The last two weeks have seen a very successful visit to Halifax with great news! The HD ultrasound was A-Okay! What a huge relief that was for Mike and me (and our family and friends). I’m telling you, the team they have working at The IWK Children’s Hospital in Halifax are amazing.

The doctor who performed my ultrasound was the same doctor I has 5 years ago when we were up there going through everything with Emily. He remembered us the moment he came through the door. He remembered Emily’s case as well. I was blown-away by that. He told me that he has never seen a case as severe as Emily’s nor does he ever expect to. So I guess after 5 years I now know that her life did mean something. She left her mark on the people who were fortunate enough to have met her.

Here’s a picture of our little darlin’ in the making.

He was extremely thorough when doing the ultrasound. I think he could tell we were more than anxious. He assured both Mike and I that everything was as it should be and that things couldn’t look any better. Music to our ears! I explained to him about the congenital heart defect Matthew has and he recommended that we return to Halifax for my 20-week ultrasound, which suits me just fine. I’d much rather everything be handled from the same location with the same doctor anyway. There’s less chance of something being missed that way.

I’m feeling pretty good for the most part. I get tired really easily and some days I really have to push myself to get things done. The nausea is gone and I’ll eat anything that’s within arm’s reach. I am definitely putting on weight. 7 ½ pounds to be exact. I almost had a stroke when I got on the scale and my OB weighed me. Pre pregnancy weight was 120, 13 weeks pregnant weight was 127 ½. Yikes! Oh well, it’s all good! The doctor was also able to get a good strong heartbeat with the Doppler. I was glad Mike was there to be able to hear it as well. He thought I was measuring bigger than my dates, but suspected it could be because I am so “slight” that he can feel things easier. He’ll have a better idea on our next visit.

That’s really about it for now. Nothing exciting, I know, but that’s not always a bad thing…lol. I’ll get Mike to do another picture as soon as he gets home.

Me at 14 weeks 2 days

I know, I know. I’ve been AWOL for a bit. Sorry. Between battling this darn cold/flu that hit me the end of last week and then trying to get caught up at work, I’ve been busy.

Things have been quiet on the baby scene, though (which is a good thing). I’m 12 weeks 2 days today and all is still going well. I think I may have popped a bit over the weekend. See for yourself…

I have my first appointment with my OB Thursday morning. This is the same Doctor who delivered Matthew. He’s nice and we got along well, so I am trusting this is just going to be a routine first appointment.

Following that we will jump in the car and make the 4 and a half hour drive to Halifax where I will have my HD ultrasound Friday morning. This is what I am really anxious about. Once I know that the newest addition has 10 fingers, 10 toes and everything in between is A-OK, that’s when I’ll let out a huge sigh of relief and we’ll be good to go. I’ll let you know as soon as I know. All the positive thoughts you can spare to send my way between now and Friday would be greatly appreciated.

On a different topic for a minute, we had a fantastic visit today from fellow CPOer, Lukes_mom (Ann) and her bf. It was awesome to meet Ann IRL. It’s kind of a whirlwind tour of NS and PEI for her, but I certainly hope she enjoyed her stay, liked what she saw, and will return again some day when we can go around and do some site seeing!

That’s about it for now. I’ll touch base the end of the week and let you know how the appointments went.

Until next time…

10 weeks, 3 days and counting!

All right, I know I am 5’10” and weighed only 120 pounds before I became pregnant but I must admit I love food. I have always loved food. Doesn’t matter what it is, I’ll eat it. No…wait, I must clarify. Liver. You could not pay me enough to eat liver. Other than that, I’m good to go. I’ll eat anything as long as it doesn’t eat me first! This certainly hasn’t changed now that I’m pregnant. In fact, I think it’s gotten worse. I can’t get enough food. Although I love food I was never much of a breakfast eater. I just didn’t make the time for it. Between getting through the morning routine of getting up and getting everyone ready for the day I’m lucky to get out of the door dressed and looking presentable, let alone eat. But I have had to make sure in the last few weeks that I go to work well stocked. I have no less than two granola bars and 2 packages of cinnamon raisin instant porridge with me, and that’s just to get me through to lunchtime. When I get home for lunch a sandwich is enough to take the edge off until suppertime. I have been eating more than hubby for supper and then by the time Matthew gets to bed at 8ish, I’m ready to go at it again. Nachos, chips, popcorn, all of the above, you name it, I’ll eat it. It’s no wonder I feel like I’m going to explode. I have taken a liking to pure orange juice. Three glasses of it at suppertime tonight. I never looked for it on a regular basis or craved it before, but holy smokes, that stuff is good! I always remember my grandfather drinking it and thought pure orange juice was for … ahem … “old people”. Good grief.

Friday night was a bad food night. Mike had a great supper cooked when I got home from work. Boneless pork done up in a nice gravy with carrots and mashed potatoes. It was wicked. At times I have been known to have issues with certain foods, including pork. For years I have had a touch of irritable bowel syndrome with certain foods affecting me sometimes but not the next. Pork has always been hit or miss but lately it’s been great. Normally I can tell by the time I’m half way through my meal if I’m going to be sorry or not, but Friday night all was well with the world (and my supper). Mike left for work and I was getting ready to spend a Friday night with Matt. Then it hit me. The cramps, the rumbling in my stomach, the hot sweats, the cold chills. Oh no. For the next hour I find myself unable to leave the bathroom. I’m so close to passing out while sitting on the toilet I don’t know what I’m going to do. I muster enough strength to holler to Matthew who is in his bedroom drawing. He is able to get me a cold face cloth and stands there rubbing my back for me. What a little man he is! He wants to get the phone to call my Mom but I decide to wait a bit. After just about an hour I manage to get to my bedroom and just flop on the bed in a lump. I’m there for about 10 minutes before round 2 starts. Back I go. I’m useless and beside myself. I call my Mom and of course, there is no answer. So here I am pretty much confined to the bathroom with my 10-year-old son sitting with me to make sure I’m ok. Finally, everything seems to subside and I’m exhausted. Matt tells me to go lie down for a bit and he’ll be in his bedroom drawing if I need him. I’m a lucky Mom.

By the time he was ready for bed I was feeling much better. I made a cup of tea and got about half of it into me. I’m sure I was in bed within the hour of when he went. I slept well and woke up feeling good on Saturday morning.

Okay, so I admit, not the most pleasant blog entry in the world, but hey, it can’t always be peaches and cream (oohhhh…. see, it’s almost snack time…lol). I don’t know how much the pregnancy contributed to my sudden inability to eat pork, but it’s something I’m certainly not willing to experiment with. I may have to remain pork-free for the next 6 and a half months or so.

Other than Friday night, the last week has been good. I suspect Matthew has told anyone and everyone who will listen and I’ve actually had some neighbours ask me if it’s true. Matt has been known to tell stories at times…lol. He keeps everyone on their feet, for sure. I could still fall asleep at the drop of a hat but I find if I try to keep busy and NOT have a nap after supper, my night’s sleep is much better. It’s so hard though. By the time I get home and eat, I just want to crash for a while. I guess I’ll just have to grin and bear it for the next little bit.

The nausea seems to be getting less and less as well, and thankfully, has nothing to do with food. When I eat, I normally feel better. Toast and peanut butter has been a lifesaver for me, although thinking back, it was while I was pregnant with Matthew as well.

I’m still waiting to hear about my trip to Halifax for the HD ultrasound and blood work. It will be a week tomorrow since I saw my Doctor who said he’d set everything up. This testing has to be done apparently between 11 and 14 weeks so we best get a move on. I’m anxious to make sure the development is A-OK!

Well, hubby just came in from a meeting. I best go see what we’re going to snack on!

Until next time…