Only One!

One little fetus, waving it's arms and legs. Phew. The fetus is measuring 12w4d, so about a week further than we thought. There was also a 2 cm fibroid that the technician said is probably nothing to worry about. She took some photos of it to show the doctor.

Update: Graeme pointed out that I could try to take a picture of the picture. It's not that great, but here it is.

We get to go again next week because the little shit wasn't cooperating and wouldn't face the right way to get the measurements needed for the screening. Hopefully we'll get the profile view.

(Updated pregnancy countdown is now at the bottom of the page, since it was getting cut off on the side)

Out with the old, in with the new

Today our old Honda civic was towed away. We donated to our local NPR station. It will go to auction and we'll receive a tax deduction for the donation. The tow truck driver said that it would probably go for more than the $500 minimum receipt. It was a good car, and it was sad to watch it being hauled off.

In it's place, we got as similar a car as possible. Our new Honda Fit:

We are loving it so far. We've only had it for 2.5 weeks, but we both agree it was worth the long wait to get what we wanted.

One more day

I just have to get through today and then it will be Wednesday and I can finally know what's going on in there. It's been a long week of waiting. I did well on the weekend - not stressed about it, busy with other things. And yesterday it was like the weekend never happened. Back to feeling anxious and stressed. I don't even care what the result is now, I just want to know. (Not totally true - I want the fetus(es) to be healthy. Other than that, I don't care.)

Saturday happenings

There honestly weren't that many. Graeme had to be on campus all day for grad school recruiting. That means he had to give a talk and then interview and answer questions from potential students. He had to be on campus at 10, which is early for him. He asked me to wake him up. I outsourced the job to Westley.


My plans were to finish some of the organizing from last week and to clean the floors. I had to be home from 10 til 4 BECAUSE OUR NEW PATIO FURNITURE WAS BEING DELIVERED!!! Graeme's parents gave us patio furniture for Christmas, and we finally went last weekend to pick it out. It was delivered today just after 10, and it's beeeautiful. We were really happy to find a set we liked, since there are so many we don't. I'll take some more pictures, you can't really see it really well in this picture. I think we'll have to have dinner outside tomorrow evening. Thanks, Jannie and Mark!

Eleven weeks (maybe)

We're going to stick with the timeline until we find out on Wednesday what is going on in there. Which means it's week eleven. No belly changes, except for sheet/sleeping marks in different places. I really should wait a bit longer to take the picture in the morning.

This week:
- Nearly all structures and organs are formed and beginning to function.
- Fingers and toes have separated.
- Hair and nails begin to grow.
- The genitals begin to take on the proper gender characteristics.
- Amniotic fluid begins to accumulate as the kidneys begin to function.
- The muscles in the intestinal walls begin to practice contractions that digest food.
- The fetus is about 1.61 inches (4.1 cm) long and weighs 0.25 ounce (7gm).

Thoughts on a large uterus

On Monday the midwife told us that my uterus is measuring large for my EDD, which means one of two things, it seems. One -my date could be wrong, or two - there is more than one fetus. Presumably there is also the third and fourth options of me being of strangely large uterus and the midwife being wrong. But, I'm ruling out that fourth one, since I'm guessing she's measured a whole bunch of uteri in her day. So, since Monday I've been trying to figure out how my date could be wrong. I was pretty sure, at least until she asked me if I was sure. But that last month before peeing on the stick, I was paying attention to any signs of ovulation and clearly (from the signs) ovulation occurred. Those signs wouldn't have been present if I was already pregnant. Which leaves, in this not very rigorous analysis, the 'i'm freakishly large' and twins as the possibilities.

Which means I've done a lot of research on twins in the past few days. I've realized that it would be fine, of course. And it is still very unlikely, since twins are always unlikely. But I really really just want to see one on the ultrasound next week. The reason I only want one is that if there are two, I won't get the birth that I want. I will have to find an OB, since the birth center won't deal with multiples, and I'll have to birth in a hospital, which I really really don't want to do. So, I would be disappointed to have to change my idea of how I want it to go. That sounds very controlling or high maintenance or something, but that's how it is occurring for me right now.

In the meantime, it's a long wait until Wednesday.

What's cooking Wednesday

I didn't really feel like cooking tonight, but managed to scrape something together from the fridge. Pork tenderloin was on sale this week, and I got the Asian marinade. I didn't have a real plan for it, but it's generally either grill or cut into medallions. That's what I decided to do and cooked it until just done.


The laziness means I just had it with a bunch of veggies, rather than cooking rice and making a stirfry, which is what I would normally do. I was craving veggies, so it hit the spot.


I've been thinking a lot about the size/date discrepency that the midwife found, and I'll write about some of my thoughts tomorrow.

Midwife appointment today

We had my first appointment today. They did a physical (lungs, heart, blood pressure), took blood and urine samples, did a breast exam, pelvic exam and a pap smear. Phew. We also asked a bunch of questions about screening and the timing of various tests. It all went very well (except for the pressing on the full bladder. Not that that went badly, or not as badly as it could have, I expect. It was just very uncomfortable.) We were with Heather today - there are five midwives at the centre, and we'll see a different one each visit so that we know them all. She answered all our questions and was super great.

We got to hear the heartbeat. She said it might be hard to hear, since it often is at 10 weeks - the fetus can be hiding out of range of the doppler. But she managed to find it, much to her surprise (she said that she has to usually press down and in under the pelvic bone to find it, but that my stomach muscles are too tight to do that. But she did find it, and it was going at about 155 beats/minute. It was soooo cool. I cried a bit, actually, which is no surprise.

The only surprising thing was that she said my uterus is measuring large for my EDD (expected due date). She asked if I was sure about the date, which I guess I am. And she asked if there was any history of twins in my family. I said no, but found out later after talking to Karen that our grandmother was a twin. Yikes. I'm hoping that I'm just totally off and that what I thought was a period was implantation bleeding, and that I'm four weeks further along than expected. That is the most likely explanation, since twins are very rare (apart from fertility related twins). I always wondered how women don't know that they are pregnant, often for a few months. Maybe I'm one of those women!

We are getting an ultrasound next week to confirm the fetal age, and then we'll know what's going on. I'm hoping that there is only one fetus. If there are two, I guess we won't have to have the conversation about whether or not to have more than one.

Sunday afternoon

We had a productive weekend. On Saturday we did some shopping - we ordered patio furniture and got a few pieces of furniture we have been wanting for awhile. We got a sideboard for the dining room:

We also got a dresser - we've never had one, we just keep all our clothes in the closet, which has a terrible layout. We also need to clear out the closet in the spare room since another person will be living here come September. The spare room has been the gear closet up until now. We cleaned out our closet, filled bags and bags to give to good will, and emptied the spare room closet. Here is our new, clean closet:


The bags for goodwill:

After getting most of the organization done, we sat down to had some lunch. There was an unexpected knock on the door. Much to our surprise, it was Aunt Sharon and Uncle Dave, who are on their way from Florida. They decided to go home via Texas (no, it's not on the way). It was such a huge surprise to see them standing on our porch! We took them to the Salt Lick for the real Texas bbq experience. It was great. They are headed to San Antonio tomorrow, and will decide if they will stay with us again or head on to the next town on the 'way'.

10 week belly

I think it looks smaller than last week. Notice the lines - I took this immediately after waking up and I still have sheet-lines on my stomach.

Ten weeks

We've entered double digits! Monday is our first midwife appointment. There will be blood work, urinalysis, pelvic exam, pap smear, ultrasound/doppler to hear the heartbeat plus lots of questions from us. I'm going to make a list of questions this weekend to take with me, because I know I'll forget once we get there. I'm excited about the appointment. I think it will all seem more real once we hear a heartbeat.

In week ten, here's what's happening:
- The most critical part of your infant's development is complete. Now you are headed into a period of rapid growth.
- The head is now about half its length.
- Eyelids fuse shut and irises begin to develop. Eye color is also determined by this point.
- Placenta begins to function this week or next.
- The fetus will be about 1.22 inch long (3.1cm) and weigh 0.14 ounce (4gm) at the end of this week.

What's cooking Wednesday

I admit, I made this yesterday. But there are leftovers, which I had planned on, so I took a picture yesterday to post it today. I made this a few weeks ago by throwing together what was in the fridge when I felt like there was nothing at all. It's a new favourite. It doesn't even have a name. We refer to it as Sour Creme Pasta, but that isn't a very good name.

Start by putting the pasta water on. I used a bowtie pasta because I like how it holds sauce. Any short pasta would work though. I got a marinated Chipotle Lime chicken breast from Central Market. Any flavour would do, and it doesn't need to be marinated, a plain breast would work. I cut it and sauteed it until mostly cooked, and then added whatever veggies were around - this week it was red peppers, tomatoes, corn and green beans (which were blanched briefly with the pasta). Cook until veggies are done. If the chicken isn't marinated, you'll want to choose a sauce of some sort. Any salad dressing would do. Salsa or chimichuri sauce would be good. Whatever you have will work. When the pasta is cooked, drain it and stir into chicken and veggies. Add a few tablespoons of sour creme, and stir til everything is coated and mixed. I added a handful of chopped cilantro and black pepper. Yum. It's creamy without being heavy, and can be modified for whatever is in the kitchen.

Border update

No problem at the border today except for the long wait. It was an uneventful drive down (the tailwind means I got more than 40 miles/gal!!) and then I got a bit lost in Laredo looking for the secure parking lot. I never found the one I was looking, so but found a different one. I walked across into Mexico (you can just walk in. I didn't show anyone any documentation of any kind.) and then walked straight back across the bridge and got in line for my new permit. When I joined th line, there were only two people ahead of me. Woohoo!

We stood for over an hour during which no one was called out of line. Over an hour. Once they started calling us, the two people ahead of me went very quickly. Then it was my turn. It was uneventful and I was out of there in about half an hour.

Unfortunately, the long wait meant that I hit traffic in both San Antonio and Austin on the way home. Ug. At least it's done for another year.

Run for the border!

I realized late last night that my work permit expires tomorrow. I knew it expired mid-February, but I wasn't sure of the exact date. I also knew we would be getting our car before then, so I wasn't really worrying about it. Well, it's a good thing that I checked, because it means I have to drive to the Mexico border tomorrow so that I can exit and reenter. I learned that it's actually possible to renew through the mail, but it's obviously too late for that. It's a three hour drive to Laredo, Texas where I will park the car in a secure lot and walk into Mexico to just immediately turn around and walk back. We're putting together our residency application, and I will be so happy next year when I don't have to worry about renewing this damn thing again.

Wish me luck. I don't want to end up stuck in Mexico.

Our sweet baboo

For people without a kid (for a little while longer) we are extremely house-centric. When we moved to Austin from small town New Mexico, we were excited to be moving back to a place where restaurants were open past 8 pm, where there were cultural events and live music every night. But we bought a house, and now we never go out. And then we got a dog, and we settled in a little more. A typical evening in the Reyburn-Henkelman house involves all three of us on the couch watching something on our pseudo-tv.

Here is Westley in his happiest place:

9 weeks

Nine weeks. I actually felt better this past week than I had the previous week. I hadn't expected that, since it seems that week 8/9 is when a lot of women are feeling their worst. I was still super tired, but my stomach wasn't as cranky as it has been. There is definitely a bump starting though. This picture was taken this morning, and I wasn't bloated. Definitely not as flat as it was a few weeks ago.



What will be happening in the human petri dish this week:
- Fetus has begun movement
- Most joints are formed now
- Fetus will curve its fingers around an object placed in the palm of its hand
- Fingerprints are already evident in the skin
- Average size this week -- length 0.9 inch (2.3cm), weight 0.07 ounce (2gm)

An exciting day

We're getting our new car today! Finally. We pu the deposit on it back in November. I've been told that the waiting list is now 6 months - much worse than the 4 we had to handle. I'll post pictures when we get it. I'll also have that nine week belly shot.

New addition

I've added a pregnancy countdown on the side there. Just in case anyone wants to know the exact number of days left. I actually don't like the number of days, it seems like SOOOOOO many.

What's cooking Wednesday

Nothing is being cooked here. We haven't gone grocery shopping in a week. I know that's typical for a lot of people, but we don't currently have a car, so we never buy a whole week's worth of fresh stuff at a time. But, never fear, the Soup Peddler is here!

Last week's menu looked so good, I ordered three things! I just couldn't narrow it down. Graeme tried the Chicken Pot Pie, which he really enjoyed once he got over the fact that it was puff pastry rather than pie crust pastry (he has a definite bias). It was tasty with big chicken and carrot pieces (remarkably, the carrots weren't soggy).


I went for the Beef Masaman Curry. YUM. Big chunks of beef and potato in a delicious curry/coconut milk sauce. I'll be having more of this for lunch tomorrow.


And finally, the chocolate macaroons. I haven't gotten the dessert option from the peddler before, but I couldn't resist. they were gooey and rich. We only each had half of one. Their 'six servings' prediction was a bit under-estimated.


Yay for the Soup Peddler!

Fill in the blank: The _______, they are a'changin'

If you guessed boobs, you're right! For the last week or so, my boobs have been growing. The right more than the left, to add to the oddity. I have always been not-quite an A cup, not being able to actually fill the cups. The result is that I don't even own a bra, because really? what's the point? Now I think the right one has moved passed A and is making a run for B. The less ambitious left (or perhaps this is a turtle and hare type event?) is plodding along behind. I'm starting to feel like I could use a bra, but how do I know what size? What if they keep going and I end up looking like one of those women who didn't know you could choose any size of implant and now looks like she'll fall over at any minute?

8 week belly

No belly at all. The other day Graeme thought I was showing already until I told him I was bloated. For some reason, he didn't want to hug me after that. Hmm.

8 weeks

Yes, this week I'll post a picture. They don't need to be weekly at this point, since there isn't anything to see. But I will take one tomorrow. The issue has been that I'm very bloated at night, so I look unrealistically bulge-y, but in the morning I look normal. But Graeme isn't awake in the morning to take picture. So, we will do it Saturday morning. Promise.

Week 8 starts today. Here is what is happening this week:
- Cartilage and bones begin to form.
- The basic structure of the eye is well underway.
- The tongue begins to develop.
- Intestines move out of the umbilical cord into the abdomen.
- The fingers and toes have appeared but are webbed and short.
- Fetus length (crown to rump) is 0.61 inch (1.6cm) and weight is 0.04 ounce (1gm)
(from Pregnancy.org)