almost to 15!

I've been officially in the 2nd trimester for almost 1 week! Nausea has gotten a TON better, even when I'm at work! Mike and I just got back from an appointment and everything still looks great! Heartbeat is in the upper 150s to lower 160s. Nothing too eventful at this appointment, we just listened with the doppler (which is something Mike and I do at home all the time anyway) and were asked if we had any questions. Oh well, it was still fun to hear our baby and I got to steal Mike from work for a couple hours :) We also had a sonogram last week (pictures to come), and baby is VERY active! It's still too early for me to feel the baby move, but baby was doing somersaults all over the place, and stretching it's arms and legs out and back in, and out and back in. It was so funny! It's so cool to see all those things, because it really looks like a baby now! I mean last time you could tell it was a baby, but it was still kind of a blob with 4 limbs. This time we could see the face, eyes, nose, spine, knees, feet... I had a feeling the ultrasound lady had a pretty good idea of the gender, but she said she doesn't like to tell this early in case she's wrong. booo! Luckily, I work on an OB floor with nurses who know how to do ultrasounds! I had them scan me on Monday night to see if they could tell, and baby was being so uncooperative! Every time there was a good view, the baby would flip around. In the end, they got a couple good looks- but there was disagreement on what they thought the sex was. The vote was girl: 2, boy: 1. So we'll see! We scheduled our next sono where we will find out for SURE (hopefully) whether it's blue or pink! July 23rd!

Here's what the baby looks like at 15 weeks!!

How your baby's growing:

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")

BLAH!

I've been lucky so far to only have a few bouts of vomiting, but after my 12 day vacation from work, the first night back was painful. I think I ran to the bathroom more times that night than I had through the whole pregnancy. I think the disruption in my schedule after the long break had a lot to do with it too- my body still hasn't adjusted to working night shift quite yet, and with pregnancy added to the mix, it was just a bad combination. It happened at the worst times too! The first time I was pushing a baby in her crib down the hallway and I got "the feeling," I ran with the crib to the nurse's station- thankfully there was someone there that could watch her- ran to the bathroom and barely made it. The next time it happened in a patient's room. Come on! Hopefully this will start to subside now that I'm nearing the 2nd trimester. I start 3 nights in a row tomorrow night- yikes!

12 weeks!

SO close to the 2nd trimester I can taste it! My belly has officially "popped out." I was debating on whether to do an 11 week belly shot last week, but I thought I still wasn't showing, or that it looked like I just ate too much. Now I'm just thankful we are telling the parents next weekend- because I can't hide this much longer!

note: this is at about midnight, after a very HOT weezer concert :)

3 years!

Mike and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary last week! It's crazy to think it's been 3 years since our wedding day. And it's even more crazy to think that when we celebrate our 4 year anniversary, we're going to be parents! I feel like we are both ready for that next step. I know nothing can prepare you for parenthood, but I feel like we have come such a long way and that we have really built a strong marriage.
Here's a look back at that wonderful day..

Of course, Mike and I had to laugh when our anniversary plans also got rained out! Mike had a wonderful date planned for us- carriage ride at the plaza, and dinner at the Melting Pot- a restaurant I always wanted to try. Although it only rained briefly, it was enough for the carriage company to cancel our ride :( bummer.. but dinner was absolutely amazing.. and we'll do the carriage ride another time!
The pregnancy is still going great so far! My nausea comes and goes- and I have only actually thrown up 3 times (once at work- that was fun). Usually it's just an all over "blah" feeling- nausea, headaches, zero energy. One thing that's fun is that we bought an at-home fetal doppler so we can check on the baby's heartbeat whenever we want! It came when I was 8 weeks along, and I only detected the baby's heartbeat once for about 6 seconds. The doppler kept averaging my heart rate with the baby's, and giving me weird readings. Oce I hit the 10 week mark, we have been able to find it every time! What a great sound :) Baby's heart is still beating in the 160s-170s!
Also- my belly is definitely starting to peek out! This is a challenge since we still have not told our families about the pregnancy (we're waiting until the 2nd trimester). Mike and I were in the parking lot at Price Chopper the other day and a lady was driving by, stopped, rolled down her window, and asked "excuse me, ma'am? are you pregnant?" For a moment, I think I stared at her in disbelief. Nobody has asked me that, not to mention a stranger stopping mid-drive to ask me that. I kinda mumbled "yeah?" and she told me that her daughter is overseas and pregnant so she likes to ask people how far along they are so she can picture what her daughter looks like. I still am not sure if I'm offended. I go back and forth- on one hand.. I am pregnant, but on the other hand- who asks that! There is no way it's already that obvious! Anyway, I'm proud of my belly, and made my first official maternity clothing purchase today. It's time.. I feel like such a chunky monkey in my normal clothes!