7 Weeks

(This is one of a series of scheduled posts that I've written since I found out that Jacob and I were expecting our first child.  The original composition date is included below).

Aug. 30: 7 Weeks

Size of baby: According to babyzone.com, he/she's about the size of a blue berry.  I read this a few days ago, and then, unexpected had blueberries for lunch… it was a little awkward. lol

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I think I’m up about 3 pounds.  It’s hard to tell… I’ve fluctuated by a couple of pounds up and down for months.

Maternity Clothes: Still several weeks off from this… I hope!  Though, I did try on my bridesmaid’s dress for my brother’s wedding in October… it’s tight, not gonna lie.  I think it’s because the extra weight has all happened in my chest!  Makes it very hard to close a zipper!

Gender: I know what I feel/hope it is… but I’m not tellin’!

Movement: Way too early I think.

What I miss: TMI aleart… being able to poop. Lol  This is has been my biggest/most life effecting symptom so far.

Sleep: Sleeping like a rock… until I have to pee. =P

Symptoms: Still a little dizzy in the mornings, but have switched up my schedule so that I eat breakfast first thing… that seems to help.  Also a little nauseous… but more “pre-scary-carnival-ride” nauseous than post. ;)   Also have been absolutely EXHAUSTED!  I spent all of last weekend lying around with no energy to do anything.

Cravings: Food, food and more food.  I’m hungry ALL the time!

Best Moment this week: Starting to actually FEEL pregnant.  I think I’ve been in denial, but the symptoms are finally starting to make it feel real!

(P.S.  I hate the word “symptoms”… makes it sound like a disease!  What other word can I use?)

What I am looking forward to: Telling my parents and brothers!  We’re going to go down this weekend (Labor Day) to visit and I’m going to tell them.  Funny side note: I’m actually at my parents right now writing this… but Jacob wasn’t able to come down (I’m here in the middle of the week for a bridal shower), so I need to keep it a secret… so hard!

6 Weeks

(This is one of a series of scheduled posts that I've written since I found out that Jacob and I were expecting our first child.  The original composition date is included below).

Aug. 23: 6 Weeks

(I stole this set up from another lovely mother to be at From Match to Marriage...  I've really enjoyed reading her blog over the last several weeks as I was hiding my secret!)

Size of baby: According to babyzone.com, our little one is about the size of a pumpkin seed… so small!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I’ve gained a couple of pounds since I last weighed myself, but, after the way I ate last weekend, I suspect that’s more a “food baby” than an actual baby tipping the scale! lol

Maternity Clothes: Still several weeks off from this… I hope!

Gender: I know what I feel/hope it is… but I’m not tellin’!

Movement: Just gas… nothing else. =)

What I miss: Not flinching every time my cat steps on my chest… ow!

Sleep: Better this week than last… I was thinking WAY too much last week!

Symptoms: Getting dizzy in the mornings in the shower… have had to switch to a night shower routine.  Also (TMI warning), having some bouts with constipation… but I hear that that’s normal.  I think my sense of smell has heightened a *little* bit… but it is summer, so they stinkier people on the bus may just actually be stinkier.  Finally, I’m hungry… all the time!

Cravings: Just food in general, nothing in particular.

Best Moment this week: Sitting in the park with Jacob over the weekend and just talking about baby names… was the first time that we’ve had an actual conversation about what is going on inside me!

What I am looking forward to: Telling family and friends.  We’re waiting to tell my family in person, which means we have to wait a little while. =(

Can I Jiggle it Loose?

(This is one of a series of scheduled posts that I've written since I found out that Jacob and I were expecting our first child.  The original composition date is included below).

Aug. 21

I’m petrified of EVERYTHING these days.  Eating the wrong foods (apparently deli meats and soft cheeses are on the no-eat-when-pregnant list… what am I going to eat for lunch for the next 7 months??), not eating the right food, taking medications and, most of all, physical activity.  This is going to sound weird, and feel free to laugh (Jacob did), but I am so scared of shaking the baby “loose”. Lol  It’s so little right now, and just getting it’s “grip” on me.  I’m afraid to ride my bike, I freak out every time I trip on something (and this happens fairly often, I’m pretty accident prone), I freaked out this weekend on a sail boat because it’s motor was jiggling me! It’s getting ridiculous.  Every time I go to the bathroom, I’m scared that there will blood and this whole thing will come crashing down on me.  It’s a horrible way to be living right now.  I’m supposed to be excited and happy.  I’m supposed to be sharing the news with my family… but I’m just worrying so much (I almost burst into tears the other day when I didn’t see a curb and trip a little bit).  I sure hope this gets better!

And It Begins...

(This is one of a series of scheduled posts that I've written since I found out that Jacob and I were expecting our first child.  The original composition date is included below).

Aug. 21

It’s been almost a week since I found out that I was pregnant.  I suspected it a couple of days beforehand, but had “suspected it” before, spent a bunch of money on home pregnancy tests, only to take them, get a negative result, and get my period only a few hours later.  So, this time I decided that I was going to wait until I was a week late before I took one.  And then I changed my mind and decided I was only going to wait five days.  And then I decided that if nothing “happened” by the end of the day I was going to take a test… and then the lunch hour came and I ran to Rite Aid to buy one! =)  I never have been good with patience or surprises. 

So, only four days “late”, and only off of birth control for 3 months, I took a test in the bathroom at work, and… nothing happened!!  No double lines… and not even the “control” single line!  The test just didn’t do anything!  I was annoyed.  But figured it was a sign, so I decided to go back to my last plan and wait until the end of the day to try again.  But, the next time I needed to pee, I was in bathroom again with another test (I’d bought a two pack… it seemed like a good deal) and a paper cup—I wasn’t going to risk user error again by trying to get just the right amount of “stuff” on the stick. 

This time, within seconds, two blue lines appeared.  I was pregnant.  And, of course, I celebrated by pulling out my camera phone and taking a quick shot. =)

I had a very hard time focusing at work for the remainder of the day, but I somehow got through it, taking another quick break to make an appointment with my doctor to verify the home results. 

Jacob picked me up from the transit station that evening after work.  I wasn’t sure how to tell him, or what to say.  So, I e-mailed him the photo I’d taken and waited for him to check his e-mail when we got home.  I think his exact words were “whoa” or something similar.  We were both in shock.  Neither one of us were expecting things to happen quite so fast… but that kind of is our MO, so I don’t know why we were so surprised. 

I was (and still am, a week later) scared shitless.  With some excitement thrown in.  When I asked Jacob how he was feeling, he said, “This should be fun”. =)  Famous last words?

My doctor confirmed the results two days later.  We haven’t told our friends and family yet.  We want to tell our family in person, and with my parents living a couple of hours away, it takes a little bit of planning to make that happen.  Additionally, I’m still a little worried/superstitious/cautious about the “first trimester”, however, as I’ve already illustrated, I am not good with patience, so I don’t think I can bring myself to wait until after the 12^th week to tell people.  It’s killing me right now that I’m not able to shout it from the roof tops and tell everyone I know! =)  We’re going to plan on telling our families over the Labor Day weekend (I’ll be right around 8 weeks at that point).  I will probably tell close friends and coworkers pretty soon after that, and then make the public announcement (i.e. Facebook and blog) when I reach the second trimester.

P.S.  I got a couple of weird "signs" in the days preceding my home pregnancy test... pictures below!

Fortune cookie... I received it the day before I took the test, but still kinda weird

Advertising letter from Gerber... received within the week prior to taking the test. (Don't know why it's sideways, but I can't figure out how to fix it and have decided it's not worth the stress. lol)

News

I haven't blogged much... and I apologize.  But now I can explain!  I HAVE been blogging... just... secretly.  You see, I had some stuff that I wanted to write about, but wasn't ready to make it public, until today... the end of my 13th week. ;)

We're having a baby!

Not the best of images from my appointment yesterday, but apparently the little one is quite the mover!

I've been writing since I found out about 6 weeks ago... and have been TRYING to continue to blog here as well, but it's been complicated to think about anything else. =)

Back in April I had my "yearly" appointment.  I spoke to my doctor about going off of the pill and how long it would take a person like myself (who has been using it for about a decade) to conceive.  I've always had this underlying fear that there was something wrong with me and I wouldn't be able to have children (surprisingly, Jacob admitted the same fear to me), and I figured being medicated for so long (to the point that I no longer even menstruated)  probably wouldn't help matters.  My doctor couldn't give me much information, and just said that different women "bounced back" at different speeds after going off of the pill.  I had her write up a refill prescription, and went home to have a talk with Jacob.

Children had come up.  We both wanted them.  But we'd never really had a SERIOUS conversation about the "when" factor.  When I came home we talked about whether or not I should refill the prescription and, in true Jacob fashion, he told me that we could just "see what happens".  So, I pinned the prescription up on the bulletin board in my office, and finished out the pills I had left.  Three months later, I find out that I'm 6 weeks pregnant.

I know that we were lucky, that some couples have to TRY for a REALLY long time before they conceive, and that others are never successful naturally.  But it really threw us for a loop.  We weren't "trying" we were just not NOT trying.  And, it happened.  It was meant to be I guess, but still kinda freaked me out with the suddenness of it.  I just hope I'm ready for this step!

Over the next week or two I'm going to be posting the tidbits that I've written since we found out the big news.  We are happy, nervous, excited, and still kind of in denial... but definitely looking forward to what the next several months (and years!) have in store for us!