The nausea starting setting in last Tuesday night, on our late night drive back to Michigan. Luckily, it isn't awful but its uncomfortable and I hate feeling like I have a constant hangover (not that I've ever had one of those, mom)! Fortunately, I was able to eat plenty of delicious Thanksgiving food and have been trying out different nausea remedies. So far, it seems like iced water with lemon (there must be ice), ginger ale and a full stomach help a lot. Knowing that this will all dissipate after the first trimester is what's getting me through!
I also had my first baby appointment today! Brad came with me, like the good husband he is, and waited and listened patiently as we absorbed all the information that was given to us. They confirmed my pregnancy, so its definitely official, and gave me my due date: July 20. Brad's hoping for a 4th of July baby, but we'll see : )
On a non-baby related note...its been raining now for 24 hours and we have quite a bit of water seeping into our basement. Ugh! Gotta love that old house charm ; )
7 week update tomorrow!!
xoxo,
meghan
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
6 Weeks!
We got into Michigan late last night and will be here through the weekend. We always go to my in-laws house first, since they're thirty minutes closer than my parents and since we always have Moose with us...and the main reason is that Jaclyn (Brad's 12 year old sister) is always waiting anxiously for us to arrive. We got in around 1am and went right to bed but I woke up as if it were Christmas morning because I knew that we were going to be telling Brad's parents about our exciting news today...and hopefully as soon as we rolled out of bed. To my dismay, Brad informed me that his mom was at work and wouldn't be home until 4:00pm...so we had to wait...all...day...long.
Obviously, it was worth the way and they were soooo excited when we told them. Tears welled up in eyes, hugs were given all around and lots of baby name talk...even though we have already decided on a name for either sex.
We're spilling the news to my parents and Grandparents tomorrow and I cannot wait! Both of my parents will be thrilled but I know my dad, especially, is going to be beyond ecstatic!
On to my six week update!
Today's date: Wednesday, November 24, 2010
How far along: 6 weeks
Total weight gain: Still don't know.
Total weight gain: Still don't know.
Sex: Don't know yet. Brad's mom thinks it will be a girl. Brad's dad thinks it will be a boy.
Maternity clothes: Not yet, but was looking at BellaBands in a magazine today...
Sleep: Sleeping has been fine, but I've been drinking so much water that I've been having to get up in the middle of the night to pee. Annoying!
Best moment(s) of the week: Telling Brad's parents today...and telling mine tomorrow!
Movement: Nope.
Maternity clothes: Not yet, but was looking at BellaBands in a magazine today...
Sleep: Sleeping has been fine, but I've been drinking so much water that I've been having to get up in the middle of the night to pee. Annoying!
Best moment(s) of the week: Telling Brad's parents today...and telling mine tomorrow!
Movement: Nope.
Food cravings/aversions: Cravings: ice water with lemon.
Morning sickness: Nothing too intense, but if I don't eat every 3 hours, I start to get a little queasy. Water with lemon helps a lot too!
Symptoms: Still have been having light cramping off and on...nothing serious. I'm always super tired around 2:00 in the afternoon and my boobs are getting bigger...so weird!
Labor signs: Not yet.
Belly button in or out: In.
What I miss: Nothing.
What I'm looking forward to: A delicious Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow with my family...and of course sharing the news with my parents & grandparents! eeee!
Size and growth of our baby: Baby's now the size of a sweet pea!
Growing like crazy, baby is starting to sprout eyes, ears, nose, cheeks, and chin. Those little hands and feet -- still webbed like paddles -- might wiggle by week's end, the heart is beating (almost twice as fast as yours!), and blood is starting to circulate.
Growing like crazy, baby is starting to sprout eyes, ears, nose, cheeks, and chin. Those little hands and feet -- still webbed like paddles -- might wiggle by week's end, the heart is beating (almost twice as fast as yours!), and blood is starting to circulate.
How our baby's growing: If you could see into my uterus, you'd find an oversize head and dark spots where your baby's eyes and nostrils are starting to form. Baby's emerging ears are marked by small depressions on the sides of the head, and its arms and legs by protruding buds. Baby's heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through its body. The intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to baby's lungs has appeared. The pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of the brain, muscles, and bones.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Homeward Bound!
Anyone who knows me, knows what I LOVE going home (home-home, that is). It usually happens about once a month. I know. A little excessive for a grown, married woman who lives five hours away, but I like my parents...what can I say! There's something completely comforting about my old room, my parents kitchen, their backyard and just being in their company. Sigh.
Tonight, Brad and I are heading home for Thanksgiving and I am especially excited about this trip because not only do we get to tell both sets of our parents that they're going to be grandparents for the first time, but we get to tell our Grandparents that they're going to be Great-Grandparents for the first time too. The butterflies have been swirling around in my belly for days and weeks - I'm so excited!
More details on their reaction and how we spill the beans to come!
In the meantime, I think the naseau is starting to set in (ugh). Its not full fledged, but I definitely don't feel 100% today. I think I'm learning that as long as I eat something bland and filling every three hours, I'm ok. Hopefully I don't have to miss out on a delicious Thanksgiving meal on Thursday.
Happy Thanksgiving!
xoxo,
meghan
 |
| my parents backyard - summer 2010 |
Tonight, Brad and I are heading home for Thanksgiving and I am especially excited about this trip because not only do we get to tell both sets of our parents that they're going to be grandparents for the first time, but we get to tell our Grandparents that they're going to be Great-Grandparents for the first time too. The butterflies have been swirling around in my belly for days and weeks - I'm so excited!
More details on their reaction and how we spill the beans to come!
In the meantime, I think the naseau is starting to set in (ugh). Its not full fledged, but I definitely don't feel 100% today. I think I'm learning that as long as I eat something bland and filling every three hours, I'm ok. Hopefully I don't have to miss out on a delicious Thanksgiving meal on Thursday.
Happy Thanksgiving!
xoxo,
meghan
Great Dog Park Discovered!
Brad had to go into work for a bit on Saturday morning, so Moose and I hopped in the car and ventured on to find the Sewickley Heights Borough Dog Park. I wasn't sure what to expecpt, because other dog parks in the Pittsburgh area that we've been to have not been what I was used to in Michigan. But, to my surprise, this park was...and is...awesome!
We pulled into the parking lot and I was still a little skeptical. We started on the trail, walked a few hundred yards up a little hill and came to this clearing of two beautiful, grass covered (not wood-chip-covered...not muddy) hillsides. It was the most beautiful off-leash dog park I've ever been too! Not only were there tons of hillsides for Moose to run free in, there were trails! LOTS of wooded, beautiful trails. We picked one and went on our way. The trails weren't marked that well, but I figured I could figure out how to loop back around. Well...apparently I was being overly confident because about 45 minutes in, I realized we probably should have been back to the grassy hillsides...and we weren't.
Lucky for us, a guy and his lab came up behind us, so I started following them. He must have been out for more of a 'work-out' hike because we were on quite a rigorous route. Down ravines, up steep, long hills. Moose and I both got a workout!
Thankfully, to the man in the wind-breaker pants and his white lab, we made it back to our car!
More dog park rendezvous to come!
xoxo,
meghan
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
5 Weeks!
Today's date: Wednesday, November 17, 2010
How far along: 5 weeks
Total weight gain: Unsure! I still haven't gotten a scale yet, but I did stop by the YMCA today. Brad and I will be joining tonight or tomorrow!
Total weight gain: Unsure! I still haven't gotten a scale yet, but I did stop by the YMCA today. Brad and I will be joining tonight or tomorrow!
Sex: Don't know yet. But I found a Chinese Gender Calender yesterday that, based on my age and date of conception, told me what sex our baby will be. We'll have to wait 35 more weeks to see how accurate it is : )
Maternity clothes: Not yet : )
Sleep: Have been sleeping fine. When I wake up in the morning and stretch I can feel this weird 'pulling' in my abdomen.
Best moment(s) of the week: We bought all new kitchen appliances on Sunday. They're to arrive on Monday.
Movement: Not yet!
Maternity clothes: Not yet : )
Sleep: Have been sleeping fine. When I wake up in the morning and stretch I can feel this weird 'pulling' in my abdomen.
Best moment(s) of the week: We bought all new kitchen appliances on Sunday. They're to arrive on Monday.
Movement: Not yet!
Food cravings/aversions: Cravings: none. Aversions: garlic hummus
Morning sickness: Still praying it never comes!
Symptoms: Have been feeling very normal the past week, aside from some light cramping off and on.
Labor signs: Way too soon.
Belly button in or out: Definitely still in.
What I miss: Nothing.
What I'm looking forward to: Sharing the news with our parents and families (and the arrival of new appliances on Monday)!
Size and growth of our baby: At this point, baby is about the size of an apple seed, and looks more like a tiny tadpole than a human. Baby is now made up of three layers — the ectoderm, the mesoderm, and the endoderm — which will later form all of his organs and tissues.
How our baby's growing: The neural tube — from which your baby's brain, spinal cord, nerves, and backbone will sprout — is starting to develop in the top layer, called the ectoderm. This layer will also give rise to his skin, hair, nails, mammary and sweat glands, and tooth enamel.
His heart and circulatory system begin to form in the middle layer, or mesoderm. (This week, in fact, his tiny heart begins to divide into chambers and beat and pump blood.) The mesoderm will also form your baby's muscles, cartilage, bone, and subcutaneous (under skin) tissue.
The third layer, or endoderm, will house his lungs, intestines, and rudimentary urinary system, as well as his thyroid, liver, and pancreas. In the meantime, the primitive placenta and umbilical cord, which deliver nourishment and oxygen to your baby, are already on the job.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Seeing Double?
Twins run in my family and based on the every-other-generation thing, I fall in the generation that is next in line for twins. And, for whatever reason, random members of my extended family have been telling me for years, even before I was married, that I'd be the one in our family to have twins. Even yesterday, when I told my boss about my being pregnant, he made a joke about me having two boys in my belly...
So, wouldn't I find it funny this morning when TWO yolks came out of the egg that I just cracked into a skillet! Oh my gosh!! Are twins in my future? We'll have to see...
xoxo,
meghan
So, wouldn't I find it funny this morning when TWO yolks came out of the egg that I just cracked into a skillet! Oh my gosh!! Are twins in my future? We'll have to see...
xoxo,
meghan
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
4 Weeks!
Today's date: Wednesday, November 10, 2010
How far along: 4 weeks
Total weight gain: Hopefully none, but I should probably get a scale to keep track of this.
Total weight gain: Hopefully none, but I should probably get a scale to keep track of this.
Sex: Don't know yet. We have awhile for that!
Maternity clothes: Not yet : )
Sleep: Have been sleeping fine.
Best moment(s) of the week: Finding out I'm prego!
Movement: Not yet!
Maternity clothes: Not yet : )
Sleep: Have been sleeping fine.
Best moment(s) of the week: Finding out I'm prego!
Movement: Not yet!
Food cravings/aversions: Nothing too serious yet, but I couldn't finish a bowl of chocolate ice cream last night : (
Morning sickness: Not yet...and hoping to ward that off!
Symptoms: Very tired today!
Labor signs: Way too soon.
Belly button in or out: Definitely still in.
What I miss: Nothing.
What I'm looking forward to: Pregnancy confirmation from my doctor.
Size and growth of our baby: Baby is now the size of a poppyseed!
Now safe in your womb, the ball of cells (blastocyst) is splitting into the embryo (your future child) and placenta. Outside this microscopic speck, the amniotic sac and fluid are forming into protective cushioning.
How our baby's growing: This week marks the beginning of the embryonic period. The most dramatic and vulnerable period in baby's development begins this week and continues for the next six. During this time, all of your baby's organs will begin to develop and some will start to function. As a result, this is the time when she'll be most vulnerable to anything that might interfere with her development.
Flintstones!
Being that Brad and I live about five hours from both of our families, its not like we can pop by for dinner to surprise them with our news. Lucky for us, Thanksgiving is right around the corner, so we plan to share our exiting news with our families then. We can't wait and are brainstorming all sorts of fun ideas for telling family/friends that we're having a baby.
In the meantime, and as I wait for my first doctor appointment, I needed some advice on "what next?"! I figured there is something that I should be doing between now and my doctor appointment, but I can't ask my mom because she doesn't know about my pregnancy yet. So, I decided to tell my friend Jackie, who just had a baby girl almost a year ago. She's someone I trust whole-heartedly. Aside from being a great friend and role model, she's been cutting my hair for 7ish years now. How can I not trust her?! I knew she would be able to tell me what I needed to be doing.
I kind of figured I should be taking some sort of pre-natal vitamin, but my doctor didn't give me those instructions. Sure enough, Jackie confirmed that I should be taking a pre-natal but also informed me that her pre-natals made her sick, so her doctor told her to take Flintstone Plus Iron vitamins. How fun!
I did a quick little research to be sure they had all the nutrients that I needed and picked up a bottle on my way home last night. I took my first two this morning and they tasted better than I remember as a child : )
Maybe my doctor will tell me to take something else, but in the meantime, this is what I'll take. Baby needs folic acid!
xoxo,
meghan
In the meantime, and as I wait for my first doctor appointment, I needed some advice on "what next?"! I figured there is something that I should be doing between now and my doctor appointment, but I can't ask my mom because she doesn't know about my pregnancy yet. So, I decided to tell my friend Jackie, who just had a baby girl almost a year ago. She's someone I trust whole-heartedly. Aside from being a great friend and role model, she's been cutting my hair for 7ish years now. How can I not trust her?! I knew she would be able to tell me what I needed to be doing.
I kind of figured I should be taking some sort of pre-natal vitamin, but my doctor didn't give me those instructions. Sure enough, Jackie confirmed that I should be taking a pre-natal but also informed me that her pre-natals made her sick, so her doctor told her to take Flintstone Plus Iron vitamins. How fun!
I did a quick little research to be sure they had all the nutrients that I needed and picked up a bottle on my way home last night. I took my first two this morning and they tasted better than I remember as a child : )
Maybe my doctor will tell me to take something else, but in the meantime, this is what I'll take. Baby needs folic acid!
xoxo,
meghan
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
We're Having a Baby!!!
I'm not the kind of person that keeps very close track of my menstrual cycle. I just know that it comes every month with little to no cramping, lasts about five days and is done. In fact, if I wasn't bleeding, I would have no idea it was happening. But...for some reason last month, I decided to jot down the first day of my period.
Fast forward, oh, about 13 days to a little spontaneity one night in the bedroom (TMI? Sorry!). Afterward, I whip out iCal on my iPhone so I can see when the first day of my last period was, and thus calculate when "ovulation" days are. Sure enough...we were smack dab in the middle of ovulation time. Brad's worry and my curiosity begins.
The next day at work I did a little searching online to see when the earliest is that you can detect pregnancy. It said something like two weeks after conception, so I calculated when that would be and started the waiting game.
Today (11/9/10) marks two weeks after theoretical conception, so on my way home from work last night I couldn't avoid Rite Aid. I went in, surveyed the pregnancy tests (5 days sooner, 6 days sooner, digital, pink lines, different detection levels of hCG, etc). I finally decided on an e.p.t. tests that claimed it could detect pregnancy five days before your missed period. Cool, since yesterday marked that day.
I pulled in the driveway and thought "Good. Brad isn't home yet. I can do this w/o worrying him. If its negative he doesn't have to know I took the test and if its positive, well, I'll figure that out when the time comes." So, I ran up to the bathroom, peeled my pee stick out of the foil wrapper, quickly read the directions and commenced the process. This particular test only made me wait 3 minutes, so I set the test on the counter in the bathroom, ran downstairs to get my phone, and headed back upstairs.
During those three short minutes I was thinking of what I might see on that little screen: Pregnant or Not Pregnant. "There's no way its going to say pregnant. I'm not getting my hopes up, but maybe it will. Oh my gosh! Am I old enough to be having babies? Oh my gosh! What am I even doing? Oh well...here goes!" I reach the bathroom, peer over the test to see that the screen is displaying PREGNANT!
My heart starts beating fast while a huge smiles covers my face. I couldn't help but giggle. I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled...and giggled...and maybe even squealed once or twice. Then thought of the fact that Brad was going to be home any minute now. How was I going to tell him? Should I write it in a card? Shoot! No time for that. Should I wait to tell him over a nice dinner together? No way, Jose! I couldn't hold it in for another 5 minutes let alone another day or two or three.
His car pulls in the driveway and I run downstairs to greet him at the door (this is a usual routine, so my greeting him was not out of the ordinary). I give him a hug and a kiss, he walks in the house, puts his stuff down in the dining room and asks me how my day was. I couldn't look at him and had to bite my lip in two places to keep the grin off my face - otherwise he'd know something was up. He must have seen some sort of expression on my face because he came over to me, gave me a hug and asked what was going on. I couldn't formulate anything clever to say so I just said, "I have a surprise upstairs for you."
"A surprise? What kind of surprise? I'm a little nervous. What is it, Mags?"
We both started upstairs where the pregnancy test still remained on the bathroom counter. He walks past the bathroom, but glances in as he walks past, stops dead in his tracks and says, "SHUT UP!" Looks at me...looks back at the test and another "SHUT UP!" comes out of his mouth. I think there were a few more of those along with "Are you serious?! Oh my gosh!" and then a "Congratulations, Magin!" followed by lots of hugs!
After some minor freaking out on his part for the last 24 hours he's finally calming down and warming up to the idea. After all, we weren't planning to start a family for another year or two, at least! I guess the planning wasn't up to us : )
We're more than thrilled to be having a baby but I don't think it has quite sunk in yet! According to online pregnancy calculators, I'm a mere 4 weeks along! I have my first doctor appointment on November 30, which will confirm the pregnancy and we might even get to hear the heartbeat. Oh my gosh!! I'm sure that will make it feel very real!
I've been feeling really tired today and wonder if its just because of the decrease in daylight hours or because I have a little cell clump starting to grow inside me! Last night and today I had some weird burp-y thing going on but other than that, I still feel pretty normal. Its still so early so let the fun begin!!
Many more updates to come...
eeee!
xoxo,
meghan
Fast forward, oh, about 13 days to a little spontaneity one night in the bedroom (TMI? Sorry!). Afterward, I whip out iCal on my iPhone so I can see when the first day of my last period was, and thus calculate when "ovulation" days are. Sure enough...we were smack dab in the middle of ovulation time. Brad's worry and my curiosity begins.
The next day at work I did a little searching online to see when the earliest is that you can detect pregnancy. It said something like two weeks after conception, so I calculated when that would be and started the waiting game.
Today (11/9/10) marks two weeks after theoretical conception, so on my way home from work last night I couldn't avoid Rite Aid. I went in, surveyed the pregnancy tests (5 days sooner, 6 days sooner, digital, pink lines, different detection levels of hCG, etc). I finally decided on an e.p.t. tests that claimed it could detect pregnancy five days before your missed period. Cool, since yesterday marked that day.
I pulled in the driveway and thought "Good. Brad isn't home yet. I can do this w/o worrying him. If its negative he doesn't have to know I took the test and if its positive, well, I'll figure that out when the time comes." So, I ran up to the bathroom, peeled my pee stick out of the foil wrapper, quickly read the directions and commenced the process. This particular test only made me wait 3 minutes, so I set the test on the counter in the bathroom, ran downstairs to get my phone, and headed back upstairs.
During those three short minutes I was thinking of what I might see on that little screen: Pregnant or Not Pregnant. "There's no way its going to say pregnant. I'm not getting my hopes up, but maybe it will. Oh my gosh! Am I old enough to be having babies? Oh my gosh! What am I even doing? Oh well...here goes!" I reach the bathroom, peer over the test to see that the screen is displaying PREGNANT!
My heart starts beating fast while a huge smiles covers my face. I couldn't help but giggle. I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled...and giggled...and maybe even squealed once or twice. Then thought of the fact that Brad was going to be home any minute now. How was I going to tell him? Should I write it in a card? Shoot! No time for that. Should I wait to tell him over a nice dinner together? No way, Jose! I couldn't hold it in for another 5 minutes let alone another day or two or three.
His car pulls in the driveway and I run downstairs to greet him at the door (this is a usual routine, so my greeting him was not out of the ordinary). I give him a hug and a kiss, he walks in the house, puts his stuff down in the dining room and asks me how my day was. I couldn't look at him and had to bite my lip in two places to keep the grin off my face - otherwise he'd know something was up. He must have seen some sort of expression on my face because he came over to me, gave me a hug and asked what was going on. I couldn't formulate anything clever to say so I just said, "I have a surprise upstairs for you."
"A surprise? What kind of surprise? I'm a little nervous. What is it, Mags?"
We both started upstairs where the pregnancy test still remained on the bathroom counter. He walks past the bathroom, but glances in as he walks past, stops dead in his tracks and says, "SHUT UP!" Looks at me...looks back at the test and another "SHUT UP!" comes out of his mouth. I think there were a few more of those along with "Are you serious?! Oh my gosh!" and then a "Congratulations, Magin!" followed by lots of hugs!
After some minor freaking out on his part for the last 24 hours he's finally calming down and warming up to the idea. After all, we weren't planning to start a family for another year or two, at least! I guess the planning wasn't up to us : )
We're more than thrilled to be having a baby but I don't think it has quite sunk in yet! According to online pregnancy calculators, I'm a mere 4 weeks along! I have my first doctor appointment on November 30, which will confirm the pregnancy and we might even get to hear the heartbeat. Oh my gosh!! I'm sure that will make it feel very real!
I've been feeling really tired today and wonder if its just because of the decrease in daylight hours or because I have a little cell clump starting to grow inside me! Last night and today I had some weird burp-y thing going on but other than that, I still feel pretty normal. Its still so early so let the fun begin!!
Many more updates to come...
eeee!
xoxo,
meghan
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