9.5 weeks

Today is Christmas - I've been emotional all day because I'm so excited about our growing family.  I was planning to work every day this week, but I've decided to only work a couple days because I want to spend time with Squiggles and Tim and start making preparations for the new baby to join us.  Tim got me a new sewing machine for Christmas, so I'm going to start by making the a receiving blanket for when we meet him or her in the hospital in a few months.

Morning sickness is in full swing now, so I haven't been able to enjoy all the delicious holiday food.  Oh well... small price to pay for such a huge blessing!

8.5 weeks

I had my first prenatal appointment this week, and met Dr. MacKenzie.  He was fantastic, and excited because he was Daddy's mentor when Daddy was doing his OB/GYN rotation in medical school.

When he first came in, he said, "Let's see.. you're about 8 weeks along, which might be too soon to hear a heartbeat with the doppler. How would you like to take a look with an ultrasound?"  I was very excited - last time we didn't get to do that at 8 weeks.

I got to see the baby wiggling his or her arms and legs about, and I could even see its heart beating.  It was so exciting!  The doctor gave me a picture to take home. :)  He said everything looks great so far!

7 weeks

Well, I officially don't have any more food cravings.  Instead, I have food aversions.  I have so many food aversions that it's easier to just list the things I can still tolerate.  They are:

1.  Ice water.  The second the ice starts to melt, the water is dead to me.  Must be ICE COLD.
2.  Mashed potatoes and gravy.
3.  That's all.

This pregnancy has been easier than the last in many ways because I don't have as much nausea, but it has been hard because I have been very sick 3 times so far.  I've had two colds / sinus infections, and one very nasty stomach virus.  Trying to keep on top of the nausea (by making  sure I eat a lot of proteins and drink plenty of water) has been much more challenging when I'm sick.  Oh well.

The other serious symptom of pregnancy I have had is serious weepiness.  I will cry at just about anything.  Almost any time I hear a Christmas song, I cry.  If Squiggles does something cute, I cry.  If anybody says anything funny, I cry.  If I like the weather, I cry.  If I don't like the weather, I cry.   It's so silly.  My emotions - all of them - just seem a little overwhelming.

5 weeks - a bit of a scare

Well, today I had quite the scare on my way home from work. I was stopped at a red light when suddenly I felt a large jolt and the car slid forward several feet.  Somebody had run into me from behind.  Luckily I was wearing my seatbelt and aside from being scared half to death, I was fine.  Phew!  Later, Tim was quite concerned when I told him about it and he asked all kinds of questions - he wanted to make sure the baby was okay.  The man who hit me was very nice and very apologetic.  He had been visiting his mom in the hospital nearby and was a bit distracted on his way home.  Thankfully nobody got hurt.

Today I was craving beets and olives all day.  I had beets for dinner, and now I think I'll go find myself some green olives. :-)

5 weeks

We've been sharing our exciting news, even though it's still quite new.  I just can't keep a secret - I'm too excited!  Grandma and Grandpa Dickey cheered, Aunt Jen squealed, Nana was thrilled, Aunts Karen and Cami are super excited, and Uncle Lance gave me a big hug.  We're all excited!

This week I've been feeling definite signs of pregnancy.  My body feels like it's making room for you, and I've been craving olives like crazy.  Maybe the baby will be an olive fan...

A line, a line, I saw a line!

Today we found out that another baby is on the way.  We're so happy!  Here is the story of what happened today:

Tim is very busy with medical rotations right now, so we don't usually get to see each other during the day. Luckily, right now he is doing his Pediatrics rotation at Boston Medical Center - right next to where I work!  He texted me today at noon and asked if I would like to meet him for lunch.  I said, "Of course."  We went to the hospital cafeteria, and as soon as we entered, the smells of all the different kinds of food were so strong it felt like they punched me in the stomach.  That's when I began to suspect something was up. :)

I  came home and took a pregnancy test.  Yesterday I was bleeding very slightly, so I thought I wasn't pregnant even though I wanted to be. But to my surprise and great delight, the pregnancy test came out positive!  Hurrayyyyyy!  I was so happy I cried.

I couldn't wait to tell Tim!  But I wanted him to be surprised in a fun way.  Sometimes I tease him that he comes home and goes straight to his computer to look at baseball scores, so I put a picture of the pregnancy test on his computer's desktop.   Squiggles and I went to pick him up from school, and I managed to keep the secret all the way home.

Sure enough, when we got home Tim went to his computer and turned it on.  He didn't notice that I was recording him.  He was a little skeptical at first, because we have seen faint lines on pregnancy tests that were false alarms.

But after I showed him the actual tests, he believed it for himself.  He gave me a kiss, and every time I saw him for the rest of the evening, he had a little smile on his face.  We're so happy!  We can't wait to meet this little one!

It's time

Tim and I have decided that we can't wait to have another baby.  I hope it won't take long because I'm bursting at the seams to hold another little baby in my arms.  It's time!

Amelia has been running around with a baby doll.  She feeds it (real food!), hugs it, kisses it, and pats it to sleep.  Hopefully this is a good omen of what an awesome sister she will be!