14 Weeks

I went this morning for my 14 week check up. Everything was fine. I talked to my doctor about my constant headaches and how to relieve them. She offered to prescribe me something that could be used sparingly but I declined. She also suggested that Michael start rubbing my neck and upper back to help alleviate them. I will take that advice starting tonight! The appointment was short they only found the heart beat and measured me.

On a very bright note on my end I have slowed down on my weight gain which is awesome. At the rate I was going I would be 250 by the end of the pregnancy. But I only gained a pound this past month which puts me right back on target for healthy weight gain. Most people that know me well have heard my concerns about getting ginormous during the pregnancy since my weight is so volatile. I was cursed with a horrible metabolism and a lazy streak :)

This week my Mom and StepDad are coming into town for an early Christmas celebration. I am looking forward to that. We get presents twice in the same week. Whoohhoo. Luckily I only have a little bit of stuff to pick up today and my shopping will be done. I finished up Michael's on Sunday but standing in line for about three hours in freezing rain to get him a Nintendo Wii. I have been looking for about a month and then final got some info about Best Buy and Target getting some on Sunday. So I started at one Best Buy at 5AM and then was at the second one by six. I was number 95 there and they got in 93! Talk about irritating. After that I hauled butt over to Target and got one! Of course Michael was aware of me getting it since I was gone at six when he woke up so I went ahead and gave it to him. His present was all the effort I went through to get it for him. I have never worked so hard getting a gift for someone. It felt good.

Hopefully I will get to post before Christmas but if not Merry Christmas!

Read more...

13 weeks

Well this has been a pretty good week other than a run in with pink eye. Yes pink eye, the annoying infection I thought only rugrats carried around. Thanks go out to my lovely co worker that infested me! And not just in one eye but both. So I missed a day of work, for which I had no vacation left and got to stay home and watch lifetime all day.

To be more specific I watched "A Baby Story" and "Bringing Home Baby." I have decided no more baby story because it really just makes me cry or cringe over the birthing process. Furthermore, bringing home baby just confirmed the fact that I will not get any sleep or relaxation during my whole maternity leave so I may as well just not watch that show either. Both shows left me in tears and sadly I don't think I can blame it on hormones. Mainly because I have always been a bit of a softy.

We did get the results of our first trimester blood screen back yesterday. The news was excellent and I will be passing on the second trimester testing. Although I sounded so confident in my last post a pregnancy friend recently told me her horrifying experience with false positives and this test so I was convinced I would be part of the percentage that this happened too. But alas all is well. This test only gives you percentages but even for the statistically challenged like myself the numbers were good.

This week I have been trying to adapt to sleeping on my left side which has left me a little unrested and cranky in the morning. I do have a body pillow which is helping in the debacle but my back and shoulder are not feeling much relief. Of course my rest is also being interrupted by a snoring spouse. Putting the body pillow over his face doesn't really mask the sound either.....Oh I miss my first trimester exhaustion that let me sleep so well only a full bladder could awake me!

Read more...

12 Weeks

Michael and I went for my first trimester screen this morning and it was amazing! The baby has changed so much in just over a month. The above picture shows Peads shining moment of waving at Mommy and Daddy. To be exact there was a somersault and then a wave. Peads was showing off for the cameras, just like Mom. If you look closely you can see all five fingers on the hand. It really was just awesome to see the features start forming. Peads had arms, legs, fingers, a distinguishable nose, and little feet! It even had a fat little belly. And the movement was outrageous. How Peads is moving around that much and I cannot feel it is crazy. You would think it was a gymnastic ring in there.

More importantly all the measurements came back well within range. Now we just have to wait on the blood test results which I am positive are fine. The baby measured about five centimeters and had a heartrate of 151. Still kind of high....might mean it is a girl!

Here are some of the other pictures.

A good shot of the face and a foot right next to the face on the left.

Another good shoot of the face and the button nose.

You can see an arm extended here with a foot on the left.

Read more...

11 Weeks

I had a ten week appointment last week. It went well although they could not find the baby heartbeat this time. Apparently that is normal since it is a little early to hear it with the Doppler. We should definitely be able to hear it in December when we go for my fourteen week appointment.

We had to decide on some prenatal screening tests at this appointment as well. This turned out to be a stressful and very emotional event. Insert pregnancy hormones/emotions here. All I can say is poor Michael. We did decide to do a 1st trimester screening test that I have scheduled for next week. This eliminates some test later in the pregnancy (assuming the test give positive results). The screening is an integrated test that uses an ultrasound measurement of the thickness of the skin at the back of the baby's neck (nuchal translucency) and the blood levels of free beta-HCG and a protein called pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) to check for problems such as down syndrome and other abnormalities. I think this was a hard decision to make because who knows if you really want to know if something is wrong, right? It was difficult but we decided to just go ahead and do it. On a brighter note we will get to see the baby again so I can post those pictures next week.

Michael and I went to Florida to see my mom over the holiday. It was a big weather change from cold North Carolina! But it is good to be home with our puppies that we missed very much. We did come back to a dog with an itching problem. We have to take Cesna to the vet today to see if he has any skin disorders and to get some medicine for his EXTREME itchiness and flaking. The poor dog has snow coming off of his back. Hopefully he will get some relief after the appointment though.

Read more...

My New Favorite Thing!

This morning as I am sitting at my desk at work with my stomach all crammed into a pair of pants, I realized I need to break down and buy some maternity clothes. I have been putting this off since every book says I should not need them for another month. But I am just that uncomfortable. So at lunch I went to Old Navy fully prepared for an experience that might be worse than shopping for a bathing suit while you have PMS and pasty white skin. Surprisingly enough, other than Old Navy's pathetic excuse for a maternity department I can honestly say the experience was not that bad. I really just needed pants but looked at everything. I went into the dressing room with four pairs of pants and two shirts. Well I am definitely not big enough for the shirts yet since everything looks like a moo-moo. Although no matter how big I am I do not think this will change. But the pants. My God the Pants!!! I think God himself created maternity pants. This is a comfort I cannot explain. All I can say is I walked out of the dressing room with three of the pants death gripped in my hand. The fourth was only returned to the rack because they were dry clean only. Yes this is officially my favorite thing about being pregnant.

Read more...

9 Weeks

Oh the joys of getting fat! My first official belly pictures. You would think that I was incubating triplets but alas there is only one in there, so the doctor claims. I blame genes for making me five foot tall with nowhere for the baby to go except horizontally.

I would like to thank Craig Alden for officially giving our baby it's pre-name. From now on it will be called 'Peads' (pronounced Peeds). In true Eads tradition! Peads stands for Peanut Eads. How original, thanks Craig! Even if you do think the Blog is stupid. Yeah Michael told on you.

Read more...

Overprotective...just a little

So we had a small scare this weekend. I started spotting on Saturday evening with some mild cramping on Sunday. Of course I start freaking out and Michael is convinced everything is fine. I am seeing flashes of our parenting styles now! We called the doctor first thing Monday morning and went in for an unscheduled ultrasound to check things out. Thankfully everything is fine! We got to see the baby and his heartbeat again and it was strong. As I am crying in relief Michael's look is just like "I told you so" But the extra 300 dollars for an ultrasound was worth every penny for my peace of mind.

I guess none of my other pregnant girlfriends had mentioned "spotting" so the slightest sight of blood freaked me out. Apparently this is pretty common. Something someone could have mentioned BEFORE my freak out. And let me tell you "What to expect when your Expecting" is the devil and just made me want to go to the emergency room. It didn't say it was common, just to report it to your doctor. My recommendation to everyone is to skip buying the book and go for something a little less scary.

-Stephaine

Read more...

Old Wives Tales-Part Two

It might be a boy if.....(my symptoms are in blue)

You didn't experience morning sickness in early pregnancy
Your baby's heart rate is less than 140 beats per minute
You are carrying the extra weight out in front
Your belly looks like a basketball
You are carrying low
You are craving salty or sour foods
You are craving protein - meats and cheese
Your feet are colder than they were before pregnancy
The hair on your legs has grown faster during pregnancy
Your hands are very dry
Your pillow faces north when you sleep
Dad-to-be is gaining weight too
Pregnancy has you looking better than ever
Your urine is a bright yellow in colour
Your nose is spreading
If you hang your wedding ring over your belly, it moves in circles
You are having headaches
You add your age at the time of conception and the number for the month you conceived the number is even

Seems pretty even to me!

-Stephaine

Read more...

Old Wives Tales-Part One

It might be a girl if....(purple indicates my symptoms)

You had morning sickness early in pregnancy
Your baby's heart rate is at least 140 beats per minute
You are carrying the weight in your hips and rear
Your hair gets red highlights
You are carrying high
Your belly looks like a watermelon
You crave sweets
You crave fruit
You crave orange juice
You don't look quite as good as normal during pregnancy
You are moodier than usual during pregnancy
Your face breaks out more than usual
You refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread
Your breasts have really blossomed!
Your pillow faces south when you sleep
Your urine is a dull yellow in colour
If you hang your wedding ring over your belly, it moves from side to side
If you add your age at the time of conception and the number for the month you conceived the number is odd


-Stephaine

Read more...

Baby Eads First Picture

Michael and I went for our first ultrasound on Wednesday. The technician gave us the best possible news....there is only one! Everything is progressing well. The baby is 16mm long (about a half inch). She actually pushed back my due date a little, which is now June 19, 2008. So I am just at eight weeks. I thought my expanding waist line meant I was further along, but apparently not.

The baby had a strong heartbeat at 160 beats per minute. According to the old wives tale this indicates a girl. I will have to post all the crazy indications of what determines if it is a boy or a girl. In the meantime take the poll!


I have felt my energy picking up a little bit this week. I am also learning to control the morning sickness a little better. Mainly by eating more (hence the expanding waist line!) I am counting down until the twelfth week. That means no more praising the porcelain god!

Read more...