At the end of one chapter, begins another

Time sure flies when you are having fun.  Atleast that's how the saying goes :)  We've got two weeks left in the first trimester, it's amazing to think that just 8 weeks ago we were getting our very first pink line!  All in all I have to say that this part of my pregnancy was nothing what I thought it would be.  Sure I had all the typical worries of those in their first trimester, but not much of the typical symptoms.  I had three days of queeziness when we first found out we were pregnant, and that's it!  No nausea, no running for the toilet, and no stuffing my face with food just to make it go away.  I was no stranger however, to the fatigue.  To my surprise however, I found out the the fatigue is actually related to the growth and development of the placenta not the actual baby.  Maybe since its so full of stuff that's why some cultures eat their children's placentas. Don't worry, that thing is not coming anywhere near my mouth.  I'll take a multivitamin to get what I need.

I am excited to see what else is to come for the next 29 weeks (plus or minus).  Of course I say that now, ask me again when I am complaining of not being able to sleep, heartburn, not being able to bend over to put my socks on and just all in all feeling like a beached whale.  Sounds like a ton of fun!

Here are the comparison pictures for this week and next!

Checking in on the Garden...

I have been so distracted for the past few weeks that I forgot to put up more comparison pictures.  Here they are for weeks 8 and 9.  Hard to believe that Bean has gone from a sweet pea to an olive in just a few short weeks!

PHEW!!!!

False alarm!  Well kinda.  I saw the kidney specialist today and the news is much better.  Turns out that the protein that was claimed to have been so super high, actually isn't.  Turns out, per the kidney doc, that my OB jumped the gun a bit and in fact he does not begin to be concerned about kidney damage until the levels are TEN TIMES what mine were.  So while I am thankful that my OB is on the side of jumping the gun rather than sitting back and being care free, I am more thankful that it does not seem that I am having significant issues with my kidneys.  In fact he said that aside from the "little bit" of protein, my kidney function is just fine.  Phew! 

Now of course he is going to run me though the gammet of testing just to be sure, including an Ultrasound and an impressive number of tubes filled with blood.  He will see me back in a month and probably follow me though the pregnancy and possibly do a biopsy when the pregnancy is complete.  Until then though, Derek and I are sighing a HUGE sigh of relief!

And the plot thickens

So if you have been following my pregnancy journey thus far, then you know that despite having little to no pregnancy symptoms, it certainly has not been a smooth ride.  Well it got a little bumpier today.  Don't worry, the bean seems to be doing fine, but its mama is having some health issues that do not seem to be related to the pregnancy.  In an interest of sparing you the gory details, due to my recent blood pressure extravaganza I had some labs done, one of which shows some issues with my kidneys. 

Of course there are about a million different reasons for the kidneys to misbehave, but there are three resonable options for me.  Atleast these are the ones that I can come up with.  So it could be related to my high blood pressure, though at this point I do not know which came first, the chicken or the egg, both can cause issues with the other.  Another reason could be undiagnosed diabetes.  And the one I am hoping for is that the lab value that we got could be related to recent strenuous exercise, and the four days prior to the test I was walking ALL OVER NYC.  I go to the kidney specialist (the nephrologist) tomorrow afternoon to find out more details.  I'll keep you posted.  Until then keep us and our bean in your thoughts and prayers please :)

Bean is a movie star!

We had our second ultrasound this morning to follow up on bean's small size and the blood that was hanging out behind the placenta.  I love having ultrasounds since I have had very mild pregnancy symptoms, they allow me to have a great deal of reassurance when I can see the bean and its tiny little flicker of a heartbeat. 

Well bean did just great, measured 9 weeks 0 days (one day ahead of itself) and made up for its growth by 4 days...yay bean!!  The heart rate today was 177, up from the 145 of last visit and the blood behind the placenta is dissolving and going away!  The coolest part was when we got to see our little one wiggle on camera.  Bean's gonna have my rhythm, I can tell already!  We also saw bean wave its little arm. 

I found out today that because of my slightly elevated blood pressure, I will also be followed by a perinatologist because I am at a slightly higher risk.  Which I suppose is fine by me, as many people as we have, both here on Earth and those up above, watching over our precious cargo the better.  And, I'll get more ultrasounds along the way! 

Bean goes to New York City

Derek and I just returned from a long weekend in NYC for his birthday.  Before we left I was really nervous as to how I was going to feel while we were there.  This first trimester is challenging because you never know when, if ever, the lovely morning/all day sickness is going to arrive.  I was nervous that it would appear while we were in New York. Thankfully it stayed away!  I have been so tired these past few weeks and that certainly did not give me any relief this past weekend.  After walking all over the city and climbing a million subway stairs, this pregnant girl was exhausted every day.  We even had to go back to the hotel one afternoon so I could take a nap.  All in all me and the bean we did well with all of the hustle and bustle of New York.  Can't wait to return with bean again in a few years so we can have an excuse to go do all of the child friendly things like ride the ferris wheel in Toys R Us.

How does your garden grow?

I found it interesting to see how big (or small) the baby is in comparison to things that we can relate to in life.  Here are some pictures to give you an idea :)

Week 3-4 (poppyseed)

Week 5 (appleseed)

Week 6 (sweet pea)

Week 7 (blueberry)

Bean's first picture

Here are our bean's first pictures...bean is a little small (only about the size of a sweet pea) so it is hard to see much. But it is the white blobby thing in the big black circle. Oh and as far as the tech could see there is only one bean :).

Our first ultrasound was this morning. It makes it all so real once you see that white blob with a flicker of a heartbeat, something that will grow into a little rascal that you will love with all of your heart. Its truly endearing.

I went in thinking that I was 6 weeks 6 days and the bean measured 6 weeks 3 days. However, based on their calculation it should be 7 weeks 4 days, based on a date calculation that does not apply to me because I do not have perfect cycles. So the 6 week range is probably correct. Unfortunately there was a small amount of blood behind the placenta, which according to my OB is not horribly concerning (she said her level of worry was 3/10..with 10 being very worried) since the beans heart rate was 145. Though this coupled with a potentially small bean, could be worrisome, and so we will go back for a repeat ultrasound in two weeks.

None the less, I feel very blessed that we were able to see as much as we did (of course the first thing I looked for was that little flicker!). I am sure everything will check out just fine in two weeks, and can't wait to see our bean again!!