8 weeks

I'm cruising through the week! Here's an update of the first doctor's visit: it was pretty uneventful! They took my medical history, took my urine, and took my blood. Then they gave me a bag of free magazines and ads and I made my next/first "real" appointment. We'll be able to hear the heart beat on April 15!

Some fun facts: the baby has doubled in size again! He/she is at least an inch this week, and is looking more like a person and less like an alien. The baby has arms and legs and fingers and toes that are taking their proper shape. His/her head is big and the brains are developing. I tried to find a picture of what an 8-week old fetus looks like but google had some weird/creepy stuff so I decided to forget it!

Which reminds me, the baby has also graduated from an embryo to a fetus this week! Wahoo! Fast grower.

parental realization

As the early weeks of my pregnancy pass by I'm anxiously awaiting "the safety zone" of the second trimester. Although I try not to think or stress about it, the risks of miscarriage are much higher in the first trimester, which is why the decision to announce the good news post-12 week is often made. It will be nice when I don't have to worry about that.

The other day I was sitting in the waiting room for my doctor's appointment reading a baby magazine. An article talked about helping your baby sleep well - all the do's and don'ts and preparation for a good night's sleep, etc. The article mentioned things to do to help prevent SIDS . . . another scary thought for a parent-to-be.

"Wow." I thought, "I'll sure be glad when my baby is old enough to be out of that risk group. Then I won't have to worry so much . . ."

And then it hit me. Once they are sleeping safely then I'll have to worry about them toddling into the middle of the road . . . or being snatched on their way to school . . . or choosing cigarettes over FHE . . . and the list goes on. I guess I got a tiny taste of what parents feel. Here begins a never-ending journey of constantly being concerned for the welfare of my children.

It seems like a heavy job. But I'm excited for it.

gender predictor

The results are in! At least the predictions are.

I downloaded three free gender predictor apps on my iPhone for fun. Based on the ancient Chinese calendar (and other equally reliable factors) we have:

2 predictions for a girl
and 1 prediction for a boy.

Looks like the girls have a firm lead!

seven.five

Well I'm officially seven-and-a-half weeks along. But it feels like it's time to be halfway! It's still too soon to tell everyone but I feel like I've been keeping the secret FOREVER! And all my pregnant friends/relatives seem so far ahead of me!!! But, tomorrow will be my first doc's visit, so maybe that will make things seem more real.

The great news of the week is that I'm feeling really good. Today I went on a little walk/jog around my neighborhood and discovered a great little park that I'll be utilizing this summer. The weather was absolutely perfect. I listened to a podcast called "Is He Ready to be your Coach?". Great question. I'll think about that later. Then I enjoyed a berry smoothie and peanut butter toast on my back deck. I LOVE SPRING!

So hopefully I'm not jinxing myself, but aside from a few days last week I've really been feeling great! There's still the reality of food aversions. I'm not super in the mood for much aside from cereal, cheddar cheese, and cookies, but I'll take that over the alternative!

My 7 1/2 week picture (turns out I feel funny when I try to stand still)

On a final note, I only have three weeks of classes left before graduation . . . I'm going to make it!

blueberry graduation!

Well, the baby has moved on from the size of a blueberry to a raspberry! Can you believe he/she has doubled in size this week? From a quarter-inch to a half-inch. What progress!

This past week has been really good - better than expected! I figured out that the more water I drink during the day the better I feel. I had almost no nausea on Wednesday and Thursday as I burned through about 80 ounces of water. Food aversions, yep. But I felt much better overall.


I have my first doctor's appointment on Tuesday! This will be the long-boring-blood-test-medical-history visit, but I'm just excited to get started. It was quite a process to figure out who I wanted to go see. The main battle was finding someone and someplace that I was interested in and that my insurance would cover. The next battle came when I found out that the OB/GYN group I thought I wanted to work with had SEVEN doctors that they rotate through and I would have no say in who I see. Lame. So I went with a midwife group that my good friend (and experienced pregnant woman) recommended. We'll see how things go!

evening of hunger

I'm in a Bible as Literature class on Tuesday evenings, which is awesome. On March 23 we'll be having a Passover Feast complete with bitter herbs, flat-bread, and an official candle lighting ceremony. For some reason, I got my dates mixed up and was expecting a grand feast when I went to class this evening. So, I went there a bit hungry so I would be ready to enjoy all the fixins!

When I got to class and realized that it was business as usual, my heart sank . . . into my empty stomach. Minutes into the 2.5 hour class I felt like a ravenous beast! I started craving french dip sandwiches and pizza. The only feeling that rivaled my hunger was my exhaustion. Walking in that warm sun today (thumbs up!) just tuckered me out.

I was in trouble! I was sleepy, starving, and hadn't done my reading for the class because I thought it was feast day! Fortunately class was interesting (and so were the blogs I read on the side) and the last half went by faster than the first half.

As soon as I was free I cruised over to Arby's - for the first time in years, perhaps - and chowed a couple Jr. Roast Beefs and some curly fries. Mmmmm, blissful. Thanks, Arby's!

Lists

For today's entry, two lists of pregnant things.

First of all, a list of things I never thought would hit so early in pregnancy:
1. Having to pee all the time. I thought this came when the baby was so big that it pushed against your bladder. Nope.
2. A sore lower back. Also thought this came from being front-heavy. But I'm feeling it!
3. Being super tired.
4. Being emotional and weird!

Next, here's what I'm into lately

A great breakfast

Wish there were more of these

By the Costco box!

classic . . .

weekly pictures

Me at six weeks

Weekly pictures to come - charting our baby's (and my belly's) progress!

babies everywhere

I just finished a baby shower for three pregnant friends in BYU Singers. It was so hard to keep my mouth shut about me being pregnant! I still haven't told many friends (feel honored, you few who are reading this!) and I figured it would be tacky to announce it at a baby shower for someone else. So I just ate a lot instead of talking!

It was really fun to have friends over in our new home. We had tons of good food and there were loads of cute onesies being opened and adored. So exciting to think of being there myself in a matter of months!

Oh - and the great news is that my horrible morning yesterday was due to taking the pre-natal on an empty stomach. I woke up feeling great this morning, although I did get munching on crackers pretty soon after getting up!

Ups and Downs of the week:

-A downside to this phase of pregnancy is that I'm definitely eating more than before and I'm for sure gaining weight! But I'm not really supposed to be showing yet so I just feel a bit pudgy.

-But, on the bright side, I'm surviving my busy days (and early mornings) of school and teaching.

-Also, the baby shower gave me an excuse to get the house clean and all the laundry done!

baby blueberry

This is the size of the baby right now

Keep growing, berry!

week 6 - here with a vengeance!

Over the last few days I've been feeling pretty good about things. I've had to get up early for some 6:30am piano lessons, but have woken up feeling surprisingly good. Tired, yes, but as far as "morning sickness", I figured it had been mis-named! Well, week six is here . . . and I take it all back!

Last night I got home earlier than normal from teaching piano. McKay and I actually got to enjoy an evening together! I made an experimental curry dish - which turned out - and then I enjoyed a warm bath (not too hot of course, watching out for my little blueberry!) Afterward I got in bed - just to lounge! I had every intention of getting back out to brush my teeth and take my pre-natal vitamin. Of course I fell right to sleep - was I really surprised? Around 5:45 I woke up to my rotting teeth. I had to brush them! I found my way to the bathroom and squeezed a glob onto my toothbrush in the darkness. During this activity I recalled how un-sick I felt and how mornings were easy for me! I popped my vitamin - probably a bad idea on an empty stomach - and got back in bed. A few minutes later a wave of nausea hit me like a cruel, ironic joke.

So I scurried downstairs and brought a pack of saltines up to bed with me. I chomped a couple as I fell back asleep. When I woke up for the day I was not only greeted by my cute husband, but by a queasy cramping in my stomach. My baby wasn't the only one in the fetal position this morning!

Luckily McKay is a good man and gave me a blessing which helped me feel better. A berry smoothie and some crackers later, I'm still feeling pregnant . . . but it's not quite as bad. And the best news of all is that it's the weekend!

Monday Monday

Feeling a bit more pregnant today . . . really sleepy, goofy stomach.

I woke up after a solid 8 hours of sleep, finished some homework, made pancakes for breakfast and then walked up and down our stairs for a bit of exercise! I couldn't motivate myself to make the drive to the nearest gym or go running outside. Also, I was planning on going to my 10:00 class so I didn't have time for a lengthy workout.

Instead, I put on a pregnancy podcast (breastfeeding, part 1) and walked up and down the stairs for 15 minutes! I hit the shower, got ready . . . and then sat down for a break! Those pancakes feel funny now. Looks like I'll go to class next time. On the bright side, the grocery list is made and the emails are caught up.

That's productive, right?

baby Thomas coming in November!

I found out just over a week ago that I'm pregnant!

It's overwhelming, surreal, exciting, and unbelievable all at the same time! I've been downloading pregnancy apps and podcasts on my iPhone. I've been googling things and calling insurance providers and hospitals. I've been eating every couple hours and hitting the bathroom about as often ;) I've been a bit wacked emotionally and I blame it entirely on the hormones!

We just broke the news to our family this weekend. We invited both our parents, siblings and local grandparents to our house, under the guise of a housewarming party. When everyone was gathered I put out the place cards - which had their names as our baby will know them - Uncle Scott, Great-grandma Smith, etc. The back read "The Newest Thomas Arriving Early November". As people discovered their name tags a little ripple of excitement went through the kitchen. Congratulations and hugs were given, and then we chowed down on soup and rolls.

So far I have noticed small changes - I'm tired and hungry, I have to go to the bathroom a lot, I'm weird, and I'm getting a bit squishy! I've felt a bit car-sick a couple of days, but nothing too bad . . . I hear that part is just around the corner though! Week five will be wrapping up this week and we'll see how week six treats me. Fingers crossed!

McKay and I are thrilled and yet it still hasn't fully sunk in. There will be times when it hits us . . . there's a person growing inside me! But other times it doesn't feel real. I'm sure the baby will have a way of making it more and more real as time goes by!

Here's to nine healthy, uneventful months!