Good news!

Just got the results of my blood test/ultrasound screening and the chances of our baby having either Downs Syndrome or trisomy 18 are 1 in 10,000 so we're ok! Yay!

Because you're begging for it...

Me and my belly at 13 weeks... just looks like I have a gut, doesn't it?

Picture update

We had a doctor's appointment today and had another ultrasound (per our request). As soon as she found the baby (under my pelvic bone, ouch!), we could see it literally jumping around my uterus! It was like it was on a trampoline! It was so funny, all twitching around and stuff. The heartbeat is at 120 bpm, which is great, and the placenta looks perfect. The baby is 5.67 centimeters long right now which is perfect for 12 weeks and 3 days. I will have some blood tests done this week but I don't have another ObGyn appointment until November 5.

In the meantime, here are some photos for ya!


This is me and Chewy, the day before we moved...




This is Rob's cat, Pepper, who took over Chewy's cage as soon as it came into the house...



This is me and my ObGyn, Dr. Gainey... she's really awesome :)



Me and Rob at the doctor's office today...



And, lastly, our first "family portrait" LOL... that's the baby on the screen :)

Catching up

Sorry it has been so long since I've updated this blog!! I swear I haven't forgotten about it and that the baby and engagement are still on! Heeheehee! It's been a rough but exciting couple of weeks so here goes...

I left my job on Friday, Sept 28, and they threw me a surprise shower/going away party. It was so sweet! Check out the cake!


I got so much stuff and so many of the girls I worked with showed up on their day off or even during their vacation to say goodbye and drop off gifts. It was really special and fun, albeit sad to leave everyone.

That Saturday, Rob flew in and we took care of some last minute stuff, like getting my hair cut and cleaning out my car, and then had a great dinner with my parents at home. The next morning (Sunday) we got up really early, packed up the car, and said goodbye to my parents. It was very hard saying goodbye to them since we've lived in the same town as one another since the day I was born so, although I had moved out of my parents house over 10 years ago, it felt like I was really leaving home this time. That's probably been the hardest part about leaving L.A.

We drove up to Walnut Creek, Rob at the wheel, Chewy in the cage in the back seat, and me trying to adjust to sitting for that long. It took us about 6 hours, which really isn't bad considering we made at least 3 stops that I can remember (2 of which involved getting me food). Chewy did amazingly well on the long trip. He howled for a while, but eventually fell asleep and was quiet for the rest of the trip.

Been getting used to being in NorCal over the last week. I do love the weather up here. Right now it is very similar to the early Fall in Maine, with the exception of a few hot days here and there. But it smells and feels cleaner and I love that. I've only navigated around a few streets so far, going to the grocery store, the bank, etc. but I'm getting used to the area pretty quickly. The neighborhoods are so quiet and pretty. But I won't lie and say it's been easy. Being away from my family, my friends, and my home of 19 years has been very difficult and my depression returned for the last few days. However, today is much, much better and, even though I am fighting a cold, I am feeling a lot more positive about everything and more motivated as well. As one friend said, "Your depression may be 'returning' but keep in mind that you just went through a major move and you're pregnant... give yourself a break!" LOL He's so right.

I'm going to submit my resume to a salon in the upscale area of downtown tomorrow. They are looking for a receptionist, which I'm more than qualified to do, and it would be a good way for me to get my foot in the door at a salon for after the baby comes. They have their original location in San Fran, which is great for me as well since I would love to work in the city at some point. Ha, I say that now, before I have a baby I have to worry about ;)

I feel like I should have so much more to say about all the time I've missed between posts, but really it's just been about moving, tying up loose ends, and getting used to things up here, which I feel like I covered. Wednesday we have our next ObGyn appointment so I will let everyone know how that goes. As of yesterday, I am 12 weeks, which means the 1st trimester is over!!! Thank god!! Goodbye nausea!!!!!

Picture update

Some photos Rob took with his new digital camera (he's so proud of his new fangled birthday gift)...


Me filling out my paperwork at my first ObGyn appointment...

Isn't the office cozy??? We made the right choice :)



Taking a nap after breakfast...





Me with Rob's mother, Trish, and sister, Leanne...





Me with my cousin, Leila, her son, Evan, and her husband, Ephraim...




And one I took with my phone... me at work...

Slight update

Rob and I spent last weekend driving around the 909 visiting family. First we drove to Temecula to visit my cousin, her husband, and her 4 year old son. That was a lot of fun, walking around the mall and Target looking at baby items and maternity clothes. I'm already in maternity jeans but only because I can't hold my gut in anymore and traditional waistbands cut into me. I bought a pair of size 14 jeans from Old Navy, thinking they would work, but really it just looked like I had really baggy jeans on and they fell down constantly. So the maternity jeans were definitely the way to go! I also had to buy a bathing suit since (A) mine is in WC with Rob and (B) I probably wouldn't fit into it at this point anyway.

After all that, we drove to Hemet to visit with Rob's family, which was great. Lots of homemade food (chips and dip, salsa, hamburgers, salad, cobblers, pies) which is music to a pregger's ears... assuming it's what she's craving ;) We swam in the pool and hung out in the jacuzzi (don't worry, I wasn't in there long and it was colder than bath water), ate dinner, and played Trivial Pursuit. It was great to see Rob's family again. Hadn't seen them in about 10 years and they seriously haven't changed somehow! I definitely felt welcomed and there was no weirdness. Rob and I have come to the conclusion that the "weirdness" we were worried about was all in our heads :)

We drove back to my cousin's house at about 1030pm and slept. The next morning we all went to breakfast (of which I could only eat half) and then hung out at the house. Ironincally, as Rob pointed out, my cousin's husband had run a 10K race that morning, but my cousin and I were the ones napping in the living room after breakfast LOL! We woke up just in time for Rob and I to take off for LAX to get him to his flight on time. We nearly missed it... or so we thought... when he got there, it was delayed. I went to work right afterwards and thought I was going to pass out.

I'm really glad that our weekends are going to be slowing down now. Next weekend we have a wedding to attend (for which I'm doing the hair) on Saturday, but Sunday is a free day. Therefore we can sleep in and just go to Target and register for things :D The weekend after that, I move! I can't believe it's happening so fast. But I'm definitely ready, and I know Rob is too.

For those of you asking for pictures of me on this blog: I would be happy to help however I rarely take photos of myself (unless they are for Rob, and you don't want to see those). I am also debating as to whether I should suck my gut in, so you can see that at 9 weeks I'm not really showing yet, or if I should let it out, so you can think "My god! Is she sure she's only 9 weeks???" Lemme know what you think via comments and I'll take pictures accordingly.

Ultrasound

Here is a still photo from the ultrasound... I realize it's relatively useless LOL but enjoy none the less!!