Flutter..? Popcorn..? Gas..? No!

So today I was sitting on the couch minding my own business when I feel something fluttery in my belly. I waited a second and it happened again. My little Avalyn moved! So awesome! No, it didn’t feel like gas at all. It felt more like being on a roller coaster when your stomach sort of drops. I texted my dad right away to tell him because I had to share with someone! So cool!!! It gets more and more real every day.

It's a....

Baby! ;) Gotcha!

Normal. That was a word I saw a lot of on Thursday. Amniotic Fluid - Normal, Cervix - Normal, Weight - Normal. I don't think I've ever loved that word more. Although I may have used the word extraordinary.

The drive to the doctors office was horrible. The pain in my back was pretty intense and it was hard for me to focus on why I was getting into the car. A day that was supposed to be so fun, that I've been looking forward to since I found out I was pregnant was now being overshadowed by agony. Thankfully Matt knew how I was feeling and distracted me as best he could.

We didn't have to wait long at the doctor’s office, maybe five minutes. That was pretty great. First thing we did was see the Ultra Sound technician. She had me hop up on the table (as well as any pregnant woman can hop) and lie down. Talk about uncomfortable! All I could focus on was my back. That ruined the entire visit, I’m not going to lie. The lady was checking things off her list as normal (yey!) and where certain things were, while I was watching my baby on the flat screen. I saw hands and feet and a nose and a little beating heart. Very cool, but I was really tired of lying down.

Finally she asked if we wanted to know the sex of the baby. Anyone who knows me will know I can’t wait for anything; I’m the person that reads spoilers for everything and the last page of a book before I read the first chapter. So, yes, we wanted to know the sex of the baby! So she did her little waving of the magic wand and pointed out parts to us as she saw them - we got to see all ten toes, that was wild! I was fully expecting to see boy parts pop out at me (because everyone says Clisso’s have boys) so I was thinking of the name we picked and I suddenly hate it. Jaxon? What were we thinking?! As I’m panicking silently Matt is smiling with anticipation.

“It looks like you’re having a girl!” The tech said with a smile.

I was totally dumbfounded. “What?”

“It’s a girl, it’s Avalyn!” Matt said to me, “Why aren’t you more excited?”

I was excited, but I was in pain and now shock. I got my little girl that I’ve always wanted. She’s here, in my belly, and NORMAL. Everything was exactly as it should be but my stupid back ruined everything. Grr!

The rest of the visit was a blur. We got a similac diaper bag (which came with formula that I do not plan on using) and pictures of our daughter and a book and magazine. At least I have reading material while I’m stuck in that stupid recliner. We texted/called everyone who wanted to know and only got one negative reaction but I don’t care. I have a daughter and I love her. My little Avalyn Kay. As soon as my back is better a happy dance will be in order. :)

Today is not my day...

So, yesterday and the day before I felt pretty fantastic, today not so much. I'm not saying the days were easy but there were many wonderful things that happened to make the bad disappear. Today I'm not feeling too much wonderfulness. I feel something but I’m not sure what it is.

I woke up with horrible pain on the right side of my body. I thought I had back pain a few weeks ago, but this really takes the cake. Matt got home just as I was waking up, and bless his heart, tried to make me feel better by rubbing my back. It helped until I had to go to work. So here I sit on a drafting chair during my lunch break wondering why the pain has shifted to my pelvis.

I hope to feel better when I get home, where I can take time to listen to my body and make sure everything is okay. Until then, I'm here, looking at this too saturated picture wondering why this printer chooses now to act like the piece of junk I know it is.

Can I please go home now?

Christmas Eve

Today is Christmas Eve, which doesn't really mean a whole lot other than Christmas is tomorrow. Matt and I went to the doctor today with Keith in tow to have a check up.

We all got to listen to Helmets heart flutter away. It was amazing! Helmets heart rate is still very strong and fast, beating in the 160's again. When we first saw it at six weeks the heart was beating in the 160's.

There's only four more weeks before the next ultrasound. Four long weeks. I will be twenty weeks pregnant at that point and the doctor can give Helmet a proper check up to make sure s/he is growing properly and that s/he is healthy. With as strong as Helmets heart is and as sick as s/he made me in the beginning, I'm sure s/he is fine. I am so excited to see Helmet again to see how big s/he will be.

The best part about that appointment will be getting to find out if Helmet is a boy or a girl (I'm guessing she's a girl)! At that time I might stop calling the baby Helmet but I can't guarantee that other people will stop!

Well, it is getting late and I need get to sleep before Santa gets here!

Fourteen Weeks and officially in the second trimester

Well, today was a great day! Matt baked bread while I made puppy chow... although little Helmet didn't like it. However, the house smells great and the tree is up and it's finally feeling like the Christmas season is here. I can't wait for next Christmas when Helmet is here, too. The only hard part is Matt's new work schedule. I really miss him when he's gone. I didn't think it would be so difficult, but it is.

According to the literature everything is going well with the pregnancy. My belly is so hard now I can't sleep on my stomach anymore, my favorite way to sleep! I've gained seven pounds, so the baby must be growing like a weed in there. And boy does it hurt when I move too quickly! I don't mind at all, it's well worth it.

My next appointment with the doctor is Christmas Eve day at 8:15 AM. I'm excited to hear the heartbeat again! After that we get to find out if there is a boy or a girl in there! The suspense is killing me!

Here's a picture from our ten week appointment. It was so funny the doctor had to poke to get the baby to move and startled the poor dear so much his/her heart rate jumped up to 181. So much stress on my little Helmet. :)

Scary Day!

Yesterday was a scary day. I no longer like Fridays! Ugh! Matt and I were out and about doing errands and as usual I had to use the restroom (ah pregnancy). So, I did when we got to Sam's Club. I had been having spotting now for about a week, but it was either brown or pink (normal I guess) and there wasn't much there. Well, this time it was not spotting and it was bright red. On top of this, I had been having bad cramping all day. I thought for sure I was having a miscarriage.

So, Matt took me to the ER (with Keith in tow) where we had to wait for four hours before anyone could see us. It was a busy night! Thankfully, there was a little boy there who Keith could hang out with. The nurses even gave them each a Hot Wheels car to play with (and keep). When we did get in the doc checked me out and said I looked okay but they would do an ultrasound just in case.

Since it was so late at night there were no doctors working in US but there were technicians. The first thing the tech told us was that she couldn't tell us anything because she wasn't authorized and the hospital could get sued. Understandable but disappointing. But Matt has been through this before and as soon as the little bean was on the screen he pointed out the heart beating. He said to the tech, "I know you can't tell us but that's the heart right?" She smiled and said, "I can't tell you what that number is either."

167 bpm. That's a good and healthy heart rate! She even printed a picture for us.

Needless to say, everything is fine and I was worried for nothing. What a great start! :p

I'm pregnant!

And it only took four pregnancy tests to be sure. :-D