We have a strong heartbeat!

Went to the doctor on Friday, 8/3. Dr. McCollum was awesome, both Vince and I really liked her. She just returned from her own maternity leave, so it is kind of nice to know she has so recently been through a similar experience. We scheduled our next monthly appointment with her as well.

Weight gain at 10 weeks - + 3 lbs.

She talked to me quite a bit about the spotting and was generally not worried, but did tell me what to look out for, and how to get in touch with her if I needed to. Thankfully, the spotting has stopped!

She used the Doppler to try to hear the heartbeat, but she did caution us it was unlikely they could hear it at 10 weeks - we would likely just have to go in to the ultrasound room to check. But, she found the heartbeat without any problems. It was a perfectly strong 166! It was beyond cool to hear it, and even she seemed surprised to find it!

She talked with us at length about the upcoming sequential screening, where they do blood tests and an ultrasound to try to assess the risk of Downs Syndrome or other genetic abnormalities. We were on the fence over whether or not to have the tests, but she gave us some really good points to consider, and we finally decided to agree to the tests. Feel free to ask if you want to know more. So, we have the blood draw and ultrasound scheduled for 8/17, at 12 weeks. Can't wait to get to see the little bugger again!

Our niece Veronica just turned 4. She has been told that Auntie has a baby in her tummy, and she has decided that she wants the baby to be a boy because she only has one cousin, Reese, who is a girl, so it would be fun to have a little boy cousin! She then went rummaging around in her toy room and emerged with a little rattle with Winnie the Pooh on it. We recognized it immediately - it was one of her rattles as a baby. She handed it to me and said it was a gift for the baby since she and her brother were big kids and didn't need the baby toys anymore. It was just too cute for words - we are lucky to have such a bright, funny, and thoughtful niece! I know she will be a great older cousin for this little one.

My dad and sister were here this past weekend visiting, and we made a stop at Babies 'R Us to look at cribs, since that is what my parents want to buy us for the little one. We checked stuff out, but will definitely be shopping around some more. Also, while at the store, Auntie KD bought the baby his or her very first gift - an adorable little sleeper that is brown and fuzzy and has a hood with ears to look just like a little teddy bear. It is super cute!

And another bright note - the nausea is pretty much gone at this point. I'm not really bloated anymore, but the bloat has been replaced by really firm abs and a lot more roundness in the belly. You could almost call it 'showing.' I get really tired very easily, but sleeping at night is tough and isn't very restful right now. Oh, and can someone please tell my skin that I am not reverting to puberty, I am just pregnant? So it can stop with the disgusting breakouts, thankyouverymuch.