checkpoint!

So, here I am. In the second trimester. Everything has been going smoothly and I've been able to stay up until 10pm for the past week! Who would have thought that passing out at 6:30 wouldn't last forever?

Now that the worries of the first trimester are in the past, my paranoid self gets to worry about other things like incompetent cervix because I've had a D&C and that's a risk factor. Thankfully, I have an appointment a week from today and I can somehow force my doctor to shove her hand up my nether region and check it out. It's no big thang, since I get this pain all day long like someone is stabbing me up the vagina anyway. This could have something to do with adhesions stretching out from past abdominal surgery.

On Sunday, a real live friend asked me to go to the movies with her. This is unheard of. You see, it seems like when I tell people that I'm pregnant, they feel like they need to leave me alone and "not bother me" like I have mono or H1N1 or a contagious rash. Since most of my friends don't have children yet, given my early 20-something status, they don't understand that I'm still a real person. I like to do the same things I used to do (minus the margarita nights), I still have my same personality, I can still interact and relate to them even though they're not pregnant like me. It's truly frustrating.

So Brittney and I went to see New Moon, and spending time with someone who wasn't Nate (even though I love him dearly) was more than a treat. Hopefully Brittney will get the word out that I'm just Alyssa and not a scary preggosaurus and more of my friends will come out of the wordwork.

As for this week, Thanksgiving is an extra big deal because I gave my mom permission to make an "I'm going to be a grandmother" announcement on Facebook. It's the highlight of her life, that Facebooking.

Nate's working tomorrow day and night which works out because I get to have dinner with my mom and not have to worry about going to see his parents when I still feel really uneasy about being anywhere near his mom. Eventually I'll have to cross that line, but in the meantime, I'll enjoy spending time with those in my life who are genuinely and undoubtedly supportive. And I'm quite THANKFUL for that!

Hope every single one of you has a wonderful day tomorrow!

12 weeks!

I'm almost 1/3 of the way through this pregnancy!

I had my NT scan today. The tech had such a difficult time because my baby is wild and wouldn't stop wiggling and punching my uterus long enough to get a measurement. I had to lay in 4 different positions, empty my bladder, and cough to get it in the right spot.

I got to see so much detail! But unfortunately the pictures didn't come out too well because the tech was chasing the baby all over my belly.

I'll get the results of my blood work at my next appointment on the 2nd, but the nuchal measurements were perfect. Oh yea, and my anatomy scan is already scheduled for January 5th!

Here is baby today at 12w1d and me at 12w.

The not-so-baby bump.

This is what I look like.



Sorry, I will not let you see my morning face.

See my little belly bulge? You may be thinking, 'aww what a cute baby bump', but I assure you, that's not a baby making that bump.

This is what's making it:



my snack drawer at work



the pizza I eat for lunch



giant bag of cheese puffs



even Wendy's has been showing me love!

Although my relationship with this food was fun while it lasted, I needed an intervention. My baby is going to be obese, as am I. The last 3 days I've been eating salads, vegetables, and fruit. (Ok and maybe a COUPLE pieces of Halloween candy).

It's a process!

Wordless Wednesday 11/11/09!

(fire department ball 11/6/09)

Yay for rental dopplers!

I have to share my excitement. I went home for lunch and my Doppler that I rented was there waiting for me. Did I rip off my work clothes and try it out instead of eating? Of course!

I found baby's fast heart beat within a few minutes. Best feeling in the world! At 11 weeks pregnant in January, I was finding out my baby had passed. At 11 weeks this time, I'm hearing the heart beat at home!

I'm feeling so optimistic today. Can't wait for my ultrasound next Wednesday!

seriously upset

If you read any of my other posts tagged "MIL issues", you will see that mine is unfortunately a very bitter, rude woman who has no respect for anyone (especially me).

As of Friday, the only people who knew about this pregnancy was my mother and Nate's mother. Both were told specifically not to spill the beans to anyone else until after we go pubic at Thanksgiving.

Yesterday, while Nate and I were at the Patriots/Dolphins game, I get a phone call. FROM MY FORMER COWORKER- CONGRATULATING ME! MIL decided to call up her friend Mike (my former boss) who told his sister (my former coworker) who told her daughter (my former coworker) who called me.

I am livid. Nates father, who lives with his mother, doesn't even know! My little brother, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends have no idea.

It makes me sick to think of who else she told. She works in the same building as my mom, and if she told people there and they start approaching my mom about it before my mom could tell her friends herself, she's going to be extremely hurt and probably initiate World War of the In-Laws.

Thanks to this event triggering my hormones, we left the football game early and I spent the rest of the day crying. Nate went over and told her it's not her place to be telling people, but she has no sense of shame and honestly doesn't care about our feelings. It would be her dream come true if she could cause enough drama in my relationship to get Nate and me to split up.

I shouldn't be this upset, but I can't believe I have to deal with this crap already. I dread the thought that I quite possibly have to share a child with a woman who I can't have a positive relationship with no matter how I try.

She's just awful.

the details

My morning started out as usual, thinking that my appointment was going to go terribly wrong. I've never had an appointment at 7:30 in the morning, so I wasn't sure on traffic and left too early and ended up sitting in the waiting room for 40 minutes. Longest 40 minutes of my life!

The Dr. knew that since I'm crazy-anxious, we should look for a heart beat first. She fished around with the doppler for quite a while, but found nothing but MY OWN 140bpm heartbeat! I was that nervous.

So of course, I thought that I was doomed. She buzzed the in-office u/s tech and had me in the sonography room within 10 minutes.

The very second she got my uterus into focus, you could see baby wiggling and jiggling like crazy with a big flashing heart in the middle! He/she was waving one little hand and, get this, had the other thumb in mouth! I didn't even know that was possible at 10 weeks.

With my previous 2 ultrasounds, I was measuring 4 days behind based on my LMP, but today was right on and all caught up. Heart rate was 167bpm and the Dr. says "it doesn't get any better than that".

I'm planning on renting a doppler later this week as my Dr. says I'll probably be able to find the heartbeat when I'm relaxed.

My next ultrasound is on the 18th and I already can't wait. Here's the picture, and if you look hard enough at the face, you can see that baby was laying sideways and there are 2 little eyes slits with a tiny nose underneath. If the quality was better you could even see the thumb in mouth.



So woohoo for passing my milestone. I am 10 weeks pregnant with a LIVING baby!