More....

Hi everyone, I'm Chrystal. I had a page on here before with the screen name Mama-of-4.5, but for some reason, I can no longer sign into it, so I decided to begin a new page.

This is my 7th pregnancy. I had a miscarriage at 6 weeks with my first in 1996, had Liam in 1997, Hayden in 2000, Ewan in 2002, Abigail in 2004, another miscarriage in September 2007, and then got pregnant with the baby I'm carrying now in October 2007.

We are a very busy crew....2 kids are in school full-time, one in half days, my husband works full-time as a journalist for a television network, but he is also a full-time college student, taking public relations. He works so hard, and I have never been so proud of anyone in my entire life, as I am of him. I am a stay at home mom, but also go to college at night, to be an interior decorator. We figured we weren't quite busy enough, and that maybe another baby would help make things just a little crazier.

Anyway, I finally found a doctor to take care of my prenatal care (we moved over a year ago, and our doctor is an hour away, so I finally found a new one in our new city) and an ob-gyn to deliver the baby. The doctor who is doing my prenatal care has agreed to be my family's new doctor, which is a huge relief. I have my first prenatal appointment tomorrow.

I'm really looking forward to getting to know everyone here, and following all of your progress!

Pregnancy Survey
About You
Name?:	Chrystal
Age?:	30
Height?:	5'6"
Pre-pregnancy weight?:	125 lbs
About The Father
Name?:	Mike
Age?:	31
Height?:	5'9"
Are you still together?:	Yep, together for 12 years, married for 10
About Your Pregnancy
Is this your first pregnancy?:	This is my 7th
When did you find out you were pregnant?:	In November
Was it planned?:	Yes, I had a miscarriage in September, and as soon as my period returned, we began trying again.
What was your first reaction?:	I was shocked, but thrilled
Who was with you when you found out?:	I was by myself, and brought the pregnancy test with me when I picked my husband up from school a few hours later.
Who was the first person you told?:	My husband
How did your parents react?:	Not well.....my mother said, "Oh, no, Chystal!" and rubbed her face with both hands, my dad was smart enough at least to keep his mouth shut. I believe I said something along the lines of, 'until I put my hand out to you, or anyone else, for that matter, it is absolutely none of your business how many children I have'
How far along are you?:	this site says 15 weeks, but fight pregnancy says 16 weeks
What was your first symptom?:	crying at stuipid tv commercials
What is your due date?:	July 21 2008
Do you know the sex of the baby?:	No, and it will remain a surprise until we meet
If so, what is it?:	I think it's a boy, but am not really sure. I have always been sure with each of my children, and been right, but this time, I dunno. I have had two dreams that it's a boy.
Have you picked out names?:	No, but we're leaning towards Gavin if it's a boy, and Isabella if it's a girl, even though it's my daughter Abigail's middle name lol.
If so, what are they?:	See above, though there's still lots of time to change our minds, lol.
How much weight have you gained?:	I haven't gained any weight yet.
Do you have stretch marks?:	No, and I kind of doubt I will get any, since I only ever got them with my first two babies. I'm pretty stretched out, lol.
Have you felt the baby move?:	no, but I usually do at 17 weeks, so it shouldn't be long
Have you heard the heartbeat?:	no, I haven't even had a prenatal appointment yet
About the birth
Will you keep the baby?:	if it's cute (jk)
Home or hospital birth?:	Hospital probably
Natural or medicated birth?:	probably natural
Who will be in the delivery room with you?:	My husband
Will you breastfeed?:	Yes, until the baby is 2 1/2 years old
Do you think you'll need a c-section?:	No
Will you cry when you hold the baby for the first time?:	Like a big sappy wimp
What's the first thing you might say to him/her?:	ahoghangkaoidhandl
Would you let someone videotape the birth?:	Yes
Are you excited about the birth, or scared?:	I'm excited, but since I know exactly what to expect, I'm also pretty scared

January 28, 2008

Had my first prenatal appointment today. The doctor was shocked when she figured out that I am 15 weeks pregnant. I guess she assumed I was only a few weeks along, like most people are the first time they see their doctor, lol. Anyway, she couldn't find the heartbeat with the doppler, so I have an ultrasound booked for 3:30pm tomorrow. I am so worried. The ultrasound tech told me not to worry, that often the doppler doesn't pick up the fetus until 20 weeks, but I can't help it. After having my last pregnancy end in miscarriage, I am terrified to lose this one. I feel pregnant still; sore breasts, sick, moody, but who knows? Anyway, I'll update again tomorrow. Wish me luck!

January 29, 2008

Today was an extremely long day! All I could think about was my ultrasound, and I felt like I was going to be sick all day, from stress and fear. Well, when I went in, the ultrasound tech gave me a big lecture about how I should've had my ultrasound no later than 12 weeks, and I should've gotten myself to the doctor much sooner, blah blah blah, to which I had to go into a long boring explanation about how I had been to the drop in twice to see a doctor, and neither of the two examined me, the one told me to "come back during the day when theres a female doctor on duty" (gimme a break, what is the guy, like 13), the second doctor referred me to an ob-gyn. Then the ob-gyn called, and said they wouldn't see me until April (which means I'll be in my third trimester, with no prenatal care). They told me of a doctor at my drop-in clinic who is accepting patients, and to see if she can give me prenatal care until the ob-gyn can see me. So when I had my son in one day, to see a doctor, I asked about the doctor that the ob-gyn had suggested, and the nurse said that she wasn't in the office, but the doctor that my son was seeing is accepting patients. So, long story short, I met her, I liked her, and she agreed to take my entire family as her patients.

But I digress. The first thing the ultrasound tech said after I gave my big excuse was, "omg, the baby is so active!!! It's jumping all over the place!" I can't even tell you the immediate rush of relief I felt! The baby is absolutely perfect! It's the right size, and she said it looks healthy, and she knows the sex, but I told her not to tell us. The baby stretched out though, and we're pretty sure we saw boy parts! I guess time will tell! I won't paint the nursery blue, or anything, lol. All the kids got to come in and see the baby, and I got my very first picture of one of my kids in utero! The place where I got all my ultrasounds in my hometown didn't offer pictures, so I have a nice big picture of our baby on the fridge. Unfortunately, it's not the best picture, since the baby's back is facing the screen, and all you can see is the back of the head, and spine, but oh well. It's too bad, because the baby was stretched out, at one point it had it's arms over it's head, and both legs stretched out, like it was doing a snow angel! You could see every bone in it's little hands and feet, and it's eyes and jaw. Oh, I guess I should mention that it was an old fashioned ultrasound, not one of the fancy 3D ones, but it was still very cool. Another AWESOME thing, is that I have only gained 2 lbs!!! Woo hoo!

So, tonight I feel very happy and relaxed, knowing that my sweet little baby is healthy!