Sicky-Poo

I will not eat any more bananas.
I will not eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal.
I've been sick all morning at work.
I don't think I've ever puked so much before.
Nuff said.

I'm a Fatty

How Mommy feels:

• Bloated
• Tired
• Constipated
• Fat
• Hungry

mornings sickness: nope! (hooray!)
Cravings: bananas and pickles

___________________________________________________

WAhhhh!!!!
Who can explain to me why my dress pants aren't fitting?! I'm 10 weeks and I feel a cumbersome pooch already!

Here's the changes that the Mayo Clinic Guide To A Healthy Pregnancy said to expect through week 10:

• The baby has lost his/her embryonic tail and has fully separated fingers and toes.
• The vital organs have completely formed.
• The baby weighs about 4 grams (or 4 paper clips) and measures to about 1.30 inches.
• The baby's brain is producing over 250,000 neurons every minute!
• If I am having a boy, his testosterone begins pumping this week. (But I'm sticking to the feeling that I'm having a girl.)

Changes that the book tells me I'll experience directly are:

• The hormones my body is producing along with increased blood volume may give me a "pregnancy glow" (but I've yet to see one).
• The abdomen may begin to expand, you may see a diminishing waistline.

I like how they say the words "may" because it's obvious not every pregnant woman will begin to see the expanding waistline - nope, only some. Or in this case, just me. There's a huge difference of how my clothes feel this week than they did last week. For instance, the dress pants I chose to wear to work today are pre-pregnancy pants. I wore them last Monday and they were a little tight but I could easily button and zip them. Well, today I can't even button them! I'm not exaggerating - I wish I was. But it's the complete truth. I almost cried when I realized that the buttons weren't going to button without severely straining the pants - or kill the baby. But the pants stay up well enough without buttoning them (another consternation to add to my growing lists of troublesome changes.) So I wore them to work anyway.

So I have this pooch now. Granted I had a little one before my pregnancy, but this one's bigger and maddeningly enough I can't suck it in. However, I am glad to be seeing this change because it's exciting even if it is happening sooner than I thought. It makes the whole experience of being pregnant more real. But along with that I feel fat and unattractive. The books says it's normal to feel this way especially if this is the first pregnancy, but it's tough to cope with nonetheless.

I've added new thingy's on the blog too. Now, you can vote and say whether or not you think I'm having a boy or girl. You can also wait until I'm further into the pregnancy before voting, but the survey will be there whenever you're ready to vote. And there's also another little countdown I added.

Tenth Week already!!

Well, here we are at the 10th week of the pregnancy. For me it is going pretty fast. I'm sure that it is a different feeling for Heather. It seems so far away and hard to believe, but at this time next year we will be deciding on Little One's first Halloween costume. Heather has already decided that the costume will be a baby duck or baby chick costume (because she/he will be sooooo cute!!!) I think that those are appropriate costumes for a little girl, but I think that a lion costume would be more fitting for a little boy. I'm sure we will be discussing this later.
I think and hope that Heather is through with being sick with morning sickness. I'm sure that the nausea will be there, but as far as actually getting sick I think that has passed. We are both learning what to do to prevent the sickness.
When we were at the doctors appointment the other day I think is when it really hit me that we are having a baby. Especially when I heard and actually saw the heart beat. When I heard that heart just a poundin' away at 176 beats/minute I had an overwhelming feeling of joy and happiness. I can't wait to hear it again at the next appointment. When I was waiting in the waiting room for Heather to finish the other half of her appointment, my mind started to race. What about this, what about that? I know this is the same thing going on in Heathers head. Even though we are thrilled about becoming parents, we are a little scared about the whole thing. I think that's a natually feeling though with any new parents. I also feel that since this is a "non-traditional" pregnancy adds to Heathers stress. I understand this and am trying to install some ease that we will be getting married, it's just a matter of when. I do believe that it will be happening sometime in November. Even though it may not be the wedding that we want, there will always be time to have a renewal ceremony in a couple of years. Well, thats all for now, more later!!

Gummi Worms + orange juice do not equal to a happy tummy

Mood: happy
Cravings: saltine crackers
Morning Sickness: moderate

I am moving along at what seems like a snail's pace into my ninth week of pregnancy. The baby has made a drastic change in physical appearances from last week to this week which is something quite amazing. I am certainly feeling more pregnant with every progress the baby makes. And I swear that I'm getting sick more frequently - which does not make me a happy camper in the mornings.
And this morning was tough considering I'm laying in bed and the crackers sat on the kitchen counter approximately 35 feet away. But I mosied out of bed at 7:18 this morning (when I should have gotten up at 6:45am), nibbled on a cracker and got ready for work. Before heading out the door I figured I could easily eat a bowl of bland Smart Start cereal. I held that down (Yay!). Once I got to work I drank some orange juice and snacked on a couple of gummi worms that seemed to tickle my craving spot. Ooohhh, was that a bad choice!
Let's just say no one should have that kind of sugar early in the morning. And I'm not really sure how I thought that eating gummi worms would improve my stomach since it was already nervous the moment I got up. But I guess I didn't really think it through before I began chowing down on the gummi worms.
Now I'm stuck huddling by my trash can at work and fighting the battle with my gut to keep my cookies (so to speak). I am not touching gummi worms ever again. You can count on it.

Dr. Hansen, his Posse and Baby Blob

I had my first appointment today and the one major thing I've come away with from the doctor's appointment is that I'm in good hands. Dr. Hansen is a funny and genuinely caring guy. He is extremely personable and kind and careful. I really was impressed with his team of nurses, especially Donna. And (of course) with him.
I thankfully didn't have to have a vaginal ultrasound, but I was able to have the common "Rub the thingy on your gelled belly" ultrasound. (hopefully that made some form of sense.) So Rob and I got to see the first grainy picture of our baby. Dr. Hansen kindly dubbed it "And here's a picture of Baby Blob," when he gave us the print-off of the U/S (ultrasound).
I was given a friendly rundown of what to expect in the exam and had qualms about many of the procedures put to rest. Like (okay, so this next part might be too much information so feel free to skip it.) for instance, when I had my pap smear done usually it can be an awkward and strange moment, but Dr. Hansen and Donna (his right-hand gal) just talked to me about the baby and the excitement and before I knew it he was done with business down there, and Ta-Da! The exam is over.
Wow.
So anyway, needless to say I ironically enough really enjoyed my first exam (minus the peeing in the cup. I swear I had performance anxiety.) simply because the doc and nurse put me at ease.

As for the first pictures of the baby, it's handily located below.

The pictures are already grainy and scanning wasn't the best resolution but it's something. The basic information you likely want/need to know is that the baby's measuring about 7 weeks and 3 days (though I'm more like 8 weeks and 4 days when you consider my LMP). The physical measurement of the baby is just at 1.25cm long! My estimated due date when you consider my last period is May 24, 2009. But with Dr. Hansen's measurements of the baby I'd be due about June 1, 2009. But he said as we go along we'll get a better date and that we'd continue to keep my date (May 24th) on file. The baby's heartbeat (which Rob and I got to hear) was pounding at a quick 176 beats per minute!! Hearing the heartbeat really solidified the fact that I'm pregnant. If you look at the first picture, the white vertical lines mark the hearbeat and you could actually see the fluttering of the heart on the U/S.

Good news (other than my body and baby are healthy) is that I was given the go-ahead to continue taking Excedrine Migraine for my bad headaches until I hit 20 weeks. I had one yesterday that really made me sick all day. It's a weird fact, but women who are prone to migraines can get them more frequently during pregnancy because of all the horomone changes. And with the migraines, it can increase the symptoms of morning sickness and yesterday I was sick as a dog! I didn't stop loosing my accounts until 4pm. Needless to say I didn't eat much beyond a cracker, a sip of ginger ale and a bowl of ice cream (okay or two. But that was because I hadn't eaten all day and iceream is bland enough and soothing.)
Mmmmmmm, ice cream.
Ahem, anyway! So my next appointment is in about four weeks on November 13th. Which Rob said is Kathi's birthday so that's got to be a good omen of a sorts - if I were superstitious.
So until my next appointment, rest assured I will continue blogging about the pregnancy and the experiences. And so will Rob.

8 weeks in

Here it is, 8 weeks with about 30-32 to go. It seems to be going by fast for me. It was only about a month ago that we found out the news. I am looking forward to our first appointment with the doc on Thursday. I hope that Heather is not too nervous. She has been the trooper. She has been dealing with bits of morning sickness and being tired most of the time. I hope that things let up for her in the next while so her life can get back to some kind of normality. We are trying to decide when the best time to inform the families and we just don't know. This is a very sensitive situation with Heathers family and we are going to have to be very careful with this. My family will be a little different, they will be very surprised, shocked etc. but I think that it will pass and they will be happy for us. We will probably tell them this weekend after the doc appointment. That is all for now, more later after the appointment.

8 weeks

Mood: sleepy
Cravings: water
Mornings sickness: mild

I am now eight weeks into my pregnancy. My first doctor's appointment is this Thursday and I'm excited and nervous at the same time. And I'm so glad that Rob will be coming with me. Going alone would be tough, especially since this is the first appointment, but Rob has made it clear to me he'll go to every doctor's appointment and that he wants to be experience everything with me.
My dreams have gotten crazy too. The only one I can remember was over the weekend and it was with all my family. First, my cousin Sean who is a consul down in Panama, Central America for the US government, was the focal point of my dream - why? I have no idea. Anyway, my dream was that he tried smuggling monkeys who were a carrier of some disease into Panama to save them from something. But the government caught him and he was arrested. So the whole family and I buy tickets to Panama and we're all excited to see Sean and get a look at the country even though he's been arrested for a serious crime. We get there, we attend his court hearings - and in the dream he is pimped out like James Bond, which he SO isn't in real life - and he gets committed to the slammer for life because he knew better than to try to smuggle in monkeys since he worked for the government. And that's all I remember.
But I thought it was really weird that of everything he tried smuggling into Panama, it was monkeys. But I guess that's why it's a dream and not reality.
And here's what's going on with the little munchkin in my belly:
-The smaller details like eyelids, ears, nose and upper lips are starting to take definite shape. And now those four buds spreading out from the body will be developing fingers and toes.
-The heart has separated into four chambers and is beating at an estimated 150 beats per minute.
-Ossification (hardening) of the bones set in as elbow and knee joints develop.
-The baby is about 1/2 an inch long.
-The sex of the baby becomes more promanent, but not noticeable on an ultrasound.
-The tongue is developing
-The intestines move from the umbilicle cord into the abdomen of the baby.
And with all this growth I have got to take my prenatals. The last few days I've lost my routine and I've forgotten to take it the night before and last night. Which isn't good - so I need to ask the doc how bad is it to miss a day's serving of prenatal vitamins. Hopefully it won't be too bad. And really, I've kept a good diet so far with the pregnancy. So I don't think I'm missing out too badly on nutrients, but I still don't like the fact that I've forgotten on 2 occasions. We'll see what Dr. Hansen (my OBGYN) will say.

I also added a little ticker to the blog that shows a count-down of how long the baby has for gestation and it shows a picture of what the baby looks like. Also, the picture below is a life-size "doll" of what the baby looks like in comparison to the palm of the hand. My Little One is so tiny!

7 weeks and counting

Mood: Good
Cravings: sushi
Morning sickness?: a little

As of yesterday I am seven weeks along. The pregnancy calendars I look at (maybe a little too much) say the baby is now about the size of a tic-tac (or a 1/4 of an inch long from crown to rump). Also, the baby is deciding whether to be a boy or girl at this point - but the sex of the baby won't be noticeable until I'm about 18-20 weeks along. ((I'll be honest, I think it's a girl.))
Yesterday was also my official day to experience full-blown morning sickness. Granted, I had a headache so I'm sure that played into the sickness. But Rob making coffee really played a number on my senses too. And on normal days I LOVE the smell of freshly-made coffee.
After loosing my accounts via the bathroom sink (something about hunching over a toilet made me feel all the sicker) I nibbled on saltine crackers, sipped a minute amount of ginger ale and promptly napped in the chair in the living room for awhile.
After my nap I ate half a banana and realized that the sickness had passed. But I was so tired I napped some more. And when I woke up I ate the remainder of my banana and a small slice of Tombstone pizza. Thankfully, I held it down.
I was such a bum yesterday.
But now I'm back at work on Monday and feeling okay. I still feel moments of "Crap, I am gonna puke into my trashcan." at work but it's not near as bad as yesterday. And if I had my druthers and had to choose which way I would rather get sick, it would definitely be in the privacy of my own home versus embarassing myself at work.
And on top of developing this morning sickness, I have had Rob literally by my side. He was supposed to go fishing yesterday but ended up not going because I had the heeby-geebies. He stayed by my side, looked after me and was such a relief to have around. It's hard to put in words how Rob's presence alone was almost enough to make me feel better. So if there's more sick moments to come, I have no doubt that Rob will be my complete support.
And on a happy note, I can fulfill my craving for sushi. YAY! I researched and found that the general consensus is that I can enjoy lots of sushi, i just can't eat but a few servings out of a month so that I don't consume too much mercury. Thank you American Pregnancy Association! Their website had a detailed list of what sashimi to avoid completely during pregnancy and what I can have in moderation and how much of a serving. So tonight, Rob and I are going downtown to eat at my favorite sushi joint, Happy Sumo. And below is a picture I pulled from online which shows about what my baby looks like now.