I'm sitting here writing with one cat on my belly and the other cat lying right next to me on the couch. Shelby likes lying on my belly but has been doing it more than normal. Odie is waaay more vocal and is always by my side. I think that there must be something to this whole pets can tell when you're pregnant business.

Thurs, I had my 2nd ultrasound. My mom went with me since Ben couldn't with his new job and everything. Luckily this one was the traditional one where they use the jelly on my belly. The baby looks good and I have plenty of amniotic fluid. They were trying to measure the nuchal fold at the back of the neck. It's a good indicator for Down's Syndrome. A couple measurements were gotten but the sonographer didn't feel like they were good enough since there are several things that need to be seen to get this measurement. She grabbed another sonographer who worked very hard at trying to get pnut to move so they could get the measurement. That included bouncing the wand on my belly and jiggling my belly. Well...we know pnut is stubborn like his mom cause pnut would have none of that. So I get to go back on Tuesday and they are going to try to get the measurement again. Apparently, it's not unusual for this measurement to be hard to get. The few measurements they got were good so I'm not too worried. I'm also not a carrier for Cystic Fibrosis and my blood type is O+ so I don't have to worry about the Rh factor. Oh and the heart rate was in the 70s. OOOh...and I only gained .6 lbs in the past month.

The best part about the ultrasound was seeing the baby stretch, move it's arms, and bounce around in my uterus like I had put a baby trampoline in there. The bouncing was so adorable and I wish that the Dr. office didn't have the whole no pics or video policy cause I would have loved to get a video of that. The baby is definitely exploring it's happy home and enjoying it.

Not too much has changed as far as pregnancy symptoms. I'm still peeing all the friggin time and my nausea is better. I still have heartburn but it's not as bad. Ben bought me a book about pregnancy and I've already read it. Ben is also gonna buy me a pregnancy pillow. I have developed some sciatica (pain in my hip) in the last 2 weeks but have found that sleeping with a pillow between my legs helps. I'm tired all the time and go to bed early. I'm slowly letting a couple coworkers in on the secret. It's hard to keep it from the coworkers because they notice things like frequent urination and eating habits changing. Not to mention, I have to change in front of them lol. We also have xray where I work and it becomes obvious when I'm making excuses to get out of the room during xrays. We are looking forward to letting our family in on the secret on Christmas! It's bittersweet cause being pregnant feels so personal and part of me likes it just being a secret between a couple people. I guess the cat will be out of the bag when I'm as big as a tank though lol.

I bought some maternity clothes the day after thanksgiving online for 50% off. I have already worn the jeans once but luckily my current jeans still work.

Went to the Dr. yesterday and got an ultrasound. Immediately, the sonographer said "there's only one." Ben and I were happy to hear that lol. Apparently the baby is longer than the 7 weeks, 1 day i was supposed to be so they made me 5 days further along to 7 weeks 6 days. My baby is already tall! The baby is 0.5 inches and the heart rate was 157. My due date has been moved to June 30, 2010. The pics literally look like little peanuts though but the Dr. told me my 12 week one will have better pics. Ben and I got asked about what pediatrician we want and about genetic testing among other things and it was a bit overwhelming. Someone should make a pamphlet about what to expect from your first Dr. visit cause it was a bit much.

This whole Dr. visit is making me crazy cause now I have thought about every single possible worst case scenario for my baby. Ben says you never stop worrying but I just want a healthy baby. I mean...how do people deal with this stress! ugh!

Mom came over yesterday after the Dr. appointment and took us out to Jimmie Oh so she can gush about her grand-peanut (her term). She says she hasn't told anyone but I think it's hard for her to keep it from my dad. Ah well...free food is always good.

I'm getting used to feeling nauseous all of the time so I've been eating better. I still can't believe people do this multiple times but ben reminds me that this is #1/4...ha... My cravings make me laugh because we'll be driving somewhere and I'll be like..ooh...applebees....oooh...subway...oooh mexican... I got 2 emails today about new sandwiches from quiznos and subway. How do they know I'm pregnant?! It's a cruel, cruel world.

Ben is still being great and apparently the excuse "I'm carrying your baby, remember?" still works. :) It's just that I'm so tired all of the time now...tired and hungry. I'll be home alone and half asleep on the couch and think....man...I'm hungry but I don't want to get food....hungry...but tired.....wait....I have to go to the bathroom again...I guess I'll get something to eat then...

Anyways...bottom line - all is great in the Barnard home!

I'm feeling pretty good today. Unfortunately, I'm on call tonight. Hopefully I don't get called in. I had a migraine aura yesterday. I get them maybe once a year. I'm just wondering if pnut had something to do with it. I have a stuffy head and i guess that's not uncommon with pregnancy. I'm also uber tired and have been going to bed before 8 pm lol. Yesterday, Ben took me to the Chesapeake Seafood House for the early bird special with the old folks and it was tasty. Ben made me beanless chili today and he's just been the best husband. He seems pretty excited about being a dad and especially about telling everyone about pnut.

I don't know what I'm going to do after I have this baby since I'm so used to being waited on ;)

Stupid Kays commercial making me want to cry...

The weekend really wore me out so I slept in today AND took a nap lol. I'm incredibly thirsty and peeing all the time. Apparently gestational diabetes doesn't show up until later in the pregnancy but I'm still worried. I guess my blood volume is starting to increase though and that's why a lot of pregnant women are so thirsty.

My baby's liver has begun to function and tomorrow, it will be 2 mm in length. It's still hard to believe we're pregnant.

First Dr. appt is November 17 at 2....just hoping things go well.

I have been watching A Baby's Story on TLC and that show is starting to make me freak out a bit about the delivery.

Mom's napping so I figured that I would update really quickly. It's hard to eat vegetables and healthy stuff on vacay. Will seek out more greens in near future.

I am not feeling nearly as nauseous as before. I'm starting to wonder if I got a touch of something and assumed it was the baby.

According to my pregnancy calendar, P-nut is 1 mm long and is officially an embryo. Tomorrow - P-nut's neural tube forms, heart begins to form, and blood begins to circulate. Go Peanut!!