Week 10

Symptoms:
I had a little bleeding in my nose, started in the morning and continued all day. It wasn't dripping out or anything, but everytime I stuck a kleenex up there it came out red. Nauseous, very nauseous. I can't tell if my boobs aren't sore anymore or if I'm just use to them being sore, I'm leaning towards the latter.

I'm starting to "feel" pregnant, especially when I bend over, it's a subtle change but I feel it.
I had my first craving: McDonalds. Now, normally I am a Burger King girl, but Wednesday I was driving home from work -- hadn't eaten a real meal since Saturday (the day before we caught the bug/food poisoning) -- and a flat cheeseburger and fries from McDonalds sounded so good. I got a happy meal so it was a little smaller at least. It tasted pretty darn good, although the nausea came back shortly after I finished my meal, oh well. I still motivated Brian and I to go on a walk with MJ, it was a short one as the nausea started to take over, but it still counts!
Towards the end of week 10 I started to feel a little better, still rough in the evening but much more manageable.
We have shown pretty much everyone our u/s pictures, we're proud parents :) We started telling friends that we're pregnant and I LOVE that, it's so fun to share our wonderful news with our loved ones.

Next appointment: August 25th.


Baby:
Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature. He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

Little one:

Week 9

Our first appointment was today!!!! We had an amazing appointment and found out I'm a little ahead of what I originally thought, what great news :-) I thought I was 9w 4 d today, but I measured at 10w 1d. We saw our little one moving about and oh what a sight that was. Then we got to hear the heartbeat, hands down best sound ever. We both got a little teary when we heard that heartbeat beating away, music to our ears. The heartbeat was beating at 158 bpm. It's real, we're having a baby!
We got pictures from the u/s that I'll have to scan at my mom's and then I'll post. It was the greatest day.

Symptoms:
Alright, so week 9 as it would've been went pretty smoothly, I was feeling good. Then Sunday came (which would be the end of week 9) and I got the flu along with many others from our fun family reunion in Arizona.
Honestly, the reunion was a blast, just not getting the flu ;) So I was throwing up all day Sunday, as were Jenny and Kyle and other members of our extended family. Jenny, Kyle, Brian, and I all had to fly out that night which we of course were not looking forward to. So we are in the security line and luckily Jenny brought a big ziplock bag with a brown paper bag inside it. She needed it. She started throwing up in it so the 3 of us stood around her to cover her up. As she was finishing up I realized I was about to pass out and started walking towards the garbage, Jenny pushed me the rest of the way and I began throwing up. So the 3 of them now covered me up. At this point we were kind of laughing (well after I finished violently throwing up my stomach bile) because we couldn't believe what a mess we were. We debated trying to catch another flight but decided we wanted to be home. So we pressed on and made it home. What a memory it was!
Monday was pretty bad, I didn't throw up but I was incredibly nauseous all.day.long. And today is the same, I feel so sick. I'm wondering if it's morning sickness though since Jenny and Kyle are doing better. I haven't really eaten the last 3 days because food sounds disgusting. But I'm trying to stuff down crackers and wheat chex and luckily I can still stomach my prenatal vitamin. The family at the reunion was so excited that we were pregnant and gave us lots of congratulations. I told them how good I was feeling and I'm thinking that's why I'm nauseous now ;)

Baby:
Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

Little One:

Belly Picture:

Week 8

Symptoms:
Earlier in the week I was feeling pretty rough, very nauseous. On Tuesday the 15th (our 2 year anniversary) I started dry heaving very painfully. Up until this point I have not dry heaved, I don't care what I said, I was merely just gagging. But last Tuesday, I was actually dry heaving, my nose was running into the toilet and I couldn't stop, it was so painful. I finally got a little to come up and felt better which was a relief. The funny thing is that while I was bent over the toilet the only thing I could think was, "This is so worth it, as long as our baby is ok I will do this as much as I need to." Call me crazy but that is what I was thinking.
The weekend went great though. We went camping at Detroit Lake with my Mom & Randy, and the Jensens, we had a great time. I didn't feel sick at all, just really tired. Of course I started to worry that something is wrong because I'm feeling fine, but I think I just need to thank my lucky stars :)
Jenny made the cutest tank top for me for the reunion. Our reunion this year is Pirates of the Caribbean so she thought we could announce our pregnancy by doing a shirt. I got a white tank and she ironed on a little thing that says: "Lil matey coming soon..." It is absolutely adorable and I'm so excited! Thanks sis, you are the best. I'll post a picture of it later.
Our appointment is 1 week and 1 day away, I am so flippin' anxious to see the little one.

Baby:
New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone.

Little one at 8 weeks:

Belly picture (coming soon...)

Week 7

Symptoms:
Nauseous off and on throughout the day, the evening being the worst time. I avoid dry heaving as much as possible because let's face it, that's not exactly fun. Sometimes it sneaks up on me though while I'm at work, thankfully no one has seen this yet. Sore boobs still, cramps every once and awhile, not nearly as often as weeks 4 and 5 though. Food doesn't generally sound good, but I force myself to nibble on crackers or something as that helps the nausea lessen. Water seems to be helping as well, I've increased my water intake this week and hopefully will continue that. Bloating, I feel very bloated especially after I eat.

When we told my Dad we were pregnant, we had Brian take a picture of us and my sisters and Brian said, "On the count of 3 say Lou Lou's pregnant!" It was awesome. Here is that picture:
The girls didn't really get it so we told them after :) I love that we were able to capture it!

I also wanted to post the pictures from Shasta. These were taken the morning we found out, my Mom pulled out the champagne to celebrate with mimosas :) I just had orange juice of course.


Baby:
The big news this week: Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.

2 1/2 weeks until our 1st appointment, yay!!!

Week 6

Symptoms:
Boobs are still sore and still have the occasional cramping, bloating. Spotting, ick. I spotted brown on Friday the 4th which really scared me. Everything I've read says it's pretty common, my sister had it, my mom had it, one of my friends had it, but seeing it is a different story. I called my mom and Jaime right away. Jaime was able to calm me down so much (I knew she would) and I was able to just relax and not stress. Fortunately the spotting was NOT accompanied by extreme cramps or anything and by Saturday it was almost completely gone. I still had sore boobs and felt a little nauseous so I thought that was a good sign as well.
Sunday I was very nauseous and dry heaved in the toilet for awhile after my shower. Nothing sounded good to eat but I needed to make the nausea go away. I ate cheddar and sour cream Ruffles and pickles and drank a coke, healthy. But I am definitely not complaining, I welcomed the nausea and took it as a sign that our little one was healthy and doing well.
Today I am better than yesterday, but still not excited about food. We'll see what the rest of the week brings. 3 weeks and one day until our first appointment, I seriously cannot wait!

Baby:
This week's major developments: The nose, mouth, and ears that you'll spend so much time kissing in eight months are beginning to take shape. His heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through his body. His intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to his lungs has appeared. His pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of his brain, muscles, and bones. Right now, your baby is a quarter of an inch long, about the size of a sweet pea.

Little one:

Belly bloat picture: