The Pregnancy Catastrophe!

My pregnancy catastrophe; I am calling it the sneeze n’ pee. I didn’t think these sort of things happened until later, but I guess I was wrong. Who thought that once you were pregnant you would have to be stocked up on panty-liners. I think I will start carrying a little emergency pack in my purse.

Tuesday marked 16 weeks and I’m pretty sure I felt some movement. I know it wasn’t gas or a muscle twitch; although it didn’t feel like I’ve heard it described, fluttering. I can only describe it as a bahbloop feeling, kind of like a frog jumping off the inside of my stomach. I was lying on the couch, praying that God would relieve my terrible headache and there it was; the bahbloop. I texted Jeremy right away, I was so excited! Jeremy now calls Rosetta his little bahbloop, how cute!

I’ve read that the best position to sleep is on your side, especially the left side (it helps blood flow). No problem! I’ve been a side sleeper for a long time; that is, until recently. Sleeping on your back can restrict blood flow throughout your body and blood getting to the baby, so it’s important to avoid lying on your back. I’ve never been a back sleeper; it’s always been uncomfortable, causing my tongue to fall back in my throat and me to snore. Guess who now thinks back sleeping is the most comfortable position. You guessed it. Me. It’s like how that piece of candy you’re not supposed to have looks so delicious. Because I’m not supposed to sleep on my back, it’s the most appealing position for nighttime snoozing. I’m going to get a body pillow. Rumor has it a body pillow makes sleeping on your side much more comfortable.

Rosetta is now the size of an avocado! An avocado! She’s getting big. My belly is definitely sticking out more (thank you cousin Stephanie for loaning me your maternity clothes) and I’ve been “faithfully” gaining about a pound a week. This is getting more and more exciting. I’m glad I’m showing a bit now. We are meeting up with my parents and sister, and her husband, for vacation in June and it’ll be fun to have a little belly. Sometimes I just feel fat, but Jeremy is consistent in telling me I look beautiful. He loves to give me a hug and say he’s giving his two best girls a hug. Who ever thought Jeremy could be such a softie! I can’t wait to see what he’s like once Rosetta is here.

Our next OB appointment is June 5. At that point I think I will be scheduling my 18-20 week ultra sound. I’m looking forward to seeing how much Rosetta has grown and changed. I’ve read about all the changes she’s going through, beginning to make facial expressions, growing hair and nails, her bones are hardening too. It’s amazing how quickly she’s grown from a tiny 6 cell embryo.

We're having a...

I was caught off guard by a terrible cold, sorry for the delay in this post. We had our appointment last Thursday, and everything looks perfect! I got the results back Monday, on a blood test and everything came back negative for birth defects. Our next appointment with our OB is this Friday. I think it's just a regular check up, to make sure everything is progressing like it should. I'm feeling much better and am so proud of myself, I planned this week's menu and have been able to do some cooking. I'm sure Jeremy is silently celebrating, although he never complained at the lack of home cooked meals.

Oh, we are having a girl! I think most readers are on facebook and saw the announcement there. We are naming her Rosetta; we haven't decided on a middle name yet. I decided way back before college (and before I met Jeremy) that if I ever had a girl I would name her Rosetta. It was my great grandmother's name and I've always liked it. Luckily Jeremy likes it too; his grandmother's name was Rosalie and my sister-in-law's middle name is Rose. There is a possibility of error (although they are 99% sure she's a girl), since I'm only 13 weeks, needless to say we won't be purchasing any pink or purple until Rosetta is confirmed a girl at 20 weeks. I was worried I'd feel disappointed if we were having a girl first, instead of a boy; but I don't think it's possible to feel anything buy joy when you see your tiny baby. Jeremy and I talked about it afterwards, both of us are overjoyed about having a girl. There's no way even an inkling of disappointment could creep in. When the baby is part of you...sigh. I can't even explain it. We are excited! Jeremy is already imagining how he can torture the boys our daughter will bring home.

It's sure nice to be able to call our baby by name.:)

The Belly Rub

I meant to write yesterday to commemorate the end of my first trimester, but time got away from me. Today I am now 12 weeks and 1 day and it's with a sigh of relief I greet the second trimester. The chances of miscarriage have dramatically decreased, those niggling fears can finally be put to rest...maybe. :) I still feel some nausea, but it has lessened, thankfully.

Our next milestone is finding out the gender of CJ, which probably will be tomorrow, Thursday. We are going in for a test, Nuchal Translucency. This is a test done by ultra sound, and they can give us an idea on the baby's gender. It's not 100% accurate because the genitals have not fully developed; needless to say I will not start buying blue or pink until the gender is confirmed at 20 weeks. :) For those who are wondering what the nuchal translucency test is:

"This prenatal test (also called the NT or nuchal fold scan) can help your healthcare practitioner assess your baby's risk of having Down syndrome (DS) and some other chromosomal abnormalities as well as major congenital heart problems.

The NT test uses ultrasound to measure the clear (translucent) space in the tissue at the back of your developing baby's neck. Babies with abnormalities tend to accumulate more fluid at the back of their neck during the first trimester, causing this clear space to be larger than average." (babycenter.com)

I've always wondered why pregnant ladies rub their bellies; the reasons are probably different for everyone but I've started to think about it more as I find myself doing the belly rub. For me its an intimacy thing; it's the closest I can get to touching my baby. Maybe it's part of the bonding process. My reasons may change later, but for now, it's "hey baby, I know you're in there, I can't feel you or see you, but I love you."

One last thing. At our appointment tomorrow, we should be getting a 3D ultra sound, make sure to check back so you can see our cutie-patootie. ;)

Fingernails!

All sorts of plans are forming in my head. What colors should we paint the nursery for a boy or girl; what decorations, how to get the best deals on furniture and other baby necessities, etc. My most recent idea for decorating is Teddy Bears, for a while I wanted a Peter Rabbit theme (Beatrix Potter) but I think I like the teddy bear idea better. I ordered the cutest bear yesterday, the first thing I’ve bought for the baby. It’s a bear designed by the artist by Jim Shore, with Noah Ark on the belly. Amazon said it was the last one they had so of course I had to order it right away!

We decided on names for a boy or girl before we even became pregnant, Samuel or Rosetta but middle names are still up in the air.

We had our first OB appointment this past Friday. The doctor was recommended by a friend from church and we really liked him. He’s funny and creates a relaxing environment. A few things I liked,the doctors at the practice don’t share patients, which means my OB, Dr. Newman, will most likely be delivering my baby; he does 95% of his patients’ deliveries. Dr. Newman also made it clear he doesn’t do terminations; I had been hoping to find a doctor who didn’t. We didn’t hear the heart beat, but we did get a new ultra sound picture. Oh! We also got to see baby CJ move! It was incredible and made it all seem more real. Dr. Newman also informed us that because CJ is the appropriate size and has a good heartbeat, our risk of miscarriage is about %1, even though I’m still in the first trimester. You can imagine what a relief it was to hear that; I’d been counting down the weeks to the end of the first trimester (2 to go!)

I get e-mail updates every week about the baby and the new growth and development. As of yesterday I am 10 weeks. CJ’s ears are developed so he can hear my voice; he's about the size of a shrimp, or a thumb, with the head being more than half the body size. The baby is even growing finger nails; can you believe it! So small yet already getting fingernails! God’s meticulous attention to detail is astounding.

The past few days have been really good for me, my morning sickness seems to be abating (yippee!), but I am still very fatigued. I usually start falling asleep on the couch around 8:30 at night. I had been determined to enjoy ever aspect of pregnancy, but honestly, morning sickness cannot be enjoyed. Women seem to enjoy sharing their stories of morning sickness, how long it lasted, “I had morning sickness the whole pregnancy,” or “I was so sick the first 7 months.” I smile politely but think, “please don’t tell me that, I can’t imagine being sick for that long.” However, despite the ickiness, God has blessed us immensely and I try hard to not complain (too loudly) :).

Our Lil' Raspberry!

I have already run into a dilemma about eating healthy. Most days I feel nauseous therefore I don’t feel like eating, so if something sounds good I usually eat it. Monday morning I felt terrible and as I drove through Starbucks to get some peppermint tea, I saw a picture of their sausage and egg sandwich; it looked good so I ordered it. My stomach liked it and I felt really good most of the day. Over the weekend I consumed two boxes of macaroni and cheese, because the thought of eating anything else made me want to gag. I had gained a pound last week, but when I weighed myself this morning I had lost a pound. I guess even though I eat whatever appeals to me, I’m still not consuming too many calories. One thing I did learn from my Monday Starbucks sandwich is that if I force myself to eat protein (usually a home made egg sandwich) for breakfast my morning sickness is minimal and if I take my prenatal vitamin at night, I feel even better. I am ready to be done with the first trimester, my pants are already feeling tighter (I guess from bloating) and I feel fat. I want to “look” pregnant so I don’t feel fat. :)

We’ve been reading “Your Pregnancy, Week by Week” and have enjoyed learning about the things going on in my body and with baby CJ. As of yesterday I am 8 weeks and the drawing of an 8 week fetus looks cuter and more human (instead of alien). CJ is about the size of a raspberry now, growing about a millimeter a day, with tiny webbed hands and feet. Check out the link below to live videos of babies as they grow in the womb; it’s incredible!

We have our first appointment with an obstetrician April 9th. Jeremy is off that day so we can both go and we’re hoping we’ll have another ultra sound. With the baby growing so fast I’m excited to see how much CJ has grown since our first ultra sound March 26th. I can’t begin to describe how excited Jeremy is. After being so nervous and fearful about even trying to conceive two and a half years ago, he’s a different person. I guess there’s no point in being scared after baby is on the way

Baby's First Picture

Technically it's the second (we have a picture of the embryo) but we don't know which embryo is the actual one that implanted. So here is the first official picture of baby CJ. You can say it, he/she looks like a blob, hehehe. It was the most amazing thing to see that tiny heart beating away, so fast. It's almost incomprehensible to think there is another heart beating inside my body, besides my own. Let me just say, growing a baby is tiring work. I just want to sleep and when I'm awake I don't have energy to do much. I'm not complaining though, it's a good excuse to justify a nap. :)

I still have "all day" sickness. No throwing up, thankfully. It's such an anomaly for me to know I need to eat but not want to. Chewing gum is working well today at keeping my stomach settled, otherwise sucking on hard candy works too. If I can get at least 10 hours of sleep at night, I tend to feel less sick during the day.

We are thrilled to say the least; but we both will be glad to put this first trimester behind us and with it the higher risk of miscarriage. Our days and nights are filled with prayers, hopes and dreams as we excitedly imagine what are child will be like.

The Snack that Smiles Back, Goldfish.

If I were to start investing in specific stocks, my first choice would be Sprite Zero. I like it anyway, but with an unsettled stomach it helps me through the day, enabling me to eat. The mere thought of food causes my stomach to churn. Most things are repulsive, but the last few days I’ve feasted on Goldfish crackers. Today, however the idea of eating those crackers makes me feel ill. Cream cheese has been the only appealing thing this morning but I guess it’s not really a food; and definitely not healthy. Bummer.

I had a scare yesterday. After using the restroom I noticed I was bleeding. You can imagine the panic that welled up inside at the sight of red. I called my doctor, talked to the nurse who attempted to reassure me that it’s common for women taking the medicine I am to bleed. She talked to the doctor and he wasn’t too worried. Because I’m only 6 weeks pregnant, it would be too early to see a heart beat during an ultra sound. I contacted a few close friends and my mom, requesting prayer. God’s come through, as He always does. I haven’t seen any fresh blood today, but more importantly God has eased my anxiety. We have our appointment next Friday for the ultra sound, so until then we will continue to pray and trust that God is in control.

You may not believe it, but I already feel like my pants are not fitting as well as they did. While I haven’t gained any weight, I feel “bloated” and jeans are just not comfy anymore. As soon as I get home from work I change into my lounge/pj pants. :) I am pretty excited about purchasing new clothes, even if they are maternity.