A bit of normalcy

Thank the heavens, my appetite is coming back! I still revolt at the mention or thought of some foods and some smells, but I'm back to eat normal-sized meals. I first noticed the change last week when I managed to eat an entire roast beef sandwich at Arby's... it's been smooth sailing ever since!

I have a feeling that it won't be long until I become insatiable, although my co-workers think that time has already come! :)

14 weeks and couting!

Friday was our 14 week appointment with our OB/GYN! (Well, not ours because ours was out of town, but another in the office.) I absolutely love our office... they're honest, too the point and aren't afraid to print out extra ultrasound pix!

I didn't get a lot of my own stats, so I don't know if I actually gained any weight in the last month, but I assume if I had lost too much weight, I would have been admonished. The baby, however, is growing wonderfully! He/she is about the size of a fist this week - 3-4 inches long. The heartbeat was 157, which was down a little from last time.

Ben and I have been so amazed by how much has changed from Scarlett's pregnancy to this one. For example, our doctor's office now offers 4-D ultrasounds! Actually, they don't really offer it, they just do it. That wasn't an option for us when carrying Scarlett. The amount of detail that you can see on a 3-D or 4-D picture is fantastic! It allowed us to see that this little baby may in fact, be a boy! It's a little too early to tell for sure, but some of the pictures (like the one above) showed a little growth between the legs! At this point the penis and clitoris are about the same size, so it's definitely not a gimme, but I think that Ben is hoping for it!

I'm game for either a boy or a girl. However, once it seemed like the doctor and Ben both thought it was a boy, I realized that I secretly was hoping for a girl. Realist as I am, I just really wanted to be able to use all of the same baby gear and clothes! More pix to come!

8 Weeks!

Although I know that this post will be a little behind, I wanted to start this blog in order. So here goes.

I found out that I was pregnant on July 21st, although I had my suspicions the week before, which would have been 3 weeks along. I took three different tests within the next week or so, just to be sure it really took.

I was so relieved when I finally went to my first appointment at 8 weeks along, August 18th. Everything appeared to be going well - good heartbeat (and only one!!), good visual on ultrasound - no problems.

For those of you who don't know, I have a uterine malformation called a bicornuate uterus. It's fairly common, as far as anomalies go, but it's been a source of worry for me with this pregnancy and leading up to it. The condition does attribute to miscarriages and breech births. Some think, myself included, that it affects fertility, as well. When Ben and I first decided to start a family, we were surprised by how long it took us to conceive, especially considering the good fortune most of our families have with fertility!

My doctor has assured me that we'll treat this pregnancy as totally normal, until something pops up that would make us think otherwise. After all, I had a completely normal pregnancy with Scarlett, unless you count the breech position that led to the C-Section. Fingers crossed!

The announcement

This is how I told Ben that we were expecting:

Last time around

I've been thinking back to when I was pregnant with Scarlett lately. Bound to happen, right? Surely I wasn't this sick last time - unable to eat much and always feeling like a hefty puke is right around the corner.

However, I was reminded of this one instance that brought it all back: While attending a birthday lunch at Arturo's mid-way through my first trimester (I remember it being Summer and walking from the Farmer's Market), I ordered my favorite potato enchiladas. Within seconds of taking the first bite, I had to push away my plate and leave the table. Needless-to-say, Ben ate two lunches that day. I remember another instance of trying to eat at the Bohemian Cafe in Omaha and having to leave the restaurant for the duration of the meal. The smells of the Czech foods - sauerkraut and dumplings - made me feel sick enough that I couldn't even choke down my hamburger.

Come to think of it, I didn't gain a pound during my pregnancy with Scarlett because I lost so much in the first trimester. I guess it's easy to forget things like that the second time around. Maybe forgetting all that crappy stuff makes it easier to be pregnant again!

I'm new to this blogging thing...

Welcome! Please bear with me while I figure out this blogging thing. I've been wanting to do this for a while, but never got around to starting one. It seemed (with a new baby on the way) the perfect time!

Mostly, I want to give friends and family a direct link to family and baby happenings, while avoiding the typical deluge of Facebook updates about the new baby. This will also allow me to dilligently, hopefully, keep a record of family happenings.

Here we go!