The Waiting Game

 I called the doctor this morning with the big news.  I love my GYN, now to be my OB/GYN (YEY!!!!!).  She has been my doctor since we moved to Michigan and is one of the kindest, most caring, and knowledgable MDs I have ever met.  However I learned something very surprising this morning when I called.  Most MDs, including mine, do not check blood levels of Hcg anymore when a woman finds out she is pregnant. It used to be standard practice that when someone had a positive pregnancy test, the first thing the doctor would do is order blood tests to confirm the pregnancy.  Then the blood levels would be monitored a few times to make sure the hcg was doubling appropriately - the sign of a healthy baby.  Well, i guess things have changed, and now doctors feel that home pregnancy tests are just as accurate as blood work (as long as it is not a dollar store test; exact words from my MD office), so no blood work for me. YIKES!!!

I don't know how I feel about this.  I have peed on a ba-zillion sticks and they are all posistive so I know I am pregnant.  But as of right now, other than an occasional episode of nausea, mild cramping, and sore boobs, I do not feel pregnant.  It is so weird to know that there is a human being growing in my belly at this very moment, when I can not feel it kick, see the bump, or verify it really exsists with an ultrasound.  I guess the coming weeks will be my first parental lesson in patience!!!!

I will have my first ultrasound at 10 weeks.  By that time, the baby's heart will be visible and audible, and all of the limbs and spine should be formed.  I  CAN NOT WAIT!!!!  Before that I will have a nurse visit, and will learn everything I could possible want to know and more about being pregnant.

Until next time...

Baby's First Halloween!

Mark and I were so excited to find out we were expecting over the Halloween weekend!!!!!  Since we were no longer gonig to dress up and go out, we decided to have a costume party at home starring the Baby.. aka my belly.

I went out and bought some halloween makeup and my stomach became a canvas for the CUTEST painting/costume ever, in honor of our newest addition.  Mark is an amazing artist, and I know our little nugget will have the best halloween makeup on the block for years to come.

Until next time..

WE ARE HAVING A BABY!!!!!!

CONFIRMED WITH A DIGITAL TEST!!!!

Pre-Peeing Prayer.

TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES, TWO LINES

PPPPPPPPLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
let there be two lines.........

Twinges

During the “trying to conceive” process, I have been monitoring my Basal Body Temperature – aka BBT - to help me monitor for ovulation.  Every morning at the exact same time (5:30 am!!) I pull a special thermometer out of my pillow case and check my temp.  BBT is the only method to officially detect that ovulation occurred.  All of the other methods can help you PREDICT that ovulation could be coming, but cannot confirm that ovulation has actually occurred.  Checking your BBT is kind of a pain in the butt, but totally worth it. In order for it be accurate, you cannot sit up, go to the bathroom, or do any major moving at all  before checking your temp. Your thermometer has to be within arm’s reach because even rolling over to grab your thermometer can alter your temp.  Hence, my thermometer living in my pillow case.  With each morning temperature you create a graph and look for the ovulation pattern on the graph.  I have found a great website - www.countdowntopregnancy.com which offers online BBT charts/graphs and also provide analyzation.

Well, I definitely ovulated this month  – which is very exciting for anyone trying to conceive.  If ovulation does not occur – pregnancy does not occur. So, YEY for us!

According to my BBTs, I ovulated 7  days ago.  It does take a few days  for the fertilized egg to travel to your uterus and go through the process of implantation, or as I like to refer to it… baby burrowing.  Basically, implantation is the process of the fertilized egg attaching to and “implanting” in the uterine wall.  It is only after this process that your body begins to produce Hcg – the pregnancy hormone – and you are considered officially pregnant.  It also takes a few more days for your body to produce enough Hcg to be able to detect pregnancy on a home pregnancy test.

Now I will get to the point of this post… ALLLLLL day yesterday Iwas feeling these “twinges” in my lower abdomen…. It felt like a light pulsating pressure and cramping, which can be a sign of implantation.  It is way too early for and feels way too different from period cramps.   I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping there is a baby burrowing in my belly!!!

Confession.

My name is Jessica and I am a testaholic. 

I have a serious obsession with peeing on a stick.  But, after so much disappointment with 1) taking too many pregnancy tests too early, 2) not being pregnant, and 3) just constantly getting my hopes up… I PROMISED myself that this month I would not take a pregnancy test until the recommended time on the box aka…  4 MORE EXCRUCIATING DAYS.  This has proved no small feat.  I am learning a new level of self discipline and distraction, which sometimes causes me to resort to the extreme….

Top Ten Ways to Not think about/ Avoid Peeing on a Stick

10) Obsess over and edit wedding photos

9) Work on new circus tricks with my dogs

8) eat, eat, eat, eat, eat, eat……

7) Hide my credit cards from myself, so even if I were to break down.. I would have no means to buy a pregnancy test anyway

6) Read the entire Twilight Series in two weeks

5) Organize every closet/drawer/room in my house

4) Sleep (although, this usually results in dreaming about seeing two lines on those pesky sticks… or vampires if I have just been doing number 6 on the list)

3) Get super involved in every new primetime television series possible (my new favorite is Up all Night – HOW FITTING!!!)

2) Drink tons of water all the time so my pee would always be too dilute to take a test anyway….

1) Pee on popsicle sticks instead.

Until next time....

The First of Many....

I have been a vegetarian for almost three years now, and lately my body has been craving meat.  Let me first define "craving."  I am not talking about an occasional thought of meat, a fleeting longing for the stuff.  I am talking about a full on obession with the idea of eating meat - dreaming about it when I sleep, drooling over it when I see other people eat it, constantly wishing I could have a steak, porkchops, chicken wings... you name it - I HAVE TO HAVE IT. These cravings have been very hard for me since I am totally against the way most farm animals are treated and slaughtered. 

As I am lucky enough to have a whole medical community at my finger tips, I talked this over with a few of the doctors/nurse practioners/nurses that I work with... and they all agree... if your body is craving meat that strongly, it is trying to tell you that you need it.  One particular Nurse Practitioner really got through to me.  She said "The body is very smart Jessica. Your body KNOWS that you are trying to make a baby, and your brain is trying to tell you that it needs meat right now and help give you that baby you want so badly."  I went home that very night and had my first porkchop in years... It was very hard, but I am not going to lie.. IT WAS SOOOOO GOOD.... and I feel better. No more awful cravings that are driving me mad and stressing me out.

 So I have come to the conclusion, that for right now at least, I need to be eating some meat.   I am going to am going to be picky about it - I am only going to eat organic, free roaming, well cared for animals.  I can always go back to being a vegetarinan after baby arrives.  But I am choosing to look at this situation as the first of many times where it is no longer about me anymore. My baby comes first, and if my body thinks I need meat for my baby, then meat it shall have.

Until next time...

My first hunk of meat in almost three years.... SHAKE N' BAKE!!!!!

WELCOME!

Welcome to Bump On The Hill!

If you are reading this, it means that Mark and I have received the VERY exciting news that WE ARE EXPECTING!!!!!!!!! 

With our family and friends spread out across the world, Mark and I thought the best way to include everyone we love in this new/fun/scary/exciting/nerve wracking/thrilling time for us would be to create a blog to keep everyone in the loop over the next 9 months.

Here you will be able to read all kinds of updates and stories from the both of us, post your own comments/thoughts/ideas to help us along the way, and see pictures of the all-important growing bump!!   

Thank you for being a part of our journey towards parenthood. 

Until Next time....

Love,

Mark, Jess, and Baby Hill