The Beginnings of a Nursery!

Obviously we are not done and things are still cluttery and all the over the place, but I wanted to post some pictures of what I got accomplished Sunday! The black doors/drawers/shelves unit is what Derek made - from scratch - for $200! I think it turned out awesome!!! He still needs to add the little magnet latches to the doors, but other than that it is complete.

Week 31

I haven't posted lately because I have been so busy with finals and paper-writing since Thanksgiving, but I graduated on Friday...woohoo!!! Things are still good, just growing and getting a little uncomfortable since she likes to press into my lungs and bladder from both ends. I officially have permanent cankles and I can't stand/walk for long periods of time anymore without my back killing me. We are getting her room together and will post pics soon! Here's a picture of the growing belly from Friday night at our graduation dinner. See everyone at Christmas!

Week 29

Last week was packed full of Thanksgiving and an awesome baby shower so I forgot to post, but you didn't miss much! This week has been a blur, I can't believe it's Friday already and we have just TEN WEEKS to go!!! Eeek, scary! I have been feeling a lot more uncomfortable this week for some reason. Like a lot of pressure if that makes sense. I think she is just growing more and I haven't caught up with her enough yet. Or maybe this is just how it's going to be from now on? Either way, I'll live and I'm SUPER excited to only have two and a half months left!!! Here's a comparison shot from 22 weeks to 29 weeks - same outfit so I thought I'd take a picture. Wow, big difference and I thought I wasn't growing! LOL

Week 27

Our baby shower last weekend was fantastic and I have been busy writing thank you notes today! We're looking forward to Thanksgiving in Louisville and our other baby shower. Not to mention, a short week at work...which apparently my feet/ankles/legs need. I am having some crazy looking swelling on my left side which makes my foot look like Eddie Murphy in a fat suit with a huge cankle! Right side is just fine though...very weird, but my BP is good, so nothing to worry about. I have been trying to lay off the sodium and prop up my feet as much as possible. My midwife suggested at least 3 hours a night, but that's hard to do when you get to work around 7AM and don't get home until 10PM two nights a week. Have I mentioned I can not WAIT to graduate!?! Only 25 more days!!!

Well Ms. Avery's favorite new trick is to make things dance on my belly. I will sit back and set and remote control or a something along those lines on my belly and she makes it jump and wobble all over the place. It's crazy to watch! She should be about 2.5 lbs this week and is now blinking, along with coughing, hiccuping, and taking practice breaths...which I did not even know they did! Very cool. I just can't wait to meet her. I am working on switching from books about labor and delivery to reading how to actually take CARE of her once she's here. For some reason the importance of that has just now dawned on me. I think I've got time though...12 weeks to go!

Week 26

Well it appears we have the most stubborn baby ever. Today was our 3D ultrasound and the sonographer said she was one of the hardest babies she's ever done. We only got two or three semi-good pictures of her face because she was curled up in a ball and tucked down into one side of me...and stayed that way for an ENTIRE HOUR! No amount of pushing, shaking, jumping, lying on my stomach, or my side would help. We did get to see her yawn a bunch, eat her fist and her toes, and she also loves to grab and hold on to her toes and feet. She is in the true fetal position and her feet and hands are constantly in her face. She also presses her face flat into the inside of me, so whenever it wasn't blocked by hands and feet, it was squished into the inside of my uterus.

So here are some of our best shots. I guess she is insisting on making her appearance a surprise until February.

Foot in the Eye...her favorite position!















Best Face Shot















Her Little Butt
















Hand Up by Face and her Little Armpit
















Her Chubby Cheeks

Week 25

Another busy, busy week that flew by. Seriously, February is going to be here before we know it. She has been super active these past couple weeks and I even saw my tummy move from the outside for the first time last weekend. She also got hiccups for the first time yesterday - very funny! It was the same little feeling over and over, but sometimes it felt like she got too close to me and the hiccup made her hit her head. LOL I am super excited about my shower here in KC next weekend and about getting to see everyone at Thanksgiving. I can't wait!!! We have our 3D ultrasound on Friday, so check back for pictures of her beautiful face next weekend!
25wk5d

Week 24

So, I think I stopped growing? Or maybe I am just transitioning shapes. I feel like I look the same as my 20wk pictures. I look more pregnant in clothes, but smaller in my belly pics. I guess I should enjoy not being huge and unwieldy while I still can. Not a lot happening this week, but it has FLOWN by! I can't believe how quickly time has been going lately and once we get into the holidays it's just going to go faster. We scheduled a 3D ultrasound for November 13th and can't wait to see what this little girl looks like! Hopefully we'll get some good shots. That's really about it...I'm still feeling great, have lots of energy, and forget I'm pregnant sometimes until a kick or flip or stabby pain reminds me she is in there.

P.S. For those concerned, no - I am not tanning! I give myself a tan with the picture editor so I don't look so pasty :)

"Someone" Is NOT Going to Like Sharing the Attention with the New "Little Baby Girl"

24wk6d

Week 23

HAPPY V-DAY AVERY!!! Today I'm 24 weeks and it is what they call "Viability Day," which means IF Avery were to be born she has a 50% better chance of surviving a preterm birth. Doesn't really sound like much to celebrate since this would NOT be a good situation, but it does mean she is growing and becoming more of a little human being in there. It is just another pregnancy milestone and there aren't too many after you hit 20 weeks and find out the gender.

Well, this week was awful, but it wasn't her fault! After two night classes and a stressful and negative 50 hour work week I am burnt out and need some time to recharge my positive energy...lol. Derek is busy all weekend so I will have plenty of time to read a book, watch a movie, and just think about nothing. Not a lot new going on in there as far as I can tell...she was 1lb 5oz at our ultrasound last week, so she's getting big! I feel her kicking all the time, but it seems like every time I try to let Derek feel she stops. She is a stealth baby. Other than finally looking obviously pregnant to strangers and, more importantly, the people I work with, not a lot has changed this week!

Week 22

Well I completely forgot to post last week apparently. Sorry! I guess nothing exciting really happened. Here's a picture of the growing belly as a replacement post! This was taken last Saturday at 23wk1d.

Diaper Bag Dilemma

It seems I am a diaper bag snob :(

I generally hate diaper bags because I have never liked bags/purses that are made of that nylon-ish or slick material and it seems like the majority of diaper bags are not only boxy and square, but made of this very same material. Well wouldn't you know it, they have solutions to this problem but they cost a fortune! I've fallen IN LOVE with a diaper bag that is ridiculously expensive and now there's no turning my head. It's like trying on a $9,000 wedding dress when you can only really afford a $1,000 wedding dress. You just don't do it! I did locate an outlet where I could get the diaper bag on sale in last season's colors, but it's still pretty expensive. *Sigh*

Derek likes to say we like fancy things because we're fancy people...now I just need a fancy income to go with all that! LOL In the meantime I am accepting all suggestions for cute reasonably priced diaper bags! Send me an email if you see one that might turn my head.

Week 21

I'm now less than half way through being pregnant - woohoo! This was a pretty uneventful week. I look about the same and nothing much new has been going on. I got my first, "When are you...uh, are you..." at work yesterday so that was kind of cool to know I am showing enough for people to realize I'm not just packing on the pounds. Then she said, "Well I'm glad because I've had a lot of meetings with you lately and when you started gaining weight I was thinking, 'What is going on with this girl,' but then I saw you the other day and said to myself, 'Oh, she's pregnant.'" Thanks...I think? LOL Here's a new progression of the bump...not much change this week, but definitely some progress overall!

Week 20

Not much happened this week other than my enormous growth spurt! We (as in Derek) put together Avery's crib and as soon as I get the old dresser cleaned out we'll move her new dresser in and start rearranging the room. Derek is building an awesome wall unit for her that I can not WAIT to see finished, but I think it's going to take a few weeks. It's a combination of drawers,cabinets, and shelves. Very cool and I'm really impressed I can just go online and find $2,000 furniture and say "I want this," and he can build it for $200. Very conveinent!

This week Avery is the length of a large banana and she can taste the food I'm eating when she swallows the amniotic fluid (eww). I read in a few places that studies have shown that babies are more likely to respond favorably to foods they tasted most often through the amniotic fluid, so I have been eating a lot healthier. My new favorite lunch is so yummy and good for you! I put chive and onion cream cheese on both sides of a bagel with turkey, cucumbers, and sprouts. YUM! I also have been eating apple slices like they're about to go out of season (are they?) and chocolate pudding cups or chocolate covered raisins for my dessert. It's nice to have more than just carbs and protein for a change. I can't believe that actually got old after awhile...SO glad to not feel sick anymore. I feel fantastic actually!

Week 19

Today I am 20 weeks and Avery is half-baked! We had our 20wk ultrasound to measure all the anatomy and make sure she's looking healthy. She's 12 ounces and still a girl! We got to see her brain, heart, kidneys, stomach, bladder, her ribs and all her little appendages. She has the roundest stomach and she looks like a little snowman when she's facing you. She is laying breech and has her feet up by her face, so folded up like a pocket sandwich. LOL She kept wiggling around and grabbing her toes. The tech had a hard time getting a good look at her spine and parts of her face because of the way she's laying, so we are going back in 3 weeks to have another look. I see my doctor Monday morning to go over the results...unfortunately the tech can't tell you much. She is so stubborn and won't give ANYONE a good profile shot, but here are some cute shots we got of her facing us, her legs crossed, her foot, her fingers, and view from the outside!

Finally Starting to Look a Little Pregnant!

Disregard the "look" - it's 9:00 at night and I'm on my way to bed.

Week 18

19 weeks today - we're almost halfway there! I can't believe it! I am now sure that I am feeling Avery move around in there and it's SO weird! I feel her every day and usually in the morning and afternoon. Sometimes at night, but not as often. Derek said she's probably cramped in there and is trying to stretch it out like you would a t-shirt that shrunk in the dryer...LOL.

Yesterday I also found out that the other girl in my department who's due 2 days before me and has a uterus that is cosmically aligned with mine for some reason is having a...GIRL! Of course! She really thought it was going to be a boy, but we should've known better. We were both pregnant together and due the same day earlier this year and then miscarried within a week of each other...now pregnant together again and due within two days of each other. How weird is that!?! So of course, we are both having little girls. It's been an exciting two weeks at work to say the least :)

Today I almost passed out, which was REALLY weird. We were having a meeting and this lady was talking to us about organ donation and I started feeling really uncomfortable and odd. Then I got that tingly feeling and felt like I had a bubble around my head and felt woozy and shakey. I got up and got some water, walked around, stood, sat - nothing helped! It was so random, but I never did full on pass out. I hope that's not going to happen a lot!!!

Next week we are going to meet with the midwife, who I am sure I will fall in love with immediately according to everyone else who knows her. On Friday we have our actual "big" ultrasound! It's the typical 20week anatomy scan to check on Baby's organs, limbs, etc. and make sure everything's okay. We did get our risk levels for Downs and Trisomy 18 back and they are both 1 in 10,000...so wonderful numbers! Spina bifida was 1 in 2,500, so also good. I'm hoping the rest of this pregnancy goes just as smoothly!

This week Avery is the size of a mango and is covered in all that gross white stuff to keep her skin from getting all pruney in her hot tub.

The "B" Belly

So here's a progression of the last seven weeks - getting bigger, but not ROUNDER, which is the key here! This is the square belly shaped like a "B". If only the strip around my belly button would pop out! Until then, I guess I will just look weird like this. LOL I have only gained 5lbs to date, which is pretty good since all my books say 10-14 lbs is average, but I have rounded out on the sides so much in the past week that I am afraid all the major weight gain is about to begin.

Help me choose...

I have been going back and forth between which car seat print to choose for over a week now. Which one do you like the best?

Week 17

Well this has been the most exciting week so far! We found we're having a little girl and it has made such a difference! It makes it feel so much more real to say she or her or Avery instead of "the baby." Now when I think about her I think about what she's going to look like and act like AND I get to BUUUUY things!!! FINALLY!!! I have been limiting myself and have only purchased two little onesies so far, but it's hard!

I should really be more concerned with clothes for myself because I am running out of things to wear now that summer is coming to an end. I am not going to fit into any of my Fall/Winter hoodies and that is my staple wardrobe! I am still growing a very square belly. I guess I should post pictures soon. Maybe I'll do that tonight. Half the people I talk to say, "You don't even look pregnant." or "You're not showing at all!" which just leads me to assume I looked this fat to begin with...LOL. I am definitley bigger though. I now officially have zero pairs of pants that will button and the top of my stomach is usually pretty hard with all my internal organs being smooshed in up there. I definitley have nowhere to grow, so I'm expecting to just grow straight OUT from all sides! LOL

The weirdest new little thing is that when I eat I get a hard bump that sticks out from between my ribs on the left side of my stomach. Mom thought it was a hand or foot, but the baby is still too low the ultrasound tech says. So we're guessing it's an intestine or some other organ being pushed out of the way when I'm full. VERY WEIRD! LOL

This week Avery is the size of a sweet potato and is now yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. I THINK I have started to feel her move, but I won't know for sure until it happens more often I guess.

It's a...GIRL!

Avery Vaughn Bauer

Week 16

Today I am 17 weeks! We find out the baby's gender in just THREE MORE DAYS!!! I can not wait...the anticipation has been killing me. I'm glad Mom and Steve will be here this weekend so that will be a good distraction. I have had a pretty uneventful week. Today I thought I might have felt the baby move a couple times, but I still can't tell if that's what it really was or not. I guess I'll have to wait until it's more obvious.

This week the baby is the size of a large onion, 5.1 inches and 5.9 oz! I can't wait to see him/her on our ultrasound!

Crib Bedding

Awww...I am in LOVE with this bedding and at first I thought it could pass as unisex, but the more I look at it the more I think it is too girly for a boy. What do you think?

Crib Bedding

Week 15

I have been so busy this week I forgot to post a couple days ago. School started again and it is mostly going to such because both my classes are 7-9:45, but they don't seem half bad so I think I'll live. It's the last semester - I just keep telling myself that! Today we bought our baby furniture!!! It only took six hours to make a decision, but this is what we finally chose (click on the picture for a better view). We went with the crib and the dresser without the hutch. I don't want to bang the baby's head every time we are trying to change it. I think we'll get the nightstand as well later on since this is a convertible crib that will transition to a toddler and then a full size bed. I also found a bedding set that I LOVE but I am trying to hold out until we find out if it's a boy or a girl before buying anything like that. It's a green, black, and white set so technically it would work for either gender, but I'm still holding out for the possibility of doing a very girly nursery...I haven't made up my mind yet.

I am getting bigger, but am growing a square shaped tummy so I think I'll hold off another week or two on a picture update to give it time to round out...IF that's ever going to happen! The baby can now hear my voice, so I guess I better work on the cussing. It is the size of a large avocado this week!

Geez...my hospital is hardcore!

I found out today that we are changing our visiting policies in our Birthplace because of swine flu & RSV season coming on, as well as overcrowding. Unfortunatley, that affects me personally since we'll be having the baby here.

For the labor side they will only let you choose three people who get wristbands and are allowed to visit you before the baby is born and you can't trade off. Once the baby is born you can only have two visitors at a time and that includes the father...which means everyone else gets to come back one at a time! Plus, absolutley no kids...geez! That is strict!!! It sounds so different from all the other births I've been to (which, truthfully, has not been a lot). I remember the whole damn family being in Amy's room while she was in labor!

Doesn't that seem a little hardcore? Oh well...I guess we'll just have to do a big get together when we come home.

Week 14

Today I am 15 weeks and the baby is the size of a naval orange! I love the little ticker at the bottom of my page with the picture of the baby's face. It's so real. I still do not realize that I am not just "pregnant" - I am going to have a real live baby! I think that will change when I can feel it move around...or maybe not. Maybe I won't realize it until I pop out a real live human that I can see for myself.

Nothing new really...I am just looking extremely fat and NOT pregnant. It's just great. Grr. I have been starting to freak out aobut my job and who is going to do everything while I'm gone. Too many work meetings that involve presentations, training sessions, projects, etc. that are starting in January and I'm realizing, "Oh wait...who's going to do my part because I'm not going to be here." My LAST semester of school also starts next week and is going atrotcious. Tuesday and Thursday, 7:00-9:45 makes me want to cry since my new bedtime is 8:30. I'm hoping I'll get that great second wind and increased energy I keep hearing about...aaaaany time now. I feel like right now is the waiting game...waiting to find out the sex, waiting to start looking pregnant, waiting to start feeling more energized...I'm tired of waiting!

Tickers

LOL...I am cracking up at the lowest ticker on the bottom of the page.

Week 13

Today I am 14 weeks! WOW! This week has been a fast one...very uneventful, lots of 8:30 bedtimes, and now we're on our way to the float trip - can't wait! I desperately need the sun!!! I feel like a lot of my bloat has gone away this week and am looking more like my normal self, just a little more "expanded." I wonder if this means I will pop soon. I've read that usually the bloat subsideds and then one day you wake up with a belly that wasn't there when you went to bed. I don't feel like I'm EVER going to look pregnant! I'm sure I will regret those words soon enough though...lol. I guess I will enjoy fitting into the last of my normal clothes while I can.

I think the cravings may have started and how cliche is it that they inovlve pickles? In the past week I have consumed no less than 10 mayonaise, cheese, pickle sandwiches...for breakfast, snack, dinner - anytime! Yum...I am also really craving Jersey Mike's and we don't have one :( I might have to make a Louisville trip just for that!

Other than that, there's not a lot new. The baby's heartbeat is still in the high 150s/low 160s range whenever I check it, so everything seems to be going well!

Week 12

Today I am 13 weeks and have officially graduated to the 2nd Trimester. For some reason everyone thinks of 12 weeks as the end of 1st Tri, but technically it's 13. AND, I don't know why people say you're pregnant for nine months because it's actually 40 weeks. ANYWAY - I have been really tired this week and my hunger is weird. I am really hungry first thing in the morning, but no matter what I eat for breakfast it makes me really sick. Then I could practically go all day not eating (I force myself to eat something by 1:00 if I haven't gotten hungry yet), but then all of a sudden around 5:00 I am STARVING and if I don't have dinner right away I get an awful headache and attitude. Very weird. I have still been living on carbs, but am trying to add easy things like salad and green beans back into my diet. They just really still don't sound good.

This week I started buying maternity clothes as my jeans will no longer zip up all the way (some won't at all!) and the bella bands just aren't cutting it. The maternity jeans and pants I got are soooo comfortable! I can't wait to get them back from the tailor (darn short legs!). It's tax free weekend so I thought I'd take advantage of that and try to get some shirts and sweaters too. Some of them still are a little too long or big on me, but for the most part I've found enough to have things to wear to work and still be comfortable. I got two really cute v-neck half-length sleeved sweaters at Gap Maternity that are good for work or with jeans, so I got one color in medium and one in large as a compromise. So one's a little big now and one will be a little snug later!

Oh, another wonderful thing has begun. I seem to have little control over my bladder when sneezing for some reason. We were walking through Macy's the other night and I did not even have to pee, but I sneezed really big and a gush of pee came out. WTF!?! I was freaking out and dying laughing at the same time. Good thing we were already on our way out! It's happened twice since then, so every time I have to sneeze I cross my legs really hard. I have been extremely stuffy and sneezy since being pregnant. I'm beginning to think I'm allergic to this baby!

Well, that's about it for excitement this week. I am looking forward to popping and I hope it happens soon. Right now I just look like I've gained a lot of weight in a very short amount of time. It's becoming a little embarrassing! From what I've read, you just wake up one day and all of your bloat has magically turned into a hard little belly. That seems unlikely, but the number of people I've heard this from is unbelievable! Crossing my fingers it happens in the next couple weeks.

Dear Baby von Bauer...

Please stop making Mommy look like a lard ass who's been hittin' the twinkies a little too hard. I give entirely too many presentations in front of large groups of my peers and would prefer that they not all think I eat my emotions in a dark closet as it appears I have been doing. Feel free to pop ANY day now...go ahead...any time...really.

12 Weeks, 5 Days

Doctor's Appointment

Well, today's appointment was pretty uneventful. The doctor listened to the heartbeat, which was 160, and measured my stomach. He also yanked my pants together, joking about how UNzippable they are. Nice, lol. We talked about where he delivers and even though he does deliver at another hospital, I think we'll stick with where I work. He said 95% of the time they can get private rooms for employees and that a bunch of residents and students don't have to be involved if I'd rather them not. My next appointment is August 31st, but I'm guessing we won't have another eventful one until the ultrasound we've scheduled for September 8th!
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Week 11

Yesterday was my 12 week mark! The 2nd Trimester doesn't technically start until 13wk3d, but 12 weeks is a huge milestone. The baby is now completely developed and is entering the growth phase. I am starting to think about the baby more as a little person that is going to be a really baby soon now that we saw it hopping all over the place and moving its arms and hands during our ultrasound this week. I am convinced it's a girl...I have just felt that way from the very beginning, but I guess we'll find out in five weeks. I have a 50/50 chance of being right at least! I keep having dreams and in every one of them I am giving birth really early, but the baby is already as big as a 3 month old. LOL...it's always a girl though! I have felt MUCH better this week outside of a few waves of nausea. They are fewer and farther between though, so that is promising.

This week, the baby is the size of a plum and weight half an ounce.

We Find Out the Gender On...

Tuesday September 8th at 9:00AM. I CAN NOT WAIT!!! Mom and Steve are visiting for Labor Day weekend, so we set up an ultrasound at an independent imaging center where they do 3D/4D ultrasounds. This will just be a regular 2D because we will be too early for the others, but we are going to find out the gender and they give you tons of pictures and a DVD. Karen and Fabian are also going to come, so I thought this would be a really fun thing to all get to do together. For everyone else, the package we bought includes a live video stream of the ultrasound, so you can log into your computers and watch at home/work as we are there! More details on that to come. So in a short five weeks we will know if Baby Von Bauer is an Avery or an Aston! YAY!

NT Scan

We had our NT Scan this morning, which consists of meeting with a genetic counselor, a longer ultrasound, and some blood work. The point of the ultrasound (well, this whole appointment really) is to measure for Downs and Trisomy 18 by measuring the fat fold at the back of the baby's neck. Well in order to do that the baby has to lay still in a certain position long enough to let them measure and that did NOT happen! LOL The baby was going crazy in there - I can't believe how much it moves around and I don't even know it's happening! It was rolling around from its back to its stomach and then it would stand straight up and a couple of time it just JUMPED! It was so cool to see! It was waving its arms all around and flexing its fingers - it even rubbed its face. It was an amazing experience. Unfortunately, despite watching 15 minutes of phenomenal ultrasound footage the lady gave us four of the shittiest pictures you have ever seen! They are all of the baby's face, which doesn't look like anything and you can't see the arms and the shape of the head or body. I was PISSED, but oh well, the baby was healthy and having fun so there will be other ultrasounds.

The heartbeat was 171 (still high...maybe a girl?) and I was measuring 12wks2d, which is four days farther ahead than I really am. So either my due date will be pushed up or the baby just had a super growth spurt and it will even back out. We'll see next time. I have an appointment with my doctor on Monday, but I bet I won't have another ultrasound until the BIG ONE where we find out the gender. That's not for another month at least. I can't wait! Everyone says it's a girl, but I am okay with either...although a little girl would be so special since it's been a long time for both families.

New Tickers

I have been so wrapped up in pretending NOT to be pregnant for the past couple months that I have forgotten to keep track of fun things like what fruit that baby is or my fun tickers. So, this week the baby is the size of a lime and is enjoying a 1:1 head to body ratio. I also added new tickers to the bottom of the page. One for what the baby looks like and one for the humor. Enjoy!

Week 10

Tomorrow I will be 11 weeks - double yay! I am almost finished with the first trimester and I can. not. wait. I have been SO exhausted and really sick all week. I read that the baby is supposed to triple in size this past week, so I am guessing maybe that's why. I have been able to make it through work, but for some reason as I soon as I get home I get incredibly tired and nauseous. Which is quite inconvenient since I have a 20 page paper due tomorrow and have not been feeling well enough to work on it all week. I actually had to take a vacation day today just to get started on it...yeah, that's right, I said STARTED.

So, other than that I haven't really had much exciting stuff going on until our NT Scan next Wednesday. I can't wait! We get to do a big long ultrasound and the baby's head will actually be proportionate to it's body. It will look like an actual baby instead of an alien, so that's pretty cool. Other than that, things have just been very, very busy at work and as soon I get home I crash! I am going to start working on eating more fruits and vegetables and going back to the gym after this sickness goes away. I feel bad because fruits and veggies just do NOT sound good and haven't for the past few weeks, so I've been eating very little of them. I have been eating little kid food for the past week or so because it's all I can stomach. Courtney - you would love it! Now would be a fantastic time for you to visit. We are stocked up on chicken tenders, hot dogs, mac-n-cheese, pasta roni, and Stove Top!

Week 9

Tomorrow I will be 10 weeks - yay! I am so excited to have gotten this far already and can't wait to see our next ultrasound on the 29th. After that, I think I'll breathe a lot easier, although things have been going terrific so far. This week was a trade off - a lot less sick, but much more exhausted! That probably had a lot to do with the fact that it's Thursday and I've already worked 40 hours this week. I am having some issues with back pain that is in my left sit-bone area, which is probably going to get worse as I grow.

Speaking of which...I appear to have gained approximately 12 pounds, but have in fact not gained an ounce so far! I am trying to wear lots of flow-y shirts to work and am able to button my pants, but have an unfortunate muffin top as a result. I have been wearing my bella bands every day this week and they are great! They are this stretchy things that pull up over your pants and fold over so that you don't have to button them. They are GREAT and comfy and look like a cute tanktop at the bottom.

I have noticed some puffing out of my stomach around the hip bones a little, but the most noticeable change is that the top of my stomach looks like I've eaten a HUGE dinner ALL.THE.TIME. It is bloated constantly, which just makes me look fat, but I guess that is a small price to pay for a healthy little baby!

Today Was a Big Day!

You know those little hand held machines the doctor uses to listen to the baby's heartbeat in the office? Well they rent them out during pregnancy and we've had ours for about two weeks now (a little early, I was anxious) and haven't been able to find the heartbeat. Tonight I decided to give it another shot and after about 15 minutes of searching I finally picked it up going strong at 169! We were able to record it on the machine and I can't wait to be able to record and post it on here. I will need to be further along though because it has to be plugged into the computer and right now I have to be lying down flat on the floor. It is so reassuring to hear that little sound right now! I still have 13 days until my next ultrasound (but who's counting), so it will be nice to be able to check in on things from day to day in the meantime.

I also told my boss that I am pregnant today...nerve wracking! Especially because of the very recent promotion and the fact that one of the two managers who reports to me now is due the exact same day as me. EEK! She was very understanding and excited, which made me feel a lot better, even though I'm sure she was thinking, "WTF!?! How are they both pregnant at the exact same time?!?" That is going to leave our department in a bit of bind, but it's just three months, so I'm thinking they will survive. We have PLENTY of time to plan at least.

Baby Von Bauer 2.0

We've had three great ultrasounds so far and our doctor feels like things are progressing exactly as they should be, so we just couldn't keep the secret any longer! Our next appointment is July 29th for the 1st Trimester Screen where they use the high-tech ultrasound to get a really good look at the baby and its development. Hopefully we will find out the sex in September! Here's a picture of our ultrasound from today at 8 weeks, 5 days. The baby has little arms and legs and was waving its arms around during the ultrasound. It looked like it was waving at us. The baby is face down and you can make out its chin almost touching its chest. That head is big!

Week 7

Well, this week has been scary/good. I had a little freak out when my morning sickness and sore boobs magically disappeared, but I had another ultrasound and the baby is still growing and way bigger than last week. I'm still not gaining weight, but my stomach is bloated and changing shapes so some days I have to leave the top of my pants unbuttoned. I ordered a home fetal doppler and it got here yesterday, but we probably won't be able to hear the heart beat for another week or two. I thought it would take longer to ship and now it's driving me crazy that we have it and can't use it yet! I tried yesterday just for the heck of it and could hear the placenta, but not the heartbeat yet. The placenta makes this loud whistling windy noise...very weird. LOL!

Here's an ultrasound from 7 weeks, 5 days.

Week 6

This was an exciting week! Morning sickness arrived Sunday morning and has not left since. I'm constantly nauseous, but not vomity, which I guess is a good thing. I know I'm supposed to eat small meals throughout the day and that would be a great idea if every kind of food didn't make me want to hurl on site/smell/thought. I have been eating what I can, when I can, and as a result have lost 3 pounds this week. Not to mention the heat index has been 103+ since Monday, so that doesn't help the situation much.

BUT - we had our first appointment on Monday and saw a healthy little baby that measured exactly on par with where it should and a flickering heartbeat of 150. That's a fantasticly high number! We go back on July 8th for another ultrasound and if things still look okay, I think I might finally let myself think I'm actually going to have this baby. It's so weird how easy it is for me to pretend I'm not pregnant. It's been going surprisingly well so far. I am looking forward to being able to accept that things are going well and allow myself to get excited in the next few weeks! If we think things are still going well, we plan to tell family and friends at 10 weeks - so July 17th! I can't wait!!!

Here's an ultrasound from 6 weeks, 3 days.

Good Doctor's Appointment

Well Derek and I met with a genetic counselor and a specialist this afternoon and had a great visit. They both feel the MTHFR was not a factor in this miscarriage because my homocysteine levels are under control. We feel soooo much better because they were very reassuring that this was not the cause and should not cause reoccuring miscarraiges. They felt if we were to have another it would be because of something else that I have not yet been tested for or some other complication that has not been identified. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted because at least we can move forward and not worry so much about the next pregnancy. Of course I'm going to worry, but at least now I don't feel like a negative outcome is certain. We can take our chances and if something does happen again, we'll just know that there are other factors coming into play and move forward with more rigorous testing from there.

Just wanted to give everyone an update! We are going to start trying again, but probably will not be announcing the next pregnancy at 4 weeks - lol. So stay posted and hopefully I'll be posting back here on a regular basis in a few months. Fingers crossed!

LOL...thanks MB!

This morning I was sleeping soooo good when the alarm went off so I was all cranky and decided to check my Facebook before I got up. Well, I'm glad I did because I had this message from MaryBeth about the MTHFR and my doctor appointment and it made me laugh:



"Question.. do you think that it is a coincidence that it looks like mother f.....? I think it is only appropriate."



I think from now on I'm just going to call it the motherf@cker because that's a lot easier than MTHFR...which mom says feels like you're in kindergarten pretending like you know how to spell. I might also suggest it to my doctor since he always likes to attempt the full word which is methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase...he hasn't made it through the entire word yet, we'll see. I always remembered it by thinking Monday, Thursday, Friday...lol. So thanks MaryBeth, you just made a lot of people's lives a hell of a lot easier!

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Good News!

I had my follow-up appointment with my doctor today one week post-miscarriage and the news was positive. My pregnancy test came back negative, which means all the hormones are out of my system, and the ultrasound showed an empty uterus. That means no D&C and my body is back to normal already, which is the best news we could get right now considering the circumstances.

My doctor wants to see what the perinatologist has to say at our appointment next week, but says we are clear to try again if he agrees. So I am just looking forward to that appointment and having a period - weird concept. Derek is disappointed because he wants to try NOW, but neither of us want to be back here again in 3 months, so we're following doctor's orders.

EDIT: Well, scratch that...the stupid perinatologist's office says that since I'm no longer pregnant, I can't keep my appointment next week because it is a "pregnant appointment." So they rescheduled me for May 21st. Grr.

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Update

I started bleeding and cramping yesterday afternoon and the Emergency Department did an ultrasound that showed that the baby had stopped growing at 6 weeks and there was no heartbeat. I woke up at about 3:00am today with really painful cramps and lots of bleeding, which continued all day, and I passed a large amount of tissue about 2 hours ago. I think that should have been the majority of tissue and hope I will not have to have a D&C. I really wanted to let it all happen naturally. My cramps have come back, but are much milder and the bleeding has kind of changed to a more period-like situation. The doctor said this can often go on for a week or so, but I'm hoping this will be quicker since it seems like a good portion of the important stuff has already passed. I guess we'll see how things progress over the weekend.

We are upset and it's been a hard day, but for the most part we want to move on and try again as soon as possible. The doctor suggested I keep the appointment I have scheduled on the 30th of this month with the perinatologist (was my 1st trimester screening) to discuss the MTHFR and what we need to do moving forward. Thanks to everyone who has sent texts or emails, and don't feel snubbed if we don't answer your calls, we just really don't want to talk to anyone right now, but appreciate knowing you are thinking of us.

Of course, knowing us, we find the humor in everything and Derek says his sperm have ADD like him and just forgot what they were doing in there. Hopefully next time they will be more focused and get the job done. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

The Bauers

Week 9

Wow, I can't believe it's been a week already. It seems like I just posted Week 8! Tomorrow Baby Von Bauer will be the size of an olive, which makes me picture him/her drinking a little bebe martini in there. I get to have an ultrasound on Friday morning, so hopefully I'll have new pictures to post soon. A great perk of my job is I know a lot of people in charge of stuff in the hospital. I've been feeling really paranoid lately since I haven't been to the doctor in three weeks and my next appointment isn't scheduled for another three weeks. Plus, a girl I work with who was due three days after me had a miscarriage late last week and ever since then I have been kind of freaking out. So I called the lady in charge of the private practice area where I work downtown and told her all about everything that's happened and that I was supposed to have another appointment this week, but it was canceled since I switched doctors because my old doctor is a complete douche and tells me to google things. She was so sweet and got me worked in for an ultrasound Friday morning and told me to bring all my records and questions, that the doctor said he will be happy to sit down and talk with me about the MTHFR and answer any of my questions. So, stay tuned...new pictures by this weekend hopefully!

P.S. Check out the Baby Von Bauer ticker at the bottom of the page...real fingers!

Week 8

One more month until I'm officially out of the first trimester! I can't wait to get this show on the road and have a real baby bump already. My first trimester scan has been moved to April 30th, because I was right, the other appointment was too early. So the last week of the month will be an exciting one in BabyBauerville - we'll get to meet the midwife and see another shot of BVB that should look much more like a baby and a lot less like a shrimp. Still no morning sickness...*knock on wood*. I feel a little queasy every now and then, but nothing so bad that it keeps me from working or doing other stuff. I'm still exhausted all the time, but if this is as bad as the 1st Tri is going to get, I think I'll live.

PsuedoBump is Trying to Out Me

I don't know what the hell is going on, but this baby is trying to out me at work! It's not even possible to actually be showing at this point - it's all bloat, but it is pretty conspicuous looking. I'm hoping all the women who gave me a second look today were just impressed with how cute I looked since my shoes matched my shirt. Fingers crossed!

Baby Von Bauer Name Poll Results

Here are the results thus far of the name poll. I didn't realize everyone couldn't see them. I also posted a link on Facebook and the votes are anonymous, so I have no idea who likes what, but thank you for voting!

Harlow Vaughn: 6 Yes, 6 No
Aston Roth: 11 Yes, 4 No
Isabella Marie (Bella): 10 Yes, 3 No
Adler Roth: 2 Yes, 10 No
Avery Cullen: 8 Yes, 3 No
Sophia Grace (Sophie): 7 Yes, 8 No

So it appears that Aston Roth and Isabella Marie (Bella) are in the lead!

Baby Von Bauer Names

Click on the link to vote on your favorites in our early list of names.

Week 7

Truth be told, I am completely confused about how big the baby actually is and how far along I am now. Going to the doctor and getting a new due date has completely thrown me off...not to mention the way they typically count your pregnancy is from your last period, which would make me 8 weeks pregnant today but according to the ultrasound I won't be 7 weeks until Wednesday. Completely confused. So, from now on I'm just going by how big the baby is and this week it will be 7 weeks!

I had my first-trimester screening scheduled for April 13th, but may have to push it back now that my due date has changed and you have to be between 11-13 weeks. I'm also dumping my doctor and rescheduled my first appointment with the midwife at Lakewood for April 28th. Maybe I'll get some answers about how far along I am at one of these appointments! Still no morning sickness or food aversions...I've really wanted bologna and cheese all week, but other than that I'm just really, really tired all the time. It worries me that I'm not sick...not that I want to be, but at least it would make me feel like everything was normal.

Baby Von Bauer has a heartbeat!

We had our follow-up ultrasound today and there is a tiny, tiny little 3 mm baby and a heartbeat! It is at 103, which means it probably juuuust started beating recently. We could see it on the ultrasound and it was this tiny little flashing oval. So weird! You could see it blinking plain as day though!

They moved my due date back to November 11th now that they can measure more accurately when the baby was conceived. I was confused at first, but six weeks ago today was my most fertile day according to the fertility calendar we were using. It worked perfectly! I can do this week over again happily. The doctor also said since my homocysteine levels are normal, she isn't worried about the genetic issues and is considering me a normal-risk pregnancy unless that changes. I am going to try and reschedule my appointment with the midwife now that I know I don't have to see a high-risk doctor. YAY!

Update

Well...it hasn't been a great week. We had a scare last Wednesday with some bleeding and I had an ultrasound done, which was inconclusive. There was everything there except the baby, so they doctor said I could be a week behind what I was thinking...or I could have a blighted ovum, which is basically a pregnancy that begins, but the baby just does not develop. They ran some lab work on Wednesday and again on Friday to check my hormone levels. They typically expect them to double every 48 hours and although mine were up, they were not doubling...so, again, inconclusive. I stopped bleeding on Friday, but I also kind of stopped feeling pregnant, so we've just been playing the waiting game since then. We have another ultrasound on Wednesday and we should be able to see a baby and a heartbeat if things are progressing. If not, I will either have to let myself miscarry or have a D&C.

On top of all that, I was also diagnosed with a genetic mutation called MTHFR that causes blood clots and neural tube defects in pregnancy and can often lead to numerous miscarriages. My mutation is a homozygous mutation of the A1298C gene, which is bad, but not the worst. I had some more lab work done for this and my homocysteine levels are normal, so that greatly helps to reduce my risk, but unfortunately this will be a problem any time I get pregnant. I will most likely have to see a high-risk doctor, but because my homocysteine levels are low I shouldn't have to give myself daily injections of blood thinners which is good because that would SUCK!

Right now we are just waiting until Wednesday...we won't know anything until then and we won't have any answers until we see the ultrasound. I am hoping we will see a little Baby Von Bauer waving back at us, but if not I guess we just see a specialist and do everything we can to make the next pregnancy viable. I'll keep you all posted as soon as we know something on Wednesday.

Baby von Hef

I know we don't even know what we're having, but I feel pretty confident in Bob so when I saw this adorable little Polo robe at TJMaxx yesterday I went ahead and bought it since I haven't let myself buy anything else yet. I figure even if it does turn out to be a girl, it's just something we use at home and it has very little blue on it anyway. I showed it to Derek and he about flipped out...he LOVES Polo stuff. LOL!

Week 6

Tomorrow morning, Baby Von Bauer will turn 6 weeks old and grow to the size of a sweet pea!

Today was the first day I've really felt nauseous, but I'm not sure if that was because of the buttery popcorn at the movie or if it was actual morning sickness. I guess we'll see tomorrow. I've also been very puffy and fat looking which is NOT fun. I feel like I am retaining every bit of fluid that goes in my mouth in my lower stomach and face. Even so, I guess that's okay because it's for a good reason, right?
RIGHT?

Our first appointment with the midwife is a week from Tuesday and it feels like Christmas.

P.S. Scroll to the bottom, the tickers updated! It looks like a T-Rex with those little arms!

Bob says...

It's a boy!

I asked Sis to ask Bob if he would try and read me to see if he could tell what the baby was going to be. She told him and he didn't say anything for awhile and then later that night he said, "What does Ashley want?" and Sis told him she wasn't sure, but that Pete really wanted a girl. He said, "Well I think Pete's going to be disappointed because I see a boy." Then he asked if I was married if my husband was smart because he said he kept seeing a smart man and it was the baby's father. He said this man's baby was a boy and was going to be very intelligent. Yay for smart lil Aston Roth!!!

For those of you who don't know Bob, he's my aunt's friend who can read people...kind of like a psychic. The other day he told Sis that my mom needed to go to the doctor and have her left lung checked out because there was something wrong, but that it was treatable. He hadn't seen mom recently, but just had a feeling. Mom went to the doctor and turns out she had bronchitis!

So it will be a lot of fun to see if Bob's right...I kind of already feel like I've had my ultrasound though!

My Ticker is Cracking Me Up!

LOL...if you scroll down to the very bottom of the page there are two tickers that automatically update each week/day. The one on bottom that has rainbow colors says something funny each week and it just changed today. LOL! It is cracking me up. Now I can't wait to see what funny thing it says each week.

Week 5

Tomorrow morning Baby Von Bauer will officially enter Week 5, which means (s)he is the size of an apple seed!

My symptoms this past week have been constipation followed by two days of diarrhea. Fun times...notsomuch. I haven't gained any weight, but due to the constipation bloat there was a day I had to use a pony tail to keep my pants together. Other than that, I have been a little tired and my boobs hurt worse every day. I guess if morning sickness is going to kick-in, it should start in the next two weeks. I do NOT enjoy throwing up and I am deathly afraid that I am going to be forced to do it during a presentation at work. I have seriously thought about all the rooms I give presentations in, how close the exit is, and the location of the nearest restroom. Also under consideration: Will I have time to get to the restroom? What should I say if I need to run out in the midst of a speech? If I get sick in the Executive Conference Room and need to puke, will it seep out of the trash can because it is wire and has little holes?

1st Doctor's Appointment

My first appointment was yesterday and it just reaffirmed my feelings about going to Lakewood, so I am really hoping my appointment on St. Patty's Day with the midwife goes well and I don't have to go back to this doctor again! First of all, they drew 12 vials of blood from me and almost made me pass out which wasn't very nice. The lady said, "Girrrl, one mo' second and you woulda been out!" Um, okay, maybe that means you should stop!?! They had to flip me over this shelf on the chair and put a fan on me. NOT FUN! I hope I don't have to give that much blood every time. Second, they don't give your first ultrasound until 18 weeks, which I know is probably somewhat standard but I do not want to wait that long. And third, they want us to start paying $106 a month until the baby is born and that does not cover the hospital stay or any ultrasounds or labs. I think free Lakewood is sounding better and better.

A couple other weird things that happened:

1. They made me sign a waiver saying that I would not take Bradley classes, and if I did, they would not see me anymore.

2. I asked the lady when my second appointment would be and she said at 11 weeks because, "That's when the baby's heart forms and you can't hear it before then." Okay, I'm no medical professional, but even I know that is just plain not even true! A little concerning.

AWWW! Thanks Jenn!

Jenn sent me her Bella Bands in the mail along with two of the cutest lil t-shirts! They are adorable! And thank you for the Bella Bands. I haven't gained any weight, but was still forced to resort to a pony tail holding together my smaller sized dress pants today. Grrrreat. So yay for Bella Bands!

[Edit: As a follow-up to this post, turns out I just needed to poop. My pants fit fine yesterday. Whew!]

What The Hell Happened to Plain Ole Lamaze?!?

Invention Lets Women "Practice" Giving Birth With A Balloon
By Margaret, 2:30 PM on Wed Feb 25 2009

An invention filed with the U.S. Patent Office allows pregnant women to partially insert a balloon in the vagina and push it out, in order to practice giving birth.

According to the patent, when inflated in the vagina, the balloon tapers conically toward the waist, which "causes the orifice of the birth canal to dilate in a manner similar to that caused by the emerging head of a baby." Pregnant women can then "exercise by pushing the balloon out of the vagina in preparation for giving birth." Supposedly repeatedly birthing the balloon will make the real thing easier and less painful, but is better to just do it once and get it over with?

We're Having a Baby!

I decided to start a separate, private blog to use as pregnancy journal and as a way to keep family and friends who are far away involved and up-to-date. We found out Friday night that we are expecting November 1st! After three negative pregnancy tests as recent as Thursday night, we decided to go to Target and get one more test since Aunt Flo was still nowhere to be found. I got a 2 Pack digital test that said YES+ or NO- since I thought this would be a lot more definitive. I took the test after going out to dinner with my cousin Brady, who was in town for work, and as I waited for three excruciating minutes I never really once thought that it would actually say YES+. I looked down and saw that it had stopped blinking, so I picked it up and my mouth immediately fell open and I probably stared at it for a good minute or so in complete shock. [Note: As you can see, I proceeded to return to Target and buy more tests before finally believing I might actually really truly be pregnant after the third YES+.]

I then flung open the bathroom door and ran into the living room where Derek was sitting and said, "I'm pregnant!" He immediately jumped up to look for himself and was in complete shock. We have been talking about this since December, but we never REALLY thought it would actually happen on the FIRST try!!! We are very excited and can't wait for our first real doctor's appointment, which will be March 17th. I should be seven and half weeks by then, so hopefully we will be able to hear the heartbeat at that time.

I have a meeting with my regular lady doctor this Friday to discuss my maternity benefits with a nurse practitioner, but after much thought I think we have decided to have the baby at TMC-Lakewood, which is part of the hospital system where I work. The Lakewood campus is about 30 minutes from our house and is a nice, quiet, suburban hospital with nurses and doctors I really trust. Also? It's completely free if I have my baby at one of our hospitals, so I think that would be a good idea, mmkay? However, I'm going to go ahead and go to my appointment this Friday just in case for some reason things don't work out with the woman who I would like to deliver me at Lakewood.

Being in charge of patient satisfaction, I have the advantage of knowing right away which doctor I want to see...and in fact, she is not a doctor, but a midwife. She has the highest satisfaction rating (97%...and that exceeds the next closest doc by 10%) of any doctor/midwife in the entire organization...and not just OBs! She is who I will be seeing on 3/17 and I am really looking forward to finally getting to meet her.

I plan to post things like belly pictures (when I stop just looking fat) and updates on doctor's appointments, how I'm feeling, how the baby is developing, plans for training Helix and Ava that Baby von Bauer is not a snack or play toy, and other random Bauer fun-facts of course! I hope you'll check back often and share this experience with us...we are extremely excited and a touch scared shitless!

Derek and Ashley