10 Weeks

I can't believe it's already been 10 weeks! Time is flying!

Not much happened in the last week. I'm very tired, and that's exacerbated by the lack of air conditioning at our house. Neither Jon nor I are sleeping very well, but the broken AC part is on order, so I'm praying it comes soon! I'm just glad the AC isn't broken at my 9th month!

I seem to have missed the worst of the first trimester signs, for which I am extremely grateful! The worst thing I'm dealing with is the need for fiber...I'll let you figure out why. I've added Benefiber to my diet, and I hope that helps. But even that is a small complaint, and I'm crossing my fingers that the rest of my pregnancy goes as well as it has started!

My uterus started out the size of a small pear and has now grown to grapefruite-size. Isn't that crazy! And even crazier is that there's a human being in there! Newbie is about 1 1/4 inches long now, and his development is all about the details: hair, toenails, joints, and his tiny organs are even starting to function on their own. As I'm reminded through every step of pregnancy, God is amazing!

Irony

Today, someone at work said I looked like I was getting smaller. You know, sometimes that happens, and I just politely laugh it off or say something like, "Well, I'm trying...." This time, I couldn't do anything but laugh, and I mean a real, genuine, cracking up laugh. It was just too funny to me, as I've seen my stomach become less and less flattering, and I worked so hard trying to find the perfect outfit to disguise my pregnancy at work.

I know that pregnant people are cute, and I don't think I'll ever worry about the weight I'm gaining, or the loss of my waistline. I mean, I'm pregnant. But what I didn't expect was the "in between" stage where it doesn't look like I'm pregnant. It looks like I hit the Krispy Kremes too hard. I mean, I'm still okay with it, and I'm even okay showing it--around people who know I'm pregnant. But at work...they don't know, and Krispy Kremes might be the only logical conclusion for them.

Until they do know, I think I'll keep wearing this outfit every week. :)

Public...sort of

The blog is public! At least, you don't have to sign in any more. It doesn't show up on my Blogger profile, and it's not linked anywhere on my other blog. The reason is that I have not told work, yet, and there is someone at work who reads my other blog. I plan on telling work at the end of the first trimester (3 more weeks), so please, until then, don't mention my being pregnant on your blogs...or anywhere in Waco, in case you're there. :)

So, making this blog "public" doesn't mean the news is public; it just means you don't have to sign in any more. :)

Gender Discussions

So the topic of late has been on gender. Will our sweet little Newbie be a young prince or princess? My father-in-law, father to two sons, insists on calling Newbie a "she." My Mawmaw is sure it will be a girl, and my mom thinks it would be fun to have a girl since we now have Ian in the family. A friend of ours, Christie, has correctly picked the gender of 8 out of 9 babies born in our Sunday School class, and she thinks I'm having a girl.

I, on the other hand, call Newbie a "he," not because I want a boy over a girl, but because I'm just used to the boy coming first. My brother and Jon were firstborns, my uncle was firstborn. It's just what I'm used to. And I refuse to switch back and forth between "he" and "she" because I'm sure that would confuse everyone.

Yesterday, we pulled out an old wives tale sort of trick involving a needle and thread, and the result was a 75% chance girl. At least, 3 out of the 4 times we tried it, the results were girl!

In our family discussions, Jon and I have decided on a two-out-of-three rule. We'd like a boy and a girl, and if we get two boys or two girls, we'll try one more time. If at that point, we haven't seen a shred of pink or a bit of blue, well, that's the end of it for us. We were meant to have all girls or all boys (and heaven help us!). But, in general, we'd like both, so whatever Newbie turns out to be, it's just a start into the beginning of our family.

So here's your chance: boy or girl? What do you think? Put in your predictions!

Nine weeks

We've made it through nine weeks! Newbie is about an inch long now, with all organs in place, and "poised for rapid growth," as BabyCenter says. Woohoo!

On my side of things, I think I only bit three people's heads off yesterday...whoopsie...just a little bit moody. I also think I took a nap, and I felt much better and was much more productive afterward. I only think I took a nap, because I have no recollection of it, but there was a period of about an hour that I cannot account for! I hung up from talking to Jon at around 2-ish, then the phone rang almost immediately, and it was 3:00. Hm...

So being tired has been a big thing this week. On Tuesday I woke up, did Pilates, then practically fell asleep on my final stretch.
I pulled myself off the floor and made it to the bed before crashing until work started. Usually I do my Bible study in the mornings as well, but that didn't happen.

Thursday, I decided to do the Bible study first, but by the time I was done with that, it was again all I could do to drag myself to the bed for another hour of sleep before work.

So, today, I just went ahead and slept the extra hour. I got my Bible study done, but not Pilates. Still, I feel tons better today. Hopefully I'll be able to get Pilates back in there soon!

And that's about it! I'm working through almost a dozen samples of prenatal vitamins from the doctor. I'm supposed to pick which one I like best, but really, am I going to tell that much difference? We'll see.

I picked up maternity clothes from Karen on Wednesday, including the Bella Band I've wondered about for forever. I used it yesterday, and the jury's still out on it. I'll try to post a demo of it sometime. :)

You're Really Coming!

I must admit that, while I've had lots of proof (positive tests and some changes in your Mom) to tell me that you are on the way, I was really taken aback when I saw your little heart beating today. It was amazing! I literally said, "Hallelujah," when we saw you. I guess part of me, being a worrier, was just so blessed to see that you are doing OK and really coming.

Well, that's it for now...I just wanted to write down how I felt the very first time that I saw you - amazed and blessed!

Newbie's First Photo Shoot

Today was the day of the first appointment! It went great! Here's our first look at our little Newbie!
Kind of looks like a peanut, and the head is on the left of the photos. There are some bumps on the side that could be arms and legs--at 8 weeks, Newbie should have those, but the nurse didn't mention it.

The pictures aren't the greatest, but seeing the heartbeat was pretty cool. It was a tiny, fast flutter that said things are okay.

My due date is as we'd expected, November 21, 2008.

We really liked the doctor. She was very personable and down to earth, and she listened to every question I had. They took my bloodwork and everything else, and that's it! My next appointment is May 12. I came home with a bag full of samples and other goodies, and Jon and I were both happy and excited about the experience. The doctor's office is 5 minutes away, and in the hospital where we'll have the baby.

Once again I'm humbled by the blessings God has given us.

So blessed

Newbie is just 8 weeks old, and he/she already has so many things!

I've made two blankets. The taggie blanket is like the ones I gave as shower gifts. The Pooh quilt was when my friend Bekah taught us how to make a quilt in a day.

My parents already have a crib from when Brooke was little, and we'll move that to our house at some point (hopefully not too soon!).

My parents found a stroller and carseat at a good price. Just taking it out to take this picture showed me a lot of the cool stuff it can do. I'm already envisioning trips to the State Fair....

And my sister-in-law, KarenN, couldn't resist the "Baby's First Easter" stuff on sale!

What a blessing to be so loved before even being born! Thank you!

Eight Weeks!

We've made it through 8 weeks! 2 months. Wow.

So far, still not many signs of pregnancy. Still no morning sickness, and I'm crossing my fingers that maybe I've bypassed it altogether. Some girls I've talked to say it could still happen, and some say it won't. I like the second group of girls.

The feeling of gagging that I had earlier on has gone away for the most part. I've always got something in my purse to munch on...Jon laughed at me yesterday when he started to get hungry and I offered peanuts and raisins. When he said no, I offered a breakfast bar? No...well, I should have a mint in here somewhere....oh look! A cookie! I'm like a squirrel hoarding for the winter.

I'm taking belly shots, but nothing much to show there, so they're not worth posting, yet. I've always had a little pooch, but when I lay down, the pooch flattens out nicely. Not any more. The same pooch is there, but it doesn't flatten out. That's made some "borderline" pants not so comfortable, and Jon laughs at my hanging out at the house with my pants unbuttoned....don't tell him I did it at work the other day, too. :)

Hm...what else is different. Really not much. Haven't gained any weight, yet, which I think is good, considering that Newbie is only the size of kidney bean. I haven't been sleeping well, which makes me tired during the day. And I've been kind of crabby. They say PMS symptoms get worse during pregnancy, and I would say that's true. Let me extend a blanket apology now! :)

So how's Newbie doing? Well, this is what BabyCenter says:

New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

Pretty exciting, huh? We go to the doctor on Monday! Our first time to meet our little one! I cannot wait. I'll give you an update then!

It's all in the wording.

Pregnant
Preggers
Prego
All Pooched Out (APO)
Bun in the Oven

and my favorite:

PregNENto! (Has to be exclaimed, and with an Italian accent)(And yes, this is my own word.)

I never liked preggers or prego, but I've found myself using both terms. I think because "pregnant" just seems so...overwhelming, both to me and to people around me who aren't pregnant. So, prego seems to tone it down a bit.

What are other synonyms? Leave comments! Oh, and if you're from the future :) and reading this blog for the first time and I posted it weeks ago, no worries. Comment anyway! I'm notified of all comments, so I read them even if they're on posts I haven't looked at in months. So everyone feel free to comment on past posts!