We had our first doctor's appointment today and everything went perfectly. We are truly blessed, thankful and overwhelmed with joy. We already assumed this, but it was made official today: the due date is October 14, 2011! We also learned that E's doing great and everything is progressing nicely.
The appointment ended with our first ultrasound. It's weird; for some reason I thought the ultrasound would take a while to develop, and that we wouldn't know what was going on immediately. But that wasn't the case... Almost, instantly, we saw and heard this:
There are no words. Hearing and seeing the heartbeat for the first time was both amazing and surreal. The heart is beating healthy and strong at 144 beats per minute (which is in the normal range) and despite being just 7 weeks, 3 days old, Baby is currently the size of a 7 week, 4 day old. Sounds like a linebacker to me. Or the world's prettiest female lumberjack.
Monday, February 28, 2011
First Ultrasound!
Presenting... Baby Schwartz!
You can see the dotted line that goes from the top of head to the bottom of the tail. We are hoping the tail goes away at some point.
Also visible: the arm nubs, the leg nubs, and the yolk sac (the circle at the top of the body.) The big black space is the growing uterus and the thick white area below the uterus is the forming placenta. Baby Schwartz is the size of a raspberry and looking great!
Friday, February 25, 2011
WBU and a Husband Too!
Last day of Week 7.
First doctor's appointment is on Monday which we are both very much looking forward to, particularly Mike. Neither of us have met this doctor before but she was recommended to me by 3 women who are wives of Kellogg students. Back to Mike, he is a worrier. I get about 12 texts a day asking how nauseous I feel. He's also asked me if I am going to die of dysentery. Some of you might be thinking, "Awww, that's really sweet how much he cares for you." What I am saying is, "Stop worrying. It does not feel good to have you feel reassured because I don't feel good. And it's annoying. Stop it. Leave me alone." And then later for my outburst, "I'm sorry."
He has been reading a book called The Expectant Father and has taught me a lot. Like the fact that hormones double in amount every 2-3 days causing increases in nausea. Great. Apple juice can help increase one's thirst which is important for proper hydration, which most difficult to do when feeling most nauseous. Slurp. Baby girls tend to cause more morning sickness then boys. Hmmm. I'm not allowed to play dodge ball and heaving lifting is a no-no because it puts too much pressure on my organs and uterus. Which if fine because I don't like being hit in the face with a rubber ball too much anyway. Maybe he'll stop making me practice being hit in the face every Tuesday morning now.
He has been reading a book called The Expectant Father and has taught me a lot. Like the fact that hormones double in amount every 2-3 days causing increases in nausea. Great. Apple juice can help increase one's thirst which is important for proper hydration, which most difficult to do when feeling most nauseous. Slurp. Baby girls tend to cause more morning sickness then boys. Hmmm. I'm not allowed to play dodge ball and heaving lifting is a no-no because it puts too much pressure on my organs and uterus. Which if fine because I don't like being hit in the face with a rubber ball too much anyway. Maybe he'll stop making me practice being hit in the face every Tuesday morning now.
My Wife's An Eating Disorders Therapist
Which is why I am hoping no patients saw her dry-heaving over this.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Meh
Don't get me wrong, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't feel a sense of awe and wonder regarding the miracle of life.
But I don't feel good.
But I don't feel good.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Big Mac or McNuggets?
It doesn't matter. We have figured out that E has an aversion to them and every other type of greasy fast food. Which means no McDonald's for us until October. I am assuming this is Baby's way of saying "Enough cholesterol, Daddy." I'd prefer Baby said "Enough Vitamin A, Daddy."
Charity Auction Ball
The event that has been all-consuming for my husband occurred last night. Charity Auction Ball. I am really proud of all that Mike was able to accomplish and am so grateful for all the money that is going to charity. Mike was able to increase (from last year) external donations by 40% and at least 15,000 more dollars were raised for charity! Below is a picture of us from the event.
Oh, and earlier in the day he told his good friend Brian that we're pregnant because when asking what food was going to be available at the event, Brian just stuck with telling him sliders thinking that was a satisfying answer.
Key information: Mike can't keep our great news quiet! :)
A side note story from the event: a guy named Ed that Mike goes to school with asked where I was since Mike was alone at the time. Mike said that I was not feeling well so I was sitting down. Ed half-jokingly asked if I was pregnant. Mike said no since the plan was to not tell anyone. Quickly thereafter Mike said, "I'm sorry. I can't lie. Yes, she's pregnant." Needless to say, Ed and his girlfriend Jen went nuts!
Oh, and earlier in the day he told his good friend Brian that we're pregnant because when asking what food was going to be available at the event, Brian just stuck with telling him sliders thinking that was a satisfying answer.
Key information: Mike can't keep our great news quiet! :)
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Trying
It took us three months to get pregnant. In retrospect, we were incredibly blessed to get pregnant so quickly. That said, when we were trying, three months felt like forever... Mainly because we didn't know how long it would take, or if we would get pregnant at all. It was truly a blessing to get pregnant so quickly.
For your reading pleasure, our synopsis of our three months of trying. Somewhere, our parents are really excited to hear about how we were trying to get pregnant for months at a time.
Month One: Clueless
We were convinced we were pregnant the first month. And why not? We weren't tracking Elizabeth's temperature. We weren't using an ovulation kit. We both skipped every day of medical school. We had every reason to believe we knew what we were doing. It made no difference to us that the test came up negative on the day it was supposed to be 95% accurate. We could tell from all of Elizabeth's symptoms. Nobody has ever felt symptoms of something that they were not able to unequivocally diagnose with one quick trip to Google. And at least two different websites said her symptoms could possibly have something to do with pregnancy.
Unfortunately, the websites also said they could have something to do with cancer. Or Lyme disease. Or scurvy. So you can imagine the emotional rollercoaster of the hypochondriac husband when we realized she wasn't pregnant. Fortunately, our OB/GYN relies on sources such as "his education" and "years of experience," not "the Internet" and "gut feel," to make prognoses. Sometimes, it's nice to hear the doctor laugh at you and ask "Why are you calling me?" Especially when he follows his question with "You're fine! You're going to get pregnant soon! You're going to be a terrific mother! Talk to you soon!"
Month Two: Doom N' Gloom
As a side note, I prefer my stylish N's to be seperating words such as "Guns" and "Roses." But I digress.
After being so sure we were pregnant in Month One, it was really easy to get really scared we would never get pregnant. We asked a lot of our friends with children how long it took them, and if they were scared after they were unsuccessful the first month. It was reassuring to hear a wide variety of responses about the number of months it took, and that it was natural to be scared after Month One. However, that did not make things any less worrisome, or any less stressful.
Neither of us ever really believed we would get pregnant in Month Two, nor did we really believe at any point we were. We tried to keep our faith up, but we never really felt it. When we found out we weren't, there was no shock or dismay, but rather a sad feeling of confirmation. That said, we learned from the experience. Soon after finding out we weren't pregnant, we discussed how we had approached Month Two. It was not exactly the outlook a couple should have when trying to bring a baby into the world. As opposed to being excited like we were in Month One, we were completely focused on the fear of never getting pregnant, and the stress of trying to make it happen. It made for a miserable time, and in the end, we were back in the same place we ended Month One: not pregnant. We decided that while it would be difficult, we needed to do everything possible to focus on the excitement of getting pregnant. If God wanted us to be pregnant, we would get pregnant, so we should be excited about the possibility. Even if it was never going to happen, we might as well enjoy thinking it was going to each month. Being stressed wasn't going to help. And it's a lot more fun to be excited for three and a half weeks and only disappointed for one that spend the whole month miserable.
Month Three: Hoozah!
Somewhat surprisingly, we were actually able to follow through on our plan. We stayed positive almost the entire month. Which, of course, led to us looking for signs and being convinced we were pregnant again. It's fun picking and choosing which experiences to learn from and which to willfully ignore.
We took the pregnancy test the first day we "could." It promised 51% accuracy, which probably makes my Decision Sciences (read: fancy business school speak for "Statistics") professors froth at the mouth, because what it really means is 51% of the time pregnant women will get a positive result. That's not really "51% accuracy." But I guess if it told 49% of non-pregnant women they were pregnant, the product wouldn't sell particularly well. Moving on. We took the test. And it came back negative. I was devastated. For the second time in three months, I was certain we were pregnant, and we weren't.
There are many, many, many wonderful things about our marriage. One of the best is that when she lacks faith, I usually have enough for both of us, and when I lack faith, she usually has enough for both of us. This was one of those times. "It's only 51% accurate," she said. "We should have waited to take it. I still think I am." I was back on the We're Preggers train.
That was on Sunday, January 30. We decided we would wait until the 95% accuracy day, which was February 2. Needless to say, the night of February 1 was still pretty scary. And stressful. We prayed a lot. We went to bed. And then...
http://knollwoodandgarland.blogspot.com/2011/02/558-am.html
For your reading pleasure, our synopsis of our three months of trying. Somewhere, our parents are really excited to hear about how we were trying to get pregnant for months at a time.
Month One: Clueless
We were convinced we were pregnant the first month. And why not? We weren't tracking Elizabeth's temperature. We weren't using an ovulation kit. We both skipped every day of medical school. We had every reason to believe we knew what we were doing. It made no difference to us that the test came up negative on the day it was supposed to be 95% accurate. We could tell from all of Elizabeth's symptoms. Nobody has ever felt symptoms of something that they were not able to unequivocally diagnose with one quick trip to Google. And at least two different websites said her symptoms could possibly have something to do with pregnancy.
Unfortunately, the websites also said they could have something to do with cancer. Or Lyme disease. Or scurvy. So you can imagine the emotional rollercoaster of the hypochondriac husband when we realized she wasn't pregnant. Fortunately, our OB/GYN relies on sources such as "his education" and "years of experience," not "the Internet" and "gut feel," to make prognoses. Sometimes, it's nice to hear the doctor laugh at you and ask "Why are you calling me?" Especially when he follows his question with "You're fine! You're going to get pregnant soon! You're going to be a terrific mother! Talk to you soon!"
Month Two: Doom N' Gloom
As a side note, I prefer my stylish N's to be seperating words such as "Guns" and "Roses." But I digress.
After being so sure we were pregnant in Month One, it was really easy to get really scared we would never get pregnant. We asked a lot of our friends with children how long it took them, and if they were scared after they were unsuccessful the first month. It was reassuring to hear a wide variety of responses about the number of months it took, and that it was natural to be scared after Month One. However, that did not make things any less worrisome, or any less stressful.
Neither of us ever really believed we would get pregnant in Month Two, nor did we really believe at any point we were. We tried to keep our faith up, but we never really felt it. When we found out we weren't, there was no shock or dismay, but rather a sad feeling of confirmation. That said, we learned from the experience. Soon after finding out we weren't pregnant, we discussed how we had approached Month Two. It was not exactly the outlook a couple should have when trying to bring a baby into the world. As opposed to being excited like we were in Month One, we were completely focused on the fear of never getting pregnant, and the stress of trying to make it happen. It made for a miserable time, and in the end, we were back in the same place we ended Month One: not pregnant. We decided that while it would be difficult, we needed to do everything possible to focus on the excitement of getting pregnant. If God wanted us to be pregnant, we would get pregnant, so we should be excited about the possibility. Even if it was never going to happen, we might as well enjoy thinking it was going to each month. Being stressed wasn't going to help. And it's a lot more fun to be excited for three and a half weeks and only disappointed for one that spend the whole month miserable.
Month Three: Hoozah!
Somewhat surprisingly, we were actually able to follow through on our plan. We stayed positive almost the entire month. Which, of course, led to us looking for signs and being convinced we were pregnant again. It's fun picking and choosing which experiences to learn from and which to willfully ignore.
We took the pregnancy test the first day we "could." It promised 51% accuracy, which probably makes my Decision Sciences (read: fancy business school speak for "Statistics") professors froth at the mouth, because what it really means is 51% of the time pregnant women will get a positive result. That's not really "51% accuracy." But I guess if it told 49% of non-pregnant women they were pregnant, the product wouldn't sell particularly well. Moving on. We took the test. And it came back negative. I was devastated. For the second time in three months, I was certain we were pregnant, and we weren't.
There are many, many, many wonderful things about our marriage. One of the best is that when she lacks faith, I usually have enough for both of us, and when I lack faith, she usually has enough for both of us. This was one of those times. "It's only 51% accurate," she said. "We should have waited to take it. I still think I am." I was back on the We're Preggers train.
That was on Sunday, January 30. We decided we would wait until the 95% accuracy day, which was February 2. Needless to say, the night of February 1 was still pretty scary. And stressful. We prayed a lot. We went to bed. And then...
http://knollwoodandgarland.blogspot.com/2011/02/558-am.html
Growth Chart
Be sure to check back every Friday (or, in this case, Saturday) for our WBUs... Weekly Belly Updates! Here is yesterday's, which was the last day of Week 5...
See, way different. She's changed her shirt and everything. She's even made an effort on her hair. The transition is truly amazing...
It's amazing how much she's changed since February 2, which was the fifth day of the Week 4 and the day we found out she was pregnant...
See, way different. She's changed her shirt and everything. She's even made an effort on her hair. The transition is truly amazing...
Friday, February 11, 2011
Rough Tummy and Tired
Let me tell you...there is nothing like having your husband get excited each day when he hears that you still feel nauseous, constipated, and tired.
Did I share too much? Hmmm...
Did I share too much? Hmmm...
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
5:58 AM
Thank you clanking radiator!
It's 5:58 AM and neither of us can sleep, although Mike being the deep sleeper, has no idea why.
We wake up nervously, knowing that today is the day that we can test to see if we are pregnant with 95% accuracy, meaning that 95% of pregant women will have a positive test result. This is our third month of trying and while we know this is not a long time, it has felt like an eternity.
We step out of bed, feeling excited and defeated. Both of us have to pee. Worst reason to have to get out of bed by the way. Breakfast is a better reason.
Both of us, in our 2" X 2" bathroom, take a deep breath and agree to take the test.
We used a digital test and an hour glass turns while we wait for the result...
We look at another in total shock and joy! Words can't really describe the moment. We shout for joy, thank God for the incredible blessing, hug and tear up.
Needless to say, we did not go back to bed. Something about a little bit of adrenaline going on.
It's 5:58 AM and neither of us can sleep, although Mike being the deep sleeper, has no idea why.
We wake up nervously, knowing that today is the day that we can test to see if we are pregnant with 95% accuracy, meaning that 95% of pregant women will have a positive test result. This is our third month of trying and while we know this is not a long time, it has felt like an eternity.
We step out of bed, feeling excited and defeated. Both of us have to pee. Worst reason to have to get out of bed by the way. Breakfast is a better reason.
Both of us, in our 2" X 2" bathroom, take a deep breath and agree to take the test.
We used a digital test and an hour glass turns while we wait for the result...
Needless to say, we did not go back to bed. Something about a little bit of adrenaline going on.
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