If You're Reading This

Hello World! If you are reading this you are either, a) an other worldly awesome Bumpie who already knew about my blog, or b) a friend who saw my announcement on Facebook. So, hi friends old and new here! Welcome to my blog.

I have been keeping track, since August 2009, of TJ and my journey to parenthood. If you should choose to go back that far and read I will warn you that some parts of our journey are sad, but we are now on the road to our happy ending. I will also warn you, I created this blog while on a message board with other women who were TTC (which means Trying to Conceive for those who, unlike me, don’t spend hours online researching having a kid). There will be TMI, and if you feel squeamish about reading it then I apologize. ;) But hey, it’s my blog and I’ll over share if I want to!

So, a quick rundown of what you’ve missed thus far. Not a whole lot. I took a HPT (home pregnancy test) on January 23rd after getting home from work. I took a digital test as I don’t like to mess around with the whole, “Is it a line? Is it not a line?” bit. I was shaking with nerves when the word “Pregnant” popped up. I left the test on the bathroom counter for TJ to see when he got home. We had our first appointment, and first ultrasound, on February 19th. After that we told our parents, and started spreading the word. Which brings us to now. I feel great. I have, knock on wood, not been sick at all. Some days I feel a little off, but most of the time I feel great. I am super tired, and fall asleep most nights at 7 on the couch. I am pretty moody, though I wouldn’t say I’m more emotional, just more bitchy. And road rage? I has it.

There you have it. Should you choose to stick around and read through my journey, welcome aboard. If you were just checking out what I had to say, then thanks for coming! I hope to bring you some sort of entertainment over the next 31 or so weeks!

D Day

So today is D Day, Doctor Day that is. I had my first appointment, and it went very, very well. As you can see to the right. ;) That's my baby. Ah! Myyyyy baby! So unreal, but so much more real and tangible now that we know that things look good.

I was nervous this morning going into my appointment. Starting Wednesday I had very light, light, almost nonexistent spotting. With my history though any spotting in my mind is bad. So what did crazy, hormonal, pregnant Jen do? I cried on the couch Wednesday night. Like a big fat baby.

I told my doctor today that I've had some minor spotting, so she decided to do an mini-ultrasound at my appointment. TJ and I sat in the exam room while they went and got the little ultrasound machine. I became super nervous. The longer we waited in there, the more nervous I felt. She finally wheeled the thing into the room and got friendly with the wand. I cringed when I saw the look on her face. I just knew it was going to be bad news. Until she called TJ over from where he was sitting to look at the tiny screen.

She turned the screen so we could both see it, and there was our baby. It's tiny little heart flickering away. She measured Herme, and said she thinks I'm about 7 weeks or so. I'm sticking with my original date of 10/3 though, because I'm stubborn like that. And because how reliable is the measurement of that portable mini-ultrasound thing anyway? I mean, really! ;)

I cried, because I am a crier anyway. I think TJ's eyes welled up with tears. He isn't a very emotional guy, so the welling up was exactly what I expected. She printed out a little picture of Herme and the measurements for us and we were off, sort of. I went to the lab first and gave 6 vials of blood. Ick.

After we went out for tacos, because I was starving, we headed over to my parents house to tell them the good news. My dad was at work, so it was just my mom. When we walked in with a bag my mom asked if we brought her leftovers. I told her that we brought her dessert and pulled out her mug, still wrapped up. She unwrapped it and then cried. And then called everyone. So, the cat is out of the bag and it feels good.

Here are the pictures of the mugs that I painted a while ago for the grandparents. We are going to give TJ's mom hers this weekend. TJ took a picture of the ultrasound picture on his phone and text it to her, she called him very excited. It was a great day.

My mom's cup.

The bottom of my mom's cup.

My dad's cup.

TJ's mom's cup.

7 Weeks

This week from The Bump we have a blueberry:

Baby's brain -- both hemispheres! -- is growing fast, generating about one hundred new cells every minute. Arms and legs are emerging as joints start to form, and a permanent set of kidneys (baby's third!) is now in place.

Seven weeks! Wow! It's hard to believe that we've known for three weeks already that I'm pregnant. I know in the grand scheme of 40 weeks that three weeks is nothing, but, it has still flown by.

This last week was my "goal" week. Friday I was 33 days past ovulation, which is the same point I was at when my miscarriage happened in September. It is an immense relief to me to be past that point. My new small goal is to make it to our first appointment this Friday.

I feel great most of the time still. My boobs are growing and hurt like hell still. I only started to feel a little sick-ish on Friday. I'm having some minor food aversions, sausage really makes me queasy. TJ made a sausage and bell peppers dish the other night, and just talking about it now is making me feel green. I made myself a bowl of Cheerios yesterday morning and ended up drinking the milk out of the bowl and leaving most of the Cheerios. It's strange things that make me feel a little queasy, but thank goodness I haven't been sick.

I am finding that it's harder and harder not to tell people. I hung out with my mom yesterday after work and I had to bite my tongue many times. It will be a relief to have a successful appointment on Friday and tell the world about Herme. :)

231 days to go!

7 Weeks 0 Days

Letters to Herme - Vol. 1

First, I have to explain the nickname with a little back story. Prior to his or her grand arrival this baby will be known as “Herme.” Strange, right? Well, we aren’t really that normal around these parts. ;)

I was having a conversation with my mom before TJ and I had even decided to start trying for a baby. She was ready to be a grandma before we were ready to be parents. She would love to have a granddaughter to dress up, love it. We were discussing the fact that there is a 50/50 chance that my future baby will be boy or girl so she can’t bank on having a girl to dress up in pink. She told me should baby McG be a boy she would dress him in pink when she watched him anyway (real men wear pink, right???). I told her that I wasn’t sure TJ would like that idea, to which she responded, “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt me.” I hear “Herme”, and the name stuck. So, we can’t wait to meet you baby Herme! This is my first letter to Herme:


2/10/2010
Baby Herme,

This is an idea I’ve had since I was in high school. The idea of me being in high school is probably foreign to you I know, but before you were here I was a kid too. When I was in high school I read the book “Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas” by James Patterson, and I thought it was a great idea. In the book Suzanne, the mother, wrote letters to her baby Nicholas through her pregnancy and while he was a baby. The letters had a sad ending, but, I loved the idea of it just the same. Someday I’ll give you these letters in hopes that you will read and appreciate them. Hopefully they will give you a glimpse into how much you were loved before we even met you.

On January 23rd our worlds changed. I’m still hesitant to say your dad/daddy/father or mom/mommy/mother, because right now this, you, still feels so surreal. Two and a half weeks ago when I came home from work, on your Grandpa’s birthday no less, I took a pregnancy test on a hunch. The result of that test, of course, is you. I sat the test on the counter in the bathroom and waited for your dad to come home from riding. He walked in the door and I told him there was something on the counter in the bathroom that he might like to see. I think there was a high five involved, but we were both very cautious. You see, before you there were positive tests and the results were not as good. So, your dad and I left the house for Grandpa’s Birthday dinner and we didn’t tell a soul.

As time has gone on we have gotten more and more excited. Things are much better this time then before. I really believe that in a very few long months you will be here and I will be holding you in my arms. I cannot wait for that day where I can see what you look like, and find out who you are. We get to hopefully see you next Friday in an ultrasound, and if it all looks good we’ll tell the world about you. You are going to be a very big deal, and a very spoiled baby. There are many, many more people than your dad and I who want to meet you. To hold you. To look you in the eyes and say, Welcome to the world, sweet baby. We love you, happy Birthday!

This will be my first of many letters. I want to thank you for coming in to our lives right when we needed it. You are a miracle, you are loved. Don’t ever forget it.

Love,

Your Mom

6 Weeks

This week from The Bump we have a sweet pea:

Growing like crazy, baby is starting to sprout eyes, ears, nose, cheeks, and chin. Those little hands and feet -- still webbed like paddles -- might wiggle by week's end, the heart is beating (almost twice as fast as yours!), and blood is starting to circulate.

It has been another great week. I am feeling pretty un-pregnant most of the time, which I am not complaining about. I keep hearing that at this point I should be tired all the time. Pure exhaustion. I will admit that at night I feel more run down than usual, but it hasn't hit during the day. And, as someone who prides themselves in their ability to sleep in with the best of them. . .not so much. I wake up in the morning earlier than normal and I'm up. I don't know if this is a pregnancy symptom, but it royal sucks.

The one symptom I am experiencing in full force is sore boobs. It hurts to wear a bra. Then it hurts to not wear a bra. I ran into TJ's elbow at the grocery store which made me want to stomp on something. I'm also extremely moody, just ask my poor husband. I downloaded Brad Paisley's "Anything Like Me" today and then cried. I am more snappy than usual, driving makes me red with road rage. My new poor attitude when driving usually comes out when I am in the fast lane behind someone going 30. Move over Grandpa, it's 55 through here!! Pregnant hormonal crazy woman coming through!

I feel more bloated than usual in my pictures today. It doesn't help that I took them later in the evening, after dinner. Usually I take them in the morning. So, awww, look at my food baby!

238 days to go!

He Has a Name. . .She Doesn't

I know it is very early on, but we have decided on what our boys name will be should we end up having a boy. We both have a feeling that we will have boys, so we have talked about girls names just briefly. We haven’t decided on a girl’s name though, and really with at 50/50 shot we need to come prepared for either option. I’m sure as the time goes on we will decide on a girl’s name, but for now our future son is named. So here is the story of how his name came to be. :)

TJ’s parents were very young when he was born, and on his birth certificate he was given his mom’s maiden name as his last name. He went by his dad’s last name in school, but it was never changed legally. Before we got married I told him that he needed to change his name if he was going to because I didn’t really plan on changing mine twice. He hemmed, and he hawed, and he hemmed some more. Our wedding day came, and he still hadn’t changed his name. In our first year of marriage we talked about it a little, but he settled on the fact that he would probably not change it.

Over the weekend we were talking about hypothetical names for our future baby(ies). TJ’s frist and middle name is Tyrone James, he was named after his dad. He has stated he didn’t want to use his name if we had a boy, so we had a clean slate in front of us. One of his favorite things to do is to suggest names which are so out there I cringe. He is never serious, but loves to get a reaction out of me. Some of my favorites have been: Panther, Motorcycle, and Lou Ferrigno (after we watched I Love You Man). Obviously we are not celebrities, and a name like Motorcycle wouldn’t really fly.

While we were discussing names I said it might be nice to use his dad’s last name as a first name. It was an instant hit, and I think he was a little miffed that he didn’t think of it himself. He was very excited about the idea, we talked it over a little and it was settled. Should we have a boy his name will Porter James. My TJ and my PJ. I can’t wait!

5 Weeks

This week from The Bump we have an appleseed:

Your embryo, which doesn't look like much more than a tadpole right now, is actually starting to form major organs (heart, kidney, liver, stomach) and systems (nervous, circulatory, digestive). Baby's presence in your uterus triggers production of HCG (the hormone detected by pregnancy tests), which triggers the production of other hormones like estrogen and progesterone, which triggers all those great symptoms you've probably been noticing!

On Saturday I went to a paint your own pottery shop in Marysville to paint "I Love Grandma/pa" mugs for our parents. I pick them up in a week after they have been fired in the kiln, and I can't wait to see how they turn out! Picture to come once I have them in my grubby little hands.

I also can't wait to tell our parents. Things have been going so well that we are debating telling after our first appointment if we get to see/hear the heartbeat. If we don't at our first appointment then we'll probably wait until our second appointment. We are finding it harder as each day goes by to keep it in.

TJ and I learned on Friday night that his good friend Joe, who he has been friends with since 2nd grade, and his wife Candis are also having a baby around the same time! I am very excited to have someone to share this journey with. :)

I'm a day late posting the pictures, please excuse the nasty-Sunday hairdo I have going on in them. ;) Also, it looks like someone should have ran a few more miles before getting knocked up, eh?? LOL, oh well!