Cry Baby

I guess this whole pregnancy hormone thing is kicking in. Last night, as Lane and I were putting our groceries away in the kitchen, I bumped my head. Now, it didn't really hurt that much at all, but all of a sudden tears just started streaming down my face. Lane was so sweet, he just gave me a big hug, told me he'd finish and to go sit down. He brought me some water and even a little snack. While I sniffled away, Lane cleaned the kitchen and finished putting away all the groceries. I felt much better later and thanked him for giving me a time out ;)

Week 10

This is a big week for Baby Grover, who is graduating from embryo to fetus status. By the end of the week, Baby Grover will be nearly two inches long. Also starting this week, there will be a 40 to 50 percent increase in my blood volume!! Holy Moly.

Lately I get to wake up every night to go pee. I can't really sleep in on the weekends because I get so starving!! I usually get up, have myself a little mini-breakfast, and then eat Second Breakfast with Lane. Because by that time, I'm hungry all over again. It's hard work growing a baby :)

Cat's out of the Bag!

Lane and I have been bursting at the seams waiting to tell our families, but trying so hard to not say anything until Christmas. All day long we were wondering when our parents would open their presents and when they'd call us.

It was great that so many people could find out at once with the Christmas gift opening. Lane's parents, sister, and both grandmas were on the phone when they called to say that they'd gotten the best Christmas gift ever!!

As soon as we got off the phone with them, we started calling the brothers. Grandma Chaney also warned that she couldn't keep her mouth shut, so we better tell them soon :) It was exciting to hear everyone be so thrilled with our big news.

Meliss literally SCREAMED for like 20 seconds upon hearing the news. Nate told us that our nephew, Chaney was jumping up and down with excitement, and having recently learned the art of sarcasm exclaimed, "Oh that's a bummer!" in jest. Adie & Ian were so sweet to send us an e-card and offer any advice we needed, and Cati let me know that she couldn't wait to start shopping and how well-dressed our baby would be!!

My Dad told us what a good job we had done, and it sounds like my parents might be planning a trip out here soon! My sisters were both practically crying with happiness, which made me get a little teary eyed myself.

I'm feeling much more excited now that everyone knows our big secret. Now I have to figure out when and how to tell people at work.

Here's a cute video for your viewing pleasure: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1789889456

Week 9

Baby Grover now measures about the size of a quarter from "crown to rump" - that's about an inch long. Here is Baby Grover's photo debut:

One more person in the know.

We knew we were taking a chance in David finding out our big news over the weekend. The instant I walked in the door he started offering me drinks – margarita? Beer? Wine? Gin & Tonic? Uhm, no, no and no.. After that, I surprisingly made it through a dinner with three other people and two bottles of wine without suspicion. It was a little hard though when the waiter brought out a glass of wine on the house for me.

Later that night, we went to one of David’s favorite hangouts where the manager insisted on buying us drinks. David said I needed one, that I hadn’t had anything all night. When I politely declined, he told me how rude it was of me to not accept the offer. I realized that we couldn’t go on much further like this, especially since a sushi dinner, cocktails, and karaoke bar madness were in store later that weekend.

When I explained that I *couldn’t* have a drink, David looked so confused. Suddenly, he gasped, put both hands to his mouth, and wide-eyed asked, “are you pregnant?!?!?!?” He immediately got tears in his eyes, gave me the biggest hug, and told me how long he’d been waiting for this for us, and what an amazing mother I’d be. It was super duper sweet. Later on, David actually threw his arms up in joy, as if having witnessed a soccer goal and yelled, “My sister’s having a baby!!!” Even the next morning, he woke up saying over and over again how happy he was for us.

And for as many times as he expressed his happiness, I reminded him that he needed to keep it a super duper top secret until after Christmas. At first, I was worried that he’d blab to everyone, but he promised not to, and really gets a kick out of being the only one in the family who knows. I gave him full permission to tell his friends and co-workers, in hopes that this would get the telling itch out of his system.

It was really weird hanging out with a bunch of people and not having this big secret. No one looked at me weird when I just had water to drink at the bar, people were giving up their seats for me, and they didn’t think it was strange when I used the restroom over and over and over again. I realized how much I’ve been holding back my own excitement – not really talking about it except to Lane and very few others.

Can’t wait for everyone to finally be “in the know”.

Week 8

Lane swears I'm pushing my tummy out here, but I'm not! (boo for the double chin look I'm sporting in this pic)

Unexpected Doctor Visit

Yesterday morning I ready my weekly pregnancy email from webmd which advised that I might have a little cramping due to stretching ligaments. And, boy, did I feel what they were talking about.

This dull aching lasted all through the day, especially on one side. I started wondering if this was really normal, or not. I went to bed and still, the next morning I felt this continuous aching especially in my left side. So I did what any sane person would do, research on the internet. Researching things on the internet when you think something is wrong is never a good idea, but I did it anyway and read all about ectopic pregnancies and how they are usually noticeable in the 6-8 week range. That’s right where I am. Not good.

All this time, I hadn’t even really considered the possibility of something going wrong. Suddenly, my mind was flooded with all the bad results and reactions and telling people, having to explain our Christmas gifts to our parents, and whatnot. I decided to test the after hours telephone line at my dr’s office and it worked out great. You leave a message, and are supposed to receive a call back within 10 to 20 minutes. I got a call back 4 minutes later. The doctor was very friendly and recommended that I make an appointment to come in today. She said she would advise the staff that we spoke and make sure they’d fit me into today’s schedule. I called right when the office opened, advised them of my conversation and they scheduled me for this afternoon with the doctor I spoke with this morning.

I am still feeling this pain, and having better feelings about everything being okay. I thought it would be better to have them tell me it was nothing, than to assume it wasn’t anything and find myself regretting not contacting them.

...

Well, having just returned from the doctor, I can safely say that everything is a-okay. I had a culture taken, a blood test for Cystic Fibrosis, and a sonogram. It was so weird to see with my very own eyes that there is actually a little rascal growing in there. The heart rate was 144, which the doctors say is normal. I’ll post Baby Grover’s photo debut shortly. According to the "crown to rump" measurements, I'm 9 weeks along, although the doctor said we should stick with the original due date of July 22, 2008. That's right, one day before our wedding anniversary and four days after my birthday.

I went in early because I was worried about the pain, which is normal, they say. Lane was supposed to go with me to the 12/21 appointment, but the doctor said I should just cancel that one and schedule another one for 4 weeks from now. I didn’t have a sonogram last time because I wanted Lane to be there, and now I ended up having one without him there anyway which I was really disappointed about. I needed to get it done to make sure everything was all good, and thank goodness it is. Lane was really sweet. He said it was okay, and that he's just glad his babies are okay. :-)

I’m going in for a Down Syndrome testing sometime in the next couple of weeks. I believe they do sonograms for those as well. Hopefully, Lane can come along for that appointment.