We're in LOVE!

So, no bump pic to share today, but I have something even better to share...pics from our 3D/4D Ultrasound!!!!!  We went to an awesome studio (The Prenatal Picture) for our ultrasound session.  At the ultrasound the tech mentioned that I have an Anterior Placenta which basically means that the placenta is on the front of my belly instead of the back.  About 50% of women have anterior placenta and this explains why I don't feel her kicks or movements in the center of my belly, only on the sides.  Aha, now it makes sense!  It also means that it's a little trickier to get a clear shot - especially with this little snuggle buddy...the tech said that Nicolette really likes to snuggle up close to the placenta (probably because it's warm and she can hear my heartbeat).  She said that this also means that Nicolette will probably be a snuggly little girl when she gets here too!  YAY!  I love snuggles!!!! :)

I need to dig up some baby photos of both of us to compare but we both think that she looks more like me.  I think she has a Gulbranson nose and Lord knows that she has the same chubby cheeks that I had when I was a baby.  (When I was a baby my head was 90% cheeks).  The tech also said that she already has a LOT of hair, but obviously we can't tell what color it is yet :)  I need to see a baby pic of the Italian once again because Nicolette has really full lips and I don't think that I had full lips like that when I was baby (nor do I have them now).  Regardless, we were both in awe as we watched her move around, wiggle and giggle...yes, we got a few good laughs out of her because we were poking and prodding trying to get her to move her little hands away from her face but no such luck...for 30 minutes straight she had one or both of her sweet little hands right up by her face so we didn't get a super clear shot of her face.  Here are a few of our favorite pictures (we got 52 images, so I won't bore you with ALL of those - however there were several shots of the "girlie parts" so we can confirm with absolute certainty that she is 100% girl - she might have been shy showing her face but not a bit shy about flashing the lady parts...let's hope that's not a sign of things to come in the future :)

 She's playing peek-a-boo!  You can see her little smile behind her right hand.  

 Giggling!  She's a happy girl!

 Still smiling, but dang it she won't move her hands out of the way!

 At first glance this appeared to be our sweet, precious little baby giving us the one finger salute (and I wouldn't blamer her if she did.  We were poking her and wiggling her around just trying to get her little hands out of the way).  But it's actually her index finger. 

 Squishy face - I think she has mommy's cheeks (mommy had HUGE cheeks when she was a baby)

 Trying to settle back in and go back to sleep. 

 Daddy said that she was practicing "Tebowing"

Sleepy girl!

Baby Randazzo is...

HEALTHY!!!!!

Sweetest words we've ever heard!  :)   We had our anatomy scan today and it was amazing to see the little wiggle worm's tiny hands, feet, legs, arms and little mouth opening and closing.  I think it became very, very real for the Italian for the first time!  He was a nervous wreck throughout the appointment just waiting to hear the words "normal" and "healthy".  I had a minor scare this weekend with some leakage and was placed on bed rest throughout the weekend so hearing the heartbeat and seeing that all of the measurements are within the normal/healthy range were answers to prayers!!!!

So we get to the moment when the ultrasound tech is checking out the "girl or boy parts" and she asked us to turn our heads (since we want it to be a surprise at our Gender Reveal Party) however, she then typed what it is on the screen and Dave is just SURE that he knows what it is.  He's convinced that they type either "male" or "female" and he thinks that she typed "female" because he noticed it was more than 4 letters BUT I keep telling him that most of the U/S pics that I've seen say "It's A Boy" or "It's A Girl".  So we're at a stalemate on this one.  We'll have to hold on until February 25th for the big announcement!!!  This is going to be a long 9 day wait!

Morning(?) sickness?

Let me preface this post by saying that I am NOT complaining about anything. I'm so grateful for where we are in this process and this post is merely to give you an insider's glimpse of what we're experiencing right now. So here goes...

According to the calendar, I'm only 6 weeks pregnant (SO early!). I've had mild nausea and lack of appetite since beginning my stimulation meds in early October...well now that seems to have exploded into full blown "morning sickness" over the last 2 weeks. (Morning Sickness...thats a laughable term considering it lasts ALL DAY LONG and even wakes me up in the middle of the night. Morning sickness is obviously a term coined by men who saw their poor pregnant wives ill in the morning and then jotted off to work while the little Mrs. spent the rest of her day hunched over a toilet bowl!). Now I should also say that I have not yet gotten sick, but boy I almost wish I would...surely that might make me feel a little better! The sad and demented thing is that I've started to cling to this sick feeling as a security blanket...this past weekend I actually had a few hours where I hardly felt any nausea and was even able to (gasp) eat a full meal...so I immediately begin wondering if something is wrong. I was oddly reassured when the sickness returned and I was once again confined to my bed with my saltine's and ginger ale.

I am more than a little frustrated at my "diet" (if you can call it that) for now. Leading up to and going through IVF I was so conscientious about what I ate...nearly all organic, lots of lentils, spinach, kale, berries (all the "superfoods" you're supposed to eat) and now I can hardly stomach anything...I eat maybe one "meal" a day and that " meal" varies wildly...some days only a small bowl of plain oatmeal, today buttered noodles and on a good day an insatiable craving for crunhy tacos and Spanish rice with a half gallon of salsa or a healthy serving of buffalo chicken dip (gross...shouldn't that stuff make me feel WORSE??? Oh well, I'm not going to question it, if I'm hungry for tacos by gosh I'm going to eat them...I've dropped 12 lbs so far so am starting to get a little worried about my weight.) As long as there is a healthy baby (or babies) in there I'll live with this happily for the next 8 months!

I will say it is VERY difficult to work while feeling this way. It's hard to focus on anything other than the constant waves of nausea and silently trying to calculate how long it would take me to sprint to the nearest restroom in case of an emergency (2 1/2 minutes by the way...and that's too long so my alternate route is a 20 second sprint out our office doors where I'll discreetly yak into the bushes outside of our office...classy!). I share an office with 6 other coworkers so the trashcan is not an option...hello bushes here I come!

Also, the aforementioned "morning" sickness apparently has no sense of time...she strikes constantly at all hours of the day and night. For instance, is now 2:15 am here and she was kind enough to wake me at 12:30 am so here I sit typing to pass the time until it either eases up or I pass out from exhaustion and fall back asleep. 3-4 hours of sleep a night + fear of throwing up on a coworker, client or boss makes for fun work days!

Anyways, we have our ultrasound on Wednesday morning and we're both excited/nervous...just praying and praying that we receive good news! We'll officially be 7 weeks along on Wednesday so I'm not sure what we should hope to see. I also don't know if they'll run more bloodwork or not. I assume so as the nurse mentioned that Dr. K will probably take me off of my progesterone injections and estrogen patches if everything looks good (I'd assume that bloodwork would be required in order to make that decision). My booty is pretty tender so ut would appreciate a break from the nightly injections, but if there is any chane that the injections will help, I'll happily continue them throughout the next 8 months.

Lots and lots and lots of prayers for a great ultrasound so that we have great news to share with our families on Thanksgiving! We certainly have plenty to be thankful for...ickiness and all!