Shining a flashlight at my baby!

Okay, I haven’t done this yet. But apparently this week (week 15) my baby would move if I shined a flashlight on my belly. I wouldn’t feel it move yet though. Very eagerly anticipating movement!

Lately I’ve noticed some pain when I sneeze. I wonder if it’s my abdominal muscles separating. This might get very ouchy as I get bigger and bigger…

Pregnancy and low vitamin D

Interesting results from my prenatal blood testing.

My midwife says my vitamin D level is ‘really really really low’ (yes, she used three reallys!). As in 33 when the range is 30-150. This is surprising because I normally take 1,000 units daily, and I upped to 4,000 units since a few weeks after conception. 4,000 units is a very large dose (the RDA is 200 units, just enough to prevent rickets), so I am amazed that my level can still be so low!!!! Anyway, she wants me at 20,000 units for the forseeable future. That’s the amount of D you might get with 20 minutes of sunlight.

I wonder what’s up with my body – maybe it doesn’t process vitamin D well?? I’m glad she decided to test my vitamin D levels, I thought it would be unnecessary because of the dose I was taking, but sheesh!

Week 11, Week 12

Not much to report anymore. Most of the nausea and bad symptoms have disappeared. I mostly feel great! I’ve puked a couple times, because apparently my supplements no longer agree with me. I discovered a great way to get them down: eat each one with a bite of applesauce.

My lower belly sticks out in a way that it didn’t before. It’s a bit more rounded, and I think it would be more obvious if my boobs hadn’t also grown, throwing the proportions off. I wonder how much longer before people at work start suspecting. I’d say I have a while; my uniform top is a baggy sweatshirt (I work at a gym).

I had my second appointment with my midwives, and my husband came along this time! He approves, which is a big relief. She tried to listen to the baby’s heartbeat with the doppler, but couldn’t find it. I was concerned, but she said it was still a bit soon to hear it, and let me feel my uterus so I’d know I was progressing. It was really, really neat to feel my uterus! It’s not like something I can feel every day. Being pregnant is only going to get more exciting from here.

Hearts.

Doughnut hearts:

Paper hearts:

Those doughnut hearts didn’t taste very good, but they were cute!

Week 10

Ow. What’s with the back pain? I’m only 2 months pregnant! It’s way down low, by my tailbone, and feels like a muscle that hasn’t been pulled yet, but is very irritated. At least it’s not up by my kidneys. But I can’t crack my back (which is a ?! all of it’s own), can’t massage or stretch it away, can’t make it dissipate with heat. I don’t know what to do!

2009

A great year.

I got engaged, I got married, I got pregnant, I bought a house. Wow! That’s pretty crazy when you look at it that way. I can’t believe I just did 4 huge things in one year, when most years of my life I did zero. I even did tons of littler things, like start this blog, have an overnight sleep study, and travel to Kentucky. Most years those would be the big things!

Hooray for 2009 and I am excited for 2010, which will include conclusions of some of those big things (like closing on the house and having the kid).

Ideas for 2010:

More pictures on my blog. Maybe I’ll start doing a belly shot every week.

Okay, that’s my one idea that doesn’t involve the house or the baby. So I’ll leave it at that. Merry 2009, blog, nice to have met you.

Week 9

I’m so frustrated this week. Of course this is holiday time, with family members visiting left and right, so no wonder I’m testy. But I really don’t enjoy taking it out on my husband. He has been rather understanding that pregnant wife = grumpy wife and that I can’t really help it. Actually he has been really great overall so far. He’s not even freaked out. Let’s see what happens when I start to show.

I need to counteract this negativity with some things that are great.

Loving the lime tea I got from my mom.

We are buying a house, and will be home soon.

The elephants upstairs moved out.

Awake and dreaming.

When I’m tired lately, because I’m pregnant and I’ve gone off my anti-depressants, almost nothing helps. If I take a hot shower, it dries out my skin more and makes me itch. Food pleasures are out, as almost everything seems vile and disgusting. But the one reliable path to bliss is laying around, awake and dreaming. I swear I can enter this weird state in which I’m mostly awake and intermittently alert, but also letting my dreaming mind take over. It’s not daydreaming, as I’m not controlling it, and, well, I know what daydreaming feels like and this isn’t it. Light sleep? Awake and dreaming? I don’t know, but I’ll lay there for hours in complete bliss, and feel so happy and full and wonderful. I love it.

Week 8

There has definitely been less nausea all week. I’m a little less picky on what I eat, but only a little. It’s pretty frustrating to have to go out and buy a veggie sub everyday, but at least I don’t want pizza or candy bars.

Apparently my uterus is now the size of an orange.

Week 7

The biggest event of week 7 has been desperate cravings, followed by disgust partially through said craved item.

I can’t plan meals at all, because I don’t know what I’ll like the next day, much less the next week!

I think everything smells bad, including my poor husband, who has been taking it rather well when I tell him to please face away from me when talking since I can smell his breath. (Really, I do this. It’s terrible, but I can’t help my weird scent preferences! It’s either him turn away, or nausea!) He normally smells quite good and not stinky at all. I can’t wait for this symptom to pass.

I met my midwives today – they are great!