11w1d

Today we had some pretty awful weather here in South Central PA. Icy, slushy, rainy, cold- what a way to start February! Despite it being yucky out, we still made it to my 11 week doctor's appointment this morning. It took me about twenty minutes to defrost my windshield and scrape the thick layer of ice off so that I could see. Gregg had already gone to work and met me at the medical pavilion. I got there after my scheduled time, but the office had a delayed opening because of the weather so it was crammed full of patients who had been waiting for a while. I was seen not too long after checking in.

First we met with one of the nurses, who asked us about a million questions about medical history and genetics. I learned that because I'm primarily of Italian decsent, there's a slight chance I could be a carrier for some type of anemia. She filled out a lab slip for me to have blood work and a urinalysis done, and gave me a bunch of reading material. Afterward, we were ushered back to the waiting room before my physical exam with the doctor. I then had to pee in a Dixie cup again, and had my BP and weight checked. I'm down one pound from my last visit, but the medical assistant said it could just be the difference in scales.

I had to put on a very flattering (ha) hospital gown and froze my butt off waitng for the doctor to enter the room. She said she was going to try to hear the heartbeat this time with a Doppler, but said not to be discouraged if we didn't because it's still early. She completed the phsycial, then checked out my pelvic area. How she knew this just from pushing on my abdomen, I don't know, but she said my uterus is tipped slightly and kind of hiding back towards my pelvis. This will straighten out as the pregnancy progresses, but for now it apparently makes it near impossible to hear a heartbeat, so she said she'd wheel in the ultrasound machine and get a glimpse of how baby is doing.

I couldn't stop smiling. It was so amazing to see it again. This time, we could make out hands and feet. It definitely looked more like a baby than a jelly bean. The doctor said that it appeared like Baby B was crossing its feet and waving. He or she jumped a few times, too! Okay, it was more like spastic movements, but it was so cute. We got a few more pictures to put in the baby album. Our next appointment is scheduled for February 29, when the doctor will go over all the lab work with us and we'll finally be able to hear the heartbeat. The next one after that, we find out if it's a boy or girl!!

After we left the doctor's, Gregg went back to work and I met up with two friends at Panera for lunch. Since the lab was basically across the parking lot from the restaurant, I went in for my blood work and such right after. They filled like, six or seven tubes which made me a little woozy. But, the tech who drew my blood was really good. I hardly felt a thing.

Last weekend, Gregg and I made our first journey into baby shopping land. We went into the baby departments of Target and Toys'RUS. It was fun... and daunting. Very daunting. I mean, how can such a tiny little thing possibly need all that stuff? We were clueless. What kind of car seat do we get? What type of bottles? We didn't buy a single thing. We did however, decide on a theme for the nursery, which will be Classic Winnie the Pooh. It will be so much fun purchasing items and decorating the baby's room, when we actually know what we need! Grandma, some help please?

Sometimes it's hard for me to believe this is all happening. I feel so incredibly blessed to have this baby growing inside of me and that I've had such a smooth pregnancy so far. I know it will become more real as the weeks progress, and my tummy grows! Right now, it just looks like I've eaten a few too many donuts or something.

I'm looking forward to seeing what each new week brings. Every Wednesday evening (that's my day six), I log onto whattoexpect.com to read about what the week ahead entails, for both me and baby. I've marked down the week number in the corner of each Thursday on our kitchen calendar. I now know I will be just over 35 weeks pregnant on the day of sister's wedding. Yikes. They might have to wheel me down the aisle.