Leapin' Lizzards!

We had our NT scan this week. This is the scary ultrasound that tells you if you have an increased risk of having a baby with genetic abnormalities. Thankfully, the munchkin looks great and tested negative for everything. We did get our due date moved back to what I had originally calculated before my first ultrasound. Looks like we are scheduled to have a leap year baby! The official due date is Feb 29th, 2012. I know that chances of having a baby on its due date are slim, but it would be a pretty cool birthday...

Here's a glimpse of the little guy or gal looking much more like a person, and much less like a flickering glow worm



Thumb-Sucker Already

And here I am at 14 weeks...where are you baby?? We have proof that you're there, but I hardly show any evidence of it yet!

We get another close up moment next Thu when we have our gender ultrasound. Crossing my fingers that this kid uncrosses it's legs! I'm already saving for the therapy my husband will require if they don't see a penis...eeek!

These Days...

I am finally emerging from the fog that is the first trimester. Good thing, seeings as in just 3 short weeks I'll be headed here



To do lots of this


And this


But unfortunately, none of this…

We booked a trip to Cabo with a group of friends several months ago, before the prospect of a bambino was even on our minds. The only downside to my current "situation" is since this is an all-inclusive resort, the rest of the group will have to drink my share of margaritas since I won't be able to get my money's worth!

Since I've been feeling much better this past week, I decided to drag my lazy butt off the couch and hit the gym last night. My daily work out routine crashed to a halt the minute that extra line showed up. Actually, it was really a few weeks after that when the never ending nausea hit. So, I skipped on over to the gym and was very proud of the 40 min cardio session that I completed. I left the gym sweaty and accomplished, planning on reinstating my gym routine…and then it hit me. I was going to throw up and I needed to get to a bathroom stat. So, there I was, throwing up in the locker room toilet during prime workout hours, with people in the stalls on either side of me. They probably just thought I was some poor, outta shape lady whose first gym session sent her crawling to the toilet. Just when I thought I was over all this nonsense…oh well. I'm going to attempt this again tonight, so finger's crossed history doesn't repeat itself.

Things I've Learned...

As promised, an update! Here's a short list of just of few of the things I've come to learn in these 3 short months of pregnancy...

•Believe your doctor when he tells you that you should be careful when taking antibiotics and your birth control pill…I'll leave it at that

•Morning sickness lasts all day…that's really nothing new. I'd heard that from many people, but I didn't quite understand the weight of those words until I experienced it myself. I felt sick from the moment I opened my eyes in the morning until the moment I closed them at night. It has not been pleasant...

•It's very common to actually lose weight during your first trimester…see above reasoning. I guess Mother Nature decides to throw you the smallest of bones in the midst of all your misery

•You will get very excited when your doctor tells you that you can continue with your daily cup o' joe, until you realize that your unborn child has made you hate coffee. Now, the smell that you once loved waking up to makes you want to run to the toilet. In fact, early pregnancy makes you hate pretty much all the things that you once loved, like Mexican food, which is truly a tragedy

•Top Ramen ranks high on the list of the absolute worst foods to throw up. I had a noodle stuck in my throat for what seemed liked days

•Even the simple act of brushing your teeth can trigger a puke attack. My mornings typically go like this: Wake up. Brush teeth. Gag from said teeth brushing. Barf or dry heave for about 10 min. Repeat. Plan on going through a lot of toothpaste.

•Thinking about starting a family? Take a nice satisfying poop, 'cause it will be the last one for a while!

•Your first ultrasound isn't anything like the movies. That cute little wand doesn't go on your belly. This will traumatized your poor, unsuspecting husband for a short while

•Of all the mumbo jumbo people tell you you can't do while pregnant, the one thing that is actually legitimate is that you can't scoop up cat litter. I can have caffeine, wine, sleeping pills (helps w/ the nausea), and some varieties of sushi, but I can't clean up the cat poop…a small victory! (Oh, and I may or may not have paid my Doctor Father in Law to share that bit of information with my husband)

Despite all the misery that goes along with the early stages of incubating a child, we are very excited about this little thing. All the sickness just reassures us that everything is moving along nicely in there. Last week, the doc wasn't able to pick up a heart beat b/c of where the baby was positioned, so I got a little bonus ultrasound. I got confirmation that this child is certainly John's. It was spazzing out and wiggling like crazy in there, shaking its little arms and legs. It was so crazy to see it moving around so much, while not being able to feel a thing from the outside. In two weeks, we get a chance to find out the gender, if it cooperates, so finger's crossed!!

In Other News

Jeez! It's already August, and in my book that means it's the end of summer. Now's when I start getting excited for cold weather, fall feasts, pumpkins, pumpkin spiced lattes and peppermint hot chocs, Christmas, rain, etc...takes a little bit of imagination when it's 100+ degrees out, but I manage.

Some crazy stuff has happened over the summer. Mainly, we discovered that we'll be adding another Hall to the mix. Our little surprise is scheduled to arrive the beginning of March, just in time for St Paddy's Day. Something tells me this may alter our annual all-day drinking fest, but maybe only for one of us!

Junior has been brewing for about 12 weeks, and let me tell you, he/she is already showing me who's boss. I haven't exactly been the happy go lucky pregnant lady, that's for sure. When I can drag myself off the couch, it's usually to go stick my head in a toilet. I'm slowly starting to have better days mixed in with my not so good days, and I'm hoping that I'll be back to my happy go lucky, food lovin' self in a few more weeks. On that note, I suppose the one plus to all this nausea and food aversion is that the numbers on the scale are going down instead of up...but I know that will be short lived.

For now, I leave you with our first glimpse into my uterus:


I was very early in this pic-just under 7 weeks, so it hardly looks like anything at all. One annoying thing that I noticed after it was over was that the U/S Tech listed my name as Hall, Ruth. Hmmmm....Oh well!

I'll keep this little blog updated much more frequently now that I have something to write about...