I can't believe it's possible to love an unborn child this much. But I do!!!!!!

Other than having to wait almost two hours for the vagi-scope thingie-dingie, it went AWESOME!!!!!!! OH my gosh, I can't EVEN
believe it!!!!!! The regular abdominal U/S didn't work so well. Doc said my uterus is tipped a little bit, and that made it really hard to find the baby. So alas....she had to do the transvaginal scope. It wasn't bad at all. She gave me a little portable screen to hold so hubby and I could see the baby and all of a sudden - BOOM! There was Baby C!!!!!!!!! My mouth must've been hanging down to my knees!!! My friends, we have a WIGGLY baby!!!!

He (or she) was wiggling and squirming like crazy!!!! Those itty-bitty arms and legs were moving SO much!!!! The doctor said, "OH, look how much it's moving! That looks fantastic!" Then we saw the little heart fluttering!!!!! It was PHENOMENAL. I will never, ever forget it as long as I live!!!! Even though I had a very good feeling about today's doctor visit, I am soooooooo reassured and relieved to have finally SEEN our BABY, and seen him just thriving in there!!!

They didn't have a video-taping option (bummer - cuz I would love to watch all that WIGGLING over and over again!) but I got some great pictures. You can see his little arms sticking out if you look real hard!! *If you click on the pictures, you can see them bigger!

My dear friends, MEET BABY C!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jeez - three days without a post here. I'm slackin'!
Today Baby C could fit in the bowl of a tablespoon. I can't believe just a few weeks ago s/he was the size of a sesame seed!
Been feeling a bit better the last couple days. Yesterday Scotty and I went to buy maternity jeans (!), out for lunch, and it felt so good to just be OUT that I suggested a matinee movie. Around dinner time I felt awful again but for the majority of the day I felt pretty good, so I should not complain! This morning I felt good enough to go to church! We went to a different church today - a much smaller one that's right across the street. The people there were very friendly and welcoming and we're pretty sure we'll go back!
After church we went to the grocery store real quick and got stuff for lunch - a roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, and yogurt. Oh my gosh, I ate so much!! It was sooooo good. And so far (4:00 pm) I still feel okay! YES!!! What a HUGE relief!!!
The only thing that's plaguing me today is a headache. Extra-strengh Tylenol seems to do the trick....and I'll take headaches over terrible nausea a bazillion times over, baby!!
TOMORROW is our 10-week ultrasound! It's finally almost here. Scotty's taking the day off and the appointment's at 2:00. I'm so excited!!
One more thing. Can I just say - maternity jeans are SO comfortable!! And it feels GOOD to be wearing jeans again!

I had to post my 9-weeks belly picture that I took today (sorry, Mom)! My belly's growing!!

Guess what? I received my first piece of baby clothing today!! My dear online friend, Kat, sent me an absolutely adorable little pair of dark blue Old Navy overalls - and a journal called "Eat Your Peas"! It felt so wild to get baby clothes - and it made me cry a little. It's so cool!! I feel like tacking the overalls up on the wall so I can look at them all the time! (But I won't....lol.)

I actually felt okay enough to go out for a little while today! I'm still in shock! Went to walk Dilly the greyhound, then to Panera. I had a chicken salad sandwich, a fresh fruit cup and raspberry iced tea. It was delicious! Then I went to Kohl's, which is right by Panera, and got something I've been wanting to get for awhile now - something I'm gonna use to make a little gift for Devon's precious little Gracie. Gracie is a little over two months old (born Dec. 17) and she is something else! Devon's got a million pictures of Gracie smiling HUGELY and laughing - at TWO months old!! I cannot wait to meet her in person, hopefully in the not-too-far future!! I have GOT to squeeze her and kiss her perfect little chubby cheeks!
Anyway...it felt great to get out for a little while. Hopefully that will be happening more often from now on. Maybe, must maybe this marks a turning point in my pregnancy. I pray it does!!

Ever heard of chewable papaya tablets? I was reading a brochure from the doctor today and it said that chewing three papaya tablets after meals can help prevent indigestion. So guess what I ordered a bottle of today? I pray they really do help!

This week, Baby C measures .87-.94 inches from crown to rump - about as wide as the face of an American quarter. Also, by this time the critical period for the baby's heart development has ended. The heart will continue to grow and develop, but not at such a fast pace. So...here's hoping Baby C has a healthy little heart!
Well, over the long weekend (President's Day was yesterday), I felt a wee bit better than I have been. However, I still get really queasy and my throat feels "gaggy" at night after dinner. Blech.
I read that a bloody nose is not uncommon for this stage of pregnancy, and sure enough - my nose has been bleeding a little. Nothing major...just when I blow it, there's a little blood on the kleenex. I'm not sure of the reason for it, but I'm assuming it's because everything kinda seems to "dry up". I think Baby C is stealing all my moisture for him/herself!
I'm really hoping that today and tomorrow I feel okay cuz I wanna get out to a couple stores and get some things I've been needing.
Only six days til my 10-week O.B. appointment. They're doing an ultrasound and we should be able to see the heartbeat!!!! I sooooo cannot wait for that!!

I've got that bizarre "tightening" feeling in my abdomen again. That is so weird! I suppose it's to be expected since my uterus is growing.
Oh, today the baby's arm is about the size of this number 1. That's one TINY little arm!
I'm in a horrible mood right now. Our next door neighbor has a Mustang and the stupid thing sounds like a flippin' army tank. I'd like to kick him where the sun don't shine.

Two amazing things happened today:
1. I went to Subway
2. I went to Subway with not a lick of makeup on

Number one is amazing because for the last four weeks, going within ten feet of a restaurant made me wanna gag.
Number two is amazing because - well, I went to a public place looking like a very scary freak.

Even thought it's like zero degrees today, Scotty and I bundled up and went to Home Depot. I stayed in the warm car, and he went in and bought a couple of those filters that go in the heater thing (do you love how technical my home-maintenance lingo is?). Then we went to Subway. Well, I went to Subway and he went next door to Smokehouse to get a gyro. I stood in line, looked at all the food, ordered my Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki sandwich with cheese, tomatoes, pickles, green peppers and lettuce - and didn't gag! And I ate the whole thing - plus a little bag of sour cream and onion Baked Lays. And a Diet Coke. Yowza.

And here it is three hours later, and I don't feel absolutely disgusting.

Must be a good day. Now if only it would last...but I don't think it will.

Last night I had a really short dream that was incredibly cool. We were at the doctor's office and they did an ultrasound and the picture we saw of the baby was super-clear and detailed (and I definitely dream in color). The baby was gorgeous and perfect, even at only eight weeks! Sometimes I can't help but think God gives us dreams like this to let us know that everything's gonna be okay.

8 weeks along. The baby has graduated from being an embryo to being a fetus! This picture is what Baby C looks like right now!
Still feeling terrible. But only a few more weeks til the second trimester!! I think I can, I think I can.....
I've been rubbing my belly and talking to the baby a little bit. My cats think I'm nuts.

My baby is the size of a peanut shell today!

Okay, maybe within a few weeks my blog posts will be about something OTHER THAN FOOD!
But not yet....! *oink oink*
This morning I HAD to have a donut. Scotty needed to get a haircut and - how convenient - Dunkin' Donuts is just two buildings away from the barber shop! So I dropped him off and went on my merry way to get a donut. I ended up having half of a ham, egg, and cheese bagel (for protein, ya know), a vanilla cream donut and a bottle of OJ. It was all SOOO good!! And what's up with vanilla? They did have chocolate cream ones, but those vanilla ones just looked perfect, and it tasted absolutely heavenly!
Been feeling a tiny bit better lately.....the queasiness isn't quite as bad (still here, just not as bad). However, I am still just as tired as I have been. Yesterday and today I took naps and slept so hard that I woke up sweating and breathing heavy. That's some serious sleep, eh?!
For lunch today I had plain mashed potatoes. Country Crock makes those now and I love them. Could've used some nice turkey breast and maybe some green beans and cranberry sauce with them, but beggars can't be choosers!

Well, got my buns out to Walmart this morning and bought two pairs of nice, comfy sweatpants - one in blue and one in yellow (big surprise there!). Sweats and workout pants are by far the most comfortable thing to wear now.
Mom and Dad spent part of the day here yesterday and it was SO great having their company! And it felt good to not lay in bed all day. I helped Mom tear some fabric strips for crocheting and we just chatted all afternoon long. I really needed that. Then when Scotty got home from work we ordered in from the Italian restaurant down the road and dinner was so yummy. I was really hungry and ate a little too much, I think - felt HUGELY bloated after dinner!
Now I'm relaxing and watching huge snowflakes fall outside the window. Oh, I also stopped by the video store and rented three movies for us to watch this weekend.
Did you know that baby's intestines develop in the umbilical cord?! Baby C's little abdomen is full of kidneys and a big liver, so since there's no room for the intestines in there, they develop in the umbilical cord and eventually move into the abdomen. I am continually amazed at how God grows a baby. He is awesome!

I swear, my cravings change almost every day!
So far, I've craved:

• chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate sprinkles
• Spring Mix salad from Wendy's
• McDonald's hamburger
• Wendy's hamburger
• mac and cheese
• Dunkin Donuts (still haven't satisfied that craving, though)
• my mom's mashed potatoes and gravy (haven't satisfied that one either!)
• Starburst candy
• really salty potato chips
• ...And today it's macaroni salad!

Weird, eh? This feeling of being nauseous and hungry at the same time is something I just can't get used to. Right now my nightstand has about eight different kinds of food on it.

That was a little scary!
As soon as I woke up this morning, I noticed a "pulling"-type pain on the far right side of my abdomen. It lasted about ten minutes and, thankfully, has gone away completely. Phew! I'm thinking maybe I pulled a weird muscle or something while I was sleeping. I'm SO glad the pain didn't last long!

No energy. Short blog entry today.
Feeling awful. Can't wear favorite pair of jeans anymore. Still have a trace of an appetite, though, so am still eating pretty okay. Soooooooooooooooo tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiired. I don't like being pregnant.

On a positive note, yay for PEAPOD! It's a service that delivers groceries to your house. I am soooooo glad it's available here! I "shopped" online this morning and the groceries will be delivered tomorrow afternoon. I don't think I could face the grocery store. .....It's times like this that I really miss living 3 minutes from Mom. Hey Mom -- the townhome right next door is STILL vacant.....! Come o-o-o-n....pleeeease? ; )

I can't stop eating today! Spinach lasagna for lunch (SO yummy), a 6-pack of peanut butter sandwich crackers, a piece of cheese, and I just made myself a bag of microwave popcorn. It's like non-stop eating goin' on here. As strange as it sounds, the only time I feel okay is when I'm eating! I don't know if it's cuz it takes my mind off everything else or what....but I better slow down or my little coffee bean is gonna be fat and so is his mommy - lol!!

There MUST be a little alien taking over my body. I had a McDonald's hamburger and fries for lunch. "Miss Anti-McDonald's" had to have a burger from there. I don't think I've ever enjoyed a hambuger more. I inhaled that puppy.
At the same time, I am so queasy and SOOO tired again today. I'm getting really tired of feeling like this, but I constantly remind myself of why I feel like this, and that it'll only last a few more weeks.
Doctor's office hasn't called so far....hopefully that means all my bloodwork is good. We shall see.
Well, I think I'm gonna veg and watch stupid soap operas. I am so thankful that my schedule allows me to get a lot of rest!!
Baby C is the size of a coffee bean this week, which is 15,000 times bigger than s/he was at conception! No WONDER I'm so tired!!