Thursday, April 30, 2009

Two Options for the Mom Reveal

We have narrowed it down to two possible ways to tell the parents:

They arrive a week from tomorrow. As much as I'd like to wait until actual Mother's Day, I can't keep up the ruse all weekend and I know I'll be too anxious to tell. So, on Friday night once they both get there, I'll say that I want to give them their Mother's Day presents early since it's something they can use for the weekend.

1. Under option 1, they'll each get a wrapped book that they used to read to us as kids. Brett's mom would get Where the Wild Things Are and my mom would get The Giving Tree. The inside covers would say something along the lines of, "Hope you enjoy reading this to your grandchild just like you enjoyed reading it to me."

2. The alternative would be to get a photo frame with three cutouts. The top one would be a pic of our house, the second one would be a pic of our new car and the last one would be a sonogram pic. Under them, we'd write, "House in the suburbs: 200k, SUV: 20k, sharing this picture with you: priceless."

I'm kinda leaning toward option 1, but I'd love opinions! Oh yeah, this is all pending a successful u/s on Monday.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Feeling Very Pregnant Today

Yesterday was a bizarre one. After two solid days of feeling like a useless mass of flesh, I got home with the energy of a four-year-old that just drank a case of Mountain Dew. I rushed inside, changed clothes, threw my dog in the car, went to CostCo, went to the grocery store, cleaned the house, ate dinner, and crashed in bed. I swear I must've accidentally had some caffeine yesterday. That's the only explanation that would make sense.

Being paranoid and neurotic, I started worrying that the burst of energy was because I had miscarried and been released from the grips of pregnancy hormones. Don't worry, I woke up this morning and dry heaved over the toilet for 5 minutes, making me feel pregnant all over again. It's only 5 days until our ultrasound. I really can't wait to see a beating heart and get ready to finally start shouting our good news.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Fatigue


Here's a recipe for making a pregnant lady very sleepy and lazy.

1.  Work outside in the yard for four hours on Saturday.  Scoop up loads of dirt and grass, lay sod, and mow.

2.  Get up between 2:30 am and 5:30 am early Sunday morning when 88-year-old grandma is rushed to hospital with bronchitis.

3.  Wake up at 10 am Sunday and work in the yard for another four hours.  Dig a trench, shovel dirt, and make repeated Home Depot runs.

After following these simple instructions, said pregnant lady will spend all of Sunday evening glued to the couch watching her husband do laundry.  Don't worry, she'll do a great job at work on Monday only to come home and whine like a baby after doing 30 minutes on an elliptical trainer.

Here's hoping that I can recover from my horribly taxing weekend!!

Sunday, April 26, 2009

I Know This Sounds Stupid

I am about 6.5 weeks along now and have had lots of good omens for this pregnancy -- no spotting and bloodwork showing strong HCG and decent progesterone numbers.  Despite these good signs, I am paranoid about having a missed miscarriage.  I would feel so much better to see that little heartbeat, but our heart isn't until a week from tomorrow.

The only major symptom of a missed miscarriage is that symptoms disappear.  While I'm still tired with sore boobs and occasional nausea, I really don't feel that bad at all.  I know I'll regret saying it if it happens, but a little morning sickness would go a long way to helping me feel pregnant.

Friday, April 24, 2009

My Teeth

I think about teeth a lot at work.  Since I work for a health foundation, we are always trying to figure out what health needs aren't being addressed.  Dental care is a major need in this country and so many people who need it can't afford it.  

I attribute my super-proactive attitude toward dental care to the fact that my job has made me hypersensitive about the importance of teeth.  Before we even started trying to conceive, I went to the dentist and told her I wanted to get my teeth all fixed up so I wouldn't have to get anything intense done once I was pregnant.  One crown and one cavity later, I was all fixed up.  On Easter, I noticed that my gums around my new crown were hurting.  They throbbed on and off for a solid week.  I happened to have a dentist appointment Monday for my regular cleaning and also had her look at my aching tooth.  She attributed the whole thing to pregnancy.  Pregnant women are more prone to pregnancy gingivitis which causes bleeding and inflamed gums.  Ick.

She gave me a prescription mouth rinse, but it isn't proven to be safe for pregnant women, so I'm afraid to use it.  She told me to try rinsing with saltwater and see if that helps.  The last thing I can stand the thought of in the morning is rinsing with saltwater.  I'm already one burp away from yaking, so voluntarily putting in my saltwater sounds awful.  My tooth felt better most of the week, but is aching again.  I hope it gets better because nine months of this sounds like hell.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

How to Make a Baby Budget

Brett and I set aside this evening to plan out our budget for the next 9 months.  We are trying to be faithful to the Bump's interactive checklist, which tells us to use this week for budgeting.  So, how did the night go?

After going to the gym, we were both starving so we stopped at Arby's.  I was somehow still starving when we got home and had a plate of pasta next.  My stomach's been nauseous all day and a full stomach usually helps, but I couldn't seem to get full.  After eating my two dinners, we started discussing our budget.  Our goal is to have $2,000 to spend on baby hear, six months living expenses in savings, and our new car paid off.  It looks like we'll be able to meet these goals, but we'll be left with just $500 for our vacation this summer.

I am so ready for a week-long vacation with just the hubs, so this was devastating news to me.  I handled it very maturely, meaning that I hung my head, pouted out my lower lip and sobbed softly until Brett consoled me.  Once he wrapped his arms around me for a hug, the full-fledged four-year-old style crying set in.  I swear I was on the verge of a classic toddler temper tantrum.  I'm going to blame that one on the hormones.

I kept sobbing, "My stomach hurts, we can't take a vacation, and this is stressful."  I'm settled in on the couch for an 18 Kids and Counting episode, so I'm better already.

Every Two Hours...

I must go pee and eat something or I will die. I haven't crossed the threshold from nausea into puking, but I definitely don't feel so hot these days. The last week or so, I've been feeling on the verge of vomiting. Although it's mostly in the morning, it gets bad again if I fail to eat regularly. Although my first two weeks of pregnancy involved lots of greasy foods and sweets, I am now onto healthier eating habits, which is a good thing because I am eating a lot more often.

I've also found that the thought of Diet Dr. Pepper makes me gag. My previous favorite now sounds so gross. I had a caffeine free DDP yesterday without trouble, but the thought of it disgusts me today.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Getting to 50/50

One of the greatest things about my husband is that we have always split the work in our lives down the middle. Sure, he may prefer to vacuum the floors while I'd rather clean the bathrooms, but overall the division of labor is pretty equal in our family. Even with cashew on the way, we both know that our careers are too important to leave behind. I truly believe that being a working mother is the best thing for me and our child. I want him/her to see that women can have dynamic careers without sacrificing their family. I think that me continuing to work will provide needed resources for our family that will enable us to offer our children a top-notch education, leisurely vacations, and fun extra-curricular activities.

Best of all, my husband agrees with me that having two working parents is the best solution for our family. This weekend we were at the library and he checked out Getting to 50/50. The book is about balancing work and family. I think he thought it would help him figure out how to approach his boss and co-workers when work was overtaking his life. Instead, the book is heavily targeted at women who are trying to find ways to continue working without killing themselves with family responsibilities. The chapters are things like, "Convincing Your Husband of the Value of 50/50." It's definitely not geared at Brett, but he's reading it anyway.

I feel so lucky to have a husband who is so supportive of me as a working mother-to-be.

Monday, April 20, 2009

How To Tell

I'm two days shy of six weeks with high HCG levels and no spotting. Am I in the clear? Absolutely not. Am I confident enough to start brainstorming how to do the big reveal? Yes. Here's what the week of May 4th looks like for me:

Monday: Ultrasound at 7w5d according to my chart
Wednesday: My dad comes to town for a night. We'll probably tell him at that time (as long as we get a hb).
Friday: My mom and mother-in-law come to town for Mother's Day weekend. Though it would be fun to wait and officially tell them on Mother's Day, I know I won't be able to keep it in.

The question is, how should we reveal our news? Please share your ideas. My dad's pretty low-key, so I'd like to find a fun, but not overdone way to tell him. My mom and mother-in-law are the absolute opposite of low-key. I'd like the reveal to reference Mother's Day in some way. I'd love to hear your ideas.

Here are a few of mine for the moms:
  • Go out to dinner and park in expectant mom parking.
  • Give them Grandmother's cards with a picture from the ultra sound.
  • Give them each a copy of a children's book (maybe one they used to read to Brett and I as kids) and tell them we hope they enjoy reading it with their grandchild.

And it begins...

The last few days I've been experiencing a light version of morning sickness. I'm usually fine right when I get out of bed, but around 9 or 10 in the morning, I start feeling queasy. I have yet to actually throw up and hope I can continue that streak. I take Vitamin B6 every morning, which is supposed to help. I also find that eating a small breakfast is mandatory.

I'm going to the dentist this morning because I have a throbbing toothache that won't go away. It started about a week ago. Some days it's fine and other days, it's horribly painful. The pain is in a tooth that recently got a crown, so I'm wondering if the crown wasn't done right. I hope there's an easy solution because I'm not spending any more time in pain.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

I'm a Bad Liar

We had dinner last night with a couple of friends.  I didn't order a margarita as I normally would, but the wife didn't either so I didn't think it would seem strange.  Toward the end of dinner, this little exchange happened...
HER: We want to see your new car.

ME:  Sure.  We'll even show you the third row.  We try to keep it hidden from parents so they don't think we are planning to have 5 kids.

HER: Are you guys heading in that direction.

ME: Yes.

HER: Are you trying.

ME: (and quite awkwardly because I was thinking about how funny it is that we are no longer "trying") Yes.

HER: Are you pregnant right now?

ME: Yes.

So, that's the second person I've told.  I could've continued lying but I am horrible at it and I really trust her not to tell anyone.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Twins?

Holy crap. If my charting was right and I'm really only 23 dpo, then there's probably more than one babe in there. According to beta base, the highest beta at 22 dpo for a single pregnancy is 19,861. It's 24, 062 for a twin pregnancy.

Rather than that, I'm hoping I'm further along that I thought. Even just being a week further along would be great, because it means I'm closer to being out of 1st tri and getting to keep this little cashew.

Good Numbers and a Prayer for Puke

My MW called this morning with good news. My HCG was at 21,146. 48 hours before it was 12,069, so it didn't double, but she said they don't expect 48 hour doubling once the numbers get this high. She was happy with the HCG level. My progesterone was 16.9, which is better than 13.5 and high enough that she wasn't worried.

I'm so relieved to have gotten such good news. Not I just gestate until our u/s on May 4th.

In other news, I'm finally feeling nauseous. It wasn't so bad when I woke up, but has gotten worse as the morning's progressed. At this point, I'd just like to vom already so I can feel better.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Paper Cuts and Panic

My boobs have finally started feeling like pregnant boobs.  My nipples feel like there are a million tiny paper cuts on them.  This is very strange for me because I don't even get pre-period tenderness.  They hurt pretty bad, but it's tolerable.

I've also had an emotional day, swinging between feeling optimistic and pure panic about the low progesterone.  I've done my research and realize that my progesterone is indeed on the low end, but it's not dangerously low.  I went in today and got some blood taken and they'll call tomorrow morning with the results.  Cross your fingers, say your prayers, and think good thoughts for doubling HCG and high progesterone.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

My First Freakout

The MW called back today with bloodwork results. My HCG level is 12,069 and progesterone was at 13.5. She said the progesterone was at the low end of the normal range, so she wants me to come back tomorrow for another round of bloodwork. If it's going down, we'll consider progesterone supplements.

I have to admit that I flipped after her phone call. On the one hand, I was so happy that the HCG level was so flippin' high. It makes me think I'm either a week further along than I thought OR there's more than one in there. I'm hoping it's the former.

The progesterone thing scared the poo out of me. I googled it and saw that low progesterone is a miscarriage risk. I also saw that progesterone is lower in the afternoon and can decrease by as much as 50% after a meal. Considering my blood was drawn in the afternoon and a couple hours after a big Chinese lunch, I'm feeling a little better.

She also gave me the go-ahead to schedule our next appointment in two weeks. We'll get an ultrasound then.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

9 Weeks or 5 Weeks?

First meeting with the midwife went great.  She was nice, answered all my questions, and tolerated my borderline obsessive fear about tearing my hooohaa.  Her assistant took all my information about my last period, gynecological history, etc.  She came in and said, "It looks like you are 9 weeks along."  I whipped out the chart and she admitted that the chart would put me at 5 weeks along.  She said that correctly dating the pregnancy is very important, so they took blood to help date the pregnancy.  Based on the my HCG and progesterone levels, she's calling me tomorrow to schedule my next appointment, which will include an ultrasound that will hopefully show cashew's heartbeat.  She said it could be as early as next week or as late as three weeks from now.  Either way, that seems pretty soon to me.

A+ Student

I've always been a little bit of a type-A, teacher's pet and I'm carrying that trait into pregnancy. In preparation for my first midwife appointment, I've written a list of questions I plan to ask. They are:

  • What exercises can I do? Pre-BFP, I worked out 4x/week, doing cardio twice, lifting weights twice, and doing yoga once. I want to make sure this is okay to continue. I'm especially curious about the weight lifting.
  • Can I drink decaf herbal teas?
  • If I get a Subway sandwich toasted, is that okay?
  • Who do I contact to tour the L&D suites at the hospital?
  • What's my risk of micarriage? I know there are lots of stats out there, but I want to hear it from a medical professional. I always hear 20%, but I'm not sure whether that includes CPs or not.
  • Is my PNV okay? My gyno wrote my a prescription for some PNVs that are $50/month with insurance. They contain DHA and some other crap I've never heard of. My cheap Walgreen's vitamins I've been taking since January don't have all the ingredients in the pricey vitamins.
  • What's the labor and delivery process like when a midwife?
  • Is there a number to call with non-emergency questions?
  • What do you consider to be an emergency?
  • What's your stance on pain medications during delivery? I fully intend to have a natural birth, but how will you respond if mid-way through I start begging for an epidural?
  • I'm deathly afraid of tearing something down there. Please tell me every last thing I can do to minimize the risk.
  • How long past my due date would you let me go before inducing?

I think it's a complete list. Some of it she'll probably answer without me prodding, but I feel good going into the appointment with a list.

Monday, April 13, 2009

My Aching Back

Beginning almost at my BFP, I've had an achy lower back.  It was annoying but tolerable... until today.  I attribute the agony to two important things:  
  • I spent most of Saturday lifting shovels full of rocks.  I was careful not to lift any loads that were too heavy, but the repeated chore of lifting a moderate amount of weight made my back worse.
  • When my mom was in town, we went shopping (our favorite mother-daughter activity).  I was feeling bloated and none of the clothes were looking too hot on me, so I focused my energy on shoes.  I found  a super-hot, super on sale pair of black knee high boots.  They only had them in a 7 and I wear a 7 1/2, but I was able to wriggle my foot in.  Later that day, hubby tells me that his book says most women's feet increase a 1/2 size during pregnancy and stay that way forever.  Hmmm.  I decided that I will get as much use out of the new boots as I can and joyfully slid them on today for work.  9 hours and two three-inch heels later and I'm dying.  My back is absolutely killing me.  Lesson learned.
Tomorrow we are meeting the midwife.  I'm excited to meet her and get an official due date.  I am nervous that she isn't going to trust my chart and will instead insist that I'm 8 weeks along.  At the same time, I hope that the confusion means that we might get an early ultrasound.  Even just seeing a little blob in a big blob would be so cool.  

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Hard Work

We've been in our home for about 10 months now.  One of our last home improvement projects is to redo our landscaping.  We had a landscape architect draw up plans that focused on "sustainable plants" that don't require lots of water or maintenance to thrive.  The landscaping firm quoted the new landscaping at $8,000!!  This was the price for the plants and all of the labor.  It was also waaay outside our price range.

My friend's family owns the city's largest nursery, so she offered to provide the plants at cost.  We are paying about $1,500 for plants and materials and doing the labor ourselves.  Our goal is to be done by May 15th.  The weather seems to be rainy almost every weekend, but was gorgeous last night.  We spend the day clearing out the existing beds and pulling up brick edging.  My mom helped, which made it lots easier.  It was LOTS of hard work.  I of course wore gloves the whole time and tried to minimize the heavy lifting I did.

We still have lots to do and I am dreading it.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Curveball

Today, mom and I were meeting one of her old college friends for lunch.  She hadn't seen him in 25 years, but wanted to connect with him because she thought he might be a good "mentor" for me professionally (that part totally didn't work out.)  I didn't think I'd be put in a difficult position regarding the whole "no alcohol" thing, but this guy walks in and orders a martini with lunch, so mom orders a long island, then I order a vodka tonic, or else it'd be obvious.  Shortly after we ordered, I told mom I had to go pee.  I walked up to the waitress, asked where the bathroom was then said, "You know that vodka tonic?  Can you please hold the vodka?"  Then I gave the most awful wink I've ever given.  I'm not a very good winker, but she got the point and my drink arrived virgin.

This is harder than I thought...

I came home from work yesterday and Katie's package was here! She sent us What to Expect When You're Expecting and Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy. I'm a little behind on reading for my book club, so once I catch up, I'll start reading those.

My mom's also here and it's A LOT harder than I thought it would be to keep this secret from her. I was thisclose to telling her last night, but I made myself focus on how fun it would be to tell her and my MIL at the same time on Mother's Day.



Thursday, April 9, 2009

Warning: Do NOT Open

We've been keeping our exciting news very much on the down-low. I did tell my best friend, Katie. She lives in D.C. and we have very few mutual friends, so telling her posed no risk of word getting back to any of my friends and family members. I told her on Saturday as soon as we got a digital confirmation. She was very sick with a sinus infection, but excited nonetheless.

I talked to her Tuesday night and told her that it's going to be hard to hide from my mom. She's coming to town tonight and we tend to do lots of drinking when she's around. I'm not sure if my grape juice switcheroo is going to cut it. Anyway, Katie told me that I'll be receiving a package from her sometime between Thursday and Friday. She said, "Whatever you do, don't open it in front of your mom." I'm assuming it's baby stuff and I can't wait to see what it is. I am also really glad she warned me about it!

Wish me luck for the weekend. My mom and I are super-close, so this is going to be a weekend-long acting job for me.

One last thing, check out my pee stick from today. JLA warned me to "put the pee stick down" and I promise I will. Today's pee stick was so beautifully dark that I feel like I can stop now.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

4 Weeks 0 Days, I think

I must confess that all this pregnancy dating stuff is completely confusing to me.  Considering that I didn't O until CD 42, dating my pregnancy based on my last menstrual period isn't very helpful.  According to that, I'm 8 weeks pregnant.  Uh, yeah, don't think so.  According to when I actually ovulated, I'm 4 weeks pregnant.  

I see the midwife next week and plan to bring my chart along.  I hope she sees that I'm clearly not 8 weeks along yet.  I've been trying to find a week-by-week pregnancy calendar to see what the baby, ahem embryo, looks like right now.  According to one site, it's a flesh colored tube and according to another, it has arm buds.  That's quite a difference to me.  Oh well, as long as it's in there growing, I'm happy.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

You are Getting Sleepy...

OK, maybe I'm just feeling it much, much more since it's the end of the day, but I am exhausted!! I had back-to-back-to-back meetings today, so I didn't get much of a break. I am walking my dog with a girlfriend tonight, so that should put some pep in my step.

My wine fake-out worked brilliantly last night. As I expected, she went for red and I went for white, so my secret was safe. The only thing I had to be careful of was drinking my grape juice too quick. I usually carefully sip wine but since it was yummy grape juice I drank it a little faster than normal. She probably just thinks I've developed fantastic tolerance.

Yesterday I scheduled my first prenatal visit. When we moved to town last June, someone recommended a gynecologist to me who went to my alma mater (Princeton). She told me upfront that she didn't do deliveries, but I wasn't trying to conceive yet and really just wanted someone to refill my BC prescription, so I went to her. Now that I actually need prenatal care, I need to find a provider.

I've been wanting to use a midwife and even had one in mind. I called yesterday (all giddy because I got to say out loud, to a stranger, 'I'm pregnant.') The front desk lady said that their midwives no longer deliver, which seems bizarre to me. What do they do if not deliveries? There's one other midwifery practice near us, so I called and scheduled an appointment there. They have three certified nurse midwives on site, are covered by my insurance and bill globally. I've learned that this "global billing" thing is a big deal. If an OB/GYN or midwife bills globally, it means that you only pay one co-pay for all of your prenatal care.

They had an available appointment on Thursday, but the hubs will still be out of town and he wants to be there. So, we are going in for the first appointment on Tuesday at 3 pm. I have no idea what to expect, but I'm excited. I have lots of questions to ask, so I'm really looking forward to the appointment.

In other news, my husband continues to be so stinking cute all the time. He's really excited about this (as am I, of course). He has already bought a book about pregnancy and sent me a 9-month budget to ensure we have a good, solid nest egg when baby arrives. He's in NYC all week for work. I emailed him that I want him to pick up an "I love NY" onesie. He replied that he'd already been looking around for a baby gift to bring back.

We've started referring to baby as "cashew." It's a bit of a family tradition. Brett's step-brother called his son "peanut" when it was in utero. We've picked our favorite nut, which is a cashew. Sorry for the long post and gold starts for you if you read this far.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Keeping Up Appearances

My sister-in-law is coming over tonight for a long-planned girls' night.  Brett left this morning for New York for work and her husband is gone until tomorrow.  We decided long ago to watch a chick flick and drink wine.  When we drink wine, we drink a lot of wine.  In an awesome show of foresight, I went yesterday and bought some white grape juice that I funneled into an empty bottle of white wine.  She's a red drinker so this ploy should work.

I'm feeling pretty tired, I get hungry faster, and I am peeing lots more, but other than that no symptoms to report.  My left boob ached for a few minutes today, but stopped.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

First Full Day of Being Pregnant

Yesterday was my first full day being pregnant.  The hubby is already pretty protective, so we kicked off the day by reading up online about what I can and can't do.  I'm planning to cut out caffeine, alcohol, high mercury fish, soft cheeses, deli meat, etc.  I already knew those foods were pregnancy no-nos, but actually having to stop consuming them will be hard.

We ran lots of errands yesterday morning.  Since we don't keep soda in the house, we always treat ourselves to 44 oz. diet soda from Quik Trip.  I've transitioned away from regular Diet Dr. Pepper to caffeine free Diet Dr. Pepper, but they were all out.  I had water instead which seemed very boring.

We went to my brother's barbecue.  Brett and I kept "splitting" beers.  My mom may or may not have noticed but she didn't say anything.  They were playing beer pong and I was afraid I'd get roped into that.  I really couldn't think of a way to "pretend" drink during that game.  Did I mention my brother's 24 and still living in his college town?  That should explain the beer pong thing.

I've found that my main pregnancy symptoms so far are that I'm tired a lot of the time and that I seem to get hungry easier.  I took a nap yesterday afternoon and still fell asleep at 9:30 last night.  I get nervous every time I go to the bathroom, worrying that I'll have spotting or a full-on period.  I have a short LP, so I would've already gotten my period by now in a normal cycle.

My husband has been so cute.  When we first got the +hpt, he kept saying, "But, I just started a new book."  He's pretty obsessed with reading all the pregnancy, infant care, and parenting books.  He had just gotten engrossed in a new book, but was saying he might just return it to the library without finishing it so that he can read baby books.

I've continued charting because it makes me feel better.  I'm happy to see my temp staying up.


Saturday, April 4, 2009

A Little Clearer Now


I took a digital today and another $ Store test.  Both came back positive.  One of my favorite bloggers (Hi JennLovesAustin), kept taking hpts just to see if the line got darker.  I think I'm going to do the same thing, mostly because it will be good for my peace of mind since this is such and early positive.  If you look over there ------------->,  you'll see the pics.  We stopped at the $ Store last night (before a huge Mexican dinner that I engulfed) and bought three or four more of them for my experiment.  The lady at the counter said, "These things really work."  I beamed back, "I know, that's why I'm here for more."  She replied, "Congratulations."  It was my first Congrats and it felt great.

The things I did differently this cycle were: taking B6, using OPKs (which seriously saved me since this cycle was looooong), and holding my legs in the air after sex.  I know there's lots of disagreement about whether the "legs up" thing actually works, but it was a free, easy thing that had some chance of helping.  We bought pre-conception lubricant but didn't use it around O since I had decent fertile CM.

My symptoms were:

  • 8 dpo: really, really tired
  • 9 dpo: had cramps like my period started and lots of creamy CM.  I was working all day and not close to a bathroom, so I was pretty convinced that it was my period, but it wasn't.  Also, starting last night, I was more hungry and thirsty than normal.
I wasn't constipated at all, which I know a lot of people are.  I also may or may not have had tender breasts.  They are still sore from the gym, so I can't really tell.

My mom is coming to town today to go with us to a barbecue at my brother's place.  We don't want to tell anyone we're pregnant until after we hear a heartbeat.  Brett and I have devised a tricky plan so I don't have to drink.  He's going to mix me vodka and cranberries that are really just cranberry juice.  We'll see how that goes.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Am I KU?

Today was a long and very stressful day at work.  After a margarita with coworkers, I came home and started teasing DH that I was going to test tonight just for the hell of it.  My temp was up one more day and still no signs of a period.  Plus, I had cramping all day that felt almost exactly like the first day of my period.  I really don't get cramps before my period, so that was strange to have AF-like cramping before my period started.
Anyway, DH said, "Go ahead, test."  So I did.  I got this which doesn't look like much on camera, but in person both of us saw a faint pink line.  We are looking forward to tomorrow morning when we can take a test with FMU.  I posted it to the Bump and got lots of, "I kind of see it"s and some "try again in the morning"s.  Somebody gave my post one star, boo.

In the meantime, what do all of you think.  If you squint, turn your head sideways and cross your eyes, do you see it too?


UPDATE:  My camera has a "Macro" function that makes the pic much clearer.  I see it with the naked eye and the camera lens now.  I hereby declare myself with child.  It's obviously early and a great time for a chemical pregnancy, so we are cautiously celebrating.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Not Wanting to Read Too Much Into Things, But...

I just woke up from my 2nd ever post-work nap.  The first one was in early March when I woke up at 3:30 am and the second was tonight.  I slept from 11 pm to 7:15 am this morning, so I shouldn't have been so tried.  It was an icky, gloomy, rainy day.  Plus, for work I had to do something out of the ordinary -- spend an hour with a rambunctious four-year-old.  I work for a health foundation and we never provide direct services, but we are working with a production company to film a video about social issues that impact health.  

We filmed a woman who got out of a violent marriage a few years ago.  It was a very sad situation, but this woman was doing everything possible to create a bright future for her children.  Her ex-husband never allowed her to work, so it's been difficult for her to find a job.  She's been walking 30 to 45 minutes to work each day.  As sad as the story was, I was so touched by how much she was willing to do for her children,

When the film crew was interviewing the mom, they asked me to keep an eye on the four-year-old because she kept trying to sneak into the shots.  Entertaining her for just one-hour made me so tired!!  I got home and slept for an hour.  I keep checking for tender breasts, but I worked out yesterday and we did lots of push-ups.  Sure enough, my boobs are sore today, but so is every other major muscle group that we worked.

That's all the real, not-so-real, and maybe real symptoms to report today.


Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Boob Pokes Abound

I am at 7 dpo, the earliest point in the 2ww when actual symptoms can start occurring.  I've paid attention to every twinge, cramp, and nauseous feeling.  There isn't much to report.  I've even taken to occasionally poking my boobs in the hopes of them being tender.  I never get many pre-AF symptoms, so that almost helps.  If I get any strange symptoms toward the end of the 2ww, it probably won't be because of AF.  If there's no BFP this cycle, I at least hope for a longer LP.  It was only 10 days last cycle, which is okay but not great.  I've been taking 50 mg per day of B6 vitamin.

Do you guys like the new layout?  When I started this thing, I wasn't tech savvy enough to use anything but the blogger layouts, but some girls from the GP board helped me find this new and much improved layout.

Here's a chart snapshot.  There's not much interesting except that my temp was up quite a bit today.  I hope that trend continues!