Author: Keeping up with the Hoffmans

health & body, pregnancy, pregnancy, week-by-week

12 weeks.

Keeping up with the Hoffmans

Wow. I never thought I’d make it to 12 weeks! We had our doctor’s appointment this morning, and everything went great. We heard the heartbeat for the first time, which was the most beautiful sound at 150 beats per minute. We opted out of getting the nuchal translucency scan/first trimester screening, for reasons I’ll go into in another post, and our doctor was very supportive of our decision. Overall I feel really good about things, so now we get to let the cat out of the bag – yikes!


At 12 weeks…

Baby now has reflexes — if I poke my belly, my baby will wiggle in response, even though I can’t feel it yet. (resisting the urge to pester my son/daughter…) He/she can also make fists, curl toes, squint and grimace. Also, the intestines, which have been too large for its belly and living partially in the umbilical cord, will start migrating to the abdomen this week. Kidneys will also start producing urine. Baby is about the size of a small plum this week.

Mama should be starting to feel better, according to most books and websites. Um, yeah right. Morning sickness has gotten worse, actually. I still get frequent headaches, and my allergies are out of control too. I think some of the bloat from early pregnancy may be subsiding, though I still have a small hard raised portion in my lower abdomen, and a bit of a squishy belly/spare tire thing going on above that, which I’m assuming is my guts getting pushed out of the way by my growing ute, which is about the size of a small melon already. Definitely just look like I had too many cheeseburgers, even though I haven’t seen any change on the scale yet.

I feel like I can finally breathe a little. I am still scared of something going wrong, but I know the odds are in our favor at this point, and now that we’re starting to tell people, it feels real, like this might actually happen! We told D’s dad today, we’ll tell his mom tomorrow night at dinner, and I’ll tell work tomorrow morning – yikes! I’m super nervous about that part!

Image via alphamom.com

health & body, house, pregnancy, pregnancy, week-by-week

11 weeks.

Keeping up with the Hoffmans

11 weeks! With each passing week, I can hardly believe I’ve made this this far. Just one more week until our 12 week appointment, and if everything goes well, we’ll let the cat out of the bag after that. I’m both excited and nervous about being “out,” though it’s going to be hard to hide it much longer. I am actually starting to look pregnant, which is crazy.

At 11 weeks…

Baby is about the size of a small lime or a fig. About 1.5-2 inches long. This week its hands will begin to open and close and form fists, and tooth buds will start to grow in the gums. The baby’s diaphragm is also forming this week, which means baby can start getting hiccups! How cute. What’s really exciting is that baby looks like a baby now, and doesn’t look so alien anymore. Everything should be in place by the end of this week, and then we just spend the next 29 weeks growing and refining.

Mama is getting bigger! As I said above, I am actually starting to look pregnant. I can now feel something hard and bulbous in my lower abdomen, which I am assuming is my uterus. Above that, just below my belly button is where everything is starting to stick out, though. I think that’s all my guts that have been displaced by my growing ute.

I have this iPhone app from BabyCenter that gives me a daily summary of what’s going on, and today’s said that I may start feeling more energetic and nausea may be fading. Not sure about the nausea part, as I’m still gagging in the mornings, but I did feel the sudden urge to paint the kitchen cabinets this weekend! I removed all the doors and hardware Saturday night, and spent all day yesterday sanding and priming the cabinet frames (with a mask, of course). It’s going to be about a two week project from start to finish, so hopefully this newfound energy lasts and I don’t lose steam!

Before – all that dark oak has got to go!
All sanded and primed (plus a Stewie photo bomb).
friends & family, health & body, house, loss, musings, pregnancy

10 things Tuesday…

Keeping up with the Hoffmans

I stole the title of this post from another website. Just seemed like an appropriate way to round up some random thoughts/experiences I’ve had lately.

  1. Pregnancy brain is in full effect. Last night I went to the grocery store and on my way out, fished my car keys out of my purse and pointed the clicker at the sliding doors of the store. You know, to open them? Um, yeah…
  2. Went to our usual taco truck for lunch today with coworkers (we go every Tuesday). It didn’t really sound that great to me, but I was hungry and didn’t have a good excuse for not going with them, so I went. I figured once I ordered my usual quesadilla I would gobble it right up like normal. Nope. For some reason it tasted disgusting today. I couldn’t eat more than a few bites, no matter how hard I tried. I’m still hungry, now slightly nauseated, and cranky because I didn’t just go somewhere else like my gut (literally) was telling me to.
  3. I’m on a bagel kick for breakfast lately – especially blueberry. I know it’s not the lowest calorie breakfast I could be eating, but I’ve only gained about a pound and a half so far, so I’m going to cut myself some slack. It also seems to be the only thing that keeps me full until lunch. Come to think of it, a blueberry bagel sounds damn good right now, after my disappointing revolting quesadilla.
  4. When I stopped at the grocery store for my morning bagel today, they were giving away free cookies. I ate that cookie around 9:30 a.m. Sounded like a good idea at the time, but then the nausea hit and I immediately regretted that decision. Come to think of it, that may have contributed to my lunchtime aversions.
  5. D found out yesterday he has shingles. Ouch. He is a tough guy and never complains when he’s sick, always powers through it and goes to work, etc… and he is home on the couch in a lot of pain right now. I was a little concerned when we found out, but I called my doctor and she says since I’ve already had the chicken pox (it’s the same virus), that it’s not contagious to me or the baby… but that I shouldn’t touch any rash or sores just in case. So I washed all our bedding in hot water last night and poor D had to sleep with a shirt on (it’s on his chest, side and back). He never sleeps in a shirt, which I’m sure that only added to his discomfort. I hope he gets better soon, but I have heard it can take quite a while to run its course. Poor guy.
  6. 13 days until our next doctor appointment. It can’t come soon enough. On the other hand, after that appointment is when we plan to start letting the cat out of the bag for real, and that terrifies me to death too.
  7. I’m conflicted over how I want to handle my next doctor appointment, work-wise. For our last appointment (which was on a Friday), I took a personal day and told work I had some friends coming into town (which was also true). After our first pregnancy and ultrasound resulted in a loss, I knew there was no way I’d be able to go back to work if it were bad news. I’m glad I did that again this last time too, because even though it was good news, going back to work was just one less thing to stress about. Plus, it avoided the “I have a doctor appointment” conversation, which, when you’re a woman in prime child bearing years, seems to always raise pregnancy suspicions. Not that I’m that concerned about this next appointment raising suspicions, since I’m planning on coming clean afterward anyway, but if it does turn out to be bad news, there’s no way I’d be able to return to work afterward. I do have plenty of days off I need to use up by the end of the year, so it’s not like I can’t take a day off – I’m just not sure what I say when coworkers ask what my plans are. I can’t outright lie, especially since I’ll be outing myself as soon as I get back. I think as of now I’m just planning to be truthful and tell them I have a doctor appointment and I’ll be in late. If worse comes to worst, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
  8. I’m wearing a belly band at work today for the first time. Sooo much more comfortable while sitting down, though I now have to hike up my pants after I stand up. Clearly it’s not a perfect solution, but it’s better than the muffin top my pants give me while buttoned, not to mention the uncomfortable indentations in my belly when I sit.
  9. I have a major case of paranoia and I feel like my coworkers just KNOW I’m knocked up, even though I don’t think I’ve done anything to tip them off. Sure, I haven’t been drinking coffee lately, but that change also coincided with our move and I had mentioned to them that I’ll probably need to start drinking coffee at home before work in order to survive the commute. Other than that, I can’t imagine what would give them the idea. I’m sure I’m just being paranoid.
  10. I have no idea what we’re going to do for Halloween this year. Our friends are having a 1994-themed party. We were thinking of trying to incorporate some sort of a pregnancy announcement into the costumes, but can’t come up with anything, given the theme. Too bad our friends didn’t do this theme last year – our costumes would have been perfect.

Well, that’s all for now!

health & body, pregnancy, pregnancy, week-by-week

10 weeks.

Keeping up with the Hoffmans

I’m in the double digits! Only two weeks until our 12 week appointment and we can start telling more people. I’m still terrified every day, but things seem to be going well, so I’m feeling cautiously optimistic.

At 10 weeks…

Baby is about the size of a prune now  – about an inch and a quarter long. This week, baby is growing fingernails and toenails, and is also starting to grow peach fuzz all over its body. The yolk sac is disappearing, and vital organs are kicking into high gear. Baby can also now bend its joints, including elbows, wrists and knees, and the arms and legs may even be long enough to meet in front of the body.

Mama is getting bigger. I still haven’t seen much of a change on the scale, but there’s no sucking in the belly anymore. I know I won’t technically be “showing” for a couple more weeks at least, but whether it’s bloat or guts being moved around, there’s no denying the round pot belly I’m sporting. It seems to have gotten significantly bigger just in these last few days. On Sunday I went and bought myself a nice pair of jeans in a bigger size. I know I won’t be able to wear them for much longer, but I’ll be able to wear them on the other side when I’m working on losing the baby weight, so that’s how I justified the purchase. Plus, I just feel kind of gross about my body right now, so it was nice to buy something I feel good in. I also bought myself a belly band – a thin band of stretchy fabric that lets me wear my regular pants unbuttoned and just looks like a tank top or cami peeking out the bottom of my shirts. I wore it all day yesterday and I have to say it was pretty comfortable!

Other than the belly changes, everything else seems pretty much the same – nausea/gagging in the mornings (and sometimes the evenings) with waves throughout the day, frequent headaches, sore boobs, peeing all the time, constant hunger but smaller appetite, etc. Oh, one thing that’s new is that I suddenly don’t like bacon. I know, WHAT?! Who doesn’t like bacon? Actually, I think this aversion may have began a few weeks ago, when I had a craving for a spinach and bacon salad. After I made it, the bacon dressing tasted funny to me. I chalked it up to the fact that it was a new recipe and not my mom’s, and forgot about it, until yesterday. We went out to breakfast and I ordered this scramble and weirdly found myself thinking it would be so much better without bacon. I didn’t think much of it until I had the leftovers for breakfast this morning and was downright repulsed by the bacon in it. Now, just the thought of bacon grosses me out. So weird. Usually I love bacon. Ick. I need to stop typing that word. Think about fruit instead. Mmmm… fruit.

friends & family, health & body, pregnancy, pregnancy, week-by-week

9 weeks.

Keeping up with the Hoffmans

I never thought I’d get to write this post. I can’t believe we’ve made it this far! I still have days where I’m terrified it’s going to be taken away from me again, but in general, the more time goes on, the more confident I feel.

The biggest news right now is that we had our official ultrasound last Friday and everything looks GREAT. The baby is measuring right on track and had a nice fast heartbeat. It was also moving around and looked more like a gummy bear than a blob, and has almost doubled in size since the previous ultrasound, just 11 days earlier.

At 9 weeks…

Baby is about the size of a grape or green olive. It’s officially no longer an embryo and is now a fetus. The tail is now officially gone and the organs, muscles and nerves are starting to function. It actually has external sex organs already, but we won’t be able to find out if it’s a boy or girl until around 20 weeks. The eyes and eyelids are formed now, and are fused shut until around 27 weeks. Baby also has earlobes and now has a distinct mouth, nose and nostrils. The next step is rapid weight gain. It’ll be the size of a prune this time next week.

Mama was very sick this morning. I couldn’t stop gagging and heaving the entire time I was getting ready for work. Brushing my teeth was the worst part and that actually made me throw up. I was worried I wouldn’t make it on the bus, but I did okay. Instead of catching the second bus when I got into downtown, though, I just opted to walk the rest of the way. The fresh air felt nice. My pants are so uncomfortably tight today. I’m holding off on buying maternity clothes until I truly need them. I’m not really “showing” yet, per se, but I’m so bloated that I’m just looking and feeling fatter. I may treat myself to some nice jeans in a bigger size, even though I won’t be able to wear them for long. I’ll need them after I have the baby too, while I work on losing the baby weight. That’s how I justify the purchase!

I’m excited that we’re now past our loss milestone, and I really am starting to feel more confident. D is taking a while longer to warm up, but he did tell his sister this weekend, which I think made things feel a little more real to him. And we went out to dinner last night with my brother and sister in law (who know), and D was talking to them about our ultrasound. I think he’s coming around, albeit a little slower than I am. Not that I can blame him – he’s not feeling the daily effects of the pregnancy and only has the previous experience to compare it to. I can’t wait until our 12 week appointment (countdown: 21 days!), because then we’ll truly be able to let the cat out of the bag!

health & body, loss, pregnancy, pregnancy, week-by-week

8 weeks.

Keeping up with the Hoffmans

This is as far as we made it last time, and I’m terrified. Actually, technically, the baby didn’t live past 7 weeks, but my last weekly update last time was at 8 weeks, just a couple days before we got our bad news. I know the odds are in our favor now that we’ve had one ultrasound and seen the heartbeat, but I am still terrified of getting bad news at our first official appointment on Friday. Four more days… can I make it?

At 8 weeks…

Baby is the size of a raspberry or a kidney bean. He/she is growing webbed fingers and toes this week, in addition to eyelids, breathing tubes and lungs. The tail is almost completely gone, and the brain continues to develop, beginning to form the most basic neural pathways. Baby should also be moving quite a bit by now, even though I won’t be able to feel it for several more weeks.

Mama is still tired and nauseated with sore boobs and the occasional headache. It’s the new normal, I guess. The nausea comes and goes, though it got so bad last week that I actually got sick at work three times in one day! Hasn’t been that bad since, though. Mostly I just get waves that come and go throughout the day, which is tolerable. I went to go get measured for a new bra this weekend and I’m already up a full cup size! Holy cow. The girls are going to be giant by the time baby gets here. I had dinner with a couple friends on Saturday night, one of whom just had a baby two months ago and is still nursing. I couldn’t help but comment to her on how huge her boobs were! You know you’re good friends when you can talk about each other’s boobs freely, right?

Speaking of that dinner with friends, I spilled the beans to them, which felt good. My friend brought over champagne to celebrate the other friend’s birthday and when I declined the champagne, they just knew. They were very excited, but I made them promise to keep it a secret.

Four more days until we can have some more reassurance, though I wish I could say there would be a definitive point I’d stop being so scared. At least getting past our last loss milestone should help, I think.

health & body, pregnancy, pregnancy, week-by-week

7 weeks.

Keeping up with the Hoffmans

Well, we weren’t supposed to have our first ultrasound until the 28th. But a brief scare Sunday night led to an early look at our baby Monday morning. First things first, baby is fine! Measuring 3 days smaller than I thought it should (6 weeks 5 days, instead of 7 weeks 1 day), but the nurse practitioner said their equipment has  a margin of error of +/-4 days, so she wasn’t worried. The best part was we got to see a heartbeat! We never got to see that last time. The nurse estimated it was probably beating around 140-160 beats per minute, which is right where it should be.

Meet Baby Hoffman:

So, the back story:

Sunday night, just before bed, I noticed a small amount of blood. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough for me to freak the eff out. I know some spotting can be totally normal, but I also know it can be the first sign of something wrong. Since I had a small amount of spotting with my last pregnancy, I was really scared. I cried myself to sleep, tossed and turned all night, and was wide awake super early the next morning.

I called the doctor as soon as they opened, and they agreed to see us at 9:50 that morning. I was so nervous sitting in the waiting room, and then again sitting in the exam room waiting for the nurse practitioner. It seemed to take forever. As soon as I saw the heartbeat flicker, I instantly started hyperventilating. I was relieved, shocked and just a whole bunch of other emotions all at once. The NP had to remind me to breathe, and said that everything looked exactly as it should. No idea where the bleeding had come from, but it had stopped by that point anyway. She told me that a little bit of bleeding wasn’t anything to be worried about, but that she also understood how scary pregnancy can be after a miscarriage, and that if at any time I didn’t feel comfortable with something I could always come in to be checked out. I have to say, I am really liking my new doctor’s office so far. So, I get to go back in on the 28th for my normally scheduled appointment. As scared as I was for the bleeding episode I’m glad we got a sneak peek at the baby, and that I only have to wait 10 more days to see our baby again.

With that long intro out of the way, here’s what’s happening at 7 weeks…

Baby has doubled in size since last week and is now about the size of a blueberry. The big news this week is that baby is growing hands and feet, though they look more like paddles at this point. The tail is rapidly disappearing, making the baby look even more human than last week.

Mama is feeling pretty much the same, physically: tired, nauseated, bloated occasional headaches. The only new thing this week really was the bleeding. Emotionally, I think I’m finally starting to feel a little more excited, after seeing the baby’s heartbeat. D didn’t seem very reassured by the ultrasound and says he’s still scared. Maybe it’s because we’re only about 7 weeks along, and that’s the point where our baby died last time, discovered at 8 weeks. If we can get past this 8 week ultrasound (which will actually end up being closer to 9 weeks), maybe then he’ll start to feel a little more confident. I’m definitely ready to start getting excited about this pregnancy and really look forward to the day D is too.

health & body, loss, musings, pregnancy

Then vs. now.

Keeping up with the Hoffmans

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how different this pregnancy is from my last one, and yet, in some ways is also very familiar. I know every pregnancy is different, but I have to admit I’m clinging to the differences in hopes that it’ll have a different outcome this time.

My outlook…

Then: I was always worried about the possibility of miscarriage, but I think deep down I felt like it would never happen to me. I was instantly bonded to my baby and I thought a lot about the future. I was scared but mostly looking forward to our 8 week ultrasound so I could get the reassurance that everything was going to be okay.

Now: Not only am I worried about miscarriage, but deep down I almost expect it to happen again, even though statistically I know I’m more likely to have a healthy baby this time. I’m sad to say I don’t feel bonded to this baby — yet — but I hope that will happen if/when we can get past a successful 8 week ultrasound. I don’t put a lot of thought into the future this time – I’m just taking things one day at a time. I’m not so much “looking forward” to our 8 week ultrasound, as I am just wanting it to be over with already. Either rip the band aid off or let me start moving forward. I just feel like I’m in limbo right now.

Morning sickness…

Then: At first the only thing that really got me queasy was the smell of dog food. That was my first sign I was pregnant, actually, and I had to make D start feeding the dogs for me. The actual throwing up didn’t start until about 5 and a half weeks, and once it did, it was always in the shower in the mornings. Then, around 6 weeks, walking started making me nauseated. On the occasion that the nausea would hit me at work, I had candied ginger in my desk that I munched on to help it go away.

Now: I started throwing up instantly, and it was morning and night (but felt fine during the day). But that only lasted a few days and then it went away for a few days. Then the nausea came back and now I have the occasional vomiting in the mornings and just a general queasy feeling that lasts all day. I have gagged a couple times over dog food this time, but it doesn’t seem to be as strong of an aversion as last time, as some days I’m fine with it. I still have D feed the dogs regularly, but on the occasion he’s been out of town or gotten home late, I have usually been able to do it with no problems. I haven’t been able to stand ginger since the miscarriage as it reminds me too much of my last pregnancy, and I’m not a huge fan of ginger to begin with, so I’m sticking with saltines as my work nausea remedy.

Food cravings/aversions…

Then: All I wanted last time was anything healthy. Couldn’t stand sweets, especially chocolate or anything artificial. Coffee didn’t sound good, but I would have a tiny bit every morning just to wake me up and to stave off the inevitable caffeine withdrawal headaches.

Now: I’m still craving healthy foods, but for some reason lettuce sometimes tastes really bitter to me. I’m also loving fruit, especially peaches. And while I’m not craving chocolate, I did see a commercial for Wendy’s the other night and wanted a Frosty like no one’s business. Funny, since my mom always craved Frostys when she was pregnant with me. I also had a huge hankering for cottage cheese a few nights ago, but then when I bought some last night it tasted gross. Could have been the fact that it was from a health food store and they may make it a bit differently than the big brands. Similar to last time, coffee doesn’t sound good. This time I’ve been able to cut out caffeine altogether, though. I started tapering down my caffeine use while we were trying to conceive, and then I tapered down even more once we got pregnant so that within a week I had completely quit.

Skin…

Then: My skin was bright and clear last time. I think I had that whole pregnancy “glow” thing going on.

Now: Not so much. I look like a hormonal teenager.

Emotions…

Then: I got a little teary a few times, but nothing that seemed to interfere much with my day-to-day life.

Now: I will be the first to admit I have turned into a raging beyotch! Poor D. I have such a short fuse and feel cranky all the time. Yesterday he called me and asked me to look up directions to somewhere on my phone and I got all snippy and went off on him about how he always relies on me to know where we’re going and never takes it upon himself to do so. After we hung up, I started crying because I don’t like the person I’ve turned into. I feel like such a loony!

Gender gut feeling…

Then: I felt like I was having a boy.

Now: I feel like it’s a girl. Neither of these are based on anything but just a gut feeling. I never got to find out if I was right last time and am just praying I get to this time.

Other stuff…

Both times I got extremely bloated and had really sore boobs. Like last time, I’m hungry all the time, but seem to not want to eat as much in one sitting. I also have trouble sleeping and wake up multiple times per night to pee. I think I’m more tired this time, and I get frequent headaches, which I didn’t get last time. Again, just really hoping any differences are good signs that I can expect a different outcome! 16 days until our ultrasound…

health & body, pregnancy, pregnancy, week-by-week

6 weeks.

Keeping up with the Hoffmans

As of today, I am 6 weeks and 2 days pregnant. I’m still feeling sort of “blah” about the whole thing. It just doesn’t feel real yet, and I think I’m just subconsciously waiting for something to go wrong. When I look back at where I was this time last pregnancy, it makes me sad. I was so full of hope and dreams about the future. I loved my baby. This time… I just don’t see a future yet, if I’m completely honest. I don’t really feel any sort of a bond yet, but I think that’s just because I’m scared. D and I don’t really talk much about it either because he’s having a hard time getting excited too. It just makes me sad that we were robbed of what should be such an exciting time in our lives. I really hope that once we make it past our first appointment and ultrasound we’ll be able to feel more excited. 17 more days.

In the meantime, at 6 weeks…

Baby is approximately 1/4 inch long – about the size of a small pea. It’s forming a face this week, including eyes, ears, nose and chin. It’s morphing into the shape of a shrimp, with little nubs where the arms and legs will be. Still looks pretty alien at this point, but is on its way to looking somewhat human-ish!

Mama is more nauseated than ever. I remember last time, this was about the point where the morning sickness kicked up a notch, too. These last couple weeks I’ve had a little nausea very first thing in the morning and sometimes late at night – and have only actually gotten sick a handful of times in the morning – and most of that was in the very beginning when we first found out. I’ve thrown up the last three days in a row now, though, and now this morning, the nausea doesn’t seem to be going away and it’s after 10 a.m. As long as I don’t yak in front of my coworkers or on the bus, I’m okay with that, though. I’ll deal with any discomfort or inconvenience if it means I get to keep my baby.

The good news is, I haven’t had any spotting yet (knock on wood), which is something that had started up by this time the last time. I know some spotting is considered normal, but you better believe I’ll be headed straight for the hospital should I see even the tiniest drop of blood this time.

Another thing that’s new this time has been my horrible skin! With last pregnancy, my skin was clear and I felt like I had that whole “glow” thing going on. This time, not so much. It’s like I’m a teenager again.

Definitely still feeling like a fatty and am loving that the weather is cooling, making way for fall sweaters. My boobs are on fire as well, and I’m just about ready for a new bra. Trying to put that off as long as possible, though! In general, I’m sort of putting off anything that makes it feel more real until we know things are going the way they should. Just 17 more days…

health & body, pregnancy, pregnancy, week-by-week

5 weeks.

Keeping up with the Hoffmans

I’m a couple days late on this week’s update. As of Sunday, I was officially 5 weeks pregnant. Time seems to be going by quicker than last time in some ways, yet crawling by in other ways. I think all the house stuff we’ve been doing has been a welcome distraction and has made time go by faster, but the extra worry I’m feeling this time around has made time go by slower. I don’t think it’ll really feel real to me until we can get past the first ultrasound and hear the heartbeat. As much as I’m trying not to worry and to just enjoy this pregnancy, deep down I just keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.

This week…

Baby is about the size of an apple seed and resembles a tadpole. He/she is beginning to grow a heart, circulatory system and kidneys. The neural tube is also under construction this week, which will eventually become the brain and spinal cord.

Mama is super moody lately. I’ve gotten really cranky with D several times. Thankfully he seems to be pretty understanding about it and is the first to come over and give me a hug instead of fighting back when I snap at him. Other than the moodiness, I’m just really queasy often and have had intermittent headaches. Feels a lot like a hangover, actually — you know, if hangovers lasted weeks on end. Still peeing a lot, and the boobs have gotten extra sore just in the last few days. I have completely kicked my coffee habit, which I’m really proud of, and I’ve been eating pretty healthily lately. I’m craving fruit (especially peaches), but chocolate and other sugary sweet stuff doesn’t sound good to me.

We told my parents and my brother and sister-in-law this weekend, which was exciting. They were all really excited and asked a lot of questions, which made it feel more real. We had D’s mom, sister and brother-in-law over yesterday to see the new house, but D isn’t ready to tell them yet, so we didn’t. I didn’t have a beer when everyone else did, and was the only one who didn’t drink coffee either, but either no one noticed or they just decided not to say anything. We went to a friend’s BBQ on Sunday night and I made a little more of an effort to fake drinking since the people there definitely would have noticed. I just carried around a beer the whole evening but didn’t drink it – seemed to do the trick just fine, but I was so thirsty by the end of the night! Looking forward to just being out with people, but that won’t happen until after our 12 week appointment.