I first thought something was a little weird the beginning of March. My boobs hurt worse than they have ever hurt before, even walking or rolling over in bed made me want to cry, and they hurt way too long for it to be just regular PMS. So I took a home test on March 9th and it turned positive immediately. I didn't even have to wait 5 seconds! I kept the test on the counter and looked at it probably 50 times that day, not believing it was real. I even took a photo of it because I didn't want the result to fade, and then I wouldn't know if I had just imagined it, haha.
A big fat Positive
Anyway, that night I told Scott when he came home from work, and I think we were both feeling a lot of nervous excitement. We knew we wanted a family together and talked about it pretty often, maybe once a year to make sure we were still on the same page. We just never discussed WHEN we would start having kids. So it was a surprise, but definitely a good surprise.
At the end of March Scott took a morning off from work and went with me to my first obgyn appointment. I still didn't believe I was pregnant, and joked with him before the doctor came in that even if there was nothing on the ultrasound, I was just about due for my annual pap so at least the visit wouldn't be a total waste, haha. But then we saw a little blob on the screen with a tiny fluttering heart and we knew we were having a baby.
Our "little snowman" according to my obgyn
It was right around that time that my morning sickness started to set in. I can only describe it as the worst hangover of my life that lasted 24/7 for two months. I never threw up, but I am really good at being able to hold in puke, and there were definitely a few times I had to run to the toilet and drop to my knees and just gag. It was really horrible and the whole time I wondered how people have more than one kid, because the constant nausea is just so terrible. The entire first trimester I only gained 1lb!
Here I am at 10 and 11w. Even though I only gained 1lb, I looked like I gained at least 5. Right before I got pregnant I had lost some weight and my stomach was nice and flat again, so even though I look normal in these pictures, it was depressing to have a muffin top again. Also, I used to make fun of women who said they were "showing" during the first trimester. I was like, Do you even know how small your embryo is? It's the size of a grape! You are not showing! But I have since learned that by week 10 your uterus has doubled in size and your guts are pushed out of the way, causing the muffin top effect. So it's not just bloat and fat, that's good old fashioned guts sticking out in these pictures!
10 weeks
11 weeks
The roses smelled so good!
Around 12w I had my lab work done and everything came back normal except I borderline failed the glucose screen. They usually won't test for that until 28w but I have a family history of diabetes and my doctor wanted to be safe. The cutoff is either 130 or 140, depending on the doctor, and mine was 131. Since I don't have any other risk factors and I was only 1 point over the most strict cutoff, they aren't going to do anything at the moment and will just retest me at 28w. It's kind of scary, since there is nothing I can do to prevent or avoid getting gestational diabetes, it's just how my body reacts to pregnancy. It's also scary because of all the complications it can cause during pregnancy and later in my life.
12 weeks
Right around 13-14w we moved to a new and bigger apartment. I am so thankful for the help of our parents and Erik and friend James. There is absolutely no way we could have done it without everyone's help! At the end of 14 weeks I started to get over the morning sickness, and get my appetite back. Over the next month I gained 10lbs! I also wasn't looking very pregnant and just felt fat and disgusting and stopped taking pictures for a while. (Note: When I took these I never thought I'd share them with the world, but they are the only ones I have so I am SOL!)
14 weeks
15 weeks
16 weeks is when I started to feel the baby move for the first time. It felt like tiny flicks or pops in my lower abdomen, and I only felt it every few days when I was sitting still and concentrating. All I can say is it is super weird and super cool at the same time. Now I feel it throughout the day, and sometimes it's so strong I stop what I'm doing and look down like What the heck!
17 weeks
19 weeks
This past Wednesday I had the big ultrasound at the hospital, and Scott was able to come with me. I had to drink 1 liter of water an hour before the appointment, and then they didn't even take me back right away so I thought I was going to explode. The tech thanked me for following the prep instructions so well, and my reward was I got to pee halfway through, haha. This ultrasound was so much more fun than the 8 week one! For one thing it wasn't a probe with a condom on it, two it lasted at least half an hour, and three the baby was more than just a blob on the screen! We could see him opening and closing his hands, stretching his legs, opening and closing his mouth, and we even saw his eye balls because he was awake the whole time! It was pretty amazing and I wish they gave us a dvd of the ultrasound but at least we got some good pictures.
Kirsten says it looks like he is playing guitar
That's our son! Showing off the goods
We also were able to take a quick tour of the labor and delivery wing at the hospital. It seems nice enough, and I get a private room with a shower and fridge and stuff like that. I can have two visitors at a time, from 10am-8:30pm. There are also a few hotels in the area that give discounted rates, so parents I will be forwarding you that info as November draws near! And I think that's enough blogging for now. I'm driving to Michigan tonight for a 10 day stay, so I'm sure I'll have lots to write about after that!
