What's up with baby in week 9: baby is now approximately 13-17 mm crown to rump length, or about 0.51 - 0.66 inches. S/he also weighs in at 1 gram! Toe rays are present as the toes begin to form. The internal sexual organs have decided boy or girl, but you can't tell externally yet. Baby will move away if touched through the uterine wall, and can spontaneously move as well. Ossification (hardening) of the bones may begin.
What's up with mommy: tired. Working a full day at my office job takes it out of me. I wish I could sleep in most mornings, but I find that I toss and turn in the mornings anyway. I am also relaxing as much as possible on weekends (read: spend all day on the couch watching TIVO, reading or napping). I have started to consider when I will tell my boss that I am expecting. I am not showing yet, so there is no concern that people have started to wonder. I have my next doctors appointment on Oct 10. So I think I will tell my boss after that. I like my boss and he is a dad, so I'm sure the conversation will go fine. Our office has several mommies that work. I have heard that there is even a "pump room" for mom's at work that need to pump their breast milk into bottles. The only thing I wonder about is if they put it in the fridge. What kind of label do you put on that - Property of Baby - DO NOT DRINK.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Monday, September 25, 2006
Week 8 Bring on the Sickness
This is what's going on with baby in week 8: Your baby will be about 8-11 mm by the end of the week. The baby's hind brain is clearly visible. And spontaneous movement begins! Bones and joints this week have many things going on. Elbows appear and the process of ossification (hardening of the bones) begins. Toe rays become present.
We have decided to tell our parents this week. We also have started telling some close friends and other family members. My sister in law was commiserating with me about my "morning sickness." And just to be official, this sickness is poorly named as it does not restrict itself to morning. She pointed out that her morning sickness was the worst weeks 8-10. Oh boy. The worst is now beginning. I am really puking more often now, sometimes more than once a day. I am working on figuring out what my body needs when as far as food and liquid to keep this to a minimum.
Bland is in. Bland food and drink. Bring on the potato soup and bread and cereal and turkey sandwiches and crackers. Put away the Chipotle. I have also taken a dislike to coffee and most teas (which is what I used to drink at work all day). Now I am a water person. I like to mix it up at lunch with a Vitamin Water or if I want to splurge (and why not if all I'm eating is a cup of soup and crackers) with a Naked juiced fruit drink.
We have decided to tell our parents this week. We also have started telling some close friends and other family members. My sister in law was commiserating with me about my "morning sickness." And just to be official, this sickness is poorly named as it does not restrict itself to morning. She pointed out that her morning sickness was the worst weeks 8-10. Oh boy. The worst is now beginning. I am really puking more often now, sometimes more than once a day. I am working on figuring out what my body needs when as far as food and liquid to keep this to a minimum.
Bland is in. Bland food and drink. Bring on the potato soup and bread and cereal and turkey sandwiches and crackers. Put away the Chipotle. I have also taken a dislike to coffee and most teas (which is what I used to drink at work all day). Now I am a water person. I like to mix it up at lunch with a Vitamin Water or if I want to splurge (and why not if all I'm eating is a cup of soup and crackers) with a Naked juiced fruit drink.
Week 7 We Meet Our Obstetrician
Some interesting baby info for this week: The hand plates become present this week, and the baby is about 7-9 mm by the end of the week. The genital tubercle is present, but you can't distinguish girls from boys by sight at this point. Nasal pits are forming. The baby will actually go through 3 sets of kidneys, very rapidly as they develop during this period. This week the second of such sets will form.
3 sets of kidneys? Who knew?
My primary care physician scheduled an appointment with an obstetrician she recommends. I wondered if this was one of those times in life to go through an exhaustive practice of polling friends in my city to find out who is recommened and who isn't, but decided that my doctor's recommendation would do just fine. So many babies are born everyday that this isn't a risky business. If I were having a brain tumor removed, I might be more selective. If I were having a brain tumor removed, I'd have McDreamy from Gray's Anatomy do it.
Our obstetrician is part of a group. I will have 2 doctors that I meet with in rotation during my pregnancy and then either one of them will be the one to delivery my baby. It's all about who turns out to be the lucky guy on call when I go into labor. So it will be a fun surprise...surprise, it's doctor Shawn, or surprise it's doctor Mike.
While at the obstetrician, we had an ultrasound and got to see our baby for the first time. It really did not have much of a baby shape to it. I think it still had a bit of a tail. In the ultrasound photos the baby looks more like a seahorse. The best part was hearing the heartbeat! So amazing. That really made the pregnancy real for me.
3 sets of kidneys? Who knew?
My primary care physician scheduled an appointment with an obstetrician she recommends. I wondered if this was one of those times in life to go through an exhaustive practice of polling friends in my city to find out who is recommened and who isn't, but decided that my doctor's recommendation would do just fine. So many babies are born everyday that this isn't a risky business. If I were having a brain tumor removed, I might be more selective. If I were having a brain tumor removed, I'd have McDreamy from Gray's Anatomy do it.
Our obstetrician is part of a group. I will have 2 doctors that I meet with in rotation during my pregnancy and then either one of them will be the one to delivery my baby. It's all about who turns out to be the lucky guy on call when I go into labor. So it will be a fun surprise...surprise, it's doctor Shawn, or surprise it's doctor Mike.
While at the obstetrician, we had an ultrasound and got to see our baby for the first time. It really did not have much of a baby shape to it. I think it still had a bit of a tail. In the ultrasound photos the baby looks more like a seahorse. The best part was hearing the heartbeat! So amazing. That really made the pregnancy real for me.
Knowing I'm Expecting Week One (week 6)
When I found out I was expecting, I was in week 6 of my pregnancy. At this point, my baby is just a little head and body with a beating heart and the starts of arms and legs. I look exactly the same. My nausea does not result in real puking that often. It's more like a consistant feeling of maybe puking sometime in the future. My abdomen feels like it does during PMS, a constant ache with occasional sharper pains. But this is all within the bounds of normal for someone with a pea sized alien devouring my body for it's nourishment.
I spent a lot of time this week trying to remember what I had been doing for the last 4 weeks...when I was with child, but did not know it yet. I do remember having a margarita. I think My husband and I also went to dinner once and I had a glass of wine. I am determined not to worry about it. When we saw the doctor in week 7, the heart-beat was healthy and he said the baby is just fine, so no worrying.
I spent a lot of time this week trying to remember what I had been doing for the last 4 weeks...when I was with child, but did not know it yet. I do remember having a margarita. I think My husband and I also went to dinner once and I had a glass of wine. I am determined not to worry about it. When we saw the doctor in week 7, the heart-beat was healthy and he said the baby is just fine, so no worrying.
Friday, September 22, 2006
The Story of How I Told My Husband I Was Expecting
So in my previous post I told the story of how I found out I was expecting. It was a Wednesday morning and my husband has left the house early for a one day business trip. I went upstairs to the computer and read some pregnancy websites to get some details of what was pregnancy is all about. I wanted to know how to figure out how far along I was and what changes were going on with the baby and in my body. Who knew that most doctors count the pregnancy as starting the first day of your last period? That means that the baby has actually been around about 2 weeks less than how "far along" you say you are. In my case I figured out that I was 6 weeks along. Which meant that the baby had been created 4 weeks ago.
I had to go to work, so I shut down the computer and got going. All day I sat at my desk or in meetings and every now and then my brain would say: psst you are pregnant. I'd think back: shhh, don't let anyone hear you! I haven't even told my husband yet. I knew that he was unreachable during the day. During my lunch break I went to a bookstore and picked up a few pregnancy books. One for my husband: The Dad to Be Everything You Need to Know book. I snuck these back into the office with more stealth than if they had been shopping bags full of new shoes.
After work I had an event with co-workers to attend. My husband's flight wasn't getting in until after 9:00pm, so he wasn't due home until late. I beat him home and sat casually on the couch watching TV until he got home. He came in the door and we greeted each other and I asked him how his day was, how the meetings went, how the flight was. Casual, casual, casual. Finally I told him that I had picked up a book for him that day and slid it across the table. While he took a second to read the cover, I held up the home pregnancy stick and said: this goes with it! There was much smiling and hugging and kissing and smiling. And then he said he had thought so!
I had to go to work, so I shut down the computer and got going. All day I sat at my desk or in meetings and every now and then my brain would say: psst you are pregnant. I'd think back: shhh, don't let anyone hear you! I haven't even told my husband yet. I knew that he was unreachable during the day. During my lunch break I went to a bookstore and picked up a few pregnancy books. One for my husband: The Dad to Be Everything You Need to Know book. I snuck these back into the office with more stealth than if they had been shopping bags full of new shoes.
After work I had an event with co-workers to attend. My husband's flight wasn't getting in until after 9:00pm, so he wasn't due home until late. I beat him home and sat casually on the couch watching TV until he got home. He came in the door and we greeted each other and I asked him how his day was, how the meetings went, how the flight was. Casual, casual, casual. Finally I told him that I had picked up a book for him that day and slid it across the table. While he took a second to read the cover, I held up the home pregnancy stick and said: this goes with it! There was much smiling and hugging and kissing and smiling. And then he said he had thought so!
The Story of How I Found Out I Was Expecting
Some people say that when they conceived they immediately knew. I was not one of those people. One day I started to have abdominal pains similar to what PMS feels like. So I figured it was just that - the period before my period. But then my period never came and I realized the abdominal pains were pretty consistant throughout the day. I also felt a little more tired than usual. This went on for a week.
Into the second week of the pain, my husband and I went out of town over Labor Day weekend. By then I was starting to think that work pressure was causing stress that was manifesting itself physically. At this point I hadn't begun to experience nausea, so I was eating fine over the weekend. My mother-in-law cooked up a storm, so there was plenty to eat. We also had the joy of meeting our newest nephew, Bryce. Bryce's mom and I talked about her experience of how she found out she was expecting. That's when I really started to wonder. Her symptoms sounded familiar.
Once we returned home, and the first nausea set in, I realized it was time to see the doctor (in case I had an ulcer on the way). I was still telling myself it was just stress ;) My doctor's appointment was set for Thursday. On Tuesday night, I bought a home pregnancy test. I didn't tell my husband. On Wednesday morning, my husband left very early for a one day business trip. I figured while I was up I might as well pee on a stick. I honestly didn't really think it would be positive.
So I pee on the stick and sit it down on the side of the tub. Our dog decided to be in there with me, he sensed my need for moral support I guess. I gave him a few pats on the head and casually glanced over at the stick. Check the label: One stripe = not pregnant. Two stripes = pregnant. Ok, count the stripes in the window...one...two. Ok, check the label: One stripe = not pregnant. Two stripes = pregnant. Ok, count the stripes in the window...one...two. Look at dog. Look back at stick. Look back at dog. Tell dog that you are pregnant.
Hearing myself say "pregnant" outloud and realizing that I'm talking about myself was a pretty strange moment. I looked at myself in the mirror and said it again. Then I smiled real big. Then I tried saying a few other things like, I'm going to have a baby. The smile stayed on. I found out I was expecting and it was a good feeling. The date I found out was Wednesday, September 6.
Into the second week of the pain, my husband and I went out of town over Labor Day weekend. By then I was starting to think that work pressure was causing stress that was manifesting itself physically. At this point I hadn't begun to experience nausea, so I was eating fine over the weekend. My mother-in-law cooked up a storm, so there was plenty to eat. We also had the joy of meeting our newest nephew, Bryce. Bryce's mom and I talked about her experience of how she found out she was expecting. That's when I really started to wonder. Her symptoms sounded familiar.
Once we returned home, and the first nausea set in, I realized it was time to see the doctor (in case I had an ulcer on the way). I was still telling myself it was just stress ;) My doctor's appointment was set for Thursday. On Tuesday night, I bought a home pregnancy test. I didn't tell my husband. On Wednesday morning, my husband left very early for a one day business trip. I figured while I was up I might as well pee on a stick. I honestly didn't really think it would be positive.
So I pee on the stick and sit it down on the side of the tub. Our dog decided to be in there with me, he sensed my need for moral support I guess. I gave him a few pats on the head and casually glanced over at the stick. Check the label: One stripe = not pregnant. Two stripes = pregnant. Ok, count the stripes in the window...one...two. Ok, check the label: One stripe = not pregnant. Two stripes = pregnant. Ok, count the stripes in the window...one...two. Look at dog. Look back at stick. Look back at dog. Tell dog that you are pregnant.
Hearing myself say "pregnant" outloud and realizing that I'm talking about myself was a pretty strange moment. I looked at myself in the mirror and said it again. Then I smiled real big. Then I tried saying a few other things like, I'm going to have a baby. The smile stayed on. I found out I was expecting and it was a good feeling. The date I found out was Wednesday, September 6.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Welcome to Liz Expecting
Hi, welcome to my blog. I am 9 weeks pregnant with my first. It's an amazing experience so far, not necessarily that physically pleasant, but just the idea of growing another human being inside me is sureal.
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