9 Weeks

I am really excited to present to the blog world my first Bambino update :)

*note to you all it might not look like it that much but I am already starting to get a little baby pooch. These were taken right after I got up close and personal with the toilet but I knew if I waited to take them later I would forget :)

How far along? 9 Weeks :)

Baby's size? Little Bambino is now the size of a green olive

Weight Gain? I have no idea. I haven’t weighed myself  in a while (on purpose). I had to gain some weight to get pregnant and I knew looking at the number would freak me out so I didn’t weigh myself. At the first OB appointment I didn’t look but I think I might suck it up and weigh myself just to keep track. I’m a little nervous about gaining too much weight. We shall see if I get up enough nerve :)

Maternity clothes? I actually did buy a pair of maternity jeans that allow me to wear flats (all my non-maternity jeans are really long). I love them!  I have decided that since I like my jeans on the loose side I would rather not feel them get tighter on me..I guess I like being oblivious.

Stretch marks? None yet but I really do need to start putting on lotion or they are going to sneak up on me.

Belly button in or out? In

Sleep? Very nice. I am getting really nauseous at night but as soon as I hit the pillow I'm out. I usually have to get up to go pee about 2-3 times so not bad. Sometimes if I get up then the nausea hits and it takes me a while to get back to sleep.

Foods I am loving? Fruit..I am totally craving fruit! Also, for a person that doesn’t like meat that much I sure have been craving it a lot. Which is good because I know the little bambino needs protein. I have also been loving yogurt. I have to carry around my trusty saltine crackers although more out of necessity than taste. Oh and pizza :)

Foods I am hating? Sweets. I had a huge sweet tooth before getting pregnant and now even the thought of sugar makes my stomach lurch. I guess that’s good because then I don’t eat it.

Best moment this week? Well this was actually a few weeks ago but getting to see the little bambino and hear the heartbeat!

Movement? None yet.

Symptoms? Oh the nausea :( I am lucky that I am not sick all day but at least the last week I throw up once in the morning and just feel sick the rest of the day. I am also very tired.

Gender? Can’t wait to find out!!

What I miss? Waking up in the morning and not throwing up. I used to be such a morning person but now I dread it. I wouldn’t give it up for anything! Overall I am so grateful to be pregnant!

What I'm looking forward to? Making it to the 2nd trimester and our next OB appointment on April 14th.

Milestone: Hearing the heartbeat :)

Emotions: Well I have to say that my emotions tend to be all over the place but pure joy and excitement are the main ones. I am trying not to worry too much and I have decided that although it is good to be aware of what can go wrong, I can’t read a lot about it because then I get all freaked out.

A Huge Thank You

I was truly overwhelmed by the comments from all you lovely bloggers after our announcement of the little bambino! It still amazes me the bonds you can form with people through the blog world having never actually met them in person. Each and every one of you is so special to me :)

Before I forget, since I didn’t put it on the last post, I am almost 9 weeks (it will be 9 on Thursday) and my due date is November 3rd. I still have a hard time believing this is all happening..although the throwing up and nausea help me come back to reality! But I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

I had planned to follow up the last post with the stories of how we told each family (and that is still to come) but honestly I haven’t felt up to writing that much. Although I am not violently sick, my energy level is low and when I am feeling a little better I have been trying to get things done around the house. I still plan to post the stories and give my first update on Thursday (wow I better get on the ball)!

Anyways, I just wanted to thank everyone for the love, prayers and support you have shown me! I can’t even being to explain how much it means to me.

And one final thing, I know many of you who read my blog are still waiting on God for His timing to bless you with a little one. I am praying for you each and every day. I feel incredibly blessed that God has given us this little one but I haven’t forgotten the years of waiting and how hard it is. You ladies inspire me and I think the world of you. I also don’t blame you if it is too hard to read about my pregnancy (believe me there were times when I just wanted to throw the computer in the trash). I am here for anyone if you need to vent or have any questions. Just e-mail me at bakogrl at gmail dot com. Although it is hard to believe (and I was truly a doubting Thomas) God does have his perfect timing and I am praying that it will be soon for you!

HUGE NEWS.. a Post I have been dreaming of for 2 years!!

The first thing I have to say is that even though I sometimes doubted..God can work miracles and He does it in His perfect timing!!

The second thing I have to say is that We Are Pregnant!!!

Those of you who have been following my blog for a while know what a long and emotional journey this has been for us but once we saw that BFP it made it all worth it. I can’t even begin to thank you all for your prayers and support these last few years. One of the most amazing things about the story I am about to share is that it happened during a time where it could only be God.

Now here is the story of how we found out :)

One of the last posts I wrote I was really discouraged and talked about how I felt that the surgery didn’t work. I was really thinking that once we got back from DC I would begin making the appointments with the specialist. At the same time though I had been praying non-stop that we would get pregnant without having to do the shots again and before we left for DC (so that we could tell the hubs family in person).

My first cycle after the surgery was very confusing. The doctor had told me not to do the temp charting and I didn’t really have any CM so I had no idea when I was ovulating. Per Dr. B’s instructions she had put me on Metformin and I was to start taking progesterone  on day 17 for 10 days. Since my cycles are rather long I was a little hesitant to start the progesterone that soon so I ended up calling the Dr just to make sure and then starting the progesterone on day 21. At the end of the 10 days I took two pregnancy tests and both were negative. We took it all in stride and I formed a better game plan for the next month.

Usually after I go off the progesterone AF arrives about a day or two later. However, 10 days went by and the dreaded lady was not in sight. I lightly mentioned to the hubs that maybe I should take another pregnancy test “just to make sure” since we were leaving for our trip soon and I really didn’t want to start then (not like I had any control). We ended up going to target and getting the cheap off brand on Saturday Feb 26th. The next day, Sunday morning, I got up and decided to go ahead and take the test. Usually I am really nervous but this time I wasn’t because I thought there was no way I would be pregnant (I mean I had went off the progesterone). You can imagine my shock and disbelief when I saw that plus sign! I called the hubs in but since one of the lines was a little faint we weren’t sure.

We ended up picking up another pregnancy test on our way to breakfast. The one that says “pregnant” so there would be no mistake. I was a nervous wreck during the breakfast and right before we were getting ready to leave and head to church I went in the bathroom at Mimi’s and took the test. I had to look away since it felt like it took forever to process but once I looked down and saw the “pregnant” I freaked out right there in the public restroom. Luckily I was the only one in there :) I ran to the table where the Hubs was and showed him. He was thrilled. It was so hard to keep it in during church and I totally couldn’t concentrate.

I knew we still needed to take the blood test and I was a little worried about my progesterone since I went of the meds. Monday morning I was able to get a blood test and had to wait the torturous two hours to find out the results. However, when the nurse called I was ecstatic to hear that I was pregnant and my progesterone was great..no need to go back on the meds.

We ended up making the first OB appointment for after we got back from our trip since we were leaving that friday. The nurse said that she thought I was about 6 weeks when I found out but I knew that I wasn’t that far a long (since I had gotten the negatives tests earlier). I was so afraid that it was going to go away and I have to admit that I took another pregnancy test a few days later to make sure it was still positive. I was really tired but I didn’t start feeling sick until about 1/2 way through our trip. I had a couple of rough throw up days but nothing horrible.

We had our first OB appointment on March 15th and it was amazing! We got see the little bambino and hear the heart beat. I can’t even explain how special that was. I told the doc that I was afraid that there wasn’t a baby in there but he showed me the proof :)

He also took me off the Metformin which has really helped with the morning sickness. I found out that I was really 6 weeks 5 days (not 8 weeks like they thought). Dr. D said that everything looked great and he could tell by a dark spot on the ultrasound that I might have some bleeding. I was so grateful  that he told me because I would have totally freaked out. Luckily I haven’t had any yet though.

The Hubs and I are beyond thrilled!! God is so great and He works in amazing ways. I still get nervous that something might happen but I am learning to trust and lean on God more and more each day. Also I think I still have a hard time believing that this happened and without any shots! Stay tuned for how we broke the news and pictures :)

Off to Washington DC..

Even though I am not the most consistent with my blogging frequency I thought I would give you all fair warning that I will be absent for the next 10 days. Why’s that?? Well glad you asked …we are heading off to Washington DC today!!

Being married to a military man means living away from family and therefore means turning every vacation into a family visit as well. Which we totally love! This time we decided to celebrate our 4 year anniversary along with a mini family reunion. We totally can’t wait! Here is a breakdown of the trip:

Arrive and spend the first few days celebrating our anniversary at the Ritz Carlton..yippy!

Then spending some time with my wonderful in-laws.

Then we head down to NJ for a night so that I can renew my divers license (since I refuse to take the written test to get one in Utah) and more importantly get to see my best friend and her new little guy!

Then we head back to DC and spend more time with our family which includes the arrival of my SIL and BIL :)

It promises to be a great time of eating, relaxing, shopping, and family time!

I will be back though..so don’t fret :)

Well now I am off to enjoy my week of vacation!

There was a Horse in Our House this Weekend..

You read right…a horse :) Well actually a great dane but they are pretty much the same ..right? And guess what? We enjoyed every minute of it :)

I was a little curious at how the Charles was going to take it..you know not being the big dog of the house but he did really well! One of the Hubs best friends spend Friday night and Saturday morning with us and he came complete with Dawson (his 5 year old Great Dane). Since the Hubs doesn’t get to hang out with his friend a lot I offered to puppy sit while they went out to dinner on Friday night. Since Dawson out-weighed me by a lot I was hoping this wouldn’t become an issue (especially since the Charles already pulls me everywhere).

Once the boys got to our house the introductions were made, the dogs were behaving and the big boys headed out. The cool thing about great danes is that they don’t do a lot. Basically they just lay down for the most part. Dawson brought his bed along with him so he slept on that most of the time. I had to take them out to go potty once but it was actually really easy because Dawson was so well behaved that he didn’t need a leash so I just had to handle the Charles. It was kind of funny though because right when the hubs and his friend left for dinner I guess the dogs had to determine who was now the man of the house and so they had a little tiff..but nothing too much.

It was so great to get to spend time with friends and I just loved having another dog in the house!

By the way, I have to apologize for my absence. It seems like a lot has been going on (although I can’t recall what) and at night I just don’t have the mental energy to blog or even read blogs! We are heading out of town for 10 days on Friday so I am hoping that once we get back I will get back in the bloggy grove!

Another Month with no Bambino

It’s funny..as much as I knew it probably wouldn’t happen this month, as much as I kept telling myself (and the hubs) not to get our hopes up and as much as I tried not to plan for the “what-if’s” all in an effort for it to be less painful, less disappointing; it didn’t make any difference.

Today I took a pregnancy test and was greeted by the dreaded BFN. Shocker..I know.

The reason that I took the test is because today is my last day of progesterone for this month and I needed to be sure I wasn’t pregnant before I stopped taking it. I tried so hard this month not to get my hopes up, especially with all the confusion on when to take the progesterone. I don’t even think I ovulated..yet it still was really hard to see those words. I think I was really nervous all night because I didn’t sleep well and had a dream that we got a positive test. Unfortunately it was only and dream and it has yet to become a reality.

The last few days I had allowed myself to plan what we would do if it was positive and although it made it harder I don’t regret it because it helped keep my sanity. However, I kept warning the hubs that we shouldn’t be planning anything because when we do it always turns out negative.

I was very down this morning and really didn’t want to go to bible study. However, I went and God used that time to show me that it is not all about me and my wants or desires. Not that they are bad but he might have other plans. I feel a little better now and I am excited about what he has in store for us. I just wish I could shake the feeling that it is one more month lost or one more month closer to realizing it is never going to happen. Sorry but that is the honest truth. I think I am struggling with what to pray. I know that God tells us to ask for the desires of our hearts but I also know that He has a plan for my life and I have submitted to do His will. Right now I am praying for a little bambino (and soon)but I am also praying that if He has something else for us to change the desires of our hearts.

Anyways, I didn’t mean to be such a downer today I just wanted to keep you all in the loop as to what is going on here. I feel like I have a decent game plan for next month and then if we are still not pregnant I will start the process of seeing the RE again (well a new one) and probably starting a more aggressive treatment plan. I think right now though the Charles and I are going to cuddle on the couch and have some quality mommy/puppy bonding time while catching up on shows :)

Random Life Snapshots

So I have really slacked in writing anything lately. Bad me! I think that every time I sit down to write something there is so much going on in my head that I want to share that I just don’t know where to start. So instead of putting it off any longer I decided it would be better to give you all some snapshots (bullet points) of my life lately.

So here we go (in a very random order)..

- Even though we had a strict no valentines present rule the hubs surprised me and had flowers delivered to our house :)

- I had agreed to take a really short-term temp job (10 hours a week for 3 weeks) but when I went to my first day yesterday it was a disaster. I called the temp agency right after to let them know it wasn’t going to work out. They were really understanding and it brought to light some things that they needed to be aware of. So the flowers really helped brighten up my day (see above)!

- Our couch that we have had for just over two years broke last week :( I love this couch and it is still workable but on the amazing advise of my mommy, we talked to the customer service at Costco (were the said couch was bought) and they agreed to take it back..yay! So guess what that meant, well basically spending all day saturday shopping for a new couch and after a lot of looking found almost the exact same one in a lighter color at RC Willey for about $100 less that what we are getting back for the old couch. Score! We still need to actually take the old couch back but we need to figure it out so that we have very minimal time without a couch because that would severely hinder our TV watching..not good.

- We have had such amazing weather this week..like in the high 50’s and I am so glad because that means that there isn’t any snow on the ground. Now I had nothing against snow on the ground until the charming Charles decided that it is his job to eat up all the snow and will whine at the door until i take him out to “do his job”. We don’t have a yard so I actually have to take him out on a leash and it was getting way out of hand. Now if I could just get him to stop whining every time I am on the phone I would be very grateful (seriously, yesterday i had to lock myself in the bathroom while on a business call because he was whining so loud)!

- I am almost done with my first round of Progesterone and have bought a new thermometer and some other helpful things to hopefully make the next cycle a success. Lately though my lower back has been killing me and I can’t figure out why. Did anyone have this problem while taking Metformin and Progesterone? I have also be really nauseous and on Sunday while sitting on the couch I almost blacked out. My back is the most annoying thing though because it will wake me up at night sometimes and just makes the days extra tough. I have taken different stuff but nothing seems to really help. The hubs and I have massages this weekend and I am so looking forward to that!

- Speaking of medication, Ever since I increased my dose of Metformin my sugar and coffee intake has suffered. Not because of my I don’t like them but because I feel sick after consuming them. So sad but I am sure my waist line appreciates it.

- The hubs and I signed up for the SLC 1/2 marathon in April so that means I am back on a training plan. Luckily my knee has been very nice to me lately and I was very grateful to realize that it didn’t hurt at all on satruday after running 7 miles. Hopefully the trend will continue.

- The hubs and I joined a home group with our church a couple weeks ago and it has been such a blessing. We had been wanting to join one but never actually followed through with it. We have received so much encouragement there and all of the couples are so amazing! It has also really helped both of us feel more connected to Utah and more settled for the time being.

- We went to Ikea on Saturday and  I found the most adorable baby fabric that would totally go with the decor for a girls room that I want to do if we ever have one. So of course I had to buy it! This lead to the hubs and I to discussing baby names all sunday morning and luckily we are on the same page for the most part. We keep joking that we have everything set but the baby and that is the most crucial point! It did make me realize thought that a lot of people that I know IRL are pregnant right now and one of by main fears/concerns is that they will take our coveted names..I don’t really know how I would handle that.

- In three weeks we will be heading to Washington DC to stay in the Ritz Carlton for three nights and then visit family. I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am. Oh yeah and during our trip we will celebrate our 4th anniversary!

I don’t want to overwhelm you all too much so I will have more later :) Overall we are doing well. I have to admit though I have had a tough couple of weeks trying not to get discouraged about the baby stuff. I wanted to thank those of you who have been praying for us..we really appreciate it!