Reading materials and other updates

I fell prey this weekend to buying the "books." We went to the bookstore for just one. I wanted to pick up the basic "What to Expect" book. I ended up buying an additional book about "Eating well" while expecting too. I have started reading and browsing through. I will see what I can learn. I have skipped a few bits and pieces here about not smoking, not drinking, not doing illegal drugs, etc... all the things that seem like no-brainers to me.

Other updates: Well..... I still sleep in my bra because my boobs are huge and a bit tender. I also have had a bit of nausea. I was finally able to describe it to Clay. It's like eating three corndogs (after the first your tummy is unhappy) and then riding a loopy roller coaster several times. You aren't quite sick enough to really throw-up but you are definitely queasy. I am finding it difficult not to tell certain people, like my moms, my sister-in-law, and a few other friends. I talked to my sister-in-law the other day and I was so close to telling her. We are going to tell her the Wed before we go to Florida. Then we will be telling both sets of parents. Clay came up with a really cute way to tell his parents (pending our little bean co-operates at its next photo shoot at 8 weeks). I will have to figure out how I want to tell my parents. Hmm.... I'm sure I'll come up with something to tell them they are going to have their first grandchild ;o)

11 lessons about having kids

This was a funny email sent to me today about having kids and I got a really good laugh, so I thought I would share. Clay asked his friend Bill if it held any validity and sure enough some of it does, so enjoy!

Thinking of Having Kids?
Do this 11 step program first!

Lesson 1
1. Go to the grocery store.
2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home.
4. Pick up the paper.
5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2
Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...
1. Methods of discipline.
2. Lack of patience.
3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.
4. Allowing their children to run wild.
5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.
6. Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3
A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...
1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)
2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.
4. Set the alarm for 3AM.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.
6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.
7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.
9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and
be productive)
Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4
Can you stand the mess children make? T o find out...
1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.
2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.
4. Then rub them on the clean walls.
5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.
6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

Lesson 5
Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.
1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.
Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6
Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think
that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.
1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment.
Leave it there.
2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.
3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat.
4. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.
5. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7
Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.


Lesson 8
1. Hollow out a melon.
2. Make a small hole in the side.
3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.
4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.
5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.
6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.
You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9
Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10
Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the
level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11
Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

HA! Let the fun begin!!!

Meeting my little bean: priceless

Today I took another trip to Urbana to see the doctor, but this trip was much different. I had an ultrasound (like normal) but instead of looking for follicles or cysts, we were looking for something so much better. We found this....

Ladies and gentlemen, please say hello to my little bean ;o)

This is real folks, it's really happening. It was the best feeling in the world to stare at that screen and see that small blob flicker. The heartbeat was very apparent and very strong. The nurse measured it at 158 bpm. The nurse took the time to explain everything. She double checked to make sure there was only bun in my oven (which was a big relief for Clay). She pointed out the yolk sac and took several measurements. We did also check my ovaries. The cyst in the right ovary is gone and the left ovary would not co-operate today so she didn't look there too long.
She shared some other information. She said the baby was about 0.5 cm long. That is about the length of the word "bean" as written in the post... so weird. Something so small 1) has a heartbeat 2) is my little baby and 3) will be here in approximately 34 weeks. Weird! AMAZING! It feels a bit more real. I really am pregnant. I can barely contain myself or the joy I feel.

Bedtime bra required and settling fears

The "girls" are a bit sore (and a bit on the large side) so last night I decided to wear a bra to bed. It helped so I may repeat again tonight. I am typically a stomach sleeper but that too isn't working too well right now I've tried to sleep on my side and my lower back hurts a bit. I may need to use an extra pillow I guess. I still don't feel pregnant and it's just all a little weird. I can't tell if at times I really am nauseous or if it's all in my head. I do know, however, I am excited about tomorrow's appointment. Maybe it will feel more real then when I can see it and ask some of my questions. I have some weird fears that I hope will be settled tomorrow after really seeing the sonogram. I have some slight cramping and I worry it is a bad thing. I wonder what happened to the cyst. I am scared about having "brownies" cause I don't want to hurt anything early and I don't want to spot. I think it would totally freak me out to see spotting now although I somewhat expect to see it each time I go to the bathroom. It just hasn't truly sunk in.... stay tuned for tomorrow's appt update.

Beta up!

I decided for my peace of mind that I wanted to do another blood test on Thursday to make sure my Beta numbers were still increasing. So, I went and drew blood again. The nurse called as we were in the car driving to Michigan and said my numbers were still good. They were over 5,000 now. WOW!! She said my numbers are high enough to suggest I am further along than they originally thought so they would like to move my sono up. They moved the sono to THIS coming Wednesday (May 27th). ;o) So Wednesday at 230 I will get to see my little baby for the first time. I hope that it isn't too early for a heartbeat... I just googled and you may be able to "see" a heartbeat at 5 weeks but usually don't "hear" it yet. I just want to see the little bean. With my numbers so high and so fast Clay and I have wondered if we could possibly be having more than one little one. Guess we will just have to wait and see. I think Clay is a bit scared at the idea of more than one but I'm open to it. (Although looking online now, I am still in the 5 week range that appears to go up to 7,000 so I have no clue.) We also talked about how far I can really be. In all honesty with my last cycle starting on April 15th, I really can't be any further than 5wk2day right now and 6wk when I go next Wed for the sono. It will be interesting to see what they say. I can't wait to see my little one. I'm still in a bit of shock over this whole thing. When will it really sink in?

Still in shock and other details

I couldn't sleep last night. I was up from 1220ish to after 330. For one thing, I had a killer headache and knew I couldn't take any ibuprofen and we don't keep Tylenol (item number 1 to buy). So after attempting to fall back asleep on the guest bed where I thought it was cooler, I gave up and decided to watch tv on the couch. As I laid there, I just kept thinking..."How in the world did I end up pregnant? Is this really happening?" Total shock!
This morning I called the doctor's office to schedule my sono. It will be June 5th. According to their calculations I will be 7 weeks and 2 days pregnant. I should be able to see a heartbeat. I discussed some other details with the nurse. We talked about my high beta level and the fact that I didn't need to retest, but she offered the option. Since I am paranoid now and a bit freaked out, I decided to do it. I will go have my blood drawn again tomorrow just to double check and make sure my numbers are increasing. Then I won't do anything until June 5th. I also asked about how long I will need to use the Prometrium inserts (until I'm 10 weeks) and how long I will continue to take my Metformin (until 2nd trimester). On a disappointing note, I asked how long I would be under Dr. Jarrett's care. She said that they generally do a 6 week and 8 week sono and then they release you to your regular OB/GYN. If they have any concerns they will do a 10 weeks sono but most are always released before the 2nd trimester. I do have my regular PAP scheduled for July and that's right around my 12 week mark so maybe I'll use that as my switch. The nurse mentioned that infertility patients sometimes have problems switching back to their regular ob/gyns because they are treated like "regular" pregnant women and aren't seen as often as we are used to seeing or talking to the RE. I will try to be patient and know that I am a regular pregnant woman;o) Laura (the nurse) did make a comment that I would prob be released quickly as I technically conceived on my own. Look out Dr. Dutta (my regular ob/gyn) here I come.