10 Weeks: The size of a kumquat

HOW FAR ALONG? 10 weeks
DUE DATE:  December 11, 2012

THIS WEEK, THE BABY IS THE SIZE OF A: Kumquat - a little over an inch long and weighs less than .25 ounces

TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS/GAIN: ZERO!  Still maintaining. 
MATERNITY CLOTHES? Not yet.  I think since I lost some weight prior to this pregnancy I have some room to grow in my regular clothes.
SLEEP: I have actually been sleeping pretty well the past few days.  Best sleep I've had in a while.
BEST MOMENT THIS WEEK: Hearing the heartbeat.  Didn't expect to hear it yet.  (story below)
MOVEMENT: None
FOOD CRAVINGS: I've wanted a big hamburger and a pickle with ranch all week!
SYMPTOMS: It's been a good week.  I think I've noticed my uterus growing.  It hasn't been cramps that I've felt... more like a slight tingling sensation.  It's hard to explain.  I also want to chop off my nose.  It's always stuffy these days and there's nothing I can do to get relief.  I think I partially blame my allergies too but my sis said that her pregnancy did the same thing to her.
GENDER: Not sure yet.  Still hoping on a boy.
FEELINGS TOWARD PREGNANCY: I've enjoyed it so far.  Everything has been great.
WHAT I MISS: Nothing really this week. 
WHAT I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO: Having the heartbeat confirmed by my doc.  Two more weeks.  :)



The best moment of the week was hearing the baby's heartbeat.
I told you last week that I bought a cheapo fetal heart rate monitor.
This one here:

It ended up being better than I expected.
The night that it came in the mail, James and I sat down to see if what we could find.
We didn't have any luck but we weren't expecting to really hear anything anyway.
I was only about 9 weeks along (about 10 if we go by the measurements the doc took).
The next morning I thought I'd give it a whirl again and to my surprise, I heard the little heartbeat!
It wasn't easy to find and once I found it, it was hard to keep locked in on.
I have found that I have to hold the doppler really low, like maybe an inch from my pubic bone.
I always seem to find the heartbeat toward the left side too.
I've now been able to find the heartbeat 4 times and share with James and my family.
My niece, Braeley LOVED hearing it.  She didn't want to stop listening.
I'm sure I sound pretty crazy to some of you but honestly, I don't care.
It brings me a little piece of mind to know that my baby is still growing inside.
I'm still anxious for my doctor appointment though.
Once the doc has confirmed the heartbeat I think I will feel that much more assured. 

Week 9: The Size of a Grape

 HOW FAR ALONG? 9 weeks 1 day

THIS WEEK THE BABY IS THE SIZE OF A: Grape - nearly an inch long and weighs just a fraction of an ounce.

DUE DATE: December 11, 2012
TOTAL WEIGHT GAIN/LOSS: 0 pounds - maintaining right now. :)
MATERNITY CLOTHES? Nope.  My regular clothes still fit a bit loose.
SLEEP: I have been sleeping like crap.  I'm doomed.  I have at least one potty interruption each night.
BEST MOMENT THIS WEEK: Sharing our news with friends and family.
MOVEMENT: None yet.
FOOD CRAVINGS: Sweets right now.  I am craving chocolate especially.
SYMPTOMS: Nothing too horrible.  I get a bit nauseous in the evening and tender boobies.
GENDER: Too early to tell.  James hopes for a boy.  I'm good either way.
BELLY BUTTON IN OR OUT?  In... I think it will remain this way throughout.
FEELINGS TOWARD PREGNANCY: I'm thoroughly enjoy it.  Very excited at this point.
WHAT I MISS: I occasionally wish I could have a glass of bubbly.
WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO: Hearing the heartbeat.
SMELL AVERSIONS: Blood.  GAG!!! (story below)


That pretty much sums everything up in a hurry! 
Not too much more to talk about now.  ;)

I am still a bit nervous about a miscarriage until I can hear the heart beat.
I try not to worry too much but I think it's inevitable.
I will admit, I purchased a cheap-o baby heart rate monitor off of eBay.
That should be arriving today - if the post office is operating like they should.
The device claims to be able to detect a heart rate between 10-12 weeks. 
I'm not expecting to hear anything right off since I'm only 9 weeks along.
I'm honestly not expecting it to work that great, period.
I guess we shall see how it works.  

So the aversion to the smell of blood....
We have two dogs.  Our boxer, Frankie and our doberman, Betty.

Sweet Frankie and Betty sun bathing.

Well, Betty has a blood condition that is common among dobermans.
This makes it harder for her blood to clot and so she tends to bleed uncontrollably if injured.
When we got her ears cropped,  we experience first hand how difficult it is to stop her bleeding.
Problem is Betty likes to play, and play rough. 
James has an electric RC car and Betty LOVES to chase it.
It's great exercise BUT Betty runs after it and usually ends up with scratched up pads on her feet.
They bleed and bleed and the only way we've been able to control it is by wrapping them with coban tape and gauze.
We made a rule that she's no longer allowed to chase the car on the sidewalks or streets.
Well, There's a dirt field near our house that we though would be fun to take the car and the dogs to play.

Betty with a mouth full of dirt after chasing the car.

Apparently the dirt has the same effect as the pavement.
Betty's feet weren't scuffed up nearly as bad but she still bled a bit.
When we got home, I got down on the floor to clean up Betty's wounds and wrap her feet.
I lifted her paw up to see what damage was done and got smacked in the face with the smell.
You know, that strong smell of iron that comes from blood.
Yeah, I gagged.  I had to turn the other way and breath clean air for a minute. 
That's probably the closest I've come to puking while pregnant.
I now know to steer clear of blood!

Sugar vs. Cocaine - Suprisingly Similar!

If you're anything like me, your mentality is "drugs are bad".  I don't even like to be around those who choose to do drugs.  Why would you want to put such fowl things into your body?

In a casual conversation with a friend a couple of weeks ago, I was informed that sugar is just as addictive (if not more so) than cocaine.  I quite possibly think my jaw hit the floor.  I always knew that sugars were bad for you, just never to this extent.  I, of course, did some follow up research and everything that I can find confirms the truth of this statement. 

I have been such an anti-drug "freak" only to come to find out I've been feeding my body what is typically a drug in so many like ways to cocaine.  The difference is, society believes this to be OK.  The US is considered one of the most obese countries but nothing is being done to change that.  They make refined sugars so cheap and easily accessible.  It's no wonder so many people think there's nothing wrong with this slow kind of poison.

Let me take a second to share some key points on the effects of sugar.  I'm sure I haven't even listed everything here.  Just a few that I came across while researching. 

* Sugars don't have fibers, vitamins, proteins or minerals... only empty calories.
* Just one teaspoon can causes a metabolic imbalance. 
* Sugar can decrease growth hormone (the key to staying youthful and lean)
* Sugar feeds cancer
* Sugar increases cholesterol
* Sugar can weaken eyesight
* Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity
* Sugar can interfere with the absorption of protein
* Sugar causes food allergies
* Sugar contributes to diabetes
* Sugar can contribute to eczema in children
* Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease
* Sugar can impair the structure of DNA
* Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness
* Sugar contributes to the reduction in defense against infectious diseases
* Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of bacteria that cause yeast infections
* Sugar contributes to osteoporosis
* Sugars can cause withdrawals, cravings and binging. 
* Sugars can rot teeth and cause gum disease

 Now I'd like to do a comparison with the effects of cocaine.  Take a look at how similar some of these are!  Again, I'm sure there are plenty of other side effects that aren't mentioned here.

* Increasing sense of energy and alertness
* Extremely elevated mood
* Feeling of supremacy

* Irritability

* Paranoia

* Restlessness

* Anxiety

* A cocaine high last anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours

* Increases heart rate and blood pressure

* Constricts blood vessels in the brain

* Can cause ulcers

* Possible kidney failure

* Depression and anxiety

* Fatigue

* Difficulty concentrating

* Increased craving for cocaine after extended use

It's hard to believe that something that we have been told is so bad for us has very similar side effects to ingesting sugar!  I've shared this with a few friends, one of which told me of a study that she had read about.  In this study scientists took cocaine and sugar and gave it to rats.  It was said that 90% of the time the rats would go back to the sugars.  Could sugar really be that much more addicting!?

After having this information overload dumped on me,  I started paying more attention to what my body was telling me. Superbowl Sunday is what helped me see sugar in a whole new light.  Let me share my experience.

I think for most normal, red blooded American's, the Superbowl is a chance to chow down on scrumptious food, diet or not.  I was no exception.  I had started my healthy journey a few weeks prior and had made some good progress.  One day wasn't going to make it or break it in my mind.  

I made what may have been my most favorite fudge brownies with semi-sweet chocolate chips, topped in a delicious caramel frosting.  Needless to say, I ate way more than I know I should have.  Sinfully indulging in these brownies took me down a sugar paved road that I don't think I'll ever forget.  Here's why...

After Superbowl Sunday was a thing of the past, I jumped right back on the healthy bandwagon.  Breakfast and lunch as usual.  Come home from work and make dinner.  Almost immediately following dinner the intense sugar craving kicked in.  I was hankering for a sugar fix in a bad way.  Sadly, there were some brownies still left.  "Just a sliver won't hurt."  The next day the same thing happened.  And then the next day too!  Damn you brownies! 

The brownies were finally gone BUT the sugar cravings weren't.  Thank goodness the sweets were finally out of the house.  The cravings continued for the next couple of days and then miraculously vanished.  Sugar out of my system = no more cravings for sweets. 

I've been naughty this week, not too naughty but naughty enough.  I have been having coffee with creamer in the mornings.  A total weakness of mine.  Come next week though, I'm kicking the coffee and creamer.  Not only will I be kicking the coffee and creamer, but also anything that contains refined sugars.  I'm very curious to see the difference it makes in 2 areas: 1. the amount of weight I can lose next week (with the support of a healthy diet and exercise) and 2. to see the sweet cravings vanish!

Pregnancy: Week 6

As I have been thinking throughout the past week about any new or exciting symptoms I've experience, I realized that I left out one thing from my last blog. So let me start with that: breast tenderness. Yes, they are as sore as sore can possibly get! With as sore as mine are, I don't know how I possible forgot to mention this last week! Walking up and down stairs is painful, especially when going bra-less. I swear, when my fiance even looks at them, I can feel the pain. After (or even shortly before) you find out you're pregnant, they become sore to the touch in a hurry. Possibly worse than any sore boob you've ever had. Pre-period tenderness has nothing on this! Good luck ladies! It's MAY be my least favorite thing so far.

My comment about boob tenderness possibly being my least favorite thing brings me to the next thing... ACNE!!! Acne is like a curse word in my books and comes to a close 1st place with the breast tenderness. It's awful and makes you miserable. My hormones are apparently raging and in turn has decided to rear it's ugly head in the form of acne. Not only is this acne on my face, but also my back and chest. These aren't just your normal, everyday zits I'm talking about. They are those deep, under the skin, hurtful kind. I swear there's nothing I can do to keep it at bay either. I have gotten into a really good ritual of washing my face morning and night. I limit my use of moisturizers to try to prevent any added aggravation to those nasty bumps that are already there. One of these days I am determined to find a good solution. If anyone has suggestions, I will gladly take them!

Since not everything about pregnancy is bad, I will share some crazy (and by crazy I really mean things that are actually kind of fun) things too. One new thing that I do find rather entertaining is the dreams. I've always heard that pregnant women have a tendency to have more vivid dreams but never thought that I'd notice much of a change. I have always had some crazy and fairly vivid dreams. The other night was probably the first of what I'm sure will be, many more crazy dreams to come. I remember specific details of the dream, colors and expressions on people's faces. I honestly just have to laugh about it. It almost make me excited to see what tonight will bring.

Another thing is the cravings. I personally haven't had any specific food cravings yet. I just find myself being SOOO hungry. I feel like I could eat a huge plate of food and then go back for seconds. This is only in my head it seems. I have the problem: MY EYES ARE BIGGER THAN MY BELLY. I and guilty. I have definitely filled my plate full and ate nearly (if not all) of it. The problem I have found with this is that I am overly full and just miserable. I get the instant feeling of wanting to make puke just to make myself feel better. I am getting better with this and have learned to eat only my normal portion size. Snacks here and there tend to help with the "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse" issue. I am very curious to see if I do end up having any specific food cravings though.

I feel as if I've mostly complained and made my first few weeks of pregnancy seem to be horrible. It's really not bad. I have still been feeling great. Still no morning sickness (although my belly seems to be getting a bit queasy at times) and I have yet to feel more tired than usual. It's exciting to think that there's something so tiny growing inside of me and that I'm solely responsible for nurturing it. It's fun to follow the pregnancy trackers and see the progress that the baby is making week to week. That gives me something to look forward to. There's still so much more to come!