Belated 18 Week Update

Sooo yeah...little late here.  With the holiday weekend we traveled to Tulsa and I got lazy.

How Far Along? Week 18

Size of Baby?  Depending on what site you look at, Baby Benni is the size of a sweet potato, a pickle or a baked potato.  Measurements are approximately 5.6 inches long and 6.7 ounces (and growing!)

Maternity Clothes?  A mix of both. 

Weight Gain?  I think around 10 lbs, thank you very much Memorial Day Weekend crescent rolls, brownies and cookies. 

Gender?  No idea! 

Sleep? Sleeping really soundly when I am asleep…unfortunately sometimes I wake up b/c of heartburn.  Boo.    

Food Cravings?  I finally had some jumbo popcorn chicken from Sonic so my 1^st trimester “craving” was finally satisfied.  It was pretty fantastic.   

What I Miss? Being skinny, lifting weights, doing push-ups w/out my belly touching the ground first…   

Symptoms? Heartburn, huge boobs, more lower back pain, having a belly.

Belly Button?  Shallow innie.

Best Moment of the Week?  We’re gonna do a best/worst.  The worst: so I got into a wreck this afternoon (boooooo!).  My car is in the shop, the front end was damaged pretty badly.  I hit someone (we’re gonna blame this on pregnancy brain maybe?) because I did not look both ways before crossing the street.  I’m ok, the other gal is ok, and baby Benni is ok!  The best: I went and had a sono to get things checked out after the wreck (and for peace of mind) and saw the little one’s face and hands and feet and heart and everything.  I told the sono tech I didn’t want to know the sex of the baby since I want to share that with Dude next week at our scheduled appointment, but I’ll bet I could have found that out too if I had wanted.  I saw it’s little feet and crossed and curled up and its hand covering its face like, “Oh, geez, Mom, did you really just get into a wreck, you nerd?”  That was pretty cool for sure.  J 

Bachelorette: Week 2

Let’s get right to it.

1^st date card: Ryan gets a one on one.  What the heck is going on with your weird bed head, dude? 

Gratuitous muscle shot of the dudes by the pool…Emily comes out to get Ryan.  Their date is to unload groceries at her house?  Hahahaa!  Sucks to be you, Ryan.  No helicopters for you just yet…you get to bake cookies instead.  Not gonna lie, he kinda looks annoyed.  Crap…now I want some cookies.   Ryan doesn’t get to meet little Rickie just yet (good call, Emily).  Emily then psychs out Ryan by saying next that they’re going to Chuck E. Cheese where he’ll wrangle up a bunch of sugar hyped 6 year olds…I think he was legitimately a bit terrified (who wouldn’t be though?).  But she was just joking, b/c they’re going to dinner instead.  As they drive off, it still feels a little awkward/forced. 

Ryan looks a lot more comfortable on his date.  Ryan, I seriously want to smooth your hair back down.  It’s driving me nuts.  Emily is actually being pretty brutally honest…she doesn’t want to be a prize to be won.  This date just got deep. 

2^nd date card:  Group date!  Alejandro, Nate, Alessandro, Tony, Michael, John, Jef, Charlie, Kyle, Chris, Darren, Stevie and Kalon.  Kalon says he “embraces the stage”…are we surprised? 

Back to the Ryan date.  Emily says she’s a little afraid that Ryan might be “too perfect” like Brad was, but she’s willing to take chances and gives him a rose.  And then they go outside for Gloriana to play them some music while they’re dancing on an elevated stage surrounded by a bunch of Charlottonians taking pictures and videos of them.  They say some cheesy stuff about not wanting to be anywhere else in the world with anyone else, blah blah blah.  Hokey Bachelorette junk.

Group date time!  They’re doing some kind of charity performance for her ex-fiance’s foundation or something like that.  Charlie seems to be really freaked out by the idea of performance.   Hooray, the Muppets are there! J  Who doesn’t love the Muppets?  Tony is doing his best Kermit, which is kind of creepy actually.  He sounded more like Miss Piggy.  So a group of guys are doing a dance, others are doing a song, and still others are doing stand-up comedy (including Charlie).  Charlie has some SERIOUS stage fright…I’m guessing the old head injury has something to do with it?  So he goes to talk to Emily about his fear…he explains he’s still having speech issues to work through after his accident, so Emily lets him switch acts. 

It’s go time!  Folks dance, it’s silly. Chris Harrison fills in for one of the two heckler puppets.  It’s pretty terrible.  Kyle and “Wolf” try to make jokes (and it’s pretty terrible).  Miss Piggy has some of the guys (Jef, Charlie, and Aaron) come up on stage for her “Miss Piggy Live” talk show.  Aaron has to make up some dumb poem, Jef has to propose to Miss Piggy, and Charlie is intimidated by a puppet.  Charlie had to say how he’d impress a girl, and he does a good job, despite his fear of a pig puppet.  Rickie gets to come up and sing a song with her mom and Kermit and Miss Piggy (Rainbow Connection, obviously).   Then everyone comes out and sings the Rainbow Connection for the big “finale.” 

The “after party” consists of the guys vying for Emily’s attention.  Chris has some MAJOR competitive drive…and Emily needs some eyes because she thinks Chris is SUPER cute and I think he looks SUPER smarmy.  Emily is now crushing on Jef pretty hard.  Is he really 27?  Because he looks like he’s 12. 

3^rd date card: Another one on one…w/ Joe.  Joe the dancing fool with brushed back wavy hair.  Dumb hair. 

Back to the date…Stevie is dancing w/ Emily…now Kalon comes in and cuts in.  Kalon is a smooth talker and he feels suuuuuper rehearsed.  Then Aaron comes and steals Emily away from Kalon.  Now Stevie and Kalon are having a little tension…Kalon tells Stevie “I wouldn’t like me if I were you either, bro”…good grief.  Jef gets the rose on the date…which is funny because he was kind of stand-offish the whole time I thought.  Apparently Emily likes the chase a little bit too. 

Second one on one date:  Joe gets to go to West Virginia w/ Emily, to the Greenbrier (resort type thing?).  Joe’s hair bothers me.  Can you tell I have a hair issue?   They take a little dip in the pool. 

Tony and Doug tell the dudes back at the house that they need to be careful and make sure they’re ready to be a step dad, b/c Emily’s daughter is the most important thing to her (as they are the dads in the group, they are in the know).  Kalon then tells Doug that he (Doug) has put being a dad on hold by coming on the show, to which Doug immediately gets up in arms about.  While that was something Kalon definitely shouldn’t have said, I think ANYTHING that the Houstonian d-bag says will be immediately attacked by the group b/c he’s basically pissed everyone in the house off by just being his d-baggy self. 

Joe and Emily are going to a nice dinner, where Emily will ask some more hard hitting questions.  Joe says on two different occasions, “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”  Emily asks Joe where he sees himself in 5 years and in his rambling he says he’d be willing to start a life with Emily wherever she wants to be, to which she asks “What does that mean?”  (She’s making these guys think, I like it).  Ok, so now she has to tell Joe goodbye b/c she doesn’t feel that spark (how can she when that mop is on his head?).  She gets all teary because she has to reject him.  Sorry Joe.  Now she watches fireworks on the balcony alone.  Boo hoo.

Cocktail party time!  Aaron is wearing his stupid fake glasses.  Arie reveals that he dated a girl w/ two kids and she acts like a school girl who’s nervous on her first date.  Tony goes in to steal Emily away from Ryan (who already has a rose), but Ryan gives Emily this letter that she has to read aloud back to him while Tony is standing there, chilling, waiting for his turn.  Awwwkwaaaaaard.  The letter was 7 pages long.  How did she not fall asleep while reading this letter?  I hope his spelling and grammar were decent b/c seven pages of that would be brutal.  Now Tony’s going on about his son, playing the kid card.  He now feels like they have a connection (yeah, that they both have kids).  Kalon has her now and he’s explaining that he’s an old soul or something like that.  He says he normally doesn’t make a connection with girls his age (so he’s someone who likes cougars?) because they have different “interests.”  All the guys basically reiterate that they kind of hate Kalon. 

Rose ceremony time!  Kalon (ugh), Arie,               Michael, Nate, Sean, Chris, Doug, Travis (who the heck is Travis??), Tony, John, Alessandro, Charlie, Alejandro and last but not least, Stevie.  Really?  Stevie?  Oh well…Kyle and Aaron w/ the fake glasses are going home.  Sorry dudes.  Better luck next time! 

The end for this week!

Week 17

How Far Along? 17 Weeks

Size of Baby?  Per TheBump.com, s/he is the size of an onion, at 5.1 inches and 5.9 oz.  My onions are heavier than 5.9 ounces…so I guess the fruit/veggie comparison is just for length. 

Maternity Clothes?  Still wearing a mix of both (and still waiting on that darn gift card!  Hurry up, Mr. Postman!) 

Weight Gain?  Officially 8 lbs, per the doctor visit on Friday.  Luckily the doctor said that was perfect and I was right on track.  Whether or not she said it to be nice or because it’s true, I don’t know, but I’m going to run with it. J

Gender? Still no clue, but we find out on June 7!!  Yaaaay!  Hurry up, June!

Sleep? Sleeping well!  I have woken up a few times with some lower back pain…basically on my right side, just above my hip and just to the right of my spine, I have a pain which is apparently my sciatic nerve.  Last night I put a little pillow to put between my knees while I sleep, and I woke up pain free this morning, so crossing my fingers that helps. 

Food Cravings?  Normal stuff, i.e. sugar and starches.  I always crave Taco Bueno.  And the other morning I had a leftover steak for breakfast (which was noticed and commented on by a co-worker).

What I Miss? Repeat of last week.      

Symptoms? Heartburn, huge boobs, more lower back pain.

Belly Button?  Shallow innie.

Best Moment of the Week?  We went to the doctor this week and got to hear the heartbeat again!  Yaaay!  I had a bunch of questions for the doctor, and I got them all answered.  The baby’s heart rate was 146 BPM, which she said was great.  She said that the average heart rate for babies at this point is anywhere between 110 and 180, and it can fluctuate during the day.  The heartbeat sounded strong, and the baby was wiggling a bit so we had to kind of chase him/her around a few times.  We also scheduled our 20 week anatomy sonogram for June 7^th.  THAT will be pretty darn cool.  I also am pretty sure I’m feeling the baby now…I think I’m getting punched from the inside. 

Bachelorette Thoughts

I don’t know if I can handle this…the first episode is always full of people lookin’ like a fool.  Cheesy lines and attempts to get the First Impression Rose are always painful to watch.   I cringe and groan when it’s the women desperately vying for the Bachelor’s attention, but I feel like it’s even worse when the men are trying to impress the Bachelorette.  Double standard?  You betcha.   It’s not that I’ve never seen a guy do something completely idiotic to make an impression on a woman (I mean, really, I’ve been to high school and I’ve gone to frat parties…men to a lot of dumb stuff to impress chicks and their friends).  But for some reason, the guys on this show end up sounding so fake.  Wait…what?  The guys/girls on the Bachelorette /Bachelor franchise can be fake?!?!?!?!  Hold the phone!  (This is where that “sarcasm font” would come in handy.)  Let’s just see how much of this introductory episode I can watch without throwing something at the TV. 

Emily:

I want to hate you, I really do.  You’re pretty much that southern blonde beauty that is the worst nightmare of 98% of the women in America.  But dang it, I can’t help but still want to be your friend!!  So begins my love/hate relationship with The Bachelorette…damn you ABC! 

Dudes that get their own intro piece:

Kalon – Modern Southern Gentleman?  How about Modern Southern douche bag. 

Ryan – Looks like a muscular Joey Tribiani with a weird fauxhawk thing going on.

Tony – Who has two thumbs and a lot of baggage?  That guy.  Bonus – gratuitous shot of dude doing pull ups.

Lerone – Look, ABC is trying to prove it’s diverse in it’s bachelor selection!  Double bonus – ANOTHER gratuitous shot of dude doing pull ups!!

David – oh Lord, no singing, please.  You’re on this show for your music career AND you’re trying to prove your smart by using lots of big, fancy sounding words.  “Ineffable”… “well postured”… “quintessence”… “disparate facets that ultimately converge”…we get it, you’ve read a thesaurus recently.

Charlie – Brain injury guy.  Emily better watch out that dog might eat her.

Jef – one “f” in the name?  Really?  What’s up with the Doo-Wop hairdo?  Bruno Mars wannabe perhaps?

Arie – Race car guy…don’t try to look sexy walking in your big, padded, racing onesie.

Blah blah blah, talking to Chris Harrison about life, love, loss, yada yada yada.  I’m bored.  How awkward is it to try to talk like normal when there are lights and cameras and boom mics in your face??

Limo & dudes arrive:

Not all will be named here, just ones I pass immediate judgment on.  Normal awkward hugs/opening comments.  Jackson just quoted Hitch while down on his knee (oh brother).  Joe looks like he might be on crack.  Chris from Illinois…we don’t need a life story in your introduction.  Aaron, ditch the glasses…oh wait…no put them back on.  Jef…really?  Really???  Can I punch him yet?  Also, is he 12??  Stevie the DJ…oh gosh.  Charlie…you  might be my fave so far b/c you totally just made fun of Stevie the DJ.  Oh Tony…no no no.  You trying to get a date with Emily, not her 7 year old daughter.  Randy…you are creepy in a Norman Bates kind of way.  Randy…ACCOUNTANT!!  SHOUT OUT!!!  John  “all my friends call me Wolf”…how many of those friends actually exist?  Travis with an egg…dumb.  Michael, cut your hair (personal preference here, he actually doesn’t seem terrible).  Alejandro (allie allie haaandro…Lady Gaga where you at?).  Ryan has a pretty thick neck.  Aaaaand the helicopter…Kalon.  “Luxury Brand Consultant” is listed as his occupation…I don’t think that’s a REAL job.  It’s like listing your occupation as “Mr. Fancy Pants”…in fact I think I’d like him better if he did that.

Rest of the show/discussions with the dudes:

Does anyone else find it off putting to hear guys gossip?  This is another reason I don’t usually watch The Bachelorette.

Chris has a BOBBLE HEAD of himself?  I’m trying to decide if that’s awesome or awful.  But she thinks he’s really good looking?  Huh??  He looks kind of like a cartoon character…a cartoon character that is a jerk and that’s not the “bad guy” but not the “good guy”.  Jef…I hate your hair so much it hurts…it hurts more than the fact that you only have on “f” in your name.  Emily seems really into you though.  Weird.  Doug, playing the single father card…well played, my friend, well played.  Arie…you’ve got something pretty major in common with her...I’m not sure how I feel about you (you seem a little too smooth for my liking) but I think you have some staying power.  DJ Stevie and Kalon are gonna get into it…sweet.  Battle of the douche bags?  If they could both take each other out that’d be super.  

Roses:

SPOILER ALERT!  TURN AWAY IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW!

Doug (first impression), Chris, Ryan, Kalon, Arie, Charlie, Jef (it literally pains me every time I type his name), Nate the Accountant, Sean (Dallas, holla!), Joe, Kyle, Aaron, Alejandro, John (AKA Wolf), Alessandro, Michael, DJ Stevie, Tony, Travis (the egg guy). 

I hate watching the guys talk to the camera on the first night as they leave.  You didn’t have a deep meaningful connection with the gal, you just met her once.  You’ll be ok, I promise. 

SIDE NOTE NOT RELATED TO THE BACHELORETTE:

Go Thunder!  I hate the Lakers so much and Ron Artest (I refuse to call him by his moronic changed name) is a complete jerk face.  Yeah, I said jerk face, because I think even an 8 year old would recognize the jerkiness of his actions.  Jerk.

16 Weeks (and TWO pictures!)

Took this picture this morning after a light Crossfit workout

How Far Along? 16 Weeks

Size of Baby?  Per TheBump.com, s/he is the size of an avocado.  The little one weighs around 3.5 ounces and measures about 4.6 inches. 

Maternity Clothes?  A mix of both pre-maternity and maternity…although I have a gift card coming to me soon that I will be spending at Destination Maternity…I am in need of some maternity jeans and some longer shirts (and I want those green shorts that are like my coral ones!) 

Weight Gain?  As of this morning, it’s around 8 lbs.  Should I be concerned that I gained 2 lbs in a week this early?  Should I perhaps lay off the ice cream? Hmmmm…I definitely think I look pregnant. 

Gender? Your guess is as good as mine

Sleep? Doin’ good!  Waking up to pee and eat Tums (darn you heartburn!), but I’m able to fall RIGHT back to sleep.

Food Cravings?  Nothing super crazy…although this afternoon I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted a Sea Salt Soiree bar (dark chocolate, almonds and sea salt) and a Gatorade.  We determined I needed electrolytes or something.  J   

What I Miss? Same as last week…I miss the heavy workouts.  Also, I miss eating without getting heartburn.    

Symptoms? Heartburn, huge boobs, a little lower back pain every now and then.

Belly Button?  Innie…but it DEFINITELY looks shallower (or is it “more shallow”?  Whatever). 

Best Moment of the Week? So I went to prenatal yoga last Sunday.  I’ve never really been a yoga person…I’m really not “zen” and I have a hard time being serious when in tight stretchy clothing.  However, I thought it would be a good idea to go do something specifically for pregnant women in order to strengthen my core and allow me to get some good stretching in.  I must say, I REALLY enjoyed it!  My favorite part is the last 15 minutes of basically lounging with my eyes closed, all super relaxed and listening to ocean sounds.  Mmmmm, I almost fell asleep.  It was glorious!  I also got some AMAZING sleep later on that night…not sure if that was yoga induced but we’ll see since I’m definitely going back tomorrow night.  J 

Took this picture this afternoon...I am obsessed with maternity shorts! I love shorts!

15 Weeks

How Far Along? 15 Weeks

Size of Baby?  Per Alphamom.com, s/he is the size of a beefsteak tomato, per TheBump.com, s/he is the size of a naval orange.  I like oranges better than tomatoes, but I like Alphamom better than The Bump. J  The wee babe weighs around 2.5 ounces and measures 4 inches…gangly little thing! 

Maternity Clothes?  I bought some maternity clothes the other day, so now I’ve got one pair of work pants, two pairs of shorts and a pair of denim capris that are of the “maternity” grouping.  But for the most part I’ve been wearing flowy shirts, dresses and my belly band.  I will have to say, though, maternity pants that go all the way over your belly are AMAZINGLY comfortable.  And there is no “line of judgment” that stays on your waist with you after you’ve taken them off. 

Weight Gain?  As of this morning, we’ll say around 6 lbs.  My pre-baby weight fluctuated by about 2 lbs on any given day (yes I have a scale and yes I subject myself to daily weigh-ins, not because I’m concerned about the number but because I just like knowing things like that). 

Gender? No clue.  Hopefully we’ll find that out in a few weeks!

Sleep? Pretty good, I do wake up at least once in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, but I usually fall back asleep in no time!  I’m not constantly exhausted like I was during the first trimester (I took, like, 3 naps over the course of my 1^st trimester, and I NEVER take naps…I actually despise naps).  I still am in bed by 9:00, but now I’m usually staying up and reading until 10:00 before lights out. 

 
Food Cravings? I don’t think I’m really having any abnormal “cravings” per se…I mean, I ALWAYS crave candy/chocolate/ice cream/French fries…soooo yeah nothing really different there J. 

What I Miss? Sleeping on my back, kipping pull ups (it feels too awkward now), lifting heavy weights at Crossfit (I had just been hitting a bunch of PRs before I got knocked up…hopefully those will come back quickly after the kiddo is born).  I also miss feeling slim and trim.  Now I feel like people on the street see me and think, “Gee, someone needs to lay off the ice cream, fatty!” (which is probably partially true). 

Symptoms? Heartburn, ugh, and general tiredness, although, like I said, it’s getting better…yay!  Oh, and I have giant boobs.  I know, they were pretty big to begin with…but seriously, these things should have their own zip code.  Grumble.

Belly Button?  Innie…but it’s starting to look shallower
 
Best Moment of the Week?  Well it wasn’t this week, but last week it was pretty funny because I was wearing my maternity shorts (which are coral colored and totally adorable, if I do say so myself) at Albertsons and the middle aged lady behind me in the checkout line asked (totally paraphrasing from memory here), “Where did you get those shorts?!  Those are so cute and my 16 year old daughter needs some shorts that are stylish but not super short like they make them nowadays.”  I just laughed and said kind of awkwardly, “Weeeellll, these are actually MATERNITY shorts…sooooo…yeah.  But they do make shorts with different inseam lengths at Old Navy!” (I wanted to still be helpful!).  We had a good laugh and the woman assured me that her 16 year old daughter would not be buying maternity shorts for a (hopefully) long time. 

I'm Still Alive...

...I promise!    I'm sorry I've been such a sucky blogger lately...but I have a good excuse!  I've been super duper tired lately because I'm...wait for it...drumroll...pregnant!  ::Cheers!  Screams!  Incredulous gasps!::  Yep, Dude and I will have a little dude or dudette this fall!  October 27 is the official due date, but let's face it, due dates are kind of a crapshoot.  So, in an effort to fill you all in on my life the past few months (because I know you're all DYING to know ::heavy sarcasm::), here's what's been goin' down.  P.S. If any of this is TMI, deal with it!  I'm pregnant and hormonal and will eat you. 

Mid February - My body is bizarre and I've never really been someone who had a "regular" cycle, and when I went off of birth control back in October I realized it might be a while before my body worked out the kinks and became normal.  However, I realized around Valentine's day that it had been a while since my last "visit" if you know what I mean.  In fact, that Friday, one of my good friends at work (who I've decided is part voodoo gypsy woman), told me that she had this weird feeling I was pregnant.  I brushed her off b/c I hadn't even told her that Dude and I were thinking about having kids at all and I obviously hadn't shared my "Huh, I wonder when I'll get my period?" thoughts with her or ANYBODY.  But that weekend, when Dude was out fishing, I took a pregnancy test.  It was one of those tests where there's two lines or one line, two lines (in two separate windows) means you're pregnant.  At first my mind was thinking it was a + or - test, and when I saw the second line I just thought it was a "-" and so it took me a minute to realize, "oh wait, crap, I think that actually means I'm pregnant...".  Then I was on a mission to get one of those fancy shmancy pregnancy tests that leave nothing to the imagination...they say "Pregnant" or "Not Pregnant" for those who need extra assurance, like moi.  Sure enough, this one said "Pregnant."  Dude was still out on the lake, but I couldn't wait til he got home (I know, major pregnancy foul), so I took a picture of the "Pregnant" read out and sent him a text saying "Um, sorry to tell you this over the phone buuuuut..." to which he replied "Caught a fish, now this, today is a good day!" (How cute is he, by the way?)  He came home pretty quick after that and we were both just kind of giggling in disbelief.  Uhhhh, we're going to have a BABY?!  What?  What do we do now??? 

So I called my doc that week, went in, peed in a cup (lovely), and based on the date of my last period and their pharmacuetical "wheel of guessing" as I call it, they told me my due date was October 7 (which we now know was completely erroneous!) and that I was about 8 weeks pregnant.  I got a referral to an OBGYN and we went to our first pregnancy appointment the next week.  Eeek!  She talked to us, had me pee in a cup (again) and drew some blood, then got called out to deliver a baby.  The doctor doesn't have an ultrasound machine in her office (boo) so she had to send me across the street to a nearby imaging center to get a sono after she had to cut our visit short.  So we went over there, and they expected me to be about 9 weeks preggo at the time of the sono.  I signed papers, then went in with Dude and got sonogrammed (I'm pretty sure I made that word up).  Unfortunately the sono tech was kind of quiet and asked me a couple of times if I'd had cramping or bleeding (signs of a miscarriage), to which I answered no and then immediately proceeded to freak out mentally.  After he'd taken all the measurements and pictures and what not, they told us that they would send the pictures to a radiologist who would read them then call our doctor and the doctor would tell us the "results."  This was our first sono, I did NOT apparently read the paperwork that I signed, and since the tech didn't really show us anything on the screen we were, understandably, both pretty upset and scared.  The doctor was obviously delivering a baby, it was already 7 p.m. and so we really wouldn't know anything until the next day.  That was one of the LONGEST nights ever. 

The next morning neither of us went to work right away, we both stayed home and waited til 8:00 so I could call the doctor's office.  At 8:00, I called and realized they opened at 8:30...oops.  So at 8:35 I called, the receptionist answered, I told her we were waiting to hear back about the sono, and she said the nurse (who would be giving me the results) was stuck in traffic and to call back in 15 minutes.  ARrrgh!  So I gave her til 9:00, called, talked to the nurse, who I think could probably tell I was freaking out, and she was able to tell me that my hormone levels/bloodwork looked great and that the sono was just "inconsistent" with the dates that I had told them (the wheel of guessing and my own bizarre body funtionality were plotting against me), so the doctor wanted me to go in and have another ultrasound the next week.  I will say that this was a relief to both Dude and myself, although still a little scary.  At least we knew the bloodwork looked good, and the nurse didn't seem super worried or anything.  Whew! 

Beginning of March - Ultrasound #2 - this time the sono tech talked to us a bit more, and actually showed us stuff on the screen, like a tiny little blob and a flicker which she said was a heartbeat!  Joy!  Relief!  REALITY!  I also read the paperwork that I signed the first time (and apparently every time I go in to get an ultrasound) that says in plain English that the ultrasound tech can't really tell you anything, and that the NORMAL procedure is to send pictures to the radiologist who will then send a report to your doctor who will then convey the results to the nervously awaiting parents to be.  If I had read that the first time I think I would have been a lot less panic-y.  Oops.  Read stuff you sign, people.  Anyways, the nurse called us and told us that the baby was measuring 5 weeks, 6 days, so we finally called our parents and told them.  They were SO excited!  Dude's mom cried and my mom was pretty much ready to jump through the phone and hug us both.  This will be the first grandbaby on either side, so both sets of parents are STOKED.  :)   My parents told both of my little brothers (they're in their 20s, I guess they're not so little anymore) and they were both super excited too...BOTH of them said, "They changed their minds?!" when my mom told them...apparently everyone thought we never ever wanted kids ever in our lives...I guess we've mellowed in our old age.  :)  Dude's sister was super suprised as well, but equally excited for us!!

Beginning of April - Ultrasound #3 - as Dude exclaimed when he saw the ultrasound... "WOW!  There's a baby in there!"  Yep!  At ultrasound we were measuring 10 weeks and 3 days, and it actually looked a lot like a BABY!  Little hands, feet, a head, a body...it was so crazy!  We got to see the heartbeat again, and just generally were in awe of the little munchkin.  We don't get another ultrasound for a while (I'm thinking the next one will be to find out if it's a boy or a girl! Yay!), but it was pretty freakin' cool.  They also gave me the updated due date of October 27 (because October 7 was obviously not right). 

Currently - I'm 14 weeks pregnant (15 weeks on Saturday), I'm starting to get a bit of a tummy and I've bought a few maternity items, but generally have been doing pretty good!  I haven't really been nauseous, although I've been SUPER tired, and I've had a few food aversions (broccoli, barf), but generally I've been pretty lucky!!  I am just one of the 90 kajillion people that I know of that are pregnant right now, so I'm glad I have a bunch of other people to go through this with! :)  I'll try to post some pictures in the next few days!  Yay!