Well, I'm 16 weeks pregnant, and overall I've been feeling good. My belly seems to have a mind of its own; sometimes it's barely noticeable, and other times I look like I'm six months pregnant instead of four. I went shopping with my Mom over the weekend and got some maternity clothes, and I think the timing was right because I'm really starting to need them! My midwife said at my last prenatal visit that I probably wouldn't start showing until I was about 20 weeks along (because it's my first pregnancy and because of my pre-pregnancy size), but I had a strong feeling I'd prove her wrong. I know every woman starts showing at a different time, but I have to admit that I feel like I'm showing an awful lot more than I should be at 16 weeks. I haven't gained much weight yet, but I'm definitely expanding.
I'm working on putting together baby registries, and I've been asking friends and family members for recommendations on certain items. Now that my Neurobiology class is over I will have more time to focus on things like registering and working on the baby's room.
I'll post an updated belly photo in the next day or two, because it will look a bit different from last week's photo!
July 30, 2012
July 23, 2012
15-Week Belly
Alrighty, folks, here's the first belly photo. It's not a great photo, but it'll serve its purpose. I'm 15 weeks pregnant and as I said in the last post, I am showing a bit. I think I'm still in the "is she pregnant or just fat?" phase, but I have the feeling that in another couple weeks I'll have reached the "definitely pregnant" point and there will be no question.
I've been feeling pretty good; I've had a bit more energy (though not as much as I was hoping to suddenly have when I reached my 2nd trimester). Aside from needing naps on the weekend and my clothes getting tighter and tighter, I have no complaints. I actually ordered a couple pairs of maternity pants because my regular pants have gotten so tight. In the morning they're ok, but as the day goes on my belly just gets bigger - I know, it's weird. Onward!
I've been feeling pretty good; I've had a bit more energy (though not as much as I was hoping to suddenly have when I reached my 2nd trimester). Aside from needing naps on the weekend and my clothes getting tighter and tighter, I have no complaints. I actually ordered a couple pairs of maternity pants because my regular pants have gotten so tight. In the morning they're ok, but as the day goes on my belly just gets bigger - I know, it's weird. Onward!
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| Bumpety-bump |
July 17, 2012
Whoa, belly...
I don't have a belly photo to share with you yet (soon, though!), but trust me when I say I'm starting to show. My pants have been tight in the waist for a while, but now if you see me in profile you can see a definite bump. I'm 14 weeks now, and from about 8 weeks on, by the end of the work day I would be tempted to unbutton and/or unzip my pants while driving home from work (and sometimes I did just that) because sitting was so uncomfortable because my pants were tighter. Up until very recently, in the morning I would wake up with a completely flat stomach, but as the day went on I would slowly but surely gain a belly and by the end of the day I'd be wondering where the heck that belly came from all of a sudden. At that point it was just due to bloating and water retention (lovely), but now I have to get used to the fact that a flat stomach will not be making an appearance again for a very long time (maybe not ever). It's an adjustment. So, before long I won't even fit into my old clothes (at least pants and skirts) and I'll have graduated to maternity clothes. BUT the cool part about all of the belly woes is that the peanut looks something like this.
Baby has made the transition from lemon-sized to orange-sized. Progress!
Baby has made the transition from lemon-sized to orange-sized. Progress!
July 12, 2012
Wee Little Things
Christi surprised me at work a few weeks ago with some gifts for the baby (and one for me). She's ready and excited to be an aunt, and couldn't wait to buy some baby things, which was incredibly sweet of her. So the first baby things I received were very appropriate in that they are all Washington Capitals items. Anybody who knows me is well aware of my love for the Caps, and since Matt and I have been married he has become just as big a fanatic as I am. Here's a shot of what Christi got for the baby - newborn onesie, bib, and fuzzy slippers:
Little baby things are always so darn cute, aren't they? Christi also got me a Caps maternity shirt, which I will surely wear a lot this fall and winter.
We also got a onesie from Matt's parents, Bob and Pat, that they picked up for the Peanut while they were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary in beautiful Hawaii.
So the little one will have a very cute keepsake from their trip. Oh, and see the fish on the onesie? That's the Hawaii state fish, which is called Humuhumunukunukuapua'a (I know, I can't pronounce it either). I figure Humuhumunukunukuapua'a is bound to be the baby's first word. If so, then he/she can teach me how to say it.
Little baby things are always so darn cute, aren't they? Christi also got me a Caps maternity shirt, which I will surely wear a lot this fall and winter.
We also got a onesie from Matt's parents, Bob and Pat, that they picked up for the Peanut while they were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary in beautiful Hawaii.
So the little one will have a very cute keepsake from their trip. Oh, and see the fish on the onesie? That's the Hawaii state fish, which is called Humuhumunukunukuapua'a (I know, I can't pronounce it either). I figure Humuhumunukunukuapua'a is bound to be the baby's first word. If so, then he/she can teach me how to say it.
July 6, 2012
Moving Pictures
I was given an interesting opportunity when I was 10 weeks pregnant. I work at a college, and a new Diagnostic Medical Sonography program was developed last year, but the classes haven't started running yet. The evening of June 14, I got an e-mail from the program director asking if I would like to have a 2-D/3-D sonogram the next morning on campus. The college had purchased two different brands of sonography machines, and the equipment guy would be on campus the next day to demonstrate the differences in the machines to the program director.
In essence, I agreed to be a guinea pig, and I was super excited about it.
The next day I showed up for my sonogram, and made sure to call Christi (she works on campus with me) and have her come down to watch. Even though I wasn't very far along in my pregnancy and the baby was still quite blob-like, it was amazing to see the differences between the 8-week ultrasound and the 10-week ultrasound. Peanut was working hard in there, growing up a storm! It was so great to have Christi there to see everything, and I left with a flash drive of photos and videos of the baby that I could take home and show Matt.
See how even in the 2-D ultrasound you can tell how much development happened between 8 and 10 weeks?
And then there's the 3-D view, which is admittedly kind of weird:
Quite the umbilical cord, no? Anyway, being a guinea pig for this kind of thing was great. The DMS program director said I could come back when I'm about 24 weeks along for another 3-D scan. By then, Peanut will look much more like a baby and less like, well, amutant alien peanut.
My favorite part of the day was watching the baby move and seeing his/her heart beating away in there. This video shows the sweet dancing skills the little one has already developed (where this kid got his/her dance moves from is a mystery to me). The consensus was that there is definitely some Cabbage Patch and Running Man going on.
It's so bizarre. But also so amazing.
In essence, I agreed to be a guinea pig, and I was super excited about it.
The next day I showed up for my sonogram, and made sure to call Christi (she works on campus with me) and have her come down to watch. Even though I wasn't very far along in my pregnancy and the baby was still quite blob-like, it was amazing to see the differences between the 8-week ultrasound and the 10-week ultrasound. Peanut was working hard in there, growing up a storm! It was so great to have Christi there to see everything, and I left with a flash drive of photos and videos of the baby that I could take home and show Matt.
See how even in the 2-D ultrasound you can tell how much development happened between 8 and 10 weeks?
And then there's the 3-D view, which is admittedly kind of weird:
Quite the umbilical cord, no? Anyway, being a guinea pig for this kind of thing was great. The DMS program director said I could come back when I'm about 24 weeks along for another 3-D scan. By then, Peanut will look much more like a baby and less like, well, a
My favorite part of the day was watching the baby move and seeing his/her heart beating away in there. This video shows the sweet dancing skills the little one has already developed (where this kid got his/her dance moves from is a mystery to me). The consensus was that there is definitely some Cabbage Patch and Running Man going on.
It's so bizarre. But also so amazing.
The Blob
The Peanut is due to be born some time around January 14, 2013. I've gotten two other due date estimates based on measurements taken during sonograms, and those were January 12 and January 10. But my midwives are sticking with the January 14 due date, so I am too.
Weeks 4-7.5 of my pregnancy weren't especially pleasant. I was nauseated all the time, and for 2 of those 3.5 weeks I couldn't keep much food down at all. I was warned that if I didn't get more fluids into my system, I would need to go to the hospital for IV fluids. But one day I woke up and wasn't feeling bad at all (except for the ridiculous exhaustion that has been a pretty constant part of my first trimester). In fact, I was able to eat just fine all day, and I even had a bit of an appetite. I continued to feel better in the following days as well. While feeling better was a relief and a blessing, over the next few days I became concerned that something had surely gone wrong. Considering how suddenly I had gone from feeling miserable to feeling pretty normal, I figured something had to be wrong.
I had an appointment for an ultrasound scheduled on June 1st, when I was 8 weeks along. I was so concerned about the baby that I steeled myself for the possibility that the sonogram tech would shake her head and say, "I'm sorry, there's no heartbeat." But when we went in for the ultrasound, we were able to see the baby, watch its heartbeat, and also listen to its heart beating at a strong 168 beats per minute. The relief was overwhelming. It was also the first opportunity to share photos of Peanut with our families. Here's the little (beautiful) blob we saw:
I know it doesn't look like much, but the baby was there and alive, and that was an incredible thing. Matt and I were so relieved that things were ok and that we got to see the baby and watch his/her little heart beat.
Weeks 4-7.5 of my pregnancy weren't especially pleasant. I was nauseated all the time, and for 2 of those 3.5 weeks I couldn't keep much food down at all. I was warned that if I didn't get more fluids into my system, I would need to go to the hospital for IV fluids. But one day I woke up and wasn't feeling bad at all (except for the ridiculous exhaustion that has been a pretty constant part of my first trimester). In fact, I was able to eat just fine all day, and I even had a bit of an appetite. I continued to feel better in the following days as well. While feeling better was a relief and a blessing, over the next few days I became concerned that something had surely gone wrong. Considering how suddenly I had gone from feeling miserable to feeling pretty normal, I figured something had to be wrong.
I had an appointment for an ultrasound scheduled on June 1st, when I was 8 weeks along. I was so concerned about the baby that I steeled myself for the possibility that the sonogram tech would shake her head and say, "I'm sorry, there's no heartbeat." But when we went in for the ultrasound, we were able to see the baby, watch its heartbeat, and also listen to its heart beating at a strong 168 beats per minute. The relief was overwhelming. It was also the first opportunity to share photos of Peanut with our families. Here's the little (beautiful) blob we saw:
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| Peanut's first photo! |
I know it doesn't look like much, but the baby was there and alive, and that was an incredible thing. Matt and I were so relieved that things were ok and that we got to see the baby and watch his/her little heart beat.
Introducing "Peanut"
The baby has officially been named "Peanut" (by my sister, Christi) while he/she is growing in utero. So, say hello to Peanut!
Is that a good looking kid or what?
In order to announce our pregnancy to out-of-town friends and some out-of-town family (people we wouldn't see in person or tell over the phone), we sent these postcards:
Announcing our pregnancy to friends and family has been fun; everyone has been supportive and excited for us. Thank you all for that.
Is that a good looking kid or what?
In order to announce our pregnancy to out-of-town friends and some out-of-town family (people we wouldn't see in person or tell over the phone), we sent these postcards:
Announcing our pregnancy to friends and family has been fun; everyone has been supportive and excited for us. Thank you all for that.
"Guess what?"
Some women come up with elaborate ways of telling their spouse that they're pregnant. But not me; I wasn't that creative, nor did I have the patience to wait for a clever idea to take shape in my head before telling Matt. So instead of a well-planned pregnancy proclamation, I just woke Matt up (it was early in the morning so he was still sleeping) and said "Guess what?" I can only imagine what he thought I was going to say, since it was early and I don't normally wake him up. Maybe he thought I was going to tell him that the basement had flooded or a spaceship had landed next door. Or maybe he was so groggy from being rudely awakened that he wasn't thinking anything at all. But he mumbled "What?" and I simply said, "I'm pregnant."
I was holding the pregnancy test for backup, in case he didn't believe me or thought I must be playing a joke on him. I suppose at the very least I could have waited until he woke up on his own; that would've been the thoughtful thing to do. But I give Matt a lot of credit for sitting up, asking if I was serious, and then saying, "Well good job." There was a hug, a kiss, and then Matt had to get ready for work. That was May 2nd.
I think it took some time for the news to sink in for both of us. It was a strange thing to know that if all went well, our lives would drastically change in nine months; when there's no visual indicator of a growing baby (no baby belly, no sonogram pictures, etc.), it just seemed like it wasn't real yet.
Matt and I had been hoping to start a family for a while. I'd had to come off of a couple of medications that weren't safe to take during pregnancy, and I wanted them to be totally out of my system before I even got pregnant. Basically, there was a bit of prep work involved. So it wasn't shocking to find out I was pregnant, but it was very exciting that it finally happened.
I was holding the pregnancy test for backup, in case he didn't believe me or thought I must be playing a joke on him. I suppose at the very least I could have waited until he woke up on his own; that would've been the thoughtful thing to do. But I give Matt a lot of credit for sitting up, asking if I was serious, and then saying, "Well good job." There was a hug, a kiss, and then Matt had to get ready for work. That was May 2nd.
I think it took some time for the news to sink in for both of us. It was a strange thing to know that if all went well, our lives would drastically change in nine months; when there's no visual indicator of a growing baby (no baby belly, no sonogram pictures, etc.), it just seemed like it wasn't real yet.
Matt and I had been hoping to start a family for a while. I'd had to come off of a couple of medications that weren't safe to take during pregnancy, and I wanted them to be totally out of my system before I even got pregnant. Basically, there was a bit of prep work involved. So it wasn't shocking to find out I was pregnant, but it was very exciting that it finally happened.
This blog will be a place for me to share updates regarding my pregnancy and my experiences as a first-time mother. Matt and I have many family members and friends who live out-of-state, so this is an opportunity for them to keep up with what's going on if they choose to. Besides, I figure not everyone on Facebook is interested in seeing my sonogram and baby belly photos. They should all be grateful I've created a different location for "baby central!" I hope you'll all check in periodically and share in our experience.
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