Mood Swings - Poor Jeff!

I know, I know, people are getting antsy for the next post! As my cousin Joanna so aptly put it, my pregnancy is taking forever since she knew almost from the moment of conception! I was going to post more often, but unless you really want to hear how I'm feeling every single day, there's not a whole lot to post just now. I don't go back to the doctor til September 10, and since it is too early to feel Baby move, the only other news is how many times I've run to the bathroom every day. :-)

I did have a wonderful day today. Jeff and I finally found a place that sells real Chicago-style hot dogs in a little town about half an hour from here, so we decided to have them for lunch today. Well, I woke up crabby and couldn't seem to shake it, so poor Jeff had to deal with that all morning. After lunch we passed a little shop called Gypsy Warehouse, and the name alone enticed me into the shop. I found the most gorgeous jewelry, and totally in my style. It was too expensive, but Jeff insisted on buying a necklace and bracelet for me. I totally didn't deserve it since I was being such a brat, but he is a sweetheart. After that, I had a craving for gummy candies, so we went to the mall there (which, by the way, was the nicest mall I have ever seen, and I don't even like malls as a rule), and we bought junk food and candy and did lots of window shopping. It was such a great day! Then, we came home and napped the afternoon away - the perfect addition to the day.

Checking In

I get to stop taking the progesterone this week - hooray!! I needed to take it because my body did not make enough to keep Baby safe, but this week the placenta will be fully formed, so I don't need to make any more of the hormone. I am SO relieved. Not only are these pills awful to use (they're suppositories), but I've discovered that they are causing a great deal of my symptoms. I figured this out when, one day last week, I forgot to take them. I felt terrific that day! Ever since then, I have had all my symptoms, and feel pretty crappy again. So, I cannot wait til the final pill is gone, and I can start feeling better. Plus, I only have a week and a half left in the first trimester, and from what I have read, the second trimester is MUCH easier. I think that just getting off the progesterone will be a tremendous help, but we'll see if I can tell any difference in the next couple of weeks.

Surprise Symptoms

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but one of the most surprising symptoms, at least to my mind, is that I have terrible insomnia. I either cannot fall asleep at all, or else I keep waking up. It has become pretty bad - I think I slept for two hours last night, and I couldn't nap at all today. I guess I thought that I would be tired all the time, which I am, but that I would be able to sleep without a problem. Not so much. My doctor recommended Tylenol PM for sleep, so I'm going to try that tonight. Thankfully, school doesn't start til Wednesday, so I can sleep in tomorrow, assuming the medicine works.

Feeling Great

I ate French toast for breakfast this morning, and chicken parmigiana for dinner. It is so nice to be able to eat, and now I don't have to worry that Baby isn't getting enough sustenance. It's starting to become more real to me that we're going to have an actual baby at the end of this, but I still can't really imagine it. Life is going to be so different, but I know it will be wonderful.

I start school again on Wednesday, so hopefully I am still feeling good by then. Although I am sure it will do me good to have something to focus on besides Baby, I am not looking forward to getting up at 6:30 again!

The OB/GYN

I apologize for the time between posts! The anti-nausea meds that Dr. Haas gave me last week really knocked me out. I slept for what seemed like hours every day, and when I woke up, I still didn't have any energy to post. Thank God for summer vacation!

I saw the new OB/GYN today, Dr. Krombach, and he was extremely nice to me. I had a marathon session at his office, but through it all everyone was very kind, and answered any questions I had. I did have an ultrasound today, which, as you can tell from the photo, was incredibly hard to see, but I got to hear Baby's heartbeat, which was amazing. It was a perfect 158 beats per minute, and she is now 15.2 cm long, or about the size of a large grape. They measure you in days, so as of today I am 8 weeks and 6 days along, and Baby measured at 8 weeks and 4 days. The nurse said that a two-day discrepancy didn't matter at all, so I'm finally convinced that Baby is healthy!

Dr. Krombach gave me a different nausea medicine to try, Zofran, which seemed to do the trick. I was able to eat lunch today, and I didn't fall asleep in the middle of it! I don't have to go back til September 10th, and the nurses gave me a huge bag full of vitamins, formula, books, magazines, etc. I tell you what, I have been extremely blessed to have found as many wonderful doctors as I have had.

Ultrasound # 2

We had our second ultrasound today, and although we couldn't really see much, we did see a nice, strong heartbeat. Apparently, the doctor was a little worried about the size of Baby last week, but he didn't tell me that she was too small. At first I thought that he should have told me, but all I would have done was worry for a week. Today, Baby measured at 9.7 mm, up quite a bit from last week's 6.3 mm, and doctor assured me she looks just fine.

We are now cleared to go to an OB/GYN, and the doctor also gave me some anti-nausea medicine, praise Jesus! I have been throwing up nearly everything I eat, and I have been downright miserable for a few days, so hopefully this all gets better. It is all worth it, though. The picture shows Baby as she was today, but she looks more like an oval than a baby. :-) The little blob below her is the yolk sac, which will apparently dissolve before too long. I wish I had a video of the heartbeat, but it was this flickery light right in the middle of her little oval. It was beautiful!

Changing Bad Habits

Jeff and I don't have a whole lot of bad habits we need to curb before Baby gets here, but we do tend to swear more than is strictly necessary. In order to work on this, we bought a little piggy bank and decorated it with baby stickers (I love Precious Moments!). Now, each time one of us slips up, we put a dollar in the bank. We figure that not only will we learn to speak more appropriately, but we will also be getting a head start on Baby's college fund!

Update on Maggs

Jeff found a spot for Maggs at a no-kill shelter in Arlington, and brought him in on Tuesday. They said he should go fast, since he has obviously been well-cared for, is neutered, declawed, and housebroken. That was a relief, since I didn't want him to be sitting in a cage.

I called today to check on him since I still hadn't seen him listed on the web site, and this terribly rude lady told me that he had either been adopted or euthanized, but she couldn't or wouldn't tell me which. I was shocked, since this is a NO-KILL shelter, and I asked her what the reasons were that an animal would be put down. She said that if the animal has a life-threatening disease or a behavior problem, they could be euthanized. Magglio doesn't have either of these things. He is not the least bit aggressive, and if anything, he is just too shy. I am hoping and praying that he has been adopted, but I wish I knew for sure.

The picture is of the two cats with whom we came to Texas, and both of whom had to find new homes because of my allergies. It is very sad, but I hope they are both very, very happy!