Week 14

Today is the first day of the second trimester. I can't believe 3 months has already passed. I am starting to get some of my energy back. I made it to the gym twice this week and plan to go again this afternoon. It feels so good to have some pep in my step again. Here's the baby's status for this week:

Age of Fetus—12 weeks
By this week most of the major structures are formed in the baby and they continue to grow for the remainder of your pregnancy. The baby begins practicing inhaling and exhaling, sending amniotic fluid in and out of the lungs. This is believed to be an important part of proper formation of the air sacs.

Other changes that are happening:
• The baby is beginning to use its thumb in opposition to other fingers.
• The baby's spleen will start to work with the liver to remove old red blood cells and to create antibodies.
• The baby's muscles in the cheeks are strengthening with sucking motions and salivary glands are beginning to function.

Baby's Size (head to rump) this week: About 3.5 to 4 inches.
Weight : About 1 ounce

Right now your baby is about the size of your computer mouse or small fist.

I sure am anxious to meet this little stinker. :)

Life is good.

I was just sitting here at my desk doing some last minute things before leaving for the day and a feeling just hit me. I am utterly content with my life at the moment. I think what I'm feeling is pure happiness. :)

Slowly, but surely...

I finally made it back to the gym yesterday after work! Woohoo! Actually, I'd gone one time a couple of weeks ago and was on the treadmill for about 30 minutes. Last night, I actually did a few weight machines and the treadmill. It was way crowded and hard to get to the machines I wanted. I'm going to have to get back into the habit of going to bed early and getting up in the mornings. It's just better that way...getting it done in the morning and not having to worry about it for the rest of the day. For example, tonight we are going to dinner at a Japanese restaurant so I won't make it to the gym. I am just so glad to be getting some of my energy back. It was really starting to get a little discouraging.

I'm still having trouble "feeling" pregnant. Some days I just feel like I'm gaining weight and getting nothing but fat. Other days, my tummy seems like it's getting rounder and actually looking like a pregnant belly instead of just a fat belly. I know there's a little person growing in there but it's hard to explain. I think I'm set on colors for the nursery but we really haven't shopped for furniture or nursery items yet. Actually, we haven't bought one single baby item yet. Sometimes I think that's weird and other times I think it's pretty normal. I want C and I to be the ones to buy the very first baby item. I guess it's just a sentimental thing. Maybe that will all change once we find out the sex of the baby and I start feeling the little munchkin move around. Have I mentioned how totally psyched I am about feeling it? I can't wait!

Speaking of the sex of the baby. I had a dream over the weekend that the doctor told us we were having a boy. I've thought all along that it's a boy. Watch me be completely wrong about that. LOL!

Week 13

As I mentioned yesterday, today marks week 13 in the pregnancy which means the fetus is 11 weeks. This is its development and progress thus far:

The growth of your baby is rapid and the head to rump length will double in the next 3 weeks. The baby's vocal cords are developing in the larynx but the baby will not make sounds until birth. This week all of the baby's twenty baby teeth have formed in the gums!

Other changes that are happening:

-Your baby's external genitalia are starting to show distinguishing characteristics.
-The baby's intestines are moving from the umbilical cord to the abdomen.
-The baby's pancreas is now producing insulin.
-Baby's Size and Weight this week: About 2 1/2 to 3 inches.

Right now your baby is about the size of a nectarine.

The entire creation of a baby is just amazing and quite difficult to comprehend sometimes. In my opinion, almost mind blowing.

I didn't sleep so great last night. Actually, I was doing great until about 4ish and I had to get up to pee. That's not unusual because it happens several times during the night. I just lay back down and go to sleep. That has taken some adjustment on my part because I have always been one to sleep through the night.

Well, last night I was unable to go back to sleep. I laid there and my mind just started wandering and the next thing I know my stomach is growling. I couldn't believe I was hungry. Well, I could actually, but in my mind I should have been going back to sleep. So I got up and had a toasted English muffin with peanut butter and a glass of milk. That is one of my favorite snacks lately.

Afterwards, I laid back down and was back to dreamland in no time. Which brings me to my strange dream. Strange dreams are pretty frequent for me lately. Shortly after finding out I was pregnant I used to dream that I met my baby in my dreams. After telling C this he would say to me before going to sleep, "tell our kid I say 'hey'." :) Then those dreams stopped and I would dream about sex all the time. Which was strange because sex, lately, has not been at the top of my list. The sex dreams stopped and now they are just plain strange.

Last night's dream consisted of me in Africa, except Africa was way smaller. So small I could stand in the middle of it and see either sides of the coast. I should have written this down because I have forgotten a lot of it already but I do know that there were some famous people like the guy that played in that 80s movie, White Knights, with Mikhail Baryshnikov. I cannot for the life of me remember his name at the moment. The ocean waves came into land so far that it seemed like the water would completely cover this entire country. It was just weird. I wonder why I even bothered writing about this. :)

Expanding backside.

Tomorrow will mark my 13th week of pregnancy. Almost to the finish line of the first trimester. Woohoo! I am hoping I will be loaded with tons of energy. This not having any energy is really wearing me down...literally.

So, I'm standing in front of the bathroom mirror this morning getting ready for work. I have already made a deal with myself to try to not get upset about any weight gain during the pregnancy. I am trying to eat right and only eat "bad" things every once in a while. The only real issues I have with weight gain are the gains in my arse and my thighs. I haven't a problem with my belly at all. I mean, seriously, there's a whole little person growing in there. Of course the waistline is going to expand, I just don't want my thighs expanding.

Anyway.....while standing in front of the mirror I have noticed that my hips seem to be spreading. I guess they are supposed to do that. Might have to post that question to a message board on babyfit.com and see what sort of response I get. Some other body changes include bigger boobs. Sometimes I think they are bigger and sometimes I just think they have filled out more, if that makes sense. I think I do need a couple of new bras to accommodate them. The straps on the one today have been falling down constantly and driving me nuts all day. A woman constantly pulling up her bra strap is about as attractive as a woman constantly picking her underwear out of her butt. :) My boobs are super sore but mostly in the mornings and at night. I have noticed a slight difference there so maybe that will be another symptom relieved once the second trimester begins.

Speaking of shopping for new undergarments....I went shopping at lunch for new undies. I can't seem to get into shopping for some reason. Maybe I should try not going during lunch when my time is somewhat restricted.

There were other things I wanted to note in this entry but can't remember them right now. Another symptom of pregnancy. Oh yeah! My lower abdomen. Been having some odd feelings of stretching usually when I stand up. The only way I can really describe it. I also get what can only be described as very mild menstrual cramps. From my reading, I have discovered that is my uterus growing. Woohoo! I am really looking forward to being able to feel the baby move. That is going to be quite an experience.

My hubby, the most wonderful one in the world, is driving me to another city in another state to eat at my favorite Chinese restaurant, P.F. Chang's, for dinner Saturday night. I simply cannot wait.

Excuse me.

My biggest complaint about pregnancy so far? The gas. Jeez. I have never had so much problem in my entire life as I do right now with the stuff. Everything that goes into my mouth causes it so there's no avoiding it. Seriously, my insides are rumbling before I ever even finish eating! Hopefully, that will disappear soon, too. :)

Relapse

I was beginning to feel better last week. I had a little more energy and didn't feel so blah. This weekend I started to feel tired and dragging ass again. Today is pretty bad because I also have a headache. It's bad enough that I'm contemplating going home. I just want to crawl under my desk and go to sleep so I'm really not getting much work done anyway.

My aunt told me a few weeks ago that she had the same problem with being so tired during her first trimester. She said that as soon as the first day of the second trimester started she instantly had all this energy. I hope that happens to me.

Right now, all I can seem to do is complain. I know, what fun to read. My entire body seems to be breaking out. Not just my face but my neck, chest, back, and even my thighs. My skin is itchy...everywhere. I'm moody and it doesn't take much to just completely piss me off. I feel like a mean ole ogre most of the time. Poor C. He really gets the brunt of it too.

I am really looking forward to feeling to better.

I'll just have water.

Last night we went to a restaurant that has the best shrimp and grits EVER. Naturally, that's what I chose for my entree. We had a bit of a wait seeing as how it was Friday night and all. So, we sat at the bar. Normally, that would consist of a glass of wine for me and conversation with C while waiting for our table. Instead it was a Beam and Coke for him and a glass of water for me. When we were on the cruise last month I had several virgin drinks of pina coladas or strawberry dacquiris. Which was fine because those drinks are so yummy with or without alcohol. Actually, they taste better without the alcohol. Damn, did I really just say that?

While sitting at the bar last night, waiting for the table, and watching some stupid golf on the television above the bar I just grew increasingly irritated. I think I was just pissy because a) I was hungry and b) I really miss wine. I miss the taste and the warm fuzzy feeling it gives going down. I've done plenty of reading that says that since they really don't know what amount of alcohol affects the fetus, it's best to abstain from it all. Then I read other things and even hear one of my other pregnant friends say it's okay to have a glass every now and then. I thought about it last night. I tried to reason that I would just have one glass, maybe even just a half, and I would be drinking it with a heavy meal. I decided against it.

I am in week 12 of my pregnancy, which makes the fetus 10 weeks old. I started thinking about how tiny it still is. How the brain and all its little insides are still developing and growing. I just couldn't bring myself to order that glass of wine. I started thinking about something happening to the baby just because I couldn't wait a little longer for a glass of wine. So no wine for me for a little while. Maybe after I'm out of the first trimester and closer to the end. Maybe a sip here or there, but otherwise, I'll just wait. It'll be worth it.

We had a very nice dinner. A tasty appetizer of fried ravioli, my delicious shrimp and grits and even dessert. Afterwards, we were both so ready for home and bed. Bedtime comes early these days. We managed to make it to the bar for E's birthday celebration. I don't even think we stayed an entire hour. And, yes, I had water there, too. :)

P.S. Figured out how to post pics. Here's the ultrasound from yesterday. Ain't it cute?

Doctor visit update.

The visit to the doctor this morning was good. We got to actually meet Dr. E and I really like him. A couple of nurses tried to find the heartbeat with a wand-thingy they run over the belly. My uterus is still really low and we couldn't hear the heartbeat. C and I were glad to hear that we would have to have another ultrasound. We were both excited as we have been wanting to see the munchkin again and didn't want to wait until the end of February. It was amazing to see it pop up on the screen. It's really grown a lot and the heartbeat was there, just as speedy as ever. We were most pleased and content. :)

Then came the exam. Yuck. It was almost just like the yearly physical. There was the boob exam and the use of that damned speculum. It was 100 times more awkward than normal since C was in there as well. I just laughed. The doctor starts mushing on my boobs and all I can do is laugh. LOL! It was pretty quick and over with before I knew it. Basically, we are doing great and everything is progressing just as it is supposed to.

As soon as I can figure out how to post a picture, I'll post the ultrasound. Can't write much now. I need to get some work done. :)

First breath.

Hello! Off to the doctor. Be back soon. :)