Friday I will be 22 weeks, which is 5.5 months... which is almost to 6 months!  Needless to say this pregnancy is flying by!   It still seems like yesterday I was preparing for IVF and my thoughts were consumed with if it would work and what it would be like to be pregnant.  I stare down at my belly daily, smile and thank God for this little angel.  The worrying hasn't stopped, but since my last ultrasound no major events/pains have happened so I've felt a little more at ease.  Four days prior to my last ultrasound I had some pretty significant cramping all along my lower abdomen, that started mildly the night before and grew stronger the next day, Friday.  I called my OB office and talked to my doctor's MA (my doctor doesn't work on Fridays).  She was not very reassuring to say the least and in hindsight I should've demanded to be seen.  I was in tears that night, from the cramping and fear, and Lee wanted to take me to the hospital, but I declined.  I got very little sleep that night and at one point thought my cramping felt like contractions, or at least what I've heard contractions feel like.  Saturday was a little better and after resting the day away I was much better on Sunday, but still not 100%.  My OB told me last week it is normal to have contractions now, but I need to monitor and count them.  If they persist or worsen I'll have to call the on-call OB to meet me at the hospital, if after hours.

I feel like I should write a book titled "All The Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy."  I've never heard about contractions this early, or severe back pain from shifting of your weight (11lbs can do that?!), or insomnia (that's it for sleeping through the night?) or cramping to the point you feel like your baby is going to drop out!  I thought these were all late third trimester things.  I've watched two of my co-workers this past year, one of which is a close friend, go through their entire pregnancies feeling great without any of these problems.  I thought I was in the clear and it was smooth sailing after my mild nausea went away.  Another thing I wasn't prepared for this early on is hair loss.  Everyone tells me it happens after your baby is born, but I've noticed it picking up in the last month or so.  I almost started to cry this weekend when I washed my hair after three days of not messing with it (I was a little lazy over the holiday) and huge chunks were coming out!  I'm not exagerating!  I took a picture and showed Dr. C at work, which he replied "wow!  That's a lot of hair!"  Not a reply you want to hear from your dermatologist!  I figured it was telogen effluvium, which is a big fancy word for hair loss after a major stress on your body (common after surgeries, having a baby, etc), but why now?  He confirmed it probably is telogen effluvium and thinks all the hormones I took months ago for IVF play a big role and the fact that I didn't do anything with my hair for three days, which I never do.  You lose one hundred hairs a day, so I guess I was just holding all those hairs in my braid, waiting to come out.  Fortunately I have a ton of hair, but I'd really love to keep it that way!

We had our big 20 week anatomy ultrasound just before Thanksgiving, which you've probably already seen the pictures from on Facebook.  Everything looked normal and Kingston is right on track with his growth!  My placenta is still low lying, but they didn't expect it to move much in the three weeks since my last ultrasound.  They seem pretty confidant it will continue to move as my uterus expands.  The ultrasound took one and a half hours because our little boy was all over the place.  He can't sit still during my ultrasounds and at times seems to be showing us a few of his dancing moves.  Who does that remind you of?!  I think if there was ever any doubt if they transfered the correct embryos into me, these ultrasounds confirm they did!  The ultrasound tech kept bouncing the wand on my tummy and had me frequently shift from my right side to my left side to see if he would turn over (he's a stomach sleeper, like his Dad).  He finally moved and looked like he was doing a somersault, and the tech was happy... until he decided he was only going to do a half-way somersault and stopped with his head pointed at his stomach.  She said "Really?  You're going to stop there?  That can't be comfortable."  So it seems we have a very hyper baby (Lee) with a bit of stubborness (me).  It's amazing how they can do the 4D ultrasounds now and even though he wouldn't show us all of his face, the view we got is priceless!  Lee thinks he has my nose, but a lot of people have commented that he looks like Lee.  At one point I did look at his photo and think "oh my gosh, that IS Lee!"  Regardless of who he looks like, he has the sweetest little face!

I finally started my registry this weekend at Babies R Us with my friend Lourdes, who had a baby in May.  Thank goodness she was with me because I never would've thought of half the stuff I will need and probably would've only had ten items on my list.  It took two and a half hours, even though we went through the store pretty fast.  She would tell me things like "you'll definitely need that, don't waste your money on that, these are good and you need to register for multiple ones" and I just followed behind her scanning the color of the items I liked that she recommended.  I still need to edit the registry, since the bouncy swing and seat didn't seem to make it on there and I have multiple crib bedding sets.  I think I might even just register for a dush ruffle, sheets and blanket separately.  She told me he won't even use the blanket for awhile and you just hang it on the crib for decoration.  At almost $200 for a set, I don't really need a blanket for decoration!  Plus I don't have a theme for the nursery; I'm just picking out colors and designs I like.  Lee and I still need to go pick out a stroller and car seat, but I'm secretly glad he didn't go with me to do the majority of the registry.  Last night he looked at the list, commented on how many owl items there were (he wants a true boy theme like bikes on sports) and told me we need to put this UFO loooking space bouncer on our registry that was over $200!  I told him we can get a bouncy seat and a swing for $150; I can't remember his response verbatim last night, but he basically told me I don't always need to be so practical.

For those that don't know, my cousin Julie, who I mentioned in my last post, had her sweet baby on Thanksgiving Day!  Caroline was scheduled to come out the Tuesday after (a couple weeks before Julie's due date), but apparently had plans of her own!  Caroline had surgery on her back the next day to close the gap from spina bifida, and despite an infection, seems to be doing very well!  Please continue to keep their family in your prayers!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is excited as me for Christmas time (my most favorite holiday)!

XOXO,
Chelle