6 weeks

We had two doctor's appointments on January 4th. The first one was for an ultrasound. We could see the baby and its heartbeat! Yay!! :) Seeing the baby made this whole thing so REAL. It's one thing to know you're pregnant, but seeing the baby for the first time (even if it's the size of a grain of rice) really cements it in your mind. The technician measured the baby and estimated that we are 6 weeks and 2 days (6wks and 4 days now), which seems kind of weird to me because I thought I was farther along than that. I feel like they have been telling me that I'm 6 weeks for 6 weeks now. I thought that I was around 7-8 weeks, but who knows? Maybe they will have a better idea the farther along I get. We got 2 pictures of our baby, one which immediately went on the fridge. I've been trying to the get the picture on Facebook and also on here, but if I take a picture of the picture it comes out really blurry. A scanner would probably be a better idea. Hopefully, I can figure it out soon. :)

My second appointment of the day was originally for a rash I have on my arm, but the Dr decided to do my monthly visit, too. Linda, the PA who I usually see, was out of town all week, so I ended up seeing Dr. Lindstrom, whom I've never met. He was really nice and talked to us for a long time. I was concerned about the 3 pounds the nurse said I lost and he reassured me that it was okay because I probably wasn't eating normally, which is true. I'm still having a lot of problems with eating regular meals and mostly want pasta and other non-meat type things. He said not to worry about eating super healthy right now and just concentrate on eating what sounds good to me. I still feel guilty about eating out so much, but even with all of that and still losing 3 pounds then I guess I shouldn't feel guilty. Lately, the only things that have sounded good are soft things like jello, pudding, yogurt and ice cream (sorbet, actually). I just have to get in the right mindset now and just focus on eating SOMETHING as opposed to eating a full meal with veggies, meat and a starch like I was used to doing before. 

So, since I'm STILL only 6 weeks (I keep telling people that I must have taken the home pregnancy test the DAY I got pregnant. Ha, ha!) my due date has changed. I'm now due on August 27th. I'm a little disappointed, but ONLY because now I don't think my siblings will be able to come out to see the baby after it's born. They all have kids that are in school or will be in school themselves, so I just don't know now. I was so excited when they said that they would all come out. My whole family hasn't been all together in years. I know that some or all of them will come out this summer to visit, but it would have been really cool if they could have come to meet the baby. :) I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Our next appointment is on February 1st. It's just my monthly visit, but hopefully, we will get to hear the heartbeat. Dr. Lindstrom said we'd try to hear it, but since I'll only be 10 1/2 weeks he's not sure if we will be able to. He said typically you can hear the heartbeat at 12 weeks. I was curious about why I wasn't getting another ultrasound scheduled, but a woman at work told me that some insurance companies only cover a certain number of ultrasounds. I just hope that our insurance company covers more than 2 because I've already had 2, but I definitely want another one when the baby is a little bigger. Maybe there's a way to find out how many they will cover.

That's all the news for now. More to follow...

Update

It's been extremely busy these last few weeks...of course, with the holiday. I was really worried that I would be disgusted by all of the meat or something else at dinner, but it actually wasn't too bad. I couldn't eat the ham because for some reason it looked raw to me, which of course, is silly because ham isn't raw. But everything else was really good. Overall, I've been feeling pretty well. I even cooked last night! With meat!! :) I made my spaghetti sauce with turkey meatballs. For some reason, that sounded really good to me and I even ate a normal sized portion instead of changing my mind at the last minute and thinking that it didn't actually sound good. Why does that happen? It's so weird! I have been getting really worn out lately too. It seems like I try to do a few things around the house and I can't finish them all the way because I'm exhausted. All I did yesterday was unload, then load the dishwasher, wash the pots, pans, etc and went grocery shopping. Then I did 5 loads of laundry and then we went to see a movie. When I got home I could barely carry myself to the couch! I had planned to clean the bathroom, too but I was just too tired. I'm not used to not being able to do my normal routines.

Our plan for New Year's is the same as every other year...crab legs and prime rib. I'm just not sure how much crab I can eat. Normally, I can eat my weight in crab, but as far as how much is safe to eat when I'm pregnant, I don't know. Something to look into!

Our next doctor visit is on January 4th. I will be getting another ultrasound where we should be able to see the heartbeat and they should be able to give us a better estimate on when I'm due. I'm really excited! I feel like it's been a long time since my first ultrasound/appointment and I'm just anxious to see the little one growing in my belly! :) I can't wait for the ultrasounds when we can see actual features! :)

I keep thinking that I have a baby bump now, but in reality, I think it's just wishful thinking. ;) Or maybe there is a bump, but it's from Christmas dinner! Ha, ha!! :)

Several people have mentioned to me that I should print these blog entries out and create a little book for the baby. I think I'm going to do that. I want it to look really professional though. I'll have to figure out a good way to do that.

That's the update. I'll probably write again after our next appointment. :)

Meat...no meat...meat...no meat...Can I please make up my mind?

The only new thing recently is my aversion to meat...well, my occasional aversion to meat. It seems like one day I like meat, the next day it absolutely disgusts me and back and forth it goes. The other night we had steak (my favorite thing!) and I couldn't eat more than 3 small bites of it. The next night we celebrated Christmas early with my parents and we had duck. I absolutely LOVED it and couldn't get enough. This is the weirdest thing. I can't really decide what I want or when I want it. I've found that it is easier for me to eat meat when I don't have to look at it or touch it in its raw form, or smell it when it's cooking, which is not as easy as it sounds. I'll just have to take it one day at a time. There is something that I find funny (kind of)...random things suddenly sound/smell/taste/look gross. Like mushrooms. You always have mushrooms with steak, right? I couldn't even pass the bowl of mushrooms to the person next to me. My brother-in-law was kind enough to realize this and put them FAR away from me. All these food aversions are fascinating/funny/nauseating all at the same time. I can't wait to see what I can't get enough of. :) 

:/

Well, we had our first appointment this morning. I had to drink an entire 32 ounces of water in an hour so I'd have a full bladder for the ultrasound. I ended up waiting a half an hour over my scheduled time for my ultrasound and I thought I was going to burst! The ultrasound went well, but we did find out that I'm not as far along as the doctor originally thought. We thought I was at 7 weeks, but I'm really only at 5 weeks...they think. They measured the yolk sac and that's what the estimate was for now, but I'm going back in about 3 weeks to get another ultrasound. There really wasn't much to see yet except for the yolk sac, but we will definitely see the baby when we go in 3 weeks. I sort of feel like I'm starting all over. I've been telling everyone that I'm 7 weeks and the baby is this size and is starting to grow this and that....and now, I'm going to have to tell everybody that that's not the case. We're a little sad that we didn't get to see the baby today, but 3 weeks isn't that far away. I am now a little worried that the nausea I've been having recently will only get worse. I was told that it typically starts between 6-8 weeks and typically only lasts a few weeks, but I've been having nausea every morning for about a week now. I guess I just have to wait and see how it goes.

Blah.

Today, I'm not feeling so hot. I couldn't sleep last night and then I had to be up at 6am for work. I'm completely exhausted and all I can really focus on is trying not to throw up. :/ I think maybe I overdid it this weekend. I went shopping most of the day on Saturday to try and finish up my Christmas shopping (which I didn't). Then Sunday, I went to see a movie with my MIL, which was fun, but I had a headache the whole time, which later turned into a migraine. :( I am glad that I don't have to deal with being exhausted and nauseated AND a migraine, though.

Anyway, tomorrow Matt and I go for our first check-up. I'm now 7 weeks along and will be getting a sonogram to see the baby's hearbeat. :D I was reading in my What to Expect When You're Expecting and it says that the baby is the size of a blueberry right now. That seems so crazy to me! It's hard to picture a baby ever being THAT small, but we all have to start somewhere! :)

When I first found out I was pregnant, I was pretty adamant that it was going to be a boy, but now I'm not sure. Some days I feel like its a boy, some days I feel like its a girl and some days I have absolutely no clue. We'd really like to find out the sex of the baby when the time comes though. I just really don't like the unisex baby clothes. I hate that they only make those clothes in green or yellow. I want people to be able to tell if we have a boy or a girl without having to ask or guess. Not to mention the fact that I don't think I could wait 9 months to find out! :)



I've been having some trouble with the whole "Can I touch your belly?" thing. I mean, I'm not even showing yet! I think it's kind of weird and uncomfortable to have someone (besides friends and family) touch my belly when it doesn't even look like I'm pregnant yet. But how do I say no politely? I feel weird saying no and I feel weird saying yes.




Well, I think that's all I been thinking/feeling lately. I can't wait to come back and write about our appointment tomorrow! :)

Telling the families

I'm now 6 weeks pregnant and still feeling pretty well. Mostly just tired with a few bouts of nausea. We finally told our families and everyone is so excited for us. When I told my sisters, they said that were going to come down after the baby was born! I am so excited and happy that they are going to come down here! Our next appointment is on December 13th and I'll be getting my first sonogram. It's going to be so amazing to see the tiny little person growing inside of me. Sometimes I forget that I'm pregnant because I've been feeling so well. Hopefully, I continue to feel well and don't have any major symptoms that I have to deal with. I think I could handle pretty much anything except morning sickness. :P Matt and I are getting more excited everyday. The other day when we were decorating for Christmas, he went into the other room to find the star for the top of the tree. He came back out and said he found the envelopes I had been looking for a couple days prior and then he pulled out a little Christmas stocking that he also found! It was so cute! I don't know why we would have had a small Christmas stocking, but I'm so glad we did. It was perfect and totally made my day! :) I love Matt so much and I know he will be a great father.

My first appointment

Our first appointment was November 30. We went to my OB to get confirmation of the pregnancy. I had to pee on another stick and it came back positive and the doctor calculated that I'm almost 6 weeks along! I have to come back in 2 weeks to get a sonogram and get my blood drawn (yuck!). I can't wait for that visit and to see my little one! :) 

Matt and I are so excited and couldn't wait to tell our parents! For his parents, this will be the first grandbaby and for my parents it will be their 7th! I haven't yet told my siblings, but I'm hoping to talk to all of them today. At least one of them will be able to see me when I'm pregnant, but I think it would be so cool if they could ALL come to see the baby after its born. We're obviously not telling everyone yet, just family and close friends, but it's kind of funny to have this secret that my coworkers don't know about. I'm excited to tell everyone, but at the same time I like having this secret. :) 

I've been feeling pretty good so far with no major symptoms. I did have a small bout of nausea the other morning at work. I discovered that I can't eat or even smell anything sweet early in the morning. :P So, I guess I'm going to have to figure out something I can eat for breakfast since cereal, muffins, etc are out. I have been reading in my "Eating Well While You're Pregnant" book that ginger helps with nausea and they have a recipe for Ginger and Carrot Muffins, so I might try those.

Matt and I have also been discussing baby names. I know, I know...it's early, but I think we're going to have to talk about it through the whole pregnancy. Matt doesn't seem to like any of the boy names I like! ha, ha! :) I have a feeling its going to be a boy so I'd like to have something on the table. So, we were talking about it last night and I think Luke might be on the table. Just Luke, not Lucas. I think that's a really cute name and even Matt said it was better than most of the other names I came up with. As for a girl's name, I really like Keri Suzanne. Keri is a combination of my two older sisters names (Kelly and Erin) and then Suzanne is for my younger sister. We're just throwing some ideas around for right now. :)


This is going to be such an amazing adventure and another exciting chapter in our lives and we are thrilled! :)