Week 10

This week, I definitely felt more "pregnant" than I have so far.  In addition to the morning dry-heave sessions, I've been experiencing actual nausea throughout the day - though it's still extremely mild, and I'm going to continue to count myself very lucky!

I was in Montana for work this week, and when I got home I was curious if Bryann could see any changes in my stomach since I was gone for a few days.  So I pulled up my shirt and said "Am I showing, or am I just getting fat?"  Bryann refused to answer...  :-P  But I was comforted to read about this week in my pregnancy books, and they assure me that my tummy roundness is partially from bloating, and partially because, even though Baby T is still super tiny, my uterus has expanded to the size of a grapefruit.

Bryann continues to be pretty amazing.  I've had some weird food aversions this week - as in most food sounds horrifying - so Bryann has taken several trips to the store (sometimes multiple trips in one night) to get me what I can stomach.

What Baby T has been up to his week:  

• Baby is nearly an inch and a half long, and the size of a prune.  As a side note, Bryann decided that calling baby "Lil' Prune" wasn't cute, so we reverted to "Lil' Whosit" during this phase.
• 'Lil Whosit is taking more of a human shape, and we can start singing the "head and shoulders" song because all of those parts have begin forming!  ♪ Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes, knees and toes.  Head and shoulders, knees and toes, eyes, ears, mouth and nose  ♪
• Teeth buds are starting to form, digestive juices are flowing, and baby continues to urinate into the amniotic fluid and then drink it back up again.  (ew...)  

Pregnancy Symptoms include:

• The ever-lingering digestion issues
• Morning dry-heaving
• Burgeoning bosoms - I had to give in and buy a bigger bra.  Unfortunately for me, I recently invested in several new VS bras, which I don't think I'll ever fit into again... But I took Katee's advice and found a $7 bra at Ross to tide me over.  
• Food cravings/aversions
• Sensitivity to smells

This week, I love to eat:

• Fruit
• Bell Peppers
• Baby Tomatoes
• Hummus
• Beefy 5-Layer Burritos
• Applesauce

This week, I feel nauseated at the thought of:

• Chicken
• Olives
• Salad

Week 9

I continue to feel mostly un-pregnant.  It's a very weird stage to be in.  I know I am pregnant, but I don't see or feel anything wriggling around in my uterus, so it still all feels very theoretical.  I have been experiencing a few more symptoms, but they're so mild and fleeting that if I didn't know any better, I'd just think I had a stomach bug.  The most prescriptive symptoms is that I've started dry-heaving for about a minute in the early mornings.  But once that's over with, I feel completely fine for the rest of the day.

We told the rest of our Portland friends about the pregnancy at Wine & Dine, so now everyone we see often knows.  I'm far enough along that miscarrying is becoming extremely unlikely, but I'm still a little cautious.  I haven't told my work yet, and we haven't made a Facebook announcement.  I'm going to wait until our next OB appointment on the 31st to let the rest of the world know.

It's been reassuring to have a few friends with babies already.  They've been giving great advice, and we've gotten a few hand-me-down items already.  I am feeling more comfortable in this new state, and even though it still feels a bit surreal, I am feeling more confident that we can handle it.

What Baby T has been up to this week:

• The baby is the size of a green olive (about 1 in. long) and is moving from the embryonic stage to the fetal period.  
• Baby's heart is developed and beating, and the liver, spleen, and gallbladder are developing.
• Baby has some minuscule muscle development and is now moving and twitching, though I won't feel anything for two more months.  

Pregnancy Symptoms include:

• Frequent urination
• Digestive issues
• "Morning" sickness

This week, I love to eat:

• Grilled Cheese sandwiches
• Mac and cheese
• Fruit
• Yogurt
• Black tea

This week, I feel nauseated at the thought of:

• No big food aversions yet.  In general, I just feel a bit yucky when I think of food.  I can usually start to eat anything, but sometimes my stomach feels a little icky after a few bites and I have to stop.  

Week 8

This has been a pretty uneventful pregnancy week.  I'm actually starting to panic a bit that something is wrong.  I haven't had any of the morning symptoms that everyone talks about.  And even though the pregnancy books say that 25% of women don't get morning sickness, and if I'm not feeling anything, congratulations to me, I still feel uneasy.

I've managed to stay off of the forums since the last horrifying experience, but it's still tempting because every time I google something, most of the "answers" lie in the forums.  The books aren't very reassuring even though they all say "don't worry."  Apparently I'm going to be one of those helicopter moms that overly worries and panics over everything...  Oh god, I hope I'm not...

I'm anxious for the next few weeks to go by quickly and get to our next OB appointment on the 31st.  I'm anxious to be reassured by my doctor that everything is ok, and it's ok to not experience symptoms.  In the meanwhile, I just have to trust that things are progressing as they should, and that Lil' Raspberry is perfectly happy and healthy.

What Baby T is up to this week:

• Baby is the size of the raspberry - hence the name "Lil' Raspberry" and is half an inch long.  
• Baby looks less like a tadpole and more like a baby.  Tiny holes in the head are forming into a mouth, eyes, and nose.  Baby also has hands and feet and the webbed phalanges are differentiating and are forming fingers and toes.  
• Baby's heartrate is 150 bmp

Pregnancy symptoms include:

• A general feeling of ick every now and then
• Digestive issues
• Very sore breasts.  Hugs hurt!  

This week, I love to eat.

• Period.  I love to eat.
• I'm particularly into grilled cheese sandwiches

This week, I feel nauseated at the thought of:

• Nothing yet.  

Week 7

Welp, the secret is out.  Bryann can't keep his big mouth shut, so most of our Portland friends found out about the pregnancy this week.  It was going to be really difficult to keep a secret anyway, what with me not drinking anymore, but I still wasn't sure I wanted to tell everyone so soon.  I was afraid that we'd tell everyone, jinx ourselves, miscarry, and then have to tell everyone the bad news.  But Bryann made a good point that if I miscarried, I'd want my friends to know anyway so they could be there for me and help me through it.

But before we'd made the decision together to tell our friends, Bryann blabbed to Rachel about it at our New Year's party, and even though I thought I was doing a good job of disguising my not drinking, I guess some people noticed anyway.  Then at my birthday dinner, Bryann was making comments about the alcohol content of the fondue, and Nate caught on, so we just decided to spill the beans to those that were able to make it to my birthday dinner celebration.

So the news is out there.  I'm still working out how I feel about it.  I know it's a weird thing to say, and that I should be ecstatic that I'm pregnant - I have a hard time putting into words how this feels.  It was all well and good when it was just an idea to get pregnant and raise kids.  But now that it's a reality, it all seems so much more serious and I feel more of the weight of responsibility for another person's whole future and happiness, than I do the joy of being pregnant and the prospect of raising a child.  It's not the happy-go-lucky feeling that I thought I'd have.  My entire perspective has been switch around.  I hope that makes sense.

What Baby T has been up to this week:

• Baby is the size of a blueberry at about 1/4 inch long, and looks a bit like a tadpole.  We've decided to refer to it as it's current size, since it feels weird to call it "It".  So lately it's been "Lil' Blueberry" this and "Lil' Blueberry" that.  
• Baby's head is growing and generating brain cells at 100 cells per minute.
• Arm and leg buds are starting to form, as are the mouth and tongue.  
• Apparently it has gone through 3 sets of kidneys?!  The ones in place now are the permanent pair and are excreting urine, which baby swallows, then pees out, then swallows, then pees out again.  Gross!  

Pregnancy Symptoms include:

• Digestive issues
• Sore breasts

No Food Cravings/Aversions yet, but when I start to get them, I'll include those, too.