Belly and Boobs

FYI: This post is all 'p' updates.

I rented a doppler, which arrived on Thursday. I was originally going to order one back around week 12, then decided not to, for fear that I would drive myself nuts. Last week I decided to go ahead and get one - I still have little fears of something going wrong in the back of my mind, and they sort of resurfaced last Friday, so after reading Nancy's post about her doppler, I impulsively went ahead and rented the same one. I think I'll enjoy checking in on Butters, especially if I wind up feeling kicks and then don't for a while... I can always reassure myself with the doppler. Silly perhaps, (the infertile never truly relax) but worth it for 85 cents a day. We were able to find the HB (about 133bpm) with no problem. So far I always find it to the right of my soon-to-be-protruding belly button.

Symptoms: Leg cramps! I often wake up in the night with a leg cramp, which can usually be alleviated by just stretching out my calf and foot. One time I did actually have to get up and walk around to get rid of it, and just last evening, I woke up and the cramp was in my shin! Never had a muscle cramp in my shin before... it was actually more painful than a regular calf/foot cramp, but it didn't last long. I didn't realize that this was a common occurence until I looked up 'leg cramps' and 'pregnancy.'

I have also been congested for many weeks now, and have just gotten used to the constant stuffy nose. My SIL said she had the same thing happen and it eventually started to ease up, so we'll see. I also have a slight ringing in my left ear which comes and goes... I wonder if it's related to the congestion?

Movement: I still feel little belly 'pulses', but they're still pretty random, and have increased in intensity just a bit, even though I think my belly grew more in the past week than ever before! My MIL stopped by this past weekend, and said "Wow!! You've really grown in the last week!" The funny thing is, when I was out on Saturday, my friend mentioned that I really didn't have a belly yet. It must have just been the shirt I was wearing because I absolutely have a beach ball in my middle now. :-)

Warning! If you don't want to hear about my boobs, stop reading now! I like my expanding belly - the boobs are another story. They have started to expand again too (no no no! stop!!!) Prior to fertility treatments, I was a 32.D.... and was a VERY full 34.D (meaning that many 34.Ds were still too small ... actually, more like a 32.DD, but try and find that size easily) by the middle of the first trimester. Anyway, I was sitting at work yesterday, literally jammed into a 34.D minimizer, with stuff peeking out the bottom and sides - you couldn't tell in my clothes, but it was pretty ridiculous... so at lunch I went to the Kh.ols and bought two 34.DD (arrrghhh) bras. Luckily, Kh.ols carries one of my favorite types - Ba.li Minimizers - on sale too!

Belly shots: Ok, I'm a big fat liar - no pictures are included with this post, as I had promised. I have them but, I decided to create a page where I will update with all of the various pictures, and link to that. I just haven't finished doing that yet. I'm including a 'before fertility treatments' picture too.

Today I'm 23w6d... I'll just say 24 weeks. 24 weeks is another one of my little milestones, since that's when the baby is considered viable... not that I am expecting to go into labor anytime soon (not for another 14-16 weeks please!) but it's just another one of those little things I've been thinking about.