Week 6

Kicking off "baby week" with my first weekly update from 6 weeks - the last time my waist will look like this for the better part of a year!

June 3, 2011

Best Moment: The highlight of the week was seeing jelly bean and his/her heartbeat in our first ultrasound this week. Based on my history, I'm being closely monitored through the first trimester, which means a few more ultrasounds than normal. Fine by me! Seeing the heartbeat, which looked like a little flashing white light, was truly amazing and such a moment of joy and relief. There are no guarantees, but seeing the heartbeat alone reduces our risk of miscarriage from 30% to 10%.

Symptoms: EX-HAUS-TION. I've never been one to turn down a nap, but since those two pink lines appeared, I have experienced fatigue like never before. I am fortunate to live very close to my office, and have already managed to sneak home for a lunch time nap on more than one occasion. Also: enhanced sense of smell, mild nausea on a handful of occasions, and, strangely, excess saliva. Apparently the pregnancy symptom factory really fires up after week 6, so I'm sure I have many more fun little side effects to look forward to in the next few weeks.

Cravings/Aversions: I haven't had much in the way of food aversions, but cold, juicy fruit sounds amazing. Particularly berries, apricots, and nectarines. To date, my diet has been pretty good, and pretty balanced. We'll see what the next few weeks bring.

What I Miss: OK, I'll admit it... there have been a few occasions where Jason has had a glass of wine that looked pretty appealing. Especially the glass of Tempranillo he had with a homemade spicy tomato pasta the other night. I just miss the ritual of a nice glass of wine with a delicious, home-cooked meal. But nothing is more important that the health of our baby, so this is something I am more than happy to give up for the next 9 months.

What I Can't Wait For: I can't wait to go back for ultrasound #2 in about a week and a half. Fingers (and toes) crossed that everything continues to look great!

Milestones: Jelly bean's heart started beating this week. The miracle of life in action! It's hard to believe there is a little person in there, but it's becoming more real every day.