Angela's Journal: The very beginning

6 weeks and 2 days--not much news to report.

I am anxiously awaiting my doctor's appointment at 1:45 pm tomorrow.

My sister read my online journal. Yippee!! Like I said before, I really like writing about the pregnancy, and it makes me feel good when my family members read about what I'm thinking.

I've been lucky so far--no pregnancy symptoms with the exception of no AF!!

I found out yesterday that my husband did tell his friend Josh the other day. Oh well! I guess at this point it's just half the world that knows!

We'll probably tell my dad, step-mom, and my dad's side of the family towards the end of this month. I guess the same goes for the rest of Jimmy's family and our friends. I guess I'll play it by ear based upon how my doctor's appointment goes tomorrow.

I had some weird and crazy dreams last night. In one, I had a really expensive ticket to an American Idol concert. Once I was inside and the concert started, I really hated it and couldn't figure out why we didn't sell the ticket.

In the second dream, I was taking a dance class and had to excuse myself to go to the ladies room. Inside the restroom, I found a male infant all alone. A friend of mine from high school came in the restroom shortly after, making some comment about how she couldn't remember where she left the baby. Weird, huh?

Doctor's appointment today!!! I am so excited!!

The only problem that I am having with the pregnancy is that I wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and then have difficulty getting back to sleep.

Anybody else having this problem?

Just 45 minutes until I can leave work to go to my second doctor's appointment. I am so excited! I can hardly wait!!

My boss is so cool. He didn't even ask why I have another doctor's appointment and since it's a 30 minute drive each way from our office, he offered to let me work from home this afternoon.
I am truly blessed!!

I'm sitting at my desk eating a meal prepared by my FIL's girlfriend...pot roast, potatoes, and some kind of spinach/squash casserole that's actually really yummy. My embryo and I are quite enjoying it. Thank you, Joan!

Guess I better sign off shortly and look up the directions to my doctor's office. (My doctor is out of town until 6/19 so I am seeing one of his partners, who is also a high-risk specialist.)

Wish me luck!!

Love,
Angela

Well, as excited as I was to go for my 2nd doctor's appointment and 2nd ultrasound, it really turned out to be quite a disappointment.

Basically, the doctor still was not able to see the gestational sac or find my left ovary. WHAT A BUMMER!!

He reassured me that my two earlier hCG tests had doubled. My first test on 6/8 was 83. My second test on 6/10 was 196. So, since my hCG levels are still very low, it basically means that I am not as far along as I thought.

Maybe this means I won't be due until the end of February, maybe I have an ectopic pregnancy, maybe I have an abnormal uteran pregnancy.

I go back to the doctor on Friday, 6/23 at 8:40 a.m., and maybe this time, he will be able to see something.

My sister told me that it took 3 appointments before they were able to see anything when she was pregnant with my niece.

Also, I'm probably being a baby about this, but my left arm really hurts and is bruised from where I had blood drawn 2 times previously.

I also wish the doctor would have done a blood test yesterday (on my right arm this time), so that I could have another hCG number to compare with the other two.

Right now, I'm looking forward to my OB/GYN coming back from vacation, and having my third doctor's appointment on the 23rd.

Wish me luck,

Angela

I had my very first bout of morning sickness when I got to work this morning. It hit me fast, too. Luckily, I was sitting at my desk and could puke into the trashcan. (Many apologies, if TMI!)

I took my prenatal vitamin slightly before eating so that could have been the culprit, although I have done that before without problems.

I know that this is a good sign so I'm trying to stay positive.

Have a good day!
Angela

My husband is coming to my office to take me and our baby-to-be to lunch today. Yea!! I feel happy, excited, and hungry!

Have a great afternoon,

Angela

Had a nice, quick lunch at Sonic. I started gaining weight before I got pregnant, and although I can't imagine having gained any weight yet due to the pregnancy, my clothes are sure fitting tightly (at least pants and skirts across my belly)!

Probably shouldn't have had that Sonic, but it did taste good.

My boss is out of the office until the week of June 26th so it's been a good time to catch my breath, organize, and get caught up with things at the office.

I am a little bit anxious about telling my boss about the pregnancy. I know that he will be happy for us, but it means finding a replacement for me while I'm on maternity leave and then figuring out my work schedule and situation once I'm ready to go back to work.

My husband suggested that I could start back two days a week at first, then move to three. I will just have to see if that will work for my boss, or if I can possibly find someone to job share with me.

We had a girl at our office who went on maternity leave April of last year, and didn't really come back, so he'll probably worry about that with me as well. Of course, if my husband has any say in it that won't be a worry at all. He will say that we need the money and that I need to get out of the house for a little bit. He's probably right.

Then, of course, there is the whole child care issue...

Sitting at my desk at work eating strawberry yogurt, drinking a cup of hot tea, and just took my prenatal vitamin.

I slept very well last night. I started falling asleep on the couch before 8 pm, went to the bedroom at 8:30 pm, and didn't even wake up when my husband came to bed.

First time I awakened was after 2 am, to use the bathroom. I didn't having any trouble falling back to sleep, which is really good for me. I woke up briefly a couple of other times, but wasn't even awake long enough to find my glasses and see what time it was. Very good!

My sister just had her 2nd child on 4/25/06, and today is her first day back to work. I am so happy for her! She is just going to work one day a week in June, then will start back full time on 7/10. She is a great mom, and really enjoys working so I'm glad that she was able to achieve a balance of what works best for her. I hope that I will be as lucky!

Am going to continue researching my child care options. I know it's early for me to be deciding on this, but I would like to have a plan in mind before I tell my boss about the pregnancy.

Speaking of work, I guess I better sign off or else I'll never get started!

Have a wonderful day!

Angela

* Just went into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water, and man, does the smell of brewing coffee make me nauseous!

I bought 3 fun pregnancy books during lunch at Barnes & Noble today: The Pregnancy Journal--A Day-to-Day Guide to a Healthy and Happy Pregnancy, Belly Laughs, and The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy.

I have already started my hardback journal, since my online journal has been up and running for 10 days, when I first found out about my pregnancy.

I can't believe I've only known about the pregnancy for 10 days. This has to have been the longest 10 days of my life. It just seems to me that when you are pregnant, you just pay more attention to every single second of the day.

I've had more doctor's appointments this month than I've had in a really long time. Yet the time between each doctor's appointment seems like an eternity! I've got another full week before my next doctor's appointment, which of course, I am anxiously awaiting.

According to my hardback journal, to which I've assigned 2-11-2006 as my EDD, today is Day 26 of my pregnancy. According to my journal, my little embryo "can easily fit on the eraser end of a standard lead pencil." Limb buds for my baby's arms and legs are also present. My baby has a "prominent bump" for a head "and a temporary tail-like structure". Pretty exciting stuff, let me tell you!

I have another hour and a half of "work"; yet my brain is totally consumed by baby and thoughts of baby. It is going to be a really long and unproductive nine months!!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Angela

Had another small bout of morning sickness this morning. Almost exactly like last time. This morning I had taken a bite or two of yogurt before I took my prenatal vitamin...obviously that is still not enough food in my tummy.

From now on, I will either make myself finish the yogurt before I take my prenatal vitamin or I'll be sure to eat an egg sandwich or something else equally filling.

We had a good weekend. My husband bought me a new ring to wear on my right hand. It is white gold with diamonds and alexandrite, which I've never heard of before, but is really pretty. I got to tell the lady at the jewelry store that I was pregnant. She thought I should have the ring sized down slightly. I mentioned that I was newly pregnant and asked if that would make any difference. After her congratulations, she agreed that I should keep the ring's size as is.

I also bought a baby book on Saturday. I know this is crazy because I am so newly pregnant that the doctors can't even see the gestational sac on the ultrasound, but what can I say? It's my very first pregnancy, and I am overly excited!

It's a very simple baby book illustrated by Suzy Spafford. It was only $18 at Barnes & Noble and is entitled "Baby's Book: The First Tender Years". It's yellow with white polka dots and has an illustration of an adorable baby duck holding a giant dandelion on the cover.

My husband keeps reminding me that I have lots of time to make these purchases, but I explained that I had to have it now because it contains a page to fill out about the day that we found out about the pregnancy, the doctor's name, etc. It also contains 2 pages about the baby's family tree, which of course I can't wait to complete.

Speaking of, I brought the book to work with me this morning so I had better get started...

Have a great day!
Angela