I have news! I've been SOO tempted to spend the $40 to order Intelligender. Or the $150 to go to one of those ultrasound clinics to find out the baby's sex ASAP.
Those of you who know me well know this: Heather has NO patience. Zero. Zilch. None. Nada. Justin, however, has the patience of a god. Ugh...
Anyway, but we've been counting the weeks to when we get to find out, on March 31st at my 20 week appt. But today, while growing dangerously close to ordering Intelligender (a cup you pee in that tells you with 90% accuracy what you're having), I had a thought. I decided to call the Dr's office to see if I could schedule an "extra" ultrasound at my 16 week checkup on March 3rd. Well I'm glad I did! I felt so silly asking, but the ultrasound technician was super nice and said she could get me in really quick before my appointment and -- best part -- FOR FREE! YIPPEE!!!
That means that in 10 days! Not 50 days, TEN, we will mostly likely know our baby's gender! WOOHOO!
See? Sometimes impatience pays off!
Friday, February 22, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Baby Kicks!
I've felt it a couple times already- I'm pretty sure. Little flicks, sort of, in my very low abdomen. They're really hard to describe.
But this morning, while sitting in my car waiting for the other employees to get to work, I felt a strong flutter. It's a pretty interesting feeling, much like the way gas settles or moves in your tummy.
Yay! This is the fun part of pregnancy I've been looking forward to! it reminds me of when Luna was close to having kittens, and she'd lay on her side and I could see little lumps moving under her fur! When I put my hand there, it was very easy to feel the kittens rolling around inside her. Very cool.
But this morning, while sitting in my car waiting for the other employees to get to work, I felt a strong flutter. It's a pretty interesting feeling, much like the way gas settles or moves in your tummy.
Yay! This is the fun part of pregnancy I've been looking forward to! it reminds me of when Luna was close to having kittens, and she'd lay on her side and I could see little lumps moving under her fur! When I put my hand there, it was very easy to feel the kittens rolling around inside her. Very cool.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Heather
This is what I feel like. Because when you're pregnant, everything you identify yourself with changes. For example...
Heather sleeps through the night without a peep.
Pregnant Heather sleeps 2 hours. Pees. Sleeps 2 hours. Pees. Sleeps 2 hours. Pees.
Heather LOVES eggs. Fried eggs, scrambled eggs, eggs benedict.
Pregnant Heather starts to gag when she sees eggs.
Heather thinks Hallmark cards are cute. Like the one with a picture of baby feet on it that says, "Imagine where they'll go."
Pregnant Heather bawls her eyes out when she sees cute Hallmark cards. Like the one with a picture of baby feet on it that says, "Imagine where they'll go."
Heather has strong cravings for chocolate sometimes.
Pregnant Heather has strong cravings for all sorts of things. Like apple slices soaked in Fresca.
Heather loves broccoli.
Pregnant Heather can't stand broccoli.
Heather thinks that black and white fuzzy ultra sound pictures are interesting to look at.
Pregnant Heather thinks ultra sound pictures are the friggin' most ADORABLE thing that every happened.
And yes, I really did crave the apples and Fresca. I satiated those cravigns too... Justin gave me the strangest look when he saw me eating apple slices out of a mug of Fresca.
But can you see why I feel like another person?
Heather sleeps through the night without a peep.
Pregnant Heather sleeps 2 hours. Pees. Sleeps 2 hours. Pees. Sleeps 2 hours. Pees.
Heather LOVES eggs. Fried eggs, scrambled eggs, eggs benedict.
Pregnant Heather starts to gag when she sees eggs.
Heather thinks Hallmark cards are cute. Like the one with a picture of baby feet on it that says, "Imagine where they'll go."
Pregnant Heather bawls her eyes out when she sees cute Hallmark cards. Like the one with a picture of baby feet on it that says, "Imagine where they'll go."
Heather has strong cravings for chocolate sometimes.
Pregnant Heather has strong cravings for all sorts of things. Like apple slices soaked in Fresca.
Heather loves broccoli.
Pregnant Heather can't stand broccoli.
Heather thinks that black and white fuzzy ultra sound pictures are interesting to look at.
Pregnant Heather thinks ultra sound pictures are the friggin' most ADORABLE thing that every happened.
And yes, I really did crave the apples and Fresca. I satiated those cravigns too... Justin gave me the strangest look when he saw me eating apple slices out of a mug of Fresca.
But can you see why I feel like another person?
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Motherhood Nightmares
We've all heard of them, if not even experienced them ourselves. The dreams mothers or expecting mothers have that make them wake up in the morning in a panic.
I've had two miscarriage nightmares so far. And although I'm now past the most risky stage of pregnancy and the baby has been confirmed healthy and defect-free by my OB, apparently my mind is still worried aboout it.
Last night in my nightmare I dreamt that the baby came, waaay too early. It was a miscarriage. Only when it was "born", although as tiny as an apple slice, it was screaming. It was horrible.
And even in my dream I was rationalizing with myself, through my tears. I was planning a sort of funeral for it, and thinking about when we could try for another baby and how scary that pregnancy would be, would I just lose the baby again?
When I woke up, it took me a minute to realize, that the baby was still safe and sound, and that it hadn't come yet and that I was still pregnant.
It's crazy how real they can seem, nightmares.
I've had two miscarriage nightmares so far. And although I'm now past the most risky stage of pregnancy and the baby has been confirmed healthy and defect-free by my OB, apparently my mind is still worried aboout it.
Last night in my nightmare I dreamt that the baby came, waaay too early. It was a miscarriage. Only when it was "born", although as tiny as an apple slice, it was screaming. It was horrible.
And even in my dream I was rationalizing with myself, through my tears. I was planning a sort of funeral for it, and thinking about when we could try for another baby and how scary that pregnancy would be, would I just lose the baby again?
When I woke up, it took me a minute to realize, that the baby was still safe and sound, and that it hadn't come yet and that I was still pregnant.
It's crazy how real they can seem, nightmares.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
2nd Trimester
It's official: I'm past the wretched first trimester. Here's a status report:
Things are easier, just ask Justin. Last night when we were at the store trying to figure out something for dinner and for the first time since getting pregnant, I wanted to eat ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. Every aisle we walked down I could find something that sounded utterly delicious to me. Ooh, honey! Ooh, chicken! Ooh, Lucky Charms! Ooh, Fresca! Ooh, cheesey tacos! Ooh, V8!
Justin was relieved, because for the last two months our evening conversation has gone something like this:
Heather: I'm starving.
Justin: What would you like for dinner?
Heather: Nothing.
Justin: But you said you're hungry.
Heather: I am! Just nothing sounds good.
Justin: Would you like Chicken Teriyaki tonight? (one of my classic faves)
Heather: Yuck! I think I'm going to throw up...
This probably explains why I still haven't gained any weight. Haven't checked to see if I'm still at a negative from the start of pregnancy, but I was last week at my doctor's appointment. I'm sure I'll make up for that in the next 27 weeks of pregnancy though!
One way pregnancy has changed me significantly: my gag reflex. It's hella strong! Cleaning, broccoli, breath, pet smells (specifically the dog's blanket, eeegugh!), brushing my teeth, swallowing pills. Everytime something slightly nasty appears in my eyesight - ::GAG:: This may sound like a silly complaint but I had always prided myself on having a super strong stomach. Luckily, I'm still good with needles and blood- cause there's a lot of that stuff going on every few weeks for a pregnant woman. The first haircut baby I had yesterday who's mom probably never bathes him because he smelled like rotten milk... yeah. Not a pleasant moment for my stomach. I'll admit it, I wasn't focused on giving him a great haircut because I was trying harder not to throw up on him. The mom should be thankful.
Like I said, poor Justin is now reaping the benefits of me being in the second trimester, too. Last weekend I had the energy to help clean the house (which, btw, maybe it was my nesting instinct but I insisted on deep cleaning the house. I spent all Saturday on my hands and knees scrubbing the baseboards with an old toothbrush and Justin cleaned the carpets) AND go out browsing shops and running errands on Sunday. It's really nice having my energy back. It was hard on both of us, those days spent with Justin cooking and cleaning and me watching helplessly from the recliner, with barely enough energy to drag my pregnant butt to the bathroom every 30 minutes...
BECAUSE now that I'm pregnant my BELLY is bigger, my BOOBS are bigger, but my BLADDER sure as heck isn't!
Despite it all, every day when I see those little ultrasound pictures on the fridge (is it too soon for a brag book???) I'm so glad and proud of what my body is doing right now. Gag reflex or not.
Things are easier, just ask Justin. Last night when we were at the store trying to figure out something for dinner and for the first time since getting pregnant, I wanted to eat ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. Every aisle we walked down I could find something that sounded utterly delicious to me. Ooh, honey! Ooh, chicken! Ooh, Lucky Charms! Ooh, Fresca! Ooh, cheesey tacos! Ooh, V8!
Justin was relieved, because for the last two months our evening conversation has gone something like this:
Heather: I'm starving.
Justin: What would you like for dinner?
Heather: Nothing.
Justin: But you said you're hungry.
Heather: I am! Just nothing sounds good.
Justin: Would you like Chicken Teriyaki tonight? (one of my classic faves)
Heather: Yuck! I think I'm going to throw up...
This probably explains why I still haven't gained any weight. Haven't checked to see if I'm still at a negative from the start of pregnancy, but I was last week at my doctor's appointment. I'm sure I'll make up for that in the next 27 weeks of pregnancy though!
One way pregnancy has changed me significantly: my gag reflex. It's hella strong! Cleaning, broccoli, breath, pet smells (specifically the dog's blanket, eeegugh!), brushing my teeth, swallowing pills. Everytime something slightly nasty appears in my eyesight - ::GAG:: This may sound like a silly complaint but I had always prided myself on having a super strong stomach. Luckily, I'm still good with needles and blood- cause there's a lot of that stuff going on every few weeks for a pregnant woman. The first haircut baby I had yesterday who's mom probably never bathes him because he smelled like rotten milk... yeah. Not a pleasant moment for my stomach. I'll admit it, I wasn't focused on giving him a great haircut because I was trying harder not to throw up on him. The mom should be thankful.
Like I said, poor Justin is now reaping the benefits of me being in the second trimester, too. Last weekend I had the energy to help clean the house (which, btw, maybe it was my nesting instinct but I insisted on deep cleaning the house. I spent all Saturday on my hands and knees scrubbing the baseboards with an old toothbrush and Justin cleaned the carpets) AND go out browsing shops and running errands on Sunday. It's really nice having my energy back. It was hard on both of us, those days spent with Justin cooking and cleaning and me watching helplessly from the recliner, with barely enough energy to drag my pregnant butt to the bathroom every 30 minutes...
BECAUSE now that I'm pregnant my BELLY is bigger, my BOOBS are bigger, but my BLADDER sure as heck isn't!
Despite it all, every day when I see those little ultrasound pictures on the fridge (is it too soon for a brag book???) I'm so glad and proud of what my body is doing right now. Gag reflex or not.
Monday, February 4, 2008
12 Week Ultrasound Pics!
I had my 12 week check up today. Everything is GREAT. I'm having a good pregnancy so far.
First I had the ultrasound, the baby was extremely lively! I was shocked at how much it was moving around and jumping. It was like one of those Mexican jumping beans. It's arms and legs were moving independently as well. We got to see it for extra long because the nurse had a hard time getting the right measurements (stubborn baby!) We could also see it's little heartbeat (159 BPM - perfect!), it's spine, it's ribs, it's NOSE!, mouth, fingers. What a little cutie already. Everything looked great, they determined by measuring it's fluid behind the brain that it has a very low chance of having a birth defect. She even said my cervix "looked beautiful". HA! Never been told THAT one before...
Second thing was to do a glucose test. I was nervous about this one because of my family history of diabetes. They'll do it again around 30 weeks but tested me early because I'm at higher risk. They had me drink a sickeningly sweet orange soda like drink. At the end of my appointment they tested my blood sugar levels to see how my body handled the massive sugar load. My level was 112, which is good! They want a level below 135. Phew!
I also met one of the two doctors today - I'm really happy with the practice so far. The doctor was everything I like in a doctor, took my concerns seriously (not that I have many), spent time talking with us- didn't rush, and was really enthusiastic and easy going about everything. He's also very down to earth and relaxed. When talking about breastfeeding he said, "Some books will tell you to breastfeed to a year but it's not necessary to do it that long and I think it's cruel and unusual punishment once they get teeth." In fact, this is one of the reasons I accepted this referral from a co-worker, she told me these doctors put the comfort and well-being of the mom above all things.
Okay I've rambled on enough, here's my baby pictures! This baby has come a long way since those fuzzy images 5 weeks ago
It looks like an actual human now... kinda:
This picture shows the baby's facial profile really well! Yes, that's it's nose, mouth, eyes... and... is that a baseball hat???
Here, it's little arm is up in front of it's face, cute! I only wish I could show you all how it jumped :)
After our appointment we went to register at Babies R Us. A little early, yes, but we're excited and had the day off together. We picked up this adorable teether, it vibrates when pressure is applied to the corn:
First I had the ultrasound, the baby was extremely lively! I was shocked at how much it was moving around and jumping. It was like one of those Mexican jumping beans. It's arms and legs were moving independently as well. We got to see it for extra long because the nurse had a hard time getting the right measurements (stubborn baby!) We could also see it's little heartbeat (159 BPM - perfect!), it's spine, it's ribs, it's NOSE!, mouth, fingers. What a little cutie already. Everything looked great, they determined by measuring it's fluid behind the brain that it has a very low chance of having a birth defect. She even said my cervix "looked beautiful". HA! Never been told THAT one before...
Second thing was to do a glucose test. I was nervous about this one because of my family history of diabetes. They'll do it again around 30 weeks but tested me early because I'm at higher risk. They had me drink a sickeningly sweet orange soda like drink. At the end of my appointment they tested my blood sugar levels to see how my body handled the massive sugar load. My level was 112, which is good! They want a level below 135. Phew!
I also met one of the two doctors today - I'm really happy with the practice so far. The doctor was everything I like in a doctor, took my concerns seriously (not that I have many), spent time talking with us- didn't rush, and was really enthusiastic and easy going about everything. He's also very down to earth and relaxed. When talking about breastfeeding he said, "Some books will tell you to breastfeed to a year but it's not necessary to do it that long and I think it's cruel and unusual punishment once they get teeth." In fact, this is one of the reasons I accepted this referral from a co-worker, she told me these doctors put the comfort and well-being of the mom above all things.
Okay I've rambled on enough, here's my baby pictures! This baby has come a long way since those fuzzy images 5 weeks ago
It looks like an actual human now... kinda:
This picture shows the baby's facial profile really well! Yes, that's it's nose, mouth, eyes... and... is that a baseball hat???
Here, it's little arm is up in front of it's face, cute! I only wish I could show you all how it jumped :)
After our appointment we went to register at Babies R Us. A little early, yes, but we're excited and had the day off together. We picked up this adorable teether, it vibrates when pressure is applied to the corn:
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