9 Weeks!

How far along are you?  9 weeks
How big is baby?  Baby is the size of a grape or green olive this week - about 1" long.
Maternity clothes?  I bought a pair of maternity jeans on sale yesterday, though I don't plan on wearing them for awhile.
Weight -Loss or Gain?  +2 lbs
Stretch marks?  Nope
Sleep?  The exhaustion from early on has returned, but I still don't always sleep well.
Best moment this week:  Seeing our little Phanatic again and hearing his/her heartbeat :)
Any Movement?  Too early 
Food Cravings?  Potatoes, goldfish, Yoohoo, cheesecake, chili
Food Aversions?  Too much to list!
Belly Button in or out?  In
What do you miss:  I'm still really wanting a hoagie.
What are you looking forward to:  Telling our extended families in the upcoming weeks.
What was the BEST part of this week?  Seeing the baby again today at our dating ultrasound
What was the WORST part of this week?  I started throwing up :(

9w1d

I feel like I just started this blog, but here I am at 9 weeks already!  I can't believe all of the changes that have taken place since I found out I was pregnant almost 6 weeks ago.  Mike and I had our dating ultrasound today since I have long cycles and the baby wasn't measuring correctly based off my LMP (last menstrual period).  Since we were charting, we knew the baby would measure a week behind, but the OB requires a dating ultrasound for an official measurement to give our estimated due date.  We got to see our sweet baby again this morning and even got to hear the heartbeat!  It was the most amazing (and fast) sound!  The heartbeat clocked in at a rapid 178 beats per minute.  According to my pregnancy information, the heartbeat will gradually slow down prior to birth.  The ultrasound tech also confirmed that there was, in fact, only one baby, which I think resulted in another sigh of relief from Mike!  Our little Bean also measured between 9 weeks and 9 weeks 1 day, but since the main computer was reading 9 weeks, the Perinatologist used that estimate.  That means that our EDD is exactly what I calculated - March 27, 2012!

The newest picture of our Bean

In other news, we told our immediate families!  We decided that we aren't quite ready to tell our extended family yet, but we wanted to finally let our families in on the secret, especially since my symptoms were getting so hard to hide.  We told Mike's brother and his family first.  We wanted to wait until we had our first appointment last Monday, but they were coming over for dinner the Friday prior and I was so sick that we were worried they'd raise suspicions with other family members.  Once Mike told them, they both kind of looked at me to make sure he wasn't joking!  It was funny.  His brother gave me a huge hug and they said how excited they are for us.  After our appointment on Monday, we tried to surprise Mike's mom with the news, but she wasn't home!  We waited in her driveway for nearly an hour and a half to no avail.  In that time, we called both of his sisters (one of whom asked if he was kidding), and they were both thrilled as well.  They both said they had dreams someone was pregnant, but they weren't sure if it was me.  I didn't know they were psychic!  Finally, I had to eat, so we left a copy of the ultrasound picture for Mike's mom with a note telling her to call us.  Even though we wanted to see her reaction, she called us over dinner absolutely ecstatic!  We were so thrilled the secret was out on one side at least.

We decided to wait until our niece's first birthday party on Saturday to tell my family.  All of my siblings and parents would be there, and we really wanted to see their reactions.  I tried my best to wait for everyone to be in the same room, but since we didn't want everyone coming to the party finding out, I finally had to break the news with almost all of the family there.  We were missing a few significant others, but all the siblings were there at least.  Before the party, I asked my sister if she was excited that my niece's new cousin would be at her party next year.  At first she asked me what cousin, and I told her the new cousin.  It either clicked or sunk in for everyone at the same time because they all kind of freaked out at once.  It was really exciting!  Everyone said they were surprised, with the exception of my older sister, who said some of my recent actions (drinking Yoohoo, for instance) had made her suspicious.  As exciting as it was, we couldn't celebrate for long because guests started arriving.  After the party was over, we were able to sit down and answer everyone's questions.

Symptoms have gotten progressively worse as my hormone levels continue to rise.  My all-day sickness has progressed to throwing up as well, so I am pretty bummed about that.  I was kind of hoping hoping that the sickness would gradually start easing up, but it looks like I'm not in for relief quite yet.  Mike told me that his dad-to-be book said weeks 9-11 are usually the worst (which is what I've heard as well), so I'm hoping to get through these next two weeks as painlessly as possible.  The exhaustion from my early pregnancy seems to have returned, leaving me fatigued most of the day.  Most days I am ready for bed by 8:00, and I spend a lot of the weekend laying around.  My back has also begun to ache pretty badly, which seems to be posterior pelvic pain (per Dr. Google).  The pain is very low in my back (near the sacral region of my spine) and sometimes I can feel it in my legs as well.  It mainly causes pain to walk or stand for long periods of time.  I am also experiencing round ligament pain (RLP), which is felt in the front of the pelvis as a result of stretching of the ligament that holds the uterus in suspension with the abdomen.  Fun stuff!  Thankfully, Mike bought me a body pillow to help keep my knees in line with my back while I sleep and it seems to be helping with both my sleep and back pain.  Despite my ailments, everything I'm experiencing is very normal and could be a lot worse for me.  I am definitely blessed not to have any serious issues!

All-in-all things have been going very well.  We have seen the baby's heartbeat twice, which is an excellent sign!  Everything looks great and our Bean is growing healthy and strong so far.  Right now we are both so excited to have the support of our families and to know that the baby is doing well.  I know I say this all of the time, but we couldn't be happier!