::13 weeks::

Let's start with "the survey"...

How far along? 13 weeks 1 day
Total weight gain/loss: still down a couple of pounds from the first appointment.
Maternity clothes? yes! maternity pants...i loooove them!
Stretch marks? nope...let's not mention them and maybe they'll stay away! :D
Sleep: yeah...my sleep has sucked lately. i wake up at least 3 or 4 times a night and always wake up tired. :/
Best moment this week: getting to HEAR the heartbeat. it sounded amazing!
Movement: Still none yet!
Food cravings: ...nothing...well, popsicles, but that's about it!
Gender: 6 weeks till we find out! :D
Labour signs: nada.
Belly button in or out? innie
What I am looking forward to: getting to buy gender specific stuff!
Milestones: again, hearing the heartbeat, oh and entering the SECOND trimester! woohoo for that!

Okay...details. My appointment was scheduled for yesterday at 3:15. Kevin, unfortunately, couldn't get away from work so I had to go to this appointment by myself. No biggie. I know he wanted to be there but I assured him I'd be fine by myself. Anyway, when I arrived at Seasons they let me know that Dr. Looney, the doctor I was scheduled to see, was on call and had been called to Labor & Delivery and that it could be a while before he got back. I was in no hurry, so I said that was fine and I'd wait. In the meantime, I did the routine "pee test"/blood pressure/weight thing. After finishing that the nurse took me into the examination room, asked me a few questions, then let me know I'd get to hear the heartbeat. Instantly I was 1/2 excited and 1/2 sad (b/c Kevin wasn't there). So, she put the doppler on my tummy and started searching for the little bean. I was getting nervous because it was taking her so long and started getting scared. Finally, she found what she THOUGHT was the heartbeat, listened for a few seconds, and said it was 110. Again, I got scared because at the ultrasound the heartbeat was 166, which is much better than 110. So, she left the room and I instantly started searching on my Blackberry to see if 110 was normal/bad/okay/etc...

After waiting about an hour (ew) they came in and told me Dr. Looneys visit to Labor & Delivery had turned into a C-Section and that I'd be seeing Dr. Samuel. I was fine with that because I know eventually I'll get to meet all the doctors. So, Dr. Samuel came in and introduced himself. He informed me we'd be offered the quad screening at the next examination and gave me information on how it can detect Downs syndrome and spina bifida (yeah, i dunno if that's spelled right?!)...however, Kevin and I have decided (for numerous reasons) that we'll be skipping the quad screening. He then asked me if I had any questions, which I did...about my sore throat and lack of sleep.

Finally, Dr. Samuel (much to my relief) said "Let's check this heartbeat again...there's no way it's 110!" So, he got the doppler again and started searching. Just a few seconds later I heard what I KNEW was our babies heartbeat! This time it was much louder, stronger, and faster than what the nurse had found. After a few seconds Dr. Samuel said "Great! The heartbeat is around 160, which is perfect! The nurse must have picked up YOUR heartbeat...or who knows what!" Glory to God I was SO SO SO SO SO relieved to hear "160" come out of his mouth!!!!
So, I was very happy and 110% satisfied when I left the doctors office!

We go back Feb. 17th for our next appointment then we'll go back about 2 weeks after that to find out if we're Team Blue or Team Pink!!!! :) We're very very excited!

**thanks for the continued prayers...we are so lucky to have such amazing families and friends!**