Less than 5 percent

They say that once you reach 7 - 8 weeks AND see a heartbeat that your chance of miscarriage is LESS than 5 percent.

WE DID BOTH!!

You never think you will be one of the people who fall into the less than 5 percent category.

Until you are.....

The Hardest Part

The hardest part right now is knowing there is a dead baby inside of me.

Not just A dead baby, but OUR dead baby.

This wasn't supposed to happen...........

We have lost our Chicklet...

There was no hearbeat yesterday.....

D & C scheduled for Friday morning....

We are at a loss for words......

The Green Bean Diet

So, when we took the dogs to the vet yesterday, they both had gained a few pounds. The vet said that they should lose some weight - especially Sadie as she is 10 1/2 and her hips will not hold up her weight as she ages more and more. Willy and Sadie have officially begun the Green Bean Diet. At first we thought the vet was kidding when he told us about it, but he was serious. Cut out half of their food at each feeding and replace it with a can of green beans. As he said, "It works like a charm every time!" The dogs think they are getting a great treat, and we'll see how well it works.

In pregnancy news, I had my progesterone checked again yesterday due to the fact that I am measuring 3 days behind. It has dropped again and is at 13.6. I don't like the thought of that and coupled with measuring behind, it makes me very nervous. The doctor said to double my dose of progesterone, so now I will take it morning and night. I keep telling myself that we saw a great heartbeat and everthing looked "perfect" according to the doctor. It is still hard not to worry about the Chicklet though. We go back for another ultrasound on Monday and we are just praying that all will be ok. I will have my progesterone checked midweek too.

In other news, we are leaving tomorrow for the night to go to Yan.kee Can.dle to meet with some friends from New York that we haven't seen for a long time. It will be great to catch up with them. We'll stay the night and head home Sunday. On Sunday we are going to a neighborhood cookout at my parent's house. My brother is doing all of the cooking - ribs, chicken, ham, salads, and more! Back to school on Monday - we have 8 weeks of school left until summer vacation!

Keep your fingers, toes, everything crossed that Chicklet continues to grow and develop.

Introducing...... Chicklet

As promised - here are the pictures of the Chicklet. We have been looking at them over and over again since we got them yesterday. The appointment went very well and we immediately saw the little flutter of the heartbeat - we couldn't hear it, but seeing it was just as amazing. As I said yesterday both measurements had the heartbeat at 145bpm. You can't ask for any better than that.

Chicklet was measuring 3 days behind at 7w3d instead of the 7w6d that we were yesterday. The doctor said that in the OB world two days plus or minus is acceptable, and since we were one day outside of that, they will do another ultrasound next Monday. They really aren't worried about it, but they figured it wouldn't hurt to just check in once more and make sure we see 7 days growth in the next 7 days.

Otherwise, the only thing she kept saying as she took different pictures was "perfect", "looks great", "couldn't ask for anything better." The Chicklet was in perfect position, cord looked great, baby was moving around, and great heartbeat. So we get another look next Monday afternoon and we can't wait!

A Late Update

All went VERY WELL this morning. Today has just turned into a crazy day and I haven't had a second to post. Tomorrow morning we have a houseful of teachers coming over to scrapbook for the day. I promise that I will have a complete update with pictures up tomorrow.

The short of it - Heartbeat was 145 bpm and I was measuring 7w3d - I am 7w6d today.

I'll tell the whole story tomorrow - too tired to do it right now!

We're on Vacation!

AHHHH!! One of the joys of being a teacher is vacation - a break from the hoodlums! This week is April Vacation and we have been counting down the days! It will be so nice to have a week to just sleep late and do whatever we want. On Tuesday we have some teacher friends coming over to scrapbook for the day, Thursday the dogs have to go to the vet and next weekend we are going to Ya.nkee C.andle in MA to meet some friends from New York for the night. So, just enough to keep us busy but with plenty of downtime as well.

BUT FIRST - on the more exciting front, we have our first ultrasound on Monday morning. We can't wait! My mom is going to come along with us as well which will be lots of fun. We will be 7w6d on Monday, so we should be able to get a decent look at the Chicklet. I have definitely been exhausted and the nausea comes and goes in waves. I seem to either have a really good day or a really bad day and nothing in between. It is nice to have those good days though!

That's it from here - we'll be sure to post an update when we get back from our appointment on Monday.

The Lentil Bean

This is how big Chicklet is this week. Amazingly, for something so tiny (about 1/4 inch long) -there is already a beating heart, leg and arm buds, tissue that will form the lungs, and the eyes and nostrils are beginning to form. In addition, the muscles and bones are forming as well as the pituitary gland, intestines, and ears. I am utterly amazed at how something so small can be developing so rapidly. It truly is the miracle of life.

The Toothbrush

Ok, so my toothbrush and I are no longer friends. While we're at it, let's add dental floss to the list of non-friends as well. One of my earliest pregnancy symptoms was the terrible gag reflex that has developed when I brush my teeth. It is not fun at all! It just seems to get worse and worse. I now dread brushing my teeth because of it! I sure hope it doesn't stick around the whole pregnancy, but from what I hear, it very well could!

We are looking forward to this weekend - we are going out to eat with my (Carrie's) family for Easter dinner. We do it every year and we really enjoy it - it has become tradition! We are taking everyone in our van and my brother is quite excited that I can be the "DD". It should be lots of fun with lots of yummy food!

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate!

Next Steps

Our viability ultrasound is scheduled for Monday, April 20th. So now we just sit and wait for 2 weeks until that comes. I will be 7w6d at that appointment, so we should be able to get a decent look at the Chicklet and hear a nice strong heartbeat! We are keeping our fingers crossed that all will go well.

Nothing else new around here - we are counting down the days until April Vacation - can't wait to have a week off from the crazy kids!

Latest Kit of the Month Projects

Yesterday was the first Saturday of the month, so we had the joy of attending our scrapbooking and quilting clubs. We just love going and it is such a great way to make sure that we get projects done each month. We weren't real crazy about the Scrapboook kit for March (it was shamrocks and we didn't have any St. Patty's Day photos.) So, we used the green and white paper and made our own layout from my birthday last year when I got a W.ii.

And here are the two quilt blocks for this month as well. I can't wait to see what the whole project will look like at the end of the year when we finally can put all of the blocks together.

First Saturday is always great because we get to see Laura, Sue, and Olivia too. We always have lunch after our scrapbooking club which is great.

Today, we are cleaning house - YIPEE! But, the best part comes later as my brother has invited us over for dinner and he is making stuffed shells and garlic bread - YUM, YUM!!!

Beta #4

Today's beta was equally as successful as the last three have been. HCG is 5,192, and prog.esterone has risen to 17.7. That is a doubling time of 48 hours which is perfect! Were going to set up an ultrasound for the week of April 20. We will be 8 weeks then and it is also our school vacation, so neither one of us will have to take time off to go.

Kit of the month clubs are tomorrow - I'll post pics tomorrow of our scrapbook pages and quilt squares that we completed for this month.

I suppose a pregnancy ticker might be in order for the sidebar!

Patience.....

I have NONE!!! Irritability has definitely been at the top of my list of pregnancy symptoms. Frankly, it is driving me bonkers. I find myself getting annoyed at the stupidest things and then getting mad at myself for being annoyed... UUGGHHH!

I have also been very tired lately and trying to make it to bed a bit earlier than usual. The double edged sword here is that I am not sleeping well either.

Nausea is on and off, not too bad, but I'm sure she'll make her grand entrance soon!

You know what though? I'll take it! We've been waiting so long for this, I'll take all the nausea, exhaustion, and irritability in the world!!!

Another Beta and Proges.terone check tomorrow - I'll post with an update in the evening!