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Pregnancy: Weeks 4-12
First of all I want to thank you for your comments on last week’s announcement post. I really have missed blogging, but if I couldn’t talk about being pregnant I didn’t have much to say. In the very beginning I tried to keep a short journal of what was going on week to week, but it kind’ve fell off towards the end. I’ll do my best to fill in the blanks a little bit.
Week 4
So week 4 actually started last Friday. Crazily enough I actually knew I was pregnant when I was about 3 wks and 6 days. That’s what happens when you’re TRYING to have a baby and you have shorter cycles.
To be honest, I kind’ve wish I didn’t know so early. It’s pretty nerve-wracking and being an internet junkie like myself doesn’t help.
Symptoms:
- mild cramping
- sore hips (should this be starting so early?!)
- clearer skin (Yay!)
- REDUCED appetite (we’ll see how long that lasts)
- occasional VERY mild nausea (mostly when I’m hungry)
- fatigue
Yesterday I went to the gynecologist for confirmation. They didn’t do a blood test, just their own urine test and gave me some OBGYN recommendations since my GYN no longer delivers babies.
This morning I called and made an appointment with one of the OB practices and was thrilled that they gave me an appointment for January 4th. I’ll be 7 wks and 5 days at that point and hopefully I’ll get to hear the heartbeat. I’m not sure what to expect, though. The Office Manager at the OB office said we should be able to hear the heartbeat but not to expect an ultrasound. I assumed that meant they’d be using the doppler to hear the heartbeat, but after inquiring on The Bump they say you can’t hear the HB that early with a doppler.
I’m excited about this OB practice because they have a Certified Nurse Midwife on staff and she’s who I’ll be seeing at my first appointment.
Baby is the size of a poppyseed!
Week 5
There wasn’t a whole lot to report this week. No morning sickness, but my stomach did start to protest if I got hungry.
Baby is the size of a sesame seed!
Week 6
The beginning of this week was rough. They say week 6 can often bring the onset of nausea, but mostly what I experience was extreme hunger. I ended up buying mini Clif bars to keep in the bedside table so I could eat one before I get out of bed. If I let the hunger get out of control it was accompanied by nausea.
The last couple of days I tried my best to keep the hunger at bay and mostly succeeded. Unfortunately, I saw the effects on the scale. Going to spend the next 5 days trying to eat better and get to the gym more. I’d like to shoot for at least maintaining my pre-preg weight through the first tri since I was on the high end of a normal BMI to start out with. Fingers crossed.
Baby is the size of a sweet pea or lentil!
Week 7
It’s 2PM on Friday and I just had to unbutton my pants. I’m thinking of going to Target and getting a Belly Band. I’ve done pretty well today with eating healthier: Clif bar, water, Greek yogurt blackberries, cheerios, BBQ chix pizza from CPK & roasted veg salad.
Hard to believe it, but it’s time to start thinking about daycare. We’re hoping Josh’s cousin can be our nanny, but there’s a lot of logistics so we need to have a daycare back-up or for short-term until she sorts stuff out. There are waiting lists at daycares, especially for infants, so we really need to get on it ASAP. Hard to believe how early it needs to done!!
…later in Week 7
We saw our baby for the first time! He/she had a heartbeat!
Everything was measuring on track and I can’t wait until it looks more like a baby. 
If you’re wondering, it was too early to HEAR the heartbeat so they did an internal ultrasound and we could see it flickering.
Weeks 8-11
I didn’t do that great with journaling during these weeks. The extreme hunger has been off and on. I’m not cooking as much as I should, eating out WAY too much. We still haven’t looked at backup daycares but have had multiple conversations with Josh’s cousin about being our nanny.
In week 9 I did a 3 mile run and felt fantastic! I ran the whole time, no walking! No idea how fast, but I don’t care. My Garmin is in retirement for the next 10 months.
In week 10 I did yoga one day, quickly realizing that regular yoga is not in the cards for much longer. Too much lying on your back/stomach. The next day I went for another run, but did a lot of walking. Just wasn’t feeling it and didn’t see the point in pushing it.
Week 11 brought a nasty cold and really sore hips. Not being able to take anything really kicked my butt. I took some tylenol, but Dr. Google scared us away from Sudafed. Of course at my OB appointment at 11w4d, the doctor said I could have taken it. Oh, well!! Better safe than sorry.
Here’s a new pick of the baby!! Look…feet!!!
I was actually down 3 pounds since my last appointment! Yay! Trying to keep the weight in check since I started at the high end of a normal BMI.
Still a tad too early to hear the heartbeat (next time!), but the OB (I really liked him!) had some students with him and it was late in the afternoon so he gave us a free, “for fun” ultrasound and we saw the heartbeat flickering again and could even see the umbilical cord pulsing.
Our next appointment is on the 28th and we already have an appointment scheduled on the 21st of March to find our the gender!!
Week 12
Still sick!! Cannot believe I’m still sick. Mostly just runny nose and coughing, but also some exhaustion thrown in. Seriously. Must be in bed by 9PM.
Today and tomorrow I’m in Atlanta for a meeting. I’ve been up since 4am, had three breakfasts (cereal, granola bar, grits/biscuit/eggs/ham) and am still looking forward to lunch with great anticipation.
I cannot wait to be home tomorrow night in my own bed. Too bad Josh will be at work by the time I get there. Oh, well! At least I’ll get the Snoogle to myself (he’s totally a Snoogle stealer).
If you want to see a belly pic I’ve got one for you that I just took in my hotel room. Be warned…it’s not a cute bump. It’s a gut. I’m in maternity pants now b/c mine are uncomfortable and maternity full panel pants rock!
I’ve always had a lower ab “pooch” (my womb as Josh calls it), but my waist is now filling out. Hoping this cold is gone by the time I get back and I can hit the gym/running again. Would love it if the rest of my body didn’t expand with my belly. Considering getting a button that says “I’m not fat, I’m pregnant.”
Oh, and that “clearer” skin I mentioned in Week 4. Gone. My skin is now the worst it’s been in years. I look like a 14 year old boy. 
Thank God for makeup.
Okay, I’m going to try to get some rest before my meetings start at noon (with lunch thank God). Catch you later!
Changing Churches: How do you choose?
I don’t really have anything exciting to post about, but I had some time to kill so I thought I’d pop in.
Josh and I had a pretty uneventful weekend, the most exciting part being Mel’s 30th birthday party. I love getting together with friends!! It’s always the highlight of my week.
On Sunday Josh and I went to a new church to check it out. We’ve been contemplating changing churches for a while now, but I had too many obligations until recently to be able to do so. We wanted something closer to home so we could be more involved during the week and Josh could attend more. Two weeks ago we went to the Methodist church that is walking distance from our house. We had such high hopes because they seem really active and it’s so convenient. Unfortunately there didn’t appear to be anyone our age there, but pastor wasn’t even there (on vacation) so I’m not sure how accurate our experience was.
This past Sunday we attended a different Methodist church that is still quite close, but not walking distance. Just like the other one the attendance was pretty abysmal (and I thought our current church was struggling!), but there were some younger people (including the pastor and his wife). We really enjoyed it, but just wish there was a larger congregation.
I’m avoiding the huge mega-churches, but I think to be fair we may try one before we settle on anything. I just don’t like the idea of going to a church so big that I wouldn’t know if my neighbor or colleague also attends (I’ve seen that happen). I am very much stuck on Methodist and traditional and it has really saddened me to see how much they’re struggling (at least around here).
Not much going on other than that. I caught Josh’s cold, but still managed to run 2.5 miles today and do Stage 1A, Workout B of the New Rules of Weighlifting for Women. Now all I want to do is go home, put on my favorite pair of sweatpants (my husband keeps threatening to make them “disappear”), and eat some delicious Chicken, Rice, and Mushroom soup made with a team effort between Josh and I last night.
