18 weeks

Here I am at 18 weeks pregnant - check out that big ol' belly! To put it in perspective - because I think this picture just kind of makes my bust line look small - my 34B/32C boobs have grown to a plump 34D (Matt's happy about that!). I guess when I'm only 5' tall, there is no where for Cleetus and my expanding uterus to go, but OUT! I think I've actually been showing a little bit since about 12 weeks pregnant, but only people who really pay attention would have noticed. Or maybe people thought I was getting fat!

Anyway, I've gained about 7-8 pounds on my pre-pregnancy weight - thanks to my new found sweet tooth! I didn't even really like chocolate that much before getting pregnant, and now I find myself chugging chocolate milk! I also can't get enough fruit, which I didn't eat too much before, either. Of course, I'm not working out as much anymore, either. Morning sickness during the first trimester pretty much put me out of commission, and now its hard to get motivated to go back to the gym! The weather is getting nice again, though - finally! So, I'm going to start getting out for walks & some jogging, too (if my back can take it...).
On another note - I've started feeling Cleetus move around a little bit occasionally. Sometimes its hard to tell the difference from gas, but it seems to be much more centered - where gas usually bubbles up the side. It's a very exciting - but very weird feeling! It's neat to feel the baby - but somewhat disconcerting to have another being living and growing inside of me (eeek...a little alien-like...)!!

The First Ultrasound

We had our first ultra sound on April 10th, when I was about 12 weeks along. Cleetus was 6.3cm from crown to rump, which is about 7-8% the size of me, who is approximately 80-85cm crown to rump (I measured...). And, since it involved me - it was an adventure!

I scheduled the appointment as part of a first trimester screening test over two weeks in advance, and got a lunch time appointment (12:45) so Matt could join. Then, Magee hospital send me a confirmation letter & a form to fill out. And - I also had to preregister for the appointment 24 hours in advance via phone or website. There was no way a human being - even me - could screw up the time for this appointment. But, when we show up at the ultrasound unit that afternoon, the receptions get very gruff with me, informing me I had an 8am appointment that I never showed up for!! Luckily I brought my confirmation letter with me, and was like "NO! My appointment was for now!" So, the two receptionists are totally confused [does being a hospital receptionist require a certain low I.Q.?], and don't know what to do. Apparantly, they threw away all my paper work when I didn't show up for the nonexistent appointment in the morning. They take all my info again, and tell us to have a seat. So - we start waiting. And waiting. And waiting.
Now would be a good time to tell you that they told me to drink a big glass of water before the ultrasound because a full bladder helps push the uterus up, which is useful for early pregnancy ultrasounds. So, during all this waiting, I have a steadily increasing need to pee. To the point where I am seeing yellow and can't sit still at all. But - I just keep holding on, not wanting to screw up getting a good ultrasound picture!
An hour and a half or so later, they finally take us back for the ultrasound - and I am super relieved to see there is a bathroom attached to the room, so I can race to it as soon as the ultra sound is done! I lay down in the chair - the technician gets the gew all over my belly & starts taking the ultrasound - at which point we discover that my bladder is so incredibly full, its squishing the uterus & they can't really see anything! The technician said I had to pee before they could continue (hip hip horay - that was the best urination of my life!). So - adding to the list of things that would only happen to DeeDee, "having a bladder too full for an ultrasound."
Now that I, and Cleetus, were much more comfortable, we successfully did the ultrasound. Cleetus was doing a little happy dance for the camera - and Matt and I were sent into a small reality shock: There is really a little baby growing in there! Oh my God, this is real!!!

Ughh - Morning Sickness

It came like a monster in the night - I just woke up one morning around week 7, feeling like I was going to throw up. Then came the funny taste in my mouth. And worse, it didn't go away. I'm not sure who came up with the name "morning" sickness, but I'll say it should be "super enduring" sickness. From that dreadful day in week 7 to around week 14, I was exhausted and nauseated, endlessly. I didn't throw up that often, but I wished I would because it might actually have helped me feel better. Eating and drinking anything was hard - I even gagged on water! It seemed to change every day what I could stand to put in my mouth, one day it was turkey another day macaroni and cheese. The only things I seemed to be able to consistently tolerate were chocolate ice cream, lemonade, and saltines. Some of my normally favorite foods - like chinese, repulsed me. Every prenatal vitamin I tried made it worse - even flinstone's chewables. I read every article I could find online about how to deal with it, but, it turns out, that there was nothing I could do but survive it.
The smells in lab at school had me gagging all through the day. Matt had to take over the litter box duty - and I was constantly accusing him of not cleaning it, even though he just had! I could smell anything a mile away & almost everything grossed me out.
Oh, and if the constant nausea wasn't enough for mother nature and Cleetus to throw at me; I was also constipated and had more gas then the cafeteria food at Seton Hill gave me! My stomach pretty much hurt from top to bottom and I was totally bloated. I couldn't stand to button my pants & used rubber bands instead; even though I actually lost about 5 pounds! As a result, I can't actually say when I really started needing maternity clothes. Plus - my acne flared up like I was 15 again - huge painful nasty zits everywhere & I had to stop using all my acne medications, which probably aggravated it more.
So - after spending about 7 weeks thinking "Why, oh why in the world, would anyone have more then one kid?" It went away. Well, mostly. The nausea went away, the gas and constipation has stuck around - but that is quite tolerable. My face is back to only moderately broken out. I can eat most foods again (although chinese does still repulse me...).
I can most definitely say that being pregnant is not all wonderful and magical. If you happen to be one of those women who don't get morning sickness - count your lucky stars, I'm super super jealous of you!!!!!!! I wouldn't wish it on any of my friends, but, if you have to struggle through it too - just know it ends. It does get better. And then, when you see your first ultra sound - and the little one floating around happily, its all worth it (but I'm still not having 10 kids - no way!).

Looking Back - Passing the Test

I probably should have started this blog a few months ago - but when have I ever done anything on time?! I'm into the fifth month of pregnancy now, and have experienced a lot to get here. So, to catch you up...

I first suspected the pregnancy back in February, when I discovered an early & extremely light period might be something else - Implantation Bleeding. I thought I might be just a little crazy and over reacting, so I didn't say anything to Matt. I went out and got a pregnancy test, and get a result only I would get: half the second pink line appears! So, I still didn't know if I was pregnant, and was starting to think I was definitely crazy. But, a few days later I finally fessed up to Matt that I thought I might be pregnant, and we decided I should take another test. This time - I didn't mess around with any pink lines and opted for the digital test (you know, the one from the commercial..."the most advanced device you'll ever pee on..."). Yes, I was definitely pregnant. And more surprisingly, I didn't freak out at all - I smiled. :)