38 Weeks - Getting Closer

This week, Deven and I spent sometime decompressing and relaxing.  Nesting has also kicked into full gear with me reorganizing every closet and drawer I touch!  We finished putting things away in the baby's room and completed our registries.  At this point, if we're not set, then I don't know if we ever will be!

Even with all of the baseball games we've been to this year, both of us have been excited to have football season back.  Deven and I watched the Georgia Tech game on Saturday and tried one of the new restaurants in the Lynnfield Marketplace that's bringing all kinds of options to our area. 

Here I am in my Yellow Jacket Gear!

We spent Sunday getting a few things in order - like my hospital bag (I can't believe how close we're getting) and then went apple picking!  It's been such a strange summer that I didn't realize the season was already in full swing, with many of the apples already picked through in the orchard.  I think we found some really good ones nonetheless, so feel free to send ideas for apple inspired foods :)

Full-Term: 37 Weeks!

The 37th week has been full of activity.  Both moms arrived on Thursday for our Boston Baby Shower.  After several errands, an infusion for me, some pampering, and good meals, we celebrated the impending arrival of our little one again on Saturday.  Here are some pictures from the party, hosted by our friends Jen (left) and Julie (right).

 

These are the cute mason glasses that they decorated with bowties and mustasches :)

 

And here are some of the adorable onesies we were gifted!  This kids will not be short on clothing, that's for sure!  I loved seeing everyone's personality worked into their little outfit :)

 

Here's the delicious strawberry shortcake from Tripoli with the onesie theme incorporated...I think I've finally found a cake to satisfy my Publix cake craving!

 

With the Grandmothers-to-be (Nani & Grammie)...

 

And Uncle Rishee (Rishee Mama)

 

After the party, we spent some time organizing the baby's room and determining what final items we need for the baby's first few weeks.  Mom and I went shopping to tie up a few ends after the three of us met with a prospective pediatrician.  She was also able to come to what will likely be our last ultrasound appointment before the baby arrives.  This week he was measuring in the 32nd percentile at 5 lbs and 15 oz.  We'll see how his growth continues over the next few weeks, but it sounds like his whole body is right on track.

 

And, as you can see in the picture below, he's still growing!!!  I'm not sure how much more room he has in there, but he seems content at the moment.

New Name & 36 Weeks!

We've talked about it for so long - I can't believe that the day is finally here!  With the impending arrival of our little one, Deven and I decided to make our family name legal, going back to his original family name - MITTAL, and me taking his last name.  Who knew that doing so in Massachusetts was such a process?

Deven filed the original petition to change our name on July 2nd, and then after some persistent follow up, we were told to notice the petition in our local newspaper.  Here's a copy of the legal ad that ran.

 

Following the waiting period for objections, Deven and I went to the Essex County Probate Court this morning (2 months later!) to finalize the motion for the name change.  After going through the maze of desks and courtrooms, and hearing some interesting (and sad) cases on custody, divorce, and child support, our name change petition was finally signed by the judge!  What a way to celebrate 36 weeks :)

 

 

Sincerely,

The Middleton Mittals

False Alarm

Since it's been about 1/2 of the pregnancy since I've last posted, I figured that yesterday's events would be as good of a time as any to resume the blog.  I'll post pictures of the bump soon so that the change from 16 to 35 weeks is more apparent.

Anyway, yesterday was a good fire drill for what could happen when Wiggles decide to make his appearance. 

After lunch yesterday, I started getting sharp pains in my lower back and abdomen.  Since they felt different than before, I wasn't really sure what this meant.  After Deven talked me down a bit, I decided to call the doctor.  However, being that I've been running to the restroom quite frequently, because Wiggles likes to use my bladder as a pillow, I went to the bathroom before making the call.  At that point I noticed that I was bleeding a bit, so after panicking for a moment, I called the doctor's office, who said that I needed to come down to the hospital for an exam - at 3:30 PM...just before rush hour. 

I was in the car at about 3:40 and called Deven who was already on his way.  We met halfway and then drove down to MGH.  By 4:40, we were at Labor & Delivery.  Fortunately it was a quite evening for them, so I was taken right into triage and hooked up to a fetal monitor and one to measure contractions.  It was definitely interesting to watch the print out of both, and the nerd in me enjoyed trying to see a correlation between them.  Though mildly, I was actually contracting, but reassured that this was just my uterus being "irritable" and getting ready for the main event.  After an unpleasant pelvic exam I was told that I was about 1/2 cm dialated and 30% effaced - which means labor isn't expected to come on anytime soon as people go a month with more dialation and effacement (thinning of the cervix).  So, in short, everything looks normal, and the waiting game, which could go another 6 weeks, begins....

Since we were already at the hospital, we thought it would be a good opportunity to complete the rest of the hospital tour we started a few months ago.  We saw the remainder of the labor & delivery unit and got a chance to see the postpartum recovery floor.  We found out more about how the process works between the two, and what to expect - compared to what we learned over the last 5 weeks during our child birth class.  I think Deven and I both felt more prepared having had the classes and learning what kinds of questions to ask.  I also felt more comfortable just seeing how Deven was so calm (maybe not on the inside!) and such a rock for me, really helping me to relax.  Needless to say, this coming weekend will entail some of the essentials for our little one's arrival - packing the hospital bag, installing the car seat & base, and finalizing our shopping list for those items we'll need during the first week - because ready or not, he's coming when he's ready :).

16 Weeks!

And we're caught up - though there's still so much going on...

Deven and I decided that mortgage rates are looking pretty great right now, so we started the process to refinance our house. Also realizing that Spring might finally be approaching, Deven's taken on the major task of "opening up" our yard.  While I've been allowed to do a bit of pruning here and there, he's really done an amazing job pulling it all together - hopefully that'll help with our appraisal in a couple of weeks (*fingers crossed*).

We also had our neighbors over for dinner, courtesy of Deven, and enjoyed their company as we shared our news with them.  I love that we live in a real Neighborhood where people actually watch out for one-another and socialize :).  It makes home-ownership even more rewarding, especially with all of the time that's invested.  Leo enjoys it as well as he has someone who will graciously tend to his litter pan while "Dad" is traveling :).

We started the weekend with a training run in Quincy (well Deven ran, and I read about pregnancy), and then we went down to the baby superstore - Buy Buy Baby in Braintree, just a town away.  This was my 3rd time in the store, and I was still overwhelmed - Deven's first.  I think we hit our saturation point in about an hour, but we did learn some great things about strollers - who knew there were so many options!!

Afterwards, we tried our luck at getting some good seats to the Red Sox game - in an attempt to get the weatherman's promised Vitamin D, of course.  The tickets were under face value and a great view of the park and the Boston skyline.  Here's a picture of us at Wiggles first baseball game :).

 

After the game, I finally got the Vegetarian Bahn Mi I was craving for the last two weeks!  We kept the weekend going with some errands, and preparation for Deven's trip, but I was exhausted by the time Sunday night rolled around.  The next two weeks should certainly be interesting without Deven around.  Here's a picture at about 15 1/2 weeks, more so Deven can reference it when I'm huge when he returns. 

 INSERT PICTURE HERE :)

 

Next on the list is shopping - because I really don't have anything that fits anymore that's work-appropriate or seasonably warm :).  Good thing Deven's on board with this plan, right babe?! 

 

Here's what the baby has going on this week... "He or she now weighs in at a whopping three to five ounces, and he's four to five inches in length - about the size of an apple or an avocado. The bones that are now in place in his ears means he can probably hear our voices - whether we're talking or singing (good or bad!) - another good reason to put my calls on speaker :). The tiny muscles in his body, especially the ones in his back, are gaining strength, so he can straighten out a little more." Also interesting is that the baby can now "see" light.  His eyes are able to make small side-to-side movements and although his eyelids are still sealed shut, he or she is visually sensitive to light! 

 

Next week - trip to Atlanta!!!

 

As a side note, not that I want to bring a downside to this whole having a baby experience, but it's interesting to see how my perspective is changing with respect to real-world events.  News stories, especially when related to families and children have started to strike a different chord with me. Maybe it's that now I'm expecting to bring another life into this world, but the events earlier this week at the Boston Marathon really hit home.  Both Deven and I have trained for long-distance races, and as everyone knows, he's actively training for the 1/2 in Napa later this summer.  Understanding the commitment and dedication that goes into training for such a race, it's so disheartening that someone could try to take that away from so many people who have worked so hard and are only competing with themselves or to support a great cause, and through running a no-agenda, non-political, marathon at that!  It's also enraging that the 26th mile, which was supposed to be dedicated to the victims of Sandy Hook, is now marred with yet another tragedy. You want to believe that people are good and that there is always a silver-lining when something bad happens, but how do you protect your child's innocence, but not allow them to be trampled on or live their lives in fear?  I'm sure it'll be something that I'll struggle with as this baby grows both in the womb and through it's own life.  As my mom has always said, "when you're a mom, you'll understand...". Thanks to both of our mothers (and fathers) for raising us to be confident and independent thinkers.  You've made it possible for us to reach for the stars and achieve our dreams, and I only hope that we have the strength and tolerance to allow the same for our little one. <3

15 Weeks!

Still catching up....

This week, I started to gain some energy back.  I enjoyed a long-overdue hair cut over the weekend, and then attended a friend's "woodland animals" baby shower (who knew there were so many cute owl-themed baby things!).  There was so much thought put into every little detail and activity, and I'm sure their new baby will love all of the wishes that were shared for him and her (and now I know where I'm getting my cake from now on...the cake was delicious!). Here's a picture of the adorable diaper cake and some of the favors from her shower.

 

 

As a side note, I'm so overwhelmed at all of the things that a baby needs.  I'm sure Deven and I will work it out as the time comes... 

 

After the shower, Deven and I went down to Boston to meet up with our cousins, Maulik & Salony, and some new friends.  It's so nice to have family in town, and people with whom to share some of the great food in Boston.  We should get as many date nights in as we can at this point!

 

Later this week, I shared the news with my office during one of our Staff Meetings. We have a sort-of trivia game that we play at the end of each meeting to help get to know one another better. Two people are in the "spotlight", and you have to guess who they are based on arbitrary clues about them - I was one of those chosen this month.  In addition to the fact that I could write with my toes, my most revealing clue was that I was expecting a baby in early Fall 2013....of course, no one wanted to guess and assume that someone in the office was pregnant, which was pretty entertaining in itself.  Though, after my "identity" was revealed, it was nice to hear all of the genuine excitement from everyone :).

 

This week, the baby is now the size of a navel orange - hard to believe that just a few weeks ago, that was the size of my entire uterus - and it's beginning to show...at least as far as I'm concerned.  Here is a picture taken after the shower over the weekend.

 

Otherwise, all of the baby's joints and limbs can now move, including wiggling her little fingers.  She can also make breathing movements, which will prepare her for life outside of my womb, and is continuing to hiccup as we've seen in the last couple of ultrasounds.



14 Weeks

Needless to say, I'm behind in updating the blog, so I'll try to recap what's been going on over the last several weeks.  Deven and I drove down to Blackburg for Easter Weekend - leaving Friday afternoon after work.  We stopped at Rein's Deli in CT, and then in Mahwah for the night.  I had planned on getting what was supposed to be amazing bagels in Suffern, NJ (just on the border), but we settled for the hotel special so we could make it to the Temple on time.  Deven and I stopped at the Vraj for the 2nd Darshan of the day, just making it on time, and then in Harrisburg for lunch.  After stopping every 2 hours or so to stretch or use the restroom, we made it down to Blackburg just before dinner, just as Mary and some of the animals arrive on one of the many move trips.  This was the first time I was able to show the slightly growing belly off to any family, which was exciting :).  We had a really nice homestyle meal at a local Italian restaurant...amazing how much my appetite has grown - while I thought I could only each half of my dish, I ended up polishing it off, and then enjoying some dessert afterwards - (so some of that belly must be food)!  That night, we shared the news with Deven's side of the family in India - they were so excited, and it was so nice to hear all of the good wishes that followed our announcement - the 1st great grandchild for Ma!  We got some rest and then made it down to Winston-Salem, NC to meet Rishee for Easter dinner at Mozzelle's. 

 

 

The food was really good southern style food, and I had my share of sweet tea to keep me going for a little while :), and our trip down to Charlotte.  That night, we were able to share our news with my side of the family in India.  After some connection issues, we finally go to facetime with my grandmother and let her know what was coming our way!

After brunch at Zada Janes (!) with Rishee in Charlotte, we started our trip back to Boston.

The next day, we had an appointment with my OB.  Unfortunately, our little one was being evasive, and we weren't able to hear it's heartbeat on the Doppler.  Our supposedly calm doctor said, "you must be nervous, but it's ok, I probably just missed it." Well not knowing what to expect, I actually wasn't nervous at that point, but cue panic.  Fortunately, they squeezed us in for an ultrasound, and wouldn't you know, the little one looked perfect - happy as can be, and twirling about. I guess our little scare gave us the opportunity to get another picture of the little one....

The baby is the size of a lemon this week. He can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another.  He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb - not sure if that's what our baby is doing in the picture above, but maybe?

He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body, and his liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells!  As a side note, it's little hands and feet, which I can't feel yet, measure about a half an inch.  Quite a busy week for the little one :)

2nd Trimester!

Now that we've completed the 1st Trimester, it seems that there is so much to start thinking about.  Unlike my nature, I've been basically going with the flow up until this point, but I thought it might be good to start reading up on all of the changes that are soon going to be obvious! I ordered a few books and started to purchase a few basic on-sale maternity items.  If the 1st trimester is any indication, Trimester #3 will be here before we know it!  We thought it might be good to start keeping a more regular belly update, so here are a few from this morning...

Things to look forward to this Trimester (in order of date):
1) Driving to Blacksburg for Easter
2) Feeling the Baby Move
3) Flying to Hawaii for our Anniversary and Babymoon
4) Celebrating our 5 Year Anniversary
5) Finding out of our little one is a BOY or a GIRL
6) Attending Brian & Matia's Wedding in LA
7) Having my parents visit with Rishee for Sam & Alice's Wedding
8) Celebrating My Birthday

It's going to be a busy few months with a lot of travel, but I'm looking forward to all of it!! Happy Holi & Happy Easter! <3

13 Weeks!

Our 1st Trimester is now complete!

This week has been great for both Deven and me.  We had our ERA appointment on Friday, and learned a lot about how they assess the baby's risk for chromosomal abnormalities. 

The doctors use a combination of physical measurements (via ultrasound) and blood work to assess the baby's risk factor for Downs Syndrome, Trisomy 18, and Trisomy 13.  Each of these are characterized by an extra chromosome at chromosome pair 21, 18, or 13, respectively, which would mean issues with development. 

The bloodwork results indicate that the baby has a 1/5,458 chance of having Downs Syndrome and a 1/>10,000 chance of Trisomy 18 or 13. To put this in perspective, based on my age, the ratios were 1/505 and 1/919, respectively, so the risk factors here are similar to those that a 20 year-old might have - excellent news!

Through the ultrasound, they look for the presence of a nasal bone and measure the thickness of the fold at the neck - an absense in bone or a thickness greater than 0.3 mm would mean a higher risk.  As you can see in the pictures below, the nasal bone is definitely visible, and the fold at the back of the neck measured < 0.18 mm.  An overachiever already :)

We really enjoyed the opportunity to see our little "Wiggles" in action.  It was certainly very active -tumbling and posing to give us all kinds of views....we saw both halves of the brain, kidneys, fingers, toes, and a nice view of it's little butt as well :).  We also saw the baby hiccup, which looked much like coughing, but were told that this is normal since the diaphragm is still forming. These images captured what seemed to be it's favorite pose - feet up in the "air" - which were wiggling around as well - maybe a dancer in training???

I can't really feel anything moving around at this point, so seeing all of this on the screen was fairly surreal, but it was still so incredible to observe all of the action going on inside of me!!  We can't wait until the next ultrasound in ~ 6 weeks!

Other than our visit for the ERA, Deven attended his first training session for the 1/2 Marathon he'll be running with Team Challenge for CCFA in July. http://www.active.com/donate/napaNE13/TCNE_Napa13DRaj

And, I got to catch up with some friends and some much-needed TLC.  Pregnancy "symptoms" seem to be on a downward trend, and I'm looking forward to everything coming up in Trimester 2!

Here's what our little one has been doing this week:
"At this point, baby is about 3" long and weighs nearly an ounce - about the size of a peach or a medium sized shrimp.  Tiny bones are continuing to form in her arms and legs, and fingerprints have formed at the tips of his or her fingers!! Her intestines are beginning to move from the umbilical cord to the abdomen, and the vocal cords are well under construction."  I'm sure we'll hear those is heavy in action in about 6 months!

12 Weeks

I can't believe we're already approaching the end of our 1st Trimester!  The time seems to have passed so quickly, although, in the moment, it feels like the days drag on - probably because I've been so tired.  Yes, I'm still tired, but I will take this over extreme nausea anyday!

This past week was quite busy.  I went shopping with some friends after work for another friend's upcoming baby shower. I still cannot get over how many things there are for babies and how many options there are for each one of them...overwhelming to say the least, but understanding my procrastinating nature, I'm sure we'll square it all away perfectly at some point - thank you Georgia Tech :)

Saturday was generally uneventful, but we did finish our taxes!  Hopefully the baby will bring us more fortune during this season next year :).  On Sunday, St. Patrick's Day, I met up with some of the girls from work for brunch, who I'm slowly starting to reveal our exciting news to! And, then we watched another one of our coworker's take the stage in "Annie".  Afterwards, we had great dinner with some friends, and called it a night.  As I put it to them, I really get to celebrate the holiday this year! - as I am currently 1/16th Irish, being that the baby is 1/8th - or as Rishee puts it, I'm not Irish at all, but at least I can say that I have 1/8th of an Irish in me :).

With such a busy Sunday, Monday morning was rough, but fortunately we had a "snow day" on Tuesday - thanks to almost a foot of snow, so I was able to have a bit of downtime during the day to recouperate!

The baby has also had a busy week!
"At this point, the baby weighs about one half of an ounce and is approximately the size of a large plum.  Most of his or her systems are now in place and will undergo a good bit of maturing over the next several weeks - his fetal digestive system is beginning to practice contraction movements necessary for eating, his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder, his bone marrow is busy making white blood cells, his pituitary gland (at the base of the brain) has started producing the hormones that'll enable him (or her) to make babies of his (or her) own in a couple of decades or so, and most dramatically, his reflexes have started to form. Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and synapses in baby's brain are forming furiously. From crown to rump, he or she is just over 2 inches long."

Coming up Next:  Friday is our scheduled Early Risk Assessment.  We'll have an ultrasound (!) where the technician will take measurements of the baby to confirm that it's growing according to plan.  At this point, since the majority of all of the baby's parts are developed, they can also assess if the baby is at risk for Downs Syndrome or any other physical birth defects.  I'm both nervous and excited. I guess every parent-to-be is worried about all of the potential complications that could arise during this critical time period, but this will be the first time we'll see full image of the baby!  Pictures hopefully to come soon :)

11 Weeks

Another week, another fruit - this week our baby is about the size of a fig, or a kiwi, depending on which source you consult.

Deven and I decided to take one last trip up to Sunday River this past weekend.  I had organized an outing of sorts for ARCADIS people and their families - though, it turned into a pretty small, but good group of people. 

I had planned to take it easy and meander down the green (easy/beginner) slopes, but anyone who knows me, knows how excited and engaged I can get into things and push myself to my limits...I ended up running with the rest of the group - skiing mostly blue (intermediate) runs instead.  The conditions were great, but fast, so I felt like I was working extra hard to keep in control and avoid being the target of a collision with all the people on the mountain - including a porcupine who decided to mozy across one of the runs, stopping traffic in all directions.  All in all, it was a great day, but certainly MY end to ski-season. I was DONE at the end of the day :). 

After snacking at a co-worker's mountain cabin for Apres' Ski, Deven and I ended up at Fore Street (his favorite in Portland), which did not disappoint (including his bacon creme brulee)! The drive home wasn't bad, but longer for Deven, as I napped most of the way home (baby was tired!), and Sunday was all about resting - I can't remember ever being sooo tired!!

Tuesday, we had another doctor's appointment.  This time we met with my actual OB, who ran quite a bit behind schedule (note to self...choose a morning appointment instead of the last appointment of the day!). Though we didn't have another ultrasound, we DID get to hear the baby's heart beating for the first time!!!  Apparently, you're supposed to be able to hear the heartbeat around 11 weeks, and I think we're running about 1/2 a week behind their predictions.  Still, after some searching by the nurse AND the doctor, they finally found it (he or she must have been cozy, or hiding, and didn't want to be proded - not sure where it gets that from :)).  How crazy to hear that something so small is so alive, and I'm still unable to really feel anything, aside from these peripheral symptoms.  It certainly made it more real for us, and I guess a good first confirmation for the doctor who said, "well, you're definitely pregnant!" Good to know that we're all on the same page :).

Anyway, this week, our "baby is almost 2 inches long, weighing about a third of an ounce, and is now almost fully formed. At this point, her head is about equal in length to the rest of her body, and little hair follicles are forming. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden. She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional."

10 Weeks

I can't believe we're at 10 weeks already!!  For those with analytical backgrounds, you can appreciate that we're already 25% through this process...and it's really just starting to sink in.

We were finally able to get the news out to all of our immediate family this week, and have slowly started sharing our impending arrival with some of our closest friends.  It's been so difficult to try to keep my ever-changing appetite, moods, and thoughts concealed.  It's been an interesting balance - we want to make sure we're passed the most critical stages, but containing the excitement about something, which I didn't even think was possible for the most recent few years of my life, has certainly been a challenge :).

The last week was spent trying to finalize our car purchase in PA - yes, Pennsylvania.  I would highly recommend the no-hassle Costco Auto Program; I just hope that you have a dealership that participates who is closer to where you live.

Deven got back from Japan at the beginning of the week, and then spent the next day running around town to finalize all of the paperwork - including a 1.5 hours stop at the ever-efficient RMV.  Plates in hand, we headed down to PA on the train Saturday morning, and finalized the paperwork that afternoon.  We were able to meet our cousin, Uday, for wonderful dinner with Silas at the White Dog Cafe, and then spent the night in Princeton, NJ.  After a nice brunch with Krystle & Jeremy, we started our trip back up to MA - stopping at Wegman's and Rein's NY Deli along the way.  Though the trip was relatively relaxed, I felt all of that fatigue creep up on Monday morning.  I would have to say that the exhaustion has really been the most noticeable symptom at this point - I can't remember ever being so tired - including when I pulled all-nighters in school!!

This weekend was the first time that I noticed a very slight "bump" beginning to form.  I attribute it to all of the food I've been eating (all healthy, I promise!), and the apparently longer digestion process.  Although, I suppose the fact that I'm actually pregnant, now is the time that the little bump is supposed to start appearing :).  He's a picture we took (maybe more of a baseline), but here's what I look like at this point.

I hope to start posting pictures of the bump's progress each week, so we can see the evolution along the way!

Here's what's been going on with the baby this week:
"Our baby is now the size of a prune - a little over an inch long or so, crown to bottom, and weighs less than 1/4 of an ounce.  At this point, the baby has completed the most critical portion of his development and is embarking upon the fetal period, when tissues and organs are rapidly growing and maturing. He has small indentations on his legs (soon to be knees and ankles!), and his tiny arms even have elbows that bend. Inside that little mouth, tiny buds of baby teeth are forming under the gums. Tiny nails are also forming on fingers and toes, and peach-fuzz hairs are beginning to grow on his tender skin. His stomach and kidneys are kicking into gear, producing digestive juices and urine, and if our little peanut is a boy, his testes are already beginning to make testosterone."

9 Weeks

With Deven away, week 9 has seemed pretty exhausting.  I just can't get enough sleep....who knew making a baby was such hard work!

We were expecting a large snow storm over the weekend, so thought it made sense to line up a snow plow driver so I didn't have to use the snow blower on the 8-12" of snow - fortunately it fizzled to just a couple of inches.  I spent most of the weekend resting on the sofa and catching up on movies.  Although, I threw in a run to the grocery store.  I have to say that was the least crowded I've ever seen Market Basket, and on a weekend at that.  Though I was so winded after my 1 hour trek through the market that I came home and "napped" my way through the end of the weekend :).

All stocked up on snacks, keeping myself from being consumed with nausea at work, has been manageable.  And, my Crohn's symptoms have started to dissipate somewhat, so it's a give and take.

Here's what's been going on with the baby this week:
"The baby is now the size of a green olive and has grown about an inch since last week. Tiny muscles are beginning to form, so while he might not be ready to pump iron, he's gearing up to move his arms and legs."

Our little olive has also had it's first milestone this week.  It's not graduated from an embryo to a fetus.  So much is changing so fast.  While it feels like things are progressing slowly at this point (at least externally), I can't believe how much this little bean has already changed in such a short period of time!

(P&D)+1 = 3

8 Weeks

Well, the last few weeks have been somewhat surreal.  After battling several issues with Crohn's over the last few years, Deven and I finally got the "green" light to start thinking about a family in February (2012).  Just when I was beginning to think we might have to look at alternative options, I saw the two lines (meaning...oh my gosh - I'm pregnant?!?!). 

Work was a blur as a tried to squeeze in inconspicuous calls to the doctor so that I could actually confirm that this was real!  February 8th, I met with my nutritionist and GI doctor, who all said that things seemed to be looking good.  Then, on February 12th, we had our 1st OB(!) appointment.  Looking at all of the babies and expectant moms in the waiting room, I was still having a hard time letting it all sink in.

After the routine paperwork, questions, and exam, I asked if we could tell that I was infact with child.  The doctor looked at me and smiled, and said, yes, you're pregnant, but we could do an ultrasound that afternoon to see (ooooh, yes!! :) ). 

The ultrasound was an experience in itself, but the skilled technician pulled up our little bean, measuring ~ 6.5 weeks, confirming that if all went well, the baby would be here in the first week of October.  Still too small to hear, we were able to see the "heart" fluttering at 133 bps.  Wow - this really is happening, is all I could think to myself.

This picture is of the embryo (ovalish shape near the top of the darker area) and the yolk sac (circle shape near the middle), which is where it will get nutrition until the placenta forms.

That afternoon, Deven and I tossed around ideas of how to tell our immediate family.  I had been dying to tell the people closest to me, but being high risk with the Crohn's and PSC, we thought it'd be best to get at least one more ultrasound in before sharing the news.  We thought it did at least make sense to share it with our parents and brothers, so we settled on it being our "gift" to everyone for Valentine's Day.  We were met with so much emotion and excitement, it finally started to feel real.  That and my overly-heightened sense of smell!!!

Fortunately, I haven't really been sick (knock on wood), but I certainly have had intense waves of nausea that seemed to be calmed by fruit (mangos, cherries...) and salt (crackers, chips, etc...).  I'm trying to be diligent with my pre-natal vitamins, sleep, and eating habits, which is much harder when Deven is traveling, but it's working out ok.  We'll see what the next few weeks bring, but here's what's going on with our Kidney Bean this month...

"The baby is now ~5/8 of an inch long. Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from his hands and feet; his eyelids practically cover his eyes; breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. His arms have lengthened, too, and his hands are now flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart. His knee joints have formed, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways."

While the blog will probably refer to a him or her, we'll have to wait another 10 weeks until we can see if P&D's little bean is a he or a she!