10 Weeks

Don't let Lucy's expression fool you. She is beyond thrilled.

How far along? 10 weeks - due March 13, 2016
Total weight loss/gain: I was up 2 lbs as of last week. Haven't weighed myself this week.

Maternity clothes? Trying to hold out until 12 weeks, but doing the rubber band trick on a lot of my jeans already.
Sleep: Exhausted all the time, but have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. Major night sweats.

Best moment this week: Seeing the baby on an ultrasound. Telling the girls and the rest of the world.

Movement: Not that I can feel. I saw it wiggling all over on the ultrasound, though.

Food cravings: Fizzy, fruity drinks. 
Food aversions: Some. Nothing specific. Usually nothing sounds good. 
Gender: Thinking boy since I feel so different this time around.
Labor Signs: None

Belly Button in or out? Half and half (it never really went back in after Lena)
What I miss: Feeling good. 

What I am looking forward to: Hearing the heartbeat, actually looking pregnant instead of pudgy.
Milestones: By 10 weeks, the baby is almost fully developed. It just has to grow from here on out. At the ultrasound, it clearly had a head, arms and legs. The Dr. said it was even sucking its thumb. My babycenter email said it has fingernails by now (Juno, anyone?). Amazing.

Whew! I'm so glad the news is out! 6 weeks is way too long to keep a secret! Haha.

I'll post some of the updates I've been jotting down for myself soon if you care to read back on the past few weeks. The short[er] version is this:

This baby has been a troublemaker from the beginning. I started spotting two days after my positive test and thought, "Well that was a quick one." I had blood drawn that showed my HCG levels rising as they should and got in for an early ultrasound at 5 weeks. The baby just looked like a tiny blob that early, but there was a clear, flickering heartbeat. So incredible. 

At about 6 weeks exactly, I started to feel sick. I never felt anything like this with the girls. It's just horrendous nausea for hours on end. I am fortunate that I don't puke (although sometimes I think it might be better just to get it out!), and it's not 24/7. It's very random. Usually, I feel good most of the day and then start to feel sick around 4. But some days I wake up feeling awful and some days I feel fine all day. Regardless, I'm ready for the nausea to be over. It magically goes away at 12 weeks, right???

After that initial ultrasound at 5 weeks, I wasn't scheduled to go back to the doctor until 12 weeks. So I was doing my best to keep it a secret until then. Unfortunately, I show almost immediately. Lucy told me no less than 6 times in the past 6 weeks that I look like I have a baby in my belly. 

And then on Friday I had some major bleeding. I was sure it was over and I was losing another baby. But we got an ultrasound in the ER showing a fully developed baby, measuring right on track, wiggling all over the place, with a strong heartbeat. I was in shock. The doctors weren't certain what caused the bleeding, but said it can be normal and sent me on my way! After seeing that ultrasound and being assured that the baby is healthy and measuring on track, I decided to stop torturing myself and share the news.

We told the girls yesterday. Lucy is so excited. She squealed with joy when we told her and has said multiple times since then "I can't believe you're having a baby!" Yesterday we went a little crazy and took the girls to Chuck E. Cheese, Toys R Us (where they were told we were only looking - not buying!), the pet store (see previous disclaimer), and McDonald's for ice cream. Yet, as we were sitting in McDonald's, Lucy said, "This day has been so fun. But my favorite part is that we're having a baby." She also told me that she really wants a girl, but we're probably having a boy since we already two girls. Lena gets it and loves to push on my belly and say, "I touched your baby." She has also asked at least 10 times, "When's the baby going to come out?" Haha. It's going to be a long winter!

So fasten your seatbelts for 30 more of weeks of pregnancy updates! Here we go again!