Zen and Fit Mama

If you know me well you know I like onions on everything, and now I have a reason to love them even more!

While I can still wear most of my pants, my belly hangs over the top and I look like I have a muffin top instead of a baby belly. Trust me, it's not an attractive look. And there are only so many places I can wear my yoga pants, maternity pants here I come! Now only if I can find them long enough. Apparently the makers of maternity pants feel tall people don't have babies. FYI, labeling a pair of pants with a 32 inseam a long is not funny.

I continue to have frequent headaches and heartburn but overall I feel good. I started doing prenatal yoga and fit workouts and so far so good. Yesterday marked 17 weeks. I'm hoping to feel the baby move soon and really looking forward to the big ultrasound in 3 weeks. I will be 5 months at that point, that's the half way point! Crazy!

I've always had dreams but they've become more vivid since I got pregnant. Sometimes it's good and sometimes it sucks. A couple days ago I woke up really, really mad at Chris for something he did in my dream! Oh, and last week I had 2 dreams where the baby was a girl, though I've had no awake feelings or inclinations that the baby is a boy or a girl.

Chris and I have been quite busy over the last few weeks. I have one more week with my full-time job and then I move into a more flexible and hopefully relaxed schedule. Who am I kidding....the change is likely to be a bit chaotic at first! Chris has been attending on wards (let's just say a busy rotation) for the last two weeks, and he's also been actively looking for a job. He currently has 4 leads, including 1 interview. Very exciting times around the Hayes household!

And now for an updated belly pic...
*note the lines on my stomach are NOT stretch marks, they are scratch marks!
*note my red face, unfortunate side effect of the hormones I suppose

Girl or Boy?

No, I don't know just yet!

People keep asking us if we're going to find out the sex of the baby. The answer is YES. I understand some people prefer to be surprised at the delivery, but won't it still be a surprise next month? Yes! My rationale: I was surprised to find out I was pregnant, I'm guessing I will be surprised the day the baby is born, so why not be surprised in the middle? Plus I'm a planner, and I want to plan in pink or blue!

Chris hopes with all his heart this baby is a boy. If he's wrong, he'll need the remaining 20 weeks to prepare to have a daughter. Now don't get me wrong, we both just want a happy, healthy baby, and I know Chris will be thrilled with a girl. So, take a second and vote on the left.

One things for sure...we will be having a little longhorn! And thanks to baby's Uncle Dustin and Aunt Kelli he/she is ready to sport burnt orange.

Heart Melting Thuds

I went to the doctor today due to the tolerable but still lingering headache. I now have a handy supply of percocet for any future humdingers. Who would have thought narcotics were baby safe?

While I'm happy for the drug supply and to hear the black spots I've been seeing are normal, I'm most most pleased to report I got to hear the heartbeat for the first time! I instantly felt more pregnant! I only wish Chris would have been there.

The doctor, again not mine, was wonderful, however you would think with all the medical advances the office could swing an accurate scale. That's right, there is no way I've gained that much weight. Nope. Now I know what you are thinking, denial, but my scale confirms this inaccuracy and I'm sticking to it.

As for the due date, according to my IVF dates I'm due 7/4 but according to my ultrasound I'm due 7/12. The doc said it didn't really matter, but I'm thinking that when I'm at this end of this journey I'm going to feel otherwise. I feel the first date is more accurate and the baby is just small, but then again I'm not paid the big bucks.

We were offered the second trimester genetic screening and thus far we've declined. While I'd prefer to be prepared with such knowledge, I just don't want to chance a false positive or amnio. I was told to come back between 18 and 20 weeks for an ultrasound at which point we'll find out the sex! Yep in about a month we will know. I can't wait!

Holiday Highlights

1. Mazie got a taste of dark chocolate and we all took a trip to the ER at midnight on Christmas Eve

2. We got lots of Hayes and Micho love and 'congratulations'

3. Alison was baptised

4. Chris and I spent New Years Eve in our PJ's with a bottle of sparkling grape juice and Ryan Seacrest

My Poor Head

Today was by far the worse day of my pregnancy, physically that is. I woke up this morning at 5am with a splitting headache on the left side of my head. I immediately took 4 Tylenol and went back to bed for an hour.

Side note: I suffer from migraines. Not your average migraines. My right side goes numb, I loose peripheral vision, facial recognition, speech ability, and hand eye coordination, followed by the classic symptoms of pain and light sensitivity. For this reason I carry an arsenal of drugs which 10 minutes after the first symptom become useless and I'm down for a solid 10 hours. And the OB tells me I can now only take Tylenol.

Then I got back up, showered, got ready and my head got worse. So, I called work and said I was going to try and sleep it off for a couple hours and would be in at 11am. I couldn’t lay on my left side because my head was throbbing so hard I felt like I was on a bad carnival ride. The right side was bearable and soon I was asleep, however I had no relief 2 hours later. I bailed on work and called Chris. I felt as if he should know his wife was home suffering! Per his recommendation I called my OB. Six hours since taking the Tylenol and before the doc called back I took 2 more tabs, put a heating pad on my head and took another nap. She called in a script thank God!

Then it hit me. I had to go get it! I debated to just go in my robe and slippers, after all the pharmacy has a drive thru. I finally mustered the energy to put on PJ pants, a fleece jacket, and, yes, my slippers. Needless to say it was a wasted day...

14 Weeks

I must say I'm lucky to be pregnant in the age of low rise pants. I would've never made it this far in regular clothes if my waistbands were near my belly button. I want to reiterate that my stomach has never been the same since IVF. However, it is my assessment that my pooching belly has changed from enlarged ovaries to actual pregnancy belly (in other words my belly no longer hurts to the touch). Anyway, yesterday was the first day I couldn't get my pants buttoned. Chris found it very amusing that I used a rubber band (thanks Mom) to keep them closed.



My belly is certainly not noticeable to others just yet, but its my confirmation that I'm still pregnant. Strange it may sound but after two years of trying it seems so surreal. As for the rest of me I do feel good. I'm glad to have traded the extreme tiredness and all day sickness for a touch of heartburn and a few headaches. If only Tylenol actually worked!