The Pregnancy Chronicles

Week 4 (12/19) Sore, sore, SORE boobs...it hurt to walk. Extremely emotional. The theme song from "Growing Pains" made me cry (C'mon--COME ON! "As long as we got each other?!" It's sweet, right?). Lots of cramping.

Week 5 (12/26) See symptoms from above...a bit less emotional this week, although I had one instance of going from laughing to crying in an instant. Manned up and took the pregnancy test. There it was....the second faint pink line. I feel much more calm than I thought I would. Bought a lamp for the nursery because it was soso cute and very cheap. Call and make my first doctor's appointment. Wonder--does the hubs go with me for this one? How in the everlovin' world are we going to pay for this? Can we qualify for Medicaid? Oh please, say yes. Lots more of that "out of breath" feeling this week.

Week 6 (1/2) Hello, morning sickness. It is NOT nice to meet you. Especially when I am on vacation and must eat every meal seated with at least five other people watching what I'm doing. Y'all, I want a gold star or something. I managed to choke down almost every meal, and I kept my butt seated right there at that table, cold sweat and all. I didn't actually throw up this week, but the nausea.....oh, the nausea. I've noticed that other than the smell of onions, the smell isn't really what gets me--it's the sight of food. Good: grits, pasta, rice...anything bland and starchy. Trigger foods: Meat in any kind of pieces (ground beef, sausage, shredded pork...vom), onion, garlic, anything fluffy (like bread). I ate approximately three complete meals the entire week, and everything else was small bites here and there. I offered the excuse that I was really stressed out (which is kind of true...it's just not why I couldn't eat). I have almost NO appetite...but I keep trying to nibble on little bites here and there for the sake of the tot. Can no longer watch Food Network because the sight of food nauseates me. Pretty convinced I'm having a boy (just because that's what I feel, not attributed to any symptoms).

Week 7 (1/9) Week 7 brought me my first "hanging over the sink praying for mercy" moment. Still haven't thrown up, still content to keep it that way. Experiencing a pregnancy symptom no one ever talks about--THIRST. Oh my goodness, I cannot get enough to drink. I feel like the worst mommy ever...my diet has been anything but balanced. I haven't had protein in, like, three days. There have been two days where I couldn't even get the prenatal IN my mouth, I've been sipping Coke (not even half a bottle, though, so way less than the maximum amount recommended), and I've had more than my fair share of salty food. I feel SO guilty, but at the same time, I've been having such a hard time getting any food into my mouth that I eat whatever I can tolerate so that there's at least some caloric intake. Pickles, olives, air-popped popcorn, pudding, lemon ices, and crackers are all tolerable right now. I try not to overdo the salty stuff, but I feel so ill if I get too hungry...I had a few good days this week where I felt really good. Then, one night, Mr. ABC123 decided to cook hamburger. It sent me running to the bedroom in a cold sweat. He made me spaghetti (just noodles, no sauce) to eat instead. I took one bite and stopped--it tasted like hamburger. I couldn't eat it because it had been cooked in the same area as the hamburger. Ridic. So instead, I'm slowly nursing a lemon ice, because I can keep it down. We must keep this stuff in the house through the rest of the first trimester....and I'm implementing a ban on all ground meats NOW. First prenatal appointment this week...and yup, we're having a baby.

Week 8 (1/16) Some days, I feel great as long as I can eat often enough to keep food in my stomach. Other times, it's a real effort. It's wierd--I can be hungry, eat two snack-size portions of food, and immediately feel uncomfortably full for about an hour--then, I'm ready to eat again. Our first ultrasound is scheduled for the 24th, when I'll be 9w1d (when you're uninsured, or "self pay" as the office so tactfully puts it, they send you out for ultrasounds and bloodwork so that it's cheaper). Still have sore boobs and am extremely tired--by the time I get home in the afternoon, I'm literally moving in slow motion. My husband is a rockstar. I don't think I've cooked a meal since I found out I was pregnant. He's absolutely unbelievable.

Week 9 (1/23) I welcomed week 9 with my first round of throwing up...although I actually don't think it had anything to do with being pregnant. I was going to grade papers, but I spent the rest of the day on the couch looking at baby items. So far, we've picked a crib and changing table (we already have a dresser). I've picked out 4 or 5 carseat options to research, and found some different items at Target and Babies R Us to register for when the time is right. I've finally noticed an increase in my...ahem, size. I feel like I have chest all the way up to my chin. My standard bra does not fit. Our little tot graduates to a fetus this week, we saw him/ her for the first time, and we heard a heartbeat. Although my official due date is still 8/28, the ultrasound tech says that I actually looked to be due on 9/1 (my mom's birthday!!). The doctor won't change it unless it's more than a week from my original EDD, but I'm already planning closer to 9/1, because I know that I ovulated late. Just a few more weeks until we can share our news....please keep growing, baby....especially now that we've heard your little heartbeat. The only other moment that even came close to being that amazing this week was when the ultrasound tech called us "Mommy and Daddy." I'm going to be a mommy.


Week 10 (1/30) Keeping the secret is getting harder....I want to share. I have horrible, horrible heartburn. It feels like someone slit all the veins in my chest with a razor, went all the way up to my neck, and into my jaws. More throwing up this week thanks to the migraine, and the nausea is beastly. I caught a cold from hubby, so here's how my 2011 has gone: morning sickness, stomach virus, migraine, cold, cough. The cough is the worst part, because I'm so congested. So you get all this congestion stuck in your throat and you constantly feel like you're choking. Plus, my gag reflex is on a hair trigger from all the throwing up, so I've been terrified that I'll start coughing and start gagging in front of the kids. I'm terrified to eat anything for fear of coughing/gagging/ throwing up, so I KNOW that my nutrition sucks for the past two weeks...but there's nothing I can do about it. I'm eating what I can, which isn't much. I saw a PICTURE of a salad and became overwhelmingly nauseated. When I walk into our bathroom, nausea. I drink just a BIT too much carbonated liquid (Sprite or ginger ale)--nausea. Second trimester, please be gentle with me.


Week 11 (2/6) The last day of our 10th week, we told our first people: my parents, my MIL, and hubby's aunt and grandparents. Everyone was absolutely thrilled. I was SO relieved at my parents' reactions--they were SO excited! I started crying from relief after we told them because their reaction was so much better than I could've expected (I was terrified). We're due right around my mother's birthday, so Mr. ABC123 told her that we had her birthday gift already, but if she didn't like it we couldn't take it back. =) Then he handed her the ultrasound picture. She freaked, in the best possible way. Relief. I told my brother and sister in law (the one who was so supportive when we were struggling to get pregnant), and they were very excited for us. I also had to tell my boss and two of my coworkers, because....it happened. I got sick at work. Fortunately I made it to an empty bathroom, but after that I knew that I had to tell my boss and the two teachers I work with the most in case it happened again.

Week 12 (2/13) Week 12! We made it this far! We're officially headed into the second trimester. I still have some nausea, but the foods I'm able to eat have expanded a bit. I was finally able to tell my sister today, as well as my grandmother and my two aunts on my mom's side...they'll take care of telling all my cousins. =) It's more exciting now that some people actually know...but also scary, because once the cat's out of the bag there's no putting it back in. I definitely still have some soreness in my chest, and I can feel my abdomen getting harder. It's not really noticeable to anyone else, but I can't suck it in like I could before.

Week 13 (2/20) Today we told the two closest couples to us at church. They were both very excited for us. It's easier to be excited once you can tell people, and it's such a wonderful feeling to know that other people are excited for you, too. My nausea did not get the memo that we're moving on into the second trimester here...it's still hanging around. I weighed myself...down ten pounds from pre-pregnancy weight. I just...can't....eat. I am hopeful this will go away soon. Oh, and another thing? Your body chemistry changes during pregnancy...sometimes rendering your deod ineffective. Yeah. I can put it on in the morning, and by two hours later, I'm like....*sniff sniff* "Is that....ME?!" Ugh. Dove, we had a lot of good years together, but I have to move on. Miss ya. This week is the week we're supposed to tell the world, and I'm nervous, but I also can't. flippin. wait. Also went to the doctor...she's not happy with me for losing so much weight (I can't HELP it!!), so she's giving me a script for Zofran. I dunno how we're going to afford that with no insurance, but I know it's something I need to step up and do for the baby's sake. I didn't realize they would give me a prescription for something if I wasn't constantly throwing up, but I'm so grateful. It's terrible. It's like you feel yourself starving to death. You KNOW that you're hungry, but you just.can't.eat. So you get hungrier and hungrier, feeling sicker and sicker, and then you start panicking because you know you NEED to eat, and you know that the longer you go without eating, the worse you're going to feel. It's a truly horrible feeling. Today, I felt so unbelievably bad that I told my husband, "If this keeps up, this will be our only baby. Bet on it." (I was miiiiiiiserable). But, I am so grateful for being able to get pregnant, and that the baby has been with us for this long, AND that we have a heartbeat over 150. =)

And NOW....I FINALLY get to hit PUBLISH POST!