10 Weeks and a UTI

I had my first OBGYN appointment last Friday. I was measured right on target at 9 weeks and 2 days which makes today 10 weeks! My due date is technically the 18th of July but because I have to have a scheduled c-section I will deliver closer to the 11th of July. They like to deliver scheduled c-sections a week early (39 weeks) so that there is less of a chance I will go in to labor on my own. It doesn't make a huge difference to me although it's really concerning Brodie. He's worried that with a July 11th c-section I might miss his 7th birthday party. TOTALLY understandable! I'm going to do my best to be at Brodie's birthday party.

This week's symptoms are pretty normal for 1st trimester. I'm hungry, gassy, tired and get heart burn. On top of all that I have a lovely holiday Urinary Tract Infection! I went to the doctor today and they gave me some pregnancy safe antibiotics. I'm hoping to feel better in that arena really soon.

Health wise our whole little family is sick. Carly has a fever and is coughing up a storm. Eric is congested and I have both a UTI and a mild head cold. It's a fun time of year! LOL I really wish I could have a conference call with Santa and request that we push Christmas out to March. Our family is not only sick but just very unprepared for the holiday! We didn't even get a chance to send out our famous Christmas card this year.

Here is the lovely portrait from last weeks appointment:




Here is the report from babycenter.com...

How your baby's growing:

Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.

He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.

If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

How your life's changing:

Before you got pregnant, your uterus was the size of a small pear. By this week, it's as big as a grapefruit. You may or may not be ready for maternity wear now. Even if you're not there yet, your regular clothes are probably feeling uncomfortably tight and your blossoming breasts are straining the seams of your bra. The thickening in your midsection is most likely due to slight weight gain and bloating. If you're between regular and maternity clothes, pants and skirts with forgiving elastic waistbands (or low-rise waistlines that sit below your belly) will provide some much-needed comfort.

Depending on your level of fitness, you can most likely participate in a wide range of activities during pregnancy. Swimming and walking are excellent choices for the whole nine months. Exercise promotes muscle tone, strength, and endurance — three qualities that can help you carry the weight you gain during pregnancy, prepare you for the physical stress of labor, and make it easier to get back into shape after your baby is born. (Unfortunately, there's no evidence that regular exercise shortens labor.)

9 Weeks!

9 weeks today!

For the last two days I've been feeling less tired. I've been able to stay up later and wake up feeling fine. I hope this continues. I won't go so far as to say I'm over the tired hump but I'll take what I can get.

I don't really have any new symptoms other than my boobs are starting to hurt (Sorry Bryan) and are getting bigger. It's not my favorite part of pregnancy because I know I'm going to end up looking like a line backer but Eric seems to enjoy it.

My first doctors appointment and ultra sound is on Friday. I'm really looking forward to it. I feel like it will make this whole thing more real for me. Not that it's not real but I definitely think you get more of a connected with the baby when you can see it bouncing on the screen. (Even if it is just the size of a gummy bear.)

It has been annouced! Friends, Family and Facebook have gotten the offical word about the pregnancy. This means we have officially announced! Yay!

From babycenter.com

How your baby's growing:

Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

How your life's changing:

You still may not look pregnant even if your waist is thickening a bit. You probably feel pregnant, though. Not only are morning sickness and other physical symptoms out in full force for most women, but you may feel like an emotional pinball as well.

Mood swings are common now — it's perfectly normal to feel alternately elated and terrified about becoming a parent. Try to cut yourself some slack. Most women find that moodiness flares up at around six to ten weeks, eases up in the second trimester, and then reappears as pregnancy winds to a close.

Barfy

Week 8 had me feeling a little barfy after I ate. I would super crave something and then want to barf after I ate it. It's strange. I have a love hate relationship with food. I now have a stash of Tums at my desk to help. I have come to realize that I really like Tums "Smoothies" in the Peppermint flavor! They're the most refreshing. LOL

Week 8

Not much exciting to report this week other than the sore throat stuff. The week has really flown by, actually. I think it's because I was busy thinking about everything above the shoulders and it took my mind off my belly. I wish the rest of this trimester would go this fast. (Not because I'm misrable -- but the first trimester is BORING!) I'm excited to get to the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. They are much more fun and I will start to feel the baby move (my favorite).

Here is what babycenter.com has to say about my 8th week:

How your baby's growing:

New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

How your life's changing:

You may notice that your bra is getting more snug. Soon you'll likely need a larger size with better support. Rising levels of hormones cause breast growth and other tissue changes, all in preparation for lactation. Your breasts may continue to grow throughout pregnancy. Don't be surprised if you go up a cup size or two, especially if it's your first baby. Keep this in mind, and allow for room to grow when investing in a new bra.

Feeling fatigued? Hormonal changes — in particular, a dramatic rise in progesterone — may be contributing to your sluggishness. Nausea and vomiting can certainly cost you energy, too. And you may be having trouble getting a good night's sleep at this point, especially if you're uncomfortable or find you need to get up to pee.

Sick And Tired - But On The Mend!

The last 10 days I have been suffering from a terrible sore throat. So bad that I would wake up in the morning and feel like I couldn't close my mouth all the way. And at night I was near tears. Being pregnant there was very little I could take over the counter to help with the pain/symptoms. By the end of this last weekend I was convinced that I had strep. Off to the doctor I went on Monday for a strep test that came back negative. I could have cried. This diagnosis meant no antibiotics, no treatment at all -- and because I'm pregnant the doctor told me he could not give me anything for the pain. **insert tears here** Luckily, he did send me off to an Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist though which left me feeling a little bit hopeful.

The ENT helped me! Being tired from pregnancy and sick with some sort of super virus is about zero percent fun -- but after meeting with the ENT I was cheered. He was very kind and understanding and told me A) there ARE antibiotics I can take while pregnant and B) they had something for the pain. Yesss! They confirmed that what I had was either a nasty virus or a bacterial infection that the strep test didn't pick up. They gave me an antibiotic and a "magic mouth wash" that helps with the pain. Just knowing that I'm treated has improved my mood by a MILLION and with that I'm starting to feel on the mend. Mornings and nights are still uncomfortable but at least I'm medicated!

Week 7!

Nothing really amazing to report this week other than I have an annoying cold and can't really take anything. Other than that I'm still feeling the same. I do feel less cranky though -- for now. *wink* Sleep is my best friend and so is lunchtime. I don't have any particular cravings but soup has been souding really good to me these last couple of days! Maybe it's the head cold or maybe it's the weather?

I'm getting more and more excited to find out what we're having in February. I think it will be fun to find out this time around. A whole new expirience!

I'm not going to be planning a new nursery for this baby as our current nursery is gender neutral -- but I'll be designing Carly a big girl room that I'm really excited about! I'm thinking pink, purple and fairies! Oh, and glitter of course!

Read below to see how the baby and I are growing!

How your baby's growing:

The big news this week: Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.

If you could see inside your womb, you'd spot eyelid folds partially covering her peepers, which already have some color, as well as the tip of her nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of your baby's brain are growing, and her liver is churning out red blood cells until her bone marrow forms and takes over this role. She also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in your baby's growing intestines is bulging into her umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from her tiny body.


How your life's changing:

Your uterus has doubled in size in the past five weeks, and eating may feel like a chore — or worse — thanks to morning sickness, which by now may be in full swing. (If you're feeling fine, don't worry — you're lucky!)

You may need to pee more than usual, too, thanks to your increasing blood volume and the extra fluid being processed through your kidneys. (By now, you already have about 10 percent more blood than you did before you were pregnant. And by the end of your pregnancy, you'll have 40 to 45 percent more blood running through your veins to meet the demands of your full-term baby.) As your uterus grows, pressure on your bladder will send you to the bathroom as well.

About half of the women who feel nauseated during the first trimester will find complete relief by about 14 weeks. For most of the rest, it'll take another month or so for the queasiness to ease up. It's unlikely, though, that the need to pee more than usual will ease up. In fact, research shows that both the frequency and volume of urine tends to increase over the course of pregnancy.

6 Weeks!

Hello!

Today marks the 6th week for me! Supposedly our baby is the size of a sweat pea right now -- but my gut looks like our baby is the size of a grapefruit. I am BLOATED. It's a very unsexy side of early pregnancy but it's reality. I am wearing my bella band at work so I can walk around with my pants unbuttoned and I spend most of my time in sweetpants at home. Loose baggy ones. =) It's a little disappointing that I can't really walk around with maternity clothes on at 6 weeks. I'll look rediculous and have to explain to everyone that I simply have a gas baby sticking out as the human baby is still neatly tucked behind my pelvic bone. As unlady like as it is to be this...eh em...gassy...**blush**...it's all a good sign that things are working normally. I'm relieved that Eric loves me and that he is trapped in this marriage thus unable to move out simply because I'm gassy. He's being very understanding to my face. =)

3 more weeks until my first OBGYN appointment. I'm REALLY looking forward to that so I can tell the world I'm pregnant. I hate keeping secrets! Besides -- I'm ready to be out with it! I want to start planning and doing and moving forward with nesting.

Here is the medical side of what is going on inside my body. Please take note of the 2nd paragraph which addresses the Pregnancy Schizophrenia I wrote about earlier! ah ha! I told you!

How your baby's growing:

This week's major developments: The nose, mouth, and ears that you'll spend so much time kissing in eight months are beginning to take shape. If you could see into your uterus, you'd find an oversize head and dark spots where your baby's eyes and nostrils are starting to form. His emerging ears are marked by small depressions on the sides of the head, and his arms and legs by protruding buds. His heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through his body. His intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to his lungs has appeared. His pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of his brain, muscles, and bones. Right now, your baby is a quarter of an inch long, about the size of a lentil.

How your life's changing:

You may find yourself developing a bit of a split personality — feeling moody one day and joyful the next. Unsettling as this is (especially if you pride yourself on being in control), what you're going through is normal. Ricocheting emotions are caused partly by fluctuating hormones. But hormones aside, your life is about to change in a big way — and who wouldn't feel emotional about that?

Spotting (spots of blood on your underpants or toilet tissue after urinating) or bleeding is relatively common in early pregnancy, affecting up to a quarter of pregnant women. It may occur in a normal pregnancy, but sometimes it can be the first sign of miscarriage or an ectopic pregnancy. If you have any spotting or bleeding, call your provider.