WOW! Pregnancy...

So I've started my last semester of nursing and boy I cannot wait until it's over!!! Not as hard material as last semester but so much to do! The list is just never ending... On to the good stuff, well, mostly good ;), the pregnancy!

So I was really hoping I'd have a pregnancy like my mom. Very uneventful, NEVER sick, just easy. Sure don't! I felt really good until I hit 8 weeks... That's when the morning sickness started and it has not stopped... So then I got Zofran to help with it. GREAT! Takes away the nausea, oh but wait... gives me a headache and oh yeah... CONSTIPATION!!!! :( (I do use this blog as a personal journal of sorts, so if this is TMI, too bad for you, skip to next paragraph) :) I have never been constipated in my life and oh Lord I'll never make the mistake of letting it happen EVER again. I wanted to die right then, I kinda thought I might because I didn't think I'd get the crap out of me so I was sure I'd just explode on the inside... Obviously, I didn't. I got over it and have been on a stool softener, DAILY, ever since. And so we solved THAT problem.

I also had some back pain that was so different from any back pain I've ever had. Dr. Macy told me I was one of the lucky ones that developed this early bone/ligament/whatever pain that would go away at 18 weeks (if I was lucky) but probably at 20 and then come back at about 34 weeks. Yay. Well, I got really lucky and have been good about baby-ing my back ever since and have kept that pain in check and have been good. Phew! Problem solved, for now. :)

So back to the never ending morning sickness... Dr. Macy gave me a prescription for a compound drug called Pyridox and it has been glorious!!! It has a sedative effect so I have to make sure I have at least 8 hrs to sleep if I want to take the full dose and when I can take even a 1/2 dose, I'm feeling pretty good in the morning. I haven't taken it for a couple days due to the fact that I haven't been able to have 8 straight hours of sleep in the last few days. I wondered if maybe since I'm now in my second trimester if the morning sickness was over. WRONG!!! Oh it came back with a vengeance. So, I have surrendered to the fact that I just must be one of those women who have morning sickness the whole pregnancy and will thank my lucky stars for every day that I can get 8 straight hours of sleep and take my magic Pyridox.

And on to "Placenta Brain" as I like to call the lack of mental functioning during pregnancy. Wow did I have it this last week. I hate to admit it, but I totally forgot Max's birthday. Not like, "Phew, that was close, I ALMOST forgot"... No. I completely forgot. And the worst part is that just the NIGHT BEFORE, I thought, "Ok, list of things to do tomorrow: Get up, get ready, get Max's bday card (we just take cash and go shopping together for our bdays, so no present to worry about, simple right?!), go to PCMC orientation, come home, make dinner." Oh no, not what I did. Max said goodbye in the morning before he left and I was awake, NO happy birthday from me (although I was kinda comatose, so even he didn't think anything of it). Calls me a little late to make sure I'm up, NO happy birthday honey from me. Nope. I'm in the car with my mom 3 hrs later, she tells me she texted him today and put his card in the mail the day before. LIGHT BULB! Or what I actually said was "SHIT!!! Damnit!! Ah man, my own MOTHER remembers my husband's birthday, but do you think me, his crappy wife can?! UGH!!!!" Oh I've never felt so bad.... :( And the part that makes it even worse is he's so ok with it. "It's ok baby, you're so busy with 72 of work and school and you're pregnant and sick, it's ok!" Am I the luckiest woman on earth or what???

Now with all this being said, you might think that I am miserable and hate this whole experience. NOT TRUE. Because every time I go to the Dr. and see this little miracle that is 1/2 me and 1/2 Max I just melt. Hearing the heartbeat inside of me makes the whole world right and I'm just completely at ease and at awe with this whole thing. I still cannot believe how lucky we are to have conceived so quickly. None of our friends have had an easy time with conceiving and we decided to try (one time, seriously) and here we are. I know what's going on inside of me. I know what my baby is doing and looks like and what my body is doing but at our last US I was so taken back when I saw my baby. I couldn't believe how much the baby actually looked like a baby! I saw the little hands and feet and every little finger and toe. I could see the nose (which we both think is all Van Voorhis) and lips, and I watched this new life kicking and moving and I just could not believe that this was MY baby. I made this life and before I know it, this baby will be here, outside of me, living and breathing and Max and I will be embarking on this whole new adventure in our lives. We are just so blessed. And despite all the sickness, pain & all the other stuff that it takes my body to sustain this life, I am so grateful that I am experiencing this. WOW! Pregnancy...


Here's a look at the development of our Baby! This is what makes it ALL completely worth it. :)

This was our first US that we had to determine dates because I have an irregular cycle. Doesn't look like much but we got to see the heart beating and you can see where the little TINY leg is! So amazing! Based on my dates I was close to 10 weeks, but based on the baby's measurements, I was pushed back to only 8... darn it! Oh well! Healthy baby = happy mommy & daddy!

This was the first US for the NewMom2B Study that I'm participating in. I was 9 weeks along here. The baby had flipped in my uterus but still didn't look like much. The tech pointed out that they kind of look like gummy bears that this stage. They do!! My sis came with me to this one and we got to hear the heartbeat. It was incredible and I'm so glad she got to come with me for this since she lives out of state and won't get to be back until the baby is born.

And this is the US that changed it all. I know what babies look like at 13 weeks gestation, but until I saw MY baby, I had NO idea. My mom came with me to this one and we saw and heard the heatbeat. We saw the baby kicking and moving, then the baby flipped so we could get the picture we needed for the test we are doing. (Not the best picture of the baby's nose and lips) It was amazing. Max couldn't come because of work, but when I sent the pix on my phone, he vowed to not miss another US, ever! Proud daddy already!