just like dad...

i know you can't tell already...but i really do think our baby will look just like his daddy.
this is greg at about five months...and while my head was not much smaller, i think he's got me beat...

baby big head

here is baby big head...and since they dont give you a video of the ultrasound you will just have to picture the baby kicking out its leg and bouncing completely off the side of the sac...too darn cute. maybe its brain is just so large it won't fit in a normal shaped head...yeah, see, then we won't have to pay for college-scholarships a'plenty for smarty pants in there!

drama drama drama

i swear, this kid is definitely mine. (not that i was questioning whose child it was...just making a point...oh forget it)

so again with the spotting. if you are a man, just skip this entry...if you can't handle the drama.

yesterday, i was about to take a walk with my parents-took a quick bathroom trip and realized i had spotted again. major melt down commenced immediately. called every doctor in town. finally one of the midwives called me back to let me know she would call and order an ultrasound to be scheduled by the office sometime this week.

week..i thought...week...not good.

so at 10:30 at night it happened again. needless to say, there was not a chance for sleep last night. so at 8 exactly i was calling and when they finally called me back they said i had a half an hour to be at bethesda north.

bethesda north is approximately 15 minutes from my house. and i drive like an andretti. only it seemed that miss daisy was being driven in every lane.

then i waited, fortunately my mom could meet me out there...not sure i could have done that by myself. (THANKS MOM!!!) then we waited for what felt like forever.

and i saw this bouncing, kicking, big headed, heart beating baby on the screen.

and for the first time, i heard its heartbeat. unbelievable. there is something so soothing about that picture...that flutter...and now that sound.

and for the first time since 2:30 yesterday - i could breathe.


(greg moved the computer equipment...so i am not sure how to scan on our printer...picture to come later of baby big head...)

10 weeks & 2 days?

so i had my first appointment with my midwife yesterday. and while i know it seems very odd - i was really looking forward to it because i love my midwife. she is hands down the coolest, sweetest, kindest, funniest medical person i have ever known. i started seeing her last may about wanting to get pregnant and having a hard time. she started my surgical journey with a lot of laughs, and very supported tears. she talked to me like a friend rather than a patient. especially about her continuous struggle to get pregnant.

she diagnosed, she treated, she hugged, she got excited for me, she hooked me up with Dr. Chin. But since it was mostly surgeries from January on-i didn't get to see her much at all. i was afraid she had forgotten about me. she even switched practices.

well i hunted her down. and waited two hours in a waiting room. had serious amounts of blood drawn. (OUCH). and then wham, she came bouncing into the room screaming "MEG! YOURE PREGNANT!!!! OH MY GOOODNESSS!" and then hugged me. it didn't matter that i was half naked on a table.

she just rocks.

and the best part was that she had news of her own. she is due in November. we were like giddy schoolgirls sharing secrets. except i don't recommend teenage pregnancy.

she even said she would lie to get me an ultrasound sooner cause she knows how hard it is to go so long now after fertility treatment weekly. she is just plain incredible. so i will get to see the baby in 3-D in two weeks!

so according to stacy, my miracle midwife,

• my tummy is measuring bigger than most at this point and that is ok because one of the drugs i was on tends to swell the uterus. i am ok with this, but it does feel odd to show so much (and while some of it may be chub...i really had lost most of my stomach before this baby, so there...)
• she won' t try to hear the heartbeat for another month-the longer you wait the stronger and louder it gets. if she tried and heard nothing - it wouldn't mean anything and would just get me all worked up.
• she said i could rent a doppler machine-but that it might get me a little obsessed and cause more undue stress. but how cool would that be?
  
• i still get to get off all my meds by my 12th week. wahooooooooo!
• and my official due date is February 18th. (even though the nurse who drew my blood said i was 10 weeks and two days)

so great appointment, great midwife, feeling great all around...i didn't even nap yesterday so that has to be some sort of record.

9 weeks...no pics

today i am officially 9 weeks. which means my baby no longer has a tail and can bend all its limbs.

and while the baby is only about an inch long-i bet its the cutest inch i have ever seen. only there is no photo shoot this week.

i think i have been totally spoiled with how many times i have seen pictures. and i am having a bit of a hard time with it. pictures were slowly letting it sink in. don't get me wrong, i know i will have a baby in 7 months. but still, watching it so closely for 8 weeks, and now i have to just let it grow up without me (well within me-but you know).

oh well, i am just feeling sad. and wishing this week away so i can hear the heartbeat next week. but after that - who knows.

okay. i will shut up now. (and yes in case you are wondering-6-10 weeks along is when supposedly the mood swings begin - i am just not used to them, haven't had them since highschool)


i had so much fun this past weekend. I went away to French Lick for some lady bonding with my mom and my sister. i ate pizza and had a cookie (none of which i have done since June 9) and i loved it.

but i think the baby hates pizza and cookies cause it got very angry and told my stomach to stay mad for two days. man, i guess mama can't go to buffets anymore. grrrrrrr.

and i got a delicious massage. which would be the best i have felt in two months. i had to stop myself a few times from groaning. and i told my sister before i went in how i was nervous that would fart (pregnancy=gassy) but thank god, 50 minutes later and i hadn't.

i hope we always do that stuff. go away, without kids, with kids, whatever. its just nice.

our childs head is as big as its body...

now, i know this fact to be normal for its development. but there is something about the two of us that makes me think it could possibly stay this way. in case it does, it is okay to stare-i am just letting you all know that now so you won't feel awkward when i give birth to a head with legs.

if you look at the picture upside down then it looks like a baby. sorta. heartbeat strong, head big, arm buds and leg buds all noticeable...the best part was Chin warning greg that the big circular thing near our child's bottom was NOT in fact a scrotum. greg would be proud though...a scrotum as big as its head.

so, no, i am not giving birth to a big head, a big scrotum and legs. let's hope. puberty would be tougher than normal.

SIGNS OF UTTER HAPPINESS: i get to go off of my least favorite medicine in two weeks. then in four weeks (unless my new OB objects) i will go off the baby aspirin and glucophage....which - in case you were all wondering - is the medicine that has KEPT me from consuming kettle donuts and oreos like a jolly pregnant lady.

only, i think for my own health and for the baby's, i will try to stick as closely to what i have been doing. this week, my eighth week of pregnancy, i lost 5 pounds. sounds weird huh? but i feel great, except for being completely exhausted. and i have to say, having less of an ass has boosted my self-esteem immensely.

for those of you concerned...don't be, i have a feeling all this poundage will catch back up with me around December.

i watched a BABY STORY yesterday...a woman had a C-section (thank god) and gave birth to an 11 lb 2.8 oz baby boy. i am simply trying to avoid going over my personal best (i weighed 10.3)


My DEEPEST THANKS to Dr. Chin and all his staff. today was our final appointment with them. they feel good enough about this baby to let us go into "normal land" with a "normal OB" . i have never been so happy and so sad all at the same time. they made every small step seem like i had just climbed a mountain-that i should be proud of tiny things because every tiny thing was a huge miracle. they were sweet and excited and so happy for us-every appointment. i will miss them...Dr. Chin gave us a silver spoon for our baby, and told us to bring the baby in to say hello and share photos with them. They said we could come back for the next one - even if its easy to conceive. Cincinnati sure is lucky to have them and so was baby lynch.

the fourth and a THIRD?

so this past weekend was the fourth of july. which means family-time. my brother, my sister-in-law, and my two nieces came nieces came into town to celebrate with us-there was swimming, bike-riding, napping, eating, racing, reading, napping, eating...etc.

my cousin got married on the fifth-which was so much fun. beautiful wedding, great food, terrific cookies-and lots of dancing. this is greg and i hanging out on the side of the dancefloor watching my niece and nephews tear it up with their moves.


it also happen to be the perfect opportunity for every single member of my family to hear my news AND my brother's news as well. THAT's RIGHT...my brother and my sister-in-law will have their third baby in January-a month before we have ours.

so my mom will go from four to seven in a matter of 6 months. HOW AMAZING!

8 weeks and counting

so this is a picture of my baby at 7 weeks. yes, i am already behind with the updated photos and the baby isn't even born yet.

today however officially marks the eighth week of joy and exhaustion. tomorrow greg and i will have another photo shoot with Dr. Chin.

last week the amazing nurses at Dr. Chin's office let me come in for a free ultrasound-it was perfect though, they get to file it away to keep up their ultrasound license and i got a sneak peak and my growing baby.

this one was the coolest, because you could actually see a bend in the baby. a head, a tail, and paddles for hands. it had grown to 15 mm and the sac its floating in had grown to a whopping 21 mm.

now i am a weird one, because i am fascinated with my insides. she showed me my ovaries, measuring them-congratulating me on having beautiful ones. and of course, i thanked her. well, what are you supposed to say. i secretly wanted pictures of them as well, but was afraid to ask. plus, you all don't really want to see them (even though they really do look fabulous).

i can't wait til tomorrow morning, to see those paddles into hands-to see our kidney bean growing bigger and bigger. by then, the baby should be about 21 to 22 mm in size.

meanwhile, this pill-popping, diet-starving mama needs food. i know that trying to avoid diabetes and miscarriage are at the root of all this work-so i am more than willing to play along. but mama needs cheetos. mama needs oreos and milk. mama needs a kettle donut, STAT. i guess that does mean i am addicted to carbs. i don't know many people who aren't though. bread is everywhere. carbs are in EVERYTHING. yesterday i tried to rationalize to myself how many bricks out of a hershey bar with almonds i could have to keep the carbs under 10.

instead i figured out that i could have 32 baked cheetos-and stay within a normal expected guideline of snacking. 32 baked cheetos sounded better than 8 bricks of a chocolate bar.
and i was so proud of myself-that i had less than 32.

it is weird to think that now i am only a few weeks away from hearing a heart beat. it felt like forever ago-when i was five weeks and he said wait another five weeks and that blob on the screen will actually be detectable by sound.

i just feel really lucky. hungry, but still very lucky. 8 weeks and counting...what a miracle.


proof that i am pregnant : i am starving. literally everything sounds good. except eggs. just the thought of an egg...well...nevermind. and i am exhausted. not that i am doing anything to create the exhaustion. i simply start something, and then have zero energy to finish it. i think my couch hates me, or at the very least its sick of me.