The three N's of the first 7 weeks: 

Narcolepsy, No Clothes, and Nighttime Sickness

Well, the good news is I'm halfway through the first trimester. The bad news is I can often feel myself ready to drift off to sleep no matter where I am, I've put on soft pudge around the middle even though I've been working out diligently, and at night, I'm nauseous. I'm very thankful, though, that it's all been somewhat manageable. Also good news: a spotting scare took us in for an early ultrasound and we already got to hear a strong heartbeat! The baby was measuring 2 days smaller than my cycle suggested, but the heart rate was at 122, which is normal.

When I began spotting on Monday, I was hysterical. I felt this weird sense that if I lost the baby I would let John down, and we may never be able to conceive. I called my new OB, he ordered an ultrasound and blood work, and John was able to leave work to be by my side. The techs told me that since the ultrasound was "stat" that they wouldn't be able to tell me anything until about an hour later. I was devastated. After about 10 minutes of poking and prodding and discomfort, one of the techs finally turned the monitor toward me, pointed to the tiny fetus, and said "See that flutter? That's the heartbeat." I burst into tears. THEN she let us listen. It was the most amazing sound we'd ever heard. I had bloodwork done, which showed a really high hormone count and also revealed my blood to be RH negative. I got to go in the next day for a rhogam injection, which turned out to be not only painful but a nuisance as well. They drew blood AGAIN (my arm was sore for a few days) and I had to wait almost 2 hours to receive the injection. But it's all good because now I guess I'm not "allergic" to my baby if it has RH positive blood. =)

Due to my history of Tetralogy of Fallot, I went in for an Echocardiogram on Tuesday last week as well. (I know, enough with the appointments already. This is only the beginning...) I'm not sure what the Echo suggests about my heart health because I have to go into the cardiologist's office on Monday for a checkup with him! After he reads the Echo, he'll let me know if it's necessary to see a high-risk OB/GYN. I'm pretty fit and healthy, but with pregnancy, you never know. My body has more blood, my heart must pump the blood to the proper sources, and pregnancy may be harder on me than running a few miles or lifting weights. My family doctor's idea of sending me to a high-risk OB sounds good to me. Better safe than sorry!

Other than all the scares and the appointments, I'm super happy and excited. I've been craving a lot of chicken, PB&J, strawberries, and pancakes! I AM getting thicker around the middle, but still feeling pretty strong and I can run a couple miles without problems. I HAVE been peeing more frequently, my boobs hurt all the time, and I think I'm going to have to buy bra extenders this week. (I'm not buying a new bra every 6 weeks!) ;o) It's not exciting that my jeans fit snugly, but it is exciting to think my belly is starting to take shape as my uterus is about 5 times the size it was a few weeks ago. I wasn't going to take a photo until 8 weeks, but in this dress you can see the little tiny bump forming. (Well maybe YOU can't, but I sure can tell a difference in my body!)

Also, John and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary July 2nd! Since it was the "paper" anniversary, I bought tickets to the Cleveland Indians game on the 4th! It was a lot of fun, but SO SO hot! We were boiling! We left during the sixth inning (it was a blowout anyway), but the seats we had were amazing! Front row just right of center field. Baby K's first baseball game!

So, here's to the next 5.5 weeks of nausea, sleepiness, and feeling like a beached whale! It's totally worth it! I see the light at the end of the tunnel and can't wait to watch my baby grow. We love you, Baby K! Now Daddy is taking me for pancakes! ;o)

Remember, God is Good all the time, all the time God is Good. xoxo

Mommy

                                                             Baby K's First Photo