Friday, February 27, 2009

Baby Update

Today I had my second official prenatal appointment. I had been looking forward to this appointment but also a bit nervous at the same time. I wasn't nervous about the baby but nervous about how much weight I may have gained since my last appointment. I know that I'm pregnant and will and am supposed to gain weight, however i felt like in a matter of weeks that I had packed on the pounds! My clothes definitely aren't fitting as they used to and I've found this to be an awkward stage of pregnancy as far as clothes go. Most of my clothes don't feel quite comfortable but maternity clothes are still a little big. I definitely can tell that I'm starting to pooch out, but at times it feels like I'm just gaining weight and not pregnant. I was presently surprised when I was told that I have gained about 5 pounds and everything is looking good!

We were again able to listen to the heartbeat, which she found right away. Kevin was quite relieved saying that while he didn't want to tell me he was a bit nervous after they weren't able to find the heartbeat after my fainting episode. I think our doctor has the magic touch as she had no problem finding it the first time or this time. She asked if I had felt any "fluttering" yet and said that over the next several weeks I will probably be able to begin to feel the baby moving around. For those of you who have had a baby or are pregnant, when did you first feel your baby move and what did it feel like? I know it won't feel like a big kick or anything but just curious about what it might be like.

We were able to schedule our appointment for the ultrasound which will be at the end of next month. We are planning on finding out the sex of the baby at that time. While we went back and forth at first about finding out we decided that for planning and everything it will be fun to know. Plus, if you know Kevin you know that he has a hard time waiting for things (he had my engagement ring for a total of like 3 days before he proposed...just too excited he couldn't keep it to himself! :)) We will go to St. Vincent Women's Hospital for the ultrasound and also have our monthly dr's appointment that same week.

So far everything is going smoothly. I haven't had any nausea this week, however the headaches continue. We appreciate all the love and support everyone has shown. Our prayer is that everything continues to go well. This is definitely a very exciting time!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Over 12 weeks!

I am quickly approaching the end of my first trimester. How crazy and exciting. While I have not been sick to the point of vomiting I have been experiencing quite a bit of nausea and nightly headaches (apparently mom experienced these headaches as well...). The nausea and headaches have been making completing school work in the evenings quite challenging, but lucky for me this semester has not been too challenging...yet.

About a week ago I had an interesting experience while shadowing a social worker in the ER. I have learned that I should not pursue a career as an ER social worker and should probably stay away from other areas of the hospital as well. Long story short, I fainted while in a patient's room who has advanced breast cancer that has not who has not received any treatment. Needless to say I was not prepared for what I would see or smell when I entered the room. I remember starting to feel faint and overheated, however did not find my way out of the room quick enough. I am told that I was caught by the doctor that was also in the room and was completely out, however I do not know for how long. I was checked into the ER (I guess if I was going to faint it might as well be in an ER where there are plenty of doctors and nurses to care for me...) and evaluated. I called Kevin who was still at work and so he came over to the ER to be with me. Everything was fine. I hadn't eaten anything for several hours and my blood sugar was a bit low. I was provided a snack of orange juice, crackers, and cheese and sent home. Since then I have been the the doctor and again was told that baby and I are fine.

I do look forward to my doctor's appointment in two weeks. It's so exciting to get updates on how things are going. Kevin and I have been doing our reading on what to expect when you're expecting and follow a website that talks about pregnancy week by week including what mom can expect as far as changes with her body, what is going on with baby, and suggestions for dad for how to support mom! :)

I'm finding that pregnancy while very exciting can also be quite stressful. I just want to make sure that I am doing everything right. It can be overwhelming reading all the books about what you should and shouldn't be doing. I have been doing some walking on the treadmill at our apartment's fitness center and have started doing prenatal yoga (using a dvd). I've really been enjoying the yoga.

Well, I think I'm going to call it a night. Hope you enjoyed the update! :)