Week 16

Fruit pictures and baby details are courtesy of thebump.com

Baby: Now the size of an avocado! Tiny bones are forming in my baby's ears which means S/He can pick up my voice. Guess I better watch my language! Other changes include: eyelashes, eyebrows and hair are filling in along with forming taste buds.



Weekly Checklist:
How far along? 16 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 2 lbs
Maternity Clothes: Still need some...maybe this weekend
Sleep: Still tired...constantly
Food Cravings: I've returned to a gross habit from my stint of working at McDonald's. BBQ sauce & mayo mixed together...makes a great dip for french fries! I know it's gross and J hates it. But suddenly it sounded good again!
Labor Signs: none
What I miss: A clean house! Maybe if my energy ever returns I can go back to at least maintaining a picked up house!
What I am looking forward to: actually getting a baby bump. So I actually look pregnant and not just chubby.
Weekly Wisdom: Maternity clothes are my friend. I need more clothes, but wearing regular clothes is just uncomfortable at this point.
Milestones: Gaining weight! I am confident that this is the LAST time I will say that. But since I'm 16 weeks into this, I was starting to feel like I'm depriving my baby. Yes, I'm aware that sound irrational & I should be happy I hadn't gained weight. But I am irrational sometimes and I looked like I gained weight though I hadn't.

Babymoon

So I read about the "Babymoon" concept online and found it interesting. Basically, it's just a term for planning a vacation during pregnancy as sort of a last hurrah before having children. This seemed like a great idea & I'll use any excuse to plan a trip. However, as the pregnant half, I really think the trip should take place before trying to have a baby. Once you're pregnant, there are definite limitations.

If we had more money we would have gone somewhere further away, like Vegas, New York or to the Caribbean. But alas, I'm cheap and I figure I'd like to save every penny to take our future child on trips. So we planned a weekend away to Wisconsin Dells. Those who don't know, WI Dells is basically the "water park capital of the world."
So last weekend we stayed at Chula Vista Resort. I knew I wouldn't be able to do much in relation to the indoor/outdoor water park, but I read "lazy river" on the website, so I figured I was set! We drove up Friday night, checked into the hotel, got some ice cream at one of their many food places and walked around the resort to check out the water parks. Since I was in bed by about 10:00, I'd like to refer back to my comment above about taking a trip before having a baby!

Saturday we decided to do some water activities first. We quickly found that the outdoor park wasn't extensive and mostly geared towards younger kids. Inside though, we found a lot more slides and that lazy river I was looking for. After lazing around for awhile, we tried a couple water slides. I looked at them & said, that's the same as a slide at a park right? I can do that!

So the first one we went to looked pretty tame, until we realized halfway down that we were in one of those huge toilet bowl slides that swirls you around and around until you fall down the middle. As I was falling I figured maybe I shouldn't be doing this! Then I realized it was pretty smooth & less bumpy to the baby than the boat ride I was on a few weeks ago! But we only went on that one once.

We tried another slide that was much safer yet I was quickly realizing that sitting on a double tube with my 6'2" not so tiny husband behind me resulted in us going much faster than all those younger kids! So I went back to the lazy river.

We headed downtown for the rest of the day doing some mini-golfing (we tied the first game, I lost badly the second one), eating and exploring. We had dinner at the Kalahari resort which I've decided we'll stay at next time.

Sunday after checking out we decided to walk around downtown and do some shopping. We bought our future child some books that we loved when we were little -- so that was exciting! Then we headed back, leaving a little earlier than planned since one of our pups seems to be rebelling for us leaving so much.

All in all, we accomplished what we set out to do. Spend time together and relax. It was nice to ignore everything and everyone else for a weekend. And thanks to my great brother-in-law our fur-babies were well taken care of.

15 Weeks

Fruit pictures and baby details courtesy of thebump.com.

Baby: Now the size of an orange! Baby's legs now out-measure his arms, all four limbs have functional joints. Though I can't feel anything yet, supposedly the baby is moving around a lot!

Weekly Checklist:
How far along? 15 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 0
Maternity Clothes: Going to go shopping for more this weekend.
Sleep: I think having a child inside you means you should be allow nap-time in the afternoon.
Food cravings: I really like ice cream. Those who know me, know this isn't a pregnancy thing... Gender: TBD
Labor Signs: none
What I miss: my skinny jeans
What I am looking forward to: Decorating the nursery & shopping. We're waiting until we find out boy/girl.
Weekly Wisdom: I'm very lucky to have a great husband in this process. I can't imagine what a woman goes through without a support system of some sort (doesn't have to be a husband). J has been great with picking up the slack, understanding when I sleep the day away and convincing me I'm not fat while my emotions convince me otherwise.
Milestones: none really

14 Weeks

Fruit pictures and baby details courtesy of thebump.com.

Baby:

The baby is now the size of a lemon. Key activities this week are: thumb sucking, toe wiggling and making urine. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over his/her body for warmth.

Weekly Checklist:

How far along? 14 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 0

Maternity Clothes: I now own one pair of maternity jeans. They're great, but since I don't really have a bump yet, they don't stay up very well. So mostly I'm using my bella band and wearing pants that are a size bigger than my pre-pregnancy size.

Sleep: I'm still exhausted and therefore sleeping as much as possible. Aside from waking up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I'm still sleeping well.

Best moment this week: Having the nausea subside. It isn't completely gone, but much better than it had been.

Food cravings: None really yet. I have become addicted to Flavor-Icees though.

Gender: TBD

Labor Signs: none

What I miss: Cousins Subs!! (I'm not allow to eat lunch meat due to possibility of listeria)

What I am looking forward to: Getting my energy back if it's ever going to happen...

Weekly Wisdom: "When mommy gets drunk, the baby gets drunk" -- This came from a baby book my health insurance company sent me. Jason made sure to read this to me and all the bad things that come from doing drugs while pregnant. Just thought I'd share for those who didn't know: drugs and alcohol are bad for baby! :)

Milestones: Beginning to wear maternity clothes.

1st Trimester Summary

Since I started this blog at the beginning of my second trimester, I've been going backwards to fill in the details. So, I figured I'd also do a summary of my 1st 13 weeks. I am also starting a weekly checklist which I will keep up for the remainder of my pregnancy.

Summary:
I can't really complain about my first trimester. It's the shortest of all trimesters really, since most people don't even know they're pregnant until at least 4 weeks into it (and that's even early). I was exhausted from the beginning. Naps became standard on the weekends and bedtimes became earlier. Many nights I was asleep on the couch around 7, lugging myself upstairs around 8.

Nausea kicked in around 5 weeks and was constant. I worked to try to find any remedy possible, and discovered starbursts are great! They'll calm my stomach for a short while anyway. Lemonade and seabands (for motion sickness) worked as well, though not all the time. I consider myself lucky though, as I didn't get physically sick very often.

Food aversions definitely kicked in. They weren't predictable either. Many times at a restaurant I would order something that sounded good, but by the time it arrived, I couldn't eat it. I easily wasted at least $50 worth of food with this pattern. My recommendation: eat at home in the first trimester!

I don't believe I started having cravings yet, but certain food became staples in my diet. Keep in mind, the beginning is all about eating what you can, which isn't always what is healthiest. Foods of choice: hot dogs, macaroni & cheese, oatmeal creme pies, popcicles and cereal. There was one day though where I sent Jason to pick up the following: breadsticks from Rocky Roccoco's, chocolate milkshake from McDonald's and a butterfinger. Normally I wouldn't give in to my urges this way...but it was my birthday, so he obliged.

Weekly checklist:
How far along? 4-13 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: -2/+1...depends on time of day.
Maternity clothes? No but i've been using a Bella band and hair ties, both of which hold my unbuttoned pants up. The baby isn't that big and I haven't gained weight, yet I can't keep my pants up!
Sleep: Constantly!
Best moment this week: (Expanding to this trimester) Seeing the baby for the first time. It didn't seem real until then.
Food cravings: See notes above
Gender: Won't know for awhile...but figure with Jason's family history, it's probably a boy!
Labor Signs: Hopefully none for a long time!
What I miss: Waking up without feeling sick
What I am looking forward to: Second trimester: the grass always looks greener on the other side
Weekly Wisdom: Listening to your body when it tells you to sleep is important. The one night I got 6 hours of sleep was followed by the day I was the sickest and had to leave work early.
Milestones: First heartbeat, first ultrasound

Alien Baby

July 8th:

As I mentioned, we have a history of Downs in my family and despite the fact that my doctor wasn't concerned, he did offer us an optional testing. The test is call a nuchal translucency scan. During an ultrasound they do measurments in the baby's neck, which is then compared with my age and bloodwork to determine my risk of having a child with chromosomal disorders. Since it is practically no risk (an ultrasound and a vial of blood), we opted in.

Now I will take a minute to acknowledge there are several schools of thought on optional testing, and many doctors wouldn't even recommend it to a 26 year old. However, I am an over-planner and I tend to over-inform myself. This has definitely shown in my pregnancy. I've read a few books already, I check baby websites daily and receive several baby related emails. If I were to discover that I was giving birth to a child with any developmental challenge, I would spend the next 6 months reading everything I can on the subject. I figure I'll be too sleep deprived to read after the fact.

During the ultrasound, we made a fun discovery about our child. It's stubborn! Now if you know Jason or myself, this should be no surprise. The u/s tech needed the baby to move into a certain position to get accurate measurements. It wasn't happening. She pushed on my stomach repeatedly and the best she got was him/her putting their arms in front of their face to protect it. But no movement. Finally, she gave me some apple juice which got the little one moving, still not exactly perfect, but she was able to get the measurements.

Since we spent a good 45 minutes just moving the baby around, we didn't get many good pictures. But as you can see from the picture of the face, the baby is no longer a little gummy bear. Now I call him/her my little alien baby. But pictures weren't the reason for the ultrasound anyway and I was very happy to see the baby. (S)he was still very cute while being stubborn, yawning and moving it's arms around. Personally I just think it was trying to take a nap, and if it's like it's mommy, we don't like to be woken up!

The results: 1:3000 chance of all the chromosomal disorders they tested for. Better odds than a typical woman in my age group. So we're very happy that all is well!

Second Dr Appointment

July 2nd:
We had our second appointment at the OB. It had been almost a month since we saw our little one, so naturally I was nervous again that the baby was still healthy and growing.

The appointment was pretty quick. My weight was finally up a pound (after losing weight previously), which my doc was happy to see. It probably had more to do with the chicken nuggest I ate on the way over, but oh well!

Then we went through Q&A, I didn't have very many questions this time which I think surprised him. Even though it's my first pregnancy, I've been doing a lot of reading and have been able to answer a lot of my own questions. Books I've read are: "What to Expect When You're Expecting" and "A Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy." The Girlfriend's Guide I especially liked as it is very down to earth and funny.


Next he pulled out the fetal doppler again. Since he couldn't find the heartbeat last time, I was a little worried again. At almost 12 weeks, it's a lot more likely to hear via doppler. So after about 30 seconds, he found the heartbeat. It's much faster than my heartbeat, so it was easy to distinguish. The baby's rate came in around 170, similar to last time. He did have to keep moving the doppler though to keep track of the heartbeat, so it was cute to see that even at 12 weeks our little guy/girl was moving around.

Spreading the news

After seeing the baby at the ultrasound we were ready to start sharing the news with our immediate family. We shared the news during our family Father's Day celebrations using a few different methods. Everything from great-grandpa or uncle cards, to a grandma and me picture frame.

My favorite item was a baby poem that I found online and gave to my brother and sister. It still makes me cry everytime I read it (which could just be the hormones).

I do not have a face to see
or put inside a frame
I do not have soft cheeks to kiss
I don't yet have a name.
You can't yet hold my tiny hands
nor whisper in my ear.
It's still too soon to sing a song,
or cuddle me so near.
But all will change come January
that's when they say I'm due.
I'm your new niece or newphew.
I can't wait til I meet you.
All I ask between now and then
is your patience while I grow.
I promise I'll be worth the wait
because of all the love we'll know.
So what I have to give you now
is a wish to you from me.
I cannot wait to be a part
of this wonderful family.

Our little gummy bear

Our first appointment with the OB was June 4th. I was just about 8 weeks along and very anxious. Though I had been feeling nauseous and very tired, I didn't really feel pregnant. It's hard to know that everything is going okay with the baby when you can't feel it and you haven't really started growing.

The first part of the appointment, the doctor allowed Jason and me to ask as many questions as we'd like. Of course I had plenty. We covered my concerns from Down's Syndrome to boating. He assured me that based on what I told him about my family history with Downs (I have an aunt and uncle born with it) that it didn't appear to be heriditary. This made me feel better.

Then after a physical exam (i'll spare you the details!) he attempted to hear the heartbeat with a fetal doppler. While he said from the beginning that at 8 weeks it would be hard to hear anything, it was still nervewracking. As expected, he couldn't hear anything. I was very dissapointed...

Then he said, well, let's do an ultrasound to make sure everything is okay. He did the u/s himself and we quickly were able to see the baby. I think I stopped holding my breath at this point! It looked like a little gummy bear. He measured the heartbeat at a strong 169 bpm and the size of the baby was a few days further along, but right on track. It was a great experience.

As I learned quickly in my first month of being pregnant, no matter how tiny your child is, it's natural to worry. The worrying doesn't end with the first ultrasound either and as a future-mom, I don't expect it to ever go away.

The Home Pregnancy Test

May 7th 2009:

This was the second month we had been trying to have a baby. Most home pregnancy tests now tell you that you can test upto 5 days before you miss your period. If you read the fine lines, it's still very likely you'll get a false-negative testing that early.

I had a slight feeling that we had been sucessful this month, so even knowing it would probably be negative, I took the test 2 days early. I set the test down on the counter, expecting to wait 3 minutes. Jason was in the room and while I looked away for 2 seconds, he saw it turn to "pregnant." Instead of telling me anything, he just told me to look at the test & walked out of the room.

I can honestly say I was shocked! I did think it was possible I was pregnant, but I didn't really expect to see a positive so early. It was a very exciting moment. Jason didn't say much, but gave me a really big hug.

After being skeptical all day long, I re-took another test that evening. (I bought a twin-pack, why not use both?!) Again after a very short wait, it said pregnant. Then I was officially a believer.

Welcome!

I've decided to start a blog! I wasn't sure if I was the blog type but my good friend Katie is really the person who inspired me to give it a try.

The goal of this blog is to update family, friends and anyone who's interested on the progress of my pregnancy. Then next year, I'll be keeping everyone updated on the adventures of having a newborn. If nothing else, I will share this with our little one someday.

Backstory:
Jason and I have been married for almost 3 years and have been dating since 2001. We became friends sophomore year in high school and took the next step towards the end of our senior year. We've lived in 3 different cities since getting married, Kansas City, Cincinnati and Milwaukee.

While living in Cincinnati we adopted two adorable chocolate labs, Ben and Cody. Though not always perfect, they're really great dogs. They were originally raised by my Dad who did a great job training them.

We moved back to Milwaukee in 2008 to be closer to family. After becoming doggie-parents, moving close to family/friends and buying our 3rd home, we've decided it's a great time to have a baby!

Most Valuable Baby:
A slightly baseball themed name suggested by Jason. As most people know, he's a baseball nut. Regardless if we have a boy or girl, athletic or not, I know baseball will always be a family interest for us. Though I am not as big of a fan as Jason, I do love going to baseball games. Honestly though, I can say I probably like tailgating more than the game!

We couldn't be more excited about this baby. It will be a bit of an adventure for both of us, but we're both very ready to be parents. We also have a great support system of family and friends who will also take great care of this little one.