ER

Spending Friday night in the ER is not how I pictured my week ending. So I've been sick all week, a cold. I've also had a migraine and vomitting. Through all of this, I continued to work since we're short staffed and I couldn't find coverage. That was my biggest mistake. Yesterday I was feeling pretty bad to start the day but went to work anyway. It was going ok, and then around 3 I started not to feel good at all. I took my break and though sitting for a bit would help and it would pass. That didn't happen. So I attempted to go back to work. I felt like I was going to fall over because I was so light headed that I went to the backroom to sit. I hadn't eaten in awhile so I thought I would try to eat something. Before I even attempted that, the vomitting started again. I spent the next couple of hours in and out of the bathroom, throwing up everything including water. I decided that something was majorly wrong and I was getting really worried about the baby. So Gary and I got ahold of my doctors office and they told me to get into the ER.

For the first time in my life, I entered the ER to be a patient. In 26 years, I've never had to go for myself and was hoping I could make it even longer. Thankfully it wasn't too long of a wait to be seen. If I had been 20 weeks along I could have gone and gotten a room and been in and out a lot faster. Instead, being 16 weeks I got to stay in the ER and wait. When I got into a room I got hooked up to an IV and bloodwork done. I had some pain and tenderness so the doctor ordered and ultrasound to check my gall bladder, apparently infections here are common during your first pregnancy. So after being swaddled in blankets and getting fluids and zofran pumped into me, we finally got to leave at 11pm. Results: really dehydrated, blood pressure high, and a low white blood cell count. Low count they are atributing to having a cold, and also why I'm not recovering from said cold as fast as I should. Now I have to discuss my blood pressure with my doctor on Thursday, which hopefully by then it will be lower. Doctor also doesn't want me working for 24 - 48 hours, so my 3 day weekend just turned into a 4 day weekend, and I'm beyond grateful for that. I plan on spending today on the couch, drinking water and relaxing.

When I got my ultrasound on my gall bladder, the tech snuck in some images of Baby J. By far this was the most incredible experience. Baby J was moving around, had a strong heartbeat, and just looked perfect. The tech said everything looked great and healty. Straight spine, the brain was in great developement, and we saw the little eyes. This changed everything for me. It made being so sick so worth it. Just catching a glimpse of my little one and knowing that she/he is healthy makes all my suffering worth it all.

Boy or Girl?

I feel like we're going to have a boy. I want a girl so much that I feel like, with our luck, it's going to be a boy. I guess it won't be that bad if we do, but as my ring tone says, "I hate boys." I feel like this is childish of me, but my heart is set on a girl. I will be slightly crushed if we find out it's a boy. Now we just have to continue to wait for a phone call to setup an appointment for the ultrasound. I'm getting frustrated with waiting, I just want a date now so that I can worry about that instead. Next appointment in 1 week. Excited to hear the heartbeat again, and hoping my parents can make it down to hear it too and then do dinner together. I miss my family. I haven't been home in 2 and a half months. So sad when they only live 2 hours away.

Frustrations

So I'm getting to the point of complete frustration. I'm a planner. And I'm impatient. Neither is good for pregnancy. The doctor's office won't even schedule my ultrasound. I have to wait for them to call me. Is it really that hard to set an appointment? I'm not even asking for one soon, just at my 18 week mark when the doctor said to get in. So not only do I not have an appointment, no matter when that appointment is set I still have to wait at least another month to find out the sex. It's so hard to plan ahead when you don't know what you're planning for. Yes, there are plenty of things that are unisex. We've done the registry for that. And yes either way we want the bigger things to be unisex so we'll be ready for the next child. But at the same time, there are things that want just for a girl or a boy. I'm waiting to start planning out the nursery, buying the right fabrics to make cordinating things. Just buying clothes is really hard when you don't know what to buy for. Yeah, there are neutral things out there, but not that many.

More frustartion is just being sick. I'm at 14 weeks, 5 days and am still struggling with the morning sickness. Still on medication just to make it through the day. And some days, I don't make it. I'm tired of vomitting and just feeling aweful 90% of the time. Sometimes I just break down and cry because it's so overwhelming always being sick. And not just being sick, but the fear of being sick. Just knowing if I don't wake up and take medication, I won't make it an hour. Knowing that if I don't eat something small every 2 hours, I'll be sick. And now on top of it all, I'm getting my headaches back and the migraines. Which again, led to more sickness. If I go through all of this and not have a girl, I'm really going to be pissed.

More frustation is not having the space to have a real nursery. The uncertainity of not knowing if we're going to be able to move before the baby comes is incredibly stressful. I want to set the room up as soon as I can and get it ready, but there's no space. I have to pack up the guest room and figure out where to store it all. I can put the dresser in the basement, but I really don't want to keep a bed down there in case of mold growing. And then if we do get the 3 bedroom apartment and I've moved the bed somewhere else, then I'll just have to move it again and that's not very convient either. And I need a place for parents when they come and stay with us, which I know my parents will be at least once before the baby is even here.

So I'm going to end on an upbeat note. I am very happy about having the baby, it is just stressful sometimes. We have started a nice collection of things, thanks in a large part to family and friends. We did buy a few things, it's hard to resist not to. And as soon as I can make it up to my parents area, there will be more. That is the best part about having kids after everyone else. They want to get rid of all the stuff that they don't use and is just taking up space so they give it to us. I love it. :)

Fail

Experiment failed yesterday. No Zofran=vomitting.

Working on the registry again today, and hopefully going to setup my ultrasound appointment.

2nd trimester has begun!

So I am now 14 weeks, 1 day and excited! I'm hoping that the bad of the 1st trimester is mostly behind me and I can have an easier time. So far, not happening. But hopefully in the upcoming weeks it'll be better. New symptoms have come up though. So apparently being pregnant can make your allergies worse or better. With my luck, mine are worse. :( I wake up everyday not able to breathe. So other symptoms that are happening, breathlessness. So I was getting worried. Just walking up the stairs I had that out of breath feeling and I knew I wasn't that out of shape! So I was reading my "what to expect" book and it was in there. It was a relief to know that it's "normal" due to the hormones. I've also been getting headaches, at least 1 a day. Oh and lots of lower back pain. I'm experiementing today. Since we have no plans for the weekend I decided I would attempt to not take my medication for the morning sickness. I've been down to just one every morning but I'm going to try not to take it at all. So far, so good.

So I have a lot coming up this year; 2 baby showers, 1 bridal shower, 1 rehearsal dinner, and 3 weddings. I started looking for dresses for each event and sadly am struggling to find anything in stores for maternity. So now I have to buy online, which I HATE. I may see something that I like on a model but then when I get it, it looks horrible and then it's such a long process to return. sigh, at least no events until July so I can start the process now and hopefully be ready by then.

Registry... A work in progress

So we decided to work on the registry today. We went into babies r us and went through the setup process. I was overwhelmed before I got there, and still felt that way by the end. Thankfully when you sign up for a registry they give you a list of essentials that you should be putting on there. That helps a little. We already had a stroller picked out, so that was one thing down. Our goal for today was to pick out a crib that we both liked and that had a good finish on it that wasn't going to chip off. We spent most of our time comparing different ones and finally agreed on one. It didn't come in a cherry finish like we wanted but a close second in espresso. So at least that's done. I wish we had the money right now to buy it b/c all furniture is on sale for 20% off. But good news is we got the rewards card so anything we do buy there we will be earning poins and that will give us savings. Other then the crib we got a play yard on there that we LOVE. Monkeys! And plays music, and you can plug a MP3 player into it so you can play anything.

So we didn't end up getting too far on the registry b/c I just had to get sick and have to leave. But the big things are on there at least and I feel good about that. It was also hard to decide on things when we don't know if we're having a boy or girl. I'm definately taking the day off of work when we have the ultrasound done and then we can go and add a lot more.

We have recieved a few gifts so far and it's great. We have some diapers, a box of neutral clothes, Gary's baby blanket, a homemade blanket from my Gram, and a beautiful white blanket. I'm starting to feel like we're getting somewhere. We also have decided to stay in our apartment for now. If the price of the larger ones goes down, we'll then pay the fee to move. But as of right now the larger apartments are $200 more a month then what we're paying now.

Heartbeat

I'm now 12 weeks, 4 days. The last week was fantastic! A vacation with the hubby was exactly what I needed, and it was an amazing trip to Disney World. Finally was able to relax and have fun like I needed. I felt really good all week. Driving was a bit difficult for such long periods of time. Day 1 to FL was the longest day, 14.5 hours in the car. Discomfort in every possible way. We stopped at a hotel in NC around 8:30 and went to bed at 9pm. Was so exhausted. Day 2 wasn't as bad, or as long. Ended up making the remaining trip in 10 hours and was in beautiful Florida for the next week.

The first day we were there we went to the Magic Kingdom. While we were surrounded by kids all day, smiling and having the time of their lives I couldn't stop thinking about how wonderful it's going to be when I get to bring my kids. During the "Wishes" show (nightly fireworks) about wishes coming true, I teared up while Gary and I just held my belly knowing our baby was our wish coming true.

Had 1 day in Florida where I was so hot and uncomfortable I didn't want to move. Even in the AC I was struggling to be ok. Gary wasn't even really hot at all but I felt like I couldn't breath. I told my mom about this and she reminded me about August, when I'll be 6 months along and it's the most humid time of year. Fantastic.

The last day we were done there we decided to explore Orlando. And we both fell in love, again. We found some great areas to live in. Palm trees and warm weather year round sounds so good. It's so depressing in the Northeast. In the Southeast there are trees and flowers everywhere. It's warm. And just beautiful. I don't know when we'll be living down there but someday we will.

The drive home wasn't as bad as the drive down. We made much better time and less traffic, well expect for on day 2 when our stupid gps took us right through DC at 9am.

First day back this morning and we had a doctor's appointment. Everything is going really well. I love my doctors and everyone that their office is really nice. Went over a bunch of information and at the end, we heard the baby's heartbeat. It was the most incredible sound I've ever heard. It took awhile to get the heartbeat, as the doctor said one of us must be stubborn because the baby was being really stubborn. But she found it and we got to listen for awhile. I teared up over the sheer happiness I felt. It was incredible. I go back next month for a checkup and get to hear the heartbeat every time I go in now. :) We get our ultrasound in 6 to 8 weeks, which we'll find out the sex then. I can't wait! We're going to hopefully move into a bigger apartment this summer so that we can have a nursery. I can't wait to get it setup. Everything is going so well, no problems at all. :)