So we went to the doctor yesterday for a check up and my always evil baby wouldn't move its leg so we could see what it was! Silly baby. Luckily, I go back in a few weeks again and we can give it another go. But thankfully, the doctor said that everything looked great. Its heart was beating and we could see all four chambers and everything. The baby measured a little bigger than we thought, so I'm sure sure if my due date has been changed or not. I'll keep you posted.

As for me, my body is doing lots of fun things. But mostly, I'm turning into a complete box. I've lost all my curves and haven't gained that much baby belly yet. And my poor baby belly isn't very graceful at the moment. It's not so much a nice round as it is kinda bumpy. Ok, I have a little chunk on my belly and now it looks like A LOT of chunk! Ahhh, I remember the days when I could just suck in my belly a little and it was nice and flat. Not so much anymore. I look like I swallowed a tire and it got stuck on my hips. LOL. I'll be glad when I look obviously pregnant and not just like someone who moved into Dunkin Donuts (which by the way, I would love to do at the moment. lol)

My sickness has pretty much gone. THANK GOD! I wasn't sure if that would ever go away. I still have some serious food aversions, including most Turkish food cause they use a lot of mushy veggies mixed together. Today I was happy cause I got to eat a burrito for the first time in a year. Mmmmm... they're hard to find here.

Anyhoo, that's my life at the moment. :)

November 10, 2007

(17.5 Weeks)

I've been feeling so much better than before. I think I've finally gotten my appetite back and beside giving me some heartburn, I can drink water again no problem. My baby belly has really started to round out, but it's still not noticable unless I wear something tight (which I never do). So to those who don't know, I just look chunky still. I think I've been feeling the baby moving for a few weeks now, but I'm not sure. When I try to stop and pay attention, the feeling goes away. Oh well. It will get stronger soon. I go for an ultrasound on Nov. 17 and hopefully then we can find out what this little baby is. :) So far, all of my testing has come back fine and low risk, which is a comfort. I think I'm getting rounder in general. Not just the belly. LOL.

November 16th, 2007

(18.5 weeks)

So I totally bought my first pair of materinity pants (see pic). They are sooo comfy. So much better than squishing my baby belly behind a belt! I'm sure the baby is much happer too. LOL. Overall, things are good now. I feel pretty good most of the time and My husband is being wonderfully supportive. We have an appointment on Sunday to see the baby and make sure all is well. Hopefully we can find out the sex then. :)

November 18th, 2007

(19 Weeks)

We went for our ultrasound today and the baby looked great. We saw the heart pumping, the stomach and even the bladder. The spine even looked great too.

And the verdict is in. The baby gave up it's secret.... It's a....

Girl!

She was in a great position and we could see right up between her legs. There's no doubt that it's a girl! :) We're so happy and excited. Now we can seriously think about what names we want. One of our favorite girls names is Laila. But the verdict is still out on that. We have 21 more weeks to prepare for her. AND WE'RE SOOO EXCITED!

January 10th, 2008

(26.5 Weeks)

OMG it's been forever since I updated this. What a slacker I am! LOL. Anyway, things are going great with the pregnancy. I really can't complain too much. I've been able to really feel our little girl cruisin around in there for weeks now. She really kicks and wiggles too. Not just sliding around anymore. My husband has been able to feel her quite a bit which is both great and weird for him. It's our first, you know, so he's never felt a baby moving around like that before. It's kinda like those alien movies. LOL. I've read some comments and blogs by you other mommies and understand about feeling alittle blue. I've been feeling alittle blue lately too. I have no reason to at all. I have a wonderful husband and life here with little stress and I think about all these women who are trying so hard to have babies and can't. I should feel really great. I dunno. Maybe it's just hormones. I'm prone to depression, I just hope that it doesn't REALLY hit me when the baby comes.

Oh, and we think we have a name for her... Meryem (Mary-em) Adile (Ad-i-lay) Yartasi. I found the name Meryem and when I told my husband about it he lit up saying he was thinking about that name too. It was so cute that the name just had something special to it after that. :)

January 24, 2008

(28.4 Weeks)

So I've learned a very valuable lesson... when you want to see the labor and delivery section of a Turkish hospital, just hold out until it's time for you to go yourself... let me explain...

I had a doctors appointment today for a check-up (the baby is doing great. She weighs around 3 pounds already! Oh, and on MY weigh in I've discovered that I've gained 19 pounds so far. yuck). So at the end of my appointment I asked the doctor if Bilgehan and I could go and see the labor and birthing area so we know where it is and what it's like. She was like, "Oh sure! I don't have any more patients now so I can go with you." I thought, oh well that's nice of her. So we go down to the labor and delivery area and it's this very secure place in the hospital. Only the doctors have access to it (which I really liked). We walked through the secure door and she tells Bilgehan he has to wait there in the waiting area, then I realize that men can't go in, and hands me some shoe covers to put on my shoes. So, leaving Bilgehan behind, I follow her into the next room and am immediately greeted by the sound of a woman in full labor. I thought, oh my God. I dunno if I'm ready for this yet! Little did I know that the experience would get more tramatic....

So, in the first part of the labor area there was a row of beds petitioned off for women who were in the first part of their labor. That was no big deal. I was like Ok, this isn't so bad. I can have women relatives and friends come while I'm laboring before delivery (which means that B can't come in. Something he's actually relieved about. lol) So, all this time I'm still hearing the woman in delivery. We walk down towards two doors and she says, "this is where you will deliver. We are very lucky today because there is a birth going on now. Do you want to see it?" I looked at her like she was nuts! I said, "Oh, no that's Ok." BUT before I knew it she had swung open the door and stepped into the room with the woman! So I followed her and there was this poor woman in the middle of hard labor all spread eagle in the stirrups! The doctor with her looked up at us and smiled and waved. All I could think of was, Oh, I don't know if I'm ready for this, as the poor woman moaned and yelled about all the pain she was in. AND THEN to top it off, the doctor pulls out this seven inch needle and sticks it God knows where in the poor woman. I'm sure we could have stayed longer, but I slowly backed out like someone would back away from a crouching tiger, totally terrified. My doctor then continues with the tour just as bubbly as ever.

After we finished with the all-inclusive tour I told Bilgehan about seeing the woman and how scared I am now about delivery. Having a c-section is sounding more and more appealing right about now!

I've seen videos and whatever of women giving birth on TV and the net, but I've never seen anyone LIVE. Let me tell you, if you don't already know, it's a totally different beast all together! I suppose that I would have been less shocked if I had been prepared for it, but on a simple tour of the labor and delivery I never expected that I would actually SEE someone delivering! Needless to say, I'm totally tramatized and terrified about what's to come! All I wanted was to see where I would labor and deliver, boy did I get the grand tour.

February 12, 2008

(31 weeks)

Things are going great. Meryem is moving around like a little trooper in there. She weighs over four pounds now and it feels like it! LOL. I don't know how much more my poor belly can stretch. It feels like it's at its limit, but there's still a month and a half left! Other than aches and pains, I feel great. So far things look good for me to have a natural birth, since Meryem is already head down. I dunno, after my tramatic tour, if I'm quite ready for the birth yet, but she has to come one way or another right?