15 weeks 3 days - the week beyond

I'm really sorry this is tardy. I know from messages (hi!!) that I've freaked at least a few of you out by my silence. Things are good...I've had evening commitments three nights this week and haven't had a chance to post. (Well, I tried to pound this out last night between Paul's shower and our racing out the door to support group, but Blogger wouldn't upload photos, so...yeah. Editing tonight to change the date to 15w3d (!), uploading two photos  and hitting Publish. That's it. I swear!)

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How Far Along: 15 weeks 3 days today. E2 is the size of an apple or a navel orange, take your pick. (Bigger than the apples in our house, though, since baby measured 8.91cm CRL= 3.5 inches at 14w6d. I guess I bought small apples!)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: As of Tuesday (15 weeks), I was up 4 lbs total.

Maternity Clothes: Danger, Will Robinson! The maternity pants are great. I could use one more pair. I'm in desperate need of tops, pronto! As of today, when I caught myself looking like a brick house in the work bathroom mirror and realized the button-up sweater I chose (and thought looked ok this morning) had to be retired effective this evening, I now have four tops I can wear to work that fit and flatter (sort of), and I work 5 days per week. Fatigue has kept me from aggressively pursuing maternity shopping...but if I must drag my butt an hour north to Tacoma to do it this weekend, I will do it...or die trying.

Movement: Many times per day. E2 seems to have one or two days of high activity, followed by a day or two of less activity. Last night, though, as I was trying to fall asleep on my left side (where baby is), I giggled out loud because holy crap, kid!

Sleep: So so. I seem to wake up more during trips to the bathroom (down to about 4 per night instead of 6), making it harder to fall back to sleep. Bummer.

Gender: I think we may wait until after the anatomy scan to reveal the sex here (and our pregnancy publically on FB, etc.)...so hang tight for Valentine's Day evening!

Symptoms: Tummy=bottomless pit; stuffy nose; no vomiting for the past 10 days, but the past two have required 2 Zofran per day and 3 Vitamin B-6s to control the nausea and prevent upchucking. Occasional searing ligament pains (the ones that stretch all the way across from one side to the other are becoming more prevalent...I couldn't get up out of my desk chair today at work until one passed). Very spotty short term memory. Sore boobs (I thought that was going away). I'm still waiting for that 2nd trimester glow...my skin still looks awful.

Cravings: Random and short-lived. I had a strong one the other day (yesterday?), said to myself, "Ooo, that would be good," and in the next second, it was gone. That's probably a good thing for my weight! I won't talk about 6 boxes of Girl Scout cookies I ordered today (!) or the pizza I crave tonight (mostly out of laziness because I'm tired and don't want to cook, and am guessing Paul feels the same).

Belly Button In or Out: In, although I noticed the other day it's getting shallower (and easier to contemplate!). It's not painful yet, because the top of my uterus is still only halfway between my pubic bone and belly button, but I recall some odd pains with the twins (when my ute had passed my navel).

Freak-out of the Week: There wasn't one in particular, but oh, my God, 14w1d was pretty danged terrible. As the clock edged toward 4:50 p.m. (the time at which Aliya's sac ruptured), I got more and more freaked out. I was even freaking out because Dr. M. was out of town, and I was convinced something was going to happen and I'd have no doctor anywhere near me (my MFM is 2 hours away). Thankfully, as the hours passed after 5:00 p.m., things got easier. Thursday, 14w2d (delivery day) wasn't too bad. Boy, was I exhausted over the weekend, though. All that anxiety does a number on the body. This week I've done fairly well (knocking on wood).

Thankfully, everything went well at my appointment on Monday (14w6d), so that helped. So does E2's movement.

Looking Forward To: Starting my weekly 17P shots next Tuesday (16 weeks). I know some of you might think I'm weird for looking forward to a weekly shot in the butt, but work with me.

Next Appointment: January 21st for another my next transvaginal cervical length ultrasound and (finally!) my full prenatal workup (bloodwork, measurements, pee-in-a-cup, blood pressure, etc.). Whee!

Miscellaneous: I got my first "Was this baby planned?" question and puzzled look tonight from the pharmacist as I dropped my 17P prescription off at the compounding pharmacy. The question was preceded by, "What is your data of birth?" and then "How old are you?" He wrote my age on the script and circled it. Yes, sir, I'm well aware I'm OLD. I know he meant well, and after I said, "Uh, yeah, IVF baby on board, years in the making," he replied, "Oh, it's just that most women who get this prescription are 25-26 years old." Really? It's prescribed for prevention of recurrent preterm labor, so, um, really?? I just have a hard time believing that...most of us BLMs are older than that. I don't know.

I leave you with photos...

E2 at 14w6d (left arrow is pointing to baby's hand over the head, and the
right arrow is pointing at baby's face/jaws.

Belly at 15w.