2nd Dr Appointment

We had the 2nd doctor's appointment today, and I'm pleased to share that EVERYTHING LOOKS GOOD!!  That's right.  As I'm sure most of you assumed, my paranoia was unfounded.  We started the appointment with an ultrasound, scanning the little baby and seeing the little arms and legs that have already formed.  I was elated to see a healthy baby exactly where it should be.  We measured right at 10 weeks, which is what all the dates pointed out, so our due date is July 9th, 2017.

That's right.  July 2017, we will have a brand new Baby Doty.  I know ultrasounds are hard to read, but the baby above has the head to the left and the feet to the right.  There are little arms and everything.  They measured my blood pressure yesterday and it was at 111/79, which is within the normal range, so here's hoping for a non-exciting, drama-free pregnancy.  Next week we will finally start telling our families about this baby, and probably sometime after the start of 2017 these blogs will all go public.  :)

Week 10

We're at week 10 and the end of the first trimester is in site.  We've still managed to keep most of our family from knowing what's going on, so hopefully things go well for the next 2 weeks so that we can tell them!!  We plan on telling them at our Christmas get together, so it should be pretty interesting. So what is going on this week?  

For baby:
The baby is now about the size of a lego minifigure, which is pretty cool to think about.  The internal organs are starting to function, and several of the joints are also fully formed.  This week, the nose develops and the baby now has a sense of smell.  Also, the baby should almost have enough muscle control to make a fist.  A tiny, tiny fist.  Awww how cute. 

For momma:
I feel pretty good other than being super sleepy.  Otherwise, there aren't a lot of pregnancy symptoms to speak of. It makes the paranoia even stronger I think.  I am so so anxious for Thursday when I go back to the doctor.  Until then, I'm hesitant to get excited at all.  I hate to be so negative, but I'm also terrified to allow myself to be excited and have it end in heartache.  *fingers crossed*

1st Doctor Appt

We went to our first Doctor's appointment today, and it really wasn't terribly exciting.  They measured my vitals, which all looked good, weighed me, and then sent me in to meet with my doctor.  Overall, I really like her.  She answered a couple questions I had and gave me some detail sheets.  We tried to listen for the baby's heartbeat and although we could hear it, it wasn't super easy to pick out.  She didn't seem too concerned about it, so that helped ease my mind a little bit.  I will still feel much better when I can see and/or hear some solid proof that things are ok.  They are going to have us come back next week, December 15th for the 1st ultrasound and I can't wait for that to happen.

Dream #2

I was in my father's house which was a huge mansion.  One of my old friends walks into the door, with one of her friends who is in two leg casts.  My father asks if they parked in the driveway and they say yes, so he tells them to move.  I tell him that they can wait a few minutes since this girl had two broken legs.  He tells me it needs to move, so I yell at him and tell him I'm 32 years old and I can park a car in the driveway if I want to.  Of course then I went to move the car.  I get out to this car and it's a red convertible.  I drive it around the HUGE circle drive and into the attached parking garage.  There is a parking attendant (Jonathan Brandis) and I ask him how I park in this garage and get back to my dad's house and he says he doesn't know.  I thank him anyway and drive to a parking spot.  I pull the car into a parking spot and then start wandering this enormous garage trying to figure out how to get back into the house.  I found a water slide and tons of people, but still no entry to the house.  I end up getting approached by a random staff person working in this parking garage after wandering for at least an hour, and apparently the original parking attendant had put out a notice to people because he hadn't seen me come out and I looked lost and confused when I entered. So I was escorted toward the door, and before I got there I woke up to my alarm again.

Week 9

We have reached week 9.  It already feels like it's been forever since I started journalling here again, but I think it's simply because there has been so much time spent waiting and having to keep things secret.  The holidays are just around the corner, so I hope the next couple of weeks go by quickly.  So what is going on this week?  

For baby:
The baby is now about the size of a green olive and is officially considered a fetus instead of an embryo.  Yay!?  At this point, at least the beginnings of most muscles and organs have started to form.  They still have a long way to go, but they have started to develop.  The kidneys, brain, and lungs are starting to function, and the heart should now be heard by doppler.  While the eyes are fusing shut to continue their development, the ears are forming fluid to form a sense of balance for the little one.  It's all very exciting and important work at this point. 

For momma:
I finally get to see the doctor this week, and I can not wait.  It feels like I've known forever and I can not wait to hear that little heartbeat to know that things are going to be ok.  Overall, I'm tired and would gladly nap every single day, but I can't.  Otherwise, I feel pretty normal.  Vivid dreams have happened every night, but by the time I am awake enough to write them down only fragments remain.  Really, my focus this week is getting to Thursday so I can meet the new doctor and see what she has to say.  Waiting has been the hardest part of the last couple weeks by far.  By this point with Orion I had already had both the official blood tests and an ultrasound to verify his tiny heartbeat was strong and viable.  I'm definitely getting impatient.  

Dreamland is Back

The entire time I was pregnant with Orion, I had crazy, vivid dreams that were very entertaining to retell.  I've always had very vivid dreams, but that seems even more intensified while I'm pregnant.  Last night I believe I had my first pregnancy dream again.  It was pretty short, because my alarm cut it off, but I was entertained nonetheless.  So, why wait?  Let's just tell the story.


I was sitting in the waiting room of a doctor's office.  Time was passing and I just kept waiting and waiting.  Eventually, this SUPER old nurse comes out and calls my name.  By SUPER old, think 100 years old.  However, she is also SUPER fast.  I look down and realized that I'm also VERY pregnant, which means that I am anything but fast.  I get up and try to waddle after her, barely catching up with her in the hallway.  She rushes past the scale and I ask her "wait, aren't I supposed to use this thing" (in real life I would NEVER ask to be weighed.  If they want to skip it, all the better.)  She rolls her eyes at me and sighs really hard and says "I guess".  So I try to step up on the scale, but the thing is crooked and unbalanced like there is a tennis ball under one side of it.  I keep trying to find my balance, but it's leaning so far to the left, that I find myself leaning up against the wall just to stand on it. Despite the fact that I'm not actually standing on the scale, she starts pushing the tab around, chooses a weight arbitrarily since there is no way she ever found balance and writes down a number.  I look over her shoulder and see her write down 112 which is something I haven't weighed since at least middle school.  I tell her there is no way that's right, and she turns around to yell at me for looking at my chart.



At that point my alarm clock went off and my time with the oldest nurse in the world ended.  :)

Week 8

Week 8 is officially here for this super secret pregnancy.  I love learning about what's happening week by week as the baby grows, so I figured I would share those changes, as well as how I'm doing with you each week.  

For baby:
The baby is now about the size of a raspberry and is still growing super quickly.  Hands and feet are starting to develop from the little paddles they started life as.  Eyelids are also forming to cover the tiny eye spots before they start to develop.  The very beginnings of lungs are developing, and the tail is almost gone! The brain continues to grow and develop, and the head is still at least half of the baby's total size at this point.  The baby is also moving around in there, even though it's too small to be felt by me.  

For momma:
Paranoia continues.  I've taken another test this week to make sure that I'm actually still pregnant. It sounds crazy, but ya know.  I have considered buying a little baby heart monitor to see if I can hear that, but I'm trying to be patient until I see the doctor on December 9th...but that still feels like FOREVER away.  I still have no nausea and feel essentially like my normal self.  My boobs may not hurt, but they are definitely changing.  I had to buy a new bra today in a different size!  Also, by continuing to watch my diet and stuff I've lost 6 pounds so far in this pregnancy, so that's a good start.  Also, while I'm trying to be cautiously optimistic until I see the doctor and am sure that things are going well...I find myself starting to get excited about the prospect of another little one. Fingers crossed that things continue to go well.