14 Weeks - 2nd Trimester!

So the past 2 weeks have been a transition, but as of now I am officially and totally in Trimester #2 - huge milestone!! I cannot believe it's already a third over with - time is flying by and we'll have a little babe before we know it.

I ran 9.5 miles today and BOY it was slow. We're talking 10:30-11:00/mi kind of pace. Wowza I haven't run that slow since EVER! I guess I should just be thankful for whatever running I CAN do, and the fact that I don't feel like crud. Hooray!

We decorated the house for Christmas this weekend - very happy with how the lights and everything turned out. I got crafty and made a very "us" wreath out of an old bicycle wheel that Scott had in the basement, and I did plenty of baking!

Lights on the house!

Bicycle wheel wreath

Chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes

Gingerbread running men

We made an announcement at our holiday party with close work friends on Friday night. Everyone was really excited! It's nice to be able to talk to friends about it now. I think we'll let the rest of the "world" know gradually after our next appointment on the 17th.

After all of the holiday treat consumption this week, my belly is showing more than ever (though I still think it's mostly food!). I've had to resort to the elastic-around-the-pants-button trick for most of my pants at this point. I found this post on Instagram that really captures the "food baby" concept really well!

Pants adjustments - elastic around the button!

13 Weeks

Lucky 13!

Fingerprints, teeth, and vocal chords - incredible!

Over the past week we've let the news spread a little bit more freely (still keeping it away from work for now). I told Matthew on Wednesday evening, and I was really happy that he seemed genuinely excited. I told him he's going to be an uncle, and he goes, "OH THAT'S EXCITING!" We told a few of Scott's friends and family as well. I'm planning to tell the "girls' group" from work on Friday at our annual holiday baking night, and I've been playing phone tag with Amanda for the past 24 hours to try to tell her the good news as well. Honestly I really wish I could get one more listen to the heartbeat before telling the news widely, but I just keep telling myself that I have no reason to believe that everything isn't hunky-dory, so I will just keep on with that assumption until shown differently!

I think I'm finally seeing an actual little bump there, although it still really depends on what clothing I'm wearing. This dress I wore to church made things fairly obvious, so I wore a nice long fluffy scarf with it. ;) Over Thanksgiving my mom said she thought I was starting to show, though I argued that it was likely more the turkey & potatoes than baby.

I also got my thyroid numbers back last week, which were a bit over the appropriate range (3.08 vs. suggested max. of ~2.8) so Dr. White increased my dose to 112 mcg/day - pink pills instead of purple! I don't feel any different though, so I'll get my numbers checked in 4 weeks and hopefully it will have improved.

Other than that, nothing really going on - still feeling good (hungry all the time) and energy levels seem to be coming back. I was able to run a good pace at the Turkey Trot with Scott (8:40/mi) and we biked 2 loops at Pleasant Ridge yesterday afternoon.

Here's to the final week of the 1st Trimester!!!! :D

12 Weeks

I'm a couple of days late on this update... busy weekend!

Once again I feel like I've rounded another corner. 12 weeks is the beginning of transition from 1st into 2nd trimester. Woohoo! Still feeling good, and I have a bit more energy than I have in past weeks.

Not much to really report this week - excited to share the news with Matthew on Thursday! At least I can blame my slowly-expanding waistline on the turkey...

Appointment #2

200 days! Wow!

This week has held lots of exciting things so far (ok, two...):

I went for my second appointment today and they were able to pick up the heartbeat with the doppler - so cool to hear it again! They reviewed my blood test results and said everything looks good and normal. My hemoglobin is above average (which is good!) and I am blood type O+ (universally compatible! woot!). Not much else... just talked through family history, options for genetic testing (we're not going to do any), and other "what to expect" kinds of things. I was reallyreallyreally excited to hear the heartbeat again, and a little surprised since the Dr. (I saw Dr. Thurston today --- LOVE her!) said there's only about a 50/50 chance the doppler would pick it up this early.

Last night, Scott and I went to the Greenville Midwifery for their "Meet the Midwives" open house/Q&A session. It was really interesting and I'm strongly considering transferring my care to them (they are affiliated with the Greenville Hospital System, so they'll work with OBs in case medical issues arise). I just like their philosophy of viewing pregnancy as a normal, natural process that in most cases requires no medical intervention. Keep those needles and knives away, thanks! Still have some time to consider options and make plans, but we both got a really good feeling about their practice.

The other nice thing is that they only have 5 midwives, and you get to know all of them (longer appointments where they just sit and talk to you, and they're present throughout labor and delivery). The Greenville OB/GYN has nine doctors, you see all 9, and you never know who you will end up with actually delivering your baby. It's just very impersonal.

I am seriously considering doing a water birth... not sure if at the Birthing Center or at the hospital, but I like the idea of sitting in a warm tub of water during the painful parts! Just the idea of being able to move around freely and not have to be strapped in a hospital bed with IVs and needles and crap all over me.

Hooray for a good appointment! Now I have to decide whether to switch to the Midwifery or stick with the OB. Choices!!

11 Weeks

One step closer to the second trimester! I've felt a little more tired this week than usual, and have had some stomach issues - not sure what it's related to, but it's not fun and needs to stop. Right meow.

I told my boss this week about my 'status' and she's very happy and excited for me. She's very mother-like and I can tell will be a great source of support.

Still no official bump showing, but it's getting there! We went to see The Book of Mormon with some friends tonight and so I got all nice and fancied up:

Maybe a little bit of a bump there? Or just all the fried chicken... hard to tell.

I did have a total emotional breakdown this morning... just started bawling for no good reason. Ohhh boy hormones! I'm looking forward to our appointments this week... Tuesday we have a "Meet the Midwives" session at the Greenville Midwifery, and then Wednesday is my next OB appointment. Unfortunately Scott won't be able to join for that one, but hopefully they'll give me lots of info to take home so I can keep him updated and involved with everything that's going on!

Here's to another happy and healthy week!

10 Weeks

All this week I've been eagerly anticipating reaching that coveted double-digit mark!

I got my thyroid test results this week and they look ok... 2.67 - technically the range for First Trimester should be 0.26-2.66, but I'm not THAT far off. I'm a little nervous that I'm in the very top of the range, so perhaps Dr. White will call and have me up my dose a bit. I'm just happy that I'm not off the charts!

My other issue this week has been PANTS. UGH. I am counting down the number of pairs of pants that I can comfortably wear. One day, I sat around with them unbuttoned for the first part of the day until I had to go to a meeting! Going to invest in a Belly Band sometime soon so I don't have to worry about buttoning pants.

Also, I'm hungry all. damn. day.

As of today though, I feel that I've reached a big milestone now that I'm into the double-digits! I've felt more like myself this past week than other weeks (which is relative because I've really felt excellent this whole time). I think it was a result of actually exercising each day and eating well - didn't feel as bloated and gross. Hooray!

I actually ran 10 miles today to celebrate reaching 10 weeks. Scott was away on an all-day mountain biking excursion with a friend, so I had plenty of time to get it done. It was a slowwwww trot but I got it done and felt great! I wasn't sure how I would feel considering I haven't run more than 6 or 7 miles in a few months (with the exception of the 9-mile trail run with Robin a few weeks ago). It turned out to be a beautiful day and I'm so glad I got to get this run in!

Still no bump, but I've certainly gained weight. I went to Old Navy and TJ Maxx to try to find some nice loose, flowy tops that I could wear until I really need maternity clothes, but everything just looked like a bag on me. Ugh! So frustrating.

We told David (Scott's brother) on Friday with a phone call... he's excited for Oliver to get a cousin! We also sent a copy of the sonogram in Scott's parents' anniversary card, but they hadn't gotten it as of yesterday... so probably today!

9 weeks!

This week was definitely exciting with the first appointment and ultrasound! Plus, now we've rounded a corner and the little gummy bear is no longer an embryo & is now a fetus (Scott has named it Cletus the Fetus). Can't believe that he/she already has fingers and ears and facial features. Crazy how fast this all happens!

This weekend we were in Charlotte overnight on Saturday and we made the announcement to my parents (while at the Pizza Peel for dinner, of course). They were both beyond excited! I'm really happy to be "out" to them now, and I'm hoping & praying that everything continues to go well. I have no reason to expect anything different, but I'm still cautious. You just never know!!

I'm not officially "showing" yet, but man I think I have packed on a few pounds and that is definitely showing (to me, at least). I put on a dress that I was considering wearing to my best friend's baby's baptism (the reason we were in Charlotte) and decided immediately NOPE, that dress would not work. It was rather form-fitting, so I guess that's to be expected. I'm just afraid I'll be in that awkward stage of "oh dear, she's really let herself go" for a LONG time. I asked my mom when she had to buy maternity clothes, and she said it wasn't until almost 7 months!!

I go for my thyroid check test tomorrow, so hopefully my numbers are still good. My actual appointment with Dr. White isn't until December so this is just to get another data point.

Anyway... here's to another happy & healthy week, and looking forward to double-digits! :)