7 weeks

How far along: 7 weeks...can't believe how fast this is going by!


Size of our baby:  A blueberry!


Total weight gain/loss: Down 4lbs.  The last thing I want to do right now is eat.

Maternity clothes:  Nope...back in my skinny jeans thanks to this nauseous feeling all the time.

Stretch marks: None.

Sleep: Exhausted, and not sure if thats from the Prometrium.  Sleeping 10-12 hours a night.

Best moment this week:  Seeing our baby for the first time on the ultrasound, and seeing the heartbeat!

Movement: Not yet.

Food cravings/aversions: No cravings, and I don't want anything.  I'm having to force myself to eat.

Belly button in or out: In.

What I miss/What I am looking forward to: I don't miss anything, but I am really excited about finally being able to tell everyone.  Its so hard to keep a secret!

Weekly Wisdom:

Milestones: Baby's heartbeat is 115...strong and steady!

Symptoms:  My breasts are really heavy and painful, I'm completely exhausted all the time, and I'm nauseous all day long.  But, no morning sickness yet!

Whew.

Big sigh of relief - I finally got to talk to my doctor.  They didn't see any source of the bleeding, and they're pleased with the size of the baby (measuring exactly where I thought it was!) and the heartbeat (115bpm!) and so I'm just supposed to take it easy - no exercise, no sex.  


Right now, they're blaming the bleeding on my Prometrium vaginal suppositories, which can irritate the cervix.  I'm still being a paranoid mama, but I'll buy that excuse.  Fingers crossed its smooth sailing from here on out...

We got to see our baby!

Yesterday I started spotting a little bit.  That, in combination with the fact that I've been cramping mildly the whole pregnancy had me a little concerned.  Then, today, I started clotting, pea sized blood clots.  I decided to call my doctor, and they asked me to come in and do more HCG blood tests.  


20 minutes later, the doctor's office calls back.  My doctor caught wind that I was having problems, and ordered an ultrasound.  I immediately start to panic.  I wasn't supposed to have an ultrasound for 5 or 6 more weeks, so if they were concerned enough that they thought I needed one now...well, I was freaking out.


I finally reached Tyler at work, and he was able to come meet me at the hospital.  I love that no matter how terrified I am, just one big hug from him, and I'm SO much better.  I'd been ordered to drink 32ounces of water an hour before my appointment, so I was already bursting at the seams.  I watched as patients came in after me...and were taken back before me....and I almost lost it.  Its so unfair to ask a pregnant woman to drink so much, and then keep her waiting!


I was finally taken back about 30 minutes after my appointment should have started, and tried to stay still, and not think about the fact that if I so much as blinked, I might pee my pants.


After the tech applied the warm goo (gross) and started looking around, I forgot all about having to pee.  She found our baby!  And we saw a heartbeat!  I got really teary, until I looked over at Tyler and saw the big smile on his face, and realized how blessed I was that he could join me!  We saw a perfect silhouette, and its crazy that we could make out the head and the body, even when the baby is only the size of a sweet pea.  


These visits are always a big frustrating, because the tech isn't allowed to discuss what they see.  I asked her what she could tell me, and her response was, "its alive."  Wow, thanks.


So now to just wait to hear from the doctor about what she has to say.


On a more amusing note, Tyler and I always make fun of pregnant couples that have nicknames for their baby, and I told him some that are on the baby boards I frequent.  We assumed people just picked something they liked and made it stick.


Well, during the exam, the tech was labeling everything on the screen, and labeled the Fetal Pole.  I asked her what exactly that was, and she said the baby.  


Later at dinner, Tyler starts talking about the "Post", and cracking up.  I looked at him like he was nuts - he was talking about taking this Post with him to California.  Turns out, he mixed up the terms, and thought it was the baby.  So lately we've been joking about how the Pole is doing, or when the dogs are piled on top of my belly, we talk about them wanting to be close to the Pole.


No clue if the nickname will stick, but I found it pretty funny :)

6 weeks

How far along: 6 weeks!

Size of our baby:  A sweet pea.
 
Total weight gain/loss: No idea!  This post is coming from Puerto Rico, and so I don't have a scale.  Probably GAINED from all the yummy food here! 


Maternity clothes:  Nope. 


Stretch marks: None. 


Sleep: Can't get enough...loving sleep! 


Best moment this week:  Taking baby on their first trip - to Puerto Rico!! 


Movement: None.  And certainly none in my bowels.


Food cravings/aversions: Can't get enough of all this yummy Puerto Rican food!  Definitely loving virgin pina coladas right now...and sparkling water! 


Belly button in or out: In. 


What I miss/What I am looking forward to: Drinking!  Being here, with my three favorite people, who are drinking all day long...I feel really left out!

Milestones: Baby's heart starts beating this week :) 


Symptoms:  Pretty tired (but we've had a lot going on!) and VERY constipated.  

Dogs know whats up

A lot of articles and books that I've read say that animals can tell that something is different with me.


My dogs have always been super cuddly and snuggly, but lately they both want to rest their heads right on top of my belly.  Coincidence?  Or bonding with their new sibling?

The Day Emily Came to Play

Emily is my TOO CUTE goddaughter, and she's been begging her mom to come make brownies with me.  Today finally worked for all of us, and we got to spend the afternoon together.  We got the brownies made and in the oven, and then had 50 minutes to kill while they were baking.

So we busted out my old American Girl doll, Felicity.  BTW, the "Big Sis" tee actually belongs to my dog, Holly.  Emily's shirt got a little messy while mixing the brownies, so Holly kindly lent her a clean shirt :)

Finally, the brownies were cool enough to decorate.  Emily was far more interested in the chocolate icing.

Then it was time to add the sprinkles.

A close up, so you can see just how "sprinkle-y" these brownies were.  OMG.

Yep, she killed the entire container of sprinkles.

We also had some "ABCs" to add.

All done!

It was time for another costume change, since now this shirt was covered in chocolate too.  Luckily, I had an old shirt that was close to her size.

Then, after lots of coloring, dolls and dress up, we decided to watch Yo Gabba Gabba videos on YouTube.  She was particularly enamoured with a "Happy Birthday" skit, and figured out how to replay it on her own.  I went to the bathroom and came back, and found her like this:

Apparently Yo Gabba Gabba is Kid Crack.  :)  I will have to remember that one!  

Such a fun day with such a cute kid.  I am so lucky to have my goddaughter live next door, I'm sure we'll have lots more afternoons like this.  And thank you to Donna for letting me steal her and her sister whenever I want!

5 weeks

How far along: 5 weeks!  An eighth of the way there, haha.

Size of our baby:  An appleseed.


Total weight gain/loss: Same as when I conceived, but I look at least 5lbs heavier due to the bloat!

Maternity clothes:  Nope.

Stretch marks: None.

Sleep: No issues, I LOVE sleep!

Best moment this week:  Telling my best friend :)

Movement: Not yet.

Food cravings/aversions: No cravings, no aversions, all is normal!

Belly button in or out: In.

What I miss/What I am looking forward to: I was bummed about not joining Tyler for some beers this week, but the end result is worth it!  I'm looking forward to a real bump to show off :)

Milestones: No big ones yet...still a few more weeks before my doctor's appointment!

Symptoms:  Super tired, and mild cramping.

Beta #2

Our first Betas were 45, so we needed at least a 90 last Friday in order to be secure in this pregnancy as being viable.


Our  Betas were 185!  We didn't just double, we quadrupled!  I'm ecstatic - things are going so well!


My first doctor appointment isn't until November 10th, and its going to be really hard to wait a month to know anything more about our baby.  Since we leave for Puerto Rico next week, I hope the time just flies by!

Prometrium

Prometrium is a progesterone supplement.  It can be taken orally, but my doctor has me taking it as a vaginal suppository.  I went to CVS to pick up my prescription tonight, and was shocked to find out that it was almost $300 - for pills!  Pills that I shove up my vagina!


Turns out that my insurance has a separate card and a separate plan for prescriptions, and the reason I didn't know this before is that none of my other medicines were covered anyway, so it hadn't mattered.  Luckily, Tyler was able to reach the company to find out all of our information to pass on to the pharmacy, and we only had to pay $50.  Thank goodness - that is a huge difference!


The instructions that came with the medicine were all about taking it orally.  I had no idea how long to wait before going to the bathroom, having sex, etc, and so I turned to the internet.   After getting responses from a few dozen strangers, I decided on a routine that works really well for me.


I am a compulsive "snooze button" pusher, and so when it goes off the first time, I insert my morning pill.  Once I get dressed for the day, I do have to remember a panty liner for the day.  The neon yellow discharge that this pill gives off is pretty gross, and this keeps it as contained as possible.


At night, I never really know if Tyler and I will have sex or not, so I wait until turning off my bedside lamp to insert it.  We haven't had sex after I put it in, but I imagine it would be pretty gross, so I'm just avoiding that all together.  


This pill makes me REALLY tired.  And, duh, pregnancy makes you tired too, so its hard to tell who exactly to blame.  All I know is, I could sleep all night long, take two naps, and still be ready to pass out at 8pm!  Definitely looking forward to getting some energy back.


I'll take this pill until I'm 10 weeks pregnant.  A small price to pay for a healthy baby.

Well...I almost had it.

Thank you SO much for replying to my post about what to name my company.  While the votes in the poll were overwhelmingly in favor of "Details by Kelly", I appreciated all of the feedback in the comments, and really liked some of the suggestions.

On Tuesday night, I went for my weekly walk with my next door neighbor, dear friend, and mother to my two beautiful goddaughters.  I asked her opinion, and she said "The Fairy Godmother!"  I laughed, because since Donna and her husband call Tyler "The Godfather" to the girls, I requested to be called "The Fairy Godmother" :)

I talked to Tyler about it, and we liked it, but its a little too close to Disney (who loves to sue the pants off anybody that they think is doing them wrong), plus I wanted to incorporate parties.

So we decided "The Party Godmother" would be perfect!  

Now is my dilemma.  The first thing I did was try to register a domain name, and in doing so, I found that another company exists, called Party Godmother.  Their tagline is even similar to mine - I was playing with the idea of "Making all of your party wishes come true".  

They are not located in the US, and are in another country entirely.  I hate to look like I ripped off their idea, because I really didn't.  And we certainly won't be competing for the same customers.  So should I go for it?  Or go back to the drawing board?

Hmmm..

Beta #1

We got our first Betas back...45.  For 13 days past ovulation, that definitely puts me in the normal range, but its pretty low.  I can assume based on that, that its not twins.  I'll take the next round of Betas tomorrow, and need to get at least a 90 in order to be relieved that I'm on my way to a healthy pregnancy.  Fingers crossed!

Hm...actually....

Here's the problem with testing too soon...sometimes its wrong!


Oh yes, Tyler and I are expecting a baby, to be delivered around June 16th next year!  The story is a pretty special one, and pretty long, so buckle in :)


On Tuesday night, as Tyler and I crawled into bed, he decided to have a talk with me about pregnancy tests.  I am a compulsive tester - three times a day, for a week or so.  And those things are expensive!  So when I'm spending upwards of $100 a month on something I pee on, it warrants a discussion.  We had no real hopes for this cycle working.  With all the issues we were aware of, we fully expected to have to go through IVF.  Or as Tyler put it, I "might as well just pee on $20 bills, which will be just as accurate."  


He was right.  I agreed to cool it.  We'd try Clomid again one more cycle, then save all of our money for IVF.


The next morning, he sweetly offered to make breakfast.  He went downstairs to get started while I started getting ready, and I saw that I had one digital test left.  I decided to say "screw him" and went to take it.  It had the hourglass flashing when Tyler called me to breakfast, so I went down to eat (omelettes with cheddar and spicy sausage!) and then spent some time talking to him before he left for work.  I'd already forgotten about the test, kissed him goodbye, and headed upstairs to finish my make up.  The first thing I saw was this:

I was in disbelief, and yelled, "Tyler!!"  I could hear him coming upstairs, and I panicked, thinking it could be a false positive, thinking I didn't want to celebrate before we both had to go work, thinking "it can be better than this."  So I called back "nevermind", and he left for work.


I was in a daze getting ready.  After I got to work, I remembered I had a doctor appointment at 3pm regarding next steps in fertility treatments, and Tyler was supposed to join me.  I knew that if I was pregnant, we obviously wouldn't be talking about next steps, and so I emailed him and gave him a made up reason why he didn't need to join me that day.  I didn't want to tell him in a doctor's office, either.


Just to be sure, I ran to CVS on my lunch break to get another pregnancy test.  Sure enough:

I was pregnant.  I got to my appointment, absolutely glowing and bouncing at this point.  They ushered me to the back, to talk to a nurse.  After going through my birth date, weight, etc, she asked what cycle day I was on.  


"Well, none", I said.  I'm pretty sure I was actually singing at this point.  "I'm pregnant!"


Because this was the last answer she could ever expect, due to my history, she actually didn't understand me, and said, "oh, well then, what was the first day of your last menstrual period?"


"September 9th", I said, "But no, seriously, I'm pregnant.  I brought the sticks!" and I pulled them out of my purse to show her.


"You're PREGNANT?!" she said.  "Omigosh, congratulations!  Let me go get the doctor!"


My doctor rushed in, gave me a big hug, and it all started to feel real.  I followed her into her office, and we talked about what a miracle it was - how amazing that we were prepared for the worst, and were given the best!


She immediately ordered more bloodwork so that I could get my HCG beta levels tested, and gave me a prescription for Prometrium, a vaginal suppository that would give me some extra progesterone to help with a healthy pregnancy.  We then scheduled my two follow up appointments!


By the time I left, and got my blood work done, I saw I had two hours until we had friends coming for dinner.  I rushed to Walmart and bought iron-on transfers, baby t-shirts, and ingredients for dinner.


When I got home, I made two t-shirts for the dogs - both said Big Sis.  I then wrapped two Redskins onesies I'd bought awhile ago:

And after getting the dogs in their shirts, and tucking the pregnancy tests in the gift bag, I was ready!  


I started getting dinner ready while waiting for Tyler to get home, and then I finally heard the garage door open - it was go-time!


He immediately greeted the girls at the door, like he always does.  Kimchi has actually been wearing a t-shirt all the time lately, since she has hot spots, so he goes, "Oh, you finally got her one that fits, awesome!" as he's playing with them in the kitchen.  Then he laughs when he sees Kimchi's shirt says "Big Sis" and comments that while she's bigger, Holly is actually the older/Big sister.  So he looks at Holly's t-shirt, and realizes that it also says "Big Sis".  


Normally, my husband is VERY quick on the uptake.  But we'd already convinced ourself that all those negative tests were accurate.  And, he was under the impression that I'd been to the doctor to map out next steps for getting pregnant.  So the fact that I actually WAS pregnant would have been the last thing he would suspect, and he was a little confused.


When it clicked, he looked to me - "No way.  I don't get it."  When I handed him the gift and he looked inside, he said, "seriously?"  I fell in love with him all over again then.  He gave me the biggest hug, and I was so excited to see how excited HE was that I started to cry.  And while he will probably deny it, he was definitely teary and red himself - it was such an exciting and emotional day!


And then - we had company coming over in 10 minutes.  So we had to rush to take the shirts off the dogs, hide the present, and act as normal as we could for the next three hours.  We had a great dinner with our friends, but nothing beat getting to say good night, and curling up in bed, excitedly talking about next steps, due date, names, and everything fabulous in between.


This is it, we're going to be parents.  I'm sure its going to be a fabulous, crazy, hectic, amazing and exhausting ride...I can't wait :)

Craigslist

Last Halloween, I was Sookie Stackhouse from the HBO series "True Blood."

I ordered a Merlotte's shirt, Merlotte's apron, and bottles of True Blood from HBO.com, and paired them with black shorts, black sneakers, and a stripe of black eyeliner in between my two teeth for a little gap ;)

Since I was obviously not going to wear the costume again this year, I decided to post it on Craigslist.  I posted pictures, the size, the condition, etc.

Almost immediately, Fred Thomas emailed me:

Hello i will like to know if this item is still for sell ok...

Immediately, my guard was raised.  A man was emailing me about a woman's costume - with atrocious grammar. But I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, and responded, "yes".

Today, Fred Thomas emailed me back:

Thanks so much for the update.The price  is not the problem but i think i have to be very careful this time when am transacting on the internet. I had fallen into the hands of some fradulent seller that,collected my money and ver ships out my item. I hope i can trust you? Anyway, i intend to make fast payment as soon as i can before i travel to Bahamas in 2 weeks time. I will making my payment through US Certified check and i will wait till you receive and cash it before i arrange for the shipping.

Shipping will be solely funded by me without you paying a dime, if you are okay with this, let me have your full name and address plus your reachable telephone number as it will be written on the check so that,i can forward it to my finance house to prepare your check immediately for you to receive it on time. Do get back to me

Yep, saw this one coming.  Obviously, some idiot people fall for this shit, otherwise these spammers wouldn't keep trying.  So I forwarded it to Tyler with an "uggh".

Tyler's response:

Nice, I wish you and Fred Thomas a successful business transaction for the item you are attempting to sell. 

That man always knows how to make me crack up :)

PS - any readers want a Sookie Stackhouse costume?  Here's the ad:  http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/clo/1987226117.html  

Not our month.

We'll give the Clomid one more try next month.

Dining Room

Over at Kelly's Korner, they're showing off Dining Rooms today!


Our dining room is one of my favorite rooms in the whole house.  It took me three tries to get a color on the walls that I liked, and now I LOVE it!  I have completely different decorations for each season, and thought I'd show pictures from how it looked over the summer.


My dining room is immediately to your left when you walk in the front door.

This room is almost a perfect square, which was pretty perfect, since our old dining room table fit.  Its a square, pub height table that seats 8, although I leave it set for 6.  I think our furniture really was the perfect fit here.

I've noticed that most bloggers either have their curtain rods all the way at the ceiling, or right above their windows.  You'll find all of mine centered above the windows and below the bottom of the crown molding.  The curtains are Ikea, the rods are Target, and the paintings are Pier 1.  

To Do:  Banana Leaf-colored bamboo blinds.

In the corner closest to the kitchen, I have a wine cabinet that I got for like 80% off at Bed Bath and Beyond.  It was discontinued, the floor sample, slightly damaged, and I had a 20% off coupon.  Excellent buy :)

My buffet and hutch were a set with the table and chairs (all JCPenney).

The baskets hold all linen napkins and tablecloths, as well as all of my Cooking Light magazines.  I use the silver bar tools quite often while entertaining, and the flower arrangement is totally fake :)

Since I have a wine cabinet, I don't use this for wine, and usually have votive candles.  For summer though, I like the starfish!

Up top is my favorite lantern, and I am still on a hunt for a large candle to fit inside.  I like the seaglass candle holder and vase with the colors on the walls, and the beachy decor.

And yes, I'm one of those women that keep my table set all the time!  I love the look of a set table, and I mix and match place settings for different seasons, so I love to see it on display!

Thanks for stopping by!