Week 13: The size of a medium shrimp

HOW FAR ALONG? 13 weeks

Excuse the crappy picture... I was in a hurry so it's blurry.

THIS WEEK, THE BABY IS THE SIZE OF A: Medium Shrimp - about 3 inches long and weighs nearly and ounce now!

TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS/GAIN: Ugh... 5 pounds.  I know weight gain is inevitable but I feel I jumped up that 5 pounds in a hurry... is someone messing with my scale??  LOL  

MATERNITY CLOTHES? Not yet.

SLEEP: I'd be sleeping like the dead if it weren't for this stupid cold!  I am so stuffed up!

BEST MOMENT THIS WEEK: Actually being able to feel a little "bump" (or hardness) in my belly.

MOVEMENT: None

FOOD CRAVINGS: I have realized my food of choice is definitely a good hamburger.  I could eat one every night, seriously.

SYMPTOMS: I had my first puking incident.  I think I blame the prenatal vitamin though.  I usually take it after I've eaten but I took it prior to breakfast on Sunday and ended with breakfast in the toilet.  YUM! ;)

GENDER: Not sure yet.  Still hoping on a boy.  We will likely find out come 15 weeks though... soon!

FEELINGS TOWARD PREGNANCY: I'm feeling a bit bitter toward it since I can't take any good drugs but other than that it's been great!

WHAT I MISS: Nothing really. 

WHAT I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO: Finding out the gender!


I recently came to a weird realization...
I don't like (or hearing others) calling the baby "it".
Understandably, we don't know what the gender is so "it" seems fitting.
It just bothers me because it's a baby, my baby.
So instead of calling the baby "it", I call "it" baby (until we find out the gender).

I think this realization came to when while having a conversation with James last week.
I told him that it seemed like everyone would look at my belly while talking to me these days.
It feels semi awkward.  Yes, I'm pregnant but you can still look at my face.
I human nature I suppose.  I sure hope that I haven't made other feel weird when they were pregnant!
Anyway, James' comment to my self conscious belly issue was this...
"What to you expect?  There's SOMEONE in there."
Ha!  Someone.... I do have a little someone growing inside me!
This someone isn't an "it".  It's a baby.  My baby.
I truly think that put a whole new perspective on pregnancy for me!
I love my little SOMEONE.  :)

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!

Week 9: Q&A

Ahhhh, nothing like a long weekend to enjoy Thanksgiving with my family.  Very much needed!  In turn, I am a few days behind on my regular weekly post so I'll jump right in.

I'm sure this blog post will be short and sweet since I feel like there hasn't really been anything really new happening this past week.  :)

I'm still fighting nausea but no actual puking.  I find my self very tired still but I somehow manage to push through the day.  After our Thanksgiving feast, I managed to put up our Christmas tree and decorate it.  How's that for pushing through being tired?  Ha!

Other than that, I'm just the same old me.  I really want to start taking belly pictures so I can physically see the changes.  I don't notice them because I'm obviously with myself at all times.  I think this week will be the week that I start.  I just need to do it now!

So my best friend, Katie, was asking me some questions the other day so I thought I'd address them here as well.  I'm sure there are others out there are wondering the same types of things.  Here we go!

Q: Can you notice a physical change with your body?
A: Not really.  I have yet to really gain any weight even.  Just the normal fluctuating of weight.  Since Thanksgiving I have somehow actually dropped 2 pounds.  My pants that fit somewhat snug before seem to be getting a little tighter but not uncomfortable yet.  At my doctor's appointment, my doc told me that my uterus is enlarged but I just don't notice that yet.  Cramping has stopped though.

Q: Have you been eating better and/or working out?  Can you work out while prego?
A: I haven't really been eating any different than I was before.  The feeling of wanting to eat a horse has subsided.  I know when I'm full now and can stop before I feel crappy.  As far as working out, I personally haven't been working out.  I know I probably should get into a routine though.  I read through all of the paperwork the doctor sent home with me.  One of the pamphlets went into what you can or can't do while pregnant.  For the most part, it's supposed to be low impact stuff.  You aren't supposed to accelerate your heart rate more than 150 bpm, or something like that (Don't quote me on this.  I'm just going off of what I can remember reading, not quoting anything directly).  I do remember seeing something in there about those who were physically active beforehand.  Most can keep up their running routines and such.  It's always best to talk to your doctor before doing so though.

Q: Did you know you were pregnant before taking the test?
A: I did not know that I was pregnant before taking the test.  For some reason though, I felt the need to take the test the day my period was supposed to start.  I would normally have waited a couple days after my missed period to take it.  Maybe it was intuition.  :)  I peed on the stick though and set it down.  I started getting ready and glanced over at it and thought "I swear I'm never going to get pregnant".  At the next glance over I noticed the faint line saying I was pregnant.  The rest is history!

These are just a few things I've been asked.  I'm sure there are plenty of other questions out there.  If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to answer them!  Ask away!  I want my experience to be able to help others in their journey too. :)

Week 8: Doctor's visit #1

Onto week 8, month 2!  The baby is now the size of a raspberry or kidney bean.  We are nearing the end of the first trimester! Wow! That's crazy to think. I realize that there are still 4 more weeks before that but those weeks creep up on you in a hurry. Before I know it, this little fella or gal will be here!

Anyhow, today was my first visit to the doctor to check things out. Exciting. I was looking forward to it all week.  As the time to go got closer, I was a bit more nervous than I thought.  Things went well though.  Got a flu shot.  Had 5 vials of blood drawn.  The best part, we got to see the baby.  This early in a pregnancy, they do an internal ultrasound.  They take this long, stick like thing and insert it through the vagina, into the uterus.  Don't worry, it's not bad at all and doesn't hurt.  I say long too, but they don't insert much of the stick thing either.  We saw the baby's heart beating at an incredible rate.  We didn't hear it yet but you could definitely see that the heart was beating away.  Totally cool.  James is already wanting to know when we can find out the sex of the baby.  We still have a ways to go there!

As far as any changes in how I'm feeling... nothing too different, other than more frequent trips to the bathroom (I'll touch more on that in a minute). Still have acne. Still get nauseous from time to time. Nothing that isn't manageable though.  I have noticed that my two tender ladies aren't quite as tender anymore.  They are feeling somewhat normal again.  WOOHOO!  I have been told that it only gets worse when your milk comes in though.  I dread that day. 

About my excessive need to pee all of the time.  I have always seemed to have a small bladder and had spent a good amount of time in the restroom.  Yeah, that was nothing compared to this.  I wake up at least once a night, sometimes two.  The mornings seem to be the worst.  After breakfast I'll take a potty break and then, no joke, not even 10 minutes later I seem to have a full bladder!  The other day I was in the bathroom 4 times all within an hour.  I guess tinkling is better than spending my time in the bathroom puking my brains out!  I'll take this over that!  I must say, I'm doomed when the baby is big enough to be putting pressure on my tiny bladder though.   

I have noticed that some of the muscles in my stomach seemed to be getting a bit tight from time to time. I noticed this as I went to roll over in bed the other night.  It has made me realize that my nights of belly sleeping will probably soon be coming to an end. I probably sleep on my belly 90% of the night. I'm hoping that I'll be able to find a new favorite sleep position when the time comes.  Maybe a body pillow will come in handy.

All in all, this week has been a good week.  I'm more excited today than I was when I found out.  Like I've said before, I have KNOWN that I was pregnant, just never really FELT it.  I know there are symptoms that I've nagged about but still.  Maybe it's just me.  Seeing the baby today was the official confirmation for me though.  I AM PREGNANT!  I am going to be a mom.  And so my journey continues onward.  :)

Pregnancy: Week 7

Yep, already to week 7. My baby is already the size of a blueberry. Still so tiny but growing rapidly. Hands and feet are beginning to form. At the rate these weeks are going by, I'll have my very own baby in my arms before I know it! It's still a bit surreal but as the weeks pass, I feel more and more excited and like this is finally something so real.

I'm a few days late getting this posted. I have been struck with an awful cold. It's miserable because there aren't any good drugs I can take. Lots of fluid and a neti pot have become somewhat helpful I guess. A friend of mine recommended a vitamin C drink that actually tastes really good and is great on cold days, such as today. You simmer for 20 minutes (in a very large pot) 5 quarts of water, 5 oranges, 5 lemons, juiced, 2 cinnamon sticks, 1 tsp cloves, and 2 cups of sugar. Maybe it's in my head but as I drink it, I feel a bit better. Anyhow, onto day 5 of the cold. I'm hoping it passes soon.

So anyway, what is new this week? Well, I have been introduced to nausea. There's a pattern to it, for the most part. I feel fine in the morning but as noon starts to approach, my stomach gets nauseous. I have found that eating a small snack between meals helps that though. I had the nauseous feeling come on this morning before I was able to eat breakfast though. As soon as I ate, it went away. Yay for food! LOL.

I have also noticed that the smell of chicken is becoming repulsive to me. Raw and while cooking. I can still eat it but getting the point of ready to eat is not my favorite part. That's probably the only thing so far that has made me sick to my stomach. Still no puking. HOORAY! Maybe I'll be lucky enough to skip that part?? I sure hope so!

My boobs are still tender as can be. I can't wait for this part to pass... it does pass, right? I have also started to notice that they seem HUGE. Maybe just to me, but I swear they are giant right now. I've discovered that wearing a sports bra is my favorite thing. It will hold the girls tight and where they belong. Feels wonderful! Ha! I never thought that I'd be so happy about the way my bra works.

I don't think I've experience any mood swings yet. Maybe that would be a question to ask James though! I'm feeling pretty normal still. I do notice that I am becoming excessively tired though. Take this morning, for instance. I got up and felt soooo tired. I had to force myself to get ready. As I sat at work for the first hour I could have easily fallen asleep in my chair, no questions asked. I'm also to the point of wanting to go to bed at 9:00 at night when I normally don't make it to bed until 11:00 or so. Growing a baby is draining!

Next week is my first doctor appointment and I must say, I'm totally looking forward to it. I have never before looked forward to an appointment with my gyno before now! Crazy what how something so tiny can already change your opinions of things. James has agreed to go with me. We will get to look at our little baby and we'll get to hear the heart beat. I KNOW I'm pregnant but like I said before, it's all so surreal. I think this will be what completely confirms things for me. Such an exciting thing to look forward to!