Wait, what? My First Ultrasound Experience.

Posted on November 11, 2013 by playinghousewi

Wait, what?

That’s the best way to describe my ultrasound appointment this past Friday. First of all, I had to drink my weight in water to fill up my bladder, which was absolutely horrible. I could barely walk and when I laid down on the table, you could visibly see my bladder bulging out of my body. Anyway, the tech explained that since I wasn’t very far along, they would have to do an internal ultrasound anyway, as that’s what they always do this early in a pregnancy, but took some measurements of my uterus and ovaries externally first. (My first, “wait, what?” moment.) Why the heck would they put me through the water torture if they were going to stab me with the internal ultrasound wand anyway? That seems cruel.

Anyway, they finally allowed me to pee, and I’m not exaggerating when I say that I must have been peeing for 3 minutes straight.

When I got back into the room, the tech had wheeled in the internal ultrasound machine (“wait, what” moment # 2). My reaction only got worse when the tech explained that I would have to insert the ultrasound… wand… into my lady part myself and then she would take over. Uhhh… what? That made for an interesting little experience for the tech, my husband and I to share. I wish I could have gotten a picture of Mark’s face. But, mine will have to suffice (note the scary wand)…

Wait, you want me to do what with that?

Honestly though, it wasn’t that bad. After I got over the whole awkwardness of the request and the appearance of the “wand,” I didn’t really notice.

Then came the good part… seeing our baby and seeing her little heartbeat (124 beats per minute)!

First glimpse of our tiny little baby!

BUT, then came my next surprising moment. Our little baby who we thought was measuring over a half inch was actually less than a centimeter! This led the tech to estimate my progress at 6.5-7 weeks, versus the 8+ we had been told before. I know it’s only a week or so off, but I guess I feel a little disappointed because I was really looking forward to the relief of hitting the 8 week mark with a solid heartbeat. From what I’ve heard, though, just hearing the heartbeat is already a very good sign. So I should probably just feel grateful for that and stop over thinking it. Although, for a controlling person like myself, it drives me a little nuts to not really know how far along I am… hopefully when I see the doctor this Thursday, she’ll provide me with a little clarity.

Anyway, more importantly, I’d like to introduce our little baby blob… meet Baby Lang:

Baby (Blob) Lang!

Symptoms

The latest and greatest is getting super nauseous before and as I get hungry. It’s so annoying. First I’m sick to my stomach, then I’m hungry and also want to throw up… so lovely! The trick seems to be powering through it and eating. Once I get a decent base of food in me, the nausea goes away. Other than that, I’m still quite sleepy. BUT, feeling happy and excited.

Once it hits your lips…

Posted on November 5, 2013 by playinghousewi

This morning I decided to indulge in a caffeinated treat for the first time since we found out I’m pregnant. Everything I’ve read says that as long as you consume less than 200 mg of caffeine per day, you’re good to go… yet, somehow, I felt guilty ordering my delicious morning pick-me-up. And, I’m not going to lie, I had a legit experience with my skinny vanilla latte. I’m not sure if any of you are Ally McBeal fans, but this was pretty much my experience this morning:

So, despite the fact that everyone says a limited amount of caffeine is okay, why does it feel like I’m breaking the rules at the expense of my little blueberry baby?

Symptoms

Last night I took my prenatal vitamins right before I ate and I didn’t seem to get sick at all. Maybe that’s the trick? Or maybe my body is getting used to the vitamin intake? Who knows. Regardless, I was pretty darn thankful. The rest of the day was pretty much just as good, despite it being Monday. I’ve felt pretty great! Maybe the worst is over?

Other than that, Mark and I literally played house last night. We babysat for a friend, which entailed caring for two adorable little boys (one is 2, one is 4). I think we were both pretty proud at our performance. We divided and conquered, which worked really well.

So, the 4 children I’m hoping to have (eventually) might be complicated, but two was feeling somewhat manageable.

I’ve got the itch…

Posted on November 4, 2013 by playinghousewi

The pregnant belly itch, that is! Beginning on Friday night, I had the itchiest dang belly ever. So much so, that it woke me up in the middle of the night all weekend. I have some argan oil next to my bed that I literally squeeze onto my belly (usually around 2 am) and then quickly go back to sleep.

I’ve been trying to combat the itch by loading up on Palmers Cocoa Butter Massage Lotion – compliments of my sister – the argan oil, any other lotion I find nearby, and am trying to drink as much water as possible. I’m hopeful that the combination will make my itching short-lived… or at least help in the prevention of evil stretch marks.

Besides the itching, the weekend was pretty low-key, just as I had hoped. We saw Last Vegas with my parents on Friday, which was actually entertaining and silly, did some cleaning / winter-prep around the house on Saturday and Sunday, and had Mark’s dad and step mom (Amy) over for a birthday dinner on Sunday evening. Because they were away for Amy’s son’s wedding in Hawaii, we hadn’t told them about the little baby boo yet. So, that was pretty fun! We used the same card and pregnancy test that we had used for our mothers, and actually, Mark’s dad seemed to register the note the quickest. They seem very excited for us.

Our “Hey, we’re pregnant” card!

Other than that, I got a good amount of rest this weekend and am feeling pretty good… minus the fact that it’s Monday, which means another week of work. On the positive, only two more days until our first appointment and we have family coming into town next week for my mom’s birthday party… so I have a feeling, this month is just going to fly!

Symptoms

As mentioned, I’ve got the itch. Other than that, I’ve been finding that my prenatal vitamin has been causing some severe nausea and a bit of a headache. It takes about an hour from the time I take the pill to the time the symptoms begin, but once they do, it’s pretty bad. I’m guessing it lasts about 45 or so minutes, which isn’t awful, but it’s definitely not pleasant.

In terms of exhaustion, I’m feeling better than I was at the beginning of last week, but I will say that I’m still pretty darn tired come 2:30 pm. That seems to be the magical time where my brain shuts off and my body starts begging for sleep. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t feel appropriate to put my head down at my desk. Plus, when I get to that point, it doesn’t feel like a cat nap will do it. My body is looking for some serious rest.

I also seem to have random waves of nausea throughout the day, especially when I’m getting hungry. It’s kind of a pain. I’ll feel nauseous until all of a sudden I’m ravenous.

BUT, enough complaining. Honestly, I’m feeling pretty great considering I’m sharing my energy and my body with another person. And, I’m feeling very excited. I’m thinking a grey and white nursery. Maybe later this week I’ll post some inspiration photos.

One more thing before I go, seems like the chat with the husband really helped. He’s been wonderful and amazing. Very sweet and nurturing.

No Grudges

Posted on October 30, 2013 by playinghousewi

Last night I got in a bit of a tiff with my husband. The actual initiator of the fight is pretty unimportant, but the underlying theme was: “You just don’t get what I’m going through. I know you can’t really see it, but I’m pregnant and I need you to take care of me.”

I guess the reality is that this is something that has been bothering me and it was bound to manifest in the first possible way. It started because the first week we found out we were pregnant, I was telling my husband about some of my symptoms and he made some comment like, “Do you think maybe it’s not that bad and you’re just looking to feel something?” He apologized right away, but no matter what, I couldn’t get it out of my head. It felt like he was thinking it all the time.

Some other little things that helped to develop my, “you think I’m faking it” complex:

“When you’re pregnant, we should…” – I had to quickly remind him that I AM pregnant…
Normally my husband is a total nurturer and takes care of me in all of my neediness… but lately, he’s seemed a little distant.
My husband asked me how far along I was the other day. I told him, “6 weeks and 5 days… doesn’t it feel like I should be further along?” To which he replied: “No, I feel like it’s going really quick. Last time I thought about it, you were only 5 weeks pregnant.” Now, I’m sure he didn’t mean last time he thought about the baby… but still. It’s been almost 2 weeks since you thought about the baby’s progress???

Anyway, in my anger, I needed to talk to someone who had recent experience to see if my husband was being a total dud, or if it was normal for it to feel like he just wasn’t getting it… so, I called my sister, who has two kids (almost 2 and almost 4). Turns out, based on my sister’s experience, her friends’ and the Internet… this is pretty darn common. I guess it makes sense. From the exhaustion to the nausea to the bloating to the headaches, I think (and worry) about this baby non-stop, every day. But for my husband, he doesn’t have any of that. His biggest reminder is a bitchy or whiny wife and I’m sure that’s hard to source to the baby at times.

So, I spoke with the hubs and simply reminded him that we are already parents. I am a mom. My job is to sacrifice my wants to care for this child and give it everything it needs… and my only way of doing that is by taking care of myself. And my husband is a dad. His job, as it will be when this baby is born, is to take care of the baby and the momma and provide for us. His only way of doing that right now is by supporting and taking care of me.

It seemed to resonate. So much so, that the husband sent me to bed while he cleaned up after our guests and I woke up to this silly little note in the bathroom…

“I love you because… you don’t hold grudges 🙂 “

AND… if our chat wasn’t enough, I sent him this great blog post I came across last night: Read it here! Hopefully between the two, things will click and we can go back to being on the same page.

Symptoms

My biggest symptom has been exhaustion. This has been SERIOUS, head-to-toe exhaustion. I have been getting at least 8 or so hours of sleep – and very, very hard sleep at that – yet still, I wake up feeling so incredibly tired. After telling my sister that the baby will be doubling in size this week (from .25″ to .5″), she reminded me that this could be the source of the exhaustion. As my baby goes through this big week of growing, she will require a lot of energy and strength from me. We’re both working hard this week.

Other than that, although probably as a result of that, I’ve been very emotional. At least once or twice a day, I feel tears well up in my eyes (some happy and some sad tears). I’m trying to pick my battles and make my main focus be on not getting riled up.

Today the baby is officially 7 weeks. We’re nearly at the 20% mark!