Little Bitty

The nickname I've given to our baby is Little Bitty. I'm the only one who uses that nickname. MH calls the baby various things, and Squirt just says "the baby". The exciting thing is that we are all able to use the same pronoun now: HE! We are reasonably certain that the addition to our family will be a boy. Unfortunately, I do not posess reliable evidence to support this claim. We were able to clearly discern the nature of his parts on the screen during the u/s; in fact, I announced his boy-ness to the tech and MH before the tech said anything. Sadly, what was captured on the disc and mailed to us is not clearly discernable as much of anything.

We have decided his first name but not a middle. We are one of "those" families who is not sharing the name until he gets here. The main reason is that at this moment, he will be our only baby together. We want to keep a little of it for just the three of us until he gets here.

In lieu of u/s pictures, here are comparative belly shots from 2/21 (8w6d) and 6/6 (23w6d).

My description is that people who know me can tell I'm pregnant, but strangers probably can't (and probably don't care).

I'd like to be better at this!

When do I think of blogging? Every day.
When do I actually blog? About once a month.
I CAN blog from work, but I feel guilty about it. When I get home at night, I just don't make the time. I'm going to try to do better. Sunday's are good days to blog/read/relax. Maybe I can squeeze in a blog post each Sunday? I feel that I'm doing a disservice to my memory by neglecting my blog.

Today will be two in one day: the next one deserves it's own post (a few weeks ago).

I'll give the second trimester it's own summation soon (don't laugh). These observations are actually CURRENT news. Notable observations of late include being less emotional, a new-found ability to stay up late, and O.doul's is good (CoorsNA notsomuch).

For the most part, T1 was pretty emotionally uneventful for me. T2 started the waterworks and the worries and the other fun emotional games. A question on a jury questionnaire asked if there was any reason that I would not want to serve on a particular jury for a capitol murder/kidnapping/battery trial. I answered: "I am pregnant and emotional." Lately though, it seems that some of that has passed. I hear that it will be back soon enough, and that's okay too.

Even before pregnancy, I've never been the type to stay up incredibly late. Eleven o'clock, in the absence of a good reason, has always been pushing it for me. Good reasons usually involve chatting with good friends, vacations, and/or the Internet. At one time or another, the following have not been "good reasons": dates, studying for tests, laundry, and/or the last five minutes of that show we've been watching for 2 hours. With pregnancy, I've not been plagued with extreme fatigue, but bed time ~around 10 pm~ has been one of my favorite times of the day! A weekend nap has been a long-time friend as well. A great friend of mine was in town for 3 nights last week, and we stayed up past midnight 2 of those nights, and past 11 the other night. Then, DH and I traveled to another state to watch a fabulous concert this past Friday, and we were up until 1:30 am! I haven't worked since Tuesday, and I've not had a nap yet.

Finally, O.doul's is a tasty and satisfying substitute for the particular beer taste that I was wanting. On the out-of-state concert trip, a (smoke-free) bar we went to to pass the time had no O.doul's but did have CoorsNA. CoorsNA just didn't do it for me. Thats not to say that other's may have the exact opposite opinion. I'm not a fan of stronger beer flavor. I like light beer. Live and learn.

Alright, tune in in just a few for the totally-deserving-of-it's-own-post post.

She didn't make it...

Dad and his wife married in 1992. They found out on their 16th wedding anniversary that she had cancer on her spine. It had metastasized there, and no one was sure of its origin. She/they elected to have only palliative care. She had several really rough and painful months followed by 3 or 4 relatively good months. The good months included Thanksgiving and Christmas. She cooked some. She bossed my dad around. Most importantly, she felt well enough to sit and actually eat with us. When we told her about Baby, it was a good day.

The end of the good months started around February. She made slow but steady decline. My dad, as her caregiver, was finally unable to control her pain at home about 3 to 4 weeks ago. He took her to the hospital on a Saturday evening. Examination showed more cancer and more deteriorated vertebrae.

Sunday evening, Easter Sunday, we visited her at the hospital. She was in immense pain. I took her hand and kissed her forehead. She whispered, "You can't tell." After a second, it dawned on me what she meant. I said, "No, not yet." Then she mouthed, "You look the same." I told her, "Yep, I sure do." Dad said, "You should have been here all day, you're the first person she's talked to." I told him that babies have that effect on people. He agreed. She didn't speak to anyone else. Very soon after our exchange, the medication allowed her to rest. She rested that evening and five more; she breathed her last breath one early morning with Dad by her side.

We were pretty sure from the beginning that she wouldn't make it to see or hold Baby. Before Dad had to take her to the hospital the last time, I told him that I hoped she could be made comfortable and last long enough to know what we are having. He hoped so too, but neither of us would have her suffer for it. She didn't make it...we'll all miss her.

First Trimester: Rather Uneventful

Pre-pregnancy, tender b00bs have signaled an impending period since I was in my teens, so that in and of itself was not a clue for me. The missed period - hmmm...I can usually set my clock by my cycle. So, January 22, I took a test, and found out that, if all goes as planned, MH and I will be expanding our family in early Fall! Sometime near the end of March (23rd or 30th), depending on when it officially ends, Baby and I left the first trimester in the past.
My symptoms over that time included: possible implantation bleeding 2-3 days before I would have started my period, missed period, the most painful and tender b00bs imaginable, slightly less painful and tender b00bs, some light cramping, cysts on both ovaries, z e r o sex-drive, and anti-cravings. Symptoms that I did not encounter include: morning sickness, nausea (with 1 minor exception related to a pepperoni filled pastry - ewww), frequent urination, fatigue, darkening areas of skin, increased sex-drive.

Nothing listed is all that weird exept for my anti-cravings, but I'd like to expand on three of the items, so I will.
~Explaining the b00b pain is very difficult. They really, REALLY hurt. They hurt all the time. The WORST was removal of the bra in the evening. Free swinging is a BAD idea. Luckily, the intensity of the pain did decrease after a month or so, but they are still tender. At least, I don't cringe to bathe now.
~Anti-craving might be a documented phenomenon (food aversion), but I like to think I invented it. It all started with broccoli. Normally, I love broccoli (and most other vegetables) no matter how it's served. So, thinking that I'd get a leg up on some good nutrition, I bought a head of broccoli. I cut it up, ate a little then, and put it in the fridge. The next day, I opened the fridge and saw the broccoli, and I was totally grossed out. I didn't smell it or touch it or taste it, but broccoli, or any other vegetable, was no longer for me. This has not really slacked up, but I am forcing myself to eat more of them because I know they are good for us. Dear Vegetables, It's not you, it's me.
~The sex-drive, or lack thereof. Two of my friends both said that they COULD NOT GET ENOUGH for the entire 9 months. One of my sisters said that was true for her during the 2nd trimester. Uh, notsomuch. I do not want it. There is no mental or physical drive for it. I am sure hoping this turns around. Even my sexy dreams go unfinished. GAH! Dear MH, It's not you, it's me. I love you, and appreciate your (relative) acceptance of this (hopefully)temporary glitch.

Well, this is a huge post for an uneventful trimester. I should post more often, it's not like I'm doing anything else!

So Much for "Remembering"...

Wow...I have no excuses. I have kept up with the bloggers I read, but I haven't been blogging.

This pregnancy is thankfully progressing quite uneventfully. Since my last post way back on February 12, I have progressed from 7w4d* to 15w3d, safely into the second trimester. I've gained 5 pounds. I've outgrown several pairs of pants, and I am wearing some maternity clothes, but I really have no "bump" to speak of. We've taken a few belly shots, but nothing worthy of posting has showed up yet. I have had 2 OB appointments. Both were uneventful. We've heard Baby's heartbeat twice. The first time we weren't told the heart rate, but most recently, the heart rate was 159.

AND several families in blogland have been blessed with new additions! Congratulations to Calliope, Jennepper, JJ, Erin, Mel, and Tanis (when/if I figure out how to link, I'll update those names with links). I plan to do a first trimester summary soon so that at least some of my memory goal is achieved. Lastly, I am happy that someone missed me!! Thanks, Jill!

*I updated my counting to correspond with what the doctor has on file from the ultrasound. Basically, I adjusted forward 3 days.

Firsts

First Prenatal Appointment: 2/9/09, 6w4d LMP. Everything appears normal and healthy. EDD updated to 9/27/09.

First Ultrasound: 2/9/09. Baby measured 9mm, 7w0d. Heartrate 141 bpm.

First Picture of Baby posted on blog: 2/12/09. A disk arrived in the mail yesterday from the radiology group that performed the ultrasound. That disk contained 2 digital pictures. I was so excited to receive this since they told us at the appointment that we would not be receiving any images to take home.

Who Knows?

My Honey and I have enjoyed telling people about this baby. So far, we have limited it to close friends and family because it is still so early.

We let Squirt tell MH's mom and dad. He said, "Did y'all hear about the kid that's coming to live with us in October?" They both looked like they were waiting for the punchline. MH's dad was laughing and asking Squirt to repeat himself because he couldn't really understand him since he talks fast. Then Squirt added, "The only thing is that it hasn't been born yet." MH's mom eyes got so big, then she asked if I was pregnant, and we told her yes. MH's dad started crying and hugged me so tightly. Then his mom hugged me too. She asked if we were trying or if it was an accident...lol. They were both very happy to get to be grandparents again. They forgot to congratulate MH until a couple days later. Ha!

My dad and his wife live almost 2 hours from us. We drove down the next day to tell them in person.* I asked them to pose for a picture so that I could try out a new setting on my camera. They were happy to oblige. My dad always says, "Say whiskey!" before taking a picture. After he said that, I said, "Say 'JP's pregnant!'."** My stepmom said, "J's...(gasp) ARE you?" I smiled and nodded yes; she started crying. My dad said, "Well, I'll be." Then, he grinned and reached out to shake MH's hand and asked, "Did you have anything to do with this?" He's such a cheeseball.

Oldest Sister: I broke down and told her over the phone even though I didn't want to do it that way. She asked me if I'd been shopping to get a particular item yet, and I told her that I hadn't because I'd had other things on my mind - "Like, being pregnant." Her response: Yaaaaaaaay.

Her son (16): Asked him what he was doing - reading. Told him I was reading too: What to Expe.ct When You're Expe.cting. It took him a minute. He was excited and asked some neat questions.

Brother: He's overseas right now. We mailed him a letter, and he received it on 2/6/09. He was VERY excited and called me on my way to work to let me know.

SIL: I told her that I had some left over pregnancy tests to give her the next time I saw her (she and Brother are considering TTC #3 when he gets home). She was quick, got it immediately. I swore her and their two boys (13 and 10) to secrecy until Brother got his letter.

Older Sister: Called her and asked what she was doing - surfing the net. I told her to Goo.gle 'due date cal.culator'. "WHY?" "Because, just do it." Click, click, click..."October 1st...(gasp) JP, am I going to be an aunt?" "Yes!" Her two younger ones (16 and 11) were cute when I told them. Her oldest (19) was hilarious. She said, "Oh, that is so exciting!! Have you told Uncle MH yet?" "No, Sweetie, I wanted to make sure I told you first." "Oh, yeah, duh." LOL!!

Sweetest of all was my grandmother. She is 88 and has alzheimer's, BUT the day I told her was a good day. She sounded like her old self and was very happy. I get all warm and fuzzy just thinking about it.



*We told them we were getting married over the phone (long story), after only dating for 7 weeks. We owed them this one in person.
**In my excitement, I snapped the picture right before I actually said it. It still had the desired effect, but I didn't capture the moment like I'd intended.