The Second Trimester... (14 wks, 3 days)

We had our third visit to the OB ... And I finally gained a pound! Yay! Now I'm only minus 11 from pre-pregnancy. I'm still getting sick in the mornings, but I have noticed a huge improvement throughout the rest of the day. I've also started to have some cravings... Red meat, candy (occasionally chocolate, but mostly just sweet sugary type candy), and butter. I don't know if that's even normal, but butter is so delicious. Oooh, and bacon, mmmm.

I also am the proud new owner of a small baby bump, although it seems huge to me. Mark told me to stop sticking my stomach out, but i wasn't even trying to! And that's how you know you are officially beginning to look whalish ;) I don't really think my face has changed all that much from pre-pregnancy, although my nose was looking quite swollen there for a while. And while maternity clothes are not yet a must, they are certainly much more comfortable for me, especially at work and during meals.

Our next appointment will be after we've had the anatomy sonogram, so it will be right after Christmas and before New Years. Hopefully our moms will be able to come with us during the holiday break to meet Baby H!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I know I certainly have a lot to be thankful for this year. :-D especially my awesome husband who puts up with all my crap!

Telling the world...(12wks)

Yesterday we went to our niece, Abbie's, baptism. At the after party, Mark and I agreed to let everyone in on our little secret. We both knew it wouldn't be long before people started noticing my growing midsection, and Thanksgiving seemed like too long to wait to tell my extended family. It's weird to not have to pretend to not be pregnant, but I like it!
We went and looked at car seats and stroller systems this weekend. We like the chicco key fit, but if you have any advice or suggestions, we'd love to hear it. Mark has done most of the research on this stuff, but it seems like it has all of the features I'd want... Except I'm not totally sure what will/wont work until I have to use it everyday.
It seemed like it would last forever, but I am almost out of the first trimester... The morning sickness is getting better, and I'm finally starting to not lose weight. Hard to believe we are 30% of the way there already! And since we've gotten this question a lot, No, we are not finding out the gender before the baby's birth. Maybe it's old fashioned, but you get so few good surprises in life, I'd like to let this one last. ;)

Finally starting to show! (11 wks, 2days)

Mark and I went to our second appointment last week. Everything was good! I've definitely lost weight, but they weren't concerned about it, so neither am I! They also said the blood work all came back great - no HIV, no CF gene, immune to MMR, I'm O positive (so no worries about RH factor cross reaction at birth), etc, etc. We got to hear the heartbeat, again, which is still soo cool! They said my size is perfect for how far along I am, and I'm even starting to show. My belly is really starting to pop out, and there is definitely a little bump there.

The morning sickness is starting to get better. I have had a few days with no nausea, and a few days where I haven't thrown up at all. Seems so weird to celebrate something like that, but right now that's my biggest "little pleasure." yesterday, I had a huge craving for pot roast and mashed potatoes, so I made a huge dinner, even though Mark was at work and I was the only one to enjoy it. Afterwards, I had this major urge to clean the whole house. I started throwing things away, doing dishes, cleaning bathrooms, doing laundry...until I started to cramp up and I had to lay down. Baby Susque didn't want me to over do it, apparently.

Speaking of Baby H, Mark and I think its a girl. Everyone else says boy, but I'm pretty sure it's a girl. I haven't had any pregnancy dreams or visions of pink, it's just a feeling I've had. Right now, she's already the size of a large lime! Fully formed, just now going through the development stage as everything gets bigger and better defined. Crazy, huh?

Pictures from our Halloween/6th Anniversary Celebration: