As my first trimester comes to a close, a post summing it up seems all too obvious! When thinking about how I wanted to go about it, I realized the things I wanted to call out most began with ABC and D. How appropriate considering this blog is about pregnancy and impending motherhood. Here goes!
A~ Acne! I complained of it before. Never did I miss the pill as much as this symptom has made me! As soon as a face full of large, hurty, pimples was clearing, more were surfacing! I don’t wear much makeup but I was certainly exercising the right to. After a few weeks, I said to hell with it… and low and behold, it got better! I think the makeup was actually making it worse! It never did before so I didn’t think of it! Well hallelujah!
B~Bleeding from the nose! Pregnancy is know in general to be a little rough on the sinuses. Its a wonder we can do anything considering our air flow is not only restricted, but the minimal amount is going to our brains and heart, and maximum to the baby! (hence the “pregnancy brain” issue). So, I wake up in the morning to blow my nose or sneeze a few times… and I must be prepared because here comes a giant bloody bit of snot! And.. it keeps coming. Sometimes it takes 20 mins to stop it from bleeding. This also happens randomly throughout the day so the travel packs of tissue are popular with my purse.
C~Cravings.. and aversions! My biggest craving is for ramen! I don’t mean delicious and authentic Japanese ramen or even Korean ramen (though they probably would satisfy too) but the cheap college, 4 for $1 ramen. I can’t get enough of it! Its always a good choice and is so soothing in my belly. I never regret my choice to eat ramen. I cant really say that about anything else. Now, other college cheap food has started to look go to me… even hot pockets. Experts say that contrary to belief, this doesn’t mean I am missing something in my diet. I think it may be because I spent the past 6 years (since college) saying no to junk food and refined carbs, thanks to insulin resistance. Its frustrating to admit I’m not eating as well as I was before. I need to get back to some of the things I used to eat. Its all about balance. My biggest food aversions are eggs (which is a bummer cause I ate them a lot before) and anything with red sauce. I am happy to admit that I dont have a desire for sweets… they taste funny now.
D~ As in my cup size! I am now a 38D. Already. I was a well fit C cup before so I knew a D was in the cards… but not so soon. This will mean DD at least… I’m sure of it. E is what scares me. I swear I can feel them growing each day! Lately they have really been hurting! At night, I get little sharp pains like I’m 12 again. My nips are almost always erect, itchy, and the skin is dry. I can only imagine what breastfeeding will be like. No matter what, I’m gonna stick with it! I want to burn off weight! Oh… and I suppose its good for the baby too
The start of the 2nd trimester is so exciting! I’m past the scary bit and there is so much to look forward to! Most exciting things? Babymoon to Oahu is one! We leave March 30-April 5! This will be our 3rd time to Oahu but we plan to really relax it up! Also, I have a hiatus from The Simpsons for almost 2 months! I’m excited to use this time to prepare for the baby. I return to work April 11 and will be very busy… I’m supervising again. Really looking forward to that baby bump growing! Lastly, feeling the baby move! I cannot wait for this! I want Craigery and all our friends to feel! That will be fun!
The poll results for the 3D ultra sound is 60% say must have! I dunno… I’m still on the fence about it. Its so weird looking… but when its your baby I’m sure its different. BTW, picture is cause this week the baby is the size of a lime! next apt March 1st! And, new poll!
Soo.. 2nd appointment went great! At first it was a mess.. they had my times for seeing the Dr. and ultra sound all mixed up and I’m still not sure which one was which. Then they weren’t sure why I was even scheduled for an ultra sound and they kept asking me why I was there! Uh… first baby… have NO idea about anything! This was 4 weeks from my last appointment and this is what they scheduled me for! Well, I saw the new Dr… a female.. which I never had before. I really liked her! We didn’t get to chat it up (cause the ultra sound techs were waiting for me 2 floors down) but I really liked her demeanor and even Craigery felt comfortable speaking up a little. She listened for the heartbeat on just a sound sonogram thing but we couldn’t find it. Didn’t bother us much, though, because I was on my way downstairs for an ultra sound anyway.
When I got down there, they also wanted to know why I was scheduled for an ultra sound. Turns out, my original 2nd apt was supposed to be next week and I would’ve gotten a First Trimester Screening. That’s where they measure the baby’s spine and all kinds of stuff to make sure its developing properly. It’s a series of, I think, 3 tests done periodically during pregnancy. Its important for early detection of down syndrome and other birth defects. The thing is, they do this between 11-14 weeks and I am only 9. Even if I was in the next week, it would’ve been too early. I thought they were going to say no ultra sound, in which case I would’ve broken out the water works, explaining how much I wanted to at least hear a heartbeat before I left. But, happily, they insisted we check out how pickle is doing! We saw it right away! and it was moving so much! And s/he is right on perfect schedule for proper size! Click above if you haven’t already and watch the 3 minute video! You can really see it moving, especially in the beginning. Watch for the little arm moving and the baby kinda bouncing. You can really tell when the sonogram wand holds still. For those of you who cant tell what is what, this post also includes a diagram drawn on a still from the video
Next appointment March 1 with the same Dr! Lets call her Dr. Petite! This time the WILL do the screening test. Ill be 13.5 weeks!
So! First id like to say we chose the belly name of Pickle! This is what we will call the baby until it comes wriggling out of my southern regions . Why Pickle? Always been a favorite snack of mine, and since I have been pregnant, they taste even more delicious than before! My lovely sister helped me pick it
About Pickle~ I’m 8 weeks now and Pickle is the size of a kidney bean, which is just over 1/2 inch! There are arms and legs just long enough to meet in the middle, and webbed fingers on the paddle shaped hands and feet. Pickle has eyelids too, though they are mostly translucent still. The tail is almost gone (the end of the spine… not a deformity or anything), and there are lots of nerves and tubes connecting lots of things! Genitalia can’t be seen yet, darn it… and Pickle should be moving a lot now, though I cant feel it.
Symptoms~ Everything I read says by now symptoms should be in full swing. I am SOOOO happy to report the non-existence of nausea and vomit! (knock on wood) Craigery would prefer it happen every now and then so I can get over my “irrational” fear for vomit. I did surrender once to the toilet a few weeks ago when I felt bad, but nothing happened! I do find that if I linger too long over a meal, I get nauseous and cant finish it. Hardly anything to complain about so I wont!
I am suffering from acne! Again, I realize there are so many out there, preggo or not, that deal with bad acne and I have to admit mine is nothing compared to their struggles, but, to go from clear 95% of the time to constant breakout is a jump no one would like. And makeup seems to make it worse. I hope I’m “glowing” enough to make up for it.
The other symptoms include sore nipples.. especially when its cold, thirst, hunger, sensitive smell, and peeing. People ask if I have cravings. I don’t feel like I do but then my mom points out that any particular urge is a craving. In that case, I’d say pickles, LOTS of milk (but I was like that before too), and salty things. The sad (and good part) is that sweets are not tasty to me anymore. They are kind of bitter and I quickly have my fill of them. I don’t want much meat either. Its all very strange… I can definitely tell my taste has changed.
Lastly, fatigue. Everyone says this is sooo awful and you wont be able to keep your eyes open. Now, obviously, I have been blessed thus far with mild symptoms. As far as fatigue is concerned, its more like your first day up and about right when you have a cold. The first day you feel like you can actually get things done. I get winded easily… I can only imagine how tough it will be when I’m full of baby. And, I want to lay down all the time, but not really sleep.. its not a sleepy feeling. Not for me anyway. But everyone and every pregnancy is different.
That’s about it for now! Next appointment is Feb 1st. Bobpuin has her first appointment on Feb 4th. I will be reporting on both!
Until then, tell me your symptom struggles! Whether its now or years in the past! I’d love to hear a variety!
I’m a little behind on reporting our first prenatal appointment, but did you expect anything else?
Let me just say, finding an OB is not as easy as “Knocked Up” makes it look. Doctors don’t have time to be “interviewed” by demanding mom-to-be’s with confused husbands in tow. So, I was advised to just go for the first appointment and decide from there. We decided on UCLA as our hospital to give birth. Its about equal distance from my house as St. Josephs in Burbank and this way Craigery could make it to appointments more easily. I called the physician line to get some names and numbers of doctors. I ended up choosing a perinatologist (high risk pregnancy specialist). I wasn’t totally convinced I needed a high risk doc but the nurse told me it was best to start with one because of my insulin resistance issues and the doctor will either clear me to see the regular OB or tell me to stick with the high risk.
Happy, yet super anxious, Craigery and I drove to UCLA a few days later for our appointment. I was very excited to see all the big bellies in the waiting room, and was pleasantly surprised when they called me back after only a few minutes! I hadn’t even finished my new patient paperwork yet. They wanted a urine sample right away. Well this was no problem~ a common symptom. Right after they instructed that they were ready to give me an ultrasound. I have had an ultrasound once before so I knew what to expect. I the girl was an intern and was having a hard time getting a good glimpse of the baby. They called in the more experienced lady and there it was! The shape of a question mark! They told me i was only 5 weeks 5 days along at that time and it was lucky cause a few days earlier and they wouldn’t have been able to see anything. I didn’t see but they said there was a small flickering of heartbeat. When I heard that I got my first sigh of relief and first picture!
Next, was time to meet the doctor. He was ok. Kinda dry on the humor and personality but I’m not looking to date him . I told him we had some questions and he sat back and was ready to listen and answer probably the same questions he hears all the time from first timers. Suddenly, I felt silly and naive. Like, how dare I question a doctor about his practices and beliefs? But I reminded myself that its important and they are probably used to it. I asked him about C-sections and how often he performs them. I also asked about who would deliver if he couldn’t. I asked a number of tings but after a few minutes I concluded to him that all I really cared about was NOT having a C-section. That I didn’t want to be rushed and pressured. I was happy with all his responses and assured me that he felt my request for a vaginal birth was valid and important but that C-sections are very situational. It’s hard to foresee whether it will be necessary or not. I understood. We talked about the Metformin I have been taking. He looked it up and asked me how I felt about it. We agreed that right now the benefits of staying on it far outweigh the risks that the FDA are currently trying to discover. During the first trimester, it can be really helpful to maintain your hormone levels and therefore maintain the pregnancy. Also, it keeps my sugar level and could help with milk production later on. Once I get to 12 weeks, we plan for me to go off it and monitor my blood sugar. If the sugar starts to get high, I may go back on or they may give me the insulin shots. We will see, but for now, I feel comfortable staying on it.
The last bit of the visit included the annual pap-smear which I was due for. I didn’t realize and would’ve preferred Craigery maybe wait out in the hall~ for his sake. Sorry dear. Though there was a new part of he pap-smear that I never experienced before… a rectal exam. I don’t know if I was supposed to be having one all these years but it was not pleasant and I don’t look forward to the next one. I then when down to the lab and gave 8 vials of blood and another cup of urine. The whole appointment was 3 hrs! Oy! The next one is scheduled for Feb 1st but I chose to try a new doctor this time. This doc is still at UCLA but I wanted to try a woman… I have only had male doctors in the past. I’m excited for the next! Ill be about 9 weeks and we should get to hear the heartbeat and get a good photo!
all this talk of urine makes me have to… well pee!
As my first trimester comes to a close, a post summing it up seems all too obvious! When thinking about how I wanted to go about it, I realized the things I wanted to call out most began with ABC and D. How appropriate considering this blog is about pregnancy and impending motherhood. Here goes!
