Fifteen Weeks

Another week has zoomed past! I got to see my grandparents whom I don't see very often, and show off the little baby belly that I have. I'm quite proud of it. If you mention it, it will make me smile. :) My in-laws are here this week as well, so there's another part of the family who hasn't seen me since I announced.

The past two days I've been wearing maternity shorts--the kind with the hideous full panel. I definitely do not fit in that, yet, but it worked when I rolled and tucked and folded the panel down. Today I pulled out some capri pants, this time with a yoga-wear-like elastic waistband, and it fits just perfectly. Thanks Karen! I think these are my new favorite pants. That paired with my favorite tees from Motherhood (they're not frumpy, and they're nice and long), and I'm good to go.

I've also designed out what the nursery will look like! I'll scan it in and put it up soon, I hope. I'm really excited about it.

A couple weeks ago my mom and I sat down and rearranged the house (on paper), so Jon and I will start shifting things around pretty soon. Then by the time my mom comes on Labor Day to help us organize everything, we'll have hopefully gone through all the junk stuff in our storage closet and thrown away what we don't really need.

I'm realizing I do need to simplify things. I've cleaned out all my magazines, which is really a small part of the Norvell household, but it's a step! And an admission that I can't keep everything. I'm tired of all the random things stuffed into our house, but I haven't been willing to actually cull anything out. So, maybe I will do that now.

Other than that, things have been quiet! Newbie is 4 inches long now. When I say that, it doesn't sound like a big deal. Then I look at something that's about 4 inches long and I think, "Wow! I can't believe there's a 4-inch long baby inside me!" I don't know when I'll get over the craziness of carrying a living being in my belly--probably about the time I push it out!

Oh, so that brings up another story. On Mother's Day weekend, my mom was helping me try to get an earring in my cartilage piercing. I had my head down on the bathroom counter because I was feeling faint, my mom had put a cool damp cloth on my neck, I was holding a piece of ice up to my hear, and yelling, "Ow! Let me do it! Ooohh....be careful!!" and making all kinds of commotion about my ear. At one point I looked at my mom and said, "I guess I should get the epidural, huh?" and she quickly replied, "Yes, dear."

Fourteen weeks and falling apart!

I seemed to have missed officially reporting on week 13. Well, I guess we'll just say it was uneventful.

Week 14, however, has had its share of events. I seem to be falling apart! Apparently, during my pregnancy, my ligaments and joints will start to loosen. This is to prepare for the Great Trip that Newbie will take. All the books warn of trouble during exercising, etc, because of these loose ligaments. I figured that would happen around, oh...week 36 or so. You know, just in time for Newbie to come. However, that seems to not be the case.

I was at DFW airport, grabbing my bags to board for Boston, when I jammed my finger. I have no idea how--I did nothing more than open and close my hand--but my finger felt like it had been jammed. I had severe pain for a few minutes, then it subsided to an ache for a day or so, and then it was gone.

My foot also started hurting. This actually started the weekend before when we were visiting my parents. It went away during the week (because I don't walk much), but the miles of walking I did every day in Boston, and the weight of conference paraphernalia took its toll. I'm sure pregnancy was only one factor in my foot problems.

My feet have also been going to sleep much easier. Just by crossing my legs (which is the way I always sit), I feel that tingling sensation only a few minutes later. No more leg-crossing for me, I suppose.

I've been trying to sleep with a body pillow, to keep me on my left side (which is recommended) and to help my hip alignment or something. It's working okay, but it's literally like having another body in the bed. Pregnant people need King-sized beds for all the pregnancy junk.

Oh, and Jon and I officially made the switch so I'd be on the side of the bed that's closer to the bathroom! So far, I only wake up once in the night, and even then not every night, but I hear it only gets worse, so we might as well get used to it.

Newbie's about 3 1/2 inches long, and his big accomplishment this week is that he's starting to pee--a feat I'm sure we'll witness often in his future. Maybe there's a proportional connection to the baby's peeing and mom's need to pee. Hm...interesting.

Well, that's the update! Until next time!

Telling Work

On Wednesday, I got to tell everyone at work. Monday's sonogram had confirmed that we'd made it through the first trimester, and it was time to share the news! I wanted to tell my boss first, because it's only right. He was in a meeting, and I haunted his door until he made it back. He'd barely sat down when I popped in and closed the door. I handed him an envelope with the sonogram pics in it. He pulled them out then looked at me. "You?" he asked. "Yep!"

He was almost giddy. He reached across the desk and shook my hand. (There's a misconception around work that I'm not a hugger, but that's another story.) He said he felt like he was getting another grandchild, he was so proud. Later he wrote me a nice e-mail saying what a great mother I would be.

After that, my next stop was Jan, who has been my "work mom" since I got to Texas Life. I showed off my locket Jon had given me. I'd put a sonogram picture in it (I know, no one knows what it is except me, and that's okay), and I said, "Well, here's the real picture so you can see it better" and hander her the sonogram. She was so excited. She said, "I thought this morning, 'Lydia looks pregnant!' "

Well, we work in cubicles, so announcing to Jan meant that two other women knew in about 23 seconds. And that was how it started. After that, it wasn't long before most everyone knew. We're a company of about 120 people--30 who know me--and the Marketing Dept is good at spreading news, what can I say? Pretty soon people started showing up, saying, "I was told to come see you." I even got an e-mail from a girl who doesn't even work there anymore! It was so great.

I'm the youngest in my department, so most everyone I told already has children, and it felt like they were welcoming me to their club. Like I'd entered a new stage, and they were all happy for me to be there with them. I guess the newlywed stage is so much shorter than the children stage; it must be harder to relate to.

And that was that! I think that's all the announcing I'll be doing. It's been so much fun to spread good news. We're so blessed to have family and friends to rejoice with us!

Welcome Public World!

Hey! If you're just getting to the blog for the first time, welcome! Be sure and read and comment!

If you're wondering why I waited so long to make it public, I had some people at work who read my lmnovations blog, so I didn't want them to find out and pass the news on to my boss before I told him myself.

More later about announcing to work!

A great trip to the Doctor

Today's appointment was great! It started out with a two-hour wait...it seems that waiting comes with the territory--both with this doctor and with choosing the last appointment of the day. We were the last people in the waiting room, and by the time we made it to the back, I was extremely tired.

According to their scale, I've actually lost weight--one pound. The doctor said that was perfectly fine. My blood pressure was fine, as was my urine sample (put that in there for Margie). My bloodwork from last month was fine as well.

After that, we waited again. I asked the nurse what we were doing today, and she said just listening to the heartbeat. Woohoo! Finally, the Dr. came in and pulled out the Dopplar. She warned us that we might not find the heartbeat, and if we didn't, we'd check things out on sonogram. Okay by us. Well, she found it! A nice whooshy heartbeat! Dr. K said the heart rate was 168, which means people would tell me it's a girl.

Then, she said, "Eh, y'all have been so patient; let's do the sonogram anyway."

Hooray!! Already elated by hearing the hearbeat, we skipped over to the sonogram room. The last sonogram, the tech just took the shots she needed and that was pretty much it. But, we were the last people in the office and Dr. K was in no hurry. She gave us a good long look at our little Newbie, and took lots of pictures for us. We got to keep them all! The cool thing was how active Newbie was! He was wiggling and kicking and waving his arms...it was so fun! Dr. K said an active baby meant that people would tell us we're having a boy.

We saw arms and legs, tiny toes, eyes and mouth....

The smudge at the top is a hand, with his arm extending to the right (you can see the radius and ulna already formed).

This is a shot of his back, looking a little like a turtle.

And this is my favorite of the 2D shots. His little bum is pointed straight up, his knees are tucked out of site, and at the top are his tiny toes!

Then, Dr. K switched the sonogram over to 3D, which was awesome (and normally something you have to pay extra for). Newbie was so active, that we didn't get very many good looks from it, but she did catch one good shot of his face with his arm covering it. Jon and I decided that Newbie is pretty darn cute, so tiny and all.

Can you see his little face?? How cool is that?!

By 6:30, we left the office, far later than we'd expected, but with far more, as well. Again, I am overwhelmingly awed by a God who would bless us with a baby, and who would take care of the little things like finding the perfect doctor, and calming our fears with an unexpected sonogram.

Last Night's Dream

Last night I dreamed that the dr. found from testing that the baby I was carrying was "humanoid," which in my dream meant half human and half something else. The doctor recommended I come back in a month to terminate the pregnancy. I refused, and even followed the dr. out of the office and explained to her why. I told her how disappointed I was because I had chosen her because she was a Christian, and I expected her to practice according to her beliefs.

It was a disturbing dream, and touched on my fears about the testing. I have no doubt that we would keep the baby, but I guess I worry about the results in general, and then the response of the doctor.

I don't even know if/when we will get the tests done, but I do know that God is in control, and He is knitting our little baby together right now.

Off to the dr. in a few hours! I'll give a report after that.

And we're at the Twelve-Week mark!

My What to Expect book doesn't say "Congrats, you've made it through the first trimester!" until week 14. Not sure I understand that. I think I've made it, and that's all that counts, right? (I love this postmodern world....) (Okay, I really don't. I'm completely making fun.)

So, in the last week...I gained half a pound! Woohoo! And by that, I mean a half pound this whole trimester. We'll see if the doctor's okay with that when I go in on Monday. The nurse will be. She seemed to think that that office churned out some fat babies, which, in her opinion, leads to uterus and bladder problems in the mother. The less you gain, the better. I'm pretty sure that's her own opinion, not supported by the office.

I've added a new feature in the sidebar: when my next appointment is and what we'll be doing at that appointment. I've got bloodwork on there because I think that's what she said. If we want testing for chromosomal issues or other potential problems, it will happen in the next few appointments. So if there's anything in our family history that I need to check for, let me know! I think the options for testing are: Down Syndrome, cystic fibrosis, spina bifida, and that's all I can remember.

Right now I'm fighting a cold--nothing big, just annoying. The doctor's office said it's nothing to worry about, just take Tylenol and drink fluids. So that's what I'm doing!

My stomach has gotten decidedly firmer, though it hasn't really grown much lately. And Newbie is developing reflexes this week! "Reflexes" makes me think of a ninja for some reason, but in this context they just mean opening and closing fists. Oh well. I'm sure I'll feel the ninja part later, when I will be able to see Newbie's feet and elbows kicking me from the inside.

Eleven weeks already!

This week has flown by (as evidenced by my lack of posting). It's been busy at work, busy at home trying to get a photography business up and running, and I've been exhausted.

I haven't noticed much change in myself this week, though Newbie has grown another quarter inch. I'd given up Pilates to pursue extra sleep this past week, but today I started back to Pilates. I'm hoping it will help give me energy.

I haven't had any cravings--of course, I've always been easily influenced by suggestion, so maybe I'm just used to ignoring the random things that come into my mind. For example, this morning I had the front door open, and I could swear I smelled Ramen noodles. For a brief moment, I considered having Ramen for breakfast, but like I said, that is completely normal in my life, and easily ignored. I had cereal.

I've been trying to eat well, getting milk and orange juice and trying to have vegetables and fiber every day. There are definitely times when I don't eat well, but I think I'm eating healthier than before we got pregnant. I've always preferred salty over sweet, and I'm still eating salty foods...I figure at some point I should cut them out, but pickles and pretzels and salsa....those are hard to give up!

So that's this week's update. Next week we'll have made it to the end of the first trimester! And then (drum roll please....) I tell work! And that, my friends, will be your ticket to tell the world, blast it out on your blogs, and generally make a public fuss about the fact that you are soon to be an aunt (yeah, I know who's waiting on the edge of the keyboard!).