I'm Pregnant!

Yes! Believe it! I'm SO excited!


Since this is an entirely new area, and one that sometimes can involve a lot of "needless" jabbering (not that I don't do enough of it on my life's blog), I decided to make a new blog to contain all things baby. Though it will be very much a part of my life, I think it deserves its own little niche, to dedicate enough blog space to it and allow other parts of my life their own glory, too. 


Moving on. To answer a few questions I've been asked: Yes, we were trying. Yes, we plan on getting a new home (see main blog about that). Due date is November 1, 2011. No, we haven't thought of any names yet. We're waiting to find out the sex to hash that out. Yes, we intend to find out what we're having. 


I started writing this when I was 4 weeks, 6 days pregnant, knowing I wouldn't post it until after our 8 week appointment. May seem silly, especially since I had told some people already, but I didn't want to make a big deal out of it until after this appointment. So, my plan was just to add tid-bits to this blog as time went on in case anyone was curious...and if you're not, you can quit reading! lol Since you've clicked over here to read about Kim's baby crap, I'm assuming you were sorta interested. Otherwise, you were warned.


And, because I'm a tad control freak and strive for "efficiency," I definitely bought into the charting method. Charting (or Fertility Awareness) is actually really cool (call me a nerd, but it was to me). Many people use it for birth control (it is NOT they rhythm method). For me, being a tad not regular (like a day or two off), it's not the most awesome, but if you want to avoid hormones and such, its nice. You'd just have to abstain or use protection during a certain few days that you learn to pin point by watching what your body does. The most annoying part? Taking your temperature first thing when you wake up, trying to do it at the same time every day, and after at least 3 hours of sleep. (If you were to ask me, I think same time every day trumps 3 hours of sleep, but take that for what you will.) After 2 cycles of trying, I got knocked up. That's efficient for you (and lucky, because healthy couples really only have a 20% chance each cycle to get pregnant.) 


Side note: I used Taking Charge of Your Fertility, well, really the book, as well as Fertility Friend to learn about and put into practice charting for fertility. But the book can teach you about Fertility Awareness if you're interested in learning how to avoid pregnancy by watching little signs your body gives you every cycle to know when to prevent pregnancy or abstain from sex to prevent.


Week 1 of pregnancy: Actually, whether you knew this or not, this whole 38-42 weeks pregnant is a little of a misnomer...as week one is usually the week in which you ovulate...so there is practically no way you're really pregnant at this point. So I felt awesome, obviously. Since it's the best count-down method the docs have...I'll take it.


Week 2: This is a sort of false week, too. lol. This week is really where sperm meets egg, and may implant this week as well. Even though some of that pregnancy hormone HCG might get started this week, you'll pretty much never know. According to a girl at work, however, when Brandon got sick this week, this was his version of morning sickness (even though he never has barfed since.) So, whatever, awesome.


Week 3: I found out this week! I was 11 days after ovulation and decided to test "just in case," because we were about to start drinking beer for fun. I believe my words exactly were, "Let's finish all the beers in the fridge." So glad I tested! And so glad I got my sushi and alcohol fix in already the previous week...because I can't have any of that for a while (well, sushi as long as it's completely cooked through).


Week 4: Some tiny symptoms started. No nausea, but I was hungry a lot. Had to use the restroom a lot, and I was...bubbly (think gas, but I so didn't want to use that word). But felt great! So far, so good, right?


Week 5: Was pretty uneventful. At the end, I started feeling like gagging often. Not nausea really, and no vomiting...but thinking about food made me want to gag. I could eat...but it was really hard to think about food without wanting to gag.


Week 6: A lot of the same gagging feeling. It was frustrating because I could feel fine, but get hungry and want to gag. Close to the end of this week, though, I started getting upset tummy. Maybe nausea, maybe tummy cramps, maybe just hunger. I can still eat, but not without frustrations. I also started lying in bed and reading a book/sleeping all the time. I was either at work, or in bed. 


Week 7: Some lessening. Gagging still around sometimes and the upset tummy sometimes, but towards the end of this week, I finally started feeling like sitting on my computer and playing World of Warcraft again. That left me for a while, but I do feel better. Still so exhausted. I love to sleep. But I often can't sleep for very long without having to wake up. And when I do wake up, I don't know why I'm awake. So I usually pee and go back to bed, but I'm pretty pissed about it. And lots of dreams have started up. Just random things, but still skewed towards the weird side.


Week 8: Still exhausted. Sleep is my best friend! What is annoying on my work days is I usually am in bed by 11am to 12pm (which is late, but I sleep so much the night before, it's hard to go to sleep before then), but I wake up around 3pm to pee, and get up for work between 4:45 and 5pm. So that last leg of sleeping is short and sucky! But gagging much less. And I had my doctor's appointment this week! I was so excited about it! I'll post about it later.


Week 9: I'm feeling so much better. Still sleepy...but it doesn't seem so bad. As I'm writing this, I'm barely in week 9, actually, but I feel like things have gone so mild with me so far, I don't have much more to add symptom-wise. All I have left in the first tri-mester is weeks 10, 11, and 12. If they're anything like week 9, they'll be very lame to mention. If they change the way I hope they will, I'll have nothing to talk about! So, I'm stopping here. I'll post more if there is anything to mention at all!


Pee stick pictures! (no pee is actually visualized!) And remember, ANY line is a line which is a line saying you're pregnant!

Can you see the faint line to the left of the control line? Ya, it's there...but this explains how many other tests I took after it!

This one's positive looks like a vertical line in the round window, making it a plus sign. It's there. BUT! Blue dye tests are known for false positives. This cannot be trusted (in my mind and especially since it's faint!) 

 

This was the, "Shit just got real," test. Both tests were run with the same pee. (don't ask, just go with it). Obviously the PREGNANT was the most exciting one. The one on bottom is the most sensitive test on the market (First Response Early Result, if you care) and to the left of the control line is a faint pink line. Hard to see in this picture, but it's there. 

This is me being anal and worried since my symptoms seemed to have gotten really mild so I HAD to retest!  And one of the tests was just for fun. The Pink test in the middle is the internet cheapy one (as in, no brand name it's so cheap) showing a darker line as positive! :) Obviously, the digital is clear. The one on the far left, Blue, is actually an Ovulation Predictor test (a internet cheapy as well). The theory behind me playing with this is Lutenizing Hormone (which is the hormone that spikes to initiate ovulation, which ovulation predictor tests test for) is molecularly similar to HCG, the pregnancy hormone. Pregnancy tests won't test for LH, but LH tests can detect HCG. This is a pretty positive test, if I may say so.