Smiling Through the Rain

The weeks really seem to be moving quickly now! I'm savoring every second that I'm pregnant and actually feel like maybe I'll be sad when it's over. We worked so hard to get here and it really is the most amazing feeling in the world! I've started gaining wait now. I'm steadily gaining 1 pound a week, so I'm up to 6 pounds total. I actually expected more at this point, so I'm thrilled with that. Especially since I'll probably accumulate 50 pounds of fluid in my ankles in July and August... The tummy really popped out this week. It's crazy how certain weeks it changes SOOOO much. Aaron even noticed the difference when he took the picture. It's the first week that we were really surprised by the change. Pretty much all of my patients now talk about me being pregnant because it's obvious in EVERYTHING I wear. I was using charts to cover my tummy, just to save the time of answering the same questions over and over, but it doesn't even ...

I've been thinking about changing the name of our blog. But after much thought, I've decided to leave it the same. Our stork really isn't great with directions. Sure, we're pregnant now and it appears that our journey really is leading us to a baby. But it's definitely not been the quickest, easiest path. We took many wrong turns, hit several dead ends, and ended up on detours for way too long. There's been too many tears cried and my heart has been broken time and time again. It's been a long, hard road to get here and the stupid stork assigned to us put us through a load of crap to get to this point. I'm certainly thankful for the road we're on now, don't get me wrong. I'd do all of it 30 times again if I could be where I am now. (Money and biological clock allowing...) But the title should stay the same. 2 years have passed, 3 surgeries, 1 hospitalization, my miscarriage, hundreds of doctor's visits, thousands of dollars s...

Our anatomy ultrasound went perfectly today and like any really annoying new mommy, I'm going to show a ton of the pictures they took today and act like you really wanted to see them all!!! And if I can figure out how to download the DVD, I'll be torturing you with it later this week... It's even cuter than the pictures... That's a leg propped up in the right corner there. This is the baby in a thoughtful pose. I'm sure he/she is sure to be a genius! It's a.......... BABY!!!! (Did you really think I was going to ruin such a fun surprise?) Little worried about the size of those feet in such close proximity with my fragile little ribs... Being shy... We weren't camera ready for this shot! This leads me to think it's a girl. :) Baby is measuring 9 ounces which is great for this point and all measurements were good. The brain measured the smallest which makes me think it has to be a boy. :) The tech was easily able to tell what the gender is ...

We are nearing the halfway mark and I can't believe it. I'm actually getting to the point now that I almost want things to slow down a bit because I'm really loving the whole pregnancy thing. It's more fun to get dressed now because I have a new curvy figure, I don't worry that my belly looks "fat" in something, and I have tons of new/borrowed clothes to choose from. Speaking of my new figure, here's what we're looking like this week. It's crazy how much Gil is already showing! I went with a more forward view of the tummy this week to capture what is going on with my belly button. It's always been a serious innie, but we're working on popping out soon I think. And I'm starting to have some major curvature around the bottom of my belly which is super fun to put my hands on. I feel like I'm holding my baby! We've got the big anatomy scan tomorrow (minus the genital anatomy portion) which I'm getting freaked out abou...

Sarah from Baby Talk so kindly helped me figure out how to add a poll on to my blog, so please make your guess on what we're having. We're not finding out til the baby gets here in August, but I thought it would be interesting to see what everyone thinks! Thanks Sarah! I really appreciate it.

My pregnancy hormones are definitely in a good place now. I'm no longer aggressive towards strangers ( except for a little road rage at times), my husband is my favorite person in the world again (the mangos helped), and I feel just generally happy about everything . The excitement over this pregnancy is growing day by day. I'm still scared, don't get me wrong. But I'm no longer checking the toilet paper every time I go, I don't listen for the heartbeat quite so many times a day, and I no longer cry unexpectedly because I'm just sure something must be wrong. I can't believe the love I feel for this baby. What an incredible blessing it has been to be pregnant and watch the little one grow through ultrasounds. Best part of infertility is the increased number of ultrasounds you get! I was able to see Gil as a little gestational sac, then a tiny embryo with that amazing heartbeat, growing into a gummy bear, moving those little stubby arms/legs, etc. And I can...

What a fantastic evening I am having! I came home this evening exhausted from work only to look in the fridge and find that my dear husband went to the store today and got some stuff I really love. First I noticed the strawberries which are my #2 favorite and then I found my #1 favorite thing in the world: MANGOS !!! They've been out-of-season since what seems like 8 years ago, but he dug through them all today until he found 2 softer ones. And they were absolutely heavenly!!! So I thought I'd include a picture of me enjoying this wonderful surprise. You might start by noticing that I am wearing my zebra snuggie, very stylish alongside my slippers. Aaron also wants me to point out that I am using an 8 inch butcher knife to cut my fruit instead of one of our more manageable ones. He kept looking over and cringing every time I would cut a piece off since it would slip all over the plate. His money was on me cutting a finger off or stabbing the dog. And yeah, I know it ...