Baby Blogging for Beginners Weeks 0-11

Well, I don't blog, but I thought this might be a nice way to keep you all up to date on what is going on with Dan, the little fetus and myself. Since some of you live far and away and the rest I'm seeing less often now that I'm puking four+ times a day (though at scheduled intervals), I figured I could help you all feel involved and updated this way. Plus it saves me answering the same questions 300 times when I go into a public setting.

So this week has been pretty eventful for us: Because I've been so terribly sick, I have had to postpone the rest of my student teaching until next fall. After trying six prescriptions (which was the entirety of the doctors' suggestions), an assortment of herbal remedies, and old-wives-tale treatments, to no avail, Dan and I decided that taking some time off would be the best decision for the baby's and my health. This way I can rest and relax as needed, eat/drink when I feel I can, and simply prepare for mommyhood without the excess strain (as has always been typical even when I'm not pregnant!). My mentor teacher, counselors, and my doctors alike are all in agreement that this is the best decision that could be made at this point. I finished my last day at school on Tuesday and it was very sad. I'm hoping to be able to stop in, periodically, just to say "Hi" to the kids. I'm definitely missing them!
In the mean time, I'm hoping to find something beneficial I can do from the comfort of my own home at my own pace. I may take up knitting. I may start my own business. I may finally write that novel. Or I may just come out of the closet and become the housewife you know has been inside me all these years. I'm not sure yet, but I'm going to explore my options. To tell the truth, I'm kind of excited about the freedom. I've never really had an opportunity to do something like this. So, I'm looking forward to adventuring into the unknown (well, less known than the previous direction my life was headed).

So, as for the pregnancy:
Dan and I found out we were expecting on August 5th! It was super exciting!

I wasn't really sure that the test had read correctly. So I took two. This picture was taken right before Dan went off to work that day.

Since that time we have been to the doctor a few times, mostly for tests and already our first ultrasound!
We had our first ultrasound at the end of August. It was pretty early, but since I've been so sick, the doctor wanted to make sure I didn't have some rare condition which would cause serious complications. However, the tests came back fine! We were so relieved. It just turns out that I got the shortest end of the stick when lots were being drawn on who gets to have the worst morning sickness ever. We also got to hear the little one's heartbeat for the first time during that visit. Wow! It was so amazing to see that little pulsing dot and hear the thump, thump, thump, thump. Although the baby looked like nothing more than a little shrimp, we were told that everything was measuring up very well and our due date of April 12th seemed to be right on the dot! Since we have currently misplaced our sonogram pictures, I'm hoping to get another copy from the Aegis soon. So I'll have those up before too long!
Here is a shot of the belly at the end of month two. Just the beginnings of the baby bloat.
I had a check up on Sept. 1st, just to make sure I was healthy. Turns out, excluding horrendous morning sickness, I couldn't be healthier. So that is another blessing!

We are scheduled to go back for our next ultrasound on September 29th. This should be a pretty routine visit as we have decided to forgo the CVS testing. After looking into it, I decided I wasn't comfortable with it and Dan agrees. Anything that increases that chance of miscarriage, no matter how small, is just not kosher in my book. Since we aren't high risk, it isn't being pushed by our doctors. So we're grateful for that. We may have ultrasound examinations done later that don't involve such invasive and risky techniques for determining chromosomal defects. We're still looking into it.

Well, to end off this first and very long blog, here are the latest belly pictures. I don't know if you can tell, but I feel like I've grown a lot! But that could just be all the stretching I'm feeling from the inside. Now I know how those stretch toys that were so popular when I was a kid felt all the time.

From the side. I swear I look bigger than 10/11 weeks!

I mean, I did have a bit of a tummy before baby, but not like this!

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Right from the front. I don't know if you can really see a bump from this position but thought it would be nice to include for comparison.

Here are some fun facts about the pregnancy:

*When is your due date? April 12, 2010

*What week are you in? 10/11 weeks

*How much weight have you gained? maybe a few tenths of a pound. I'm having enough trouble keeping food down, let alone gaining weight!

*Do you know the gender of your baby? If so, what? Not yet, It'll be another couple of months

*Do you have a name picked out? What? Boy: Kellen Gabriel, Girl: Aiden, Jerusalem, Anne, Raine (we're still pairing it down)

*Who is going to be with you during delivery? Dan, but I'm not sure if about anyone else.

*Natural or medicated childbirth? Medicated, but not until I give the go ahead. I want to wait as long as I can.

*Home or hospital birth? Bloomington Hospital

*How are you feeling right about now? Nauseous and hungry. Does that even make sense?

*Have you felt the baby move? Not yet, but I can feel the ligaments in all of their stretching glory

*What is the latest thing you bought for baby? Dan bought a baby hiking pack. He's so excited!

*Any food cravings?No, but whatever I feel like eating, I must eat. Otherwise, I can't eat anything.

*Anything you loved before that you absolutely cannot eat anymore? Hummus and cucumbers. Bleh!