20 Week Appointment

I had my 20 week appointment at the OB clinic yesterday, and everything looks good so far. Blasto's heart rate was 157 beats/minutes, and baby is measuring right on target. Pat and I go to the hospital tomorrow for the anatomy ultrasound. They'll count fingers and toes, check out the major organs, and we'll hopefully get to find out the gender. I've been holding back on buying any of the adorable baby clothes I see since I haven't known whether to buy little girl clothes or boy clothes. I'm hoping that I don't lose all self-control after tomorrow. There's also a chance that Blasto won't cooperate, and then we won't know gender until Blasto is born. With our living situation still up in the air, it would be nice to definitely know gender, though!

Blasto!

I am begrudgingly admitting that Pat and I have taken to calling the baby Blasto since we don't know a gender yet. When I was just barely pregnant (maybe even before we knew for sure), I was explaining to Pat how after the egg gets fertilized and starts dividing it's called a blastocyst, to which Pat responded "BlastoCysto!". We shortened it to Blasto, and somehow it stuck. I even find myself referring to the baby as Blasto. I was hoping for a cute nickname like Pumpkin since I'm due in October, but apparently it's not meant to be. I can only imagine the looks I'll get when I inadvertently use the nickname at work.

Saw the Heartbeat Today!!!!

I had my first ultrasound this morning. It was a rough day up until that point, so I was so glad to get some good news. I had my appointment at the hospital on post in the morning. They had a really hard time finding a good vein to do my bloodwork. I ended up being stuck 3 times, and they had to dig around a bit to finally find one. I hope I don't bruise too badly.

When I got to the hospital in Rolla for my ultrasound, my Dr.'s office hadn't faxed the order to registration. It took almost 45 minutes for them to fax the order in. It wouldn't have been so bad, except that you have to have a full bladder when having an ultrasound this early in pregnancy. That means I desperately needed to use the bathroom by the time the ultrasound was finished.

Even after all that, all was forgiven as soon as I saw the little heart fluttering away. The heart rate was 150 beats per minute. I feel so relieved...maybe now I'll be ready to start telling people.

I Spoke Too Soon

I guess I spoke too soon in my post earlier today. I got a call from Dr. Isakson's nurse with my beta results from Friday. My number came back at 1,637! Woo hoo!!!!! This is on the high side of normal. They had scheduled me for my first ultrasound on the 19th, but unfortunately I'll be in Huntsville, Alabama for work. I rescheduled for Monday, the 23rd. I can't imagine how slowly time will go between now and then. I don't think Pat will be able to go with me, but hopefully he'll be able to make the one where we find out the gender. I just want to see a strong little heartbeat at this one. Wish me (us) luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quiet Week

Not much to report today. I'm still feeling really good. I even felt up to working out for a bit yesterday. I think it helped me get a really good night's sleep last night. I'm going to try to keep it up a few times a week. I had really gotten out of the habbit since my surgery in December.

My first appointment at the hospital on post is scheduled for February 23rd. I'm going to try to sweet talk my way into an early ultrasound, but I don't know if it will happen. If we could get one, that would make telling our families (hopefully in March) a lot more fun. I'm going to plead fear of twins! It's not that far fetched...there are several sets of twins in Pat's family, and I was taking fertility meds at the time we conceived. I figure the worst they can do it tell us no.

Feeling Better Today

I'm feeling a little bit more reassured today. My sore boobs came back with a vengence last night. I've never been so happy to be in pain. I spent hours googling info on pregnancy symptoms that come and go, and apparently its pretty normal. I took another pregnancy test this morning for peace of mind, and the line is nice and dark. I'm going to try to relax, but its hard not to worry about every little change in symptoms.

Blood Test Today

I went to the hospital on post for a blood pregnancy today. The nurse put a urine test in the system, so I had to go back to the clinic and convince them to give me a blood test. I can do the urine test at home...why would I go all the way to the hospital for that??? Anyway, the test came back positive, so I scheduled my first appointment for February 23rd. I don't think I'll even see the doctor at that appointment. It's mostly for paperwork and bloodwork.

I'm starting to realize that infertility is going to follow me throughout this pregnancy. When I woke up this morning, my boobs didn't hurt at all. I was totally freaked out all day that I was losing the baby. After working so hard to get pregnant, I'm terrified of something going wrong. I'm hoping that I feel better once we see/hear a heartbeat.

15 Days Past Ovulation

I took another test this morning, and it's positive too. I fully expected it to be, but I still don't think it has all completely sunk in. I'll be calling Dr. Isakson's office Monday morning to see when he wants me to come in for bloodwork.

Symptoms I'm experiencing so far: sore boobs, hungry all the time, fatigue and insomnia (brutal combination), peeing a lot more than normal, and my veins seem to be showing through my skin more than usual (weird!).

I'm Pregnant!!!!!!

I tested this morning at 14 days past ovulation, and definitely saw 2 pink lines!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot believe that this has finally happened. I don't think Pat can either. I only had one test in the house, so we went out and bought a few more. I'll keep testing for the next couple of days just to make sure the line is getting darker.