It's Friday the 13th. RUUUNNNNN!!!

We're ready to runnnnnnn!!!! Or walk quickly. Thank goodness this run isn't timed! 

Ultrasound results!!!

I'm sorry this is so late. I've been running around like a chicken with its head cut off all day. 

Today was my 7w,4d US and we got to see and hear the heartbeat! 

It was beating at 147 and is measuring on track. On a couple measurements, Dr A said it showed two days and then one day behind and another showed exactly at 7w,4d. At this point we're sticking with that date. 

My next US will be in 13 days at 9w,3d and it should be my graduation day from my RE! This is a big day in the IF world and it's going to be bittersweet. These people are the ones who helped create this miracle and it's going to be tough to say goodbye. Plus, it's awesome getting US every other week. 

He recommended an OB and I'm going to speak to her soon to see if I want to go to her. 

Without further words and fluff, here's another shot of the good stuff! 

Infertility's silver lining

The daily pain and struggle through IF encompasses every waking moment. You base your life on your cycle and consider things in two weeks at a time. What days can you be away from your husband? When are doctor appointments? Can you go on a trip? Can you go out for drinks or will you be in your two week wait? 

Plans that need to be made months from now seem like an impossible task. You don't want to plan something that may be during your fertile window or even during a time when you need to be going for every other day ultrasounds. 

Unfortunately, there's no way to plan for this and you realize you have to live your life. If you have to change your plans when the time comes, then you do it. 

During it all, there comes a moment when the despair, pain, anger, confusion, etc seems to not be the worst thing in your life. You find a silver lining. 

Somewhere in my midst of my journey, I realized that without my IF, I would never have spent so much time researching and learning about my body and fertility. And the teachers weren't Google. The teachers were people who would eventually become my friends. 

This weekend, I will have the privilege of meeting two women who I like to call my teachers, cheerleaders, supporters and more importantly my friends. 

Months ago, we were chatting online about something that I can't even remember now. Somehow, the conversation ended up with people talking about the areas they live. Sarah asked how close I was to a certain city. My answer, "Zero miles." 

Come to find out Sarah and Celeste had been trying to figure out the midway point between Mississippi and New Jersey and  it turns out it was the city in which I live. 

It took less than an hour for us to nail down a plan to meet up. Sarah and I were in the middle of the Couch 2 5K program and Celeste was our coach and idol as a marathoner and crazy freak who can run more miles in one day that I can run in a month. I mean freak in the nicest way possible. Holy crap, I can't even imagine moving my legs for 26.1 miles. 

Time has passed and here we are!!!

It's time for the Color Me Rad race. We are running as a way to fight back against IF. It's basically a 5k fun race and runners are bombed with colored corn starch at stages. Why? You ask? Because we can. Because it's fun and because we want to. There's no real point to the CMR. It's just a way to feel awesome and get dirty. 

You'd be nuts to not want to be as happy as that kid! 

Plus, we're doing this too...

Celeste made us some shirts for our team, properly named FU IF. You can read between the letters to know what it stands for. 

I'm literally bouncing off the walls with excitement. I can't wait to get dusted with color. I can't want to run in a tutu. But mostly, I can't wait to meet these two amazing women who have shown me that in every storm, there is a silver lining. You just have to look real hard to find it. 

7 weeks: I have a blueberry!

My mornings: What do you classify as morning? I'm back on my 4 night shifts. Morning to me is 4 p.m. Feeling good and awake, despite only sleeping 45 minutes at a time.

My nights: 6 a.m. is my bed time and if it is delayed by another hour, I wouldn't survive. Some days, I'm not even sure how I drive home after work. Overall, my nights are filled with bloat buildup from the day or evening or night shift. Ah heck, I can't even tell you what day it is much less what TIME of day it is. 

How far along: 7 weeks

How big is baby: Baby is a blueberry and is .51 inches. It weighs .04 ounces! It is now measurable in weight as well as size. This week is when several important formations start happening, including the little nose bud. I'm just hoping the nose looks like DH's instead of mine. 

Weight: I'm going to say 125 was my starting weight. It's a nice pretty number and the weight gain from OHSS and my previous running/in shape weight was affected by that. Considering I am bloated and eating like a horse, it doesn't surprise me that the scale says I've gained 5 pounds in one week. But that was mid afternoon weigh in and I know the poop baby and bloat are large parts of that. Otherwise, I'm really going to gain 100 pounds this pregnancy. 33 more weeks x 5 pounds a week = OH CRIKEEEE! Don't do that math please. 

How I’m changing: My boobs have went from a 34B to a 34C and I'm closing my belt at one larger size now. I started unbuckling my pants at work. 

What I miss: I miss running.

Symptoms: I may eat myself out of house and home before too long. I can't eat enough. No matter what I do, I am hungry a couple hours after eating. 

Here's one that does concern me a bit. For as long as I can remember, I've had moments where it feels like my heart skips a beat. It chokes me up and I started coughing. Before pregnancy, I noticed it once a monthish. Maybe? It wasn't anything frequent so I didn't worry much about it. Since my BFP, it has increased and happens daily, sometimes more. I'm definitely going to mention it to my doctor, but from what I'm reading it can be normal and a result of the increased blood supply and flow. 

No morning sickness. Thank goodness. The fatigue still hits me every day. That's been rough to deal with on night shift, but I'm crawling through it.

Sore boobs and cramps continue. Nothing new there.

Cravings: Nothing specific. Just hungry. All. The. Dang. Time. I looked back at last weeks post and I said then it was easing up some from the previous week, so that gives me hope that this constant hunger will fluctuate and ease up eventually. 

Food Aversions: Nothing yet. Food is still appealing right now. 

Highlights this week: DH is being incredibly sweet. He touches my bloat belly all the time and gets me anything I want. This is a major change for him. He's not an overly emotional guy and those of you IRL who know him would never see him hugging and kissing me in front of others. He will probably never be the overly romantic guy, but he takes care of me. He just doesn't like credit for it. He doesn't even like it if I thank him for his kindness. He's a weirdo. 

Maternity clothes: None yet. But pants may be switching soon if the bloat keeps growing. I don't have much more room in these pants. 

Stretch marks: None.

Sleep: Some nights I sleep good. Some I don't. It still hurts to lay on my boobs, but I have had a few nights of not having to wear a sports bra to bed so that's more comfortable. 

Best moment last week: We're refinancing our house. Yay for hopefully getting a new lower interest rate and mortgage payment soon! 

Movement: Nothing but gas.

Gender: This week my mind says boy. Next week it will say girl. 

Labor signs: Nope. Way too soon.

Belly button: I will still be an innie for a while.

What I am looking forward to: My next US at 7w,4d. Thursday can't come soon enough! 

Plus, this week is going to end with a bang as it's finally time to meet two of my creepy online friends! They're coming to town! I can't wait to meet you Cici and Sarah! More to come on the reason for their trip in an upcoming post! 

Milestones: Everything is a milestone for me so far. I'm trying to stay positive but I have my moments of weakness and worry. But each day that passes is a good day for me. 

Something you shouldn't call 911 for...

If you're going to call 911 and have officers check on your boyfriend who is making suicidal threats, please consider this first. 

Please don't send them to his 

house and wake up his wife at 1:30 a.m. She's not going to be very happy about it. 

Also, make sure he isn't just making false threats just so he doesn't have to see previously mentioned mistress that night. It's also helpful to know if he has ANOTHER mistress on the side since his wife thinks he is staying with a sister tonight. 

If dude wasn't serious about dying before, he may be now. Especially, since his wife and two girlfriends are pissed off and ready to kill him. 

Walking along fine and then...

Life's going great. Feeling good and then BAM, I'm narcoleptic. 

It's insane. It's not like I'm tired all the time. I feel good. I have energy. I get enough sleep and then a truck called sleep hits me and knocks me on my butt. 

Taking a nap in the parking lot of a grocery store on my lunch break is not beneath me. 

This is all I want to do right now. 

Welcome to crazy town.

There should be a sign on top of The Bump's April Birth Month Board warning people not to come in unless they are prepared to see a goat rodeo of stupid. 

If you linked here from my siggy on TB and you're on April BMB, you know what I'm talking about. 95% of those women are nuttier than rat crap in a peanut factory. 

So far, they've already discussed carrying handguns in diaper bags, homosexuality, making women who have had miscarriages feel bad, making women who have not had miscarriages feel bad, and my latest favorite is about breastfeeding. The latest genius says this isn't Africa and she doesn't like to see a baby nurse in public while she's eating. 

::breathe in Jesus. Breathe out Satan::

I swear if someone said this to me in person, I could not be held responsible for my wrath. 

For anyone who wants to stalk me and my progress in pregnancy, you will hardly  ever find me on my BMB. It pisses me off so much and I get too stabbity. I'm still here and will keep blogging, but I won't be there much. I am always lurking on my favorite boards and cheering my girls on who are still TTC. My sanity would have been gone if not for you guys during the past two years. 

And if you're ever looking for a laugh or want to raise your blood pressure, go visit April 2014. It's now becoming famous around the other boards and I'm pretty sure TB Gods will rename it Crazy Town, eventually.