36-Week Appointment

I had an appointment this morning. Everything is looking good, and so far there's no real progress going on. I think I was hoping for a little bit of dilation, but really, I'm perfectly fine with nothing right now. Two weeks from now, though, I'll probably be singing a different tune.

My doctor is a little weird. Last week he did an ultrasound because my belly was measuring a tad small. Today he exclaimed that my uterus is all the way up to my throat.

Gee, thanks.

I don't really feel like doing the whole survey thing this week, because the only thing that has changed is that I'm starving all the time, even in the middle of the night. I've really put back a ton of food in the last week. It's impressive.

Baby Growth Spurt

I had a doctor's appointment this morning, which included an ultrasound. O.M.G. The baby is estimated to be over six pounds. Um. He was four and a half pounds less than two weeks ago, and Babycenter.com says he should gain half a pound a week. I fear my baby is going to be huge.

It does make me feel better about gaining three pounds in two weeks. At least I can blame two on the baby on board.

My initial reaction was a little bit of a freakout, but now that I've had time to digest, I've decided he's right on track. An eight-pound plus baby is perfectly normal, and both my husband and I were over eight pounds (me by a dainty one ounce), so it's not unexpected. I just didn't expect a six-pound baby when I still have four weeks to go. Also, I know ultrasound estimates can be seriously off base, or maybe the baby grew a lot recently and won't grow as much this coming week.

BTW, my doctor said he wouldn't be surprised if I deliver a week or more early. La-la-la! Don't say that! I have things to do!

In reality, it'll probably be November 1st, I'll still be pregnant, and the baby will be humongous. I'm hoping for a nice happy spot somewhere in the middle.

I know where round ligament pain can go...

Round ligament pain is the pitts. I experience it every night now and it's so much worse than ever before. I move carefully as it is to prevent leg cramps or braxton hicks or the dreaded subject of this post, but it hits me when I least expect it. I get it low on the right side and it's quite the blinding pain.

I'm already starting to fantasize about being able to sleep without these pains. I know sleep won't be peaceful with a newborn around, but I'm looking forward to my hips and belly feeling normal again. But then, of course, my boobs will probably hurt. Ha.

How far along: 35 weeks, 1 day

Total weight gain: 14 pounds. Yeah, that's three pounds in two weeks. At first it wasn't coming on fast enough, now it's coming on in waves. Joy.

Maternity clothes: Yes

Stretch marks: Still none that can be attributed to pregnancy

Sleep: Um, no.

Food cravings: Lucky Charms. They're magically delicious.

Labor signs: False labor signs abound. Lots of braxton hicks, lots of cramping, lots of fun. Also, I'm not sure where this topic fits, but I feel like my bump is different. Lower, but not super low like I've dropped and am terribly uncomfortable or waddle. Just different all of a sudden. I'm getting fewer instances of baby-foot-in-mama-ribs, although that still happens often enough.

Belly button in or out: Flat and getting bigger. My husband says my belly button is determined to stay an innie. And there's a funny voice involved and I find it quite hilarious, but I suppose that doesn't translate well to the blog.

What I miss: Rolling over in bed without blinding pain.

What I’m looking forward to: Meeting BabyZ! It's getting less anxiety-ridden and more exciting now.

Milestone: We've checked off tons of items on our big to-do list and finished our prenatal breastfeeding and childbirth class. There's just over a month left to go. Ah!

33-Week Survey

How far along: 33 weeks, 4 days

Total weight gain: 11 pounds

Maternity clothes: Yes

Stretch marks: Still none that can be attributed to pregnancy

Sleep: Grrr...

Food cravings: Nothing lately

Labor signs: I still get some wicked cramps quite often. Not sure if they're considered labor signs, though.

Belly button in or out: Flat, I think. It's super shallow and looks a little beat up.

What I miss: Putting on socks and tying my shoes without my belly hurting and losing my breath.

What I’m looking forward to: Installing the car seat and checking other items off our to-do list.

Milestone: Baby was head down as of Wednesday. Hopefully he stays that way!

Aches and Pains

I had a doctor's appointment this morning. All is going well. I thought I'd use this post to wrangle some of the random things that have happened the past few weeks.

I've felt baby hiccups a few times. It first happened at 27 weeks and then multiple times the other day. He doesn't get the hiccups too often, at least not that I notice. What a funny feeling!

My weight gain has been slow, and my appetite has taken a nosedive. The doctor said this morning it's OK at this point because the baby is growing well, but it is something we need to keep an eye on. Eating with no appetite isn't easy; I'm going to implement some new strategies this week and see if that helps.

The third trimester has ushered in a whole host of discomfort. I feel cramping every day. My doctor gave me some parameters this morning so I can keep an eye on them and notice if they start becoming problematic, but so far so good. The cramping business is very unnerving. I also feel pretty crummy every few days. That feeling is hard to put my finger on. All I can think of is "ick." The heartburn has made a huge comeback, and my back, hips, and belly often ache. All normal, though!

We took the hospital tour over the weekend, which was very exciting! I was anxious going into it for some reason (there's a major countdown going on in my head), but felt very much at ease once we saw the rooms. The nurse giving the tour was wonderful and I think we'll be very happy there.

28 Week Survey

Boy, my last post was such a downer. For all the discomfort, pregnancy is truly awesome and I'm loving it. There are tons of intangibles that make it all worth it. :)

How far along: 28 weeks, 3 days

Total weight gain: 8 pounds

Maternity clothes: Yes, although I'm still wearing regular yoga pants and tanks to lounge around in. I had to graduate to larger sizes a week ago.

Stretch marks: No new ones. Feelin' pretty lucky so far... And I may have just jinxed it.

Sleep: I'm not going to answer this one anymore.

Food cravings: A smoothie from Jamba Juice

Labor signs: None, but I'd feel a whole better if I wasn't having any cramps.

Belly button in or out: In, but shallow

What I miss: Being comfortable in general

What I’m looking forward to: Baby showers in the coming weeks and Jamba Juice (maybe if I think about it enough it will just appear)

Milestone: At the risk of providing way TMI, my boobs have started leaking. Is it weird that I find it a little cool? I mean, it is quite exciting my body is preparing to do what it needs to.

I'm Back!

We were sans computer for three weeks while our laptop was off getting a new fan. How we survived three weeks without a computer, I'll never know.

So. Lots has happened, I guess. I crossed over into the third trimester, and now there are only 82 days left. Wow. The third trimester has hit me like a ton of bricks. It started during the 26th week with cramping that wouldn't go away, and after debating over whether to call my doctor or not, I did. I fully expected to hear his eyes roll over the phone at my stupidity for calling over what I was sure was a minor thing, but he had me in the office right away. All was well, though, and the cramping has decreased. It hasn't gone away, but it's not lasting as long as it was. I am suddenly much more uncomfortable at all times of the day than I ever was before. My sleeping woes have increased, sitting or lying in any position anywhere hurts something, and now I'm starting to get seriously uncomfortable sitting upright. That little gem makes sitting at my desk for 8 hours a day hard. And the baby's kicks are getting obstinate. If he doesn't like a position I'm in, he lets me know. It's kinda cute, though. :)

I get heartburn every day now, usually by 2:00. I've noticed my appetite has decreased a bit, which is odd because I never really got a huge appetite in the first place. I had a CRAZY baby dream where he was born a girl and kept falling out of the crib and we had no diapers so I drove to Target at 10pm in a frenzy and then my cart wouldn't move (that dream was ripe for analysis, believe me). I'm starting to daydream about how I'm going to get my body back after the baby is born. Oh, and lying down without my hips or back hurting will be so blissful.

I had the glucose bloodwork this morning, which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Of course the label on the drink said possible side effects are nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, so I was terrified I'd get all three of those right in the middle of the lab, but I felt fine. Fingers crossed I pass with flying colors.

The nursery is almost finished and I have two baby showers coming up. I'm so flattered and excited for them both. We'll take a childbirth class and an infant safety CPR class in September and spend October finishing up final details and tasks around the house. Time flies!

Nursery Progress

Junior painted the nursery last weekend and moved all the furniture in place. We still have to buy a side table and a toy box, but those are both small, easy things. The curtain panels arrived today! They're about 12 inches too short, so my project this weekend is adding some solid material to the bottoms. The crib skirt should arrive any day now (I was really hoping for today, but no luck). I may need to lengthen that just a bit, too, but I'll do that with the same material I add to the curtain panels. I'm having a hard time visualizing the crib skirt, so I hope I like it.

We're looking on Etsy for a wall decal to place over the crib, and we'll add wooden letters to spell out his name above the dresser. We have a few other items for wall decor already, and we're tossing around ideas for the remaining space.

I couldn't be happier with how the room is turning out. I find myself wandering in there several times a day and just looking at everything and daydreaming.

On another note, and to state the obvious, there are less than 15 weeks until my due date. I am seeing the weeks fly by on the calendar. Next up on our to-do list is to register for childbirth and safety/CPR classes (OMG, this baby actually has to come out!). When I called the hospital's learning center for information at the beginning of June, I was encouraged to start taking those classes in August. Sure, the end of August seemed so far away at the time, but it hit me this morning that the session starts in one month. Wow.

And, the baby is the size of a rutabaga. And now I'm off to Google rutabagas, because while I've heard of them, I don't really know what they are or how big they are.

24 Weeks

It's been awhile since my last update, I know. Time is flying by. We were out of town for five days visiting family in Illinois. It was great to see everyone, but it was so exhausting. Even though I was sure to stay hydrated, move my legs, and walk around every hour during the flights, my legs and feet still swelled up to mammoth proportions. I'm glad that's been the only bout of swelling I've had so far. Is it naive to think maybe I won't have much more? Probably. Those of you who are already moms are probably laughing your heads off at me.

BabyZ is growing by leaps and bounds. It amazes me that I can feel kicks all the way at the top and bottom of my belly at the same time. He's starting to wake me up more often at night and in the early morning for his usual acrobatics. Some of the kicks are even starting to feel...I don't know. Not really uncomfortable, but very, very weird and I can see how they'll be uncomfortable in the coming weeks.

I wonder if I'm experiencing some Braxton Hicks contractions every now and then. Sometimes my belly gets extremely hard and a little uncomfortable. I also have to be careful when rolling over not to stretch too much because my lower belly gets really tight. I don't know what that's all about, but it is bearable and passes quickly.

We had a Fourth of July BBQ with some friends who had babies recently. They divulged lots of details about labor/delivery and the first six weeks with a newborn. None of it was surprising to either one of us, but it's becoming Very Real and Terrifying. We definitely had a moment when we got in the car to drive home and both looked at each other with fear. I think Junior said, "well, I'm sufficiently scared."

How far along: 24 weeks, 2 days

Total weight gain: 5-6 pounds

Maternity clothes: Yes, and to my dismay my regular yoga pants and workout clothes aren't fitting as well. Might need to go up a size or find some maternity ones.

Stretch marks: No new ones, but then again, I've been in denial and haven't been looking.

Sleep: Nonexistent, and I'm too tired to talk about it.

Food cravings: I definitely have more of a sweet tooth, but still no real cravings.

Labor signs: Nope

Belly button in or out: In, but getting much shallower. My belly looks less like a capital B. Yay!

What I miss: Sleep and my hips not hurting 24/7

What I’m looking forward to: Junior will paint the nursery this weekend!

Milestone: Um, I guess "Viability Day" at 24 weeks? It's all the rage on The Bump, but it certainly doesn't feel like much of a milestone because I definitely do not want him coming out anytime soon.

A Watched Pot Never Boils

The title of this post is what I think when I look at my belly in anticipation of seeing kicks. I think this baby has quite the personality already. He'll be kicking up a storm, and then as soon as I start looking at my belly or place my hand where he's kicking, he'll quiet right down. The hand thing I get; I like to think the warmth of one of our hands calms him. It's the looking-at-the-belly thing. How can he tell?!?! I swear he knows, though, and thinks it's a game to quit kicking as soon as we're on the lookout. He always starts kicking again as soon as I look away. Funny guy.

21 Weeks

This week has been wonderful! I had a feeling that had we been paying attention the last week or so, we would have seen the baby's kicks from the outside, so we made it a point to stare at my belly for awhile the other night. Our little boy usually has quite the kicking routine at night as soon as I get comfortable in bed, and it didn't take long before we started to see those kicks. It was so amazing, and now we've seen him move every day. Ever since 19 weeks or so, there have been so many new, exciting things going on. It just keeps getting better and better, and I just keep getting mushier and mushier. I am so excited for him to be born and to see him, hold him, and take care of him, but I also know I'm going to miss the time that he's spending inside of me. Starting the moment he's born, we'll have a new slew of anxieties based around keeping him strong, safe, and healthy, and I'll look back on this pregnancy as the time when it was so easy to take care of him.

(Edited to add a new symptom: Thirst! I'm so thirsty all.the.time.)

How far along: 21 weeks, 4 days

Total weight gain: 2, maybe 3 pounds

Maternity clothes: Yes, and I did find a couple tops that aren't too long, so I know they exist. I'm going to hem my too-long shirts this weekend. And maybe make a baby blanket if I find cute material while I'm at the fabric store getting the thread I need to match the shirts.

Stretch marks: No new ones

Sleep: Better than last week, but still meh.

Food cravings: Nothing, really

Labor signs: Nope

Belly button in or out: In, ugh. My belly looks like a capital B from the side.

What I miss: Still wine. Is that bad?

What I’m looking forward to: Picking out paint samples for the nursery this weekend!

Milestone: Seeing the baby move on the outside!

Baby Responses

I've been getting the baby to respond occasionally when I poke and prod my belly for the past couple of weeks, but last night, there was a funny commercial or show or something on (I can't even remember...crazy pregnancy brain...) and Junior poked my belly to the beat of the music. Our little one kicked back twice! It was too funny.

And then I was laughing too hard to feel the baby and I had to pee. The joys of pregnancy. ;)

Symptom Update

I thought I'd share an update on the symptoms and aches and pains I've been having.

Bladder woes. I have always thought I had the smallest bladder possible, but now that's only been confirmed. I get no relief from peeing whatsoever. I go and then feel like my bladder is full all over again. Sometimes I think the water goes right through me.

Indigestion. I had a bout of pretty awful indigestion for a couple of weeks, but that seems to have eased up a bit. As long as I keep my meals small, I feel OK. I only have to take a Tums every once in awhile.

Gagging. This lovely symptom popped up toward the end of the first trimester and has not eased up. I have developed a routine for taking my prenatal vitamins: I can keep them down if I hold a gulp of water in my mouth, pop in the vitamin, and take another gulp of water to swallow it all down. It's not foolproof, but it works most of the time.

Hip pain (aka not sleeping). I had an extremely busy day on Saturday and was on my feet and very active. Once I finally relaxed at the end of the day, my hips and entire pelvis hurt so badly that I got a little scared. All through the night the pain was so bad that I had to walk hunched over and supporting myself and it felt like my joints were going to buckle (and I had to get up a lot that night due to my bladder woes). However, since then, my hip pain hasn't been so bad. Go figure! They still ache and sleeping isn't the most comfortable, but this short little stint has been better than the past couple of weeks. I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts, even if it's just for a short time.

Achy belly. I don't know how to label this one. It seems to happen anytime I'm on my feet for a little while, like during grocery shopping. I get these weird feelings of pulling or like my belly is going to explode. I wonder if this is my ab muscles separating.

20-Week Survey

How far along: 20 weeks, 4 days

Total weight gain: 1 pound (yup, lost the extra pound I gained last week), but maybe all the cookies I ate yesterday will catch up to me next week. It will be totally scary if I suddenly jump up 10 pounds in a week.

Maternity clothes: Yup, and in fact, I want to venture out this weekend to see if I can find some maternity tops that aren't too long.

Stretch marks: No new ones

Sleep: Nonexistent, and I'm cranky and hormonal.

Food cravings: I've had a sweet tooth this week and have given in every.single.day.

Labor signs: Nope (yippee!)

Belly button in or out: In, and I'm still sportin' the two hemispheres, although we both noticed how much things rounded out this week.

What I miss: Wine and being able to do whatever exercise I feel like (one of my favorite workouts was impossible to do last night with my growing belly in the way).

What I’m looking forward to: Starting to get the nursery pulled together.

Milestone: The baby is starting to respond when I poke my belly. It's a neat little game, but Junior hates when I do it. He thinks I'm bothering the baby. I think I'm simply helping develop his reflexes.

Holy Crap

I'm halfway through this pregnancy already, and time continues to fly by. Only 20 more weeks until my due date, but what's more, only 17 weeks until I'm considered full term. Eek! Am I the only one who feels like that's right around the corner?!?

We picked up a crib mattress over the weekend. We scored quite the deal and it fits the crib perfectly. I went through a bit of mattress panic a week or so ago because I spent so much time researching and reading reviews and finally deciding on one mattress in particular, but then realized it didn't have the right dimensions for our crib. (Doh!) I went back to the drawing board and think I'm even happier with the one we bought. It feels so great to have it here and airing out. I hope it's comfy for our little boy.

We ordered a low dresser, which will also server as a changing table, from JCPenney yesterday (major sale and free shipping--woohoo!). I can't wait for it to arrive! We already have the crib, mattress, a rocker, and side table, so the dresser will complete the furniture necessities for the nursery. Wow. It's coming together! We have plans to add a toy box and bookcase or some sort of cubbie storage, but those are smaller things that will fall into place as we decorate the room.

Speaking of decorating the room, that's proving harder than we originally thought. We're not finding many options we both like. We've talked about installing a chair rail, but that's a new-to-us project. I'm sure we can handle it, but we just have to decide if we're really willing to do the work given some of the other house projects we have lined up. I'd like to sew a crib skirt and curtains instead of buying a full bedding set, so I'm on the hunt for crib sheets and coordinating fabric. Once we're settled on that, we'll try to agree on paint colors, which will bring with it the usual indecisiveness and my husband's use of "that's just not the right hue" and "let's get a couple more samples." ;)

P.S. Babycenter.com says the baby is the size of a cantaloupe. Um, wow.

Edit: Oops, Babycenter says he's the size of a banana. The Bump says cantaloupe. Again, um, wow, except at the fact that those are two very different fruits and I do not in any way consider a banana and cantaloupe to be similar in size, shape, weight, etc. Why are these fruit comparisons so weird? If we're going to think of our baby as a fruit or object or whatever, I think the sources should all at least get their acts together and agree on a set comparison.

Second Milestone of the Week

I was just wondering yesterday how long it'd be before Junior could feel the baby move, and it happened last night! I thought I had been feeling outside movements the past two or three nights, but all activity came to a screeching halt once Junior's hand was on my belly. I was just about to go to sleep last night when the baby started kicking up a storm. Junior felt a really strong kick and then a couple other small ones. This week has been full of exciting events. The emotions we're feeling are indescribable.

Survey Time

So lots of baby bloggers include this survey at various times during their pregnancy. It hadn't really occurred to me to ever do this, but why not?

How far along: 19 weeks, 3 days

Total weight gain: 2 pounds

Maternity clothes: Definitely need maternity pants, but I can still get away with regular tops. The maternity tops are oh-so-comfy, but the ones I have are way too long right now.

Stretch marks: No new ones, although I did pick up some cocoa butter last night, if for no other reason than to make my husband rub it on my belly every night. ;)

Sleep: Totally awful. I have to get up to pee 5,000 times a night (of course, I've always been that way, pregnant or not) and my hips hurt like crazy. Whichever hip I'm sleeping on burns, but I've never slept well on my back and I definitely need a pillow propped under my knees because otherwise my belly feels pulled.

Food cravings: Um, no. More like nothing-ever-sounds-good-so-it's-hard-to-eat. Although I've had a little bit more of a sweet tooth and milk is seriously delicious, but I can't say I must have any of those things.

Labor signs: None, and it shall stay that way for quite awhile, thankyouverymuch, baby.

Belly button in or out: In, and I'm still feeling very much two-hemispherey.

What I miss: Wine

What I’m looking forward to: Junior feeling the baby move and my belly popping out.

Milestone: The healthy results of the anatomy scan and finding out we're having a boy!

It's a Boy!

My mother's intuition was right all along. Junior was so sure it was a girl; he even got in my head these past couple of weeks and I walked into the ultrasound not knowing for sure what I thought.

The ultrasound went great. Everything is accounted for and looks perfect. Baby Z was curled up into a ball most of the time, which made determining the sex difficult. The tech was even unsure at first because the umbilical cord was in the way. By the end, though, she told us she's 95-99% certain it's a boy. The doctor even said you can't get much better odds than that. We saw him yawn and wave his hand.

Ahhhh...so amazing!

More Aches and Pains

I had always read about women experiencing hip pain during pregnancy, but I was in denial about that not settling in until later. Ouch! I was wrong! The past two nights have been awful. My hips ache and burn and scream in pain, no matter what position I try to sleep in. I miss blissfully sleeping on my side hugging my body pillow. :( I've been exhausted the past two days from not sleeping, and just not feeling so great since my hips are so sore even during the day. I meant to try some yoga yesterday but never got around to it. I plan to use my yoga DVD later today, or at least stretch and take a bath. And this is only the beginning, which my husband lovingly reminded me this morning by pretending he was my doctor and responding like we both know he would. At least that was good for a little laugh.

Also, Tums have become my BFF. I must remember not to leave them at home when we visit some dear friends (holla! I know you're reading!) this weekend. Indigestion has made itself comfortable in the upper half of my two-hemisphere belly (see the the belly button post).

Other than these two issues, I can't complain. I'm grateful this pregnancy seems to be going well and for every little tap I feel.

Belly Button Woes

My belly button is ugly. It's like a huge crater, and is totally visible through all my clothes. I feel like I have two bellies: One above the belly-button crater and one below. I've been reading other baby blogs and scrutinizing their belly pics and have determined it's just a fact of life and most people go through the same thing. Or, at least I think that to make myself feel better.

My button is starting to get pushed out ever so slightly, though. I've had three laparoscopies for endometriosis, so that means I have some teeny horizontal scars from where the scope went through my belly button. They were never noticeable before, but I can definitely see them now. I wonder if they'll lead to more stretch marks...

More Movement and Weekend Recap

My belly has stuck around, so I think it's safe to say it's here to stay. Even first thing in the morning when I'm lying on my back (yeah, I still do that, so what?), it looks like I swallowed a whole cantaloupe. I love lingering in bed in the mornings. I tend to feel movement then, too, and it's so peaceful and calm. It's nice for us both to marvel at my growing belly before starting our day.

I'm feeling movement more and more. It ranges from what feels like muscle spasms in one tiny spot to fluttering to bubbles popping. In fact, bubbles were popping in there for several hours yesterday afternoon. I loved it! I didn't want to move or concentrate too hard on something because I didn't want to miss a single thing.

My mom visited over the weekend and we went maternity clothes shopping. I picked up a good amount of things, and since I fully embrace my Old Navy yoga pants and tank tops for my many hours at home, I'm probably pretty well set in the wardrobe department.

We also ordered the crib and it should be here in a few days. My mom and stepdad shipped us the rocking chair my mom used when I was a baby, and that arrived yesterday. It won't be as comfortable as those amazing rocker/glider/cushiony options available for well over $400, but it's free. And, I've decided to officially consider it a family heirloom since it's been passed down to us. Plus, the bonus is it doesn't look like it has to belong in a nursery, so we'll be able to fit it in to the decor of another room later. The countdown to the anatomy scan is 12 days! I hope this baby cooperates. I'm ready to start looking at gender-specific things.

First Stranger Comment

I met another milestone this week! I received my first stranger question about being pregnant. I was in a little jewelry boutique and the saleswoman came right up to me and started asking me baby questions. I wanted to squeal with delight!

16-Week Appointment

My appointment this morning went very well. I finally (haha) gained weight: 1 pound. At first, I was concerned about not gaining any weight, but my doctor said it's no problem until I hit 20 weeks. The baby seems to be doing well. The heartbeat was strong and much easier to find than the last appointment.

My next appointment is in three weeks: the anatomy scan. Woohoo! Come on, baby, show us the goods! (And, please, God, help me not pee my pants from having to drink all that water.)

Maybe Baby Movement

I just have to document this. It will either be a very important milestone or something to laugh at later if I'm completely wrong.

I was lying on the couch reading when I felt something different all in the same spot (I'm 16w2d today). I felt three quick muscle twitches--almost spasms--and one little flutter grazing from one side to the other. These four movements happened over the course of about five minutes. The first caught me completely off guard (what was that?!?), but I still thought it couldn't be. The second made my heart race a little. I told myself I wouldn't say anything to Junior unless I felt it a third time. *twitch* There is was! I felt the little grazing while I was describing what I felt. The grazing really did feel like a goldfish swimming around.

OMG. Could this be it? I hope I'm not crazy!

Sciatic Nerve Pain

Ah, the sciatic nerve pain (lovingly referred to around the house as my "butt pain") has kicked in. It started last Friday after I attended a healthy mom's expo the night before. The expo wasn't that large and I didn't feel particularly exerted, but the pain was so bad the next day that I couldn't even sit. I was a sad sack. The pain eased up by Sunday, but I've been feeling some minor zings off and on all week. I'm worried about surviving my shopping trip with my mom this weekend, not to mention anything else with a lot of walking or activity.

I'm getting increasingly impatient about my belly not popping or feeling movement. I know it's normal not to feel anything for another couple of weeks, but I compare myself to the girls on thebump.com and drive myself crazy (which I know is ridiculous, but I can't help it). For one thing, I want it to be obvious that I'm pregnant, but mainly I could use some reassurance that everything is OK. I have an appointment tomorrow, and as usual, the anxiety kicked in a few days ago. By this time tomorrow, I should be able to sigh a breath of relief.

Clothing Torture

A good friend lent me some maternity clothes last night. I actually exclaimed when I tried on the pants. I've been torturing myself for weeks by still wearing regular clothes! Maternity pants, here I come!! I still have my usual weekday work-at-home uniform of yoga pants (which are awesome), but I'm excited to have some great options for when I actually want to look presentable.

My mom is planning a visit next weekend and we'll do more maternity clothes shopping, but at least I'll have something cute to pick her up from the airport in!

An Off Day

I don't remember waking up feeling icky, but I felt nauseous by the time we were on our way to church. It's continued despite my best efforts, which is unfortunate because we have tickets to see Jim Gaffigan tonight at the Hard Rock. Hopefully I'll feel better soon so I can enjoy our plans. We've been looking forward to this for weeks.

For the record, I do think it's totally rude that I had morning sickness, had none just long enough to be comfortable about not having it, and now have it again. There should be a rule that once it's gone, it's gone for good. At least I'm still feeling better in the energy department.

This time last week, I was so sure I wouldn't need bigger or maternity clothes for awhile. I have officially changed my tune. All my clothes are so uncomfortable as of two days ago. I bought a Bella Band today and will try that with a pair of jeans tonight.

I also bought a body pillow. I didn't splurge on the so-called pregnancy pillows since I figure a body pillow will do the same job just as well. I am very excited to use it. My lower back has been hurting consistently the past couple of weeks and some days are awful. Hopefully the pillow will help ease various aches and pains and make it easier for me to catch some zzz's.

Second Trimester Par-tay!

At 13 weeks 3 days, I'm officially in the second trimester!!! Let's party! Supposedly, I should be starting to feel much better and sleeping amazingly. It's true that I'm starting to feel better, but sleeping is getting harder. The whole limbs-falling-asleep-within-minutes thing puts a damper on that.

I had an appointment this morning. I was nervous about this one because I knew I wouldn't be having an ultrasound. The doctor found the heartbeat on the Doppler, but it took what felt like forever and I thought for sure there wasn't a heartbeat. We finally heard it, though, and it's the most amazing sound ever! I just wish we could have listened to it longer. The doctor said the heartbeat is nice and strong. Grow, baby, grow!

I was terrified during that awful time when the doctor couldn't find the heartbeat, and even though I now know everything is fine, I still have that fear. My own heartbeat has finally calmed down a bit, but it's taken me the better part of the morning to get over the physical manifestations of that stress. I hope I'll be able to concentrate on my non-baby-incubating duties.

My next appointment will be in three weeks, and then two weeks after that at 18 weeks, we should be able to find out the gender. Even though it's normal for people to go every four weeks, I'm excited I don't have to wait quite that long between these next two appointments. That goes a long way in easing my anxieties.

Motherhood Maternity Experience

I popped into Motherhood Maternity over the weekend. I had no clue what to expect in terms of sizing or anything, really, so the saleswoman showed me around the store. I do not yet need maternity clothes, but maternity underwear is a different story.

My normal undies started fitting tight a few weeks ago. I had an unattractive double-belly situation going on. I mentioned to Junior that I thought it was time to get a bigger size, and he responded that I should get some maternity underwear. Um, no! I probably rolled my eyes. I was not mentally prepared for such a leap. I envisioned baby pink, huge granny-panties (you know, the pair Kevin Bacon held up and looked at dismally when comparing them to his wife's pre-pregnancy pair in She's Having My Baby). I joked about this with a new-mommy friend, but she seriously told me I needed to go the maternity route. I'm so glad I did! The style looks the same to me, but the bands don't cut into my belly. And they're cute. Woot!

I also tried on a pair of the secret-fit jeans. That was a trip. I even strapped on the six-month padded belly they had in the dressing room. I think I'm lucky I'll be pregnant in south Florida during the hottest part of the year because I won't be wearing jeans often. They weren't so cute. Let's just say there was severe butt sagging. The saleswoman tried to tell me it won't be a problem once I have a bigger belly, but I don't believe her. Ugh, jeans. They're never easy.

Ouch reached a whole new level...

Um, either the minor pains I felt in the last week or so were super mild round ligament pains, or they weren't such pains at all. But what I felt in the middle of the night when I rolled over to my other side definitely was. (And this was no dainty-lady roll by any means. It was very much a beached-whale-flopping-around-crazily moment.) Oh mah gah! The sudden, sharp pain low on the right side actually knocked the breath right out of me for a few seconds. For a second I wondered if perhaps one of those ligaments actually tore right off and my uterus was left dangling. So gross.

But, it really only lasted for a couple of seconds and now I'm all better. Whew.

Ouch!

I'm 12 weeks 3 days. One week until my next appointment and the official start of the 2nd trimester! Woot!

I've been noticing some changes. My lower back has been killing me this week, which I think my be due to my retroverted uterus. It's supposed to "unretrovert" itself during the pregnancy, I think, but right now it might be pushing against my back as it's growing. I've been getting some great massages from the daddy-to-be, though!

I'm having some mild aching and cramping here and there, too. It goes away if I change position and is common during this stage. Some round ligament pains might be mixed in there a little bit, too. It's hard to distinguish everything that's going on in there.

My legs have started bothering me at night. I have a hard time getting comfortable in the first place, but I get pains that are a weird combination of my legs falling asleep and charlie horses. Ugh! I was hoping for a few more weeks of easy sleep. Maybe sleep will get more peaceful as my back pain eases up.

I'm still a hungry hungry hippo. I had oatmeal for breakfast. That would always fill me up until lunchtime before pregnancy, but it's been 1 1/2 hours and my stomach is grumbling again. Off to raid the fridge...

Ooh! And not-so-ouch thing: My energy just might be coming back a wee bit. Hooray!

Confession

Today I've eaten breakfast, a morning snack, lunch, an afternoon snack, and now I'm hungry again. It's 4:00. I've had lots of protein and fiber, I swear! My stomach has become a bottomless pit.

So, my confession is I'm off to serve myself some of the chicken and noodles that are ready in the crockpot now. And then again when I eat dinner with Junior.

I have no shame.

Aches and pains

I'm keeping this blog largely in an effort to chronicle my experiences and help me remember what things I felt and what happened when.

So, that being said, I cannot believe I've forgotten to blog about the headaches. Oh, the headaches! I get one every.single.day. And Tylenol doesn't do anything for my pain. I'm trying to avoid caffeine, which has always been my go-to headache annihilator. So I have to suck it up. I'm using hot and cold compresses, but they really don't get rid of the pain.

Before I forget (haha! see number 5), here are the other aches and pains I've experienced:

1. Mild cramping off and on until about week 7ish.
2. Low back pain around weeks 4-5.
3. Morning sickness, which started dissipating weeks 10-11.
4. Gagging and puking. This lovely symptom didn't start until after the morning sickness eased up, which doesn't make sense to me. But, ick.
5. Pregnancy brain. Hate it, hate it, hate it.

These baby dreams are sending me conflicting information!

I've had another couple of baby dreams over the past week. In the first dream, we had twin girls. When I told Junior about my twin dream, I laughed it off: "At least we know we don't have to worry about that." He was a little freaked out and said "twins have been missed before!" I don't remember much about the second dream, but I know it was about a baby girl. That brings the grand total of dreams this pregnancy to two boy, two girl. Come on! How is an anxious pregnant lady supposed to get any mother's intuition from that?!?

I'm 11 weeks 5 days and feeling OK. My cold/cough turned into a terrible sinus infection, so I'm on a round of antibiotics. The morning sickness stays away just long enough for me to start thinking it's gone for good, and then bam! I get another bout of it. I'm still getting pretty tired when I do too much. (And it doesn't take much to get to "too much," so don't judge me for not dusting in, um, three weeks. OMG! Did I just admit that on the Internet?!? Delete now! DO IT!). I think I may have had some minor round ligament pain a couple of nights ago. I got some sharp pains low on the right side whenever I moved much or turned onto my other side during the night.

The pooch is growing a little bigger, but my clothes still fit. Maybe I was wearing too-big clothes before? I've lost one pound of my pre-pregnancy weight, but I know my lack of exercise and poor nutrition are going to catch up to me in no time if I don't get it under control. I blame the sinus infection. And ice cream. And Easter candy.

Double Digits

I'm 10 weeks today! It's an amazing feeling. We had another ultrasound last week and saw a ton of growth. It's astonishing how much changed in two weeks. The heartbeat is perfect and the baby is measuring right on track (not behind anymore). My due date is October 25th. I can't wait to meet our little pumpkin.

The morning sickness is easing up a bit. I'm so exhausted all the time, even if I don't do anything. Vacuuming has become a Big Deal. I'm still suffering from a terrible cough, which just exacerbates all my pregnancy symptoms.

My lower abdomen is expanding and quite firm. Depending on what I wear, my pooch is quite apparent. Of course, everyone else just thinks I've been eating too many donuts, but we know the truth. ;)

I had a baby dream over the weekend. I was holding our baby: a boy. He was so cute and was wearing a simple white onesie and hat. Junior was sitting next to me and we were admiring our little guy. We took off his hat and saw a ton of dark hair that stood straight up.

I'm on a normal prenatal appointment schedule now, so I'll start seeing the doctor every two weeks. Now that we've determined everything is normal to this point, I won't have another ultrasound until around 18 weeks.

Baby Zavala

After three miscarriages over 8 months, I'm pregnant again! The positive pregnancy test was on Valentine's Day. We both had a positive feeling. On Saturday, Junior surprised me with roses and champagne to celebrate Valentine's Day (yeah, a day early...so what?). We put aside the champagne because I was planning on testing that next morning. Bam! Two perfect lines. It's a good thing I followed my instinct! I told Junior he could have the champagne to celebrate, but we decided to save it until after the baby's born.

This pregnancy is going very well so far and we saw the heartbeat earlier this week. That was a huge milestone for us. I think I was more prepared to see nothing than to see that beautiful little flickering. Still trying to process. I also swear I saw the beginnings of an eye but Junior missed it. He didn't take his eyes off the heartbeat the whole time.

I'm due late October. I've had three appointments with bloodwork and ultrasounds already and all is normal. I'm grateful my doctor has been proactive and considerate of my need to Know Things Lest I Freak Out. The baby is measuring 5-6 days behind what I should be based on my last period. (Commence Big Freakout on my part.) The doctor isn't concerned at all. I'm trying not to freak out over a few days considering everything else looks perfect. The doctor was content scheduling my next appointment in four weeks, but then I started to cry a little and he said he'd see me in two weeks for another ultrasound to ease my mind. (Gotta love the pregnancy hormones. I can cry on a dime these days!)

He may not have a whole lotta personality, but at least he's being reasonable.