Talk about Emotions!

New nephew Cody Michael

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Ours was very nice this year. We went to my brother's house for the earlier part of the day to see my whole family. Then we went to Chris's Grandparent's house where his family was and we had dinner. We mainly just got money and gift cards. Chris really needs a new laptop since his is literally falling apart and I (well both of us actually) would like to get a camcorder before the baby gets here. Picture with Chris's family on christmas

As sad as I am to see the holidays leave I am also a bit relieved! It has been a bit hectic planning Lil Pea's arrival on top of the normal Christmas chaos! But I am happy to say her room is coming out great!! Chris had finished the painting and chair rail the last two weeks, so on Sunday my Dad and Chris's brother Michael came over to put down the laminate wood floors. And they look GREAT! Today Chris put the baseboards on. Click here to see a few new pics added in album Her bedroom/bath. We got a good deal on this wood and it came out looking great!

My Mom and I also went this past Saturday to order her bedroom furniture. We went with the Pali Collection called Trieste in the Cherry wood color as I mentioned in an older post. Should be hear in about 6-8 weeks.

So now it is my turn to start on her room. Right now it looks like a little boys room! Everyone keeps asking, are you sure you are having a girl??! lol But there will plenty of pinks added to her room shortly. We are trying to decide if we are going to paint a white picket fence or buy a vinyl one from Lowe's and nail it on the wall. It is only going to go on one or two of the walls. This is another thing we must decide. Also my friend Olivia is going to help paint a tree on one of the walls. She is going to come by to help decide where that will go. And then there will be the little things like flowers, butterflies, love bugs, ect.. I try not to overwhelm myself talking about it! ;o)~

As for my emotions they have been crazy the past few weeks! Usually I'm not much of a cryer, but it seems like every time I get mad or upset lately it ends in tears. And then this makes me cry more! Why can't I just be mad!! lol Chris will say, "don't cry babe." And I'm like, believe me I don't know why I am!!!

I have also started having those feelings I have heard about. The OMG I am going to have a baby here 24 hours a day in like 16-17 weeks!! And I am going to birth her (at least try) with no drugs!! YIKES!! We do start our Bradley classes next Monday and I know these will help put me at ease a little as my friend Lauren has told me. I also have started reading the book my teacher wanted me to read before class called Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way. This book has been really helpful and really makes you feel like a drug free birthing really is possible with the right training. And of course if your body and baby cooperate as nature intended. So we will see.

I'm also going to take my first prenatal yoga class tomorrow which I am excited about. My body really needs a good stretch and some stress relief once a week now! It's so crazy how up until about 16-17 weeks you just don't even really feel or look pregnant and then BAM!! After 20 weeks you definitely start looking and feeling preggo. And let me tell you, those calf cramps don't play around!! ;-) I'm going to buy that white grape juice after work Sis. Hope it works.

This weekend we are going to register!! How exciting and scary at the same time. There is just SO much stuff. And also so much you really don't need. But I am going to have my BF and also my SIL look over our list online once we are done and tell us anything we should take off that we really won't need or add on something we really will need that we didn't put on. They both have two babies under 3 at home so they are pros. lol

We decided to register @ Babies R Us and Target. Not sure if we will do both Saturday. I think we will do Target first since they don't have as much and register for the rest at BB R Us if we are up for it. I was actually surprised Chris wanted to help with the registry. But I have seen a lot of Dad's on my trips to the baby store's lately so I guess this is common now. We will see how it goes!

Wishing everyone a safe and happy New Year!!

21 weeks

**New belly pics were added to our Lil Pea album.

Just click on Chris & Nicole's Photo Album

located to the left**

How Far Along? 21 weeks

Total Weight Gained/Loss? 8-9 pounds (depending on time of day ;-))

Maternity Clothes: Mainly wearing maternity clothes but can still wear some of my stuff too.

Sleep: pretty good

Best Moment of the Week: This week I have been sick. Started with a horrible sore throat Sunday & is now just sinus congestion and a cough. Feeling like crap but feel her move more than ever this week, which always brings a smile to my face. :-)

Movement: More than ever the past week. Usually when I am sitting or laying down. She usually starts up around lunch time I have noticed the past few days, too!

Food Craving: Still none, just the chocolate milk

Food aversions: Nothing new

Morning sickness: Gone, thank goodness!

Gender: It is a GIRL!

Labor Signs: No.

Belly Button: In, my bb is an innie....still really in there. But I have noticed it may be time to purchase one of those pregnancy belly rings my friend Sara told me about.

Wedding rings: still on

What I miss: nothing really. Just enjoying this pregnancy that is starting to go really quick!!

What I'm looking forward to: Hopefully seeing lil sweet pea again 01/08 when we go for a fetal echo @ the cardiologist. (my niece has VSD, so this is just a precaution to check baby girls heart)

Weekly Wisdom: stay AWAY from anyone sick while pregnant! You can't really take anything when you get sick (yes Tylenol but I am allergic so that's a no too for me) and it sucks! My Dr. gave me a Z-pack which I took the first night. This caused severe stomach pains which had me up every hour from 12am until I got up for work @ 7am. Similar to my IBS pains I have gotten before but even worse. So I called the Dr. and he said to discontinue the meds and see if my body can get better on it's own.

Milestones: Less than halfway to go!!

This week Chris also started working on her room. We also finished painting her bathroom. (also put some pics in our Picasa. Look in album called Her Bedroom/Bath) As most of you know we never did anything with that room when we moved into our new house 1 1/2 years ago. So it was just my exercise/junk room. We yanked the carpet out when we moved in because it was the original and kind of nasty. So I just had mats on the floor for when I worked out. Chris should finish the painting today and we are ordering the laminate wood flooring we picked out tomorrow. When that come's in he will start the floors.
I still feel like crap today and my cold is now in my chest so I stayed home from work. I'm hoping the Robitussin does it's job. I have a Nebulizer and usually start breathing treatments as I have always had chronic bronchitis, but cannot do these treatments while pregnant. So lot's of rest today and hope that clears this nasty cold out!
**Also put some Christmas pics in our Album so check them out!**

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!

Such a wonderful & exciting week!

This week has certainly been a great one! Tuesday night we went out to dinner with Chris's family for his brother's birthday. Happy Birthday again Michael!!
On Wednesday my SIL was induced and my new nephew was introduced to the world!

Cody Michael Magrone

Born 12/09/09 9:15am

7lbs 9oz & 20 1/2 inches

Mommy and Cody were able to go home today and are doing great! And big sister Hayden is starting to realize her new "baby" is here to stay. ;-)

Thursday was also a wonderful day. We went to our 20 week anatomy scan to see our lil sweet pea again!! And boy has she grown! She finally looks like she is packin some meat on her arms and legs that looked so skinny @ 12 weeks. Her weight was approximately 11oz. which the tech said is very good. I put the pics in our Album on my blog and you can see her arm in one of them. The tech also got a good pic of her foot but for some reason didn't print that one for us. :-(

She also said everything looked fine. Of course my Dr. will still get a copy of everything to review. This is all becoming so real. After so long of wondering if and when we would have our baby now it looks like we will...and very soon!! This week also marks our halfway point!! We officially have less than halfway to go!

The beginning of this week was also exciting. Monday night Chris got to feel her kick! It is still very light for someone else to feel but he said he felt her. I pretty much feel her every day now, some days more than others and not that often yet. When we had the scan Thursday she was up but I wasn't feeling her. I think the tech woke her up because she was only really moving her hands. She kept putting them near her mouth. It's so amazing just to watch her. Even though I feel her now I still can't believe she is actually in me! Maybe because the kicks are still very light? It's just so crazy to think that little baby is in my ever growing belly. Which my books all say is really gonna start growing now every week. Yikes!! I'm a tiny girl so this freaks me a little. Some days my stomach feels so tight. Then other days it's ok. I have to take a 20 week belly picture but Chris was on shift today. The belly is definitely growing!! ;-}

The guy also came this week to remove the popcorn from the ceiling in her room and put knockdown. So next week Chris is going to start painting her room! We still have to get a few samples of the colors we like before we decide on one. And then once the painting is done he will put down the wood flooring we picked out. I will definitely post some before and after pics once this is done.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Growing pains

Today was a very productive day. We went this morning and purchased lil sweet pea's bedding. Click here to see the one we picked. We want to paint her room in the next week or two before Chris starts putting in her wood floors. So I wanted to buy at least the bedding part of her set to help pick out paint colors. I will order the mobile, ect. later. We also looked again at the Peg Perego stroller while we were there and we are about 99% sure this will be the stroller we will get.
After that I went with Chris's Mom and also his brothers Fiance to Woodstock. It's an Arts and Crafts festival. I got baby girl a cute little tutu with bow set that is used for when she is born to take her first pictures in. Here is a pic.

We also met my friend Lauren there and we finally got to share our funnel cake we have been wanting for many, many months! ;-)
After that we went to Home Depot and got our Christmas tree along with helping both our Mom's pick out their tree's. We also got a sample of two different colors we liked for lil Pea's bathroom and decided which one we liked best when we got home. Chris is going to paint her bathroom on Wednesday. Also the guy is coming tomorrow to take off the popcorn on her ceiling and put knockdown. Then we are going to start painting her room!! It's so exciting now that it is all becoming so real!

I had my 4 week check up Friday with my OB. The did the normal urine sample and weight check. I've gained 8 pounds!! Which they said is perfect for 19 wks.. Not too little, not too much. (feels like a lot to me! ;-))
He listened to her heartbeat and said things sounded good. He also said the girls would give me a pamphlet before I left that has all the classes the hospital we are delivering at offers. So we can start looking into which one's we want to do. I also discussed with him about wanting to try natural child birth. No drugs. I am not totally against an Epidural, I just figure it's at least worth trying to do without it. He said he has a lot of patients do this (not sure how many pull it off). I also got the name and number for the lady my friend Lauren went to who has private Bradley classes she offers. Her classes are for 7 weeks, once a week. She takes only 6 couples at a time. She sounded very nice and discussed with me a little of what she goes over in her classes. They are not only all about childbirth (including c-sections and epidurals if you did end up having that) but she also goes into nutrition and exercise. My friend Lauren loved her classes and I think these will be a little more into detail and personal than the one childbirth class they offer at the hospital. So we signed up and our first class will be January 4th!! Class is every Monday from 7:30pm to 9:30pm. As my coach, Chris will go with me to every class he can but if he is on shift at the station my Mom will go with me.

I'm sure you are wondering the reason for my post title. Well the past week baby girl must be really growing because I have been having aches and pains like never before. Not unbearable just new to me. And my digestive track has been really giving me a hard time. Having IBS does not help this situation at all. After sitting for awhile when I stand up sometimes it literally feels like my Uterus is trying to fall out!! And then I get these little sharp pains. Of course this just started happening immediately after my Dr. appt. Friday. But my friend Lauren said she had these same feelings start happening when she started really growing. And I just listened to baby girl with the Doppler and she doesn't sound at all bothered by all this. I did notice she is much higher now than last week. Found her heartbeat closer to my belly button now, where as before she was always so low near my hairline. I'm also pretty sure I'm finally feeling her kick! I thought I felt a kick Thursday night while laying in bed. Then again this morning when I woke up @ 3am due to horrible stomach pains from my bowels. She only does it once or twice so it's hard to confirm it's her, but I'm pretty sure.

This coming week is a busy week. Tuesday we have dinner with Chris's family for his brothers B-day. Then Wednesday we should be welcoming into this world my new nephew!! (my SIL is being induced) On Thursday I have my much awaited 20 week anatomy scan. Yayyyy!! And then this weekend we are going up to my Dad's to get a few tools he is giving Chris since he is moving. We are also going to visit and stay the night with my best friend who just had her new baby girl that I mentioned in a previous entry.
Busy, exciting week/weekend ahead!! Hope everyone has a good week!!

18 Weeks

How Far Along? 18 weeks

Total Weight Gained/Loss? 6 pounds

Maternity Clothes: Just bought some & can't wait to wear them!! :-)

Sleep: Not as good as I used to but not bad yet either

Best Moment of the Week: Turkey day and having a four day weekend!!!

Movement: I've been feeling something weird lately, just not yet sure if it's really her.

Food Craving: Well not really a food craving but this girl LOVES some chocolate milk!!

Food aversions: still a quite a few

Gender: It's a GIRL!!!

Labor Signs: Hopefully no time soon!

Belly Button: Still in and hoping it stays that way. I do need to get a preggo belly ring soon to replace mine.

What I miss: Not having indigestion after everything I eat!

What I'm looking forward to: 20 week scan in less than 2 weeks!

Weekly Wisdom: The belly really does pop over night and everyone carries differently so don't listen to everything people try and tell you.

Milestones: Finding out the sex & finally being able to buy her a thing or two (or three! ;-))

Here is a picture of me and my SIL. We finally remembered to take a belly shot before my nephews arrival very soon! She is 38 weeks & me 18 weeks. 20 weeks apart.

Busy weekend!

What a busy few day's it has been. Friday I had the day off. We had a wedding to go to @ 6pm so I just decided to use one of my vacation days. Chris and I decided to look and see if they still had our bedroom set @ City Furniture. I got it about 4-5 years ago but was hoping they still had it because we have been thinking about upgrading to a king size bed. Our Queen bed has not been working out so great lately. I am just all over the place since I have been PG!! And I'm not even big yet! So we went and unfortunately they are getting ready to discontinue my set and have no kings left at all!! So now we are not sure what to do because the dresser is still in great shape and we really don't have the money to buy a whole new set and mattress with baby on the way. So I think we are just gonna deal with our Queen bed for now.

The wedding that night was for our friends Andrea and Matt. Congrats guys and best wishes!! Everything looked beautiful, including you both!!

Saturday I went to the movies with my friends Olivia & Kelly to see New Moon. We weren't too impressed. It wasn't horrible, just didn't live up to what we thought it should. We have all read the books also.

Saturday night I got a text from my BF Dana that her water broke!! She wasn't due for 2 more weeks. Well she didn't finally go the hospital until Sunday morning because her contractions weren't regular. When she got there she was still only 2 1/2 centimeters dilated. Finally around 11:30am they started her on Pitocin as she wasn't progressing and her water broke @ 11:30pm Saturday night. The pitocin got things moving along and @ 3:10pm she delivered a beautiful baby girl!!! With no drugs for the 2nd time delivering!!! She is such a champ and I hope I can do the same come delivery time.

Alyssa Marie Williams
Born 11/22/09 @ 3:10pm

5lbs 60z. 18 1/2 inches

Sunday was also a busy day for us. Chris and I went furniture shopping for baby girl. Our Mom's came along also. We weren't planning on purchasing anything yet, just wanted to see if we found anything we liked. We found three different sets by Pali furniture.

Trieste / Salerno / Carrigan

With each we will only be purchasing the crib, dresser and maybe the nightstand. All of these cribs are also convertible. Meaning they convert into a toddler size bed and then a full size bed. So this furniture will stay with her for many years.

Here is an example the Carrigan crib converted into a full size bed.

So now we just need to decide which we like best. Opinions?? Also I am debating on the white wood or the cherry wood. They all come in both. I'm very conflicted because the theme of her room would go better with white but I hate to buy expensive furniture for that reason alone. I do think they both look nice, though. Just trying to think of down the road. So what do you all think??

I also think we might go with the Peg Perego stroller. The Pliko Switch. Here is a video if you would like to check it out. http://main.pegperegousa.com/switch-video

A bit more money then we were planning on spending but we have heard many good things about this stroller. And either way a stroller is a couple hundred so we figure might as well spend a little more for something we will love and will last. And if we don't have any more children we can pass it on to one lucky friend.

So after furniture shopping we went to The Olive Garden for some soup, salad & breadsticks. Hmmm....love it!! Then my mom and I went to shop for my first Maternity clothes!! Yayyy!!! 17 weeks and my regular jeans are just so not comfortable anymore!! A few friends had told me about Motherhood Maternity and Target. So we went to Motherhood maternity and my Mom treated me to a few new VERY comfortable outfits!! I got two pairs of jeans, a pair of shorts and a few cute tops. Gosh I didn't realize how uncomfortable I really was until I tried this stuff on!! lol Next I will check out Target this weekend. I can always go on my lunch break as I have heard sometimes they have stuff and sometimes they don't. After our long day of shopping I plopped my ever growing butt on the couch. I had been up from 2am to 4am Saturday night from horrible stomach pains. That will teach me to eat Papa Johns EVER again while preggo!!

So that was our exciting weekend. Looking forward to Thanksgiving and eating (a little every hour for me) and seeing the family. Unfortunately Chris is on shift but my Mom already told him there will be plenty of leftovers for him.

So HAPPY THANKSGIVING a little early everyone!!

**Also put new belly pics @17 weeks in our album if you wanna check out the growing bump ;-)**

Results are back

I forgot to mention that last week I went to have my blood drawn again @ the Perinatal Office. Part two of the testing we had done @ 12 weeks. The nurse called today and our Baby Girl tested negative for

1. Down Syndrome
2. Neural Tube Defects
3. Trisomy 18

I wasn't too worried because we have no family history on either side for any of these. Also our 12 week scan looked good. But it was still nice to hear. Especially after still not knowing exactly why I had the 2 miscarriages before. And now I can't wait to see baby girl again at our 20 week scan!!! 3 more weeks! Ughh!! lol She is worth the wait. I just ♥ to look at her already....

Exciting news!!!!

We just got back from brunch with both our families so I wanted to post the video I made of our exciting announcement!! We wanted to wait until after we told our families today.
Click here http://picasaweb.google.com/nabramczyk210/MyVideos# to watch our announcement! (once you click the link it's the second video).
I will update with more info later!!! :-)))

******************UPDATE**********************
So let me update on the past week. First off the week started out kinda crappy. Chris was on shift last Sunday and ran a call on a 17 month old that was seizing. Turns out later that night the hospital called them and the child tested positive for H1N1!! So Monday I ended up staying @ my Mom's house just to be on the safe side. Tuesday after work I decided to stay @ home but we still slept in separate bedrooms. Wednesday Chris was on shift again and by Thursday he had no symptoms so that was a relief.
Friday I made the decision to get my H1N1 vaccine. It was available to immediate family members of the Firefighters. I had been struggling with this decision for weeks. I did A LOT of research, though. Checking up on trials done on pregnant women and also reading about many other women that have received the shot over the past few months. It is very new which is what mainly scared me. BUT it is very similar to the regular flu vaccine which has been given to pregnant women since the 1960's and has NEVER been proven to harm the unborn child. Also if you think about it the flu vaccine is new each year. As the flu changes slightly each year the vaccines are made up of the new strand of the virus each year.
Also working in the health care field I just couldn't take my chances. And having so many people I know have family or friends who have contracted the virus lately really scared me. My SIL's mom was in ICU for weeks. And another friend's 6 year old cousin was just put in ICU with it. No underlying conditions. And then if I did catch the virus I would have to be treated with Tamiflu which isn't an approved pregnancy drug! BUT because of everything we have been through putting anything in my body gives me doubt. I'm already anxious enough about our lil Pea. I mean I was even afraid to get my hair done and when I finally did (i waited until i was 12 weeks) my hair lady made sure everything was foiled and NOTHING touched my scalp!
Not to mention my first decision to decide what is best not only for me but for my growing child was a really hard choice. It's so different when you are more worried about someone else. But I decided this was the best decision to help keep us both healthy. And hopefully from what they are saying now our little girl will be protected after birth until she is old enough to get her own shots.
So......about our scan we just had to find out the sex. My next scan at the dr's isn't scheduled until next month when I will be 20 weeks. The anatomy scan. A few friends told me there are some place's that will tell you the sex of the baby once you are at least 15 weeks. Of course you have to pay. I called around and Ideal baby was $50 to find out the gender. And of course I would get to see our lil Pea again! So this was a total deal to me!! So on Monday I scheduled the appointment. This was around when I decided I would like to tell our families in person once we found out. So I called everyone and told them since Chris is working Thanksgiving I wanted to get everyone together for brunch. And it worked! Unfortunately my Dad could not come as he does not live here. Also Chris's Dad was out of town with his grandmother who recently had a heart attack so he was not able to make it. But the rest of the family would be there.
My Mom had said from the beginning that she wanted to go to the gender ultrasound with us but it ended up being the same day she had to pick my niece up from the sitter to watch her. So I asked my friend Olivia who had wanted to go to one of my ultrasounds while I was pregnant. She was definitely excited to be able to go to this one!!
So Friday after work we went to see our lil Pea and find out. A little girl or boy. Well lil Pea was NOT having it! lol She was crossing her legs at first. Then the cord was in the way. Finally the lady said we could come back another day. Then I told her about wanting to surprise our family Sunday. So then she gave me a soda, said to drink it and come back in 20-30 mins. So we did this and came back. The cord was still there but she was finally able to get a few good shots this time. She said she was 200% sure. Daddy your having a little GIRL!!
WOW!! A little girl. I think we were both in shock the rest of the night. At first all I could think of was all the scary things. Like talks of dating and birth control. Shaving her legs and mini skirts. But over the past few days I have been thinking about how I will be having a little girl. To braid her hair or ribbons and bows. Maybe she will want to dance like I did?! We are of course both still really excited! And now that the shock is wearing off we are getting eager to meet this beautiful little girl of ours.
Here is the video from today when we told the family. http://picasaweb.google.com/nabramczyk210/MyVideos#5404475132317182050 (you can also go to our album and then look under videos to see either video)
The onesies said Daddy's little Angel and the other said Mommy's Precious Girl.
After a long exciting day I am ready to lay down so thanks again to everyone and we are so happy to share our wonderful news about our soon to be BABY GIRL!!!
Let the shopping begin!! ;-)~

15 weeks

How Far Along? 15 weeks

Total Weight Gained/Loss? 4 pounds

Maternity Clothes: None yet but I have been using the belly bands

Sleep: I toss and turn a lot which I never used to do

Best Moment of the Week: my BF Dana came down to visit and we were able to take a belly pic together. This is her 2nd and last Pregnancy so I was happy to be able to share this moment with her. She is 35 weeks *pic below*

Movement: still too early but hopefully soon!!

Food Craving: still none. Nausea is going away a bit but the indigestion is bad

Food aversions: still quite a few

Gender: next scan is @ 20 weeks but might try to find out before then ;-)

Labor Signs: Nope & hopefully none for at least another 20 weeks

Belly Button: In and hoping it stays that way

What I miss: enjoying eating. lol

What I'm looking forward to: Finding out the sex soon!

Weekly Wisdom: gosh this really does go by fast!

Milestones: Making it to the 2nd trimester last week and can't wait for many more to come!!

Belated Halloween

Hope everyone had a happy & safe Halloween. Friday night we went to a party at our friend's house. You can check out some pics from the party here. For those of you that are True Blood fan's you will be able to appreciate my costume.
Saturday night for Halloween we decided to just hang out at the house and give out candy. We had the house decorated and get lot's of kids that trick or treat here. We had only lived in our house a few weeks last Halloween. We had just moved in.

No new pregnancy news. I did forget to mention about my dentist cleaning in my post last week. Let me start by saying I have never had a cavity. Well seems like lil Pea is taking my good teeth along with the lovely acne, nausea & horrible indigestion! lol I have my first ever cavity!!! Ahhhhh!!! My dentist said it is small, though, so they will fill it after I have the baby. But when I listened to lil Pea's heartbeat w/my Doppler tonight all of it is just so worth it to hear that fast beating!!!

I also wanted to attach a pic of me on Halloween wearing this cute top I ordered online. Hope everyone has a good week!

2nd Trimester

WOW! 2nd Trimester already?!? The last few weeks seem to be flying by! Unfortunately the end of 1st trimester did not take the nausea with it.

This is from baby center for week 14 -
Welcome to your second trimester! Your energy is likely returning, your breasts may be feeling less tender, and your queasiness may have completely abated by now.
Ummm....No, No and NO!! lol I feel more tired this past week. And my usually not tender breasts have actually been a little tender this week! The nausea is not as bad as it was around 10 weeks but it's definitely still here. Or maybe I have just gotten used to it. Also my sinuses have been driving me crazy! Not sure if it's the weather or pregnancy. I keep feeling like I might be getting sick but then I'm fine.

A few things happened this past week. One I had my first bad dream that something happened to the baby. I'm not even sure why I had this dream. I haven't been nearly as paranoid as I was before our 12 weeks scan. I have actually relaxed quite a bit since then. Especially having my Doppler and being able to hear lil Pea if I am feeling paranoid for any reason. Too much to type my whole dream but they basically told me I was loosing the baby. And I lost it! I couldn't breathe in my dream and was hysterical. The nurse was telling someone to sedate me. When I woke up my face was buried in my pillow (probably why I felt like I couldn't breathe) and I had tears soaking my face and pillow. Needless to say I was glad to say hello to baby with my Doppler after that nasty dream.

On a lighter note a funny little thing that happened the other day. I had off Wednesday to use a vacation day. After Chris and I ran some errands we came home and he found a package on the front porch. To the Abramczyk's. Chris got all excited we got a present in the mail! He starts to open it and pulls out.....The Breastfeeding Book by Dr. Sears. Needless to say his excitement vanished! lolol But not mine. I knew right away it was from my best friend Dana. She has the same book and has told me about it many time's. Thanks again Dana!

I have been having some dull cramping and weird feelings going on down there the past week also. A friend said it's probably my body making more room for growing baby. That's what I figured. My belly is still about the same size so I'm gonna wait until 15 wks. to take another belly pic..

I also did my first baby browsing Wednesday with my friend Lauren & her new lil baby Carson. I say browsing because I didn't go to shop yet, just to look around and see all they have. It was a little overwhelming to say the least!!! Sure I have been to Babies R Us and a few other places many, many time's. Of course always looking for gifts for our many friends & relatives that have kids already. But for some reason this time looking at all this stuff knowing I have to soon pick stuff out for our own baby....yeah let's just say it's a bit overwhelming. There is soooooooo much!! And being a first time Mom I have no idea what is good and what is a waste. Sure there are a few things I have learned from friends and my SIL. But like I said there is so much! lol
I did find an outfit, though, I just HAD to buy! Here is a pic and you will see why.
*There is even a lil pea on the butt of the pants!!*

I go for my next appt. to see my OB on Thursday. It's just for an exam, no ultrasound. :-( I am going to ask/beg if I can have a sooner ultrasound (maybe around 16wks) before my 20 week anatomy scan to find out the sex sooner. Also just to see lil Pea again. I can't imagine going from 12 to 20 weeks not seeing him/her!!! After going every two weeks since we found out we were PG, that's a long stretch!! So we will see what he says. Fingers crossed for an extra ultrasound.

Starting to show!

I took some new belly pics yesterday and after looking at them I can definitely see I am starting to show now! I put two new pics in our album on my blog. For those who don't know you can go to the link on my blog that says Chris & Nicole's Album to see all pics so far of lil Pea and belly pics.

I also noticed yesterday when I listened for lil Pea with the Doppler I found him/her a little higher up than normal. Baby is growin & movin on up! And boy can I tell with the new horrible indigestion I have been having the past week. I got indigestion before pregnancy from certain things. Mainly too much garlic or sauce. Eating too fast or too much at one time. But this is TOTALLY different. I got indigestion from a dang pop tart the other day!! I am so burpy and constantly wondering/hoping nothing is coming up with each burp. lol Today the nausea was a little better, though. I'm hoping that means the 1st trimester is taking the nausea with it!! I can't believe Friday will be the beginning of the 2nd Trimester. This is all suddenly going by so fast. All I want to do is see lil Pea again waving and jumping around like he/she was on our scan last week. If I had my own ultrasound machine. Well that would just be trouble. lol
I can't wait until I can finally feel lil Pea. I know that is going to be sooooooo amazing. For now I just listen with my Doppler and say hi to lil Pea that way. Sometime's you can hear lil Pea moving around on it too. They said you can catch movement on the Doppler at time's.

Yesterday lil Pea also got his/her first gift from someone. It was from Geoff, Lauren and baby Carson. And I love it!!♥ Thanks again Lauren! I can't believe you found it. Here is a pic.

Isn't this sooooo cute!! Notice the little pea pod on the baby cap.

One Word...Undescribable

Today was our 12 week scan @ the Perinatal office. I'm not gonna lie. My nerves got the best of me again. I really tried not to get to worked up. I hate doing that to the baby. I was fine yesterday and slept great last night. Then this morning I woke up and everything had me gagging. I was nausea but usually I am in the mornings. Well by the time I got to work I ran straight to the bathroom. My nausea+nerves=disaster. I threw up for the 2nd time this pregnancy. Usually I can handle the nausea but this time there was no holding back. I actually felt a bit better after that and then I was starving since breakfast was no longer in my belly.

So finally it was time to head out for our appt.. I met Chris at our house and we headed over. His Mom met us there also. First they drew my blood. Only one vial! Of course that was cake for me as I am a pro now. lol

Then it was time for our scan. And what I saw on that screen took my breathe away and had me in tears all at the same time! Even with our very unpersonable tech I couldn't help the tears that kept coming. She was very efficient but very quick and not fun or friendly about the whole thing. My friend Lauren who just had her baby went to the same place for her 12 week scan and the lady spent over a half hour showing her baby. Ours was probably 5 minutes. But what an absolutely wonderful 5 mins it was!!! Lil Pea (who is not so pea like anymore!) was all over the place. Waving, kicking and jumping!! The lady said 3 times what an active baby we have. I couldn't believe how we already got to see arms, legs, fingers, cute little nose and chin!! It was so amazing. And so perfect. We heard the heart, which is now 150. And I think it's a boy for some reason, but we will see. Also I assumed I was 12 weeks 3 days from the measurements at the RE's office but baby measured 12 weeks 6 days which is exactly perfect from the first day of my last period. Which now puts our due date back to April 30th which was going by my period.

I honestly just wanted to sit there and watch lil Pea for hours. It was so cute the way baby kept waving and moving all around. Like I said amazing. Chris tried to video but got yelled at. lol Apparently NO picture's or video. I wish I could have just had a little clip to watch over and over of lil Pea moving all around! Like I said....AMAZING.

I posted all the new pics in our album on our blog so please check them out. Of course I think it's the most beautiful baby I have ever seen, but that's just Mommy talking.
I also wanted to attach a picture of the beautiful sculpture lil Pea's Aunt Liv just gave us. It is made from Willow bark and is very touching. Thanks again sista!

WOW 12 weeks?!? Really??

WOW! We made it. This is what I said to Chris yesterday morning. We really made it! And yet I am a bit annoyed because this dang paranoia I thought would then vanish is STILL HERE!!! But, I honestly think this has to do with our scan Thursday. It's been a little over two weeks and lil Pea has been growing like crazy! So we hope. This scan is @ the Perinatal office. This is part 1 of a two part testing. They will be testing for the usual birth defects and also just to make sure everything is growing as should be so far.

I just can't get it into my head we might have finally created a perfect living baby. I need this scan to prove all my fears wrong. Our lil miracle conceived finally by Clomid. And then baby scaring us in the beginning when my Beta levels weren't rising like they should. This will truly be my lil miracle to see everything on that screen as it should. Our lil Pea now a teeny tiny baby. I just want this feeling I have that my dream will be ripped from beneath me to go away finally. And I think it really will once I see our baby Thursday. Then I can say we really did it. I think it's also very surreal to me to think there is this little life that now looks just like a baby inside my belly. Because I really don't have a belly yet. So I keep thinking maybe he/she is not growing properly. Or my new fear that my Uterus is not expanding like it should. I know I sound silly to some. And a few friends that have recently had babies have reassured me a little that some people really don't start showing until 13-14 weeks! And even then just a little bump. My best friend told me today, just calm down because soon you will be complaining you're huge like me! She is now 32 weeks preggo with her 2nd. And I'm sure she is right! So now we are saying another prayer that everything will be as it should Thursday and that I will get to enjoy seeing lil Pea moving around. Our 1st real look @ our baby. My friend Lauren told me for her this scan was truly amazing and an eye opener for her. So as nervous as I am I'm also excited.

Dealing with the miscarriages and Infertility the last year I have met many women online suffering as we were. Each there own story. All sad, some absolutely devastating. These women are all so strong, though. And they all deserve to be Mommy's. And some are now very soon about to be! Along with having them there to talk with during our hard times the past year I have also learned about so many other scary things that can happen while pregnant. But I have also reminded myself that although I know of all these things that can still happen even after making it past that 12 week mark, that was not our problem. Our problem was early 1st trimester miscarriages. So even though there are things that can still go wrong this was never our problem and I am going to enjoy the rest of this Pregnancy and just hope I never develop any of these other problems. I really want to enjoy this PG as I can't believe the first 12 weeks have already come and gone! We are still not sure what the future holds and if I will ever again be pregnant, so I want to totally enjoy each and every minute of this possibly once in a lifetime experience. Nausea, Migraines and all!! lol

That is my newest symptom. HORRIBLE headaches. And I am allergic to Tylenol so I can't take anything. They sometime's feel worse than hangover headache's for those who have never been PG. Today is my first day since Thursday I don't have one. (knock on wood)

I also wanted to attach a pic of the sweet card Chris made for me yesterday. Yes he will be a wonderful Daddy...♥

Oh and I almost forgot to mention I got my Doppler in the mail thursday and I LOVE IT!!!!! Took me awhile the first time to find lil Pea. He/she is still so low!! (btw, thanks DAWN for all your help with it!) But now I know where to look and I say hi every night. :o)

1st belly pics

I decided since I'm gaining weight time to start taking belly pics. I wish I had taken a before pic.. Oh well. So here it is. I don't really feel I have "popped" yet so I'm pretty sure my new pudge is just bloat and....well pudge! lol
11wks 2days


I also wanted to post a pic of lil Pea's 1st gift! Well actually this is more for Mommy and Daddy.
From Lauren, Geoff and baby Carson. Thank you guys!! It's perfect Lauren. xo

11 weeks

So I decided I am now far enough along to do my first survey. Here goes!

How Far Along? 11 weeks

Total Weight Gained/Loss? 3 pounds (yes it's just pudge as I know lil Pea is still way too tiny to weigh that much. Plus my usual weekly workouts have ceased due to this lovely constant nausea)

Maternity Clothes: Non yet but I HATE anything even slightly tight on the belly so my Mom bought me my first Belly Band today

Sleep: Besides the trips to the bathroom usually pretty good

Best Moment of the Week: hoping my Doppler will come this week & hearing lil Pea's heartbeat again will be it for sure! We haven't heard it since 6 weeks @ the RE's office!

Movement: too early but I absolutely cannot WAIT until I finally can feel baby

Food Craving: None yet. Hard to decide what to eat with this persistent nausea. And yet I constantly feel hungry.

Food aversions: too many to list!! Damn nausea. I thought everything was supposed to taste wonderful pregnant!

Gender: we will hopefully find out in 5 weeks!!!!

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button: In and I really hope to keep it that way

What I miss: nothing really yet. Just happy to still be preggo! :o)

What I'm looking forward to: Appointment at the Perinatologist for our 12 week scan. As nervous as I am for this testing I can't wait to see lil Pea as a developed baby!!!

Weekly Wisdom: It's nice to be able to finally enjoy being PG (I admit I still definitely have my moments of fear, though. But I think I will till the end and I am ok with that)

Milestones: Every week in this 1st trimester is a milestone for me!! We can't wait to reach many more!!

This past weekend I saw something in the baby section while shopping for my soon to be nephew. It is something I have seen over the past few years and always hoped they would still have it when we finally were PG. I actually thought they had discontinued it as I haven't seen it in awhile. So I said screw it! Enough with my fears! And I bought lil Pea's first baby gift!! Of course the guilt tries to creep up on me, that It's still too early buy something. But I remind myself it is silly to think like that. Our last PG we never bought anything and that still didn't end well so I'm thinking the whole jinx thing really is just silly. So here is lil Pea's first gift from Mommy and Daddy. It goes on the bathtub nozzle and is a Firefighter duck. As most of you know hubby is a Firefighter. They used to have a little one that matches this one. It tests the water temp. but I still haven't ever seen that one again.

Babies, Babies, Babies!!

This past Thursday two of our good friends had their baby's! And less than an hour apart! Our friend's Lauren and Geoff had a beautiful baby boy.

Carson Michael Ellison
7lbs. 5oz. 19in.
Born 10/08/09 @ 4:34pm.

Our friend's Paul and Katrina had to have a C-Section at 36 weeks due to some complications. Luckily baby was fully developed and healthy and did not have to stay in NICU.

Keegan Lorelei Brin
5lbs. 8oz. 18in.
Born 10/08/09

We are so happy for all of you and can't imagine the happiness you feel finally bringing home your babies today. Wishing you good health and happiness in the many years to come!

Can this be real!?!

This is the question that plays in my head over and over again. Can there really be a little baby growing strong and healthy in my belly?!? After wondering if it would ever be possible for us? A life we created that will finally be our little baby we get to hold very soon?!
As some know my appt. was supposed to be today for my 10 week scan. Well after the different cramps I have been having the past few days. And then this nausea becoming an on/off thing after being every minute of every day the past 3 weeks or so I had become a bit panicked. I think it was also the fact that this has been the longest I have had to wait to see our lil Pea again. As Chris said to me, we got spoiled with our weekly scans at the RE's office. These had become my weekly comfort. So anyways on Tuesday my Mom mentioned if I was that nervous why not call and see if they had any openings for Wednesday. And they did!
So Chris and I went yesterday morning. I was trying to stay somewhat calm but I was extremely nervous. I really thought at one point I was going to throw up in the exam room while waiting for Dr. G to come in. He finally walked in carrying the Doppler. I told him I was nervous, which he could obviously see. So he said, well let's go show you your baby then! (so much for the Doppler which was just fine with me!)
So he walked us next door to the ultrasound room. Once I was laying down he started rubbing the wand on my belly and I just couldn't look. Finally he says look here, there is your baby's strong little beating heart. I finally turned my head and there was lil Pea. Just as strong as ever! And then the most amazing thing happened. Lil Pea jumped for us twice! It was the cutest most amazing thing!!! Just pushed those little feet against the sac and bounced!!! (Chris, being mister comedian himself, said baby was jumping up & down trying to get my attention to say, here i am!! now stop making us crazy!! lol) Now Dr. G's machine is nothing like @ the RE's office so we really couldn't see the arms and legs or much definition. But our appt. with the Perinatologist's office is in 2 weeks and I have heard they have very nice equipment for some great pics..
So I finally slept like a baby last night. I am trying to convince myself that this is really happening for us. After thinking & wondering if this would ever happen I am trying to convince myself now that it is. Dr. G told Chris I am not going to stop worrying so much until I can feel lil Pea every day moving in my belly. But even then I have been told by friends I may still worry when baby is sleeping or doesn't move for awhile. I have decided I am going to buy a Doppler. I have been referred a few good one's and if anyone knows of any other's that they have used or a friend has that works really good please let me know. This way when I do have some new cramps or anything else I am worried about I can use the Doppler and be reassured by the sound of lil Pea's heartbeat.
Chris tryed to video our exam in hope's that we would get to see lil Pea move but unfortunately with the fact that their machine is "not the best" and the screen being so small the video is not very good. But I put it with all our pics of lil Pea which you can see in our album link on our blog.
Thank you again for all the support and prayers from everyone. It means so much to us.
I also wanted to wish the best of luck to my friend Lauren & Geoff on the possible delivery of baby Carson today. She started having contractions every 5mins this morning so it looks like little Carson might be here today! Wishing her the best of luck with delivery. I know she is hoping to do everything natural, no drugs. I hope everything works out and she get's to meet her beautiful healthy little boy today!♥

Freak out!

I had a little meltdown last night/this morning. Yesterday I noticed I wasn't really that nauseous. We were pretty busy as we got down all our Halloween decorations (we have a lot!) and put them all up from 9:30am until almost 2pm. I even got a little burnt. It was very sunny and hot out.
In the evening I started having some cramping that was a bit different than what I have been feeling. I have been getting two different types of cramping since I became PG. One is from my lovely IBS that this PG is driving crazy. The other is just my uterus and body growing to make room for lil Pea. I wasn't sure what the cramps last night were like. Maybe a little of both? But yet still different than usual. Anyhow, this on top of the "missing" nausea of course had me panicked. It took me back to 02/04/09 (my last miscarriage) like a horribly lived nightmare. Needless to say I slept like shit and was pretty panicky this morning. I woke up and still no nausea. Also I was surprised I didn't wake up for my middle of the night cracker feast. lol Yes I usually wake up sometimes in the night feeling horribly empty and nauseous. So I eat a few crackers I keep next to my bed and go back to sleep.
Once I woke up I started drinking one of my Activia smoothies while getting ready for work. I noticed that this was making me slightly nauseous. Then all of the sudden I felt like gagging (which I do often) but realized this was going to be worse than my normal gag. I ran to the toilet and threw up a few times. I am still not sure if this was morning sickness (as I have never actually thrown up) or just my nerves. Or maybe a combination of both.
The cramps have now stopped and I am just a bit "sore" feeling I guess you could say. I have felt this "sore" feeling before. Probably from everything stretching and moving. Needless to say I am a bit over sensitive to every little thing going on with my lower body ever since the last miscarriage. It's honestly a bit ridiculous at times. Not to mention quite annoying.

Well now the nausea has returned with full force. And the cramps have stopped. So I have calmed down a bit. I was going to call my dr. but glad I waited. Now I think I will wait and see how things go today and tomorrow. If it bothers again I may call to see if I can come in tomorrow or Wednesday, if not I will try to hold out for my appt. Thursday.
I am thinking (& hoping/praying) the cramps were either 1. Just my body making even more room as baby is growing a lot now 2. Some more IBS as things are moved around in there to make room for baby 3. I overdid it a bit yesterday morning. my legs were even a little sore this morning! Crazy because i was a pretty fit person before this PG, working out several times a week. I have to remind myself I am not as fit as I used to be. In the beginning I was too nervous to work out and now with the nausea all I ever am really up for is a walk around the park! And finally 4. Maybe a combination of "all of the above" and that is why the cramps were a little more intense than usual.

I just hope soon I can finally relax!! Poor lil Pea must be a like a Mexican jumping bean!!
Thursday can't get here soon enough!

Our Halloween decorations