Symptoms of... Pregnancy?

Over the summer, Evan and I decided that we were ready to make our family bigger. We figured that we'd start trying for baby #2 in November, that way I'd be pregnant over the summer when I could stay in the pool all day with Tristan. And then baby #2 would have an end of summer, beginning of autumn birthday. Perfect!

Skip ahead to November. We started trying. And by the beginning of December, I started having symptoms. The question, were they pregnancy symptoms or something else?

Symptom #1: Fatigue
I was tired. So tired I actually took a nap. For those that know me well, I'll give you a second to pick yourselves up off the floor. OK. Ready? Yeah, I needed a nap multiple days in a row. But at the same time I was fighting a off a cold that Evan had brought home. And Tristan was getting up for the day between 5 and 6:30. So maybe that's why I was so tired? Keep in mind, when I was pregnant with Tristan, I didn't nap, or feel the need to.

Symptom #2: Tighter Shirts
OK, so, yeah, this might be too much info for some, and if so, you should just skip ahead now. Anyway, suddenly my chest seemed larger. Was was I finally getting back my pre-Tristan boobs? I'd heard that 3-6 months after you stop breastfeeding your boobs come back, was it actually happening? Or was the pregnancy-boob fairy here?

Symptom #3: Nausea
While out shopping one day, I stepped into a room where they were serving ham for lunch.  And I immediately ran back out the door, trying not to gag. Was the vegetarian in me revolting? I mean, when I was pregnant with Tristan, I didn't get all-day-sickness until I was 8 weeks along.  At this point, it was only 3 weeks!

Symptom #4: Oh Man, I Gotta Pee!
I wasn't sure, but it seemed that I was needing to go to the bathroom more frequently. But maybe I was just drinking more water lately? Hmmm...

So, with these thoughts in my head, I waited until mid-December. And do you know what the best sign of pregnancy is?

Baby #2 is due August 16!

Holy cow, it's been how long since I last blogged?

I'm a bad blogger. I realized that I haven't posted since February. Since February! And to be honest, I wouldn't even have realized that if someone hadn't remarked on that post yesterday.

So, what's been going on, you ask? Well, not a lot, and a lot. I'm still pregnant (33 weeks, 4 days), getting more and more excited about our son coming into this world soon. And of course, being almost 8 months pregnant means my belly is getting huge. And I can' do as much as I used to. I'm still forgetting that I'm pregnant, and trying to do everything like I did before. Usually something reminds me - bumping my belly as I try to fit through a (now) too small space, trying to bend over and finding I can't touch my toes (let alone see them), Getting completely worn out raking a small flower bed... The plus side, I'm finding I spend a lot of time reading these days, which is so very enjoyable!

Ah, yes, back to what's been going on. Since February, I've been working like a mad-woman trying to finish up stuff at work so I don't leave my coworkers hanging when TLO comes. Well, working like a pregnant mad-woman. I don't seem to have the energy for 10+ hour days anymore.

E and I have also been spending time prepping the nursery. We cleared out my office by sorting, consolidating, putting things up for sale, and moving the rest of it into what was the guest room/E's office. Now it's the guest room/E's office/my office/library. Sounds a lot more crowded than it is. Once we got my old office cleared out, E and his dad set to work painting it. Now it's a lovely 'pale moss' green. E also painted the trim, it looks pretty sharp! And now we're starting to put stuff in it. Last night we assembled the crib. It's really starting to look like a nursery!


At the end of February, we celebrated my annual 29th birthday by going with friends to the Border Cafe. That same day, a friend of ours had a woodworking accident. He gave all of us a scare, nobody more than his wife I imagine. He was very lucky, and we're all thankful for that!

My sister also came for a visit with her significant other and his twin twelve year old boys, and we all went down to the New England Aquarium for a day. They've done some work at the aquarium since I last went about 10 years ago. It was a fun day.

Lately, we've been doing spring things, raking the yard (see my earlier comment about not being able to do as much), washing the screens and putting them back in the windows, getting the deck furniture out, the usual.

So, that's what I've been up to. I'll try to be a better blogger this spring. We'll just have to wait and see how it goes.

Frustration Factor

Today was a frustrating day at work. One of my coworkers, who is usually a nice guy, has a stubborn streak. Not a huge deal most of the time, but when you're trying to come to a consensus, and rather than discussing the issue all you get is stonewalling, it makes for a very frustrating day.

Days like today make me glad that the little one is coming. That I'll be on maternity leave, and not have to deal with days like today.

Thoughts like this remind me of something that a friend who worked in HR once said. Make sure when you're leaving, you're going to, not running from. In this case, I'd like to think I'm going to. But sometimes it also feels like I'm running from. And maybe that's OK.

The Little One Kicks!

For about a week I've been feeling The Little One moving around. TLO seems to be a bit of an evening/night baby. Each night between 7 and 10pm, I feel TLO moving around for a little bit. It feels kind of like a cross between muscle spasms and fluttering. It's very hard to describe. But it's pretty neat.

Last night for the first time, I felt a series of kicks. They were strong enough that when I put my hand to my belly, I could feel the kicks against my hand. I had E try to feel the kicks too, but first we weren't patient enough and E pulled his hand away before TLO kicked again. Then TLO had moved to another area and wasn't kicking any more.

Today, TLO has been very active, moving around a lot. There's even been a few kicks. So maybe tonight E will get another chance to feel some kicks!

Spicier Nacho

I love, LOVE, Spicier Nacho Doritos. They've been very hard to find for about a year now. So a few weeks ago, when I saw them on the shelf at my local Hannaford, I got a bag. I ate said bag in 2 days, the majority of it in 1 sitting. And I paid. I felt pretty horrible that evening, and figured it was my penance for making The Little One have so many Doritos at once. And I vowed that I would not do it again.

So, I went grocery shopping a few nights ago. And saw the Spicier Nacho Doritos again. And got another bag. And they sat, unopened for 2 days. Then last night, I got a craving for some. And I only ate a handful this time. I was very proud of myself!

And then, I found out, no, it wasn't because I ate so many that I felt horrible. It was because I at Spicier Nacho Doritos. I don't think The Little One likes Spicier Nacho Doritos. The Little One hasn't complained about any other spicy food! But, I guess, no more Spicier Nacho Doritos for me.

Holy garlic, Batman!

Wednesday evening, E and I met our friends K and C for dinner at India Palace for dinner. It's been years since we went out for Indian food, and K was right, this place has great food. We had a great time, with good food and a good conversation. It was something of a communal dinner, everybody sharing their dishes. And E, K, and C all had some garlic naan (Indian flat bread), which had way too much garlic for my onion-and-family intolerant system to try.

That night, E REEKED of garlic. It was so bad, I though I wasn't going to be able to sleep in the same room with him. And last night, after more than 24 hours, I still couldn't face him when he talked. I also got out an air freshener to combat the garlic breath that permeated the bedroom. This morning it's better, though I'm still holding my breath when we kiss.

So, no more garlic naan if you want to enjoy my company for the next 24 hours! At least not until my super-sense of smell goes away!

Ultrasounds are cool!

This week E and I went for my first ultrasound. At 13 weeks, 0 days, I wouldn't normally have gotten one, but my midwife wanted to check my due date. So, we went to Leominster hospital and got an ultrasound.

The little one was moving all over the place, wiggling, waving, and seeming to have a good time being watched. It was really neat to see! We also got to listen to the heart beat (E didn't think it sounded like a horse or a washing machine). And we got pictures! Prior to this, I never really thought ultrasound pictures were all that neat, but now that they're of our little one... They're so cool!

The tech said the little one was measuring 12 weeks, 5 days, and that 2 days difference isn't enough to move the due date. She said next ultrasound (around 20 weeks) the little one could measure 2 days in the other direction. So I'm still due May 20, 2010.

Houston, we have a heartbeat!

Today I had an OB appointment, and I met my midwife, A. After going over some info, she got out the Doppler, and I heard the heartbeat! A said it sounded like a boy's heartbeat. Apparently, boys sound like galloping horses, and girls sound like washing machines. A says she's about 80% right, and I should remind her what she predicted when we find out.

It turns out that having hypoglycemia means that I'm at greater risk for having gestational diabetes. So lucky me, I got to take the glucose screen today. They give you a nasty drink, and then take your blood an hour later. Most expecting women get to do this once later in the pregnancy. I'll get to do it at least twice. Woo Hoo (not!)

But, hearing the heart beat was very cool! And I'm getting an early ultrasound next week, since they want to check the age. We're pretty sure I'm 11 weeks, 6 days, but they want to verify that so we know when to do other testing.

First appointment disappointment

So, this morning was my first OB appointment, and it was, well, anti-climatic. I met with a nurse at the practice, she asked lots of questions about E and my medical history, answered the questions I had, gave me lots of papers to read, and scheduled my next visit in two weeks. That's it. They didn't even verify that I was pregnant!

We're going to continue to wait to tell people until after my appointment on Nov. 4. I want to have at least some testing done before we spread the word!

Pregnancy symptoms - 9 weeks, 2 days

• All day (morning) sickness subsiding, though mornings are still tough.
• Tired like never before, but that's good since I was an insomniac and now I'm sleeping! Makes it hard to do things like get up the energy to clean the house though.
• Migraines that I've had for 20 years are GONE!!!!! Had I known that was going to happen, we might have tried earlier!
• Mild headaches during the day, though not every day.
• Breasts sore, though less than 6-8 weeks. They're also 1 size bigger (started at 36D, how much bigger can they get?!?)
• Not much food is appetizing, but get morning sickness if I don't eat, so I'm grazing a lot. I'm CRAVING Mexican food from the Border Cafe! May have to go there with E soon... I also had a dream this morning about french fries, and woke up drooling (first time THAT's happened). Discovered this morning that I've lost 2 lbs, probably due to the lack of appetizing food.
• Sense of smell overpowering, which leads to morning sickness. Avoiding the kitchen at home and at work helps though.
• "Pregnancy brain" - I keep forgetting things, which is so unusual for me, it's funny. I got out the winter clothes and left 3/4 of my long sleeved shirts on top of the cedar chest. Then thought I needed to buy more shirts because I only had 7 days worth of shirts in my dresser. The cedar chest is right next to the dresser!
  

Morning sickness

The last day we were in Bonaire (7 weeks, 1 day), my morning sickness symptoms really started, thought I didn't realize it. I smelled something at breakfast that literally had me running for the bathroom. I didn't throw up, but came so close, I was in a stall praying to the porcelain gods. The nausea passed and after splashing water on my face and neck, I felt good enough to go back to breakfast.

The flight home, I thought I was airsick. I'd reached stage 2 of sickness, the cold sweats that you get just before you throw up (stage 3), but luckily we landed and I was able to avoid stage 3. Whew! E gets airsick, and I told him that if this is how he feels when he flys, I don't know why he bothers! I didn't realize it wasn't airsickness until...

The following day (7 weeks, 3 days), when I had all day sickness. Ugh. I couldn't move without feeling nauseated. And the whole week (through 8 weeks, 3 days) was like this. Going to work was horrible. I was pretty miserable, and thinking that being pregnant was NOT fun. I now had an inkling of why there's only-children out there, who'd want to go through this again?

Then the nausea started to come under control. I realized that I needed to eat every 2 hours, no ifs, ands, or buts! I needed to avoid things like: the smell of coffee, vegetables (especially green beans!), and anybody smelling like onions. I found that saltines really did help. Mornings were still crappy (now I know why its called 'morning sickness'), but it was MUCH more bearable.

And that's where I am today (9 weeks, 2 days). I actually feel like I could do something this weekend!

Pregnancy impatience

While on vacation, I was thinking that I didn't really feel pregnant. I felt normal. Then near the end of the vacation, on the 2nd to last day, I had my first serious bout of morning sickness. Nothing too bad, just sent me running to the bathroom during breakfast, but it passed. Then the flight home, I had the worst bout of air sickness I've ever had. If that's how people feel, I can't believe they keep flying!

When I returned home, I discovered that I definitely feel pregnant, every day. And I'm not too happy with it. It's not morning sickness, it's all-day sickness. I'm totally exhausted, I'm wondering if I'm going to be able to keep putting in a full day of work and still be awake enough to drive home. And my chest so sore, it's uncomfortable to walk down stairs fast. And I'm surprised nobody at work has said anything about my recent chestiness, it's not like they were small to begin with!

On top of all of this, I want to tell people. E and I decided that we would tell family when we returned from vacation, but wait to tell others until after the first prenatal appointment. Which is on Oct 20. That's like 2 weeks away! Argh!

Ug, salad

So, apparently the little one doesn't like salad anymore. I think I'm going to have to change-up my daily lunch. The milk, walnuts, and whole grain crackers are still yummy... I guess the 'What to Expect' web site is right, protein and whole grains are the key right now. Hope E starts eating more veggies from the farm share!

Queasy

I'm 5 weeks and 4 days pregnant, and very queasy. It's started, the 'morning' sickness. Except its now 2pm in the afternoon! And yesterday, it was 11:30 am. So far, it's just feeling blech, no actual sickness. Hopefully it'll stay that way for a while, I've got a vacation to go on in 3.5 days!

Just found out...

I'm pregnant!!!!!

TTC, Take 2

So, after a morning of being glum, I talked with my mom and felt a lot better. Of course, that didn't stop me from being moody all day (sorry E, you took it like a champ). So, here are my thoughts this morning:

• I'm no longer jealous of our friends, I'm very happy for them. I'd actually stopped being jealous over a week ago, when I talked with E about it. I think I just needed to voice my jealousy to get over it.
• Silver lining 1: I'd originally thought having a late spring baby would be ideal. Not being pregnant yet gets us closer to a late spring due date.
• Silver lining 2: I have time to figure out things like, should I stop taking my otc allergy medicine, or is it ok to take while pregnant?
• Silver lining 3: It's summertime, and having a beer or two while having a cookout is nice. The beer yesterday tasted really good.
• Silver lining 4: I don't have to cut back on coffee yet!

I'm still disappointed that I'm not pregnant. I'm actually surprised at how disappointed I am. But I take that as a good sign. I really am ready (anxious even!) to be a mom.

I also have a new understanding of all those women who have a hard time conceiving, I don't know how they do it. I think having disappointments month after month would get to be really depressing. I wonder how they can keep trying, and not just give up for sanity's sake. Of course, I know why they don't give up, but it must be so hard.

A few things do suck, and they'll continue to suck until I get pregnant. I still have migraines. I don't have a known time-frame for maternity leave (which I'm really looking forward to!) I have to keep it a secret that we're TTC (trying to conceive), since that's what E and I agreed to. But it's not the end of the world.

So, as a new cycle begins, I'm back to being happy, and hopeful. We'll keep TTC, and we'll see what happens. And hey, that's the fun part anyway!

Nope

Nope, not pregnant.

Worry

Today on my way home from work, I began having some serious cramping. And when I got home, I noticed some spotting. Am I getting my period after 32 days? Or is it really just spotting? Or worse, am I having a miscarriage? Is fate laughing at me because I called the doctor today?

The doctor suggested going and getting an over-the-counter pregnancy test. So we'll know. One way or the other. Tomorrow.

Wondering...

Before we decided to try and get pregnant, I thought that pregnancy tests were a waste of money. If you're trying, and you miss you're period, you're pregnant. End of story. However, I'm beginning to see their benefits. I'm in the stage of 'am i late? or pregnant?' I could go out and get a pregnancy test. And it could tell me I'm pregnant or not. Of course, if it was negative, that wouldn't mean I wasn't pregnant, just that I would have to wait some more. Sigh.

So, I wait.

Jealous

E and I just found out friends are expecting. Their baby's been cookin' for about a month. And I'm jealous. This was supposed to be our time for the exciting news! OK, yes, we're a bit behind them and all... So, hopefully by time it's our turn to give the good news, I'll be done being jealous, and just happy for them.

And now I'm thinking, as I type this, I've been having some incredible mood swings today, and the intense smells are back... Maybe our news is just around the corner... Here's to hopin'.