You think you know... but you have NO idea.

I never really understood the true meaning of this statement. Before pregnancy I associated these words with the MTV show "Diary". Now they have an entirely different meaning.

During a conversation with Christina she mentioned how sick she has been feeling. This made me think about my own experiences with nausea.

It is amazing how pregnancy can change everything you THOUGHT you knew about nausea. Before I was pregnant I never would have even considered putting food in my mouth had I been feeling as nauseous as I have been. Now, it's the only thing that works! Albeit the first 3 or 4 bites are always the worst, food almost always quells the nausea -- almost always.

Introducing: Pistachio the Magnificent!

Today we drove to Walnut Creek for our NT Scan. This test measures the amount of fluid under the skin at the back of the neck of the baby and combined with the results of a blood test create the "First Trimester Screening". It is used to estimate the risk of Trisomy 21 (Down's Syndrome) and Trisomy 18 (another, more severe, chromosomal abnormality). While the results wouldn't change our minds about this baby, we thought it would be good to know ahead of time to be able to plan and learn as much as we can about it, if in fact, our child would have one of these. Plus, who were we to turn down a 30 minute appointment dedicated solely to looking at our little one!

Our appointment was at 2:15 so I took off from work at about 11. We stopped by the Kaiser hospital in Walnut Creek to visit Thomas who was admitted last night. The office we were having the appointment at was literally only 3 blocks away, but we allowed 30 minutes to get there from Kaiser. Somehow we managed to get lost. I entered the address wrong into the GPS and ended up at the other hospital instead of the medical offices and we almost missed our appointment. After looking at the paperwork and putting the right address in the GPS (which I should have done in the first place, but hindsight is 20/20) , we finally made it to our appointment with 5 minutes to spare!

Once we arrived and checked in, we were called in almost immediately. We had the most amazing tech. She was so enthusiastic and friendly. As soon as she started the ultrasound she said the baby was asleep so it was easy for her to take the measurements she needed. It scared me at first that s/he wasn't moving, but once I saw the heartbeat I was perfectly content just sitting there looking at our little one.

Once she was done the Perinatologist came in. Evidently it is standard procedure in this office for the doctor to come in at the end of every appointment. By the time the he came in the baby had woken up and was moving around and jumping and even waving at us. He did some more scans and we got even more pictures (6 total!).

I can't believe how awesome this office was! I would gladly drive the hour to their office if they'd take me as a patient. But apparently we are not considered "high risk". Apparently the doctor is a fan of the winery I work for so he said he would trade wine for a 4D u/s! The tech tried and it was not very good obviously -- Justin said it looked like claymation. She said that since we are using their genetic counselors we can opt for one more appointment and if we want to come back for our gender determination at their office she'd schedule us for an hour ultrasound and do another 4D one then. We scheduled our next appointment with them for March 22 to find out the gender!

After all was said and done, the results were good. Saw a nice strong heartbeat (167) and it was great to see the baby moving around looking happy. Justin has dubbed this baby Pistachio, and after all the acrobatics we saw today, is now calling him/her Pistachio the Magnificent. So without further ado...

Count 'em -- 1, 2, 3, 4 fingers and a thumb!

11 weeks 6 days

I'd seen this survey before, but couldn't find it so big thanks to my friend ShellShockedMama for posting it on her blog.


How far along? 11 weeks 6 days
Weight gain/loss: Loss. 3 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Yep -- and I am not ashamed. Justin's parents got me a gift certificate to Old Navy for Christmas so I found some cute maternity pants on clearance and bought 3 pairs! I doubt I'll ever wear real pants again.
Stretch marks? Not any more than I already had.
Sleep? Only seems to come when I should be awake -- I think I might be nocturnal.
Best moment this week? Will be tomorrow. 12 week mark.
Movement: Not yet.
Food cravings: Anything salty and not healthy. Darn little one is a junk food junkie.
Gender: I feel like it's a boy, but Justin swears it will be a girl.
Labor signs? NO!
Belly button in or out? In still.
What I miss? A deli sandwich or chili dog.
What I am looking forward to? The NT Scan we have scheduled on Tuesday, Jan. 26.
Weekly wisdom: Eat what you can, when you can and pray it doesn't come back.
Milestones: I am the most pregnant I have every been.

Is this for real?

That question is one I have been asking myself every day since Dec. 3, 2009 -- the day we found out I am pregnant -- again.

Last year was a tumultuous one. We tried for months and finally succeeded in September only to have it taken away before it really began. So when we saw those two pink lines again I couldn't help but think that it could all be over just as quickly as it started.

After weeks of paralyzing fear, I think I've come to realize that this might actually be happening. Today I sit here almost twice as pregnant as I was the day we lost our peanut. It is an amazing feeling to know that I might actually have my forever baby in just under 7 months.

So while the ride might be bumpy -- the biggest one being my expanding belly -- I am determined to enjoy the journey. Bring it on: the good, the bad, and even the hemorrhoids. Well, I could probably do without the latter.