When Will It End?

I don't mean to be a whiner, but I'm so ready to feel better soon! It seems like it's getting better and then BOOM! Sick again.

I'm back to my morning sickness diet of milk, english muffin, and popcorn. That's about it for me! And some water and juice of course. Smells just irritate me and I can't be anywhere around meat. Isn't that so weird?

Anyways, just needed to vent!!! Thanks for listening!

12 Weeks = 3 Months! =)

Info on what's happening with Pepper:

Baby can now experience many sensations and is now able to begin communicating with mom. She/he has immense potential waiting to be stimulated and developed.

Baby is intimately connected to mom emotionally as well as physically. Not only are the substances you intake transmitted to the baby, but your emotions and feelings are transmitted to her/him as well. Since she/he shares your endorphins, which are chemical substances that produce an enormous sense of well-being, your child can also sense and share your emotional sensations. It is therefore very important to be happy, peaceful and serene. Your happiness and positive feelings can induce equally pleasant feelings in your child. By the end of the third month the fetus is 4 inches long and from now on, the organs will mature and the fetus will gain weight.

I'm very excited to be beginning the fourth month now (measuring 4 weeks = 1 month). I'm still having huge issues with food. Definitely able to eat a little more variety, but sometimes it just doesn't stay down. I want to make sure that Pepper is getting everything he/she needs but at the same time I can't force myself to eat! I'm also still extremely tired and nap almost daily. I think this is all pretty normal though. Next doctor apt. is in about a week and a half so I'll talk to doc about all this. It's a doc I've never seen before so maybe I can convince her to give me an ultrasound. hehehe - I'm sneaky.

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving has special meaning this year. Peter and I are thankful for so many things, and of course, so many people that are so important in our lives.

Our parents, family, friends, and even clients have been such a blessing this year. Thank you all for your support and love.

Another thank you to Aris and Heidi for putting together our pre-thanksgiving dinner and having us all over at your house. That was so nice of you guys!

Mom and Dad, Thanksgiving was awesome. Thanks for making everything that me and Pepper wanted! It was so nice to have everyone at the table together and it was so much fun. Love you guys bunches!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! Let the holidays begin...

Yay for regular food!

I've had a really good couple of days! I'm starting to eat more regular foods and I'm so happy about that. I was really getting tired of just having bagels and cream cheese!

I had dinner with my mom the other night and had salad and clam chowder. It was great! Then last night I had a great reunion with Leizl, a friend of mine since high school, and we had wonderful Italian at Basil Tomato. I had Eggplant Parmesan and it was SO good! Today Peter and I went to Sam Sato's and I had a bowl of noodles and a BBQ stick. So it seams that my tastes are finally expanding and I'm able to eat more. I know Peter will be happy about that too, as so many foods have 'stunk up the house' and I didn't like it. I still think the dried aku smells nasty though.

I still don't like soda and sweet stuff. Which is a great thing since I'm at risk for gestational diabetes due to my weight. So that's just my body's way of looking out for itself I think.

On another note, we saw baby Landon today and I got to feed him and rock him to sleep. He's just so precious and I'm sure I could just stare at him for hours! I also hung out a bit with Nana and talked story with her.

I have two due dates.... the IVF due date says June 9 and Kaiser says June 8... so I guess it's safe to say that I am 11 weeks along right now. I'm starting to feel a little more weight/pressure in the abdomen and it's not comfortable to lay on my back for very long, so I'm mostly sleeping on my sides already. Regular pants are just too tight so I've moved on to stretchy pants and even bought a couple maternity ones (which are super comfy by the way).

So that's my update for now! I'm excited that Thanksgiving is next week, and then I have another doc apt in early December to check up on things. One more week until I'm done with the first trimester! WooHoo!

Pepper's Doing Great!

We had our first Kaiser appointment today and it went really well. We got to see an ultrasound of "Pepper" and it's so neat how it's growing. I think he/she was sleeping because there wasn't much movement, but we could see the heart beating...

They took lots of blood, which I'm used to the needles already, and I got a flu shot. I'll be going back in three weeks for a checkup, but I don't get another ultrasound until I'm about 20 weeks along. They said I might get one at 28 weeks, but that will be all (I don't understand why they can't just do an ultrasound everytime. It would make everyone happier).

We stopped by Maui Medical Group afterward to show the picture to all of Peter's old co-workers. We got lots and lots of hugs and congratulations, and then we went and had lunch at Penne Pasta. Pepper liked it. =)

We Have a Nephew!!!

Beautiful baby Landon Jacob Leano Dagupion made his first appearance last night at 8:23pm. He weighs just over 7lbs and is 23.5 inches long!!!

We were so glad we could be there and hold him when he was just 45 minutes old. Pat & Lisa are doing great.

10 Weeks & Waiting...

Yippee!!! We're 10 weeks along today. Hard to believe that means we are 1/4 of the way already. So amazing how time can fly (even when you don't feel that great). I bought the Disney gummy vitamins because I can't handle the pre-natals and there was a coupon for a free Pooh book. I ordered it and put "Pepper Dagupion" as the recipient.

We are on pins and needles right now as today is Lisa & Pat's due date for baby Landon to arrive. It's so awesome I'm going to be an auntie and get a little "practice" in. Hopefully he'll make an appearance today or sometime very soon.

The Urpies are Back... urgh

Ah man, just when I thought morning sickness was getting better - it decided to come back! I was doing good with eating more foods and feeling, for the most part, pretty good the past week or two.

The past three days have all been pretty crappy as far as how I feel. And I keep throwing up (sorry if that's too much information) and it sucks!

I've read all the old wives tales online that if you have really bad morning sickness that it's a girl (are girls supposed to be troublemakers?). And also that girls are supposed to steal their mom's looks, and my hair has already gone flacid. *LOL* So we'll see!!!

I made my first appointment at Kaiser for Monday the 14th. I hope that we get another ultrasound!

We Have a Pepper!

This is "Pepper's" first picture!! First he/she was being very still, but then once we said Pepper, it started dancing around and waving. I wish that they had taken the pic when he/she was waving. It was so amazing - I can't even describe it. I just burst into tears afterward. We tried to find the other one (two embryos were transfered), but we could only find one lil Pepper. It looks like a nice, strong heartbeat!

Now I've been turned over back to Kaiser so I'll call them tomorrow and hopefully we'll get more ultrasounds and to hear the heartbeat (we only saw it on the screen).

OK - now it finally feels real!

9 Weeks! Yeah!

Another Friday milestone - 9 weeks!!! Yahoo! I'm feeling good today for the most part. A little tired so I'll probably take a nap later on. Only three more days until our ultrasound. I can't wait!!!

Just some updates

We all went to Marissa & Eugene's house for Peter's birthday. He got his favorite food - Oxtail Stew. It's been a long time since he's had it and he was thankful we didn't go out to a restaurant!

I felt good yesterday, but today was a different story. It was hard holding food down, and when I could eat, it wasn't much. I did have a craving for popcorn so Peter went to get me some. I don't even normally like popcorn! haha

I know it's still so early, but I am already really uncomfortable sleeping. Normally I can stay in one position all night, but now I find myself tossing and turning. Our bed is only a Full and it's me, Peter, Chico and Dexter in there. So I think we need a bigger bed because I am SO uncomfortable.

I also feel like I have a small balloon in my insides. I don't know if that's just the expanding of my uterus, but I can feel it and it's strange. Plus I just can't shake always feeling tired - this is all very new to me!

Anyhoo.... off to bed now... it's been a long day and I'm exhausted!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PETER!!!

*Singing the Beatles Song* Today is your birthday!!! nanananananan-nana Gonna have a good time! nananananana-nana

That song is kinda a tradition to sing on birthdays for us. =) Pardon the bad voice! *LOL*

Peter's really excited because we're going to his Mom's house for dinner and she's making his favorite - Oxtail stew. Which doesn't sound appetizing AT ALL, but it's been a long time since he had his beloved Oxtail and so I'm excited for him. =)

Just thought you all might like to see approximately what Pepper looks like right now. I got this pic of the Internet - pretty amazing!!!



Week 8:
Most of the joints are formed now. Ears, ankles and wrists are formed. At the end of the second month the fetus is a little over 1 inch long and weighs less than an ounce