Adam heard from the bus company; he passed the testing and is moving on to the next step in the hiring process. He will hear back from them again in about 2 weeks in regards to an interview. He is not sure if he wants to work there after some of things they were telling them at the testing... ie: not to expect weekends off til they have at least 10 years seniority and that he would be starting out at less than what he makes now till he got hired on to a city run. We could not really afford to have him take a pay cut so I told him just to wait and see what they offer him maybe they would be willing at the beginning to work around his work shift now so that he could do both. We have heard that might be possible. So we'll see what is meant to be will be.
On the pregnancy front... all is still the same. No sickness at all. Very little nauseau. Sore boobs:yes!!! Peeing more:yes!!!! Gas:yes, lots of it. Not really constipated though. And that is unusual for me since I have lived my life constipated. I have noticed some swelling in my abdomen but I read that could be related to bowels more than the growing uterus. But my lower stomach just above my pubic bone seems to be firmer and tender to the touch. Other than those little things nothing else is happening.
I am counting down the days till I see Dr Mundle, I was thinking maybe I would call his office next week to see if they recieved the report from the ultrasound and see if I could get in sooner to see him.
We have been recieving some congratulations cards from family and friends. It is nice to have the acknowlegments. My parents gave us a Precious Moments figurine that has a mother looking into a boot with five little faces staring back at her. It is the sweetest thing.

The ultrasound went well. They would not let my mom or Adam (he showed up) in because they had to do it vaginally because they could not see it well enough through my abdomen. I got to see the heart beating and it was amazing. I could not believe that little thing was inside me. The picture doesn't look like much of a baby, but nonetheless it is ours! Yeah.
Adam's testing went well too, he will find out by Friday if he is to be hired. Fingers crossed.

My new blog design is compliments of my good internet friend Milenka. I love it. It looks so professional. So thanks a million, Milenka. I appreciate it.

I am very excited to have the ultrasound. Adam has an interview with Transit Windsor (bus driver) so he can not make it. I am disappointed he will not be there, but it is very important that he have that interview. I would love for him to get in with the city. Lots more money, great benefits, and a pension. I know money is not everything but if he gets that job it will mean that I will not have to return to work when my maternity leave is up. That would answer so many of both our prayers. I have always wanted to be a stay at home. I have great respect for woman who can juggle both. I just don't think I am that woman. Its not like I have a great career anyway. I make 11.50/hour answering phones in a call centre. If I were a teacher or a nurse...different story completely. It is very important to me to be able to give 150% to being a mother and I feel that if I had to work a "job" I would not be able to do that. So anyway, my mother will be coming with me. She is so excited to be there. I am so hoping we will hear the heart beat. I know it's early so we may not but at least we will see it. I am glad I get to share this with my mom. We are very close so it will be exciting.
Last night we went out to dinner and I had fish and chips. Oh man, I don't know if it was grease or pregnancy or both but, I was so sick after. Big mistake to eat it anyway after gastric bypass, but my mom has eaten it with no problems so I thought ok I'll try it. It will be a long time before I try that again.
We went to look at a house in Amherstburg that Adam was in love with. I am glad we went through it so that Adam could get it off his chest. It was an older home a side split much like the one I grew up in. It had a great back yard and a nice garage and was near to the schools. But the inside had so much tiling it was really not our taste. Tiling up the stairs to the bedroom, in the hall to the bedrooms, all along the kitchen walls and the bathroom walls then again going down the stairs and the whole family room was tile too. To us it felt really cold. We understood the practicalness of it but it's not what we would choose. It smelled kind of musty too but then again no one has lived in it since October. Anyway we have decided to just hang tight for now. Adam thinks we should stay in this house until I am pregnant with our second child.. God willing. Ideally we would like to be pregnant again before this baby is one...but we all know how life has a way of taking over plans so we'll just have to wait and see. Unless, that is, this baby has decided to bring the sister or brother in one trip...then we'll need a bigger house now. Ok, now I know I am really dreaming. But can't a girl dream?

I had blood work done on Tuesday and today I got the results from my family doctor. I am at a beta HCG of 56,380. I am at the high end of where I should be, I am happy with that I feel very relaxed now.
My Dr persribed for me PregVit so that I would not have an issue with the iron and calcium absorption.
I have my first ultrasound on March 28th which is Adam's birthday. That is exciting.
My first appointment with Dr Mundle is April 24th. I can't wait to meet him.
I have not been feeling too sick just a little nauseas but nothing bad at all.

Weeks of pregnancy after last period
Days after conception
HCG level for single baby (mIU/ml or IU/L)
Week 3
7
0 to 5
Week 4
14 (next period due)
5 to 426
Week 5
21
18 to 7340
Week 6
28
1,080 to 56,500
Weeks 7 to 8
35 to 42
7,650 to 229,000
Weeks 9 to 12
49 to 70
25,700 to 288,000
Weeks 13 to 16
77 to 100
13,300 to 254,000
Weeks 17 to 24
4,060 to 165,400
Weeks 25 to birth of baby
3,640 to 117,000
4 to 6 weeks after birth
Less than 5

My friend who just had her baby in December gave me two rubbermaid containers full of maternity clothes. I should be good and not have to buy any clothes now. I am lucky.

Saturday I went to see my family doctor. She was so excited she could not concentrate on her work. It was so funny. She was surprised and happy. All the things I thought she would be. She gave me a req for blood work, God bless her and is referring me to Dr Mundle. I hope it's not too long before I see him.
She was also very happy with my and my mom's weight loss progress and told me I looked like a fashion show! LOL
My mom and I went to Babies R Us in Windsor but the bedding they had was different then the ones we saw at the US website so I guess we will have to go there. My mom bought me the What to expect when your expecting book and so far it is very interesting.
Yesterday, marked the first day I felt sick. I did not throw up, but I was nauseas all day long. I was happy though, it means things are progressing well. Today, I was a little nauseas but not too bad. I am excatly 6 weeks today.
My aunt brought my neice over last night. What a hunny, man I love that kid so much. She was dancing to this cat my mom has that sings a song and she had her arms waving in the air like a maniac. We laughed so hard and of coarse the more we laughed the more she performed.

I feel no symptoms yet. I am only 5.5 weeks so I know they will come. I still have some slight cramping but that is normal from what I have heard. I have to spotting so I am not worried. I know it's odd, but I want to feel something. Sore boobs, nausea anything just to help me feel that this pregnancy is real. I have the +HPT so that is a pretty good indicator but I want to feel it. LOL. I have a little bit of nausea but nothing major. I am curious to know how having gastric bypass will effect morning sickness. Yesterday, I was so hungry. I ate what I brought for the whole day by 12N. LOL. Today, not so bad.
I will be speaking to the dietician today in regards to my eating properly throughout the mext 8 monhts. And my family doctor will be in the clinic this Saturday, so I am going in to see her. She will be so happy to hear our news.
I find myself wondering and dreaming about the being inside me. What will he/she look like? Will it be a he or a she? What will the personality be like..etc. As much as I want to meet him/her, I just want to savour every moment of this pregnancy. Since, I never thought I would experience this journey I want to embrace it.. even when I am throwing my guts up!!

3.5 years ago Adam and I started trying to get pregnant. We were naive enough to think that we would have success on our first try. Even with our sperm issues we both held out lots of hope that all we would need is one great super sperm. After a few months of trying our family dr referred us to an OB/GYN who assured us that all we needed was an IUI. We did 2 cycles of that with no luck and lots of heart ache. The week we were suppose to find out if we were pregnant my cousin called to say she was pregnant. I was heart broken. I became pissed off at the world and I took it out on my cousin. I was a horrible bitch. I have since made retribution with her and I love her little girl more than I ever thought was possible to love another. So after the 2 failed IUI's we tried one cycle with Clomid which was a waste of time since our issue was male factor. We were referred to a uroligist in Hamilton who might have some insight as to what to do for Adam's sperm. Other than suggesting we freeze some sperm before Adam's supply completely ran out which they were not sure exactly when that might happen he was no help. In the meantime I became frantic. I researched and researched everything on testicular failure but everything I read confirmed what the drs had said all along... Testicular failure was irreversible.
The only chance we would have to get pregnant would be possibly IVF with ICSI or very possibly sperm donor. We did not have the money for IVF ($10,000) and sperm donor which was much cheaper was an option Adam was not open to . So I searched for any way to have $10000 fall into my lap. I thought about going to the mall in our city and asking every person that walked out for $1. Listen, I was a women on a mission, I was desperate to have a baby. I found a program that would allow me to donate my ovum in return for an IVF cycle for us. I very quickly signed up but the government decided that being compensated for ovum was unethical so they exnayed that plan. Bastards. So I was back to square one. Passing each cycle with little fan fare. But lots of tears. In April 2004, the government decided to "grandfather" all those in the ova donation program and allow them to utilize the program within 18 months. Yeah our prayers were being answered. Now it was just waiting for a couple to choose my eggs. In the meantime I was approved for gastric bypass and decided that it was more important for me to get my weight in check before I have a baby. Besides all the dr's kept telling us loose weight blah blah blah!!! And I knew when I was with my cousin's baby how hard it was for me to keep up with her. I could not be the kind of mother I wanted to be with 115 extra pounds on my body. I knew it would be about 18 months before I could get pregnant and I was ok with that because I knew I had not been selected yet and could donate my eggs and the clinic would keep my money on account for me till I was ready. It was a win win situation. So I had the surgery with the prospects of motherhood. 3 weeks after the surgery, I was chosen. We decided to go the cycle in November with retrieval in December. I went through the drug protocols with no problems but with very poor response to the drugs. I only had 6 ovum retrieved. That was a disappointment. I wanted the recipient couple to have a better chance than that. As it turned out those people wasted $6000 on that cycle because all the eggs were of such poor quality that they could not fertilize any of them. (They also found a cyst on my right ovary that no one seemed concerned about.) We now had an egg issue. They could not tell us what happened. Was it my age.... Probably not, lousy cycle... Could be, bad eggs all around... Maybe. But, to spend $6000 on our own cycle with this history...They told us not the best option. Take the money and put it towards adoption. So we went full steam ahead with adoption we read books and spoke to social workers then we read about open adoption and the brakes were applied. We were not comfortable with that option at all. I went back to our clinic and asked them about Embryo adoption. It sounded like a win win too, while the embryo would not be genetically related to us we would be able to experience a pregnancy and have a baby right from birth. Yes, that was the option for us. We were approved for that in February and then we were to just wait.
Well my period came February 6th and I had to come home on the 9th because of a Kotex malfunction. LOL. On February 18th I had great Egg White Cervical Mucus (which was the first since the egg retrieval) we had a fun baby dance and really thought nothing of it... Why would we? We had no chance of pregnancy, right? On the 19th I had some bad cramps on my right side. Then on the 20th and 21st I had some bleeding. I wondered what that could have been then remembered about the cyst. I went to see my family dr and she ordered an ultrasound for 1 week later. But I total forgot to go. My cycle continued normal no more cramping, or bleeding until the 2nd of March when I noticed some more spotting that stained my undies but nothing more than that. I usually start spotting 2-3 days prior to my period so I though nothing of it.. We spent the weekend of the 3rd of March with our niece and had so much fun. I realized that weekend that I was at a good weight now to keep up with her and was so happy I had had the surgery. On March 6th my period was due. It did not show up. I was having some cramping so thought it was on it's way. When it did not show up by Thursday Adam bought a test. I thought it was a waste of money...again. But, I took it. I left it in the bathroom and three minutes later I asked Adam to check it. I could not bare to see another hpt with only 1 line. He yelled from the bathroom "how many lines should there be?" "One," I said "because I am NOT pregnant!" He came out of the bathroom holding the stick in his hand and said to me "Baby, you're pregnant!" I was so much in shock I told him to stop lying to me that it was not funny to joke about that and I ripped the stick out of his hand only to be faced with a stick with 2 lines. I fell to my knees and wept. I could not believe it. We went to the dr's the next day and we were given the confirmation. Our families to say the least are so happy for us. My mother and father are over the moon... their first grand baby is due Novemeber 13th. My father's father, my beloved Zaidie's birthday was November 14th. I am still in somewhat disbelief. I have no symptoms just some cramping. But I am only 5 weeks along so I am sure the sickness will start in the next couple weeks.

I AM PREGNANT.

I am very excited to report I have 32 pounds left to loose and I will be at my goal. I have not weighed 167 since May 1997 so this is a huge deal for me. I am wearing jeans I wore in High School. They are my fave jeans because they are Levi's and I bought them with my own money so I have always been very proud of them. I could never bring myself to get rid of them. I also have this pair of shorts that my best friend's very gay brother told me once when I was wearing them... "You, in those shorts is enough to turn me straight." I nearly fell over when he said that because like I said he is VERY GAY. But none-the-less, I liked the compliment a lot. I will not fit into them by summer so I guess for now I will have to wear them around the house. Oh darn.
Last night I went over to my cousin's house, she had three formal dresses I could try on. I never imagined in my whole life I would be "shopping" in her closet. I had asked her if I could buy the dress she wore to our wedding from her. She said I could have it. So I went over and I knew I would have to get it altered because she has a tiny chest and I have monmouth boobs (much to my chagrin) but the waist and the hips were ok. She then had me try on this black long slinky spaghetti straps dress. It looked so nice on me. It gave me such a great shape, I could not believe I was looking at myself in the mirror. It comes with a jacket, but for me the jacket did nothing. It was too long and hid the awesome shape the dress created. I called the dress maker that made our bridesmaids dresses and she said she would make a little shrug with very shear long sleeves made with a georgette type fabric; I see her on the 23 of March. My mom is going to wear the dress from our wedding and the same dressmaker will be altering that for her too. My mom said that when Mrs. T (dressmaker's name) pinned her in it, it made the dress look even nicer. I can't wait to see her in it. She looked beautiful at my wedding so now with 55+ pounds gone.... VAVAVAVOOM!! She may even have more weight gone since the ball is in 1 month.
My cousin also gave two skirts... One jean and one Khaki type. They are both really nice, but too long so when I go to the dress maker I am going to ask her to shorten them for me. They are both size 13 and a bit big, bot oh well. LOL. The khaki type one I remember very clearly, I sold it to her when I was working for Mark's Work Wearhouse. I loved it so much on the rack, but could not fit into them so when she came into the store, I made her try it on because I wanted to see what it looked like. I told her she had to buy it so that I could live vicariously through her. And then added...if I even get smart enough to get this weight off, I'll steal it from you. Then I laughed histerically. That was over three years ago, just before my wedding. I never really thought that dream would come true, but here I am wearing that skirt!!!

My mom and I managed to convince the boys to take us to the annual Barix Bariatrics Ball. It is on April 8th and we get to dress up for the occasion. We are so excited to go. I am getting a new dress for the occasion, but I will be wearing it to the wedding Adam is standing up in in May too so it will be dual purpose. We are sending our money in at the end of this week for the tickets.

We had such a blast with Katie this weekend. The kid is just so darn funny. We took her to Colasanti's, which is a local greenhouse in our area that has a petting farm, and carnival rides etc. It is nice to go there on our own, but having Katie with us was so much better. I was small enough to be able to go on the kiddie rides with her (since she was too small to go on herself.) I was so happy and proud of myself, last summer I never could have gotten on that ride. She was so funny on the ride she had the people all around the outside in hysterics because of her antics. It was great.

My mom had some awesome milestones this weekend too... firstly she walked a lot and was not winded and did not need a break in between. That is something she could/would not have done 2 months ago. And then we went to eat and she fit in a booth!!! She was so excited about that and frankly so were we for her. Then on Sunday we went to Colasanti's and she walked around there for some time too. She did so great. I am so proud of her. Her life is coming back to her now. She also traded in her size 5X pants at Penningtons for a size 2X!!! Wow! Way to go MOM.

Just for you Milenka!!!
I know some of them are very late and I apologize for my tardiness.
Now that we have our very own wonderful computer and I have figured out how to get the pictures uploaded...yes I had a 2 hour blond moment tonight, I will for surely upload more pictures on a regular basis.
When I started thinking about having weight loss surgery Dr Pop told me to expect to loose 70% of my excess weight within one year. It has been 6 months since I had my surgery and I have lost 80.5 pounds of my 115 I have to loose.. That my friends is 70% of my excess weight. Holy Shit I can't believe it. I have 30% more to loose and I will at my goal. 35 pounds = 30%. I really hope to have it gone for my 1 year. I have just under 6 months to do that.
Next weekend my husband's aunt, 2 cousins, my mom and I are going on a power shop to the U.S of A. I can not wait. Our 17 year old cousin will be looking for prom dresses. She is so tiny and petite I hope she has good luck. It is such a contrast to when I shopped for prom dresses, I had a hard time finding a nice dress because I was heavy. I guess it doesn't matter our body sizes we all have our clothing issues. I am looking very forward to this shopping trip. They are all coming to stay with us on the Friday and I have been very busy selecting the menu for supper that night. I have narrowed it down to chicken or pork chops for the entree and then for desert a carmel apple sundae desert or a black forest mousse thingy...both very sugar free and low fat of coarse. Yummy. It's great how we have learned to modify recipes to make them "legal" for us to eat. Anyway, we always have such a great time when we're together so this should prove to be a great time. Adam's older cousin has not stayed with us since Adam turned 30 2 years ago this month so it will be very nice to have her. Adam's aunt and cousin come more often, I am very close to the aunt and I think it is because she reminds so much of Adam's mom whom I love very much and still miss like crazy.
We are having our "niece" stay with us this week-end. I am so excited to have her. It will be her first sleep over with Aunt Tammy and Uncle Adam and we always have so much fun with her. She is so funny and my aunt says she is talking so much more now. I have not seen her since Valentine's Day and that is far too long to be without her sweetness.