You're due when?!?!

My entire pregnancy, I've had people surprised at how "little" I am. It annoyed me for a long time; we worked hard for this baby and I wanted to show it off to the world. Now, at 36 weeks, I'm in a different place. I'm still pretty small (here's a shot I took today - 36 weeks on the nose):

 Believe it or not, there's a good sized baby in there. It wiggles all the time. Though I'm not busting out, I'm finding that there are advantages to being a compact pregnant woman:

1. I can still find shirts that cover me up without looking as though I'm wearing a shirt three sizes too big.

2. Though turning over in bed is sometimes a chore, it's nothing like what I imagine a larger woman would experience.

3. I can still, relatively speaking, hug Stephen and not feel as though I'm giving him the old "side hug" or "shoulder hug".

4. When I cook, I don't have to worry about lighting my belly on fire.

5. When I turn suddenly, I don't tend to know over everything in my path (candles, lamps, small woodland creatures, etc.).

6. I can still get in and out of the car with (relative) ease.

7. As we discovered on our babymoon in Montreal (I'll post a description and pictures soon), I can still jog a little - and get there pretty much from a standing start.

I'm sure I'm missing a few but in the end it's not bad being tall - I'm glad I could provide such roomy accommodations for turklet - though we're going to have to talk about how much time has been spent up under my ribs!!

Now that was a growth scan!

So, last week at our midwife appointment, we discovered that my fundal height did not seem to be progressing at a normal rate. That is, it hadn't budged in three visits. Stephen and I were mildly concerned but soon didn't think much of it as we were reassured that it was fine. Then we got a call from one of the midwives saying we needed to go in for a growth scan (ultrasound) to make sure the babe was growing alright. She again reiterated that she didn't think it was anything to worry about - that it was strictly precautionary.

Well, we worried. And today I had the growth scan. Clearly, nothing to worry about. Turklet is measuring just fine and is estimated to be 6 lbs. 2 oz. That's right, folks, a full pound over the average weight at 35 weeks. [insert about to give birth to what could be a 9-lb baby nervous giggles here]

We also got some cool pictures. Well, a cool picture of the foot and what looks like the Shroud of Turin rather than turklets first mug shot:

Things are clearly getting cramped in there as it looked like someone was squeezing the poor thing's cheeks together the whole time. Big baby + small pregnant belly = cramped quarters for shizzle!

Compromised immunity

So, finally found the one thing about pregnancy that I could definitely do without - weakened immunity. Friday night, we spent some time with some friends, a few of which had colds. I had been sneezing all day but assumed it was allergies. Nope! Spent the weekend with a cold (Stephen was lucky enough to stave his off). Slept more than the dogs on Sunday but feeling much better now. I'm glad it only lasted a couple days!!!

Fast forward

I hope I get better at this when turklet arrives (since the whole point is to keep friends and family updated!!). Anyhow, we're now at 34 weeks - 6 more to go before we see the babe!!!!! My version at nesting at this point has become sewing with the awesome sewing machine the hubby bought me. I'm (finally) putting together a little quilt I started two years ago, sewing fitted sheets for the moses basket and just got patterns for sleep sacks and onesies.

The belly is growing though it's still pretty tiny. Here's a picture of us from this past weekend at our friends' Eddie and Sepi's wedding - it's true that black really is very slimming :)

We've gone to our first birthing class and have been meeting regularly with our midwives and doula. Things are getting VERY real at this point - the turklet moves all the time and loves to hang out under my ribs. I've entered my impatient phase - I love being pregnant - it's an incredible experience - but I'm ready to meet our baby! This kid is making its presence known and seems pretty ready to meet us too (it's been head down for 6 weeks now).

Yesterday I finally washed the basket of baby clothes, blankets and other washable paraphenalia. I can't remember ever enjoying doing laundry so much. Folding those little shirts and socks only heightened my excitement. It's been a long road and, I've realized, well worth the wait.

Tomorrow!!

Okay, I really suck at this whole blogging thing but I thought it would be good to give it a try. A little bit of nausea is starting to creep in (along with boobs I haven't had since high school). But it's all worth it! Tomorrow we get our first peep at the turklet! And maybe even see a heartbeat. I'm very excited and just a little nervous.

Early days, early worries!

It's all still so new and strange - after 3 years of nothing it seems unreal that we're pregnant. But I have the blood tests to prove it. That doesn't stop me from worrying. Someone mentions miscarriage and I worry. Someone mentions something I shouldn't eat that I've been having almost every day and I worry. My symptoms change and I worry. Does the worry ever stop?

The turklet has landed

After three long years and a lot of heartbreak, Stephen and I can say we're pregnant! It all started with "Squishy" and "E.M." (pictured on left). They were our frozen blastocysts left over from the failed IVF in the fall. They went back "home" March 3 and on Monday, March 8, we got two positive tests! But I'm getting ahead of myself. A lot has happened.

I went into the cycle very despondent. I didn't think it would work and almost called it off. The first day, I walked into the doctor's office and just had this overwhelming feeling of dread. After a phone call to Stephen from the Latham Target parking lot, I was reassured that I should move forward. However, even as the cycle progressed, neither Stephen nor I were optimistic. We began seriously researching adoption and what our options would be once we moved to Vermont.
But then the heartburn began. And the nausea. And the breakouts. And so I decided to test. And this is what it said:


The single most beautiful digital word I had ever seen.

And now, we're pregnant!