost pop out of joint. And when I was leading the bootcamp in stretches last Tuesday my shoulder was doing the same thing.

I am still feeling the little bambino moving around softly. It's still not distinct, but since it's something I've never felt before two weeks ago and it's right in my uterus, I'm sure it's the munchkin.

So that's my update! No complaining, just sharing:) I am never complaining, even when I talk about the crappy pregnancy stuff. I am very thankful for every wonderful moment, as well as every bad moment.

Back to Work and a Belly Picture

11 weeks

I start work again tomorrow... blech. I'm really going to miss summer vacation. I can't wait for the next 6 months to fly by so I can be on maternity leave for a year with our little baby.

I think I'm just wary of the new teaching situation I'm going to be in this year. It's making going back just a little bit harder than it normally is. At least I only have to teach in the classroom for 2 hours tomorrow, and the rest of the time I'm doing resource stuff, like writing IEPs and figuring out a schedule.

Somehow this week I'm going to have to let the rest of my staff know that I'm pregnant. I'm not really sure how to do it, since I'll probably just have to blurt it out out of nowhere. It's my principal that I'm nervous to tell. I feel like it's weird to tell my boss that I'm pregnant. I'm also a bit nervous to tell his wife, who had a miscarriage in June. We spent a lot of time together last week since we're sharing the 5/6 classroom, and I never told her then, so I feel like it's awkward to tell her now.

Is it terrible if I just tell the other teachers that I've told that it's okay to start spreading the word? Is it bad if the rest of them hear it through the grapevine? The VP, who knows, said to me "You may want to tell the principal before he hears it through the grapevine." I replied that I was kind of thinking that I'd rather he heard it through the grapevine, and she was like "Oh, well, that's up to you!" I'm not sure if she was meaning that he would be mad to find out from someone else. But I don't know how to tell him. Email? Write a message on our chalkboard in the staff room?

So awkward.

Last night Justin took another belly picture of me. It's been a few weeks since we've done one. This is my 11 week picture:

Kind of hard to hide, eh?