8 weeks + 1 day: There's a heartbeat!

We have a fetus! The ultrasound showed a heartbeat. It was a very fast heartbeat- 176 beats/minute. The technician said that's perfectly normal. Now I feel a little relieved since 1. my chances of miscarrying just decreased immensely and 2. there was only one heartbeat (I worried about twins b/c I've gained so much weight in so little time).

We have pictures of the little fetus. It's a perfect peanut shape. You can clearly see a head and a body. I was surprised that we could see so much this early. I expected more of a blob than the actual shapely body we saw.

By the way, I've gained another pound since last week (total 4 lbs. so far). I believe you should only gain 5 lbs in the FIRST trimester. I have another month until the end of the first tri and I'm already at 4 lbs. I have a feeling I'm going to be HUGE! I'm still working on preparing myself mentally for that. I never thought I'd have a hard time with the weight. I also have to remind myself that I'm not just sitting around gaining weight and not doing something about it. This week, I've done well. My mom and I walked a little over 2 miles each morning and I also did a fitness class at work 2 days in a row. I have to keep my weight in check so I lower my chances of a c-section later on.

After the ultrasound appointment, Nick and I drove to my parent's house to tell them. After some thought, I decided I would tell my mom first and then wait for my dad to come home. My mom had made dinner so Nick and I had dinner with her. After eating we asked her if she wanted her gifts from our trip and of course she lit up like a child (very typical of my mother). We showed her the Dr. Konstantin Frank Riesling wine bottle and told her the story behind the winery and that particular wine. Nick said it was one of the best wines he had at the festival but that I (steph) didn't get a chance to taste it. She asked why I didn't taste it and I said there was too long of a line and I gave up. Next Nick gave her a t-shirt that said "Property of Grandma In Training Camp 09". She read it out loud and looked at me....
Mom: What is this?
5 second pause
Me: No words. I just nodded and smiled
Mom: You're pregnant? (eyes already watered)
Me: Nodded Yes and I showed her the ultrasound pictures.
Mom: NO (in disbelief)... ran to hug me.

My mom said for the last two days she's had morning sickness and nausea right before going to bed. She even told my dad last night she felt as if she was pregnant. In addition, for the first time ever, she bought peanut butter and jelly to make sandwiches. My mother has always thought this combination was disgusting- but she said she had a craving for it and has been eating it for breakfast this week. She knew someone was pregnant around her, she just never imagined it was someone so close to her.

I wanted my mom to help me figure out how to tell my dad. We waited for him to come home. There was only a 30 minute window from the time he got home to when he needed to leave for a meeting. As soon as my dad settled in, Nick gave my dad his gift ("Property of Grandpa In Training Camp 09" t-shirt). Same as my mom, dad read it out loud-paused-smiled-looked at Nick holding the ultrasound picture and said "Now, I'm old...we gotta celebrate this shit! Congratulations!". Hence the "Grandpa in Training" shirt- dad needs to clean up his vocabulary before grandchildren can come over. I told him to not make any plans for his birthday next year since I have plans already. My due date is 3-11-09 and my dad's birthday is on 3-19.

Now, it's out there and my mom is struggling to not call everyone she knows. I asked them to keep it a secret for just a couple more weeks. I don't want everyone on my back just yet. I did tell my sister and I will tell my aunt and grandmother when they come back from PR next week. For now, that's a big enough support circle for me.