26 weeks!

Okay, so everyone can come back out of the woodwork. I'm not all doom and gloom today like yesterday. But since I was kind of cryptic, here's what happened over the last 48 hours:

In short, being this far along for the first time is really, really hard. So many of the "red flag" symptoms can go either way. Such as, cramps can be a problem, or they can be totally normal. It is like that with just about everything. So, I had an appointment on Tuesday, and the doctor freaked me out regarding some cramping I had. On the way home the freakout commenced and only got worse that evening. And the next morning. So, I ended up going in again yesterday afternoon. Different doctor (and I LOVED her, so we are up to three in the practice that I love, two that I am indifferent on, and one which I am quite certain is the spawn of the devil...but that is a story for another time) ran some test and checked me out again with good results. Still waiting to confirm with the tests, but it looks like everything is completely normal and Baby E should stay cooking for a long time still.

Oh, and my blood pressure was perfect at this latest appointment. No wonder, I had my absolute favorite nurse. My next appointment is with my doctor, and I'm going to have to spill the beans that my blood pressure problems are likely due to the fact that in dealing with the nurses in some really crummy situations over the past 2 years, there are VERY few that I can be in the same room with without trying to use Jedi mind tricks to make their heads explode.

Okay, now on to the regular (fun!) stuff:


How far along:  26 weeks...98 days to go...wow!
How big is baby: The size of an english hothouse cucumber. What? Yeah, let's just go with approximately 14 inches and a little less than 2lbs.
What I miss: Although I would have loved a good margarita this weekend, there is really not a lot that I "miss." E has managed to ruin my obsession with Sashimi after the great Bang Bang shrimp debacle of March 2012, so I'm not even really missing that. I guess the closest thing would be regular clothes. With zippers. 
Sleep: No major changes here. Still not sleeping the best.
Best moment of the week: Spending the long weekend with my boys! We had no big plans so we just hung out most of the weekend and recovered from the craziness of the past couple weeks. It was awesome. In baby-related stuff, we started cleaning out Baby E's room. It is getting there, but considering that it was the "catch all" junk room, we've got a ways to go. It makes it feel real to finally get started. 
Food cravings: Still icees. Speedway has it where you buy 6, get the 7th free or something like that. We've gotten 2 free since last week. Whoops!
Symptoms: Cramping. And I'm starting to get leg cramps too. I had to get out of bed one night to stretch my calves. Ouch!
Movement: Yes. And she's about an inch away from being able to reach my ribs. I am scared. 
What I’m looking forward to: Making progress in the nursery. And breathing a sigh of relief when my test results come back clean (see, positivity!)
Next appt: Hopefully not until the 15th. Although I have to do the dreaded glucose test next week (ick!). If by chance the test results aren't good today, I'll be in this afternoon or tomorrow at the latest though. I've been to the office entirely too much this week, though, and I want to stay away for awhile!!!

Frustrated

Full disclaimer: I hope I look back on this post in 3 months and thoroughly laugh at myself.

I had a full on ugly breakdown last night. For every normal person in this world, doctor appointnents make them feel better, right? Not me. They freak me the heck out.

After last night's hysteria, Ryan deserves a stinking medal. Seriously.

In good news, I'm in double digits. I can remember so clearly when I couldn't wait for that countdown to go under 200 days and now it is under 100. Wow!

25 Weeks

Okay, so here is my first "normal" update. And yes, I'm using a blog template here.


How far along:  25 weeks
How big is baby: The size of an eggplant, or roughly 13.6 inches and about 1.5lbs.
Maternity clothes: Of course. Or monster sized clothes. In the past week, I've started to get pretty consistent "stranger" comments...so I guess I'm officially over the "Fat? or Pregnant?" stage. 
Sleep: Sleep is not so much happening. My hips kill me, all the time. I can sleep for about 2 hours max. But not working is making this much better. Sleeping in and naps are saving me!
Best moment of the week: I have three of them. It has been a big week. 
Friday-we picked up our crib. Cue the freakout of "oh. my. goodness. I have a CRIB in my HOUSE."  In fact, I'm pretty sure I sent that exact text to like 3 people! And, this is officially the first thing we bought for baby E

Monday-we picked up the rest of the nursery furniture while we were in Detroit at Ikea. We got a dresser, bookshelf, chair and wall cabinet. And poor Ryan had to do his best Tetris game ever to fit it in the car.
Wednesday-the second thing we bought for the baby, some diapers, came. We plan to cloth diaper and there was a really good deal on some of the highest rated ones, so I bought seven. They came, and I just had to try them out. Hmmmm...wonder how I should do that...

I am going to be SO good at torturing baby E! I am getting so much practice!
Food aversions:  still can't stand peanut butter or barbeque sauce. But so little actually sounds good. I'm not one of those people that wants to eat everything in sight.
Food cravings: Icees. I just want icees. All the time. 
Symptoms: Still lots of cramps. And still lots of pressure/swelling in certain...ahem...areas. It is freaking me out, but I'm trying to remember that the doctor warned me that is would get worse.
Movement: Tons! It definitely looks like there is an alien in there sometimes! I love it though. I try to spend some time each day out on my swing with a bottle of cold water. I pull up my shirt and just watch the tummy go...
What I’m looking forward to: Getting started on the nursery, although I have LOTS of work to do!
Next appt: Tuesday! My blood pressure has been great taking it at home (112/64 this morning) so I am really hoping I don't freak out at this one!


In other news, I just have to say how overwhelmed I am by those who checked out my blog since I posted it last night. Your love and support means the world to me! I struggled for awhile with both what and how much info to release. I feel like this is a really good "happy medium" and that being authentic about the fact that we are thrilled, but the fear never goes away, is the way to go. Being the intensely private person I am, it is difficult, but I think that opening up a bit is probably one of the other things I am supposed to learn through all this. The stigma around IF and loss is ridiculous (that is a whole different post in itself), and although it certainly doesn't define me, it will forever be a part of who I am. I'm extremely blessed to have amazing role models through this all, who have gone through similar things and traversed them with such grace. 


Ryan read the blog last night too (Hi honey!) and got a little emotional. It is weird to look back at a quick synopsis of how we've really lived our last 5 months appointment to appointment and milestone to milestone. I am however glad that he isn't into blogging. I can just imagine him posting things like "Cue freakout? You were in hysterics for 4 hours..." or "You left out the fact that we have enough equipment at home to test for many major pregnancy complications" (this is true by the way. I've never claimed to NOT be neurotic). Yup, glad he'll be sticking to reading... ;)