Double Digits!

Ten whole weeks! I'm in the double digits and a fourth of the way done.  What a great week! Although I'm ready to just have my baby here now.  Everybody says to just enjoy being pregnant...what's not to enjoy about constant fatigue, nauseu, and random and sporatic pain? I'll just take the baby, thank you. I'm hoping the second trimester is as good as everyone says.

I had an ultrasound last Thursday that I've been meaning to post about but we were moving Thursday, Friday, and all day Saturday and then we didn't have internet until Monday.  But life is getting more settled again so here we go: the ultrasound was fantastic!  I also hope it was my last transvaginal ultrasound; I'm ready for the machine going over my stomach, thank you very much.  My doctor (who I've only actually seen once) was on maternity leave so I saw Dr. Foulk.  I wasn't really looking forward to him doing the ultrasound but he was so friendly and nice and professional that I didn't really care.  I think it just made Felipe uncomfortable that it was a man this time haha.  We got to see the little thing squirming about and then he was kicking his leg all the while.  It was so fun to watch him move.  The dr asked me who my OBGYN was which is a bit of a problem since I don't have one yet. I have decided that I want a midwife but I'm still switching sides on whether I'll deliver with a midwife in a hospital or go to a birthing center. I really didn't think the dr would go for that so I somewhat reluctantly told him I wanted to go with a midwife but didn't have one yet and I was pleasantly surprised by his reaction.  He gave me the name and phone number of a midwife he recommended and told us which hospital she'd deliver at based on our insurance.  He was really helpful and I was really grateful. I was also relieved that he didn't try to make me feel dumb for wanting a midwife, which was refreshing.  I still need to call her but don't really feel much of a rush since there's not much anyone can do about baby yet.  There doesn't seem to be much point until I'm further along.

I love the picture we got at the ultrasound.  He looks like a stubby little gummy bear with T-rex arms that aren't good for anything.  Enjoy!

Baby Portus, I love you already.

Ultrasound #1 is in the bag.  And there's a real baby there! It's truly there.  When the tech started the ultrasound I kept trying to spot two little babies in there but there is just the one. And honestly, I'm thrilled.  Just to have it healthy and growing tickles me pink. I was a little disappointed that I wasn't having twins, but it's the kind of disappointed where you get a $20 Barnes and Noble gift card instead of $25.  You're still thrilled and just have to remind yourself not to get greedy.

The ultrasound tech was so super nice and also happy with us.  She pointed out little baby's flashing heart (which I honestly couldn't really see, although Felipe and the tech could-lame) and then she turned on the sound and we got to listen to the little heart.  Could anything be more miraculous? I can't even imagine all the complex things that have to go perfectly for a new, living person to be born, and yet it happens all the time.  No better evidence for a divine Being.

We did some measuring and the tech kept saying everything was "perfect".  The baby's just floating around in there, bobbing with its yolk sac, but beware child! It will soon get very crowded.  The little thing's heart was beating at 160 bpm and it really was just an awesome experience to hear.  Also, turns out that I was spot on with the due date.  January 22, 2014-on Wednesday I'll be 8 whole weeks.  The baby is 13.7 mm long, actually he's the same size as he is in his picture. So tiny! And yet so nauseating. But I love him.

To my surprise, they scheduled another ultrasound next week.  I'm usually all about declining unnecessary medical procedures, but how could I say no to another quick peek? I wish I had an ultrasound machine at home and could just have a look, willy nilly. They called this next one my "graduating ultrasound".  That's the last (hopefully) I'll see of them, and now the journey's on to find someone to deliver my baby. Enjoy the picture! The head is on the right and the ball on the left is the yolk sac.

7 Weeks Down

*This post will have a part of...ahem...honesty...in it. Dad, I'm warning you now.

Being 7 weeks pregnant is fantastic.  Being any day pregnant is fantastic.  Admittedly, there are times where I may not whole-heartedly believe that, but remembering the sorrow from not being able to conceive puts me right back in the proper frame of mind. I almost wish everyone had to work hard to get their baby so little precious children could be more appreciated. But let's not get into that issue.

Most of my stress and concerns for the last few months were focused on just conceiving.  I had a vague idea that as soon as I conceived, stress and worry would fly out the window; I would be in happily ever after land.  Not so. It was just like a shift in my mindset, a literal 'out with the old, in with the new'. Every single worry was replaced with something like 'what if I miscarry', 'what if it's ectopic', and my current concern of 'how can I push that monster out of such a tiny hole?'. I'm going to take a stab at a life lesson and guess that no matter where you are in life, there's always something to worry about. I can't get around it, I guess.

Things were just great, though, being pregnant, until week 5 and 4 days hit. Cue the instant nausea. I know I've been really lucky; I haven't thrown up and the nausea hasn't been debilitating, but it's still not that fun.  I can't tell if it's let up the last few days or if I've just started to get used to it.  My nose is super sensitive so that contributes to all nausea as well. I can't open the drawer that my oils are in because they're too potent, and just looking at Felipe's dirty lunch containers makes me want to vomit.  The down side of that is that they don't get cleaned because dishes are not really Felipe's strong point...I wonder if my mother has started wondering yet where all her tuperware has gone.

I've also learned that sleeping/lying on my side makes me nauseous.  So I have to sleep on my back.  Which I hate.  Also, kissing my husband is nauseating.  A thousand good jokes could come from that, I know, but it's the sad truth. Even just little pecks make my stomach churn. Which is super odd.  I better tell him before he reads this post so he doesn't have his feelings hurt.

There are so many things about being pregnant that you just have to experience, and things that people don't ever tell you. (Dad, this is the part you should skip)  For example, sex-or any intimacy-HURTS.  Major time. I had no idea this was a thing and the first time the pain hit I thought I (or the baby) was dying.  I couldn't even get off the bed.  This is called curl-up-and-don't-talk-to-me pain. I'm so glad we don't live in the middle ages (or the 60s) and can talk about these sorts of things. I talked to my sister and looked it up and apparently it's not uncommon to have shooting death pains after intercourse.  Apparently orgasms cause uterine contractions...who knew? That was a big shocker to me. I have strong feelings that this is not the end of the pregnancy surprises. If there's anything else I should know, speak up!

(Dad, you can come back now.)

I feel like there is one major hurdle right now, and that's the ultrasound on Monday.  There are a thousand 'what-ifs'.  What if a baby didn't start developing? What if it's ectopic? What if I have a rare condition that makes the baby grow super fast and then die? It just spirals downward from there.  I'm not too concerned about that last one, but I'll still just breathe a huge sigh of relief if the ultrasound shows a healthy, developing baby. Until the new worries hit, of course.

Until then, I will continue on my diet of grapes, string cheese, pretzels, and applesauce.  The four main food groups. Surely they contain all the nutrients I need...