2nd Trimester!!!

Well, I'm back from vacation in Disney World with MrKLB and the ILs and I'm happily in the second trimester now! I will be 13 weeks pregnant tomorrow!!!

Vacation was great.. we walked a lot and I did find myself getting tired, but it really wasn't that bad. I think if I had gone at 6+ months pregnant it would be a different story. I feel like I gained 10 pounds while I was gone, though, because we ate so much food!! Oh well.

So, today I went in for the NT Scan or "First Trimester Screening". This is a screening to determine your baby's odds for having chromosomal defects such as Down Syndrome or Trisomy 18 or 13. This involves an ultrasound as well as a blood test. We had the ultrasound today and everything looked great! We got to see the baby on the u/s for a long time and it was amazing! The baby was moving around a lot and we could see the face, arms, hands, fingers, legs, spine, ribs, heart, etc.! It was crazy! Anyway, we were happy to hear that everything looks good, and we'll get our odds for those defects when the blood results come back in a week or so.

Everything is going well and I'll meet my new OB, Dr. A, next Monday. I should have a chance to ask a lot of questions at that time and find out what is to come in my next few appointments. It's a very exciting time!

Less than 200 days to go!

According to my ticker, I now have 199 days to go in this pregnancy! Wow! Very cool.

So, lots of "telling people" has been going on lately. I finally got in touch with two of my best girlfriends who didn't yet know that I am pregnant and told them. One of them just had a baby a few days before Thanksgiving and she was excited for us and happy to share lots of great information with us as I go through this pregnancy. The other doesn't have any kids yet and after she told me how happy she is for us she said "Now I'm the only one!!!" LOL! I think she took comfort in the fact that I didn't have any kids yet, so that made it okay that she didn't, but now she is feeling the pressure.

I also went to happy hour on Tuesday with a bunch of friends that I used to work with and I told them. I told a couple of more people at work, but I have no idea how to actually spread the word to everyone there. I don't want to send out an email to the entire company that says "Guess what? I'm pregnant!" but it also doesn't have to be a secret anymore, so I guess once I get back from Christmas I'll start trying to find ways to tell people. I work with people all over the world, so it's hard.

Then, we made our Christmas cards and sent them out. On the inside we made the announcement that Baby is due on July 7, 2009. Some people probably received those cards yesterday and others will receive them in the next several days. We already got an email from MrKLB's aunt congratulating us and saying that it was a great Christmas present!

And finally, last night we went to a holiday party with a bunch of our friends we hang out with here in Atlanta and I wore a T-shirt I got that says "Pregnancy is the new black"... kinda goes along with my blog title. :) Anyway, that was a great way to do it because as soon as I walked in the girls that were there saw it and said "Uh... are you trying to tell us something? What does that mean?" So, we were able to go ahead and get the news out of the way rather than having to find the right time during the night and make a big announcement of it... which seems kinda weird.

So, the secret is out and it feels great! The first thing every woman asks me (other than when I'm due) is how I am feeling. My answer is "I feel fantastic!" I really do. I think it is safe to say now that I have not had any morning sickness. I still cannot believe it! It feels too good to be true and I start to feel a little guilty about it when they tell me how lucky I am.

I leave Monday morning to go to Disney World with MrKLB and his parents for a week. I can't ride roller coasters, but I still think we'll have a great time. I'm happy to be off work for a week, that's for sure! On Tuesday, while we're at Disney, I'll hit 12 weeks and officially be at the end of my first trimester! I'm so thrilled to finally reach this milestone.

So, first trimester recap: I've gained a few pounds and can still wear all of my normal clothes, but they are getting a little tight. No morning sickness and just some cramping every now and then. Through about 8 weeks I was really really tired, but it has gotten better since then. I still have to pee all of the time. Overall, things could not be going better!

So, Merry Christmas to all and I'll see you in the second trimester! :)

Saw Dr. B today

I went back to see my OB/GYN (Dr. B) today for the last time. Basically it was just a pelvic exam but then he used the Doppler and heard the baby's heartbeat again! We got our first measurement of the hb today, and it was 163! Dr. B said that anything above a 120 is good. So, that is great! The visit took a long time, but it was mostly just waiting. I had a list of questions to ask, but decided to hold most of them for when we meet with our OB that will be with us through the pregnancy. Dr. B asked if I knew any of the other doctors in his practice and I said no, but my brother and SIL had a baby with Dr. A a couple of years ago and they loved her. He said that everyone loves Dr. A so he was going to request that she be my OB. So, that's great! I haven't met her yet but hope that I will like her. We have an appointment to see her the first week of January.

I talked to Dr. B about the NT scan, which is where they can test for some chromosomal deficiencies. He said that he recommends it for all patients that are 35 or over, and that normally based on my age he wouldn't say that I need it, but he said that if I want to do it, it would be good for peace of mind. So, his office is supposed to call me tomorrow to try to schedule it. I will ask if it is covered by my insurance and as long as it is, we'll do it. It will be a good chance to get another u/s anyway, since it doesn't sound like we'd have another one until 18-20 weeks.

Well, overall, it was a great visit I can't wait to meet Dr. A in January!

Told my boss I'm pregnant

I told my boss I'm pregnant this morning. I'm glad to get that off my chest! I had thought about waiting another week or so, but I thought he might be catching on and we have our holiday party on Thursday night and he was already talking about the shots we were going to take, etc., so I figured it was going to become increasingly obvious! He wasn't actually all that surprised. I closed his door and said "I have some official news to give you." He looked worried so I said "the good news is that I'm not quitting... If that's what you're worried about" and then he said "but you are going to be taking some time off, right?" I said "Well, you just ruined it!" I was actually glad he had already figured it out, though. He said he had been hinting around a little and also mentioned that the doctor's appointments gave it away. Anyway, I guess I have to talk to HR now, but I'm just glad he knows. He asked how long I was planning to take off and I said I wasn't sure, but probably 12 weeks. That's some of what I need to figure out with HR, I guess.

Oh, I'll be 10 weeks tomorrow! Baby will be the size of a lime!

That's all the update I have for now.

Bad day at work

I'm having a bad day... mostly related to work. So, this afternoon instead of working I created my pregnancy avatar and ticker. LOL! It's on the right side of my blog under "baby countdown". Now any time you check my blog you can see exactly how far along I am... assuming the script I wrote works. I can only hope I look that good when I get my baby belly! :)

Ultrasound Pic

Thought I'd post the picture from our ultrasound last week. The head is on the left (black spot is the brain) with the legs sticking out to the right like the baby is laying on his/her stomach or back. :)

We told our parents

Well, Thanksgiving is over and I'm back at work. So sad. Anyway, I had a fantastic holiday break. It started on Wednesday with our u/s which I've already posted about. Then, MrKLB and I bought a new car! We have been shopping around for about a year and a half - literally! - and had been looking at different SUV's. We finally decided on the Acura MDX and took one home for a test drive Tuesday and Wednesday, then bought it on Wednesday! Nobody is buying cars right now since the economy sucks, so we got a really good deal. I love it! It will be perfect for when the baby is here and also has lots of room for the dogs!

Anyway, then on Thursday we hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our house. That's when we told my mother, brother, and SIL. We used the poem that I posted before, but MrKLB sorta blew it before my mother could read the poem. We had this craft tree that we made that was leftover from a neighborhood cookout we had. You're supposed to put things you're thankful for on the leaves of the tree, so we wrote the names of all of our family members on there and one of them just said "baby". It was in the kitchen but nobody had really noticed it when MrKLB handed it to my mother and said "here, look at our tree"... right about the time I was giving him the evil eye trying to tell him not to do that, my mother said "who is baby?" Well, I wasn't good at thinking on my feet so all I could say was "well, I guess I'll give you this now" and handed her the poem to read. MrKLB felt bad and I was actually a little upset at first because that's not how I had planned it, but I'm over it now. So then when my brother and SIL arrived we just handed them the poem to read themselves. Of course everyone was excited.

Friday we went to see MrKLB's parents in Columbia, SC at his aunt's house. He only wanted to tell his parents for now (and not the rest of the family that was there) so we ended up taking his parents for a short ride in our new car and then he parked in a parking lot and we gave them the poem. His mother read it out loud and it took her a few lines to figure it out. Then she got choked up and I didn't think she'd make it through. I couldn't tell when his Dad figured it out. His mother was so excited, though, and his Dad said "you've made her one happy woman." Then he said "not that I'm not happy, too, but you know she is." This will be her first grandchild (his dad has two from his half brothers, but he never gets to see them - long story). MrKLB told his mother she had to keep it a secret until Christmas and she is going to go crazy! :)

Saturday we went to see my Dad. We gave him the poem, but he figured it out before he even got the frame out of the box. He saw the end that said "love, baby ". He read it out loud, though, and he and my step-mother were really happy for us. They said we had to have a boy since they have 3 granddaughters! I told them that if MrKLB has anything to do with it, we will. LOL! I know everyone will be happy with a healthy girl or boy, but I do think there are a lot of people hoping for boy!

So, that was our exciting and busy holiday.

Next step: Deciding when to tell my boss!

Ultrasound today!

We had an ultrasound today and it was amazing! The baby is actually starting to look like a baby! We could see the outline of a head, arm buds, and leg buds. We also got to see and hear the heartbeat! That little heart is just beating away!

I'm 8w1d today and the baby is measuring 8w0d. It's about the size of a gummy bear right now! Too cute! Our Dr. said everything looks perfect. He asked if I'd had any symptoms and I said just really tired, peeing a lot, and the occasional cramp. He said that I'm doing really well and expects that I'm going to have a smooth pregnancy. Here's hoping he's right!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we're so excited to tell our families! I know MrKLB is dying to tell someone! :)

Almost 8 weeks!

Tomorrow I will officially be 8 weeks pregnant! Wow! That is really hard to believe. Time is flying by for now.

Anyway, I am about 95% over my cold (just some congestion when I wake up now) and feeling pretty good. Now that the cold is gone I'm ready to start walking again and doing some other exercises. I am still knocking on wood that I don't have any morning sickness. I know it could still come on at any time, but I think if I can make it a few more weeks I'll be in the clear!

So, assuming everything looks good Wednesday, we're still planning to tell our families that we're pregnant on Thanksgiving! I found this poem and MrKLB really liked it, so we modified it a little, printed it out, and are putting it in a frame to give to each set of grandparents. The "logo" at the bottom is basically an update of the monogram we used for our wedding but we updated the date to be the baby's due date and added "+ baby". (Oh, and I blurred out our last name to stay somewhat anonymous on this blog.) We think they will be excited and at least this is a little keepsake for them until they have a photo of the baby to actually put in the frame.

Telling our parents

We had originally planned to wait until Christmas to tell our parents that we're pregnant, since I'd be just over 12 weeks at that point and we'll see MrKLB's parents in Disney World and mine before we go. BUT, MrKLB and I were talking this weekend and we're now thinking we may go ahead and tell them at Thanksgiving. I'll be just over 8 weeks, which is still early, but as long as my u/s (the day before Thanksgiving) goes well, we feel pretty good about going ahead and sharing the news with them. MrKLB is really excited to tell his parents and I don't think it will really be real for him until he gets to tell someone. I at least have my blog and a couple of close friends that know, but he hasn't gotten to tell anyone.

So, now we're trying to think of creative ways to tell them. My mother, brother, sister-in-law, and niece will be at our house on Thanksgiving and we'll tell them then. We'll see MrKLB's parents on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and want to tell them but not all of the other family that will be there. So, that rules out blurting anything out at the dinner table, etc. I'm not sure what we're planning to do yet, but we're working on it.

I still have a cold... it's been going on for over a week now. It is getting a little better, I think, but I'm annoyed that it is lasting this long. I guess it could have something to do with me being pregnant (taking longer to get over it), but who knows. I've been trying not to take much medicine even though my Dr. said I could take some OTC meds. Hopefully it will go away before Thanksgiving so I can enjoy the holiday and sharing the big news.

6 Weeks Pregnant!

Hello everyone! I am 6 weeks pregnant today! Woohoo!!!

I am also sick. :( Not morning sickness yet (thank goodness!) but I seem to have an awful cold or something. I was feeling a little sick when I got back from Dallas 2 weeks ago and that lasted a few days and then went away. I was at a wedding in Va Beach this weekend and then woke up at 4am to fly to NYC early Monday morning. I think that's what did me in. I didn't get enough sleep and it's cold here in NYC so now I have a sore throat, runny nose, sneezing, etc. I am not supposed to take any OTC meds, though, so I've been trying to tough through it. I hope me being sick doesn't affect our little baby(ies) growth, but I just have to assume that it doesn't.

I'm having a hard time with the whole not telling people I'm pregnant thing. I don't like having to "pretend" to drink when I'm traveling for work or when I'm at the wedding, etc. I think my manager is going to catch on soon (if he hasn't already) because we normally drink a lot when we are out of town for work and I keep having to come up with excuses not to. Of course, this time the fact that I am sick and feel like crap is a convenient excuse, I guess. Anyway, I'll be happy when we get to tell people and I don't have to pretend anymore.

I'M PREGNANT!!!

Well, I'm officially pregnant!!!

I have been in Dallas the past 2 days for a conference so I haven't been able to blog. I had my beta scheduled for yesterday, and since I was out of town I had to go to a lab in Dallas and they faxed the results to my Dr.'s office. I got the call just before I was getting into the cab to go to the airport yesterday. I answered the phone and after asking how I was doing she said "Well, Congratulations!" I think I said "Are you serious?" and she said "Yes, I'm serious. Everything looks good. Your numbers look great and your progesterone is really high." She sounded like that was a good thing, so I went with it.

It really doesn't seem real. I've been waiting for this for months... and really been anticipating this my whole life - the day I'd find out I'm having a baby. It's a little surreal. I am still not sure I believe it. MrKLB and I are of course ecstatic! I have no idea what to do with myself now! I don't know how to just sit back and relax and be pregnant! :)

Could it be true??

Okay, I was holding out on updating my blog again until I had more info, but decided to post an update anyway. First, let me post here what I wrote down yesterday but didn't end up posting:

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(from Sunday)
I woke up several times during the night and had to resist the urge to get up and test. Finally, around 6:30am, I had to go to the bathroom so I ran in there, $store test in hand, and tested. Nothing. I was so disappointed. I squinted and waited a minute, but nothing. So, I got back in bed and fell back asleep very disappointed.

MrKLB and the dogs and I woke up around 8:30 or so. We were playing with the dogs in bed for a few minutes and MrKLB said "Maybe you'll be pregnant today." I said "I'm not." He said "How do you know?" and I said "Because I already woke up at 6:30 and tested." He said "Oh, well, that's okay, it could still be too early to tell." I was very sad, though, and I could tell he was, too. I told him that I'll just keep testing every day and he said I'm addicted to peeing on sticks! LOL! He asked if I should try a different kind of test and I told him that actually I was using the $store tests, but I had heard they work. I didn't think that was the problem, but I mentioned I had a couple of Clear Blue Easy digital tests I was saving. I wanted to use those after the $store tests said I was pregnant because I couldn't bear the "Not Pregnant" to show up. I shed a couple of tears but mostly held it together because I knew there was still hope.

Finally, a little after 9am we both got up and went into the bathroom. I picked up the pregnancy test and was going to show MrKLB it was negative and when I looked I had to double-take. I saw a very very very faint line! I showed it to MrKLB and asked if he could see it and he said yes. I pulled a couple of other tests out of the trash can from the past 2 days and we looked at them. The one from yesterday had a very very very faint line (fainter than today) and the one from Friday had no line. We were so excited but tried to be cautious. We said this is a good sign. I was going to try to hold out and not test again until tomorrow and just hang on to the hope of the faint line when MrKLB said "maybe you should try another test". Well, he didn't have to ask me twice! I grabbed one of the Clear Blue Easy tests that came with my ovulation tests and ran into the bathroom. MrKLB was waiting outside asking "Are you done yet?" and I said "It takes a minute!" He was reading the directions sheet (lol!) when I looked down at the test and saw the most beautiful word ever - "Pregnant"!!! I said "Oh, shit! Read this!" and opened the door. MrKLB looked at it and said "No way!" He was still reading the directions (I think to be sure it couldn't change) and I ran out and he hugged me and we both started crying a little. He said "We're going to have a baby!" and then he said "You've never been more beautiful to me than just now when you walked out of that door holding that stick!" We know we still have a long way to go, but are just so happy to have some encouragement.
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So, wow! I may be pregnant! I may really be pregnant!! I tested again this morning with the $store test hoping the line would get darker (I thought maybe if it got darker that would mean my HCG levels are going up). It was still a really really really faint line, though. So, I of course got nervous and had to break out another CBE test just to see that word again. So, I took the test and sure enough - "Pregnant"!! Yay!

So, I know that while this is a good sign, the only true way to know is to have the blood test that shows my beta levels. I'm trying to be cautiously optimistic. I will be at a conference in Dallas for the next 2 days so I probably won't get to post any updates, but wanted to go ahead and share for those of you that read this blog. Keep your fingers crossed for me! I hope this sticks! :)