14 weeks

I still have not gained any weight during this pregnancy. I also started tracking what I eat and have noticed that I eat a LOT of starch (what can I say, I love pasta!) and a lot of cheese. I have quite a bit of fruit, usually with breakfast (whole fruit, yogurt, organic juice, etc.) but I am seriously slacking in the veggie department. I've read that half of my plate at dinner should be vegetables and I'm lucky if I even eat vegetables some days. It's horrible! Especially since I love vegetables! Someone suggested that I get those veggies through juicing, so I think I will pull out my juicer this week and try some different combos. Carrot juice sounds great - I love that stuff!

I'm also trying to increase my water intake, which is also pathetic. On a good day I will fill my 32oz jug in the morning and drink it all that day. On a REALLY good day I will refill it and sometimes drink another 10 or 12 ounces before the end of the day. But seriously, that's lame. I should be drinking THREE of these things a day!

Another symptom I noticed this week is headaches. I get e-mail updates every couple of days and a couple of weeks ago I was getting updates about headaches. I thought maybe that was a symptom I had escaped but it seems that I was just a little late in getting to that one...

I've still been emotional this week, but a little less so (thank goodness). I still sleep very lightly and am getting tired of sleeping with earlplugs because they make my ears sore after a few days. Steve is supposed to schedule a sleep study in the near future and I'm hopeful that they will diagnose him with sleep apnea and prescribe a CPAP machine for sleeping. *fingers crossed*

Our 14 week ultrasound was rescheduled because Aslan has been VERY sick this week. We will go at 15w5d instead and she said we may get to find out the sex at that appointment. :) We also have a routine OB appointment scheduled for 15w1d and it's with a different physician than that horrible one we saw the last time. Who, by the way, wrote us a letter back! I will try to post our letters and her reply at some point, but she basically apologized for coming across the way she did, used the phrase "find a baby first" (one of the things I had commented that made us so mad) and hopes that we will come back to see her (not a chance) but she understands if we would rather see the other physicians at the practice. I was appreciative of her reply but had a good chuckle over her horrible grammar.

13 weeks

Week 12 blended in to week 13 with the great bleeding scare... but at 13w1d we got to have an ultrasound and SEE our baby and HEAR the heartbeat!

I am completely convinced that the sound of a baby's beating heart in utero is the most beautiful sound in the world...

We were able to hear the "whoosh whoosh whoosh" of the little heartbeat, see the baby turn its head back and forth, watch it wave its little hands and see its absolutely perfectly formed leg and foot, as well as the profile of its adorable face. I'm completely smitten.

I will admit, prior to this week, I was having some off-and-on difficulty really "bonding" to the pregnancy. Part of that may be because sometimes I have to remind myself that I AM actually pregnant! Besides my baby bump, I don't always have a ton of symptoms. Sure, I'm hungry all the time and I gag a lot and have a few food aversions and get more tired than usual... but I don't go around "feeling" pregnant all the time. Then of course we were really worried about the baby for a few days and Steve stresses enough for about 25 people instead of just one. So then that makes me worry and stress more than I might usually...

But seeing and hearing and watching our baby really changed that for me. And not only that, during our really rough days the week before, I'm fairly certain I felt the baby move several times. :) It felt like tiny little butterflies in my stomach and was very faint. Each time it was when I was lying down resting and usually after I had eaten. I can't wait for the flutters to get stronger so I can tell for sure that it's not my imagination. ;) I have read that it's not very common to feel the baby before 15 weeks and that some people don't feel anything until closer to 20. Aslan said she felt her baby (a boy!) at 14 weeks. I do feel that 12 weeks is a little early but then again, I'm showing early too so I won't dismiss those feelings as real! :)

Before my ultrasound appointment I was told that I had to drink 32 ounces of water at least 45 minutes prior to check in so that I would have a full bladder. They said, "I know 32 ounces is hard, but you need to drink at LEAST 24." I was a very obedient patient and drank the full 32 ounces, feeling very proud of myself. And also feeling like I was going to BURST! When the tech called us back she asked how badly I had to use the bathroom and I told her just how badly. She asked how far along I was and when she found out that I was 13 weeks she scoffed and said, "You can empty your bladder."

Phew.

I imagine the ultrasound was much more enjoyable than it would have been otherwise!

We told the tech about the nurse who had told us that ultrasounds were "not safe" and that they don't like to do them unless absolutely necessary. The tech's mouth fell open and she said, "Um... I have to report to my boss that they're telling people this..." I told her yes, please do report that. She asked if I would mind if her boss called me and I said certainly not, I would be happy to tell him about the conversation and what I was told. I hope I do end up getting a phone call about that because we have been told some really ridiculous things.

My biggest symptom for week 13 has been the roller coaster emotions. I don't think I have ever cried so much (or so hard) during a single week before. Poor Steve, he has to put up with so much. The other night I was sitting in a heap on the bathroom floor, just SOBBING my eyes out and gasping to him, "Being pregnant is HARD!" (Compared to the vast majority of the population, I think I am actually having a VERY easy pregnancy, but in that moment, it seemed so hard.) He suggested that we just have this one child and I was extremely quick to shoot that idea down. Lol.

So far I haven't gained any weight. I'm hovering within about a pound of where I've always been for the last couple of years. I'm interested what the doctor will have to say about that at my next appointment. Is it common to not gain any weight for quite awhile (while also not being sick)?

A friend of mine called the other day. She works part-time for a pregnancy center in town and when business gets slow they sometimes look for "models" to do ultrasounds on. Apparently business is slow right now because she offered me an ultrasound! We get to go in at 14w5d and see our little prince or princess again. :) One of the most exciting things was that she told me I can be scanned up to three times before I hit 20 weeks. This is REALLY exciting because it means we can go in again at 17w5d and likely find out what we are having!!!!! (Kaiser won't tell us until 20 weeks.)

Everyone says the second trimester is the best. You gain back energy, get sick less (I only gagged once this week!) and just generally feel much better. I'm excited for the next 3 months!

12 weeks

What a rollercoaster week...

Remember last week when I said I felt like my ribs were pushing apart and I thought it was too early for that? The very next day I got an e-mail update saying that my uterus probably shifted upward sometime during week 11. How convenient! So I really DID have a lime shoved up under my ribs. ;) I noticed discomfort with bending and I noticed that I got winded easily (reading out loud, for instance).

I was grumpy this week.

I still can't stomach avocados.

I continue to gag and occasionally dry heave in the mornings.

I was given two boxes (!!) of used maternity clothes so I sorted through those this week and did several loads of laundry. I gotta say, other than eventually wanting some shorts for the summertime and maybe a couple of camis, I am SET. I feel so thankful that I don't have to spend a fortune on a new wardrobe. And this stuff is cute!

The second half of week 12 was not so uneventful...

On Saturday evening (2/18, 12w3d) I noticed some dark brown discharge. This turned to bright red bleeding later in the evening, prompting me to call the after-hours advice line. The lady I spoke to was very nice and said that based on my symptoms (no cramping) and the way I answered questions, I didn't need to be seen that night. Thank goodness because I did not want another ER all-nighter.

The next morning I was still having some bleeding, which turned darker over the course of the morning. Steve and I talked and decided that we would like to be seen for our own peace of mind. We wanted to see our baby's heartbeat and hear that everything was fine.

I called the advice line again to see WHERE we should be seen and after another whole battery of questions, was told again that I didn't need to go in. We also learned that Kaiser's urgent care is by appointment only, which is the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

Both nurses I talked to said that a message had been sent to the OB office and that they should give me a call Monday morning. We decided to just wait until Monday morning and then if the OB office didn't offer us an appointment, we would ask for one. (One nurse also told me that if I DID end up experiencing a miscarriage, "that's just mother nature's way of telling you it wasn't meant to be..." Kaiser is absolutely unbelievable.

Monday morning arrived and I did get a call from a primary care doctor at Kaiser. But she was a primary care doctor... not an OB. She must have been the one doing the call-backs that morning... and she suggested that I call the OB office. Well, gee, thanks!

I called OB and they told me that if the bleeding had stopped (it had turned to dark discharge and I would no longer consider it "bleeding") then we didn't need to be seen by a physician. BUT, because there had been bleeding and I have a negative blood type, I would need to come in to get a Rhogam shot.

The ONE THING I did not want AT ALL and was prepared to fight at 28 weeks.

I burst into tears on the phone with the nurse and told her all the reasons I didn't want the shot, including the horrible first appointment we had. She listened to my story and then said, "Wow. I could just puke." She was disgusted that the doctor had said those things to us and apologized profusely. She told me that she doesn't like that doctor either, that she is intimidating and callous. She patiently explained Rhogam to me and why I needed the shot (the reasons make a little more sense at 12 weeks after there has been bleeding than they do at 28 weeks when there is NO medical reason to have it).

I told this nurse we would like to come in and be seen and to have an ultrasound. She told me they don't like to do ultrasounds unless they are really, really needed, because they "aren't safe."

What a line of crap. There have been NO studies done that have proven that ultrasounds are unsafe. And if they were, I don't think pregnant women would be having them willy nilly all the time!

I informed her that if they were so concerned that I needed to come in for a Rhogam shot, then I certainly felt validated in requesting an ultrasound so that *I* can be sure that my baby is ok.

Sheesh.

She did call me back a little later and tell me that she had ordered an ultrasound (though of course I couldn't schedule it until later in the week because I wasn't considered an emergent case).

Long story short, I did go in for the Rhogam shot, which they give you in the butt. I also threw up my breakfast two days in a row (the first time that has happened) and had about half a dozen complete meltdowns in two days. I stayed home from work for three days to "take it easy" and Steve stayed to take care of me. He was stressed beyond belief (not just over the baby but about a ton of other things attacking us right now) but he was a trooper and did a great job of being a caregiver.

The ultrasound was scheduled for 13w1d so that story will come in the 13 week post. ;) Don't worry, it's a good one.

11 weeks

The most exciting happenings of week 11 were that two new baby cousins were born! This knocks my pregnant friends down to 12. ;) Courtney gave birth to Owen on 2/8 and Marcela gave birth to Paloma, also on 2/8!

Brinton and Ashley (cousin #4 who is pregnant and due in May) announced this week that they are naming their baby girl Presley. Suddenly I am hoping that we have a girl as that would mean all 3 Cary babies born in 2012 would be baby girls with P names. :)

More gagging and dry heaving during week 11. Thankfully this is only every few days, not all the time. I've learned that brushing my teeth standing up (as opposed to bending over the sink) can help with this, as can drinking suuuuuper cold water between the time I get out of the shower and the time I brush my teeth. It's weird what works.

I'm still sleeping very lightly and Steve is still snoring very loudly. I hate it but there have been a couple of nights when I've finished the night in the guest room because there is just no way to stop the snoring. I can kick him and poke him and make him roll over but two minutes (or 5 seconds) later he's back at it. Searching for other solutions now... he has a doctor appointment this Friday and I'm going to ask about a sleep apnea test and getting him a CPAP machine. I don't want to sleep apart!

Another symptom I noticed this week is a soreness at the top of my ribs. I think it's WAY to early for my ribs to be pushing apart, but that's kind of what it feels like, especially if I slouch. The space under my bust, right in the center of my chest gets very sore.

I've also noticed some energy coming back! Energy and motivation are two very different things but I no longer feel like going to bed at 6pm most days and I've been able to keep up with the housework much easier. Hooray!

10 weeks

I've been "sick" a lot more this week. What this usually means is that something triggers my stomach during my morning shower (clearing my throat will do it) and I end up on the bottom of the tub, dry heaving for several minutes. I feel lucky that I don't throw up stomach bile (sorry, TMI!) but the dry heaving sure does leave my stomach muscles sore. It also leaves me extra hungry!

Other symptoms this week are sleeping lightly, gagging, being hungry all the time, gagging, having a low patience level, a small bit of nesting (we started the room swapping process) and gagging. I find that I gag more (or get nauseous) if I wait to long to eat, which is very easy to do as I'll feel fine one minute and the next minute I feel like I could eat a hippo.

The baby still does not like Local Boyz and also does not like avocado (which is a real bummer because I love avocado). The baby DOES like pasta!

People have been noticing my bump this week. I ran into an old coworker (Jim Beecroft) who retired last year (and was good friends with Dorothy). I hadn't seen him in a few months and couldn't remember if I had seen him since Christmas. He looked at my stomach right off the bat and said, "How are you?" I smiled and asked him if I had told him our news. He said, "No, but I bet I can guess what it is!" He was very excited for us. A few friends will now come up and rub my stomach, which doesn't bother me at all.

My drinks of choice are still MILK and ice water. I used to hate ice water because the cold would hurt my teeth. Now my water has to be super cold and I'm surprised at how much sipping ice water can curb nausea or gagging. I try to drink a lot of water but most days only manage about 32 ounces (which still feels like a lot for me). I get a little extra fluid with my multiple glasses of milk each day.

I went through my friends list on Facebook last week and found that I have 14 pregnant friends! 4 of them are cousins and almost everyone is due before me.

My Bible study has 8 women in it. 5 of us are married and ALL FIVE OF US are pregnant! This strikes me as absolutely hilarious, as well as extremely fun. Maybe there IS something in the water over there!