9 weeks

written March 14, 2011....9 weeks, 4 days

So obviously the big milestone of this week was our doctor appointment, but we also planned on traveling home to Pontiac to tell a select group about the pregnancy. Joe and I decided that we would make it easy on ourselves and have shirts made to help us spill the beans. I won't go into much detail but the shirts did not arrive on time. (Insert Joe saying I told you so.) It was too late to really come up with an alternative so we just made due. We ended up telling our parents and siblings as well as a small group of friends while we were in town. I'd say the major theme was total shock from everyone. We've been dodging inquiries from people for quite a while so I think mostly everyone was very surprised that we were even contemplating this. Our plan is to gradually tell the rest of our friends as well as grandparents and extended families in the next few weeks. The whole process of telling people is really not all that fun. It's nerve wracking and stressful planning the whole thing. I realize we could just call everyone and be done with it but what's the fun in that! :)

I'm overall still feeling really well. If I had to name this week it would be called the week of the gag reflex. There is no real rhyme or reason to it but I'm gagging all the time. We were out on Friday night and I smelled slightly burnt popcorn and I was done. I had to go to the bathroom to keep myself from having a gag attack. It's not that I feel nauseous or anything, it's just a reaction. I don't like it. My sense of smell is in overdrive which I think makes it even worse.

I decided to go ahead and start belly pictures this week. I knew I wanted to have somewhat of a starting point and let's be honest, I'm not getting any smaller. Each week I plan to add to the gallery of pictures so you will be able to compare the growth side by side.



Note to self: manually set the white balance for Joe next time. Eeks!

Now onto the baby..



We have reached the size of an olive. I'm not a fan of olives. It makes me think of my sister putting them on her fingers and then eating them. This week, the baby is now considered a fetus instead of an embryo. I'm considering this his/her first graduation. Baby gets an A+ in embryo. Most of the body parts have been formed and s/he is starting to resemble a human. The tiny teeth are forming this week as well. At this time next year, those teeth will be popping through on a real baby! Whoa. The heart has now divided into the 4 chambers and the eyes have been formed, although they are fused shut until almost the third trimester. Baby now has a liver, spleen and gallbladder. Looks like we have an overachiever on our hands!

This just got real.

written March 13, 2011.....9 weeks, 3 days

This is the week we've been waiting for....our first doctor visit! Can I say it's the weirdest thing to sit in the doctors waiting room knowing that pretty much everyone else that's there is pregnant? It's even weirder knowing that they all know you're pregnant.

First thing after checking in, we went into the ultrasound room for our first view of the babe. Warning TMI: I thought I was going to have an internal ultrasound but I got out of it! The tech said I was "small" enough that a regular one should be fine!
1. Phew!
2. HAHAHAHAHAHA, I'm pretty sure the baby was positioned just right and it had nothing to do with me.

The tech (how did I not get her name?) found the babe shockingly fast. She measured everything and determined that we were right on schedule measuring at 9 weeks. The heartbeat was 171bpm. For all you crazy people who believe in those wives tales, the prediction is that if the heartbeat is over 140 then it's a girl. So take that how you will. I think it's crap. Though speaking of gender, the tech called the baby a "he" probably 10 times and Joe was absolutely giddy about it.

Babies first picture

The top left is where the head starts. The bottom is where the feet end.


The black circle is the amniotic fluid and my uterus.

The rest of the appointment was fairly average. We had to answer 10,000 questions about family history which took FOR.EV.ER. We answered "no" to every question and the nurses joked that we were boring patients. I'll take it! Boring is fine with me! I also have to make note that Jason (Joe's supervisor at work/boyfriend) called 3 times while we were in the room because he thought Joe had a personal doctor appointment and was worried something was wrong because it was taking so long. :)

So, we finish up and next thing I know we're waiting in line to schedule our next appointment, when in walks Emily! If you don't know, Emily is married to Ben and also lives in Springfield. She is due with their first (a daughter) in May. Ben and Emily were Joe's extended family while in college at SIU. They made him many a meal and kept him pretty much sane for 3 years. It never occurred to either of us that we would see her which is pretty stupid. (Duh, she's pregnant! She should have been the one person we expected to see!) As soon as Joe saw her, the first words out of his mouth are "oh shit." No biggie though, it's actually pretty funny how it all worked.

All in all, it was a good little afternoon! Next appointment is scheduled for March 30th.

8 weeks

written March 5, 2011....8 weeks, 2 days

Here we are again. So far week 8 has been fairly tame but I can't pass this week without mentioning my first experience with vomiting. One minute I'm folding laundry, the next I'm in the bathroom heaving, and the next I'm taking dinner out of the oven. I honestly felt normal until it hit me and then there was no stopping it. Since then it's business as usual. I feel really lucky because I've had very few symptoms to deal with. I'm afraid it's going to bite me later on but I'll take whatever I can get. Another strange symptom I seem to be having is itchy skin. I'm constantly scratching my arms and legs and it doesn't seem to be because my skin is dry. I don't know. It's weird.

My first appointment is scheduled for Thursday when I will be 9 weeks. I'm sorta freaking out because I hope that everything is okay. Since I have had very few symptoms, I'm afraid that it means that things are not right. I'm trying not to go there but it is what it is.



Anyways, on to the baby. S/he (I hate this term but I'm not sure what else to use.) is the size of a raspberry. Baby is growing like crazy right now, about 100 millimeters a day. Moving the arms and legs & fingers and toes is baby's newest hobby. Apparently, s/he is looking less reptilian (how nice!) and starting to grow lips, a nose, and eyelids. The heart is still beating crazy fast and his digs are getting bigger because the amniotic fluid increases by two tablespoons a week. No wonder my stomach is permanently extended.

5 days and counting until we get to "meet" the baby!

7 weeks

Written March 2, 2011....7 weeks, 6 days

It's been over 3 weeks since the positive tests and I can hardly believe how fast time is moving. 1 more week till we get in to see the doctor and hopefully "hear" the heartbeat. I should probably combine this week with Week 8 but I promise to update sooner next time.

It's been a busy week. We took a trip to Pontiac this past weekend which was a bit nerve wracking for me. I wasn't quite sure how I was going to "fake drink" around friends but all went well. We usually go to the bar on Friday nights but the boys planned poker, so Adelle, Allyson and I (plus Gypsy!) lounged on the couch and gossiped about Facebook friends, my favorite weekend activity! Saturday, I spent most of the day lounging watching golf and ended up falling asleep about 8:30! This brings me to my current stage of pregnancy....exhaustion! I thought it was bad last week, well it's even worse. I don't want to do anything else. No complaints though because I love me some sleep.

This week, unfortunately, brought the realization that I should buy a few pairs of pants to get me through the rest of winter and early spring. Most of my current sets fit but weren't the least bit comfortable. The new pairs are certainly too big but hopefully they last me another 10+ weeks before I bust out the elastic stuff. Funny story: On Friday night, I wore a pair of corduroys that I've had for a while. They have a bit of stretch so they still fit fine. While driving up north, I was getting a bit uncomfortable so I unbuttoned them and told Joe not to let me forget to re-button them when we got to the restaurant where we were meeting all our friends. I'm sure you can guess, but I forgot to re-button them and didn't realize it for almost 2 hours. I'm guessing no one noticed though. Joe and I had a nice laugh about that the next day.



So what's happening with the babe this week? (sidenote: I need to come up with a better nickname. Me thinks that will be on the to-do list for the weekend.) Anyways, baby is the size of a blueberry. Last week was sweet pea, this week blueberry. Those seem the same size to me but whatevs. S/he is already a genius because the brain is generating 100 new cells every minute. Let's hope they keep going so we can stockpile them for a while because I'm sure his/her college years will kill a couple thousand or so. The kidney's are also permanently in place. That's good, the renal system is not something I want to screw up. The arms and legs are starting to extend as well.

So that's week 7. I move to week 8 tomorrow and if you're lucky, I might even get the mister to take a bump picture. I figure we have to start somewhere and let's be honest, I'm not getting any smaller. See ya on the flip side!

"Are you pregnant?"

(written Feb. 23, 2011: 6 weeks, 6 days)

It's safe to say I've been hounded by our friends and siblings (cough ::Adelle & Rachel:: cough) quite frequently in the last year about when we are having kids. Joe thinks it's awesome to joke about the subject so anytime someone would ask the question "Are you pregnant?", he would egg them on even more. The few weeks before finding out we were pregnant, I had numerous people commenting about it in some way. My sister Rachel sent me a Facebook comment about the benefits of breastfeeding randomly one day. She read it in her prenatal nutrition class and thought it would be beneficial to pass it on to her non-pregnant (or so she thought) sister. That weekend, we were at home visiting and I had a hair appointment. I was commenting on how crazy long my hair had gotten and my stylist, Audra, mentioned prenatal vitamins causing hair growth. Uh..yeah, I had been taking vitamins for almost a year and was already pregnant, though unbeknownst to me. Although our families have been pretty good about not mentioning the subject, I think most of them are getting anxious.

I know I'm very ready to spill the beans so the hounding can stop. 3 more weeks...

So....

(written Feb. 19, 2011: 6 weeks, 2 days)


I'm pregnant. With child. Bun in the oven.



Yeah, crazy right? Even after 3 months of negative pregnancy tests, that positive one knocks the breathe out of you. Joe's still speechless and blaming everything on the baby. Me thinks I'm gonna have my hands full with him. It's really a strange thing to have this secret that you can't tell anyone. I think it will start to be even more real once we spill the beans to our friends and family in a few weeks. My first doctor visit isn't until I'm 10 weeks on March 10th. If you're reading this, that date has been passed but I'm currently counting down the minutes until we can get in there and make sure that everything is a-okay. If my calculations are right, baby is due October 13th.



According to my weekly emails, the baby is the size of a sweet pea. (Yes, this whole pregnancy I'm going to compare my child to a fruit or vegetable. I'm creeped out by this as well, but it is what it is.) Anyways....S/he is the size of a sweet pea. Yeah, that's crazy small. It's incredible how something that small can make you feel like they are in control of everything and you no longer have a say. I guess I'm gonna have to get used to it. Baby is growing like crazy, starting to sprout eyes, ears, nose, cheeks and chin (hopefully they look like daddy's!). The hands and feet are still webbed, but will start wiggling shortly. The heart is beating(!) and is almost twice as fast as mine.

So far, I'm mostly feeling good. I haven't noticed a big increase in my need for food yet (I'm waiting) but I have been drinking an insane amount of water. I've always been a water drinker but my need for it now is heightened ten fold. I'll fill up a glass and drink the whole thing and fill it up again. It's safe to say I'm peeing a lot as well. No morning sickness yet, (I really really hope I skip this lovely side effect) but I do get a bit queasy every so often. It's mostly first thing in the morning when I'm still laying in bed and when I'm trying to fall asleep at night. I'd say the biggest difference has been my need for sleep. I find myself falling asleep before 9pm some nights and waking up at 7am. Joe comes to bed and I'm asleep and when he leaves for work in the morning I'm still asleep. :) I could get used to that.

Another week down, many many more to go.