It's a baby, not a seahorse!!!

One thing I love about medical intervention to produce a pregnancy is the number of early ultrasounds one gets to have.  Not very many people get to see the amazing progression from blast to embryo to fetus.  I didn't get to see that when I was pregnant with our three kiddos.  We got the 9 week early ultrasound shot to confirm a heartbeat, and then had to wait until the 20 week anatomy scan to see how our kiddos were growing.  With our youngest, we did have the option of having an ultrasound between 11 and 13 weeks as part of the screening for Down's Syndrome- but we chose not to.

I showed this picture to Finn yesterday morning:

He said, "Awwwwwww, it's a seahorsey!!!" I said "No, buddy, that's a baby."  And he said "Awwww, a baby seahorse!!!"  So, apparently an embryo around 9 weeks old looks like a seahorse.  Good to know.  In our 9 week ultrasound photo, I didn't see a seahorse, but it did look like a little blob with a big head and a beating heart- right on track. 

Today, I'm, 11 weeks and 4 days.  So, it's been just about two weeks since my last ultrasound.  It truly amazes me how much growth and development takes place in two weeks.  There's a BABY in there.  A little human looking baby!  Okay, there are some alien-ish features, but still.....  Definitely more human than alien. I'm in awe of the human body every time I'm lucky enough to monitor the pace of this development.  We truly are amazing beings.

Baby has arms and legs, hands and feet.  Sethbryo was rolling around, and kept bringing his/her hands up to his/ her face.  We tried to get a good pic of the hands, but kiddo was moving too fast!  Isn't it crazy how something the size of a lime looks like such a perfect human??? 

In other news, my nausea is almost gone.  It's funny how you feel like hell all day long for weeks, and then you don't really even notice when you feel better.  All the sudden you notice that you're hungry, and eating, and that you have been for two or three days.  I still have my moments, but I'll take moments over all day long.  I'm assuming that I'm starting to grow out of my regular clothes, but why lie?  I haven't put on anything with a button and a zipper on the waistband for weeks now....  Who wants to do that when you can wear fabulously stretchy fabrics and elastic waistbands and get away with it???  And I'm lucky enough to look pretty round in the belly early on.  I'm sure there are plenty of people who still think I'm just eating too many cookies- but I guarantee by week 15 there will be no denying that I'm rocking a baby belly. 

So, things are right where they should be. 

I graduated!!!

Well, we did it.  We made it through the first 9 weeks!  In IVF world, this means that I "graduate" from the clinic, and start going to appointments with my regular OB.  I'm on a weaning schedule for the estradiol, progesterone, and baby aspirin that I am still taking, but the IVF clinic is no longer in charge of my care. 

I had my first appointment with my own OB today.  To be truthful, I had the tiny thought that I might get a little lecture for sitting in his office there again so soon.  Mia is, after all, only just one.  As I was walking in to the exam room, Dr. A was out in the hall saying goodbye to another patient.  He saw me and smirked a little.  I hid my face behind my "new pregnancy" folder.  My nurse just laughed and said, "Busted!!!" Turns out Dr. A didn't have anything to say about the spacing of these pregnancies at all (whew!!!).  He is very supportive of surrogacy, and he knows that I love to be pregnant- he just smiled and said "welcome back!".  I got to see baby again this morning, too.  It's amazing the changes that can take place over the course of five days.  Little Sethbryo had a perfect heartbeat, and was rolling around and happy in there.  :)

                                  9 weeks- Graduation ultrasound

                               9 weeks, 5 days- 1st OB appt

I am still having some pretty awesome nausea- but not as often as I was before.  I have left the all day nausea behind (for the most part), and have returned to feeling sick mostly in the evenings.  My pregnancy BFF is showing herself already though......  hunka hunka burning... heart???  I keep hoping that I'll have at least one pregnancy where my chest doesn't feel like it's on fire from mid first trimester on.  It seems that this will not be that pregnancy either.  Ah, sweet sweet Zantac, how I love you.

On another note, my 16 week pregnant friend is jealous of my 8 week pregnant baby belly.  No, for real.  I keep telling her, you have to remember- this is #5!!!  My body registers those pregnancy hormones, and that little beating heart and screams "WOOHOO!!!!  Let's let it ALL hang out!!!".  The "belly" in my pic is all leftover from previous pregnancies for sure, but I can't suck it in anymore....  ;)