bump #72: 12 weeks

I am happily cruising through the first trimester and will be thirteen weeks along tomorrow. Yay! Unfortunately, since being released from the fertility center and their lovely weekly ultrasounds and check ins, I am going on 4 weeks between doctor's appointments and have no current baby photos to share. 

However, the bump (the one that begs the question "is she fat or is she pregnant?") has arrived.

The fetal doppler (heartbeat monitor) I ordered on Amazon last month came just in time for us to hear baby's heartbeat at 10 weeks. It takes some patience and I first have to get a reading of my heart rate so that I can discern it from the baby's, but it is so worth it to know everything is ok each day. Baby Bear is snug and cozy in the lower right part of my stomach. No noticeable movements yet because it's still way early, but yesterday when I was laying down I think I felt a little flutter like it was stretching and it made me super happy. It could have just been gas from the burrito I ate... jury's still out on that one :)

I thought I would be way better about documenting this pregnancy... taking weekly belly pics and remembering to write everything down. Honestly, I am still in shock that IVF even worked for us. Most of the time I feel like I'm living in a dream and worried I will wake up and it will all be over. Over the years I learned to be so cautiously optimistic and prepared for failure that I don't quite know how to react to this overwhelming joy. Basically I walk around with a big, goofy smile on my face and just count the hours til I can come home and listen to the baby's heartbeat to make sure it's still there. Living the dream!

Next month we have our first of three 3-d ultrasounds here. Can't wait to find out the gender! I think it's a boy and Andrew thinks it's a girl so we might have to throw a gender reveal party and make some wagers. What do you think is the best way to reveal the gender? I'm thinking a destination vacation, you know like we'll do Bahamas if it's a boy, and Grand Cayman if it's a girl. :)