Week 8

June 17, 2011

Best Moment: We got to see Jelly Bean again this week in an ultra sound. This week s/he was a little more visible as a blob instead of a tiny spec, and the heartbeat continued to look great. It's still so amazing to me that there is a person in there!

Symptoms: Still tired and nauseaus. But I still haven't actually gotten sick. Towards the end of this week, I've started to feel like maybe my nausea is getting a little better-- or maybe I'm just getting better at managing it. I have packets of Saltine crackers stashed everywhere, and I've gotten better at eating smaller meals more often, to avoid getting hungry. My doctor says the nausea usually peaks in week 9, so here's hoping that the light at the end of the tunnel gets brighter after next week.

Cravings/Aversions: Food. Meh. Not much sounds good. There isn't really anything that completely grosses me out, but there's also not much that appeals. I tend to go for bland things like the aforementioned Saltines, granola bars, anything potato, cereal, waffles, etc. I'm also still enjoying all of the great summer fruit.

What I Miss: My energy and my appetite. But I'm so grateful that my nausea seems to be mild to moderate. I know it could be much worse. And I also know all of this discomfort is temporary and so worth the end result.

What I Can't Wait For: I'm looking forward to the promised land that is the second trimester. Hopefully my energy will come back and I can start working out and just enjoying daily activities more.

Milestones: Jelly Bean is the size of a kidney bean, and is already constantly moving and shifting, but I won't be able to feel him or her for weeks to come.

Week 7

June 10, 2011

Best Moment: The best moment this week was just making it to a full 7 weeks. Reaching this milestone helped provide a little reassurance.

Symptoms: In addition to the exhaustion, the nausea hit with full force this week. I'm not physically getting sick, but I'm also constantly queasy and very little sounds good to eat. The catch-22 is that the nausea gets worse if I get hungry, so I'm constantly trying to find things to snack on that don't make me want to hurl. At this point, it's safe to say I should have bought stock in Saltine crackers. I'm also starting to notice the effects of a pea-sized bladder. I've always had a small bladder (I like to think I'm just well hydrated) and I've always been a light sleeper, but the two are worse with pregnancy and I find myself waking up for multiple bathroom trips each night.

Cravings/Aversions: Fruit still sounds delicious. Other things sound good one minute, and absolutely disgusting the next. In general, meat sounds kind of gross, but cheesy, gooey comfort foods like pizza and enchiladas sound tasty.

What I Miss: The wine I mentioned last week? Yeah, that couldn't sound less appealing at this point. I miss my appetite and my ability to not smell and become violently disgusted by any food product within a 500 yard radius, but, again, it's a small price to pay. I am just so grateful for this miracle growing inside of me.

What I Can't Wait For: Honestly? Taking several naps this weekend. And not having to sit upright at my desk for two days. TGIF.

Milestones: Jelly bean is the size of a blueberry and has begun to develop hands and feet this week.

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.

The other thing we've been up to...

In addition to house hunting, the move, my busy work schedule, travel, and family events, my posts have been a little spotty because I have been worn out and not feeling great. But all for a good reason...

I am 14 weeks pregnant today, and we couldn't be more excited! We found out the morning before Jason's business school graduation, and it was honestly a big surprise-- albeit a fantastic one. I've had several ultrasounds already to make sure our bean is healthy and growing just as he or she should, and so far everything looks great. My due date is January 27th-- just 4 days shy of J's 35th birthday. As for how I'm feeling, my nausea is gone and the fatigue seems to be easing up. Today is officially the start of my second trimester, so I'm looking forward to hopefully feeling a lot more energetic in the coming weeks.

I've been writing weekly updates to help keep a memory of my experience with this pregnancy, so we'll call this "baby week" and I'll post all of my weekly updates up to this point over the next few days. After that, I'll post them once a week.

It's taken a little while for all of this to sink in, but it's becoming more and more real by the day. It looks like it's time to start thinking about how we transform our extra bedroom in order to get ready for our new addition next winter!

We Made It!

After a very long week+ of cleaning, painting, and packing (in 104 degree weather), we are totally moved into our new place. We are currently surrounded by mounds of boxes in most rooms, but the kitchen is about 85% put away, so that feels like a huge accomplishment. As we were unpacking, I realized that at least 50% of our entire household's possessions live in the kitchen. Kind of crazy. (And maybe a sign that we need to invest in some furniture.) Now that we've gone through all of it and I've re-discovered many long lost cooking implements and pretty serveware items, I am totally motivated to start whipping up some goodies in my new kitchen.

We still have a semi-long list of to-do's. We (OK, Jason) spent most of last week painting the interior trim and the master bedroom, a well as the front and back doors. (It's hard to see in the picture above, but the doors and window trim are a deep plum color.) We still want to tackle some paint touch ups in the kitchen, and we are having the carpet replaced in two bedrooms so we don't want to get too settled in those rooms when we'll just have to move everything out again in a few weeks. But, overall, it's definitely starting to feel like home. We love the house's 1930s charm-- more pictures to come as we get settled and decorated.

And, most importantly, I got a full, uninterrupted 8 hours of sleep last night for the first time in weeks. Well rested, and with the worst of the move behind us, I definitely feel like a new woman.

And so it goes...

House hunting
Work travel
A trip home to visit the family
A bridal shower to host
Goodbye dinners and parties for some of our b-school friends leaving town
New projects at work
Packing and prepping for our move
Painting the new house...

... the list goes on.

Fortunately, I think my life might be approaching a more reasonable level of sanity in the next few days. Our move is scheduled for Saturday. We've been fiendishly scrubbing every nook and cranny of the house and painting trim and/or walls in nearly every room, but the end is in sight. I'm hoping I can take a big deep breath on Sunday. And maybe a nap, too.

Wish me luck!