Aug 20: 11 weeks 4 days

Well I believe the nausea is gone...Yeah!! But now gas, bloating etc. Still way better than vomiting. The 18th the people at work threw me a gooing away/baby party. It was very cute and I got lots of presents which I will include on here once I write them all down some of the things I remember are onesies, a few outfits, the cutest socks and booties, a blanket, a fingernail set, nasal aspirator, hangers, a rubber ducky that says hot if the bath water is too hot, baby einstein take along tunes and some other stuff. It was very sweet!! I am starting to realize that there are a lot of people here I will miss. I was so excited to be going home I didn't think of all the great people I have met over the last year. I am a little emotional today so I am trying not to think about it too much especially since there is two days to go and it is not like I can never talk to them again. I have always been very fortunate to work with some great people. Anywho, this blog isn't about me per se but the baby journey and that is going great. I woke up at midnight remembering I did not take my prenatal and just positive I was causing harm to the baby. I could not go to sleep until I took it. I have been having the weirdest dreams lately. I keep going out with past crushes...very odd but I hear vivid weird dreams can happen during pregnancy all that stuff on your brain. :)

Aug 18: 11weeks 2days

I feel a little queasy today but nothing like I did before. I think I may be getting a cold.
Doug and I had dinner at my boss John's house yesterday. It was a lot of fun. He had a full house since his mom, dad, sister and nephew had come by the previous day to visit plus John, his wife Ingrid and there three children Arianna, Nicholas and Darren. We had chicken parmesan which was really good but there was too much and I could not finish it. We took a bunch home and that will probably be dinner tonight. They are officially baby present number three. I keep forgetting to put the gift from Doug's grandma so I will add it below.

Gift #2 from Gma Penny -Tog jr. - a stuffed dog that is exactly like the one she got Doug as a baby.

Gift #3 from John, Ingrid, Arianna, Nicky and Darren- a gift card to Babies r us, 2 books-Good morning good night & a counting book, a bib and burp set that says "Sweet Pea" and a very cozy baby blanket that Doug said he may keep for himself.

A little guessing game for those who wish to play

Aug 15: 10 weeks 6 days

Yesterday was insane. I went to work only to throw up four times the first hour and a half I was there. I knew I couldn't deal anymore so I called my dr made an appt for 3:30pm and worked from home the rest of the day. I decided to weigh myself when I got home and I had lost 15 pounds since I found out I was pregnant so I figured yeah I need something. I went to the dr and after I gave him a urine sample that barely filled the bottom the dr came in put some on a stick and said "you are very dehydrated" which meant I got to go to the ER for 4 hours worth of fluids!! We left the doctor at 4:25 was at the hopsital by 4:30pm did not get a room until 8:30 and after all is said and done we left the ER @ 1 in the morning. This morning I am horribly tired but no vomit, I can eat and I actually am craving water. Which is great but even if I wasn't Doug is pretty much determined that he will make sure I drink 2 liters of water a day. I definitely don't want to do that again so hopefully, this craving water thing will continue. I hate peeing every two minutes but again much better than 4 hours of IV fluid. They couldn't find my veins so I got poked 3 times!! The inside of my elbows looks like a pin cushion :)
Hurrah, its Friday!! One more week to go in this office and a week later it is off to the STL! I am thrilled beyond measure to be going home. I know if I was at home Doug would not have had to suffer through 8 hours of the ER because I could have found people to stay with me who didn;t look like they were going to throw up when she stuck the IV in my arm and look worse when they have to try again:) He was very cute about the whole thing. He complained a bunch but for him just the staying was a major deal and I was happy to have him there. Although I seriously had to ground him from the call button.

Aug 12: 10 weeks 3 days

It's back....ugh, nothing helped this morning I am back to throwing up hopefully, it wont last long. I am starting to wonder if my sinuses are helping to cause the problem. Last night I was all stuffed up and today I feel crappy and (tmi) I threw up green phlegm this morning which is not usual so another reason I think it could be somewhat sinus related. Either way I want to go home and watch girly romance movies. I thought this morning that strawberries might help since I have been enjoying them lately...nope they tasted rotten. So much for that idea! And on a sad note...still no Twinkie and I don't think I will be getting one today I want it to be on the good list not the "things I can never eat again" list.

Aug 11th. 10 weeks and 2 days

Well, I am hoping the morning sickness is gone for good. I feel pretty good and everyone says I am looking better so Yeah!! This morning I was a little queasy because I didn't start chewing gum or get anything in my stomach when I first woke up but I am ok. This weekend I was thrilled to be able to eat again. Sunday Doug took my car to work so I was stuck at home. I ate a whole carton of strawberries in one sitting and 2 hours later a whole bag of popcorn. If I don't eat something every two hours I get sick. I am trying to keep those snacks small but well I am going to have to keep trying. While I was sitting on my tush waiting for Doug to get home there was a twinkie on tv....and I couldn't go anywhere...I wanted one so bad. I even called Doug and was like bring me home a twinkie but they apparently don't sell twinkies at Target here...stupid PA. No Twinkies no snowballs what is wrong with this place :) Anywho, I am still on a quest for a twinkie I guess the longer I hold out the better it will be.

Aug 7: 9 weeks 5 days

So, I made an amazing discovery yesterday. I was supposed to go out with some ladies from work during lunch and from about 8-10:40am I could not stop throwing up and the thought of food made me ill. at 10:40am I decided I was going to chew a piece of gum and 2 hours later I was hungry and not throwing up. I went and had a great lunch with no issues. The gum kept the nausea away all day and this morning when I woke up I chewed on a piece and only had two small issues which is a MAJOR change from throwing up every time something touched my lips. Now my only problem is my mouth is getting tired of chewing and there is only so much winterfresh a person can stand :) but merciful it has been nice not to puke and to get to eat and enjoy food! I had fruit this morning kiwis and strawberries...so yummy.
Now the only issue is I asked my doc for anti nausea meds and they want to see me in the office to see how much weight I have lost (6 pounds as of the 31st probably a little more since then)before they give me something. I guess I will call and tell them I am going to try this chewing gum thing for a while and see what happens. I don't want to buy a prescription if I don't have to but at the same time if this stops working it would be nice to have them...I wish I knew if the worst was over.

Grandma Allen

I had a very vivid dream the other night that my grandma Allen who passed away took me and the family out to dinner to celebrate my pregnancy. Except for the tiger across the street that I tried to take a picture of everything seemed very realistic. So I have decided to take it as my grandma saying "congratulations". I wish she was still here to see the baby but I am sure she will we just wont see her.

Aug 1: 8 weeks 6days

I am so tired of being sick...Yesterday on my day off it lasted all day not just until lunch and I realized this could be going on for 6 more weeks. I really just want to cry and to stop throwing up. I am going to try some new things this weekend probably Sea Bands and leaving food beside my bed and eating it before I get up in the morning...we will hope those work. Now if only I could get people to stop wearing perfume and eating pungent food.
I had a drs appt yesterday, we didn't learn anything new really. They tried to hear the heartbeat but I am still not far enough along which they told me would probably happen. Doug liked the new guy probably because he thinks the doctor prefers men so Doug is not as upset by him viewing certain areas. He told us that he "thinks" that with the septum not showing in the second scan that the first scan was misinterpreted as a septum when in reality it may have been blood in the uterus from the spotting. Either way he says everything looks fine now. The doctor told me I could do everything like normal except he left the no sex rule just in case. Doug was not thrilled well neither am I for that matter (sorry TMI).
He also gave us paperwork for the first trimester screening for Downs. I am having issues with this because like the doctor said in his 19 years it has only helped one family be proactive. The others just freak out. And I keep reading about false positives. I just don't know if I want to take a test that could tell me the wrong thing and have Doug freak out for 8 months.
Anywho, we didn't get a pic of the ultrasound. The tech told us the doctor gives them to you and the doctor told us the tech does...Who knows anymore:)

July 30...8 weeks and 4 days

I haven't posted for a bit because the only thing going on was lots of vomiting. It is absolutely no fun to be sitting in your office and have to run to the ladies to throw up praying the whole time that no one is in there or comes in while you are losing every bit of fluid or scrap of food that is in your system.
Although generally after I eat lunch I have no issues...Generally!
So the baby should be the size of a medium green olive this week. I am assuming that is why I am barfing I hate green olives :) And my uterus is supposed to be the size of a grapefruit. I can't see any difference in the tummy area but there could be and it is just disguised by my overabundant tummy. I have lost three pounds but they say that is normal with all the yacking.
I can't wait to be done with the morning sickness hopefully it leaves like most women's @ 12-13 weeks. That would make me extremely grateful.
In another matter today, Chris Carpenter should be pitching for the Cardinals...I love him and I am thrilled he is back (hopefully to stay we need him!) Go Cardinals!!

July 22: 7 weeks & 3 days

We went in for an ultrasound yesterday @ 7pm. We got to see the little beans heart beating. It was 126 bpm which the tech said was wonderful. Luckily, the septum just got moved out of the way and is not causing any issues so I have what she referred to as a bicornate uterus where the uterus just dips down a little in the middle like a heart. I am very excited!! It is still so tiny but that little heart was just jumping all over the place. it looked like a badly drawn bunny kicking its feet. I am not sure when our next ultrasound is but I will be very excited when it gets here. Also, I realized that 32 oz they make you drink bupkiss...I drank maybe 16 and told the tech I drank as much as I could keep down she said eh, you are pregnant. So, safe to say I am never drinking what they tell me too again. I don't think they understand that just because 32 oz will fill your bladder doesn't mean you should make someone who already fills like crap feel worse when you don't have to. Anywho, I am still yacking this morning. I ate a popsicle this morning that lasted maybe 10 minutes. I am planning on going to get some cheerios to see if they stay down...Here's hoping.

July 19...7 weeks or in the 8th

So, I figure there are so few milestones in the first trimester that I might as well make sure I record all of them I had my first puke at 6:05pm ET today. I feel much better for now but I have to go eat something here soon. After the nap I took I felt pretty crappy but just chalked it up to heartburn and the need for food which I don't really find appealing. So, yeah I finally feel like I am part of the pregnancy crowd. Hopefully, The constant nausea I ahve been having will subside. It sounds odd but I can deal with random bouts of throwing up and then feeling good. I do not like the constant feeling of having to puke with no relief. So, I know it sounds completely stupid but hurray for my first puke. :) I am sure in a few days it probably wont be as exciting.

July 18...6 weeks 6 days

Yesterday was my first OB visit. I wrote a long blog about it and then blogger went down and ate my post which Doug said I should have copied before posting because this happens a lot. UGH!! So, let me try and recap it today and hopefully, it works. I took a half day from work yesterday since my visit was 8:40am. They actually got me in pretty quick which was amazing since in most drs offices I have to wait for at least a half hour on a good day. The doctor I seen was Dr. Mercurio. He was really nice and very calming. He talked to me about the septum saying that at this point I am still considered at risk because of it. He told us we are on a sex hold since that can cause bleeding but that is fine because Doug had already put me on hold for 9 months since he said that is just too weird for him "there is a baby in there". It is still too early to tell if the baby has implanted on the septum which would be bad or the uterus which would be good. So right now we are just waiting to see what the next ultrasound on Monday the 21st says.
Doug went with me to the appointment. I was surprised he actually went in and actually stayed in during the pap smear and breast exam. I will say that he was looking anywhere but in my direction but he exceeded my expectations. :)
After I went home, I had a little southern style chicken biscuit from McD's which was good until the last few bites which I gave to Doug. Then I started falling asleep so I decided I might as well take a nap before going to work. It is insane how tired I feel. Unfortunately, my car has no AC right now so I can't take a nap during lunch at work without suffocating myself. I am hoping I can get that fixed soon.

6 weeks and 4 days-July 16th

Tomorrow is my first OB visit. I was told nothing interesting will happen at this one. They will take my med history, give me some pregnancy material to read, do a gyno exam and send me for some blood tests. Our next ultrasound is on Monday @ 7pm. I was glad they had something after work, I have 9 days of sick leave but I don't want to use them all up right now. Besides I would rather take one when I just really want to sleep all day because I know that day will come :)
Anywho, apparently this month the baby is supposed to be the size of a fava bean or blueberry. Mind you I have no idea what a fava bean is except that in Silence of the lambs Hannibal talked about eating someones liver with fava beans and a nice bottle of chianti...Ugh that made me nauseous! My husband always wants to know what it looks like in comparison to fruit he says that is easier to imagine. If only I could find a week by week fruit comparison chart...that would be interesting.

Also July 15th

So, I think I figured somewhat of a schedule for my moods in the morning I am a wreck and at about 3-4pm I become all sunshine and daisies...it is kind of odd but maybe I can forewarn people for here on out. Lets just hope it stays true to my theory I wouldn't want to be throwing anyone under the bus so to speak.
I ate a quiznos salad for lunch today it tasted pretty good but the awful after taste in my mouth is making me nauseous...I guess that means it is time to start bringing a tooth brush to work. I always hated when people did that but you gotta do what you gotta do.

July 15...6 weeks and 3 days

I had the worst time getting out of bed this morning. :) I was so comfortable. I was about 13 minutes late because I just couldn't get moving but that is alright no major deal. At least I made it right. I went downstairs to get something to eat and of course opted for a donut which tasted really good although I am only three bites in feeling a bit like I am going to yack and the donut smells awful all of a sudden but it still looks sooooo good, the worst part about the nausea is the not being able to finish the donut part. I really don't think this baby likes goodies...in which case, I wonder if it is truly mine :)
I do absolutely love anything in the fruit category. YUM!!! Yesterday I had kiwi and it was amazing. Now don't get me wrong I like kiwi but amazing is not normally what I would associate with it. Now if only I could feel that way about veggies too.

July 14th...ugh the nausea

The nausea has continued to get worse, still no vomiting which is fine with me. I am mood swinging like crazy though. Poor Doug, no matter what sometimes I am just grumpy that he is talking to me...I get so frustrated for no reason. I feel awful about it because he is being amazingly sweet and awesome. I just can't stop myself. Yesterday I started crying because I felt awful...nauseous, my bra is getting tighter, I had a headache and I a tummy ache. I asked for tylenol and he told me that I didn't need it and I got a little grumpy then began to cry because I felt crappy. He was very attentive, kept offering me crackers and other foods to try and settle my stomach but he said I should check with the doctor to make sure how much tylenol I am allowed to take. I spent the whole rest of the day slumming on the couch. I did get up and go to the store once but once I was out I felt sooooooo tired. I picked the closest store then went home. I saw a lot of movies on tv I thought about watching but skipped because I knew they would make me cry...Like Steel Magnolias was on twice and I figured that really wasn't a good idea...that movie is horribly sad even when I am not pregnant and emotional. I am trying not to feel sad about the situation. I know I am not going to feel good but I am very excited to be having a baby, a little petrified but excited. Now if only I could get back to IL...

5w 6d

We took a blood test and had an ultrasound done because of the spotting. Luckily, the doctor said everything looks good!! So, that is great news.
The ultrasound was the full bladder kind and on the way to the hospital I had to have Doug pull over so I could use the restroom. I hate those tests, I seriously was going to wet myself. Luckily, I still had enough in my system when we got there so it was all good. I have another one next week before my OB exam so I will know not to drink so much water that far in advance my bladder doesn't deal well with that.
She also said I have what is called a uterine septum. It is hard to explain but it can cause 2 separate chambers in the uterus instead of one giving less space for the baby leading to pre term labor. I will explain more after I see the doctor next Thursday.
I started to feel really nauseous last night. I was fine when I woke up but I just ate a bit of muffin and I am feeling it again. Which is sad cause I would really like to eat the rest of the muffin but do NOT want to be sick. I am going to see if it goes away and I get hungry again.

Holiday Weekend July 4-6 2008

This weekend started very scary. I began to spot on the 4th so I called my obgyn she told me to watch it over the weekend that it could be normal, a miscarriage or an ectopic pregnancy. I was a little freaked out!! She told me that a miscarriage would most likely resemble a period with heavier cramping, an ectopic pregnancy would be accompanied by sharp pains on one side, dizziness and bleeding. Luckily neither of those seem to be happening so it must be a normal small amount of spotting (well at least I am hoping) I went and took another blood test today so tomorrow will tell.

First Baby Gift

From Sandy Simon (receptionist at IKON in Malvern, PA) 7/2/2008

webkinz stuffed kitty

Verification

After 5 years of marriage, Doug finally decided he wanted a child a few months ago. I began to keep track of my cycles and realized why there were so many months I thought I might be pregnant. I have anywhere between a 35-39 day cycle. My LMP was on May 31, 2008. 15 days later Doug was on a mission to have a baby. I was a little nervous, I just went from not yet to right now and was having a hard time changing my mindset. I was told a while back that to help stop bladder infections I should make sure I use the ladies room after such activities so I did and Doug was sure I had washed out all his guys. (I was pretty sure it was not that easy or we would have a lot less unexpected babies.) I told Doug we hadn't been trying long enough to have to avoid using the bathroom or laying on the couch with my feet up in the air for an undetermined amount of time :) Well, I was right. Here we are almost 3 weeks later and I just got the blood results yeterday that I am going to be a mom around March 7, 2009. Since they start from your last period I am 4 weeks and 3 days along or in my 5th week. I am tired a lot, a little queasy but nothing major and the boobs are beginning to fill out ( I am already an F so this part I am not thrilled about). They say that 6-8 weeks is when you really start to feel it so we will just have to see. I was worried last night when I got up to pee that the Morning Sickness was starting because I was a bit queasy but eventually it eased up when I laid back down and this morning I was alright.
It is odd but I think the emotion I feel more than happiness or excitement is peace although I have both the other emotions as well as a lot of worries. From what I hear that is not going to ever go away though from the time she is a tadpole until I pass away I will always worry about her. Yes, I am calling it a her. I don't know scientifically what the baby is going to be but I know that from the time I was a young woman I have believed I was going to have a girl first. I would be thrilled with a boy also which is why we have two baby names and not just one. Until I know for sure though from her on I will refer to the baby as he/she. If it did turn out to be a boy I do not want my son to think for one minute I would have preferred a girl because it is not a preference merely a thought I have had.
We have chosen two names. For a girl, Zatanna Quinn Penny. I saw it on a website and I told Doug I thought it was pretty. He said that would be awesome if we used that name because it is the name of a semi superhero in the DC comic books. He even had to find the episode of Justice League she is on to show it to me again. I was just happy to have a name that was not Arcade. I am sure Arcade would be a cute name for someone else's baby but not mine. For a boy, Logen (still debating on middle names) I liked Logan and Doug said only if we spelled it with an e instead of an a. That worked for me. Doug is big on naming them after characters in books or comics he has read and making sure they are not in the Top 100 list of baby names.
I am about 3 weeks behind his good friend, Ashlea Skipper, it will be nice to have someone to go through it all with. She told Doug once we find out they are not the same sex she is going to draw up arranged marriage papers...:) We just went to Ashlea's wedding on June 20th to Mark Skipper. It was a great time. Watching Mark run alongside the car to smoke a cigarette had to be one of the funniest things I have seen in a long time. They are a very cute and fun couple.
Doug took me out to Friday's last night when we got the news. We were seated next to an old laptop that was bolted to the walls he started talking about how he could probably pop the keys off and I suggested he could take the Z for Zatanna and keep it as a souvenir of our celebration dinner so he did...He was thinking about stealing the L too but the z was way more convenient :) Either way I couldn't believe he did but I thought it was neat ( note: I do not condone stealing in general :) )