Bad Cyndi - bad girl!

Here I tell you all to come here and then I don't even update my blog for y'all!! Between getting ready for the holidays (we had company) and school (I am in a Marketing class that is kicking my tushy) and work - I've been too busy for fun stuff like blogging! I'm sorry about that! Most of you got here because I put the address in our Christmas letter - so I don't need to recap what the Christmas letter says.

We told my sister Sarah about the baby on her birthday, 12/19, when we took her out to dinner on her 21st birthday. All she really had to say was, "I KNEW IT!" I am not sure what that means but whatever. The first call that we got on Christmas Eve was from my sis in law Lisa in Texas asking, "Does this mean what I think it means?" (referring to the ultrasound picture I sent). Then I got an excited instant message from my sis in law Heather along with pictures of the nephews wearing the shirts that I made for them. After we went to bed my Mommi called - that was the best call of all! She was so excited that she made me cry. The next day I got a phone call from my Montana family all wishing us congratulations and singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" - you know THAT made me cry. Ed's Mom called him on Christmas day and told him Congrats - and then said to him, "You'd better take good care of her" (meaning me). What a Christmas!

Today I'm 13 weeks and 3 days. I don't have my gut picture for this week yet - but here is my 12 weeks and 5 days picture. Please excuse my burgeoning muffin top. I am pregnant after all. I'm feeling less and less pregnant - which I'm thinking might actually be a good thing. The morning sickness is almost gone - but the tiredness is still going very very strong. I was hoping that would go away as well - but it's early - so maybe I have a chance still. :) The crazy cravings haven't started yet - and I haven't been sending Ed out to McDonald's in the middle of the night yet - so maybe he'll get to skip that part too. The best thing is - I know he'll do it for me if I ask him to though!

Doctor's appointment

11 weeks and a couple of days. Looks like maybe I'm rounding out a little bit. Maybe the double belly thing is on it's way out. Who knew someone would be so happy to get a big round belly so fast?
We had a doctor's appointment on Thursday - at 11 weeks and 3 days. I have gained another 3 pounds - so 5 total for the first trimester. I guess that's not bad. I'd be a happy girl if I only gained 5 pounds each semester....but something tells me I'm not going to be that lucky.

The doctor pulled out the fetal doppler and warned that it was probably too early to hear the heartbeat. It took him about a full minute to find it - but it was there - loud and clear! It sounded like a helicopter. Pretty cool sound! He said it was still too little to measure though.

The doctor then said that he'd see me in four weeks. I asked him about my 12 week ultrasound and he said that I don't need another ultrasound until 17 weeks - to measure the bone growth (early way to see if baby is going to have OI) and to check the gender. So I won't get to take my sister to an ultrasound to tell her we're pregnant. I got a fetal doppler of my own though (cuz I'm a neurotic weenie) so I'll just whip that out and play her that beautiful little helicopter sound.

Only a couple more days and she'll be down here. Heck - in a couple more days we'll be 12 weeks pregnant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Week 11 - We're having.....A PLUM!!!

Your little one is now the same size as the smallest hummingbird in North America, the Calliope hummingbird. Baby weighs about 1/5 ounce (5.67 gm) and meausures 2 1/2 inches long (6.35 cm).

The crown-to-rump length of your developing child is 1.75 to 2.4 inches. The weight of the fetus is approximately 8 grams at this point. The growth of your baby is phenomenal now and your baby's length will double in the next three weeks. The head is grossly out of proportion and is almost half of the baby's length.

Your baby's ears are gradually moving from the neck towards the sides of his head. Inside of your baby's abdomen, the intestines are developing. Because the intestines are so large, some of them project into the umbilical cord and they will return to the abdomen within the next week or two.

At the size of a plum, your baby is now able to swallow. The urinary system functions. The baby swallows and urinates the amniotic fluid and the fluid is continually replaced. The baby is kicking but the mother cannot feel it yet. All vital organs are formed and, for the most part, function normally. From now on, they will grow in size and efficiency.

Whoa Chubbs!

10 weeks already????

Did you know that as of this week the embryo is called a fetus? That word translates into 'unborn offspring'.

Apparently this week Baby Bert has also magically begun to poop. Lucky me huh? Y'all thought I was full of it before - now you hve proof. For the next 30 weeks anyway....

No big update here!

Ed took a picture of my chubby (not baby) belly, and I thought I would post it here. I wish my belly would look more like that of a normal girls - I don't kno what that line is across my midsection - but I just want that cute little baby bump. I guess we can't all be the same can we?

We went Christmas shopping last night - got 5 people from Ed's family done. We were only out about an hour and a half - and I was so worn out that I had to fight to stay awake on the drive home. Good thing we're almost done with our shopping huh? :)

Big Daddy knows he's going to be a Grandpa again...

Here's an MSN chat between my Dad and I tonight.....:

Alan says:
so...........i'm sitting here trying 2 guess what Ed's "growing" surprise is

Cyndi says:
who the heck knows

Cyndi says:
he's a twerp - he won't tell me either

Cyndi says:
I hope it's our bank account - but I doubt it!

Alan says:
i hope its a raise

Cyndi says:
doubtful

Cyndi says:
maybe it's his pecker

Alan says:
i got my ideas

Cyndi says:
whats your idea

Alan says:
no no no..........its "my" idea

Cyndi says:
again I state - u should know better

Alan says:
whatever

Cyndi says:
well u think what u want

Alan says:
i will

Cyndi says:
so what makes u think what u think?

Alan says:
just something about you

Cyndi says:
and this is based on what?

Alan says:
u glow like your mom did

Cyndi says:
ur an idiot

Cyndi says:
is this something u have discussed with anyone else

Alan says:
that i am but i'm your dad and i could usually read my little girl

Alan says:
no i have not

Cyndi says:
and u won't?

Alan says:
have no reason too

Cyndi says:
well merry christmas

Cyndi says:
that was your present

Cyndi says:
now u have to help keep the secret

Alan says:
congrats i'm very happy 4 u cause you have been special to me in your own way and i will keep my mouth shut i suspected something i could not put my finger on

Alan says:
he gives babies to those he trusts

Cyndi says:
u sure the other two dont suspect anything?

Alan says:
maybe sarah, i'm not sure but mom...........not a clue

Cyndi says:
why maybe sarah?

Cyndi says:
so I know how to screw her up

Alan says:
she is just acting and i know its not just the head

Cyndi says:
huh?

Alan says:
i dont know just funny somehow

Cyndi says:
well keep an eye on it and tell me

Cyndi says:
i'm ok with just surprising Mom

Alan says:
k
Cyndi says:
if it comes to that

Cyndi says:
sorry I didn't tell u - but we really wanted to make it a special Christmas this year

Alan says:
sorry i spoiled half of it bui eds label got me thinking in another way

Cyndi says:
I know

Cyndi says:
he's had that on there for a good week and I kept telling him someone was going to figure it out

Alan says:
only i did up here

Cyndi says:
ok
Alan says:
and dont get mad at ed hes proud and my guess was not based so0uly on his label it just made me think harder

Cyndi says:
not mad at him

Cyndi says:
dont worry about that

Alan says:
geez these laptops really cook your nads

Cyndi says:
ha

Alan says:
not right now just keep me posted and tell ed.........."CONGRATS' from me

Cyndi says:
u tell him

Cyndi says:
he knows u know

Alan says:
cant thyink of any immediate fam in june

Cyndi says:
Ed's Mom is June 26

Cyndi says:
we're June 30th

Alan says:
maybe a b present 4 grahndma????

Cyndi says:
maybe

Alan says:
well my lap is well done so i guess im outta here

Cyndi says:
ok

Alan says:
be good and take care of that present

Cyndi says:
doing my best

Alan says:
i know and so is God G nite

Cyndi says:
nite dad

We have a heartbeat!!!!!

Babybert has a heartbeat! And a strong little one at that! It was measured at 167, which is very good! Here is a picture too. He/she is measuring at 7 weeks 4 days, which is exactly what it should be according to my last period. Ed wasn't able to go with me because he was over at POST in Boise for some training - so he didn't get to hear the heartbeat - but I know he wanted to. It was a beautiful sound! I feel like so much weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Basically everything about this pregnancy has been so textbook and so unlike my other pregnancy. I can't hardly wait until y'all get to know about it too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A couple of quick things.....

Baking this little babybert kicked my backside last night. I had Chinese for lunch which usually bert and I like. But apparently not this time. I fell exhausted into bed at about 8 pm last night and was woken up at about 9:30 pm violently vomitting and pooping all at once (you are welcome for the TMI). I'm sure that was quite the sight. Kevlar just sat by me since I had the trash can in front of me taking care of one end of business. It was downright painful - that much I know. I was woken up the same way at about midnight. Thankfully I was so tired anyway that I managed to still get some good sleep - but geez! I really don't think that I did anything to "deserve" that.

And I forgot to post about what happened last Thursday, since I know my family will like reading about my side of something that we all shared. On 11/08/07 Ed and I had a date day. We packed up some snacks and the dogs and some of our camera equipment and went out into the woods for the day. We planned on finding a beautiful place to take our family Christmas picture. I have these fantastic photo frame cards that we're going to use this year and that is how we plan on telling our extended family and friends that we're having a baby (since we'll be over 12 weeks by that time). Well we stopped at the top of a mountain and took some pictures, which did not have the best light, though they are still cute pictures (I can't post one right now otherwise I would).

We got back into the Jeep and both our cell phones started beeping that we had text messages. One was from my Dad letting us know that Sarah was at the ER, the other was from my Mom letting us know that Sarah had surgery scheduled that day to have fluid drained off of her brain. I felt physically ill. You don't understand, my Sarah is, next to my husband and my Mom, one of my best friends. We might be 9 years apart in age, but we've always been pals. I was not expecting to get a text message like that, and even though I knew she would be fine I still cried (dang hormones anyway). We went ahead and headed home so that we would be in cell phone range in case they needed us to start north.

My Mom had Sarah call me just to reassure me that she was fine. She sounded just like herself. I so wanted to say, "You had better be just fine because I'm baking a baby bean that I need to have his/her auntie Sarah." It took everything in me to keep my mouth shut. I think telling her would have made me feel better for some reason - and I'm glad that I kept the secret. My poor Mom has been through so much lately with this and with my Dad's heart surgery about two months ago I wanted to tell her our secret too - just to give her a light at the end of the tunnel. I was able to control myself (are you as surprised as I am?).

Sarah's surgery went well and she went home on Saturday and is already back to school. The shunt they had to put in to drain the fluid from her brain doesn't seem to be bothering her much at all, except for those areas on her head where they shaved her beloved hair. :)

I love you sister - I'm glad you are okay and I'm sorry I wasn't there to take care of you and love on you!

Well hello baby!

The lab at the doctors office just called. My HCG from Saturday is 38,936. Whoa. I think it's about time that I just give in to the fact that I'm pregnant and staying that way! I am at work right now, and glad to be. I don't mind working the holidays at all - there are less people around (not that I'm some kind of hermit) and who can complain about holiday pay? Last night babybert was mean to me. I had a migraine and since I can't take anything for it the only real option was to sleep. I did that and babybert woke me up and then kept me up much too late. I'm working today on about 6 hours of sleep. For someone who has been getting 10-12 hours of sleep it should be interesting to see how far I make it today before the bitchiness kicks in. Thankfully I work with Cindi and if I get bitchy - she'll tell me to knock it off. Neither of us packed lunches today so we'll order out. I wonder what nasty food I can get....

I have had a lot of cramping/pulling in my lower right abdomen. I wonder if that means babybert is stuck to that wall or not. I'm just hoping it's not another cyst, but it's that same kind of ouch that a cyst is. I guess I'll know at my next x-ray. I've taken to not only wearing comfy maternity pants but doggone it - I like 'em! If the girls (chi-chi's) don't stop growing soon I'm going to have to give up on the uniform shirts and move myself to maternity tops. My uni shirts are size small....and well....the girls are not size small.

And the verdict is....

HCG from yesterday: 25,863
I can deal with that. I haven't figured out what kind of rise is a good rise, this one was 5,500. I hope that's good enough. :)

Checking one more time...

I had one last quant done, just because I was worried because I had lost symptoms and had some cramping, etc....and my HCG from yesterday was: 20,352. HOLY CRAP! Now I'm feeling better!

They'll be checked again tomorrow, but once one hits around this time in gestations the HCG becomes somewhat unreliable. The rises in it slow WAY down. So if my next number isn't 40,000 I'm not going to stress about it or anything. :)

Is it November 14th yet???

Oh - and today I've had this pain that starts right in my belly button and shoots over to the left side. It feels like I've pulled something, but then it goes away. It's not round ligament pain - I know what that feels like. This one is different. Maybe my body is just stretching or something.

Ed and I went shopping today and I bought a pair of maternity dress pants for work. They have got to be more comfortable than my uniform pants which just sit in the wrong spot on my waist and is so uncomfortable. I hate to wear maternity pants already, but dang - if they are more comfy I'm pretty sure I won't mind giving in to the elastic!

Week 6 - the embryonic period. Is that anything like the Jurassic period?

I called the doctors office today to see if they wanted me in for any more blood draws - and they said that the levels are rising so beautifully that they don't need to see me until my next appointment - which is 11/14. :) Around that time we'll get to have another ultrasound - and we should be able to see, if not hear, the heartbeat!

From week 6 to week 10 of your pregnancy, you will be in the embryonic period. This is a very important time of development for your baby and the embryo is most suscpetible to experience developmental interferences at this time. Although the embryo is still very small, it is growing and developing rapidly. Your baby's early brain chambers are forming and the eyes are also beginning to form. Buds will appear and will develop into arms and legs in later weeks.

By the sixth week of pregnancy, your developing baby is 2 to 4 mm long.

Facial features are visible, including a mouth and tongue. The eyes have a retina and lens. The digestive system starts forming, beginning with the first cells of the stomach and the intestine. There are small indentations in the head, ready for the development of facial features, eyes, and ears. The outline of the jaw starts to form.

Watch the love grow!

I know, it's not anything to see. But I had Ed take the picture - so I thought I would go ahead and post it. Those that know me know I'm just a curvy kinda girl - so that pooch is all me - not baby, not bloat - just gooooooood eatin! :) In about months I'll probably look at this picture and cry about how skinny I looked! I'm all over that! :)

Oh my goodness!!!!!!

My blood draw from yesterday...........

HCG = 5028! Progesterone = 26.8

How awesome is that? The projesterone shot up like crazy didn't it? God bless the suppositories I guess! I am so stoked! I went online and read through some stuff trying to figure something out. I figured IF there was more than one babe in there would would have seen two sacs on the ultrasound - right? Not true. I thought maybe even if it was identical twins the sac would have split by now - but that's not true I've discovered. There is still plenty of time for the sac to split. So I guess I'm going to worry about more than one baby until the second trimester or so! :) YIKES! Can you imagine?????? Just one thank you!

My next OB appointment is 11/14 - two weeks. I hope I can wait that long!

And so it begins....

I was fine at work today until one of the guys came in wearing some strong cologne. Cologne I normally like too. But not today. I was a cookie tossing fool! What an uncomfortable feeling (like my mouth was sweating) but I oh so strangely welcome it! I had a third blood draw this morning before work - and I'll have the results of that tomorrow. I'm looking forward to seeing the numbers! The hcg should be around 3000 or more!

Tomorrow we are having a baby shower at work - for four people! (no - not me yet). For the first time in a long time I am looking forward to going to a baby shower! I have been collecting baby items for awhile now and I keep giving them to other people - this time it'll be different though! In 7 months or so I'll get to have a baby shower too! Here I am just waiting to see a heartbeat yet I'm planning my own baby shower. What a dillhole I am!

My allergies are still driving me crazy. I talked to my doctor this morning and he said basically to just grin and bear it. I had a homeopathic remedy for pet dander and hair but the first ingredient is adrenalin - so he shot that down fast. So I guess I will just have to deal with the horrible allergy eyes and itching. Maybe like so many other icky parts of pregnancy, this too shall pass. He did tell me after one or two more good blood draws I can get back to work out lightly. I am looking forward to that - my back hurts from not doing much exercise at all.

Kevlar is back to not liking me. It's killing me. As I type Siren is asleep at my feet but Kev is upstairs somewhere. I've tricked him into coming down here a coule of times but he immediately leaves and goes back upstairs. I even told him he could get under the covers with me and that isn't enticing him. I miss my pinhead!

I have a lot I want to accomplish on my days off. I am ahead on some of my schoolwork and behind on some of the other stuff. I need to organize my craft room some more and I want to clean out the window well and cover it for the winter. I, as always, have plenty of laundry to do as well.

Good and worrisome news all in one...

I got the results from my second blood draw yesterday - and my hcg is 1449! That is AWESOME! It is supposed to double every 48-72 hours - and it more than doubled!!!!!!!

What stinks is that my progesterone went from 16.5 to 10.9. That had me worried, quite a bit, but others seems to think that it was "ok." I don't want to rely on "ok" so I called the emergency number for my physician. I got a call back from the on-call physcian but he doesn't do much work with obstetrics, so he did not know any answers and was in the middle of a park at a soccer game. He suggested that I call the OB dept at the hospital and ask to talk to the on-call OB doctor.

After explaining my story the ob nurse said this was not something that she could justify calling the on-call OB for and she did not know if 10.9 was a concerning level or not. She then spoke with a 3rd year resident who was there and he said he didn't know. She transferred me down to the ER.

I explained everything to a nurse in the ER who then transferred me (cold transfer of course) to another nurse in the ER. This guy listened to me, put me on hold and went and spoke with a couple of doctors. He came back on the line and said he was going to get this taken care of one way or the other. He said he was going to call the on-call OB (remember the one that the ob nurse said this wasn't important enough for?) and if he wouldn't call me back (the OB) then to come into the ER and then the on-call OB would have to come in and see me. I like this nurse - his name is Lance and he gets a big thumbs up from me!

The ob called me back shortly thereafter and he was so wonderfully helpful, which is so strange when I found out his name. A friend of mine named Kim had this doctor for her first child - and she had a very traumatic experience with him. He discussed it with me, wanting to make sure that I understood that there is nothing that proves that progesterone supplements will help sustain a pregnancy, etc....yeah I knew that. Anyway - he called the progesterone suppositories into the pharmacy for me and I went and picked them up.

What a freakin load off my shoulders!

Not only was my first hcg # great, but I'm also doubling - which I didn't do in my prior pregnancy before I lost it. How blessed am I?

Baby's first picture...

Can you see it??? That black oval is the gestational sac! I didn't think that we would even see that this early! The ultrasound tech said that I am measuring at 5w1d, which is ahead of where I am (4w4d) so that is awesome. What is strange is that 5w1d would make me due on 06/26/08 - which is Ed's Mom's birthday! :) The ultrasound tech did find a 3cm cyst on my left ovary, but that's not uncommon considering that the cyst usually provides the progesterone until the placenta starts making it. It was too early to see or hear a heartbeat - but next time we will be able to! Pretty insignificant I know - but I thought it was pretty cool!

What a day!

Yesterday the doctor called and my blood draw from 4w1d......the hcg is 471 and the progesterone is 16.5! Holy cow! For that early those are some high numbers! What a relief off of my shoulders though! The highest hcg I ever had was 408 before miscarrying! I can't believe it! He's doing a second draw on Friday - and I get to have an ultrasound! OMG! Already an ultrasound!

Here is something I posted on my pregnancy board to tell all about my doctors appointment on Tuesday (10/23/07), rather than type it all out here I thought I'd cheat and cut and paste it instead!

"The numbers won't be in until tomorrow but the lab girl said to call her tomorrow and she would tell me. I had THE BEST appointment with my doctor. When he came in the room and saw me he said something like, "so what do I get to see you for today?" And I said, "I would like you to draw blood and give me my hcg #'s and progesterone please." His eyes about bugged out of his head and he hi-fived me! He had me pee in a cup (even though I told him I'd done 4 hpts already) and when that came up positive (duh) then he drew blood. The results of that come in tomorrow sometime. He wants me back in on Friday to do a second draw.

He was so unbelievably supportive I almost started to cry right there. He didn't fight me on checking the projesterone at all. AND........when I got in on Friday for my second draw - I have an ultrasound!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I said, "HUH? You won't be able to see anything but a sac." And he said, "Yes but I want to make sure that there isn't more than one sac if you know what I mean." Hahaha. Because I had used Clomid earlier this year he wants to be prepared for multiples.

We went over some plans and we discussed some herbal remedies. He told me that I would just have to grin and bear the allgery problem and told me to stop taking my Zyrtec and to not use Benedryl. He said if it gets too bad that I can take one Zyrtec and to treat my eyes with eyedrops and nothing more. You got it dude!

The OBGYN that I had with my other pregnancy was NOTHING like this. He was callous and acted like I was his 10,000,000 customer, etc....so wanted to change. This guy is just my family doctor, and has been since we moved to this town 5 years ago. DH and I had discussed who I was going to see if we got pg again and DH likes this guy so we agreed on him. I am so glad that we did. He is just a family physician but he does do obgyn so I'm comfortable with what he knows!

AND.....he wants to see me once a month for at least the first four months before he'll decide what to do from there. He sat down with me and said, "have you ever had a positive hgc before?" to which I answered yes. And he said, "and you miscarried that pregnancy correct?" to which I again answered yes. Then he said, "Well, that's not going to happen this time. We're going to have a baby this time."

Until those #'s come back and are rising well I won't get my hopes up completely - but it was the BEST doctors appointment I have ever had. He prescribed me some extra strength prenatals and when I took them to the pharmacy the pharmacist lady said, "Does this mean what I think it means?" I smiled and she squealed."

Let's give this a try....

This blog is mainly to show my family and friends when we finally do announce our pregnancy, to catch them up on what we've been up to! Ed and I have been trying to have a baby since January 2006. We were first pregnant in November of 2006 but I lost the baby in December of 2006. We did not tell our families or friends only because, if we were not "successful" we did not want to disappoint anyone but ourselves.

When I miscarried just before Christmas I was so so sad and I'm glad that no one knew because I wouldn't wish that pain on anyone. We had gone home for Christmas and we had planned on annoucing our pregnancy, and even though we no longer had a pregnancy to announce, we still wanted to spend time with our families. It was the hardest and best time of 2006 for me. My familydid not know about the pregnancy or miscarriage, but they loved me just as much, and just the same. I needed that time with them. So when you do get around to reading this, Mom & Dad & Sarah - thank you so so much for Christmas 2006. You have no idea what that did for me.

I stopped ovulating on my own after the miscarriage and in order to begin ovulation again I had to take Clomid to induce ovulation. I had the Clomid in March and April (or April & May, I really can't remember) and my system was so incredibly sensitive to it that it caused me to develop an 8 cm cyst on my ovary. We stopped the Clomid and the next month the 8cm cyst (nicknamed Gigantor) shrunk to about 4cm, but there were 20+ more cysts. So we took the summer off. On October 19, 2007 I took a home pregnancy test on a whim and it was faintly positive! I took another test the next morning (Saturday) and it was much more positive! For some of you - you might remember that was the same day that I shot my first deer - the 5x5 buck that Ed is still grinning from ear to ear about.

So, we were over the moon for a couple of reasons that day!

We have some fun plans for Christmas this year. We're making some gifts to announce the pregnancy, and we're going to have some others made. My little sister Sarah is going to be here for Christmas, so she is going to be the first one to know - which she will probably like we think! :)

So bear with me as I go through the first trimester!