November 27, 2007

Five Weeks

I just found out one week ago that I'm pregnant. I took the test on Tuesday, November 20th, the same day my period was due. I didn't really have a hunch or anything - I was just bored at work and the tests are right there, so I took one [side note: I work at a hospital laboratory where I test blood, urine and other body fluids for various things, and pregnancy is one of those things]. I called my husband from the bathroom when two purple lines showed up. His first reaction was, "Are you sure?" to which I gently replied that I do this for a living!! Once he realized I was sure, he said "I knew you were!" We're so excited to be having this baby, and we can't wait to go to our first doctor's appointment on December 10th.

You know what keeps going through my head? Those cheesy commercials/public service announcements that end with the line, "Having a baby changes everything..."

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January 13, 2008

11 weeks, 5 days

My first doctor's appointment was pretty normal. Since I didn't know the exact length of my last few cycles, we scheduled an ultrasound for December 19th to check the dates. The baby measured at exactly what my guess was for his estimated date of conception. On Dec 19th, I was 8 weeks, 1 day.

We had our second doctor's appointment on Jan 7th where she used a doppler to hear the baby's heartbeat. She said the baby's heartbeat is 180 but for a baby at 11 weeks she said that is normal. She told us the heartbeat would slow down as time went by.

Everything is looking good so far; the only thing I can complain about are the dreaded first trimester symptoms. I've been EXHAUSTED. I never believed anyone when they told me I'd be so tired. I have to sleep at least 10 hours a night or I feel like I'm a zombie. And I still feel like a zombie anyway! One surprising symptom is depression. A couple of times now I have cried for an hour or so before falling asleep. I also have completely lost my libido, and it leaves me feeling guilty and sad. I've felt queasy and nauseated a lot, sort of the same kind of sickness as when you read in the car [motion sickness], and I've had a lot of mucus in my throat that kinda feels like it's gagging me. I can only thank God I haven't thrown up yet. One weird symptom is that last night when we were driving home from the movies, I felt my stomach get really hot, like I had a small heating pad inside my shirt, but it only lasted for about 20 minutes. Also I'm completely ravenous all the time! I eat maybe every 3 hours, and I feel SO hungry. I'll eat 4 bites and feel completely full, and my stomach puffs up really big, and then five minutes later I'm hungry again.

Ever since the ultrasound, I have known that there's really a little person in there.

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