6 weeks

How far along? 6 weeks today!
Total weight gain: 0.
Maternity clothes? Not yet but my jeans are getting tight around the waist!
Sleep: I wake up at night a lot and usually end up getting up to pee in case that was the reason I woke up in the first place. I've also had VERY vivid dreams, some scary, some just weird.
Best moment this week: Telling our families! That was truly a once in a lifetime experience and I'm so happy we didn't wait!
Movement: Not for a while yet!
Gender: It will be a surprise!
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: Eating whatever I want without having to think about whether or not it is safe.
What I am looking forward to: Our first appointment is on Friday afternoon and I'm hoping to see the heartbeat!!
Weekly Wisdom: Be thankful for mild symptoms! I keep waiting to get really sick but I found out that my mom was never sick when she was pregnant so I'm hoping I inherited that from her!

We Told the Families!

Wednesday night we told Steve's family and while the actual surprise part didn't work exactly as planned, the reception was still great.

The idea was to gather everyone for a picture, tell everyone to 'Say Cheese' and then take one more and say 'Everyone say Morgan's Pregnant!'

So we did that and there was no reaction when Steve snapped the second photo. Then I said "No, really, I am!" and everyone reacted haha.

So, we didn't get it on film but that's ok. :) Everyone is very excited. We will have the 3rd grand baby on that side and the existing ones (ages 2 and 1) will be excited to have a cousin!

Thursday we told my family.

When we arrived the first thing my sister asked was if we were pregnant so I asked all exasperated and told her that her questions would be really hurtful if she kept asking and it took a really long time to get pregnant. Then she offered to donate one of her eggs to me if I couldn't do it myself, which was really sweet. haha

I was pretty much jumping out of my skin for the next hour because I really wanted to tell but everyone was cooking and getting things set up.

Finally I called everyone over under the pretense of a 'group hug' and I told them that we've all been through so much this past year and I'm so glad we were all able to be together today to celebrate the end of this year and we have so much to look forward to. Then I gave my sister a wrapped photo frame. It was the baby frame mentioned below and in the photo spot it read "Baby Crane, Photo coming July 23, 2010".

Torey unwrapped it and then my brother and SIL read it over her shoulder then my parents leaned in and read it too so it was a ripple reaction. It was fantastic and I got THEIR reactions on video with my new Flip. :) I'll get it up online soon.

Torey was indignant that I had been lying to her for the past two weeks but she was so excited that she carried around the baby frame with her for the next hour. haha.

It was fantastic.

Figured out how to tell my family!

After some brainstorming last night with Kelly and Mel I figured out the perfect way to tell my family.

Here's the plan:
I bought this frame at Target:


I'm going to put a piece of paper in the frame that says: Photo coming July 23, 2010.


We're spending Thanksgiving with my family and my SIL's family and I want my fam to know first so I'm going to gather them together and talk a little bit about how hard this past year has been (I can't even type this without tearing up!) and how far we all have come, etc. Then I'm going to give Torey the wrapped frame and ask her to open it in front of us. I'm guessing people will think that it's a framed picture from our photo shoot a few weeks ago.

So when she opens it, she'll probably catch on pretty quick and then share the frame/news with everyone else. And then Steve can videotape it all on our new Flip camera. :)

I'm so excited now! I was feeling nervous about telling but now that I have an idea I love I'm stoked!

The plan to tell Steve's family is a little less in depth. We're going to his parents' house Wednesday night and 4 of his 5 siblings and their SO's will be there. We're going to make everyone get in a picture together and then have them say 'cheese' and then for the second picture have them say 'Morgan's Pregnant!' and get a photo of their reactions.

I'm so excited now!

I have a feeling that this will NOT go off without a hitch so I'll be sure to report how it ACTUALLY goes.

Dear Baby, 5 weeks

Dear Baby,

Part of the reason I started this blog was so you could look at it one day and see the journey that Daddy and I took from your conception to your arrival. I must admit that is is VERY strange calling him 'Daddy' but I'm sure it will grow on me! It's also very strange to know that there is a little life inside my body right now. I'm sure as you grow and make your presence known it will start to feel more real. Also, I think that seeing you for the first time on the ultrasound will drive home the reality of all of this!

Most days I don't feel any different than I did before before I was pregnant. My symptoms so far are very mild but I'm very happy when I feel a twinge in my abdomen or a soreness in my breasts because it's a little reminder that you are inside of me, growing at an astounding rate. Sometimes I get a little scared that I'm not ready for this or I am anxious about money etc but my overwhelming feeling so far is love and calmness. That is the energy that I want you to feed upon as you grow.

Today you are 5 weeks and one day old. Your heart started beating yesterday and imagining that little miracle makes me weepy. You are truly a blessing from the universe.

As you know, your Aunt Torey was in a bad car accident about a year before you were conceived (right after Mommy and Daddy's Wedding) and the last year has been incredibly hard on our whole family, especially your grandmother. It is my sincere and earnest hope that the news of your impending arrival will inject some much needed joy into this family. Your tiny beating heart is a beacon of hope.

Aunt Torey has taken to asking me every day if I am pregnant yet. :) I hate lying to her but it's also kind of funny that she started asking me two days after we found out about you. I told her she would be the first in the family to find out about my pregnancy so I'm thinking of the perfect way to tell her at Thanksgiving. I'll be sure to let you know that story after it happens.

I am so grateful that I have been blessed with your life inside of me. I can't wait to meet you.

Love Always,

Mommy

5 Weeks!

I'm five weeks today! I can't believe I've known about this pregnancy for over a week now. Time is flying! Pretty much all of my online friends know and I'm spending lots of time on pregnancy websites and message boards. It's a little ridiculous but this is all I think about! I'm so excited to tell our families next week!

How far along? 5 weeks today!
Total weight gain: 0.
Maternity clothes? Not yet.
Sleep: Sleeping well. I've been having some mid day fatigue and I'm really tired after work but I think that also has something to do with it getting dark so early.
Best moment this week: Hearing my husband say "I think about this baby all day every day!"
Movement: Not for a while yet!
Gender: It will be a surprise!
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: I wanted a sip of red wine the other night but after I smelled it I was no longer interested. :)
What I am looking forward to: Telling our families next week and our first appointment 12/3
Weekly Wisdom: Keep snacking when your stomach starts to get upset. It will ward off nausea.
Milestones: Changed my due date to what my LMP says: July 23rd. We'll see what the Dr. says in a few weeks!

Here's a peek at what's going on with baby this week:

How your baby's growing:
Deep in your uterus your embryo is growing at a furious pace. At this point, he's about the size of a sesame seed, and he looks more like a tiny tadpole than a human. He's now made up of three layers — the ectoderm, the mesoderm, and the endoderm — which will later form all of his organs and tissues.

The neural tube — from which your baby's brain, spinal cord, nerves, and backbone will sprout — is starting to develop in the top layer, called the ectoderm. This layer will also give rise to his skin, hair, nails, mammary and sweat glands, and tooth enamel.

His heart and circulatory system begin to form in the middle layer, or mesoderm. (This week, in fact, his tiny heart begins to divide into chambers and beat and pump blood.) The mesoderm will also form your baby's muscles, cartilage, bone, and subcutaneous (under skin) tissue.

The third layer, or endoderm, will house his lungs, intestines, and rudimentary urinary system, as well as his thyroid, liver, and pancreas. In the meantime, the primitive placenta and umbilical cord, which deliver nourishment and oxygen to your baby, are already on the job.

Commenting

Just fixed the setting so people can leave comments if they want to! Didn't know that I had them disabled!

Happy Anniversary to us!

One year ago today we were getting married in Mexico and this baby was just something we talked about and dreamed for. How amazing for us to have this blessing one year exactly from the time we pledged our love and faithfulness to each other.

We had said for a long time that we would wait a year to try to get pregnant but I didn't want to wait. Turns out the universe had a plan for us and my impatience didn't get us anywhere. :)

Last night we went to dinner to celebrate and we talked about all things baby. It still is so STRANGE! It really doesn't feel real.

Right now the baby is the size of a poppy seed and kind of shaped like a hot dog. One of Steve's favorite things is a hot dog on a poppy seed bun, and this baby is also now one of his favorite things. hee hee.

It's a Happy Happy Anniversary for us. :)

4 weeks pregnant!

How far along? 4 weeks today!
Total weight gain: 0. I have a feeling this will not last!
Maternity clothes? Not yet. There may be a bella band in my future
Sleep: Love it. But the fatigue hasn't hit yet.
Best moment this week: Seeing that faint faint line on the pregnancy test then the digital 'Pregnant'. Also, telling Steve was fantastic.
Movement: Not for a while yet!
Gender: It will be a surprise! (unless we break down haha. Steve is adamant about not finding out)
Labor Signs: None. At this point it would be miscarriage signs, God forbid!
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: Nothing. I'm so happy right now.
What I am looking forward to: Telling our families!!
Weekly Wisdom: Try not to freak out about the pregnancy vanishing. "Today I am pregnant and I love my baby"
Milestones: BFP!

BFP!!

This morning at 5:00 I woke up and took my temperature, a whopping 97.9, super high for me. I was spotting last night so I thought my period was coming and I was REALLY sad. I even cried during the night.

With the high temp this morning I decided I should test, even though I was expecting a negative result. I did a dip test, threw out the extra urine, and walked out of the bathroom.

Well... 10 minutes later I walked back in and my first test was a FAINT FAINT positive. So faint that I couldn't even get it to show up when I tried to take a picture! I didn't know what to think. I was shaking, felt nauseated, and looked at it from every angle possible. Almost went and woke up Steve but he's notoriously out of it when he gets up so I decided to let him discover it for himself. I put the test in the bathroom with the I Love Daddy bib that I had purchased a few months ago when we started trying. Then I got scared that since it was so faint I was jumping the gun by telling him. So I decided to eek out the last bit of pee that I could.

The second test was the same. Third test I switched brands and when that came up positive I started to cry. I finally busted out my digital test that I had been saving and when I saw that come up "Pregnant" I cried again. I set all four tests on the bib on our bathroom counter for Steve to see when he walks into the bathroom. I'm waiting with my camera ready to take a video of his reaction. I can't wait for him to get up!!

20 minutes later:

His reaction was priceless! He walked into the bathroom and I followed him while taking a video on my camera. He looked down at the tests, made a face of incomprehension and mumbled something, looked back down at the tests, then said 'OH!!!' and came over and hugged me so tight. Priceless