End of 1st Trimester!!!!!

January 4, 2008.

First of all, a Happy New Year to all!!!!!

Christmas, with all it's decorations and scents, are slowly sneaking their way out the door. Sunday is 13th day Christmas, and that's when everything is supposed to be cleaned out. This is an old tradition from Norway that goes back hundreds of years when they used to have the Jule-log which burned for 12 days. Hence, the 12 days of Christmas. I bet you didn't know that!

L and I went to her family for Christmas, and Christmas Day was the day of the big family gathering. L's mother was just dying to have us tell everybody so that she could talk the rest of the family about how excited she was to become a grandmother for the first time. It was funny, she was like a little kid waiting to open her presents.

In the evening of Christmas Day, L and I had a momentus occasion. We set the last shot of progesterone. We were both happy it was over. L mainly because of the pain and stress of making sure we were in a place where we could set the shot every night at 10PM CST. I because of the fear of doing it "wrong" and hurting L. But, I have to say that it was something that made me feel like I was part of this whole "process". Once the last shot was done, all I am left to do is to try to "know it all", comfort L when she's concerned, and give good advice when we're going maternity shopping.

With the new year came our second visit the the OB/GYN (gynekolog in Norwegian). In the last week or so, L has felt like her belly got smaller, and she was freaking out a bit over it. So, it was a great feeling to hear Peanut's heartbeat when they put the Doppler probe on L's belly. And it wasn't like she had to look around for it either. It was there, right away. The little one has a heartbeat of about 170 beats per minute, and it is expected to start dropping slowly but surely down to 120 to 160 beats per minute.

The OB/GYN attributed the reduction in L's belly size to the fact that the ovaries are becoming smaller at this point. Remember, they used to be the size of grapefruits. And then her body thought that there were three little ones in there for a long time, too.

Alright, we're off to the theater. L got me tickets to "The Phantom of the Opera". We've both seen it before, but we're excited to see it again. Great story, and great music.

Again, I wish all of you a Happy New Year. May it be a great one for all of us.