1/4 Way Through!

I'm 10 weeks pregnant now, which also means I'm about a quarter way through - both scary and exciting.

I'm also starting to feel more like my old self again. Morning sickness seems to be a thing of the past, and I'm finally beginning to have my energy level back up. The pros of pregnancy have even started to show a tiny bit: my nails are longer and stronger than they've ever been! I've always hated my short, stubby, bendy, brittle, peeling, floppy, ugly fingernails. Now I keep looking at them in admiration, lol.

My hormones are obviously out of whack though. I'm more short tempered and cross with people (sorry if you've been victimized!) and I get teary very easily, which I detest. I'm losing patience with the advice everyone seems to offer up without solicitation. One of my most recent and ridiculous snipits of advice was, "Hope for a boy because they cost less and you can hold them back from kindegarten another year since he'll be born in August. That way he won't be the youngest. But if it's a girl, go ahead and start her when she's five so that she's not self conscious of her breasts when she hits puberty."
Um.... okay....

That one came from a very chatty mother of one of my clients last week. I found her obnoxious and made a mental note to be more choosy with which clients I tell about my pregnancy.

So, things are looking up, except for my moodiness. But unlike morning sickness, that's something everyone else has to suffer from more than I. :) Hehe... (oh let a pregnant woman have her fun)

Second trimester, here I come!

All signs point to BOY

Baby Gender Predictor
I'm not trying to predict my baby's sex or say, "I think it's a boy!" I really have no idea. But I am interested by the fact that so far, all signs point to a boy.

I kinda roll my eyes at people who say things like, "Girls run in my family." or "I just know it's a boy. I just know." Because a lot of people I know who've had kids have ended up being wrong. Truth is, until you see little Mr. Winky -- or a lack of him -- you just never know. Although I do believe sometimes your body just knows. Maybe conciously you don't, but your body knows whether it's got testosterone running through it or not.

But here are the "boy signs" we've had so far:
- in all my baby dreams so far, it's been a boy
- the Chinese Lunar calendar predicts it to be a boy, by using my age and the month of conception
- I, without thinking, referred to the baby as "he" the other night
- the old wives tale predictor says I have a 60% chance of having a boy

Should I try the Drano method?

However, knowing life and the way it can surprise you, all that probably means I'm having a girl!

1 big ticket item down, 7 to go

My SIL Adrienne emailed me this morning about a sale at Target, lots of clearanced baby items. Since I've been saving my tips for a couple of weeks for exactly this reason (although it's early, we figure it's better to spread out the big spending rather than do it all at the last minute).

Well, I'm glad I went because one of the first things that caught my eye was the Medela Advanced Breastpump. This is the top-notch, best-you-can-buy breastpump (well, the only model pricier is $1900!) that everyone has said is the best. Amazon.com has about a hundred 5 star reviews on this thing- so obviously it was the one I want. Especially if I am going to be working post-delivery, and will have to use one at work.

So I got it on sale for $175, it's regular price around $260. I'm really happy about that.

As for the other big-ticket items we need to buy - ones you can't expect to get at a baby shower as they're so pricey, I'm a planner so I've got most of them picked out. Here are the other items that must come before baby:

1. Chicco Cortina Travel System in Discovery color theme. (Don't try and talk be out of this stroller, I tested it at Babies 'r' Us and my baby WILL have this.) $280 (ouch!) but it's gotten sterling reviews!
2. Do Your Room Convertible Crib in White from Target. (I know you can buy cheap used cribs but this one converts into a twin bed later - so it's worth the cost in the long run!) $200
3. Do Your Room Rocker with Ottoman. $160
4. Kimble Dresser from Target in Vintage White. (Will act as a changing table with an added changing cushion fixed on top.) $200
5. Elegance Round Bassinet from Target. (Okay, so this one is a bit of an extravagance, but if you saw how well it matches our master bedroom with the black toile! I just adore this piece! Also, until baby get's on a good overnight schedule we'll have it room in with us most of the time to make feedings easier.) $150
6. JVC Camcorder. You just have to have one when you have kids. $180 at Walmart.
7. Kodak Digital Camera and printer. (Sure, we have one that holds about 5 photos and has the worst quality pics... we kinda need a nicer one.) $150

I'm not even going to bother adding up all those prices, lol. Sure, I'm stressed about getting all that, but we thought about how expensive babies are before we started trying for one so it's all good. Luckily, as I learned today, I have plenty of time to watch for the good sales and save up my tips. At this rate, if we make one big purchase once a month we'll be good to go by August!

It's a boy! It's a girl! It's a parasite!

A parasite that I'll have for nine months, after which I'll have to feed and change it.

Okay, so that's a pretty negative way to look at it. But it literally is sucking all the life out of me. Last week I had to literally sit down and rest while doing my makeup. A few nights ago I got up to pee FOUR times in the middle of the night.

Everyone keeps saying, just wait until you get to the second trimester! Then you'll feel euphoric! Well, that's only just over 3 weeks away now. I'm getting there. Until then...

M/S.... where aaaarrreeee yoooouu???

Could I really be this lucky or is my body playing a cruel trick on me? Morning sickness hasn't reared it's ugly head in over 4 days. That's a good thing, I guess. It's so stupid how the pregnancy symptoms can suck so much, but when they go away I worry a little bit - is something wrong? But I don't think so because I still feel like someone pushed bowling balls under my skin on my chest when I wake up in the morning. That's been fun.

Or maybe I've just figured out what works for me. Despite all the advice to drink ginger ale, eat crackers, drink leomonade (made me throw up), eat even when nauseous, etc. maybe I ended up finding my own weapon against morning sickness. Lately, to avoid waking up with an empty stomach (which can bring on the nausea) I've been eating in the middle of the night. I've started waking up with hunger pangs around 3am, so to quell those I've taken to drinking a glass of milk and eating a quick snack. Since I started that, coincidentally or not?, the morning sickness has disappeared. I also don't wake up hungry - I despise that sensation in the morning since I never feel like eating then anway. It seems to help. Although the morning sickness did help a little, hehe, as so far I've only lost weight during this pregnancy.

I still have food aversions. Don't you dare bring eggs and sausage around me! At work we share a building with Cheeburger Cheeburger and the smell of onion rings cooking at 10am has made me want to slaughter somebody. I wanted to storm over there and say, "Ya know, there are several pregnant women working here and your stinky food might cause us to throw up on customers! Could ya cut it out?!" (There are three of us at work who are pregnant! My poor boss...)

So, am I really so lucky to have been able to say "Tata!" to my morning sickness after only a couple weeks of it? Hopefully this lasts...

12 HOURS of sleep

I went to bed last night at 7.45pm. I woke up at 8.15am. That's over 12 hours of sleep! I slept away half the day! And yet here I sit, still exhausted.

I have my good days and my bad days. Sunday and Monday were good days. I should have known the following would be hellish. Yesterday the most I could do was lay around and watch TV. I finally dragged myself up for a trip to the grocery store which left me thoroughly fatigued. I'd like to be exercising regularly but it's so hard when I can't even walk across the room with any energy.

Man I can't wait til the 2nd trimester.