Approximately 31 weeks to figure it out…

I’m thinking about cloth diapering.  There’s environmental concerns, health concerns for BabyMort (none really proven that I’ve seen, but I think exposure to as few chemicals as possible is a good thing) and money concerns.  But…I don’t know many people using cloth diapers these days and from what I understand, they’ve changed a lot in the 20+ years since my mom used them on me.  So as excited as I am about the idea, I’m also very intimidated by the whole experience.  Luckily, I have a while longer to figure it out!!

First Appointment

We had our first doctor’s appointment today.  (It just happened to land on our anniversary :-D)  I peed in a cup – and was told to get used to it, because I’d be doing it at every appointment, had blood drawn – and was comforted that I wouldn’t have to do that at every appointment, got some nausea tips from the professionals, had my due date confirmed (June 1st – thanks Google!!) and was told I couldn’t get a flu shot until after 13 weeks – bye-bye free shot at work!!  We didn’t, however, get to hear the heartbeat.

Dr. Leeds clearly stated before he even tried that “in my 17 years of doing this, I think I’ve only heard the heartbeat about 22 times at 9 weeks. It’s much more common at 10 weeks and practically a sure thing at 11.”  So he tried at 2 different times, but couldn’t find it.  He did let me know that the digestion of my lunch almost caused him to go deaf though.  Oops!!  He said not to worry, but of course, in the irrational part of me, I am.

Normally, in early pregnancy, the appointment are every 4 weeks.  I appreciate that Dr. Leeds is having me back in 2.  For the most part, this is comforting, because I should be able to hear the heartbeat and I think I’ll feel more relaxed about everything, but then there’s that slightly irrational side of me that thinks, well maybe he’s having me back sooner to make sure nothings wrong.  *sigh*  Then I just have to take a deep breath and remind myself that he said he can very rarely get the heartbeat on the doppler at 9 weeks.

And if nausea, having to pee a lot, or being cranky are any signs of a healthy pregnancy, then I’m doing alright!!

Bloat much?

Bloating has a whole new meaning for me these days.  My shape changes so much throughout the day, that I really have to think about what I’m wearing to make sure I have “room to grow.”  For example, before realizing this, I wore a pair of pants that sit up higher on my waist than most and are generally a little snug.  I don’t have to suck in to button them or anything, but I knew they wouldn’t fit once I grew even a little.  After lunch, they were so tight it was uncomfortable, so I had to leave them unbuttoned.  Luckily, I was wearing a belt, so that helped hide the fact that they were unbuttoned.  (It didn’t go un-noticed by my mom though…)

So, this is what I look like in the morning:

And this is what I look at night:

Aaron’s first reaction was that these pictures must have been taken at different angles, but I assure you that there was a control involved to ensure consistency 🙂  And maybe others won’t see as much of a difference as I do, but I sure think (and feel!) there’s a difference.

The Best

I thought (quite naively I’m sure) that since I was 7.5 weeks along, and not really experiencing any morning sickness, that I was good to go!!  I noticed that when I was hungry, man I was hungry and you better get some food in me, but I’ve always kind of been like that, so I wasn’t too surprised.  But Friday I felt pretty crummy.  I thought (hoped that) maybe I just didn’t get enough for breakfast and it had sort of thrown my whole day out of whack.  No such luck!!  I felt bad all weekend and still do.  Sooo….looks like I’ve got a pesky case of morning sickness.

Lucky for me, I have the best husband!!  Here’s what he’s done for me over the last few days:

• Ate some form of pizza with me for 4 out of 5 5 out of 6 meals, because it was the only thing that sounded even remotely good.
• Went grocery shopping alone, because I didn’t want to drag myself out of my pj’s and out into the real world.  He even got me quick, easy snacks and peppermints to help soothe my stomach while he was there.
• Slaved in the kitchen Sunday afternoon making muffins for this week’s breakfasts, chicken cassoulet and baked macaroni and cheese that we can pop into the oven for quick dinners this week and chicken and noodles for Sunday’s dinner.  This is especially significant, because football was on!!  He did take the 13″ TV and rabbit ears from the spare bedroom and set it up on the kitchen counter so he could watch, but that’s a big downgrade from the 42″ High Definition that was available downstairs.
• Cleaned up the dog puke that Nick was nice enough to provide and steam cleaned all the basement carpets, instead of just the puke-spots.
• Washed, dryed, folded and put away several loads of laundry.
• Cleaned out the dog’s room – washing the bedding, sweeping and mopping their floor, vacuuming the hair off their futon – so that there’d be less of a smell to nauseate me when I went in there.
• Got up a few minutes early the past couple mornings to bring me a bowl of cereal in bed.
• Took me to Target Monday night after work to look at baby things.  He told me there was something he wanted to buy with his 3rd quarter bonus from work and he just wanted to check it out.  Then he walked me to the baby section and ooh-ed and aah-ed with me over everything.  He said he thought that I could use a little cheering up since I’d been feeling so crummy.
• Stopped at the library over his lunch hour to check out a couple new books for me.  I read both books that I had on Sunday and he wanted to make sure I had some more fun, relaxing reading to keep me busy.
• Made me laugh!!  When I thanked him for everything he’d been doing, told him how much I appreciated it and how I was feeling a little guilty, he said, “Don’t worry about it.  It’s my job.  You make us a baby and I’ll do everything else while you’re feeling bad.  You’d do the same for me if I was growing a baby, right?!?”  I laughed and promised that if he was ever growing a baby inside him, that I’d do all he’d done and more!!

I apologize in advance.

I feel like they should have some sort of support group for pregnant mamas.  I’d walk in and start with something like, “Hi, my name is Blakely and I experience mood swings.”  I think the worst part one of the frustrating aspects is that I’m generally aware that I’m experiencing a mood swing and being irrational, but there’s really nothing I can do to stop it.  Generally, my poor husband is on the receiving end when my mood ‘swings’ from good to bad (or bad to worse as the case may be) in a split second.  I try to bite my tongue sometimes, and just let it slide, because, again, I realize I’m being irrational, but it’s a strong force, one that I just can’t control sometimes.

 

In general, if I’m in a bad mood, I eat chocolate.  I realize that studies have shown that sweets don’t actually elevate mood, they actually just cause a high followed by a crash, but my life isn’t a study and it works for me.  BUT, if you can believe this, I just haven’t felt like eating many sweets for the last few weeks.  A couple days after we found out, my husband offered me a cookie, which I turned down, and it was then that he finally realized, “Whoa!!  You really are pregnant!!”  So the old chocolate/candy/cookie standby isn’t effective right now.

Alas, I apologize in advance to my husband, and anyone else who might be affected, for my changing moods.

Like a Racehorse, I tell ya!!

I was totally prepared for having to go to the bathroom a lot later in pregnancy, when babymort’s putting all kinds of pressure on my bladder.  I had accepted that I had to go a lot during the day now, chalking it up to me drinking more water.  I was not ready, however, for having to get up in the middle of the night to pee right now, at not even 7 weeks!!

Earlier this week, I had to get up at like 3am to use the restroom.  I thought it was a fluke – I must have drank a lot of water late in the evening.  Then this morning, I woke up about 10 minutes before my first alarm was set to go off, practically paralyzed because I had to go so bad!!  So I got up and went…and went…and went…and you get the idea.  As I crawled back into bed, hoping to take advantage of a snooze, even though I was pretty much awake, my husband said to me, “Seriously?!?  Was that all you??  It sounded like a pot of coffee brewing!!”  I grumbled something about my bladder and snuggled in for about 20 minutes of snoozing. 

After my snooze, I used the restroom out of habit before jumping in the shower.  Much to my surprise, it was like I hadn’t even gone 20 minutes prior!!  *sigh*  Hopefully this isn’t an every night thing.  I don’t know if I can go to bed much earlier to make up for the lost sleep…

Update: Apparently this will be an every night thing.  I’ve seen 5am the last couple nights/mornings.  I put a nightlight in the bathroom last night, so that made the process a little easier.  And now my husband is “sympathy-peeing.”  On the upside, my little tadpole displays a whole body reflex in response to touch,  is about the size of half a dime and has two distinct cerebral hemispheres, so I suppose I can deal with getting up to pee…

Why I’m here…

I am lucky to be starting on the wonderful journey of motherhood and I want to remember every wonderful – and not so wonderful – moment!!  As of today, I’m about 6 1/2 weeks pregnant.  The world works in mysterious ways, because we found out right about the same time I was thrown back into the world of job-hunting.  After almost 5 years with the hotel, the corporate management company that’s been here for the past couple years decided that my mom and I shouldn’t work in the same office.  *sigh*  That’s a whole ‘nother story…but, Aaron and I are trying to take everything in stride and believe that everything will work out for the best in the end.  After almost a year of trying, we feel very blessed to be pregnant, regardless of the timing!!

So, stay tuned for updates on all my experiences, filled with probably more information than you’ll need or want at times!!