Movement . . . I think

Here I am, comfortably in the 2nd trimester (I'm 13 weeks and 5 days today!!), and I'm still battling morning sickness. I've been thinking that I might be feeling movement for the past several weeks. Yes, I know it is pretty early, but I'm hyper-sensitive and notice things many other people would miss. I think since maybe 10 or 11 weeks, I've had these feelings, mostly at night or when lying down in a certain position, that almost feel like a flutter or bubbles in my lower abdomen. They would just last a second or two and then disappear, so I kept dismissing the feeling. It has been increasing gradually the past few weeks, and the past few days, I have noticed the feeling, a bit stronger, during the day, too.

Well, today I'm sitting here on the couch watching Wimbledon and waiting for my mom to bring Paige and Peyton over so we can go to the pool, and I'm CERTAIN that the baby is moving. It has been on and off all morning - kind of between a flutter and a tap. I've felt it in a few different spots, but I'm now convinced I'm feeling the baby move! This is so exciting . . . I'm sure over the next weeks the feeling will get more intense! I can't wait until Elliot can feel it, too! He asked already if I thought he could feel it, but it just isn't strong enough yet.

Morning sickness is back . . .

Whoever said morning sickness disappears in the second trimester lied!! My morning sickness returned full force (and with a vengeance) around 12 weeks. I've been so sick, and back to puking. I couldn't keep anything down this weekend. It was particularly bad on Saturday and Sunday during shiva for my grandmother. I finally gave in on Sunday and sent Elliot home to pick up my Phenergan (prescription anti-nausea medication). I have to say - it is a wonder drug! If only it lasted longer . . . it wears off, and then I try to put off taking another one . . . well, let's just say I ended up sick again at night last night.

We are driving to New Jersey tomorrow for my niece's high school graduation - you can bet I'll be popping pills all day long!!

Baby's Heartbeat

I think we finally figured out the technology . . . hopefully this will work for sharing the baby's heartbeat. Just click play to listen! Partway through, there is a loud "thwap" sound, and we were told it was the baby kicking!

A new chapter . . . . maybe a boy?

Time marches on . . . this week has been pretty rough. We drove 9 hrs in a car up to Utica to go to my grandmother's funeral, and my morning sickness was out of control! I puked 3 times on the way up, and was generally feeling miserable. My cousin Trenna and her husband John came in to join us for dinner. Unfortunately, they got a little turned around as we were trying to find a restaurant . . . and I ended up puking out the window AGAIN!! We had a small graveside service, which was nice . . . except for the horrible, miserable and inappropriate Rabbi who conducted the service. I was appalled by his behavior towards us, and some of the things he said during his "eulogy." I will try and be kind and not post any of the things he said to me here. We did have a nice luncheon afterwards, paid for by a close friend of my grandmother's.

We had to leave right after lunch since we had such a long journey home. Luckily, the car ride back from Utica was not quite as horrible (it was only 7 hours and I only puked 1 time)! We returned here late Thursday night to discover that Arleen and Lorin had left a pitcher of water outside the door for us - a kind and thoughtful gesture (and part of the Jewish tradition to wash your hands before entering a house of mourning/after leaving a cemetery, for those of you who do not know). We went to services on Friday night, and our family friends Gail and Steven, Arleen and Lorin, and Suellen and Gregg brought over dinner for us. Saturday night we held Shiva at our house, and we just barely had enough people to make a minyan (10 people - the minimum needed to say the prayer for mourning). Thanks to Heather and Brad for coming over at the last minute to meet our quota!! Today we have more family and friends stopping by to visit and we will have another night of shiva at my parents' house. Hopefully, we won't have any problem obtaining our minyan tonight.

The good news is that on Friday we had a midwife appointment. It was a fantastic appointment. She took the time to answer all of our questions, and discuss options for my fear of needles. I really like this practice, and I'm so thrilled I switched. I also picked up a prescription to help control my morning sickness, so hopefully that will help. We were able to hear (and record) the heartbeat, which I will try to figure out how to post here later. There is a "thwap" sound about halfway through, which we were told is a kick!

Then, just for fun, we decided to take the IntelliGender test today . . . I figure it must be about 50% accurate!! According to IntelliGender, we are having . . . .


I suppose we will see in August if this is correct!

Sad News

I can't believe I have to post this right on the heels of our wonderful news, but my Grandma died this afternoon. My father and I were planning to visit her today to check on her. About 5 minutes before my father arrived, the nurses went in to check on her blood pressure. They stepped out while the machine was reading, and when they returned, she had died.