Baby Timeline, Part 4

February 16th: Presidents' Day beach day!

I have totally been asked if I'm pregnant when wearing this cover-up before.  Glad to make it official.

February 18th: Hospital Birthplace Tour!  I think I left with more questions about birth than I had coming in.  Uh-oh.

February 25th: OB appointment at 29w4d and I gained 2.8 pounds since my last appointment!  Basic appointment . . questions/concerns/update on medications (I'm only taking Zofran as I need it now!), listen to Baby's heartbeat, blood draw to check Iron levels.  I still didn't have the ultrasound I've been expecting, but they scheduled it!  Instead of having it at the OB clinic, I'm going to have it at the Fetal Diagnostics Unit in the hospital next week.  I also met with the dietitian and basically I'm doing fine!  Also I'm a carrier of Group B Strep, so I'm curious to find out how that will work during labor and delivery.

February 28th: Cleaned out and cleaned up, getting Ben's study room ready to be half-nursery, half-study, and I built the crib!

March 1st: 30 weeks pregnant!

March 5th: I had my appointment at the Fetal Diagnostics Unit today for a partial anatomy re-scan.  The calcium spot (EIF) on Baby's heart is gone!  The doctor said his heart is beautiful.  :)  His growth is in the 50th percentile.  Baby's kidneys are still dilated (filled with fluid) more than what is considered normal.  This means that somewhere in the kidney system there is a blockage or something else wrong.  I go back in a month for a follow-up of the pyelectasis and Baby's growth.  In the meantime, the doctor suggested that we meet with a pediatric nephrologist to get an idea of what to expect should the pyelectasis not resolve before birth.

March 7th: Beach day with some of the other LDS MBA students and families.
Being pregnant is a totally legit time to wear a bikini, just if you're wondering what I'm thinking!  ;)

 

March 11th: OB appointment at 31 week 3 days.  Things are looking just fine!  I gained a couple more pounds and my fundal height is measuring right on!  We discussed all of my questions/concerns: what to do about being GBS positive, pains I've been having, the cervical polyps they found on an ultrasound, and the Braxton Hicks which have now made themselves very present in my life!  All in all, things are progressing just as they should be!

March 15th: I reached the 32 week mark!  Things are starting to get real.  Eight weeks left until my due date.  We are pretty decided on a name.  Mostly I just really, really, really love this little boy growing inside of me.  :)

Ben's 28th Discount Birthday

Ben turned 28!  Woot woot!  This year's birthday theme was "free" and/or "discount."  Ben did his research and found out what you can get for free on your birthday . . 

We started the day at Denny's where you can get a free Grand Slam on your birthday - all you have to do is show them your ID.  Since I was along for the ride on all of these adventures, I needed something too.  So, we added extra scrambled eggs to the free Grand Slam for $1.29, I got the bacon from Ben's meal, and with tax and tip we paid a total of $3.00.

Our next stop was IHOP, where you can get a free short stack on your birthday (I think you have to sign up for their birthday club by email for this one).  But, it happened to be National Pancake Day, as well as Ben's birthday, so with a donation of any amount to the Children's Miracle Network it was free short stacks all around!  Baby appreciated that.  ;)  We made a donation of $5.00 so that was our grand total there.

After breakfast(s), I came home for a nap and Ben took off on a three-hour 50-mile bike ride.  So that was free, obviously.

Then I met Ben at Jamba Juice in Manhattan Beach where he had just picked up his free birthday 16 oz. Jamba!  (Sign up via email for that one.)  We hung out at the beach for a while (parking: $3.75) but it was honestly just a little too chilly for me!  So we headed to a triathlon shop that Ben has been wanting to check out for a while and meandered around there for a while.

Then, Cafe Rio!  This was Ben's choice for dinner no matter the price, but can you believe it - it was $5.00 Tuesday!  Haha!  All of their entrees were $5, plus $1 for an enchilada style burrito, so our total there was $11.99.  Cracked us up.

After dinner we headed home, and stopped at Baskin Robbins for Ben's free birthday scoop (sign up via email).  It was dollar night there, so my ice cream was cheap, but I paid with a gift card so our grand total was $0.00!  Such a funny day.

With other coupons that are good for more than just your actual birthday, Ben still has a free sandwich and drink from Jersey Mike's, a free burger from Red Robin, and a BOGO from Coldstone (that's the one I'm most excited about)!  He cracks me up!

Then we opened presents.  I bought Ben a new waffle iron . . with a gift card - haha!

~*~*~*~

In other news, Ben has been working SO hard at school and at networking/recruiting these first two quarters and has secured himself an awesome internship for the summer!  I am so proud of him.

As soon as he finishes third quarter finals in June, we are off to Minneapolis, Minnesota for a marketing internship with General Mills!

Baby Timeline, Part 3

January 5th: I have my very own baby shower with wonderful friends in Walnut Creek!

January 7th: We buy a baby glider from a family in our apartment complex!  Jamin & Anne sent us this sweet, sweet blanket!

January 12th: I begin being see for my OB care at a new office under our Medi-Cal coverage.  It's not going to be Dr. Murphy, but they have a lot of resources, and I had to file a special medical exemption to be seen here!  It is the Medi-Cal clinic run by UCLA so each appointment will begin with being seen by an OB resident at UCLA and will end with being seen by whichever UCLA OBGYN is the attending physician at the clinic that day.  At my intake appointment, I register for the hospital, I'm set up with a dietitian and a social worker, I have the option to attend a class on proper car seat installation and usage, and I'm given access to lots of materials and a website to take classes on childbirth, breastfeeding, and other relevant topics.  I will have my first medical check-up later in the month.

January 18th: Twenty-four weeks pregnant.

January 20th: Baby loves the Giants!

January 21st: I have my appointment with the dietitian and we check my weight . . at 24 weeks 3 days pregnant, I have finally reached my pre-pregnancy weight!  Now it's time to gain, gain, gain!  The dietitian wants me to eat spinach, salmon, and beans, but I'd prefer that Ben & Jerry's!  I'll compromise and do both.  ;)

January 28th: I had my first OB appointment at the Medi-Cal clinic.  (A week later and I hadn't gained a single pound!)  I am going to a clinic that is run by UCLA and that will allow me to still give birth at the UCLA hospital, which I am so grateful for.  But, being seen at a clinic is very different.  I'll see a different OB resident and physician for each appointment and this is hard because this pregnancy hasn't exactly been ordinary.  Every time I go (and every time I call with a question) I have to explain my entire pregnancy to whomever I talk to.  The doctor that I saw for this first appointment was fine, but it was very frustrating to me that she wanted to switch up my entire medicine routine and I left with 5 new prescriptions.  I was just like "I'm 25 weeks pregnant now.  I tried every medicine available within the first 10 weeks.  I've got my routine.  Please let me keep it!  Let's not rock the boat."

January 29th: I have my first appointment with a new Primary Care Physician.  She actually came to me recommended by Dr. Murphy last quarter and she works at a UCLA Family clinic that takes Medi-Cal - what a blessing!  She was wonderful and I'm so grateful for this added care that can be more consistent.  She spent almost a full hour with me discussing all of my concerns and really learning about me and my situation.  Awesome.

January 30th: Glucose Tolerance Test!  I drank 75 mg of "orange" flavored pure sugar in 3 minutes and had my blood drawn 3 times.  Not my idea of a great morning, but I passed with flying colors!

February 7th-8th: Ugh!  What a long night!  And nothing was even wrong!  I was having some pretty intense chest pains Saturday night, intense enough that I couldn't focus on the latest episode of Downton Abbey we were trying to watch.  The pain was in my chest, shoulders, upper back, and jaw . . so we called Labor & Delivery and they directed me to come in to the ER right away.  So we did.  That was around 10 PM . . and we didn't leave until 11 AM the next day!  No sleep!  We were delirious!  The doctors ran lots of tests - blood work, EKG, leg ultrasounds to check for blood clots, chest X-Rays to check my heart size, and a VQ scan of my lungs to check for blood clots there.  They didn't find anything, which means they ruled out anything dangerous, and the pain was probably some weird pregnancy thing.  I probably just ate too much!  Ahh, me.  It was definitely a night to remember . . my favorite part being somewhere around 6 AM and offering half of my tiny little cot to Ben so we could try to sleep.  We didn't fit facing forward, so we tried to spoon, and that just turned into a hilarious fit of hysterical giggles.  And then the doctor came back in.  It was a long night with lots of waiting in between every test, but we are grateful that everything checked out just fine!  An OB nurse came down as well to do a non-stress test on the babe and his heartbeat was textbook perfect!  What a champ.  The monitor picked up some tiny contractions on me, but nothing too serious, and probably just from dehydration.  We are grateful for good medical care!  And a comfy bed at home.  :)

February 11th: I had another OB appointment today at 27 weeks 4 days pregnant.  It looks like I'm on an every-other-week schedule now.  Since my last appointment, I've gained 0.2 pounds.  Are you joking me?!  I feel like I eat so much!  So I'm basically going in to my 3rd trimester this weekend at my pre-pregnancy weight.  Crazy.  The appointment went well . . my fundal height is actually measuring right on (1/2 a centimeter ahead!) so the doctor wasn't too concerned about Baby's growth, and his heartbeat was great!  She prescribed yet another new medication to hopefully give me more help with some of the less comfortable side effects of Zofran.  At my next appointment we will *probably* do an ultrasound.  Dr. Murphy had put in my charts to do an anatomy re-scan around 30 weeks to check on Baby's renal pyelectasis (dilated kidneys) and EIF (calcium spot on heart).  I'm very curious to see if they have resolved themselves.  She said that she would also do a growth scan to check Babe's growth because I am so small.  Back again in 2 weeks!

February 13th: Oh wait, we liked being at the hospital last weekend?  Let's go back.  I was feeling cramps all day long so I finally decided to call Labor & Delivery at 9 PM (Ben's favorite time!).  Luckily we were only there for about 2 hours this time.  Going to L&D is so much nicer than going to the ER.  They did actually pick up small contractions, but it wasn't like preterm labor or anything.  I need to be sure to hydrate and keep my bladder empty (ahhh, the never ending cycle) and maybe take it a little easier.  They also checked Baby (looking great) and ran several other tests on me which I will hear back about in the next few days if there was anything off.  We are hoping to not make a visit to the hospital a weekly tradition.  :)

February 14th: After our Valentine's dinner date Ben suggested that we check out Old Navy for maternity clothes - it's starting to be a necessity!  I didn't have much luck last time I went, but I suppose that's because I never actually found the teeny tiny maternity section.  We scored big this time and wow! what a difference real maternity clothing makes!

February 15th: I am 28 weeks pregnant and the 3rd trimester begins!

Walnut Creek Baby Shower

Last weekend we had the opportunity for a short little trip up to Merced for a couple of days and then to Walnut Creek, our old stomping grounds!  It was awesome to be home (real home) and "home" (what feels like home to Ben & I as a couple).  Ben had a Day-On-the-Job with a company he is interested in working for, so that's what took us up there, and all my girlfriends from our old ward hosted a baby shower for me while we were there!  It was a delight and so fun to see everyone.  It was also really special to celebrate with the women who surrounded me during our journey to this pregnancy.  I could tell that everyone was genuinely so happy for me and I felt so loved!  Shelley hosted the shower at her home, and I totally did not expect any decor at all with the shower being so soon after the Christmas holidays, but of course she went above and beyond!  Many, many thanks to hostesses Shelley, Aubrey, & Kaylee.

Entryway - 

Refreshment table sans refreshments - 

Mantle - 

Shelley made this and it was part of my gift from her . . I adore it and it's now displayed in our living room.

So many women came.  It was just so nice of them to make the effort to be there and it was a special, special night for me!  I honestly couldn't believe that it was for me.

Some ladies I used to work with even came.

And of course we had to take a picture as a "Relief Society Presidency."  I know that we will be friends forever.

So much love in that house and my heart is so, so grateful!

~ ~ ~

Of course, when in Walnut Creek, we had to eat at our most favorite places!  Love me some Zachary's Chicago Pizza and The Olde San Francisco Creamery!  ;)

A Few Christmas Scenes

Myers Family Christmas day

The best Christmas mantel in the whole world

Grandpa H.P.

Scotcharoos, gingersnaps, Andes mint cookies

Sugar cookie decorating

Peppermint ice cream in hot cocoa

Our Christmas photo 2014

Ben & Jason

Timeline of Baby Craziness, Part 2

November 3rd:  A film crew comes to our apartment!  The main researcher of HG lives here in Los Angeles and she contacted me to be a part of a news story on HG and extreme morning sickness.  The news crew interviewed her and then I was their "real life story" example.  Haha!  I say that it only took me 2 months in LA before the film crews were flocking to me.

Also November 3rd, Ben and I meet with a prenatal geneticist.  It turns out that I am carrier of a rare mutation of Cystic Fibrosis and Ben needs to be tested as well.  If he is a carrier of any mutation (there are 1,000s) of CF, then our baby will have 1/4 chance of having Cystic Fibrosis.

November 6th: Ben flies to Minneapolis for a case competition where his team places 4th!  I fly to Merced for some more Mommy-lovin'.  Although one of Ben's flight's attendants lost his finger while trying to fix an A/C malfunction (you'll have to ask him), I think my flight was scarier.  Only 9 seats on that thing, but it put me right into Merced!

November 6th - 18th: Merced for me, where I thoroughly enjoyed the "winter" weather and started listening to Christmas music.  It was a shock to come back to LA where it's 75 and sunny the week before Thanksgiving.  Lucky for me, my family went to Cambria while I was with them.  I also attempted to sew my first baby things.

November 24th: We have our 16-week appointment with Dr. Murphy.  Everything is looking pretty good with baby!  I need to be sure to eat and stay hydrated.  His heart rate is a steady 160 bpm.  On the ultrasound we see head and brain, arms and legs, belly, and that baby is definitely a BOY!  We can also see his heart and all four chambers!  Baby has a bright spot on his heart that is called an EIF - Echogenic Intracardiac Focus.  It is a small calcification and seen in about 3-5% of babies.  The EIF itself causes no problems, but it often occurs in babies that have some sort of chromosomal abnormality, like Trisomy 21.  But, because so much of my blood work and other tests have come back so clean, we aren't too worried about it.  Hopefully it will disappear by the third trimester.

November 25th - 30th: We spend Thanksgiving in Merced and it is totally delightful!

December 1st: Ben thinks my belly is beginning to show . . and I certainly feel a lot more full and uncomfortable after eating large amounts.

December 4th & 5th: I feel . . 98% normal!  This is pretty fantastic.
I admit that I'm beginning to show, though it is a "barely show" in the mornings and a "much bigger show" in the evenings.  All that food's got to go somewhere!  Also I am maybe beginning to feel baby move?!

Oh yeah, I chopped my hair off this today, too!  That's what the picture was actually for.

December 5th & 6th: When I lay down at night the first thing I do is put my hand on my stomach where baby is and I definitely feel him kick two nights in a row!

December 1 - 8th: I am totally stressed out about insurance changes in the new year, finding a new doctor, and ensuring that I deliver at a hospital I feel comfortable with.  Lots of stress and lots of tears.  Lots of phone calls and visits and hours and hours of research and trying to figure things out.  In the end, I think I have it figured out.  We shall see come January.

December 8th: Because of insurance changes, I have to wean myself off the Zofran pump and onto the oral form.  This process begins today and I'm totally freaking out.  At least I won't have to be poked anymore.  I go from 0.660 ml/hr to 0.600 ml/hr.  That's 31.68 mg/day to 28.8 mg/day.

December 9th: I don't feel that great - achy, nauseous, headache.

December 10th: I feel better today.  We (Alere & I) decrease my dose from 0.600 ml/hr to 0.500 ml/hr.  That is 28.8 mg/day to 24 mg/day.  I go to the mall for 2 hours and to a ladies' night . . still feeling pretty okay.

December 11th: I start taking oral Zofran again to make up for the lesser dose in my pump.  With two oral doses of 4 mg/day plus the 24 mg/day in my pump, I am getting my original high dose of 32 mg/day.  Hoping it works!

Ben's blood work for Cystic Fibrosis comes back clean/negative.  Hooray!

December 12th: Decrease Zofran pump from 0.500 ml/day (24 mg/day) to 0.420 ml/day (20.16 mg/day).  Now take 3 4 mg tablets a day to make a total of 32 mg/day.  I don't feel so good.

December 15th: I turned off the Zofran pump and removed my last infusion site today.  This was a huge moment for me.  I have been attached to this thing for what feels like forever . . I'm so free without it!  I am so grateful for the Zofran pump - it has literally been a lifesaver for me and baby.  I am hoping and praying that the adjustment to strictly oral Zofran goes alright.

December 18th: We have our 20 week anatomy scan!  Everything with baby is looking great.  He is measuring about a week ahead and his heartbeat is a great 156 BPM.  He still has the echogenic intracardiac focus (EIF) on his heart, but hopefully it will disappear next trimester.  We also see that baby has Pyelectasis, a dilation in the kidneys.  It is a very common finding in ultrasounds and is very common in male fetuses; usually it resolves itself normally.  Both of these are soft markers for Trisomy 21, but my blood work has come back looking fine.  Even if things are not "fine," we love this little boy with all of our hearts!!  The anatomy scan was really fun because we got to see and measure every part of baby - legs/feet/toes, abdomen/kidneys/heart, arms/hands/fingers, and face/skull/brain.  We could even see different parts of the brain, like the Cerebellum.  The best part of the ultrasound was getting some great 3D and 4D views!  They are just the sweetest thing and I am obsessed with looking at them!  Baby even waved at us.  :)  I have loved our OB (we won't be seeing her with our new insurance in the new year) for many reasons, but one in particular is that she gives us a DVD of each ultrasound - it is so fun to come home and re-watch what we have seen and just admire our cute thing!  Also, according to the doctor's scale, I have gained 5 pounds, so now I'm only at 10 pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight!  Woo!

After our doctor's appointment Ben and I went to the temple.  I'm starting to be a normal person again!  We had to capture my first official picture of my baby bump outside.  It just sort of popped out all of a sudden!

We went to Target after the temple and this lady stopped me . . she said "Hi Karin . . you don't know me, but I'm Marlena and I just got the video of the news piece about HG this week and I recognize you from it!"  It was Marlena Fejzo!  The main researcher of HG!  For me, a total celebrity.  It was awesome.  We talked about her work and our experiences with HG and the news piece that we were a part of.  I hadn't seen it yet so she sent it to my email and it's awesome.  I can't put it on the internet, but I can show you privately if you'd like to see it.  I just had to take a picture with her.  There are not a lot of women who suffer from HG and not only is she one of them, but she is the main researcher, in the whole world, of HG, its causes, and hopefully someday, a cure!  It just totally made my day.

December 19th: Ben & I fly to Indiana.

December 21st: I am officially 20 weeks pregnant!  I can't believe it.  My heart is so full.

:)

The Zofran Pump

 I'm not sure how long I will be on the Zofran pump . . I tried to start decreasing the dose and get off the pump last week, but it didn't go so well . . so I'm going to take this opportunity to document what the Zofran pump and working with Alere Women's & Children's Health is like day-to-day.  Hashtag: journal moment.

At the beginning of October, when I was 8 weeks pregnant, my doctor and I decided to pursue using a Zofran pump and IV fluid hydration to help with the Hyperemesis.  This would all happen through a company called Alere Women's & Children's Health.  

First our insurance had to approve of me using Alere, and then I went to the hospital to have an IV put in my arm.  

{{At first we thought we would do everything - fluids and Zofran - through a PICC line, but the hospital strongly recommended against that because of the risks of PICC lines, which increase during pregnancy.}}

Then, an Alere nurse came to our apartment and introduced us to the company and walked us through what we would need to do . . . 

Every day when I wake up, the first thing I do is test my ketones to see how hydrated/dehydrated I am and then weigh myself.  Throughout each day I keep track of how many ounces of fluids I drink and what percentage of a "normal, pre-pregnancy" diet I eat.  I also keep track of how many hours I'm nauseous and how many times I vomit and dry heave, as well as any environmental triggers for those things (typically noise, smells, and anxiety).  I fill all this information in on a chart and I talk with an Alere nurse on the phone each day to give my daily report.  After several weeks, they transitioned me to only having to call on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and that has been nice.

I only needed to do IV fluid hydration for the first week.  Every day I flushed my IV and connected myself to a bag of fluids.  Then I hung the fluids on my IV pole and watched TV/slept for about 7 hours.  When the fluids were finished, I would flush my IV, clamp the tubing, and wait to do it again the next day.  It was really scary for me working with an IV and doing it all myself - it's just something I'm not comfortable with.  Luckily, by the end of one week I started to be able to hydrate myself a little bit.  It sure was inconvenient to sleep/shower/other activities of daily living with the IV and the Zofran pump, especially since they were both so new.  Alere told me how to remove the IV from my arm and then . . I had to do it myself!  It's really easy, but again, something I am just not comfortable with at all.  Could have been 5 minutes - took me 30!  Haha.

My IV the first or second day I had it.  Notice the barf/trash can . . it came/comes with me everywhere.

A repeat picture . . but me right after being hooked up to the IV fluids and Zofran pump for the first time.

I just took an IV out of my own arm!

Now I am only using the Zofran pump and I've been using it for 7 weeks so for the most part, I know the routine.

The Zofran pump connects into my body and delivers a constant stream of anti-nausea medication.  {{After trying to lower the dose last week and that not going so well, I'm back up to my previous dose.}}  So I'm on the highest dose available - 0.660 ml/hr.  Each milliliter has 2 milligrams of Zofran, so I am getting 31.68 milligrams of Zofran every 24 hours.  Where the pump connects to my body is called the infusion site and the infusion site has to be changed every 24-28 hours.  So, every other day or so, I get everything ready: pump, new syringe, infusion kit, alcohol swab, and prep swab (which is supposed to help my skin not react so badly . . so far, it has failed).

I clean the site and brush it with the prep swab, gather up some fat, and then Mom, if I'm in Merced, or Ben, if I'm in LA, jabs that little needle into me.  I still can't do it - I'm such a wuss!  And it hurts a lot less if it goes in quickly.  I told Ben he has to do it like Mom - ya gotta just stab me with that thing!

The circular tape sticks to me and then I pull the needle out, but it leaves a tiny little tube (you can kind of see it on the needle) inside of me, which delivers the medicine.  A cap snaps onto the top of the tape, which is connected to a tube, which connects to the syringe in the pump.

Then I press "resume" on the pump and I'm back in business; I put in a new syringe every time it runs out.

A great thing about the pump is "demand doses" - if I am really nauseous, I call Alere, and they authorize my pump to give me a full milliliter in 12 minutes!  I can have 2 of those each day as long as they are 4 hours apart.  Sometimes I go days without one, but sometimes I use both demand doses in a day.

I get to wear this stylishly huge pump with me EVERYWHERE, even in the shower - it has a special bag it goes in to protect it from the water, and even while I sleep.

Even though having the Zofran pump with me all of the time and having to poke and change syringes at random hours of the day/night is inconvenient, I am really grateful for it.  I think it has made a really big difference.  Before I was on the pump, I couldn't even drink water without vomiting, and that made it impossible to take Zofran pills.  So really, this has been a life-saver.

Okay, STOP READING HERE if you don't want to see my nasty stomach.  YOU'RE FAULT if you think it's too much!  ;)

The only downside of the Zofran pump is what it does to my body.  Zofran can be really irritating to the skin and I seem to react very strongly to it!  After maybe 12-20 hours at a new infusion site, I start to get these large, red rashes around the site, and it gets really tender and sore.  When I take out the tubing, etc., the Zofran has left really large lumps under my skin and they last for days . . meaning I can't poke there!  Also, it feels like a really bad bruise for 3-4 days!  I am literally running out of real estate to poke. 

 I can poke my abdomen and my thighs.  So far, the thigh has not sounded appealing, so I've only been using my stomach.  When there was literally no room there, one Alere nurse told me I could try the back of my hips/top of my bum, so I did that on each side, and then I had to go back to the stomach.  Today I ventured to the thigh for the first time - there is just no where else to go!  Maybe it will give me several more days of places to poke so my stomach can heal.  One thing that's really hard is that I've lost 15 pounds and my fat stores have diminished significantly, leaving me with less skin to poke. 

It is hard to shower, get dressed, move around in bed, etc. because I have these tender, bruised spots on my thigh, hips, and stomach.  It just hurts to move!  I am so tender and sore all over.  Alere suggests icing and using warmth on the sites to help them heal.  I could be better at that . . but I'm not convinced it works all that well.

Red rash forming around infusion site.

 You can see multiple past infusion sites in differing degrees of healing.  The one that is most red - this is about 8 hours after changing the infusion site, yikes.

I'm not sure how long I will be using the Zofran pump . . it could be for many more weeks to come, but my experience with Alere has been and is really great - I'm so grateful for this resource!  I still talk to my Alere nurse every Monday, Wednesday, & Friday to report my weight, ketones, ounces of fluid, percentage of normal diet, and episodes of nausea or dry heaving.

I will be 16 weeks pregnant on Sunday and so far I am not showing whatsoever.  I am highly motivated to gain weight, but it is hard.  I bought a fetal doppler a couple of days ago and it's been really fun to listen to the baby's heartbeat.  We have our 16 week appointment on Monday!