Thursday, December 27, 2007

12w0d

12 weeks today!

I had a wretched night last night and was positive I would throw up. I spent the majority of the evening whining about how nugget would be an only child and hugging the toilet bowl. Just a lot of saliva and dry heaving but no vomiting after all. I took my medication a little too late because it took forever to start working for me. I think I will ride out the last week of this first trimester on the medication and see how I feel come week 13. My next OB appointment is on January 3rd so I’ll have to talk to him about it then.

I am at work today even though my offices are closed. I just have so much work to do that I decided to come in and get it done. I could have worked from home but sometimes you just need to be in the office, you know?

In other news, I got a new pair of retainers yesterday and my teeth are killing me. Probably not the best idea seeing as how I am generally not feeling well and the sensation that my teeth are going to fall out of my head because of the pain is not a fun one. But I needed to start wearing them – the sooner the better.

I’ll check in soon, definitely before my next appointment with the perinatologist on January 2.

Jackie, we are hoping to close on our new house in late February *fingers crossed*

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

11w5d

Merry Christmas!!!

I feel like a spoiled little girl this year. I got so many wonderful presents!
Norman gave me a Journey Diamond Necklace, an amazing Marc Jacobs wallet I have been eye balling for a few weeks now and the most adorable book on cupcake baking.

My parents had been up visiting my brother since he wasn't able to come down this year We stayed back partly because Norman had to work and partly because I have been so sick. We exchanged gifts this morning and got a ton more awesome gifts! I spent the majority of the day baking cupcakes and brownies, yuuuuum.

Here are some Christmas pictures for your viewing pleasure. I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!









Saturday, December 22, 2007

11w2d

Here is a picture from last night:


I am rocking a new maternity top my mom bought me for Christmas but decided to give to me early so that I would have something Christmas-y to wear.

We had a great time! We didn't leave until almost 11:30PM and I was tired but it was a blast. I laughed and talked so much my voice was hoarse when we left.

Heath, I promise to post belly pics soon....ooooh and you'd be so jealous because I had ham cachitos for breakfast this morning!!!! I wish I could ship you some :)

Have a great weekend!

Friday, December 21, 2007

11w1d

Every time I say I am feeling better I jinx myself so I’m not doing it anymore. I ended up having to take my medication Tuesday night only so far this week which is really great, but Tuesday night I was completely non-functional and now this morning I am feeling very ill. Ill, weepy and exhausted.

I woke up at 2AM last night to use the bathroom and was unable to get back to sleep until 5AM. I was tossing and turning as much as my little baby belly would allow. I decided I was thirsty so I got up and drank a lot of water, went back to bed, tossed and turned some more, got up to eat something, watched a Wolfgang Puck cooking show on Food Network, went back to bed, went to the bathroom then finally fell back asleep only to be awoken at 7AM.

I have my Holiday Party tonight at Samba Room on Las Olas Boulevard. I am hoping to get some sleep before then because when I am well rested I start getting sleepy close to 8PM and the party starts at 7:30PM.

Here’s how I feel – you know when you’ve been crying really hard for longer than 5 minutes? You know that exhaustion? That stuttered breath when you breathe in? That’s how I feel except I haven’t been crying. At least not a lot or for very long. I did cry twice in 2 hours yesterday, once was when I heard Frosty the Snowman playing on the radio lol Norman was trying to cheer me up by singing along to the song and I burst into tears because I was reminded of my childhood and how wonderful it was and then I started thinking about how the man who was singing sounded old and it was an old song and how he was probably dead now. I feel so hormonal. I’ve never felt this way before and it is weird.

I read somewhere that mood swings should ease by the second trimester but never really go away. I’ll take that.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

10w5d

I was feeling so good last night that I decided to skip the Unisom all together…and guess what? I feel fine! Yay! Could it be I have kissed my morning sickness goodbye??? I hope so! My breasts are still very sore but I can live with that!

This morning I had quite an experience. (warning TMI) I normally have no issues moving my bowels. Even while pregnant I have never been constipated and have stayed very regular. I go once a day, sometimes even more. I think I can attribute this to my awesome prenatal vitamin that contains a stool softener. So anyhow, this morning I was unable to go at home which sucks because I knew I’d end up having to go at work. Sure enough that’s exactly what happened. Well, to make a long story short, I had a lot of blood when I wiped and in my stool. I freaked out. I am already so stressed out at work trying to wrap up the year by this Friday that the last thing I needed to see was blood. I was in complete hysterics when I called the doctor. This is no exaggeration: I was sure I had cancer. My doctor’s wife works with him in the office and is the kindest lady. She is the person who will sometimes answer the phone. She was so very patient with me and reassuring. After establishing that the blood was coming from the back region, she assured me that even though I felt no pain back there that it was most likely a hemorrhoid and that this is very common in pregnancy and that the doctor would get back to me and prescribe something for it.

No sooner than we hung up the phone did my butt catch fire. I have been super uncomfortable ever since. I have been going back to the bathroom frequently and checking for blood but there has been no more. Thankfully.

It’s just another day in the life, I suppose. Corny as it may sound, it is all very worth it in the end.

Monday, December 17, 2007

10w4d

I must be having a girl. I have never craved sweets the way I am craving them now. In fact, I have never had much of a sweet tooth. Norman and I went to Dadeland Mall for lunch today because we were in the area. I ate Johnny Rockets and had to exercise serious self control to not order an extra large chocolate milk shake. I am getting tons of Christmas gifts consisting of Godiva chocolates and all types of sweet goodies. Evil. I think I am going to give them out here at work.

Speaking of having a girl, my dad is so sure I’m carrying a bambina that he has already bought me adorable girlie onesies and other girlie clothes. So sweet.

In other news, I think my morning sickness is subsiding (fingers crossed). I haven’t felt nauseous today or yesterday. I have been having bad acid reflux but no nausea. I am trying not to get too excited because I had 2 nausea-fee days right before week 9, but I am hoping that this is it. I have read that HCG levels peak at 10 weeks so this is the time when most women begin to feel some relief. We shall see. In the meantime, I am afraid to stop taking the Unisom/B6 just yet. Though I have been able to lessen the B6 dosage and am only taking 50mg at night. I think I will wait until Thursday. If I feel this good on Thursday I will quit the Unisom.

16 days until our next ultrasound. We will be seeing the perinatologist on January 2 and having the nuchal translucency screening test (NT) done. It feels as though the days are dragging by. I guess it’s because of the 4 weeks in between ultrasounds! I wish I could see the Nugget every day.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

10w0d

Yesterday night was Norman’s holiday party at Novecento on South Beach. I was in an awful mood all day. Add to that the complete exhaustion and fatigue I have been feeling and you get a really cranky, edgy pregnant lady. Poor Norman.

We had a very nice time despite the fact that I thought I would pass out from exhaustion by the time nine o’clock rolled around. I ate well but got full so quickly I was hardly able to enjoy my main course, much less my dessert. This is most likely due to the fact that I stuffed my face with bread rolls and ate most of Norman’s steak quesadilla appetizer. Being pregnant is fun; people offer me the bread basket first lol. We ended up leaving at 10:15PM and I was ready to drop.

I slept awfully despite the Unisom. I was just so full. Ever since I got pregnant, my digestion has slowed to a snail’s pace. And the heartburn? OMG forget it. You don’t even want to know. I thought I was having a heart attack the first time it happened. What can I say? I was a heartburn virgin!

I plan on finishing up my Christmas shopping tomorrow. I need to sit down tonight and make a list. I already have Norman, my brother and his girlfriend Emina (who is pregnant, too!) covered. That leaves me with about a million other people including my parents. I just have to say, Norman is going to love his gift.

I’m ten weeks today!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

9w6d

2WW Symptoms

I was so positive I was pregnant practically the minute it happened. I just felt different. I know it must sound insane to some but to be honest I have always been very in tune with my body and have always been able to feel slight changes. Maybe that's also why I've always tended to be a hypochondriac of sorts.

Since I knew right away I was tortured because I couldn't test until at least 5 days before my period was due to arrive - and even then, sometimes results don't appear until after you period is scheduled to start.

So I surfed the web for anything I could find on what is infamously known as the two week wait. For you amateurs out there, the 2WW refers to two weeks between the the day you ovulate and the day your period may (or may not) arrive.

I found tons of sites where women posted their symptoms daily while anxiously awaiting their results. All I can say is that I know that we are extremely lucky to have gotten pregnant with Nugget as quickly as we did because some couples try for months, even years before they get their BFP. My 2WW was agonizing enough as it is. 336 hours is a long time to wait for results.

Here are my 2WW symptoms. I got my BFP at 11dpo, immediately after we began TTC.


Ovulation CD 15

Usual intense mittelschmerz
1dpo: Cramping in lower abdomen
2dpo: Very emotional and weepy, DH & I BD’d, cramping in abdomen and on left ovary
3dpo: Took HPT #1 (silly I know, but I "just knew") and obviously got a BFN, cramping and tightening in lower abdomen as though I had done 1,000 sit-ups, gassy, very hungry, napped in the late afternoon after work, woke up and my abdomen felt really, really, really full
4dpo: AF type intense cramps, gassy, napped in the afternoon after work, hungry in the mornings and nauseous in the evenings; I have that feeling in the back of my throat that I may toss my cookies at any moment, took Pepto for heartburn and nausea, frequent urination, BBs painful on the sides and nipples painful to the touch, BBs are veiny especially on my right breast around the areola leading to my nipple (DH says they are always like that but I disagree), BBs feel fuller but they are big already so I’m not sure!
5dpo: AF cramping in the AM and randomly throughout the day until the evening when they miraculously lessoned…they were so bad this morning that I thought AF was making an early visit, strong feelings of fatigue, mild dizziness and disorientation while shopping, nauseous but eating, craving sugary foods, BBs and nipples not as tender, more pronounced veins on BBs, veins on upper arms but less obvious, tried to nap in the early afternoon but couldn’t, some shooting pains in lower to mid back, FAMISHED in the evening
6dpo: I woke up at 1:30AM with the worst heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach and nausea I have ever had in my entire life, took 8 tablespoons of Pepto and tried to go back to bed but couldn’t, finally got to sleep and experienced mild cramping above my belly button (which could have been the heartburn, who knows?), woke up and took HPT #2 and got a BFN, famished and ate, more AWFUL heartburn, took 2 small glasses of soy milk instead or Pepto and it has helped a lot…now I am afraid to eat, feeling wet like AF has come early but sure enough no AF, cramping has calmed down a little but the cramps are still there, napped in the afternoon and awoke to sharp cramp like pains on left side, weepy, more mild heartburn, gassy, BBs still sore, less cramping in the evening, creamy CM
7dpo: I woke up at 2AM with bad heartburn but didn’t take anything for it instead I propped myself up on pillows and elevated my legs, experienced intense AF type cramps in my lower abdomen and back and was sure she had arrived this time…again…but nope, stayed up until about 4AM, mild heartburn throughout the day, indigestion, EWCM, dull low grade nausea almost all morning and afternoon, BBs hurt when I walk, I am noticing pronounced veins in my BBs, shoulders, arms & thighs but DH disagrees, I can also swear that my areola are darker and my right one is larger, I can’t lay on my BBs
8dpo: Symptom free all morning…almost like they disappeared overnight…doubting that I am PG…Heartburn less but noticeable, very mild AF cramping, extremely sore BBs and EXTREMELY painfully sore nipples poor DH can’t even touch them, broken blood vessel on my left BB, DH noticed enlarged vein in left BB and noticed darker areola and enlarger right areola, dull low grade nausea, felt fatigued, lightheaded, dizzy and shaky legged at the mall, a lot of EWCM, depressed and weepy, gassy,
9dpo: Woke up and took 2 HPT, FRER & CBED (test #3 & #4) and got 2 BFN - I will not be testing again until next Saturday, tingling in nipples first thing in the morning, bad AF cramping, very very minor heartburn, extremely sore BBs and nipples (hurts when I walk)
10dpo: Woke up at 2AM (I am noticing that I am always up between 1:30 and 2AM these days) sweaty and HOT with intense AF cramps, poking pain in my left side and tingling nipples, BBs are unbearable if I am not wearing a bra...a towel against my nipples hurts so badly, BBs look black and blue almost bruised from the pronounced veins, pain in lower back, constant nausea and cramping - I know I say it a million times but I swear AF is coming :(, bad nausea especially after I eat, pronounced stretch marks on my breasts, tummy and back, mild heartburn, BD'd and got bad cramping after orgasming in lower left abdomen and BBs are on fire they are the most agonizingly painful they have ever been I had to put a sports bra on because I wanted to cry every time my nipples touched my tank top, my nipples feel like they are on fire I am so uncomfortable, so incredibly fatigued, I feel really hot...not sweaty, but like I am running a fever, did I mention VERY SORE BBs?
11dpo: Woke up last night at around 1AM and I was drenched in sweat, my comforter was drenched in sweat, I had AF cramping, very sore BBs, and craving OJ. I couldn't go back to bed for hours and was constantly urinating, had vivid dreams of P-ingOAS and getting positives, also had vivid nightmares, woke up, caved and took HTP #5 with FRER and got a BFP!!!!!! It immediately turned positive albeit faint and got much darker as the minutes passed!!!!!!!!!!! Felt nauseous and crampy all the way to work and had slight heartburn after breakfast. Nauseous all day and more cramping, napped when I got home but was woken up (I'm sure I would have slept for hours), woke up and felt very flushed, hot pink cheeks, more cramping after orgasm, more cramping, hungry. Took HPT #6 with FRER last night before bed and got another BFP. No disappearing lines, BTW. They stayed nice and prominent :D
12dpo: Woke up at 4AM and took HPT #7 with FRER and HPT #8 with CBED. Got BFP on both with FRER's reading a significantly stronger BFP thank yesterday and CBED reading: PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!! Couldn't go back to bed and stayed up until it was time t o get ready for work, cramping especially on the left side, sore BBs - so sore that I've been having to sleep with my bra on, BBs are soooo heavy that I can't even walk without a bra on, constant low-grade nausea, mild heartburn after almost anything I eat, dizzy when I stand up after lying down, shooting pain in my right leg at bedtime, cloudy urine. Again, no disappearing lines. All my tests read the same way from when I took them and my CBED still reads PREGNANT. I constantly look at them for reassurance. I can't believe it! We are so excited!
13dpo: I woke up with more cloudy urine, cramping and sore heavy BBs, I think I have sciatica pains in my upper left leg and extreme lower back pain, feeling good otherwise.
14dpo: Bad crampy AF cramps and tender BBs, a lot of CM, some nausea, very hungry and tired and feeling warm
15dpo: More bad crampy AF cramps, sore BBs, a lot of CM, some nausea, very hungry and tired - napping almost every day now, feeling warm
16dpo: Woke up at 4AM with heartburn and awful AF cramps, BBs are so sore it feels like they were used as bags, have been urinating every 2 hours since 4AM


For the record, I didn't stop getting bad crampy feelings until I was almost 8 weeks along. Now I am getting round ligament pain, mostly on my left side. Tomorrow I am 10 weeks exactly and I feel fatigued, nauseated, and my breasts are sore as all hell (I am never without a bra). I am urinating like crazy, sometimes 5 times a night. Also, before getting pregnant I used to get chronic headaches but that has subsided. I do get the occasional headache but nothing like before...which is surprising since I quit caffeine and Excedrin cold turkey and never looked back. I also stopped eating anything with artificial sweeteners in it and I am really beginning to think that was the reason for all the headaches in the first place.

I'm off to get ready for Norman's holiday party.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Our Little Nugget



Here is our Nugget at 9w0d

9w5d

Last night I felt horrendous. When I got home from work all I wanted to do was go straight to bed. My mom was dying to go to Ross because she had gone during lunch and found some really cute maternity clothes at decent prices and insisted on taking me there. So since I’m always up for shopping being the fashionista that I am, my mom, my dad and I headed over and got busy. No sooner than I parked it in the car I started feeling like I may need a large brown paper bag.

Believe me when I tell you that nausea without vomiting is one of the most horrible experiences ever. I almost feel as though if I could only throw up then maybe, just maybe, I’d feel some relief. I have vomited once in the 9w5d I’ve been pregnant and it wasn’t even food so I doubt you could technically even call it vomiting - it was stomach acid and it made me feel even worse than before.

Another ailment that has suddenly materialized is motion sickness. The minute I get into a car I feel awful. Riding in the back seat aggravates it. Driving doesn’t help much either even though it’s suggested in order to minimize it. I bought those motion sickness relievers called Sea Bands at CVS and ooohhhh the irony of those black bands around my wrists as I hug the toilet bowl. I wear them in desperation when I think I have no choice but to try anything, anything for some salvation.

So back to Ross…I looked as pale as a ghost once we finally got there. My dad gave me a mint and some gum and that really helped. I was able to shop for tops and found 4 or 5 really cute ones, success!

Tomorrow is Norman’s holiday party and I worry that I’ll feel awful because the Unisom/B6 starts to wear off in the late afternoon and once I take the medicine I am passed out within the hour. I am hoping the nausea pattern holds true; I usually have a few really bad days then some decent ones. So far today I have been feeling much better than yesterday which is great. The days I feel good I don’t need to eat nearly as much. Having to eat every minute of the day to get some relief is so annoying, not to mention fattening!

Monday, December 10, 2007

9w4d

I still need to scan the ultrasound of our precious Nugget; I keep forgetting to ask Norman to do it.

I have been doing well, albeit very, very nauseous. I am taking my Unisom & B6 every night and am looking forward to the day when I can stop. I don’t dare stop yet because even though I still occasionally feel awful I am feeling much better than when I wasn’t on the medication. The only thing that helps a little is eating. Crazy, isn’t it? I have heard that some women can lose up to 10 lbs in their first trimester. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that that hasn’t been the case for me.

I outgrew my pants weeks ago. Thankfully my tops still fit but I have to tell you, they’re getting snug around the bust area. My bras are beginning to leave marks so I think I will need to bra shop soon. I already bought a handful of pants and tops which I am hoping will get me through the next few months.

My cramps have all but disappeared. I occasionally get a random poking and pinching feeling in my abdomen but nothing painful or uncomfortable. I am an emotional rollercoaster most of the time; the silliest things can reduce me to a mess of tears…and baby commercials, forget it!

My next post will be the ultrasound photo. I’ll also post my 2ww symptoms which I took great pains to document accurately because I was positive I was pregnant right after conception even though Norman thought I was crazy :)

Friday, December 7, 2007

We're Pregnant!

We started trying to conceive in mid October 2007. We got our BFP on October 30th, so as you can imagine we are so lucky and happy and blessed.

I didn’t want to start this blog until after our appointment on December 6th. On December 6th we had our very first ultrasound done and we got to see our baby for the first time, we even got to see the heart beat! He/she measured 9 weeks based on the crown to rump measurements. It was the most amazing experience. There are really no words that can describe what I felt. Norman put it best when he said there are three of us now.

I have many pictures to post and will do so soon, I just wanted to get this blog started!!!