11 Weeks!

Well, yesterday I surpassed the 11 week mark! It was an eventful day with the kiddos, with church, a rollerskating party, and a little shopping before the day was over. I am so ready to tell the kids they are going to have another brother or sister! It is so hard not to share with them... Just one more week! We are planning to tell them next Tuesday night, when we get them overnight for the first time with Daddy home. We can't wait. :)

Here's my 11 week belly shot. Feeling different in my mid-section, although a lot of my clothes still fit. I just bought a few more long shirts and the belly belt, which extends your pre-preggo pants out so you can still wear them. Buy me some time before the big panel pants are a must!





Today I had my second official doctor's appointment. Mom went with me, since Bryan isn't back yet. She and I arrived a few minutes early for my 3:30 appointment, and then proceeded to wait in the reception area for about 50 minutes with several others to see the doc! I suppose that's to be expected with an OB... We got back to the room about 4:25 or so, and they took my blood pressure and weighed me. I am proud to say that by the doctor's office scale, I've only gained ONE pound! Now, to me that's not as accurate since it was a different scale, different clothes, etc... My home scale, which I weigh on every couple of days at the same time, shows a weight gain of 2-2.5 pounds. Which is good! We talked to the nurse and I asked her what the appointment would entail. I was slightly disappointed when she said we'd just talk! I asked her if they would do a doppler, and she said they don't usually do it until 12 weeks. I told her that I'd heard the heartbeat several times at home (again last night) and I hoped they would be able to take a listen! I told her that I knew when we conceived and so I knew I was a few days further along than their estimation. So, when Dr. Ting came in with the doppler in hand, I was glad I spoke up! He asked how I was feeling, and I told him I had been good. I had written down a few questions for him-- like my blood type! He said, no worries, we are both Rh positive and my blood type is A positive. What's interesting is that Bryan is O pos and so is my Dad, and I am A pos and so is my mom! Anyway, he said that because of my age, good health and good health history within the family, and being low risk, they wouldn't do anything invasive as far as testing. He said that the 2 previous laser procedures I had would not cause any problems with my cervix, or cervix competency later in the pregnancy. Whew! He put the doppler on my tummy and within a second, there was the heartbeat, just going strong! He said, "That's baby, right there!" So, it wasn't like he even had to search for it like I do with my doppler. I imagine their equipment is a little more high tech than mine... :)

The doc assured me that everything was good. I asked him when we would have our next ultrasound and much to my chagrin, he said 20 WEEKS!!!! UGH!!! I said, what?!? You're going to make me wait that long? He said, the gender isn't going to change between now and then! I said, no, but my mom and mother in law want to start shopping, and so do I!!! I told him, well, I have a friend who is an u/s tech at St. John's, so we might just find out before you get to look! He laughed... I told Mom later that we have planned to have a 3-D ultrasound and hope to take the kids with us. I think they begin doing those after 17 weeks, so we should be able to find out by mid-April. I'm also hoping Catherine (my girlfriend Mary's sister) can tell sooner! She has already told us that we can come back when Bryan gets home, so we'll hopefully be able to sneak another visit in to take a peek! Let's hope that this baby doesn't have its legs crossed!! :)

After the appointment, Mom and I stopped for some Mexican food (chips and salsa always sound good! Then we splurged and went to Zen 3 spa for some treatments. I had a one hour facial, which includes a mini-massage. Mom had a 45 minute massage. It was heavenly!! What a perfect way to end the day. Ahhhhh.......

There isn't a lot else to report... My next appointment is April 2. Bryan will be home for this one, even though it may not be a very eventful appointment. We are SO ready for him to be home and he's anxious to be part of the ongoing changes. He did get to hear the baby's heartbeat last week via skype. I carefully positioned the earphone and microphone on my upper stomach and then found the baby's heartbeat. He turned his speakers up loud and he could hear it! He made a good analogy-- said it sounded like a washing machine! And it did! It was great for him to actually hear it and see me on the webcam-- that little swooshing is coming from my belly! Awesome.

Well, besides getting several sweet cards from our parents and a few close friends, as well as some maternity clothes I ordered, it has felt like another normal week... Not too nauseous, still somewhat fatigued, but overall-- pretty good! So, now just counting down til Daddy is HOME!! 6 days!! Woohooo!