Aus dem Urlaub zurück oder back from vacation

Wow, it's been a long time since I've written. Since the last time DH and I went on a cruise in the Baltic Sea. We saw most of the Baltic capitals and even managed to go to the ballet in Saint Petersburg, which was amazing.

The week after we got back, it was time for the next OB appointment. This was the twenty week scan, so Dr. H took quite a while looking to make sure everything was measuring correctly. At this point they measure the circumference of the head and length of the femur to determine gestational age and any age within 10 days is considered normal. All the structures look normal. We could even see the bladder full of fluid because the spawn (that's our nickname) had been swallowing amniotic fluid. Then Dr. H told us what we had been anxiously waiting to hear: It's a girl! Both DH and I wanted a girl, so this is fantastic news!

I still don't feel like I look pregnant, just kinda fat. I think part of that is because I have been this big around before without a baby in there. I am still wearing my old pants, although my shirts are getting too short and I'm rotating some maternity tops in. I've gained less than five pounds since getting pregnant, but Dr. H doesn't seem concerned. That's just another thing that I love about German doctors.

I clearly have not been posting regularly, and don't know if I will get back to it or not. I feel like with the point of viability coming up in just a few more weeks I'm becoming confident at the prospect of bringing home a baby. If I keep writing, I think things will change a bit. Life is just different, although I still marvel at the fact that I'm pregnant and I think about how things were. Before one of our trips last month DH said to me that he realized that he hadn't woken up to the sound of the thermometer in a long time. It's a continual amazement.

So, I hope your summer is going well. Congrats to the ladies who finally have their BFPs out there! You've worked hard for it. Try to enjoy it. And those who haven't I'm rooting for you! I look forward to the day when I visit your blog and see your good news.

Happy Summer!

This is a Russian mosquito. We stayed in the room a lot in St. Petersburg.

I did cartwheels in most of the places we visited.
It just seemed like a fun thing to do!

I survey my queendom.

This was at the Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo.
One of the many interesting but slightly terrifying statues.

Geschäftigen Sommer oder busy summertime

I'm behind. It's been almost three weeks since my last post. Please forgive me, dear readers, (if there are indeed readers). Summer has barely even started and it's already been very busy!

The last post I talked about friends and family. I had a cousin visit for a week starting June 2nd. We went to the Heidelberg burning, and traveled down to Garmisch-Partenkirchen to see the Bavarian wonders. He's a new college graduate and has tons of energy and completely wore me out! I spent last week recovering.

This week, I am wrapping up the final details before our vacation next week. Do you want to know where we are going? On a cruise! We'll be traveling around the Baltic and I will be on the boat for my 30th birthday. Pretty exciting stuff. I'm sure there will be lots of pictures and maybe some good stories.

Other things that have been happening:

DH and I had interviews with three doulas in the area. When I say in the area, I mean within an hour from where we live. I had to search high and low, but I'm so glad that I did because now I actually have a choice. We had our last interview yesterday and are trying to make a decision by the end of the week. It's much harder to choose than I anticipated. Maybe it's because our medical care is usually dictated to us rather than giving us options. But it's free! Military health care is a blessing and a curse.

Speaking of medical issues, I have been having numbness down my right leg. That numbness begins tingling and sending electric pains if I stand or walk too long. I was feeling so great three weeks ago that I went on a run and have been having this problem ever since. So, it's biking and walking (when I can) for exercise right now. I've been seeing a chiropractor to help, and it seems to be making a difference. When I tried to get into physical therapy, I was sent on a circular wild goose chase that involved a few wasted hours in an ER and many tears of frustration on my part. When I asked my OB about it, he said it's normal and there's not much he can do or recommend. So, chiropractic it is, with hopefully an occasional massage thrown in. There are worse things.

And, speaking of the OB, I had my 16 week appointment yesterday. We did another ultrasound because it's only 35 euro and worth the money for the reassurance. The first thing Dr. H said to me was, "You're not feeling the baby move yet." Good to know. Everything was looking good. Heartbeat 150. Spawn was squirming and kicking on the ultrasound. (External for the first time, and I'm not sure I prefer it! The picture was much clearer with Wanda.) I got a note for the cruise, and our next appointment is on the 16th of June. Dr. H said that it looks like a spawnette, but I'm going to try my hardest to resist getting anything yet until the next time when things will be more clear. But I'm really hoping he's right!

So, that's what's going on. Next week, while DH and I are gone, another cousin will be arriving. She'll be with us for a while, but we're not sure how long yet. I'm sure that she and I will spend time together. No one except DH knows about this blog, so posts will probably continue to be few and far between. I am reading your blogs though!

This busy summertime will quickly enough ease into (hopefully) less busy fall. And then maybe I will be able to be more present. In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying your summer!

Dankbar Donnerstag oder Thankful Thursday: Loved Ones

Okay, what can I say? I said that I would be posting more and now a week and a half has gone by and I've been quiet. I suck.

Things going on here:

• It's been fairly warm. 
• I bought a (used) air conditioner and then went all around town looking for a vent hose. This is more complicated than it sounds and involved tears.
• I worked out six days in a week.
• One day I came out of the commissary and saw a cute guy smiling at me. I thought it was because I looked pretty, since I had actually done my hair and makeup. Then I got to my bike and found a piece of lettuce in my hair and figured that's why he was smiling. My salad sorting may have been a bit too vigorous.

Tornado Kartoffel

Today though, I'm thankful for friends and family. DH and I spent last Saturday in Mannheim at their Stadtfest (city fest) with some new friends. We ate our way through, getting fries and corn on the cob, and ice cream and "Tornado Kartoffel"  which was a potato that was spiral cut and shoved onto a stick and then fried. Fried things are good. (Even if "Tornado Potato" does sound better than "Tornado Kartoffel", you can't quibble with fried things.) We talked and laughed and enjoyed the beautiful day. This Saturday, my cousin is coming to visit and we will be going with the same friends to the Heidelberg Illumination. Then next week, we will be driving down to Bavaria to see the sites down there. 

I'm so happy to have friends here. It took a while to meet people, but it seems like once you get to know a few, more will wander into your sphere. It's wonderful to know people who think differently than you and different backgrounds. It enriches your life. That's one of the great things about the military is getting to know people you would never otherwise get an opportunity to meet.

A Bavarian town which will go unnamed for now

And family. My cousin is coming and a few weeks later, we expect his sister to visit for a couple of weeks. Being overseas, time with family is not the same as it used to be. My family is in Montana and it's an expensive and long flight to get over to see them, so it doesn't happen often. When I get to see family, it's a pleasure. For me, they are the people I've known my whole life (or theirs, for the younger ones) and we have similar backgrounds and upbringing. There are inside jokes and catching up on what's going on and honest and frank discussion about personal issues. 

So, I may continue sucking in the blogging department. I am reading your blogs, I'm just not tending mine. But for right now, while I've got friends and family around, that's okay.

Zweiten OB Besuch oder second OB visit

ACHTUNG! ACHTUNG! WARNING! WARNING!
Lots of pregnancy talk today.

-----------------------------

Today is twelve weeks exactly. The last few days have been pretty good. And, if I can get through today without throwing up (and it's looking good so far), it will be a week since the last time I got sick. Woohoo!

DH was able to come to this visit. (If you remember from the last visit he wasn't able to be there.) It had been almost six weeks since he last saw my insides. I ran into a friend in the waiting room, so we chatted, which was nice. They weighed me this time and took my blood pressure. The blood pressure was pretty good. The best thing that I can say about the weight was that it was in kilograms instead of pounds and so it was a lot lower.

Then we saw Dr. H. He told me the results of my tests, which were good. Iron levels okay, no chlamydia. Good to know. I asked about a note for the cruise DH and I will be taking in a few weeks (more on that later). They'll give me the note next time. I then nervously asked if it would be okay to have a glass of champagne. Dr H said that an occasional drink would not cause any problems. I know there are people out there who would say that I shouldn't even ask, but hey, I'm in Europe and I have a German doctor. I'm going to go for the European experience. I told him I had lost some weight, and he said that in the first sixteen weeks, they don't expect much change in weight, so losing a little is okay. Then we went to the ultrasound.

It was with Wanda again, which honestly, I didn't mind. The picture is really clear and it's not uncomfortable, so whatever. I had planned to drink some orange juice just before the appointment, but didn't. It didn't matter. The blob is no longer a blob! There are two arms and two legs and we saw at least one hand that had all five fingers. There's a brain and a very visible (and audible) heartbeat (145). We even saw it moving around, which was really amazing. We saw the umbilical cord and the blood flow there. It's 55.6 mm, so just about two inches long. I'm amazed that only ten weeks after conception, this creature is fully formed and just needs to grow bigger and mature. It's not something that is yet to be. It is. A teeny, tiny human.

I've been feeling disconnection and disbelief. Seeing my baby (writing those words is unreal) kick and move its arms and legs makes me feel like this might really be real. There might really be a reason my pants are getting tight. It's possible the reason I've been feeling crappy is because there's a person that I'm growing. It's unbelievable, but I might be starting to believe it.

After the appointment, I went to the reception desk to make the next appointment. And, I got my Mutterpass! This is all of your medical records for your pregnancy. And, if you have more than one child in Germany, it will be for all of your pregnancies. You are to carry it with you at all times so that if there's a problem, the doctor will be able to look at your Mutterpass and know your pregnancy medical history. It is the symbol that you are really pregnant. And I have one!

I'm so happy right now. I can't stop smiling. This is really happening! And I am so thankful.

One Lovely Blog Award

Wow, am I ever behind. I'm been sick and tired and lazy enjoying pregnancy for the last few weeks. Please forgive me. I'm going to try to get back to semi-regular blogging.

I've been given the One Lovely Blog award by Mrs. M at Seriously Not Pregnant. She has been trying for quite a while and things have been rough for her lately. Go over and say hi and check out her blog. It's great!

So, now that I've gotten the award I have to do something. Besides bask in the adoring glow, that is.

Here are the steps to follow after receiving this award:

• Share who gave it to you with a link back to their blog. (See above)

• Write down seven random facts about yourself.

• Give this award to fifteen other bloggers.

• Let them know they've won.
• Pop the award on your blog.

Seven Random Facts about me:

1. I once danced on a table with a bunch of Hungarian women to "YMCA".  And I wasn't even drinking.
2. I have lived in Germany nearly a third of my adult life and I still don't speak the language. This is just shameful.
3. I am an only child. I loved it growing up, but now that I'm an adult it's not quite as fun. It's really hard to be away from your parents when there are hard times, especially when you don't have siblings to help take up the slack.
4. I used to drink at least two cans of Mountain Dew a day. This may sound like a lot to some people, but seems like nothing to me. My mom (before all of her medical problems) used to drink eight to ten LITERS of Diet Pepsi every day. Twenty four ounces is small potatoes. But, I'm glad I don't do that anymore.
5. I saw the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans from both sides by the time I was 28. 
6. I miss grocery stores in the States. Seriously, the grocery stores here are like low end mini-marts compared to places like Safeway or Fred Meyer's in the States. I long to be able to find Burt's Bees lip balm when in my local grocery store. But, German stores have a lot of good things too. 



Black bottom....


7. If the choice is between cake and pie, I pick pie. Unless it's fruit pie. Then I might go for the cake after all.

Or lemon meringue. No need to choose. Have one of each!

Mmmmm......pie...mmmmmm......whoops! Sorry, got distracted there for a minute. Now it's time for me to award this to fifteen bloggers. I don't know if I know that many bloggers, but I'll come up with as many as possible. They won't all be infertility bloggers though, and some will be mommy bloggers. I'll try to give warnings. 

 I would like to give this award to the following bloggers:

Just Stop Trying and It Will Happen

The Empty Uterus

The Elusive Second Line

Cease and Decyst

The Pussy Palace (This is an infertility blog and is SFW, just in case you were wondering.)

Searching for our silver lining

MissConception (pregnant)

Syringe Sisters (pregnant)

Inconceivable! (pregnant)

Crappy Pictures (mommy blog)

The Cohen Tribe (mommy blog)

STFU, Parents 

Cake Wrecks 

The Everywhereist (travel)

My Dusty Uterus (has baby)

Whew! I managed to find fifteen. And, they are all awesome. I know some of you have already gotten this award and some of you are way too big to bother posting this award and that's okay. Just sharing the blog love. All of you are awesome. Thanks again to Mrs. M for the award. Now, hopefully, I can get off my duff (figuratively, because I sit while typing) and get back to (semi) regular blogging. 

Have a great weekend!

Würgen die ganze Zeit

Last week came and went without a post from me. For shame. Again, I'm still around, just feeling really lousy. I've been tired which is okay, but this week the morning sickness ramped up a notch. Yesterday morning I was trying to get out of bed and downstairs to give DH a kiss good morning, but I went too fast and ended up heaving in the sink instead. All day yesterday, every time I got up from sitting or lying down, I would start gagging. Today started similarly, without the actual sick though, thankfully. DH asked me to get some bread and that made me gag. Mixing honey in with my yogurt this morning was cause for retching. Leaning over to get the cat food out of the cupboard had me heaving. Fun times.

I'm eleven weeks along, so I'm just praying that in the next couple of weeks things will get better. Pretty please?

Also, I'm still feeling disconnected from the pregnancy. DH will be coming with me next Monday to the OB, so maybe holding his hand while hearing the heartbeat will get this lodged into my head a little better.

P.S. Today's title sounds so much better in German, that I just left it that way. If you really want to see what it says, plug it into Google translate.

Ich bin hier oder I am here

I am here, just so you know. I am just so, so tired. Hopefully later this week I can find some energy for a better post. Sorry I've been slacking. See you later.