9 weeks (and some drama!)

Much remained the same during week 9 for me... My belly continues to itch quite a bit some days (cocoa butter does help but I hate the smell of it), I continue to be more irritable (especially in the evenings when I'm exhausted), I eat ALL THE TIME and I still sleep very lightly and with several pillows. I have not been sick at all since week 7 (and even then it was only the first couple of days - my sickness was mostly confided to week 6) but I gag constantly. Brushing my teeth, when I let my self get too hungry, certain smells (cigarette smoke, colognes and perfumes, fast food...) and sometimes for no reason at all. I feel very blessed when I say that gagging is probably one of my biggest annoyances of pregnancy right now. :)

Want to hear a story?

We had our first prenatal appointment on January 26th. Steve and I were very anxious for this appointment to arrive because we had been to the ER with cramping on new year's day. Steve is a natural worrier and was really looking forward to seeing our baby via ultrasound, being told that everything looked good and putting his fears to rest.

I had wanted to see a particular physician but when I called to schedule my appointment I was told that they like to see patients between 8 and 10 weeks and that physician would be on vacation for those two weeks. They wouldn't let me schedule at 10.5 weeks, oh no. So I scheduled with the only other female in the office, thinking that for my first visit (and exam), having a female would be nice.

I know pretty much nothing about any of these physicians, being that Steve's insurance just changed to Kaiser and we are now required to travel to Salem for all of our appointments, pharmacy runs, etc. It's a real joy, I tell you. This is so foreign to me because I know ALL of the OB physicians at Samaritan and have great respect for 99% of them. I would be quite happy with any of them delivering my baby. Needless to say, I don't really like change.

So we arrive at our appointment, the nurse takes my vitals and asks a few questions, I get changed and we wait for the doctor. When she came in she did not shake my hand or introduce herself to anyone in the room (Steve and my mom were both there). What she said was, "So I understand you were in the ER for cramping." Yes. "Well, before we even bother with any paperwork, let's make sure there's really a baby."

EXCUSE ME?!

I assured her that there is, in fact, a baby because we saw it via ultrasound at the ER. She told me that all they saw was the sac. I told her that no, we did see the baby inside the sack and it looked like a grain of rice. She basically blew me off and went on to say that the entire pregnancy could be psychological and all in my head.

Meanwhile, Steve is sitting in his chair freaking out because this doctor is filling him with doubt that the baby we've given our hearts to even exists.

She did an abdominal ultrasound first and the baby measured about 6 weeks (worrying Steve even more). Then she did a transvaginal ultrasound and the baby measured 8w6d, which is within two days of where I was in the pregnancy.

During the ultrasound the monitor screen was tipped the wrong way and I couldn't see the image (much like if a laptop screen is tipped wrong). When I asked her to move the screen so I could see, she replied, "Just hold on a minute!"

Steve and Mom both got to see the baby "wave" and I missed it because I couldn't see the screen. When she was finished measuring and doing her thing, that was it. She pulled the want out and it was over. I only got to see our baby for a couple of minutes.

After the ultrasound, the doctor began entering all of my information into the computer and asked if I had any questions. I pulled out my short list of 6 or 7 questions (things like, how much tuna can I eat because I'm CRAVING it and if it's ok to use heat wraps for stomach aches, etc.). She acted like all of my questions were stupid and answered a couple of them very differently than some of my doctor coworkers had.

One of my biggest questions had to do with the Rhogam shot. I have a negative blood type, so if our baby has a positive blood type (likely) then I will need to have the shot. I would like to avoid that if possible and asked about having Steve's blood typed to find out of he is negative (in which case, I don't need the shot). The doctor's answer was that they don't test the father's blood type because they have no guarantee that he is really the father. She said, "People lie about that all the time to save their marriages."

We were livid.

Here is this complete stranger, sitting here telling us that I could be a tramp for all she knows, and she has no reason to believe that Steve and I are faithful to each other.

OH MAN.

When my mom asked about the risks and side effects of the Rhogam shot, she was told that there are none and that if we had more questions about it, we should Google it.

I will have you know that since that appointment my mom has Googled the crap out of Rhogam and I have obtained some information from the medical library at the hospital. TURNS OUT that there are MANY side effects and risks (imagine that) and that Rhogam is quite a controversial subject. My impression is that either the doctor is completely ignorant and doesn't know about these issues, or that she didn't want to take the time to educate us on them. Either way, it's unacceptable.

We left the appointment feeling angry, frustrated and like we were going to be treated like just another couple visiting the practice. I didn't feel that my opinions or wishes mattered at all.

My mom and I have both written letters, which I plan to mail this weekend. We are sending the letters directly to the doctor, but have plans to also send copies to Kaiser administration. I am also thinking about alternative prenatal and delivery options.

And we will not be seeing that doctor again.

8 weeks

Many symptoms this week remained the same, including tiredness, grumpiness and itchiness. I noticed my face breaking out more at the beginning of the week, for no apparent reason. I've also continued to sleep very lightly, waking up many times in the night to reposition. I now sleep with about 7 pillows...

I cannot get enough milk! Yesterday I literally drank 5 giant glasses of milk over the course of the day and the only reason I didn't have more is because I didn't want to run out before I made it to the grocery store again! I have been wanting to eat a lot of tuna but am limiting that as well because everything I have read says to be careful with how much tuna you ingest. We have a doctor appointment this Thursday (9w2d) and it's one of the questions I plan to ask my doctor. Just HOW much tuna is ok?? It's hard to know because we can our own and have no way to tell what the mercury levels are.

(I started this post during week 8 and never finished it... and now this is all I can think to say about week 8!) :)

7 weeks

My new weeks begin on Tuesdays for anyone keeping track. :) I haven't decided yet how I will post - if I will save the draft for a week to capture all of my notes at once, or if I will edit posts throughout the week as things come up. So far I'm saving everything up and posting at the end of the week. (Today is actually the beginning of week 8.)

I was nauseous every day during week 6 and threw up for the first time on the first day of week 7. I have had a couple of cousins tell me this is when it hit for them too. But then on day two I had no sickness at all! This is hard to get used to - you just never know what to expect. :) Week 7 held a couple of very nauseous days (I missed work one day because I tried for an hour to get ready and ran out of hot water because I couldn't stand up long enough to TAKE a shower!) but for the most part, I've been able to curb it. I've noticed that the temperature of my shower has a bit to do with it and I've started taking lukewarm showers in the mornings. I do a lot of gagging but so far have only thrown up twice.

We have still been slowly telling people. Steve loves telling his passengers, especially the little old ladies. He's having a great time with it. We were talking about the baby last weekend and he kept saying "she." I commented on it and he said, "Oh. I forgot to tell you, I think it's a girl!" When I asked Jordan what he thinks the baby is he said, "Well, I really want a brother. But I really think it's a sister!" I have had two people tell me they think it's a boy and about 15 people tell me they think it's a girl. :) Time will tell! I have had one boy dream so far and several dreams about babies in general, but most of them are not gender specific. (I've also noticed that I sleep a lot lighter now.) I dream a lot about breastfeeding, which I think is funny. It's one of the things I'm looking forward to the most.

My stomach is itchy again this week and is starting to feel tight, like things are stretching a little. I have been wearing a Bella band with one of my pairs of work pants because it's just more comfortable that way. As soon as I get home from work I change into sweats or yoga pants. I don't like feeling restricted. I told Steve last night, "Look, I can't suck my stomach flat anymore" and he replied, "You're squishing the baby, stop! That can't be good for it!" He is so funny. When looking in the mirror I can see that my stomach has actually started to grow and there is that depth line just above my hips. When I reach above my head I can feel that things are tighter around my middle.

I have been looking at baby furniture and supplies and would really like to do the nursery in a "woodland" theme with an emphesis on owls and hedgehogs. For anyone who knows me, this should not come as a surprise. ;) I would love to paint a tree on the wall (or use a decal) and accent with browns and greens and, depending on the baby's gender, pinks or blues. It's all very exciting to think about!

Steve has been absolutely amazing the last couple of weeks. He picks up the slack around the house, especially with packing Jordan's lunches and closing up the house at night when I just can't wait to crawl into bed and sack out. He never complains when we run out of silverware because I just can't find the energy to do the dishes. He also rubs my back when I'm not feeling well and gives me lots of sympathy. I sure do love him!

6 weeks

1/3/12

At exactly six weeks my morning sickness started. I wouldn't call it sickness so much as I would call it nausea but it hit me! I struggle in the mornings because I'm hungry but food sounds awful. Having an empty stomach makes me feel horrible but eating is so difficult when you feel horrible! I try to curb this by eating protein early in the morning like yogurt and string cheese. This helps a little.

I have been having major aversions to sweets. Everyone can eat my share of chocolate, cookies, ice cream and anything else sweet. I even had a Yoplait yogurt one day that was too sweet for me.

I also had a lot of cramps during weeks 5 and 6, enough that we went and got checked out. The doctor said everything looked great, baby was in the right place and the cramps are probably just symptoms of stretching and changing. I also have a very low pain tolerance so they almost definitely seemed more serious than they were. Here is our first picture of our little peanut (who we have nicknamed "Dash", courtesy of my mom):

My stomach was itchy this week! I started using cocoa butter after showers.

No weight gain yet.

5 weeks

12/27/11

So far not a lot of changes, other than breast soreness and some cramping. I do notice that I have to pee a lot and that I'm hungry ALL THE TIME. No food cravings, just an aversion to sweet things. I'm also tired a lot. Growing a little person is hard work!

Finding out

I wanted to start a separate blog as sort of a pregnancy "journal" for easy access and reference in the future and so that posts wouldn't be intermingled with my regular blogging. Which is so frequent, as we all know.

We found out about our expected blessing on Christmas Eve, 2011!

The day before, I had been talking at work with a couple of girls about how I had been having really strong cramps and they had been waking me up in the night. I just thought I was PMSing, as I was due to start my period on Christmas Eve. One coworker told me, "That's what happened to me right before I found out I was pregnant with my son..." I dismissed her comment, convincing myself that it was near impossible that I would be pregnant. After all, we had only "tried" once during the magic week in December and I didn't think it was anywhere near the right time. I certainly hadn't gotten my hopes up.

The morning of Christmas Eve I woke up and was laying in bed thinking about the conversation from the day before. I had lots of pregnancy tests that I had bought online in bulk so I figured what the heck, I'll take one just to put my mind at ease.

I went into the bathroom and took a test while Steve and Jordan slept. I waited the 5 minutes and looked at it and saw... TWO LINES! But the second line was very faint and I just wasn't convinced. So I texted my friend Aslan, who had just announced her pregnancy a couple of weeks earlier and is a nurse. I explained everything I just wrote here and asked her what she thought. She said, "Any line is a line and that means it's positive!"

I started freaking out a little, but in a really good way. :)

Aslan asked to see a picture of the test strip so I went back into the bathroom to take a picture of it. This was about 15 or 20 minutes post-test and there was a HUGE difference in the color of that second line! Definitely a positive test.

I took a shower and prayed and smiled and was basically ecstatic by myself for awhile. :) Then I woke Steve up and told him we should start getting ready to head to my parents for the day. While he showered, I made a t-shirt for Jordan (picture below) to wrap up, along with a onesie I had previously bought to use as an announcement for Steve.

I waited and waited for Steve to get ready for the day, woke Jordan up and got him some breakfast, and waited some more. I told Steve, "You and Jordan have a Christmas Eve present to open as soon as you're ready!" I could hardly stand it.

FINALLY Steve came into the family room where I had set both presents on a stool for them. I handed them out and told them to sit next to each other on the couch so I could take their picture while they opened them.

I made them open at the same time, but Jordan was more interested in what Steve was opening when he saw that his was just a shirt. ;)

 Reading the words on the onesie, "Daddy loves me"

"Wait... are you... are you pregnant?" 

"Nuh uh! Shut up! Shut up!" 

Needless to say, they were both VERY excited, though Steve remained in shock for a few hours. :)

We went over to my parents for Christmas Eve and (conveniently) everyone, including quite a few cousins, were in the living room together when we got there. Jordan flashed his shirt to my mom, who got an extremely surprised, proud look on her face, her eyes filled with tears and she basically climbed over Jordan to hug me. My sister read the words, SCREAMED, dropped her knitting and also came over to hug me. :) My dad was pretty proud and all the cousins were very excited.

I called my grandma (Nana) to tell her and said, "Remember how last Christmas Eve I called to tell you we were engaged? Well this year I'm calling to tell you we're having a baby!" She squealed and squealed and ooohed and squealed some more. :)

The evening of Christmas Eve we showed up at Steve's parents at about 10:30pm. They were all up but were surprised to see us (especially me) so late at night. Steve coralled them all into the family room by telling them that Jordan wanted to open one gift early. When everyone was gathered Jordan said, "Well, it's really a gift for you. And it's not something you can HAVE... well, here it is" and unzipped his sweatshirt to reveal his t-shirt. Penny figured it out right away and said, "Mommy is pregnant!" David got a huge grin on his face and Steve's parents were very excited (and surprised). I called Linnea (Steve's sister) because I had been waiting ALL DAY to tell her and she squealed and got choked up and said how stinking excited she is for us. :) As soon as we announced it on Facebook (two days later) she and my sister both announced it on their own pages as well.

On Christmas morning we had Jordan wear the shirt again and made the announcement to my other grandmas. I had them both stand together while Jordan unzipped his hoodie to reveal the t-shirt. One grandma figured it out first and squealed and hugged me, getting a little misty-eyed. It took my other grandma a minute but then she let out a huge gasp and also hugged me. Telling everyone has been so fun!

A few other fabulous reactions:

Tessa - I called her on the phone and told her I would need her to plan a trip down here at the end of August. She said, "Ok... why?" I said, "Because I want you to be here when our baby is born!" Her reply was, "WHAT?!!!!?!????!?!?! OH MY GOD!!!! OH MY GOD!!" When her family asked her what all the screaming was about she yelled, "MY BEST FRIEND IS WITH CHILD!!!!"

Marcela (who is also pregnant) - I texted to tell her and she wrote back, "SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG, TEARS AND I JUST PEED MY PANTS!"

Robin at work - I said something about "baby Hanold, due August 2012" and she wrote back, "Hanold, what a cute name! I love it!" I told her, "Robin... Hanold is our last name." She wrote again, "I totally knew that. Now I feel like an idiot."

Various people screaming or squealing and lots of hugging. All of Steve's friends are excited for us and sent lots of congratulations.

My boss - I called him on his cell phone so he wouldn't have to find out by e-mail at work. I caught him at the airport, eating a hamburger in the food court. He is a very animated guy by nature and I could just see his antics as he ooohed and squealed (yes, really) and told me over and over how excited he is and that God has really bless our family this year (He sure has!!) and how proud and thrilled he is.

Our official due date is August 29th, 2012!