We have a baby!!!!

How I've been feeling:
I've been feeling pretty good that last couple of days. From about 6 weeks I started feeling a little morning sickness (of course it lasts all day, so "morning" sickness is a terrible name). Once I hit 7 weeks the days of feeling sick became more frequent, and by 8 weeks I have absolutely no appetite and most food sounds disgusting. My sniffer is in full force! The other day David and I went to lunch, and the table across the walkway had ordered some fettuccine alfredo. I'm not a big fan of cream sauce smells to begin with, but this seemed like it was right under my nose! I just about lost my appetite. Every time I open the refrigerator door, I hold my breath, get what I need as fast as I can, and shut the door so I can breathe again! I'm still feeling very tired, and I'm pretty sure that will not really go away, but I'm ok with that. I can handle being tired over nausea any day!!! I've been having some dull aching cramps off and on since about 7 weeks. I've heard this is normal, and wasn't too concerned about it, until last Thursday.
Thursday, February 3, 2011:
Last Thursday I had a tiny, tiny, tiny amount of spotting. Since I had been woken up the previous 2 nights with stronger than usual cramps, all on one side, I decided to call my doctor. The medical assistant that I talked to told me that I needed to go to the Emergency Room and have an ultrasound done to make sure that I wasn't having a tubal pregnancy. This sent me into panic mode! I decided that I should wait to call David until I got home (I called the dr. from my car-and yes, I used my bluetooth) because I was on the verge of hyperventilating crying. Much to my surprise he was home early from work! I was able to pull it together (a little) enough to tell him what was going on. I'm so glad that he is my husband. He is my rock! He was able to calm me down pretty fast. We got some food in our bellies, and off we were to the ER. After getting checked (that was a new experience), having my blood tested (another one of my favorite things), and waiting around having to pee for about 2 1/2 hours, we were finally called in for an ultrasound. The ultrasound tech said right away that she could see a sac in my uterus, with something inside of it. It was our beautiful baby. The first thing I noticed was the heart beating strong! It looked like it was beating right out of it's little chest! It was the most amazing, surreal thing I've ever experienced. I think we were both kind of in shock and awe. We both kept staring at the screen. It was very cool. The ultrasound tech said right away that I was measuring at 8 weeks 2 days. That changed my due date from the 9th to the 13th. There was one little thing that the doctor told us about. Apparently, I have a subchorionic hematoma. Basically, there is a little pocket of blood between the wall of the uterus and the placenta. She said that most of the pregnancies she sees with this have normal, healthy babies, and that we shouldn't worry about it, but there is a small chance that it could result in miscarriage. That being said, I should take it easy for a few days, not exercise or do too much walking, or any heavy lifting. Not quite sure how the Shamrock Run is going to fit into all of this. Might not happen. I've decided to take it easy for a while, and not worry about this too much. The baby looked perfectly healthy, at this stage, on the ultrasound, so I am very happy with that. The heartbeat was 185 bpm, which is on the high side of normal. Most miscarriages have a low heartbeat. After seeing our little kidney bean on the screen, I now have a feeling that this little bean is a boy. I guess time will tell. In the picture above, bean is upside down, standing on his/her head. You can see arm and leg buds, and the lovely tail. =) Hope you enjoy seeing our little baby as much as we do!