10 1/2 Week Update

Sorry that there hasn’t been much on the blog lately. I have been spending my free time in full research mode. The last couple of weeks have been devoted to:

1. Reading the “Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy” from cover to cover
2. Researching baby furniture, bedding, clothing, safety items and more in my “Baby Bargains” book
3. Researching Child Care options – I made great progress on this topic today when I was suppose to be working
4. Designing baby rooms – I will write an entry soon and share a few of my ideas
5. Sharing our exciting news with family, friends and anyone who will listen
6. Reading "Your Baby's First Year Week by Week" - I still haven't gotten through the first week yet so I have a ways to go on this one

I am doing really well and I am happy to report that morning sickness has almost fully disappeared. My tired spells seem to be decreasing for the time being. I still feel like I am going to crash everyday at 3pm and I get exhausted after doing something simple like cooking dinner but at least I can stay awake past 8pm. Hopefully this newfound energy will hang around for a while.

We have enjoyed sharing our news with family and friends over the last couple of weeks. We still have a few people to tell but overall we have gotten the word out pretty quickly. Everyone has a different reaction and I have enjoyed getting to share our excitement. My favorite reactions so far have been:

Rhena (coworker) broke out into tears and said she felt like a proud aunt - very sweet

Max (coworker) spit coffee at me – I learned to make sure people swallow before sharing big news

Forrest (friend) gave me a high five – such a wonderful boy response

Anita (coworker) screamed and effectively communicated my news to the rest of the office

It really is fun to surprise people with the news. This baby has an amazing group of people eager to welcome it into the world. We feel so blessed to have some many wonderful friend to share this amazing experience with.

Blueberries, Grapes, Strawberries, and Shrimp

You may think I am talking about what I had to eat today or maybe my latest cravings but if you are familiar with baby books you may have guessed that I am talking about terms used to describe the size of the baby during the first trimester. While I agree that common foods are a little easier to visualize than size dimensions, it is a little funny to think about the baby as any of these items. Blueberries and grapes (sizes that we have passed) are pretty standard in size and easy to imagine. Strawberries and shrimp are a little harder to picture...is it a popcorn shrimp or a prawn??? Either way, it sort of makes it hard to imagine eating any of these foods and I am sure it will inspire some pretty interesting dreams to add to my list of strange pregnancy dreams (I will have to dedicate one of my upcoming blogs to the crazy dreams I have had).

For those that are curious, I thought it would be fun to include a baby status update so you can see how much our little strawberry has grown:

Week 9: Movement Begins

Your baby is now nearly 1 inch long and weighs a bit less than 1/8 of an ounce. The embryonic tail at the bottom of your baby's spinal cord is shrinking, helping him or her look less like a tadpole and more like a developing person.

Your baby's head — which is nearly half the size of his or her entire body — is now tucked down onto the chest. Nipples and hair follicles begin to form. Your baby's pancreas, bile ducts, gallbladder and anus are in place. The internal reproductive organs, such as testes or ovaries, start to develop.

Your baby may begin moving this week, but you won't be able to feel it for quite a while yet.

Third Visit with the Doctor

We had another good trip to the doctor today. Doctor Austin did a full check up and said everything looked great and the baby seemed to be growing like it should. Always nice to know everything is on track. We got to listen to the heartbeat again. This time they used a Doppler to listen to the heartbeat (last time we "listened" using the sonogram). I don't know why but I thought the Doppler would be some advance scientific tool. I was really surprised when they pulled something out that looked like a radio someone would have found in a second hand store. It was a surprisingly low-tech tool but I guess I can't complain since it did exactly what it was suppose to do.

I think we might have gotten a glimpse at our little shrimp's personality for the first time this week. No matter how hard Doctor Austin tried he just couldn't seem to get the baby's heartbeat. The baby was hiding right next to one of my veins and the sound of my heartbeat was hiding the baby's heartbeat. After about 5 minutes of searching we were finally able to hear the faint little beating of the babies heart. It is so amazing to hear the heartbeat. There are two beats of the baby's heart for every one beat of mine. What was really neat is that every other baby beat was exactly at the same time as my heartbeat. While that may be explained medically and/or very common it was still amazing to me. Now when I feel my heartbeat I imagine a second little thump in between it and imagine I am listening to the baby's heart.

I also had blood work done. I guess my skin was a little sensitive this time but it hurt a lot more than the blood work I had done in the past. I felt like such a wimp! They took lots of blood so I guess they have lots of test to do.

Doctor Austin gave us the thumbs up to start sharing our news. Many people wait until the end of their first trimester (12 weeks) to announce their pregnancy. We didn't want to rush telling people if there was still a strong risk but Doctor Austin felt like our risk was greatly diminished by the established heartbeat. That was just the confirmation we needed so we are going to start telling people this week. We have told family and a few close friends but we still have many loved ones to share the news with. I can't wait!

Our next appointment will be in a month (February 18). Since we have decided not to do the optional genetic screening tests, I think it will be just a routine checkup and will be pretty uneventful. The next big appointment will be late March or early April (18 - 20 weeks). This will be the next time we do a sonogram and hopefully we will be able to determine the baby's gender as well. Definitely something to look forward to!

Splish Splash

I have started water aerobics. My first class was on Friday and I went again this afternoon. What a treat! I think this is one of the few exercise programs I look forward to. Our YMCA recently put a large enclosure around our outdoor pool. It is surprisingly warm despite the really cold temperatures outside.

The class is available everyday except for Sunday so it shouldn't be too hard to go several times a week. They offer a shallow version and a deep version. I have been going to the shallow version so far since it is offered a little earlier in the evening but I am hoping to try the deep version soon. The ladies in the class are really nice - I am the youngest by far but I think the older ladies like having a young person around. I have almost instantly become friends with a sweet lady named Virginia. She even gave me a little hug after class and said she looked forward to seeing me on Wednesday. How sweet!

I am hoping that this will be an exercise program that I can continue well into my third trimester. The instructor we have had so far is certified in rehabilitation aerobics so I feel like I am in really good hands. One thing I know for sure is that I will be sleeping really well tonight.

Second (Unexpected) Doctor’s Appointment

We had an emergency appointment with the doctor today. I had been experiencing some cramping the last couple of days and was starting to get a little concerned. Between the cramping, the cold, a decrease in morning sickness over the last few days and my past history I had gotten really worried. After a couple of restless nights I decided that there was no reason to worry myself any longer. I talked to Amy’s mom first (it is so nice to have a nurse to talk to) and she suggested that I go ahead and call the doctor. The nurse at Dr. Austin’s office was very pleasant and while she said she didn’t think there was cause for concern, she knew it would be better for me to have peace of mind so they scheduled an appointment for me to come in right away and see one of the doctors in the practice.

Our prayers were answered and the check up went really well. Since I was an emergency visit they just scheduled me with the next available doctor. The doctor we met with was really nice and very helpful but I have no idea what her name was! I am going to have to find out because I really liked her. She said that everything looked good and that most likely I was just experiencing cramping due to dehydration from the cold I was having. Based on my dry skin and chapped lips I felt like that was a good possibility. They were also going to run some test to make sure there weren’t any signs of infections. I should hear back from them in the next 24 hours if there are any problems. The last possibility was the funniest by far. Even though we had a sonogram last time she felt like we needed to do another just in case to check for twins. The look on Sam’s face was priceless!

The sonogram confirmed that there was only one baby (thank goodness!) and that its heart was still beating away. I was really surprised how much it had grown in the last week. As I was laying there checking out our little blueberry the sonogram technician turned on the sound so we could hear the heartbeat. What fun! Normally they don’t let you hear the heart so soon but she felt like we needed a little treat to make up for the last few days of worrying. Boy that little heart beats fast. Sam and I had lots of fun imitating it on the way home.

So I am happy to say that we are both healthy. I am trying to increase my water consumption. Now that my morning sickness has subsided a little it is a lot easier to drink fluids. Hopefully this cold will go away soon and I will be back to 100%

PS - I think this picture is even fuzzier than the last but it was a normal sonogram and it isn't magnified as much as the last time. Don't worry if you don't know what you are looking at...if I hadn't seen the heart beating I wouldn't have a clue either!

Joys of Pregnancy

I can’t really say that the New Year has gotten off to a great start. These last few days haven’t been much fun. Morning sickness has become almost constant and has now been compounded by a very bad cold. Battling a cold with little to no medication isn't much fun. Yuck!

Luckily I have been able to take a little time off work to relax. I have slept so much in the last couple of days. I think I have been alseep more than I have been awake. Hopefully the worst of the cold is over and I will be back to feeling better in no time.

It's Friday night and I am spending it in my PJ's. Really exciting stuff but I am really looking forward to a weekend of doing nothing!