12 Weeks

This is the last week of my first trimester. I can't believe it has been three months already. It feels like I took the pregnancy test last week.

The morning sickness only seems to hit me when I have to get out of bed earlier than usual or in a rush, which could not be avoided when I had an OB appointment downtown on Tuesday. At least I feel better after and the constant nausea is completely gone. I have, however, found out what heartburn feels like for the first time. Of course I don't have any Tums in my house so I am relying on ice cream until tomorrow. I think it came on because I laid down on the couch immediately after eating.

Tuesday was my first appointment with my new OB office. I had to switch because my previous OB/Gyno was in another town and they only deliver at one hospital that was 40 minutes away in absolutely no traffic, up to 1.5 hours if there was traffic. So I switched to an OB who delivers at the hospital I wanted to deliver at, and they came highly recommended. Now that I have been to an appointment with them, I can see why. They have seven physicians that you meet during the course of your care because which ever one is on call is the one who delivers. I met with the head nurse who discussed what my genetic testing options were, what that day's appointment would entail and how the OB suite operated. From now on I am separated from the lowly masses and get to enter through a special entrance exclusively for pregnant women. You never have to wait very long before they have your vitals taken and if they need to take any urine they do it right away so you don't have to sit there holding it. Plus the nurse on that side of the office lives two doors down from me, so I get hugs when she sees me.

Since I had only had an ultrasound at that point this appointment meant a full exam and lab work. The exam was easy and I got to hear the heartbeat again with the doppler. The doctor warned that it might be hard since they can hide, but as soon as he put down the wand you could hear the heartbeat. I don't know that I will ever tire or stop feeling comfort when I hear that noise. The lab tech had to take seven viles of blood and despite it really hurting afterward, I didn't have any bruising whatsoever. I was amazed and believe the woman must really have been a vampire to remove so much without leaving a mark.

We are starting to get stuff ready in the nursery now. T and I bought bamboo flooring for the room and will install it as soon as it gets here. In the meantime, T is going to refinish the dresser that matches the desk he already refinished. We are going to use it as a dresser but also as the changing table. One of our friends wanted desperately to clean out her attic of baby stuff, so she gave us a stroller, a car seat (that fits in the stroller), two bases for the car seat, a bouncer, a play mat, a swing with lights and sounds, a diaper champ, and some clothes. The only big things we have left are the crib and a highchair, because T bought me the rocker and ottoman for my Mother's Day present. I have been making several gift registries looking for all the small stuff for the baby showers but haven't added any clothes until we know the gender.

After this week we are going to start taking pics of the baby bump, so the next installment will have one.

11 weeks

The morning sickness appears to be making a once daily appearance again, but at least the constant nausea is gone. I will be so glad when I no longer have to sit in front of the toilet.
I braved getting on the scale the other day to find out I have only gained 3 pounds so far. Not too shabby. I have started getting bouts occasionally where I am really hungry, but I usually eat healthy foods like apples and string cheese, so hopefully I can keep my weight gain at a good pace. I know it will be far easier to keep it in check then to try to shed more after.
I went to IKEA with a friend the other day to check out what they had for the baby's room. I found a few things I liked, but for the most part it wasn't the right color of wood. I did buy a few duckie pictures they had and some really cheap frames to put them in to decorate the room. (We decided to do a rubber duckie themed room.) I am going to the fabric store tomorrow to see what cross stitch patterns and duckie fabric they have available.
We should be getting a few things next week when one friend takes me to the consignment store where she finds amazing finds and another is giving us a bunch of her old stuff. I don't know where we are going to put this stuff yet, because we still need to put in the wood floors before we move in furniture and goods. We are sweating how little room for storage we have right now and how much worse it is going to get in the next few years. We need to figure out a better way to store things in the attic or the closets. Or maybe we will buy a bigger house.

10 weeks

Today I had to give in and buy maternity pants. I had been stalling on this one just in case I started to gain weight other than around my belly, but so far that has been the only place besides my chin that shows signs of being pregnant. I have been sitting in a slouched position a lot of the time with the jeans unbuttoned, but now I won't have to with the awesome belly band that doesn't dig into my belly. I also needed a new purse, so I went with a rather large one, which is the trend anyways, so that I can use it as a diaper bag as well. It even had little side pouches that could perfectly fit bottles for later on. (And my mother-in-law gave me a little trendy pouch for diapees and wipees this weekend.)
T says I occasionally get cravings were I salivate about certain foods, but I haven't really noticed. I have noticed though that I now like to eat bananas. This is a miracle I tell you. Prior to pregnancy I couldn't stand to chew or smell a banana. They were just so very gross to me. But I had been using them in smoothies for the potassium, and when I was preparing some for the freezer, I ate a bite of one that had broken and proceeded to eat an entire one after that.
Luckily I am also moving away from morning sickness. About a week ago I would be able to delay it till later in the morning, and then it moved to just dry heaves, and for the last three days I haven't even had those. The idea of not hovering over the toilet morning after morning is a glorious one. I still get the occasional bouts of nausea, but I just eat a bite or two of something and it wanes away. Hopefully that will go away soon too.
We haven't even begun to plan or buy anything for the baby. Some friends have offered to sell us a slightly used car seat, which I am sure we will take, and I have had several offers of maternity clothes and stuff but haven't received or had the time to go get them. But we still have more than 6 months, so I think we are alright for now.

Baby On Board

I figured I should start blogging about my experience being pregnant so in the future I can remember how I felt. As of today I am nine weeks pregnant. I have already had my first ultrasound that let me see the baby and hear the heartbeat. I will admit I cried because it was such a special moment and it assuaged all my fears at that point. I started having nausea at about six weeks and morning sickness (in all its toilet hugging glory) started about a week and a half ago. Some days I think I have succeeded in keeping it at bay, but no matter what I get sick at least once a day.
I am very surprised to be showing already, but I guess I shouldn't be since I am not big normally. My jeans are starting to get uncomfortable when I have to sit up for any length of time. I spend most of my days in my yoga pants that are nice and stretchy with a low tummy band. I imagine it won't be too many more weeks before I have to give in and go get a pair of maternity jeans.
Actually it is starting to get uncomfortable to sit straight or forward no matter what I am wearing. I also find it hard to stay crouched for too long. I need to start doing squats so that when I get bigger I can still pick things up off the ground.
From the beginning I found myself fearing all sorts of things that I never dreamed. First, I hate being in the car cause I worry about the crazy people around me. I do everything in my power to not travel during heavy traffic times so lessen the chances of congestion. Second, I worry that I am going to trip over the cat and hurt myself. She has a tendency to get underfoot when I am in the kitchen anyway. I fear that the less balanced I get and the more I can't see my own feet the more likely it will be for the cat to trip me. Third, I am paranoid about certain foods. I have practically memorized the list of don't or cautions and I try not to keep any leftover in the fridge for more than four days just in case.
I am sure my fears will only be replaced or added to by others for the next 18 or more years. Hopefully this blog will allow me to remind myself in the near future and with upcoming pregnancies how I felt and how it will all be alright.