My ritual

Mel is hosting a challenge, the Happiness Challenge. The goal is to come up with a daily or weekly ritual that will make me happy, and I think this is a great idea! With all the IVF, parenting, and now pregnancy, it's hard to find time to do much for myself. I think this is brilliant, and I hope that it will help me take some time for myself, thus making me truly happy.

My ritual will be to go for a walk at least three times a week. It gets me away form my desk and gives me a break, which I desparately need. I will also plan to do one special thing with my daughter each week. I used to take her to breakfast on weekends frequently, and we got out of the habbit. I want to start doing this again.

meds are good.

Thankfully, my fasting this morning was within range. Amazing how fast the medication started working! My numbers after breakfast were also within range, so I'm pretty happy. We'll see what they say after seeing my numbers tomorrow. If I hear from them. Not sure how that works.

I've got a bit of a headache this morning, but it's the first bad headache I've had in since my last acupuncture treatment. I can live with that! Not much else to report. Just really tired still. I still have some brown spotting, but I'm not worried. I have 1 week before seeing my OB again, which is good. I'm curious to hear what he thinks about going back on the medication and monitoring and stuff. Still not sure how I feel about it. I am just glad we're being proactive here, instead of taking a "wait and see" approach.

Um, yeah.

I'm really glad I mentioned the fact that my fasting blood sugar is usualy a little high to the doc the other day. I got my monitor yesterday evening, and tested for the first time this morning. It was 103. Without medication. So- Definitely need the meds to keep it under 90. I just REALLY hope it does the trick. She said if not, we'll jump straight to Insulin, which terrifies me. I really don't want to need that.

Other than that, things are good. Feeling great! Just tired! Monday night I had a horrible night sleep- I forgot about all of the nightmares I have when I'm pregnant. With Celia, they were always about me getting killed. Or robbed/mugged/stabbed. Or hit by a car. Or that sort of thing. This time, it's about losing the baby. Having a horrible miscarriage, with blood everywhere, and Celia looking at me crying asking what's wrong. Then feeling the baby come out, being smaller than the palm of my hand, and still having a beating heart. Yeah, not good. Needless to say I think I better avoid eating too close to bed. I woke up and couldn't fall back to sleep. Thankfully last night was all good dreams, so that was much better. I even made it all night without having to get up to pee. That never happens- even when I'm not pregnant!

It's only Wednesday, and I'm already really looking forward to the weekend. I love long weekends! And my SIL is going to come visit, since her hubby will be away for part of the weekend for work. I told Celia this morning, and she was SO excited!! I'm really looking forward to a nice and relaxing weekend. Lots of sleep, rest, and some fun thrown in. I am so glad I have Monday off.

And, I heard from my mom's cousin, who is a realtor in Buffalo, so we can get together over Thanksgiving to look at some places. It's the last time we'll be up there until after the baby is born, so we want to get a jump start. We'll have loads of time next summer to look, but if we decide to build, we need to get an early start on that. I'm so excited. It's going to be so nice to have family nearby. And all of the things about Buffalo that I miss. Yes, I even partially miss some of the snow. If we got more than an inch here, it wouldn't be that bad. Last year, we only had enough for sledding once. Same the year before. And it had started to melt before the day was up. Sad!!


EDITED: Definitely not looking good. After my breakfast, a cup of milk, a whole grain bagel and cream cheese from Panera, my blood sugar was 154. They want it under 135. Hopefully the Gly.buride kicks in soon and does it's thing. I'm really strating to freak out now that this may not go away this time, if it's already here at 11.5 weeks.

Edited again: Seems to be working. After lunch (salad, cheese, crutons, dressing, pudding, some gatorade), my level was 101. What a relief!

And now I can breathe!

Had my first trimester screening this morning, and so far, all looks fabulous! Dr. H is absolutely fantastic- can't go wrong with a doc who has PCOS, has 3 kids, and only had GD with her first pregnancy. She was able to fight it off both other pregnancies. AND, her hubby is an endocrinologist. I think I'm in Doc love! She's wicked smart, up to date on all the latest stuff, and is really no non-sense.

Here's what we got out of the meeting:
Ultrasound- all looks great. Heartrate was 151, measuring at 11w3d, a day ahead.
Risk of Downs: 1:7044
Risk of Trisomy 13/18: 1:6781
And that's without adding in the bloodwork they sent off today.
As far as GD goes: Yeah, she feels that taking me off Met.formin probably wasn't the best thing. BUT, she put me on Gly.buride instead, which I took during my last pregnancy, and it didn't upset my stomach. That's such a plus!
I got a script for a new One Touch monitor- so I get to test 4 times a day. Oh goodie!
I'm glad I mentioned that my fasting blood sugar is usually around 100- she was not happy with this, and said it was WAY too high, and we need medication now to get that in check. That keeping the bs lower, is much better for baby, and will help decrease the risk that he/she will have diabetes later. This was a huge concern of mine, considering I did have GD before, so I'm glad we're keeping a close eye on it.
I also have a script for more bloodwork- called Hemo.globin Alp.ha C1, which will also be a sign of how my sugars are doing, really. Especially now that I'm not taking the metformin. And I'm getting my thyroid checked. It's been over a year, and my mom has Hashimotos Thyroiditis, so it's a real concern for me.

So I'm very happy. Baby is healthy, as best as we can tell, and I'm thrilled.

The spotting: She said it's most likely due to the dissolving of the second sac. The second embryo and yolk sac have all been dissolved, so all that's left now is the sac. This is really good news. I was really hoping that it was the case, but you really never know.

Thanks for all of your comments over the past few days. I've been out of my mind with worry, and Dr. Google can be really great, but really evil sometimes.

1 more day.

Of absolute hell! Seriously- my body is completely screwing with me. Friday was fine, no more spotting. Yesterday I got up, took my kiddo out for breakfast, and got back with a horrible stomach ache. Went to the bathroom, no problems. An hour later, ...sorry for the TMI...there was a brown streaked mucus. After about an hour, it was more clear with a hint of yellow/orange, then an hour later, clear. And it was clear all day. I know some clear stuff is normal, and I did have a pelvic exam at the OB yesterday so the brown didn't freak me out too much. But it was a lot, and snotty in consistency. Just wierd. So after last night, just a tiny bit of clear. This morning, I had breakfast, 2 fried eggs, which I love, but usually upset my stomach, and today was no exception. After a nice episode of the eggs going straight through me, I wiped, and there was teh brown mucus again. Now I'm trying really hard not to read anything into it. I didn't exactly take it easy yesterday. We ended up losing power at 2:30, and it was getting hot in the house, so we ran up to the mall so I could hit Old Navy for a few shirts. We walked a bit, went to dinner in Rockville at Chili's, since we were already down 270, we figured we'd take advantage and to a place was there, instead of the usuals in Germantown. After that, we hit Buy Buy Baby, which is the mecca of baby stuff, and Celia loved it. She kept walking around saying that we had to get "towels for baby, jammies for baby, bibs for baby," etc. So we let her pick a sleeper and a towel out for the baby. It was so cute, I was nearly in tears before we left the store. Anyway, we got home, to no power still. Power company expected it to be on by 7:24 (gotta love how precise they are), and then it changed to later, and finally got power back at 9 or so. So we rested last night, went to bed early, but I still think walking around a mall yesterday wasn't the best idea. At any rate...this discharge, is really annoying. While I don't feel like anything else has changed, it's making me nervous. Thank goodness I only have 22 hours until my u/s. I'll feel much better, or worse, then. I just want to know why the heck my body is screwing with me?!

Ok...enough venting. Hope everyone has a good Sunday!

proud, and sad.

Today is my daughter's last day in her current classroom at her day care center. She's been in "early preschool" since January. Now, with the start of the school year, she's moving up to "Preschool". I'm not sure if it's the hormones, but this morning when I dropped her off, I was definitely a bit teary eyed. Her teacher (who is amazing!) gave me a stack of artwork, including the picture that she drew of her "Family", with me, Nathan, herself, and baby. It's now on the wall of my cube so I can look at it whenever I want. I can't believe that she's growing up so fast, and is really becoming a big girl. I'm so proud of her. Time really does fly by so fast, it's scary. Thank goodness there's still 2 more years until Kindergarden.

All good, we think!

I saw my OB, which was awesome. I love him, and was excited to hear that he was who I was seeing. He did a quick pelvic exam and checked my cervix. The cervix is closed tight, and the uterus is "quite big". I let the quite big comment slide, and am ignoring it, since we all know that a ute measuring big can be a sign of twins. Not listening...la, la, la, la....

But, all else was good. He said he'd try to hear a heartbeat, but mentioned 5 times, that it's really early, and not hearing one means absolutely nothing. And of course, we heard nothing. He found my heartbeat though. ;) Thankfully at 12 weeks with my daughter, we didn't hear anything, so he let me get an u/s, and all was good, so I was fine. He did ask me if I was OK waiting until monday for my u/s, or if I really needed one to be ok until then. I told him that as long as everything else was OK, that I could wait. Unfortunately the office that I go to does not have any u/s machines, so I would have had to get a perscription and an appointment at a local radiology place, which is a huge pain. And honestly, I think I'll be OK waiting until monday. I hope. ;)

Thank you so much for all of your kind words, thoughts and prayers. They all helped so much! I really, really appreciate it! You guys really rock!

Appt.

I just called and got an appointment for 10:15. I'm still spotting a bit of brown, which would make sense. But I'm still freaked. I really dind't sleep well last night, which isn't a surprise. I'm really hoping that all is OK. Last week, I was pretty confident that it was fine. This time, I'm not so sure. I guess it's because this time, I have NO idea what would have caused it. Last time, I was constipated and had JUST gone to the bathroom, which explains that episode. This time, no clue.

I'll post after I get back. I'm nervous. And I did have some mild cramping last night, but I am not sure if it was normal stretching, or if it was something, or if I"m just being overly sensitive and paranoid. I do understand that it's normal, and happens to many people early on, but I'm still scared shitless. Nothing to terrify you like seeing blood on TP when you're pregnant. Regardless of the color.

wtf??

I'm definitely going to be calling my OBs office tomorrow and insisting on an appointment. I'm spotting again. It's just a little so far, and it's pink. It's starting to really freak me out.

no power = no sleep

At about 4:30 this morning, the power blinked. The only reason I know it is because the answering machine (which is up in the kitchen) beeps really loudly when it resets. So I heard it, heard Nathan reset the alarm (after telling me he was going to turn on the light and to close my eyes- I told him that if he valued his life he'd do it without light. Thankfully he did.

Anyways, after finally starting to settle down, it went in and out a few times before finally going out, probably around 5. Of course, I was hesitant to fall asleep again, if the answering machine was just going to wake me up again when the power came on, so I didn't sleep well from then on in. And of course, the power didn't come back on. So we got up, got dressed (thank goodness I showered last night!), and we headed to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. One thing I never do when power is off for more than a half hour, is open the fridge. I don't want to let the cold air out, and risk having to replace a whole fridge of food (again!!! I just did this 2 weeks ago!). So we had donuts, and headed to work a little early. Celia just didn't understand why none of the lights worked. She kept asking us to turn on different lights (in the closet, her room, the bathroom), and finally seemed to understand what was going on. Thankfully the power company was on it, and we drove by them working away on the way to breakfast. Thankfully Celia's day care was open, and had power.

And unfortunately, I'm now completely exhausted, and I've only been at work for an hour. I have a meeting at 10, that I really have to be coherent for, which is going to be extremely difficult. Thank goodness I didn't give up caffeine- because I'll be having at least a cup or two of tea today.

Great times!

Most of the weekend was pretty busy. We went to the Montgomery County fair Saturday, I took a nap, and we grabbed dinner at CFA. Cheap and easy- and they have the best lemonade I've had in a long time, so I bought a gallon to bring home. YUM!

Sunday was more relaxed. My hubby deserves an award for yesterday. My DD decided to come in and wake me at 7:45 and ask me if she could go to the birthday party that we were invited to. Silly girl. So Nathan then made pancakes while I got up, and after breakfast, which was really good btw, I went into the guest room (didn't have the energy to go back downstairs to our room), and slept for 2 more hours. After I got up, I went grocery shopping. By myself! Which is one of the little pleasures I rarely get. It was fantastic. Then I gave my hubby a few hours off and I took kiddo to the party. She had so much fun, and was absolutely adorable. She let me put pig-tails in, which are so cute! She looks like such a big girl in pig tails! The party was at Little Gym, so she had a blast! She loves gymnastics.

Last night was the best part! I had SO much fun!! I met up with the DC ladies at the Melting Pot, and it was incredible! There were 6 of us, which was a great number for fondue. And the conversation was top notch, as always! I had so much fun, just relaxing, being myself, and having some incredible food! I'm already looking forward to the brunch in September! Sorry to those of you who planned on coming but didn't make it. You were all missed!!

headaches. Again!

Yesterday at work, I walked in and the AC was busted. The large room that my cube was in was well over 90 degrees, and HOT. They thankfully got it fixed relatively quickly, but it was still pretty warm in our area all day. By 2 or so, I had the beginnings of a headache. By 4, it was so bad, I left and went home. Thankfully my husband was nice enough to put Celia to bed again (his 3rd day in a row), and let me rest a bit. As my luck would have it, I woke up with the same headache. I ate a half bagel with Celia and Nathan, and after they left, I went back to bed for an hour. One of our cats woke me up meowing an hour later, at the thunder. My headache was GONE!! The Tylen.ol tha tI tok actually worked! I was in complete shock. I managed to get out of the house pretty quickly, and head to work. It's managed to stay away all afternoon so far too! Which is impressive, especially when they tend to get worse after looking at a computer for hours on end. And that's what I do at work...work on a computer. ALL DAY.

I'm really looking forward to going home and relaxing again. As far as the spotting goes, there was a little more yesterday, but it was all brown, and really barely there, so I'm assuming it was just the end bits from tuesday. So far no more pink. I have 10 more days before my next scan, so I am pretty sure I'll hold out until then. Unless, of course, more spotting happens. But I'm hopeful that it won't- expecially when my last day of Cri.none is Saturday! I'm almost done with that and the Estrogen, and I couldn't be happier!! I'll only be down to 1 pill a day- the prenatal vitamin! I haven't only taken 1 pill per day in YEARS!

Phew.

Thanks for all of your comments! I just got off the phone with a nurse at my OB's office, and she said that it didn't sound like anything big. But if it happens again, she wants me to get checked out. I guess that the Cri.none gel can cause some irritation of the cervix, and sometimes when you have sex (which we didn't, not that you want to know that), or are constipated (which I am), it can cause a little bit of spotting. Thankfully it stopped like an hour or two after I noticed it at first, and it was just pink, with a tiny bit of red. But there's no cramping or anything, so I'm taking that as a good sign.

But let me tell you- next time I see any spotting, I'm getting checked. Just to keep my sanity. Thankfully I'm so exhausted, that even though it took me a bit to fall asleep, I did sleep once I was asleep. Like a rock.

scared.

One of the things I hate about the Crinone, is that when you're a little constipated, it comes out in clumps. It apparently doesn't all just disappear once it's in there. Once in a while, I noticed a bit of a brownish tint to the crinone clumps. Well, just now, there's pink. Definite pink. Like spotting pink. Trying not to freak out, but I'm freaking out. I have no idea how I'm supposed to sleep tonight now! It happened once before, but it was just 1 trip to the bathroom, and then nothing. Now, the last 2 times I've been, there's been pink.

Life insurance, and other things.

It's important, right?? I've got plenty of coverage, just to make sure that hubby and Celia would be taken care of if something happened to me. My husband? Not so much. He switched jobs over a year and a half ago now, and he still only has the limited coverage they give him. Which is only like twice his salary. And you're supposed to have 8-10 times your salary for the main breadwinner. Yeah. We had words last night. I've brought it up several times. Even handed him brochures from our credit union and asked him to look into it. He seems to think it's not important, because we won't end up using it- why pay for it? But WHAT IF??!! I'd have to sell the house, and move in with my mom (who would be oh so thrilled, I'm sure!) temporarily. We'd have nothing. I think that's a huge problem!! It tells me, that he just doesnt' care what happens to us if something were to happen. Now I know that's not true, but I cant' help but feel that way. He better deal with this soon, especially with another one on the way! Men are so annoying sometimes. I swear, sometimes I married a 12 year old boy, who needs his hand held thru EVERYTHING!

So I went to bed mad, and had some awful dreams. Definitely not good. Two of them involved my next ultrasound. The first, was bad. I was on the table, they tilt the screen to me, and see the little baby, with the heartbeating. Then, she goes to measure the heartbeat, and suddenly it starts to slow, from 178, to 150, to 121, to 70, to 30, to 10, to 0. And it stays at 0. I was in tears when I woke up. I hate dreams like that. I had to take a minute to convince myself that it really didn't happen. Then there was the second one, which was different. The baby was completely fine, and at 11 weeks, it showed a very obvious penis. This is the first dream I've had where it says anything about the sex. And last time, every dream I had about the baby, it was a girl. So we'll see. It may also be Celia's insistence that we're having a boy...and nothing but a boy. She's too funny. Anyways, the dream was just horrible, and I still cant' shake the feelign that something is wrong. Though I have no evidence to back it up, so I'm trying to ignore it. Yeah, right!

When I picked Celia up from day care yesterday, she was playing with some other kids. So her teacher showed me a picture that she drew today in class. They all were drawing a picture of their families. She first drew me and Nathan, then her baby brother, then herself. It was way too cute! She, Nathan and I were all full sized, and the baby was a little round blob with arms and legs. Too cute!! She kept telling her teacher that it didn't have arms and legs at first, but it does now. How the heck does she know that!! I never told her that much. She just asked me the other day how big the baby was, and I told her it was the size of a grape. What kids come up with I will never understand.

And on another random note, I woke up twice last night, STARVING. I almost got up and had some crackers (I actually had some in our room), but I didn't want to wake up that much. In the end, I should have. Because I woke up absolutely famished. I had a whole grain bagle from Panera, and I'm already starving again. At least I'm not nauseous!

Thai food = BAD IDEA

So on Saturday, after we took the kiddo to the library to play for an hour, I decided that I couldn't quiet my craving for spring rolls. Not just any spring rolls, but thai ones. So, off we went to the Rio, and headed to Tara Thai. We ordered spring rolls, Nathan got a chicken dish, and I got my favorite- Panang Beef. The spring rolls were SO good...I could have eaten 3 orders my self. Then came the beef. It was really good too! It's my fave. I order Panang Beef or Chicken any time I go out for Thai food. But then came the bad part. Thankfully there was no puking involved, but it was bad. It sat like a brick in my stomach for hours. The smell was awful (even thought I brushed my teeth several times and used mouthwash when I got home). My head was a mess, and my stomach was bad. So I slept. For 2 hours, I slept. And it was fabulous! I finally ate a grilled cheese sandwich around 9. Mmmm, with Mozerella...my fave.

Yesterday, I went to a baby shower, and it was so much fun! My old neighbor (both she and I moved to single family houses from our townhouses a few months apart), is having a boy in September, and it was SO good to see her! She lost a little girl to Trisomy 18 about 2 years ago, when she was 15 or so weeks pregnant. This baby is completely healthy, and all seems to be going so well. I coudln't be happier for her!! No one was sure whether she'd try again, and this time it took her nearly a year to conceive. She had the appointment scheduled at Super Giant Fertility, and was ready to go when she ended up pregnant. She was just glowing yesterday, and her 7 year old son is SO excited about his new baby brother. Too cute!

You guys rock!

Thanks so much for all of your advice on the metformin/pregnancy thing. It makes some sense. I'm finally feeling a bit better today too! My head is much better, though I'm still pretty tired. Even after sleeping LOADS yesterday, and vegging in front of the TV the rest of the time. You know it's bad, when I have no desire to knit. It's my passion, obsession, whatever you want to call it! And I have so much yarn I'm dyeing to start using, but I couldn't bring myself to start anything (or work on any current projects. Until, last night that is!! I finally cast on for a pair of socks I've been wanting to knit for a while. The pattern is a little lacey, and somewhat complicated, so it will keep me busy. And my goal is to have them done by the time I have this baby. I want to wear them in the hospital. Hopefully I'll finish at least 1 more pair by then too, but it's a start.

I'm heading up to my local yarn shop to pick up some pretty yarn for a sweater for this baby. I think I'm finally starting to believe that this is really happening, as it progresses. I am thinking a pretty light green, or a deep blue. I love blue on boys and girls, so that could work. It will be fun to head over and look. Shopping for yarn always makes me happy (yes...I'm obsessed! I know!).

Then, there's something else I've been worrying a bit about. I am going to a conference at the end of October, in San Jose, CA. I've never been to California before, so I had planned on taking a few days, either before or after, to spend in California. Maybe San Francisco or something. Now, I am not so sure. I don't mind travelling alone, but doing it pregnant makes me nervous. At least at the conference, my supervisor and another woman in my department will be there. But the idea of spending time in a city that I'm not familiar with, when I'm clearly pregnant (I'll be about 20 weeks at that point), makes me really nervous. So I'll probably just forget about it, and try to get back some time in the future. Still not sure though...

SOOO glad it's the weekend! I do feel horrible about it though. This weekend is my family reunion in buffalo. My whole family (extended, and so on), will be there. Except for us. And a few others, but most everyone that I know will be there, including my 95 year old grandmother. I feel guilty about not going, but I also haven't been feeling well enough to drive all the way up there. Though I'm tempted to jump in the car after work and try to make it anyways. I've already warned Nathan that he's going to have to sit on me to prevent me from going. I really want to go. But I don't want to drive. I want to see everyone (including a second cousin who has had 2 successful IVF pregnancies, the second of which resulted in twins). I really miss home. But I also know that if I go, it would make me even more homesick and more likely to go house shopping and want to move back even more than I do already. Bah!

blech.

I just feel horrible today! I woke up head-achey for the fourth day in a row. Which I can live with, but I'm so exhausted, and feel like I didn't sleep at all last night. Then there's the nausea. It's not as bad as the other day, but it's sort of there. The headache is the worst part. Tylenol is doing nothing. I just feel really awful today! So awful, that I'm working from home today. I couldn't stand the thought of going out in the heat, driving in the bright light, to sit at my desk all day miserable. And tired. And cranky. And....just blech! I realy hate head aches. Have I said that yet??

Anyway, I'm taking it easy today.

Yesterday, I heard from the OBs office about whether or not to continue on the Metformin. I never even thought anything about it, because my GP said that it was safe during pregnancy, and not to worry about stopping it. I mentioned monday at my OB appt that I was taking 1500mg per day, and he was shocked that the RE had me stay on it thru the IVF and everything. They never mentioned anything about it to me, and since they recommended I take it, and knew I was on it, that I was just supposed to keep taking it. I'm not at all upset, since it does upset my stomach a bit. Needless to say, the OBs office called me at work, my cell, and finally got me at home around 4:45 yesterday, to tell me to stop taking it now. That my OB heard back from my RE, they chatted about it, and decided it would be best to stop it. Hmm.. I stopped taking it now, but think it's odd. Why would my GP say it's OK to take if it's not? She also said something about it possibly helping reduce the risk of developing Gestational Diabetes again. Guess that's out the window now. Bummer! And maybe that's part of why I'm feeling so crappy? I reduced my estrogen pills on sunday, and stopped the Metformin yesterday. And it's going to be like 96 again, and it's so humid out there! I do notice that the headache is WAY worse outside, so maybe the heat does have something to do with it. Bah humbug. I'm definitely staying inside today. Unless I venture to the drive thru for lunch. We'll see if anything in the fridge looks appetizing, and if not, McDonalds- here I come! What is it about McDonalds cheeseburgers (with ketchup only), that are SO amazing? I have no idea, but they are damn good.

sad news for a local

Please swing by In and out of Luck, who just found out her baby stopped growing. Send her lots of love!

Acupuncture

I've never even considered trying acupuncture before the whole IVF thing started. When I started seeing all of the bloggers out there doing it, I figured it was worth a shot. So I went. After I got my BFP, I continued to go, though much less frequently (once every 2 weeks, instead of twice a week). Monday, I was so exhausted after work, that I almost skipped it, but since I would have had to pay anyways, I dragged myself there. Figured I could at least sleep for an hour while I was there. It was a different woman today, because the usual woman was on vacation. And she really took the time to get to know me first, get an idea of what I needed, and went to work. She really felt my pulses, and placed the needles accordingly. I had really stressed how nauseaus I was, and just awful feeling in general. I have NO idea what the heck she did, but that night, I met Nathan and Celia at 5 guys for dinner (I called on my way, they had just gotten there after their dentist appointments, so I had him order me a llittle cheeseburger and a sprite). I ate almost 3/4 of the burger, without a problem. The smell from the grill didn't make me want to gag. I was shocked. The real surprise came later. My darling daughter didn't close the refridgerator that morning when she got her yogurt out. The bottom drawer (where we keep her yogurt so she can reach it) was open, and the door was wide open. Everything in the fridge was spoiled (with the exception of some gatorade, juice boxes, and a salad dressing that hadnt' been opened yet. When Nathan dealt with the food in leftover containers, the smell didnt' make me sick. I couldn't believe it!! Yesterday, I was fine. I ate breakfast, lunch and dinner, and a few snacks, with no issues at all. Today- no nausea at all. I'm amazed!! I can't wait to go back in 2 weeks now. She really let me bake too- I fell asleep, and apparently she checked on me twice, and I was out cold, so she let me go a little longer.

Seriously though- if you end up with morning sickness, or just horrible nausea, GO TO ACUPUNCTURE!! It will save you. I was a skeptic, but it really works.

10 Things

Leah tagged me to do the Polarity Meme. It's way easier than the 100 Things About Me Meme and all those others that were going around for a while. So I figured I'd give it a shot...

10 things I hate:

1. Cigarette smoke
Always #1 on my list. My parents smoked when I was growing up and it completely grossed me out. Now the smell triggers migranes, and makes me want to puke. Oh so much fun when I was driving behind a lady this morning who was holding a cigarette out of her car window. Sadly, I can smell it from a mile away- even when I'm not pregnant.

2. People who judge
I'm a working mom. Not necessarily by choice, but if we want to live in a nice house, and have extra cash, I need to work. And my job is really neat. I do cool things, and actually use my Masters degree (unlike my BA, which is shoved up somewhere). ;) I would love to be able to be home with my daughter, but it's just not possible right now. Hopefully in the future it will work out so I can be, but for now, I'm a working mom. My daughter has been "raised" in day care, and while I'm not thrilled with that, I really hate it when people look at me like I'm a horrible person because my daughter is in full time day care. If you want to pay my $3K mortgage for me, then I'll quit my job, gladly.
Then there are those who judge me for spanking my child for running away from me in a parking lot. A busy parking lot. Oh yeah, she got her butt spanked really hard for that one. She could have gotten killed if someone was backing out!!

3. being queasy.
blech. I hate that feeling.

4. Throwing up
Really, do I need to elaborate?

5. Being hot
I hate it when the clothes start to stick to you, and you just can't cool down. Gross. I'd rather be freezing, at least then you can put on layers and warm up a bit.

6. Being mocked
I've worn glasses since the time I was 3. And they were thick glasses. And I was smart, and well behaved. I was constantly teased, and hated it. Half of my insecurities come from being teased in elementary/junior high.

7. flying things
Bees, wasps, hornets, flys, anything that buzzes by my ears. Especially if they sting. I hate them. They terrify me.

8. My insecurities.
I've always been insecure, for as long as I can remember. I hate that I let that get in the way of my life sometimes. I try not to, but once in a while, it's just there.

9. garlic
It has it's place, but right now, it's as far away from me as possible. The smell is just nasty. Blech!!

10. people who think they're better than everyone else
enough said.



10 things I love:

1. My daughter
She's just incredible. Smart, sweet, beautiful, loving, amazing. I am so completely in love with her, that it's amzing to believe that it grows more intense every day. Even when she's being a brat.

2. My husband
He's great. I love him like crazy, he's supportive, helps out around the house, loves me unconditionally, and takes care of us. He has his moments when I want to run away screaming, but most of the time, he's really pretty awesome.

3. Our kitties
We have 2 cats, and they're just so sweet. One's the Queen of our house, and the other is the wild child.

4. Ice cream
I could eat ice cream every day. Love it!!

5. Pizza and wings
Growing up in Buffalo, I'm a huge wing snob. I love them, and could eat them all the time. Now they aren't anything like the "buffalo wings" you can get at many chains. They're meatier, crispier, and the sauce is just better. And the Blue Cheese is a must! The pizza in Buffalo is also the best. It's thicker crust, but not too thick, and the sauce is just so much better than anything I've found in Maryland. I go home, and one of the things I must go is get pizza and wings. It's just that good.

6. yarn/knitting/spinning/dyeing
I was 5 when I learned to knit. I used to go to the local yarn shop with my mom when she was buying yarn, or looking for patterns, or something for her knitting machine. I used to love all of the different colors and textures. Every few years, I had the desire to pick up needles again, but it never stuck. Then my daughter was born, and I was hooked! I went to a local shop, got some yarn and needles, and help,,,,,,,and it's been hopeless ever since. I have a LOT of yarn in my house (3 large bins, a sweater hanger, AND a huge box of undyed yarn. I have a little yarn dyeing business, and a spinning wheel. There's just something about the colors and textures of the yarn that I love. It makes me feel like I'm home. It's hard to explain.


7. Wine
I first had a wine that I liked in Hungary 10 years ago. The only thing I remember about it was that it was white, a Traminer, and it was yummy. A few years later when my boyfriend (now hubby) and I were doing the Youth Hostel thing in Europe, we were amazed at how much cheaper it was to have wine with dinner, rather than water. We had wine in France and Italy, and it was really good! We came back, and started to drink a little more here and there. And then we honeymooned in Niagara On The Lake, in Ontario, which is a really beautiful town, and wine region. We tasted, loved, and brought 4 and a half cases of wine back. Yes, we do still have some. ;) We usually have at least 5 cases of wine in the house at any given time.


8. Cooking
I love to cook! I use it as a way to experiment, try new things, try to recreate things that I've had somewhere and loved. It makes me feel good to make food to feed my family.

9. Eating out
While I love to cook, I love to eat out just as much. I love trying new foods, eating things that I don't have the time/patience to try cooking, and just getting a night off from cooking and dealing with dishes (even though my hubby ususally does the dishes). Sometimes I just don't want to think about it. Or have a craving. Lately my craving has been Fondue again. I really need to go to The Melting Pot soon. Hmmmm... Anyone want to join me?? ;)

10. vacations
It doesn't have to be to anywhere, bt it's more fun if its a trip. I love cruises, traveling around, or just relazing on a beach. It's so much fun seeing my daughter have fun and getting to spend more time with her. Having a break from work, and the house, and the daily routines. I think it will be a while before we take another vacation, but I am really looking forward to it when we do.

Ok!! Now it's your turn. I'm going to tag a few people here, who I don't think have done this one yet:
Dmarie
Changing Expectations
In and Out of Luck
And anyone else who wants to!!

Due Date

Oh, and my due date is March 15th. But knowing it will be a scheduled C-section again, it will probably be a week or so earlier.

First OB visit

This morning, at 9:15, I had my first appointmnet. I was quickly reminded the necessity of getting one of the first appointments, and sat in the office for 45 minutes before going back to the nurse. I really wish I had brought my knitting with me!

Anyway, they took loads of blood (and now I hurt like hell- she got the usual vein, but moved the needle when getting one of the tubes filled and it HURT. Then she coudln't get any more out of it. Hopefully it was enough! Anyway, weight was good, I have not gained anything since after the retrieval, which is awesome. Just annoying that none of my clothes fit. Not even a pound to make up for it!

After that, I sat in the office and waited for my OB for a pre-exam chat. We talked for about 20 minutes, which was good. He wanted to confirm with my RE about staying on metformin during the pregnancy. Apparently there are many different schools of thought on it and we'll see. He should call this afternoon and let me know when he hears back. The other thing he recommended was the 12 week first trimester screening ultrasound, where they really look and see how things are going. Make sure there aren't any Downs markers, or anything else. At that point, we'll know for sure whether the second sac is going away, or if it caught up. That appointment is on Aug. 27th, so just a few weeks until that one. The week after that, I'll go back for OB appt. #2. I guess it's been offered before to women over 35, but recently the powers that be (ACOG?) gave the recommendation that it be offered to all patients. And since I'm really wanting to make sure all is well with the baby, and I don't want to go another 10-12 weeks without an ultrasound, I jumped at the chance. So, 3 more weeks, and I get my next scan. Yeah!

Other than that, I'm feeling pretty crappy actually. I'm exhausted. And food aversions are really kicking in, full steam ahead. I almost cried when my daughter woke up at 4, crawled into bed and then tossed/turned and kept kneeing me in the back until 5. Then we took her upstairs, she flipped out, and came back down and finally calmed down around 5:30. Did I mention tha tI'm exhausted?? And the food aversions are really awful. I can't eat much of anything. I've successfully eaten (and not wanted to gag on) McDonalds cheeseburgers and fries, Panera cheddar/broccoli soup, grilled cheese, cheese pizza, and chicken fingers. That's it. Anything else, is just bad. Like the smell makes me want to gag. Friday and Saturday nights, poor Nathan cooked dinner, while I sat in the family room downstairs and read, or watched TV or knit, because the smell of the food was just really horrible. Spaghetti sauce- not a good thing. Chicken- not good. Don't get me wrong, I love being pregnant. I just hate feeling like any second, I'm going to toss my cookies.

OH, and on a good note- I read the list of "safe" over the counter medicines that my doc gave me. And two are on there that I expected to be banned! Claritin- yay for allergy meds being safe! And Colace. If the constipation gets bad again, I'm all over that. I have a huge bottle from my egg retrieval. I'm a happy girl!

Evil* friends!

I love my friends, really- I do! They are awesome. They've really been there for me, and have been amazing.

That is, until today. It's not bad, just funny/annoying! My friend e-mails me (and a few other of us), and explains how they had a firedrill at work. And that it was SO hot outside, they decided to walk over to Cold Stone Creamery for some ice cream. She then goes on to tell us that she had the Cake Batter (my favorite), with M&Ms (I could take or leave them). But that it was so yummy and nice and refreshing, even if it was melted by the time they got back to the office. I had eaten my lunch just before that. It was a pathetic piece of banana bread, some grapes and a chocolate pudding. Not very filling. And I was still hungry. ;( I e-mailed her, joking, that I new had to have cold stone, but it was 20 minute away, and that pregnancy and the power of suggestion are extrememly powerful.

I e-mailed her back, and said that if she mentined Pickles or anchovys as mix-ins, would I want that too? Yuck. Then another friend chimes in that she had a McDonalds ice cream sundae for lunch. Then, my other evil, evil friend said that a drug rep had brought in lunch from Panera, and that she was eating Broccoli Cheese soup and a baguette (her dad is a Dr, and she works for him in the summer- she's a teacher and has summers off). Let's just say, I made it about an hour, before I ran across the street, to brave the heat and get me some broccoli cheddar soup and a baguette! Let me tell you how good it was! Best soup I've ever had, really! Next time my friends talk about what they're having for lunch, I'm going to just have to not read teh e-mails until the next day. I was surprised at how instantly I HAD to have the soup. And the ice cream (though that one didn't happen).

And tonight I'm off to a happy hour for a friend who is leaving my institute. I'm sad that she's leaving, but it's such a great opportunity for her. Just sucks that one of the few people I do lunch with occaisonally is leaving. It will be at Guapos, a great local Mexican chain. I love their margaritas. It will be SO hard to not have one, when everyone else is. I'll sit with a sprite or lemonade, so I can at least haave something other than water. And I"m so getting the queso. It's awesome. Truly awesome.

*Evil really means wonderful, amazing, loving, bestest friends ever!! Ha. ;)