12 weeks 2 days

12 weeks: Baby is growing into a peach this week. It's intestines are moving out of the umbilical cord and into it's abdomen. It's vocal chords are forming but fortunately we won't be hearing any crying for many more months. We are quickly closing in on the second trimester!

Symptoms: Still getting hit with some crazy fatigue out of the blue. Today I washed our sheets, cleaned the toilets in the bathrooms, sorted a bunch of mail, and cleaned out the refrigerator. I was on a roll and then suddenly I hit a wall and passed out on the couch for about an hour. I woke up groggy and have been trying to get back into the groove since then. Still, some days I feel a little better. I feel like I have developed restless leg syndrome. I've read that it's not uncommon during pregnancy. I feel like my legs get jumpy when I'm relaxing in the evenings and lasts all night. I also have a hard time sleeping. The doctor says it's hormones. I guess it's practice for when the baby gets here.

Cravings/Aversions: Today I've been craving what I can't have: deli meats. I want a turkey sandwich with swiss on a Hawaiian roll. I can have it if I microwave the meat but it's not the same. I also want a spicy chicken sandwich but I don't have the motivation to go out and get it. Mushrooms are back in the picture; I had some the other day and liked them just fine.

News this week: We had an ultrasound on Friday. It was amazing! I don't know how to explain it but it's like I don't always realize there's a growing baby in there.  I think I imagine it the way I first saw it at 6 weeks. So to see it jump and move around when the lady poked around at my belly. . it was miraculous! I probably sound like every gushy first-time mom but now I know how they feel. It was amazing to know that it was moving around and I couldn't even feel it. And it looks like a baby! A tiny little baby. It's half me and half Carl and it's growing every day. I think it's sinking in and I can't believe how much I love it already.

11 weeks 3 days

11 weeks: Well, baby should be the size of a large plum by the end of the week. It has some reflexes at this point so if I push on my belly, supposedly it will respond and move around but I still can't feel it. Most systems are formed now so it's all about growing and getting all those new organs to work.

Symptoms: I seem to be getting more headaches than usual but that isn't a surprise since I'm sure my hormones are crazy. My extreme fatigue gave me a break the other day and I thought I might be turning a corner but it was back yesterday and today. I have also been having some significant round ligament pain when I stretch or sneeze.

Cravings/Aversions: Nothing too new. Eggs are kind of gross lately but I try to eat them just to get some protein. My appetite has improved since the nausea has worn off and I eat pretty much normally now, which is nice.

News for the week: Carl and I bought a dresser for the baby room. We wanted to buy the crib but it was out of stock. We also ordered a glider for the room for late night feedings! I can't wait to get some of the furniture set up in the room so it looks like a baby space.
We also bought a gender prediction test from the pharmacy. We know the likelihood that it is correct is probably 50/50 but it is fun. So today I took the test. I mixed my urine with some sort of crystals and waited 5 minutes. If it stayed yellow or turned sort of orange it meant girl. If it turned green it meant boy. And. . . . . it says boy. Carl was excited. So I guess we'll see!

10 weeks 1 day

10 weeks: Baby will be the size of a lime by the end of the week. It can do somersaults but it is too early for me to feel them. It's head is the size of the rest of it's body.

Symptoms: Nausea is very sporadic at this point which I'm thankful for. Still very exhausted. Can't help but think this must be a combination of pregnancy fatigue and the fact that my blood pressure medication has been increased pretty much every two weeks since we started. I don't think my body is getting time to adjust, thus I feel tired as hell!  I have been getting headaches pretty regularly but I'm not surprised as I'm sure my hormones are crazy. Speaking of hormones, I cry easily and get angry very quickly. I am very impatient with people that are making me angry or frustrated and I feel myself wanting to say something when I would normally hold my tongue. Otherwise, I have had some leg cramping but nothing too crazy.

Cravings/Aversions: Carl and I went out for steak the other night and he got a steak with mushrooms on top. I robbed one from his plate because I love mushrooms. . . . loved. Apparently they taste gross right now. Or at least at that particular moment. I almost spit it out. Loving rice krispie treats. I'm not sure what about them I crave but just thinking about them in the pantry makes me want to put the computer down and get one right now. I have been drinking fruit smoothie every morning to try to get more fruit in my diet and so far that hits the spot.

Big news this week: Carl and I heard the baby's heart beat! We bought one of those home fetal dopplers (thank you Carl for humoring me) and I've been trying for a few days. Last night I was trying and trying but only succeeded in finding my own heartbeat. Carl came in to give it a try and after several minutes we found it! It was elusive and we lost it shortly after we found it. It was such a relief to hear it. I'm not going to turn into one of those ladies that calls the doctor as soon as I can't find it because I realize that chances are the baby is just swimming around or hiding. But I have to say I couldn't help but wonder "how do we know it's really ok in there?" Hearing the heartbeat reassured me that it is alive and well in there. I cried of course. I am a proud mama. Carl was quite pleased too. I found it again this morning and was able to hold on to it long enough to get a rate. It was beating at a respectable rate of 158.  I read a lot of online pregnancy forums and some women say they wish they could skip the pregnancy and go right to having the baby. I'm not exactly feeling awesome and going to the doctor EVERY two weeks is not fun but I can't imagine missing these moments. I can't wait to feel it move or find out it's gender. And ultrasounds seeing it suck it's thumb or blow bubbles. This is something not everyone gets to experience and I want to absorb every minute of it.

9 weeks 1 day

9 weeks: This week baby is working up to the size of a prune. Teeth buds are forming and it is moving it's very tiny arms and legs.

Symptoms: I have had nausea since early on, luckily with very little vomiting. Things are finally starting to ease up and I can eat fairly normally. I do find myself getting full pretty easily and can rarely  finish everything I put on my plate. That never used to be a problem! My skin is bad. I look like a teenager. It's seems that during pregnancy I am prone to zits right on the end of my nose! I wake up looking like Rudolph. I have some pulling sensations in my abdomen which are caused by everything growing and stretching. I have to pee all the time. I thought this came later when the baby is jumping on your bladder but evidently pregnancy makes your kidneys work more efficiently and you begin running to the bathroom fairly early on. Finally, this might be TMI but hey, you ARE reading a pregnancy blog, my boobs hurt. Even the seatbelt brushing across them causes me to tense!

Cravings/Aversions: The other night I was craving a cheese sandwich (tasted awesome!), love tangerines, juice of any kind, Chinese food (but I crave that normally so maybe that's not a baby thing). I hate the smell of coconut and I currently don't like onion rings. Nothing to crazy so far!

I hope to start posting bump pictures soon. I'm ashamed to say I have a bit of a belly already. I wasn't skinny before and since I've been pregnant I have lost all ability to suck in my gut. I know whatever bump I had is just bloat at this point but the fact of the matter is my pants are tight and I just don't care what's causing it. Interestingly enough, I have actually lost weight but you'd never be able to tell it!

It's official!

I have been waiting for quite some time to start this. It's seems as though when you have created something out of virtually nothing you get this crazy urge to brag about it! Just kidding. But I have been bursting at the seams to talk about this since we found out. So let's begin there: how we found out.
I'd love to say everything was a giant surprise but that wasn't so. Unfortunately, I have hypertension and becoming pregnant on my regular medication wouldn't have been healthy for the baby so we switched to something more baby-friendly (but less effective) before we started trying. Immediately I was on alert for pregnancy symptoms but after a freak bloody nose I tested and it came back negative so I told myself to tone it down a bit. Probably about a week later it was the weekend and I was super lazy/tired. We went to breakfast with some family and I found it hard to get interested in a breakfast I would normally have loved. That evening Carl and I were relaxing on the couch and, I don't know what made me do it but, I got up and went to the bathroom to take another test. It was the two-pink-line variety and I immediately got just the control line. Our trash can was without liner and I went to get one. When I returned. . .there was a second pink line! I almost threw a positive test away because I was too impatient to wait! Then of course I thought "what do I do?" Carl finally came to check on me and all I could think to say was, "there are two pink lines!" Of course he was confused because he didn't even know I had tested. We went to the store to buy back-up tests which were all positive. We were both completely shocked because it had happened so fast. We both anticipated months of trying before we had any results. It is one thing to talk about getting pregnant and another to actually be pregnant! I think we both very a little bit panic at first!