Bermuda and Ocean City (9 weeks 2 days)

We are in Bermuda. We left Friday night after Brian got off of work and drove 4 hours to Breezewood PA. I was extremely nauseous all day Friday. When we left the house, I drove for a while. I normally cannot do anything while riding in the car or I get motion sickness. Now that is especially true so I thought I might as well drive. We stopped once for a potty break, once for dinner (that was terrible), and then finally when we got to Breezewood. It went fairly smoothly.

On Saturday morning we woke up to drive the rest of the way to Baltimore for our cruise. When I woke up I went to the bathroom and there was bright red blood. Not a lot but some. I freaked out for a little bit. I am tired of bleeding. I always think something is wrong with baby. Why is this happening? I calmed down and knew that since I was not in pain and it was not a lot of blood everything should be okay. We went to McDonald’s for breakfast then hit the road to Baltimore. After my episode this the morning, there was no blood during my second bathroom visit. Whew!

When we got to the cruise terminal we stood in line for while to go through security. It was really hot and I was not doing so well. I wanted to puke and sit down. Finally after about 45 minutes we were on the cruise. This week is going to be nothing but relaxing. We really need it. I think baby needs it too!

I have been feeling my normal pregnant self while on the cruise. Dr Grossman gave me a prescription for zofran but I have not had to use it yet. Hopefully I will not have to. I don’t like taking anything while I am pregnant. The best thing that helps me with nausea is graham crackers and we have plenty of those.

Today was a big day for us. We have known for a year to two how we wanted to tell our family and friends we are pregnant. Still to this day no one knows we are pregnant (we are 9 weeks 2 days). We are going to take a picture with us in it. On the side of the picture we are going to write: $3000 Cruise to Bermuda, $250 transportation to cruise, Telling you there are 3 of us in the picture: Priceless! (This is from a common theme used in MasterCard commercials for the past 10-20 years in case anyone is reading this in the future and is confused). We are going to mail this card out to our family (I want to hand deliver it to my parents because they are going to freak). We are still going to wait a few more weeks but today was picture day for us and baby!

We went to Hamilton and St George to get some pictures. We have two in St George that we really like. I cannot wait until people get them. Oh it is going to be so fun!

We still plan to keep the names for the baby a secret but we have a funny name picked out. Graham Cracker Frackelton. The reason is that I eat so many graham crackers right now. The cracker part is to be funny, but is also fitting for Brian's dad. He used to work for Lance crackers and we called him Cracker as a nickname. Everyone knew who we were talking about. Then Brian said for a girl we would name her Lorna Doone (like the shortbread cookies). I think that is really funny.

The real names we like right now are Sydney Lynn for a baby girl (and Venice Catherine for baby girl two). We still cannot decide for certain on a boy but we do like Austin Patrick. It fits our travel theme (Austin, Texas). We searched for it online and Google auto-completed the first part of the name ("AUST") as AUSTralia which seemed equally fitting, so Austin is starting to firm up as our clear favorite if it's a boy. We found name plates while in Ocean City and took a picture (on July 2).

NOTE: The discussions of names were hidden on the blog and only published after Austin was born and named. We kept the names a secret from our family.

Vacation Preparation (8 weeks 6 days)

Oh my goodness has this been quite a week. It started on Monday morning. When I went to the bathroom first thing in the morning, I wiped and had brown discharge. I freaked out a little bit. I knew that brown was okay because that meant it was old blood but I still was not comfortable with this. Once 9am came around, I called my doctor and spoke with the nurse. She reassured me that everything was okay and that can be normal. I still was so upset. Now all the “what ifs” ran through my mind. The spotting continued on and off through most of the week.

I have not had any spotting since Wednesday. I am so grateful! I even had to change my exercise routine this week a little bit since I did not want to over do it. It is really scary not knowing for sure everything is okay. My morning sickness clamed down but only for a short period of time. It is definitely back today. But as long as baby is okay, I am okay with that!

We leave in a few hours for Baltimore. We are going on a cruise to Bermuda. I have not even been that excited about it because I have been so worried about everything with me and baby. It should be really fun. It is going to be a relaxing vacation for once for us. Brian and I really need it.

Brian's week was probably worse than mine. Another company has kept in touch with him for the last year while he finished his master degree. They offered him a job once before that he turned down. Now they are back and he received another formal offer this week for a job that he is more interested in. There are some changes planned at his current job though, but he didn't know all of the details until this week when they were finally announced. They created a new system architect role and promoted him into it. That's a good opportunity too. He spent all week trying to decide what to do. It was a really tough decision, but he decided to stay where he is and accept the promotion and new assignment. In the end, everything worked out.

I am looking forward to spending a week together. Hopefully I will feel okay and no major issues occur while away from home.

Cleaning House (8 weeks 1 day)

I made it to 8 weeks! My oh my this is going to be an adventure! Pregnancy definitely changes your body. I cannot understand how someone could not know they are pregnant. Especially those shows on TV where a women delivers and she never knew she was pregnant. I cannot understand that. I am definitely not the same as I was 8 weeks ago.

Morning sickness (or what I like to call it “I’m going to puke at any minutes now”) is really annoying. Morning sickness is such a terrible name. It happens 24 hours a day! One day last week I did not have any morning sickness. Then of course I got nervous that something was wrong with the baby. (What an emotional rollercoaster). The morning sickness is back now and with it reassurance of normalcy. The best thing I found was graham crackers. I just need to eat one or two little squares and I am good for about an hour. Eating something small every couple of hours really helps too.

I am so tired. I could sleep forever right now. When I wake up in the morning I feel like I am going to puke so I have to get up to eat something. Then I can go back to bed for a little while. Brian has been great. I take a nap a few nights a week now. It is amazing how tired I really am.

Yesterday we cleaned out our lower level of our house. We have a split level house so we have a lower level. It is completely finished down there. How it is set up it is not like a basement. We treated the one room like a basement and threw all of our junk in there. We need to clean it out so it can now become our spare bedroom since our current spare bedroom will be “baby’s” room.

We are calling the baby, “baby” right now. Very original I know. We have talked about names however we don’t want people to know them until baby is born. We like to keep things a surprise. We have decided on a girl’s name however we are still working on a boy’s name. We are not going to find out the gender of the baby. Again we want it to be a surprised.

Yesterday while cleaning up the downstairs bedroom we found Brian’s baby book from when he was younger. It was so cool to go through it at this time in our lives. Brian was a good baby so lets hope baby is too! My mother in law kept a journal about her pregnancy and it was so cool to read it. It made me glad that I was doing the same thing. I did not know she did that until yesterday. I think my baby book is still at my parents house. My parents were great and did not make me take all my childhood things out of their house. I really don’t want all my junk at my house. (I don’t like clutter). Brian’s mom had moved so he had to take all of his stuff several years ago.

While going through things, Brian happened to find a Birthday card from his dad. It was weird because he didn't really keep cards. You get one every year, so what's the point. After someone passes away though that changes. Brian's dad died nearly 5 years ago. It seemed as though this card had just gotten mixed in with some other stuff by accident. Inside the card said, "I hope someday you have a son of your own, and you're as proud of him as I am of you." It's funny how relevant that seems right now. Neither Brian or I have a preference for gender, so son/daughter are one in the same to us.

We leave for vacation on Friday. With everything going on, I cannot believe we are going on vacation. It has been planned for months but I am nervous about this trip. I just hope baby and I are okay while traveling. I am so nervous about a miscarriage and I don’t want to be away from home if that would happen. I pray everyday everything will be okay and baby is healthy!

This morning I was going through my clothes to pack for the trip. I still have not gained any weight but I just feel fat. I am getting wider though. My breast feel like softballs (boy do they hurt). I do not like tight clothes right now. I need room to breathe. This trip is going to be nice and relaxing. We don’t have anything planned. We have never done that before. I hope to live in my swimsuit for a week.

We are going to the rec center to exercise. I have still be doing all my regular exercises (weight training/treadmill/elliptical and walking 6-7 miles with my friend Dawn once a week). I even got a yoga while pregnant DVD however I have not tried that yet. Maybe later tonight or tomorrow.

Nutrition (7 weeks 1 day)

I am now 7 weeks pregnant. Well actually 7 weeks and 1 day. I am amazed on how I know exactly how far along I am now everyday. I always knew pregnant women knew how far along they were but I am wondering if I am going to know to the exact day through my entire pregnancy.

Last night Brian and I did our grocery shopping. We focused on getting a lot of nutritious foods for us and baby. We usually eat healthy but we are extra focused on nutrition now. We got 100% whole grain bread. It costs more but for the nutrition value it is worth it. We also got whole grain pasta. I have planned out our meals this week. I am going to try to eat meat for dinner everyday. I am still worried about protein. I need 75 grams of protein a day. I think I am close to that. There is protein in diary, cereals, and breads. Also my new favorite anti-nausea food is graham crackers.

Starting last week, Brian takes my picture every week so we will be able to see as I grow. At first I did not care about it but now I think it is a good idea. I currently weigh 132-133 pounds. I have weighed that for about a year. I have not gained any weight yet. Although in the first trimester, you are only suppose to gain 3-5 pounds.

I have to pee a lot now! I am drinking a lot of water but I am still going much more than usual. At night, I get up at least once sometimes twice. I cannot hold it like I use to.

Tonight our family is coming over for dinner. Again no one knows I am pregnant. I think we are going to wait about another 4 weeks to make sure everything is okay. Time to go prepare dinner and hide all of the baby books.

Baby's First Ultrasound (6 weeks 6 days)

I’m 6 weeks and 6 days pregnant! Today I had an ultrasound. I could not wait for this day. I was so nervous. I was afraid something would be wrong. My biggest concern was that implantation occurred in the fallopian tube and not in the uterus. That would mean the pregnancy would not make it. I am so nervous about having a miscarriage. All I want is a healthy baby!

The ultrasound was quick and easy. They put jelly on my belly and found the baby within seconds. I could not believe it. A baby is growing inside of me. (I know it is still an embryo right now but to me it is a baby). The ultrasound tech measured my uterus and looked at my ovaries. I ovulated from the right side to conceive this baby. It is so interesting how the ultrasound works. Then she took a look at the baby. I could see the baby’s heart beat. It was beating 121 beats per minute. She said that everything looks normal. I am so excited!

I even got ultrasound pictures! I have pictures of the baby. Amazing! When I left the office, I was so happy that everything was fine. I texted Brian to let him know the good news. The appointment was in the middle of the day and he was at work. We didn't realize that there would be so much to see this early on, so he didn't take the day off to join me. The ultrasound offered some reassurance.

I came home and took a nap. It is really amazing how tired I am right now. I have always liked my sleep but right now I need so much sleep. I don’t have much energy. Going to work basically takes everything out of me. I am still exercising and trying to be as active as possible.

The worst part is the morning sickness. I am nauseous probably 80% of the time I am awake. It is not terrible nausea but it can still be annoying. The mornings are the worst part for me. Anytime I get hungry is also bad. Food is not the same to me right now. There are several things that I usually like that I don’t have an interest for which are: carrots, pop, banana bread, and cookies. I don’t even enjoy cereal like I usually do.

I am trying so hard to eat healthy. My biggest problem is we don’t eat as much protein as I need to right now. We are not big meat eaters. We probably only have meat 4 nights a week and that is only one serving. I normally always have a protein serving for lunch (either peanut butter or lunch meat). Now I am trying for two servings at dinner. I started hard boiling eggs and eating one on a salad a few nights a week too. Last night we had pasta for dinner. I made meatballs with it. Usually I would not have done that.

I am definitely getting my servings of fruits and vegetables. I am also good at eating nonfat diary. I love milk and yogurt. I am even trying to drink fruit juice instead of anything carbonated. For some reason this week, I have lost my interest in pop. Water sometimes tastes good and other moments makes me want to vomit!

Well it is almost 10pm and I need to get ready for bed.

Our First Doctor's Appointment

Yesterday evening Brian and I went to my doctor’s appointment together. I was really happy that he went with me. I did not know what to expect but everything went fine. The first test was a urine sample. Then I got weighed and my blood pressure checked. I have not gained any weight yet. The nurse took 5 tubes of blood.

The nurse asked when my last menstrual period was which was April 16th. She took out this wheel chart and said my due date is January 21. Brian and I know that is not right. I do not have normal 28 day cycle. My cycles go from 30-45 days. I ovulated around May 7 according to my basal body temperature.

My doctor came in and talked to us for a while. He confirmed that I am really pregnant. I had a fear that I would go to the doctor and he would say that I am not really pregnant. This is just my crazy thinking. Everything does not seem real yet. He ordered an ultrasound to determine exactly how far long I am. I will be getting an ultrasound on Friday. I am really excited about that. I really did not want to wait until 12 weeks to get an ultrasound. Hopefully everything will be okay with that!

At the doctor’s office, I got a bag with a bunch of stuff in it. I got magazines, bottles, vitamins, and a urine sample cup. Yes now every time I go to the doctors, I need to bring a urine sample with me. Just the beginning of the joy of being pregnant. I really do like my bag of goodies though.

After our appointment, we went to Target to get my prenatal vitamins filled. While at Target, we briefly went down the baby aisle. We are going to need a lot of stuff. I am really excited about that. I cannot wait to pick out a stroller, crib, car seat, swing, high chair, and a pack in play. I will find the ones I like then let Brian do the research on them to make sure they are good.

Brian ordered us several books last night on pregnancy and babies. I am looking forward to them coming so we can read them.

I am still nauseous most of the time but I am trying to handle it well. It is hard at work at times because I don’t want anyone to know yet that I am pregnant. I try to keep something in my system so I don’t get sick. Also after work today, I was really tried. I got a short nap in and now I am feeling okay.

My First Pregnancy

Brian and I have reached another chapter in our lives. We are going to be parents! We have been married for 5 ½ wonderful years and traveled all over the world (to more than 30 different countries). When we got married, we said we were on a five year plan before we would think about having a baby. We stuck to that and really enjoyed our time together. To check out some of our travel adventures visit:

http://amyandbriansworldtour.blogstop.com/

For several months, we have been trying to get pregnant. I have some female issues and there was some concern as to whether or not I could get pregnant without medical help. We were extremely blessed because this happened without the help of any fertility treatments. We used an online charting program at http://www.myfertilitycharts.com/ that proved to be extremely helpful. I took my basal body temperature everyday and entered it using text messaging. The website would indicate when ovulation occurred. Because of this program, we know exactly when our baby was conceived.

I wanted to start this blog, but no one except us knows that we are pregnant right now. Some people already know I am on blogger.com because of our travel blog. They could visit it and potentially run into this one and find out the news by clicking on my profile. So right now, I am going to type this up and upload to a blog at a later date. (Update: Brian uploaded my older posts for me on August 13, 2010 and added pictures for me)

The reason I don’t want people to know that I am pregnant yet is because I am a nurse and realize everything that can go wrong early on in a pregnancy. Our families are going to be really excited about this and I don’t want the entire world to know and then something terrible happen.

Today is our first doctor’s appointment. I have been waiting two weeks for this appointment. Once I took a home pregnancy test and it was positive, I called the doctor’s office thinking I would get an appointment soon however it ended up being two weeks later. I am excited to go the doctor’s appointment. For some reason, I have this thought after I see the doctor everything will be okay. In reality, I know that is not the case but right now that is what I am thinking. (My hormones are crazy right now and some of my thought processes are a little off).

I have started getting the morning sickness. It has not been fun but I can get through it. The mornings are the worst part for me. Another issue that I have is I also almost passed out last week. It was really hot and I got diaphoretic, had to lay down, and everything went black for about 10 seconds. That was a little scary but after I turned on the air conditioner and got some juice I was okay. This is another reason I really want to see the doctor.

I have also started going to the bathroom more frequently. I am trying to drink a lot of water but water has not tasted as good as it usually does. We bought fruit juice for me to try and help. I am usually not a fan of juice. I was never a real big pop drinker but I did have a few a week. Now I have to find pop without caffeine. It is amazing how many soda pops have caffeine in it. Thank goodness for A&W rootbear!

We are trying to keep me as healthy as possible. We pray everyday for a healthy baby. I am eating lots of fruits and vegetables. It is actually interesting because I almost crave fruits now more than any other food. I have had a brownie in the fridge to eat for 3 days and it does not even seem appealing to me right now. (Usually I love my sweets). I have also been really tired. I am sleeping 8-9 hours every night and a little more on the weekends.

I am getting ready for my doctor’s appointment. Hopefully I will have more news later.