Newlyweds: The DeWitte's: February 2012

Friday, February 24, 2012

Week 12

According to most pregnancy websites and IPhone Apps, I am now just only one week away from being through the first trimester! Even though I do still have one more week to go, I am feeling like the worst is definitely behind me.

My mom kept telling me that one day I will just wake up and feel completely normal. Oh, how I wanted so badly to believe my mom's words of wisdom as I was unable to move from the couch for days on end and relied on Zofran like it was my prenatal vitamin.

So hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you are going through the storm. (I think that could be applied to life in general, huh? Not just pregnancy symptoms)

But I can see the light!!! (Yes, Mom, you were right!)

I was at work this past week and actually caught myself "forgetting" I was pregnant. I know that sounds silly and maybe not a milestone to some, but it was for me! Since I am still in that in between phase where my belly isn't exactly showing, the times I feel great, I almost forget. :)

While I'm at work, I usually catch myself mentioning to most of my patients that I am pregnant. Mainly because I am not feeling the greatest and it's all I can think about. Then we proceed to discuss pregnancy and how "it will get better!". This past week...I noticed I hadn't mentioned to any of my patients that I was pregnant mainly due to the fact that I was feeling absolutely normal.

Yup, I said it...normal!! Yes!!!

The constant hunger at night is back, however, and it seems I can't get enough to eat. The difference is, I actually feel like I could eat anything. Nothing never really sounds awful like it did before. I at times can't decide on what to eat but it's never because nothing sounds good.

I have had a few nausea spells but these are small compared to how I felt early in the pregnancy. At least now I can get sick...and then it's over and I feel great the rest of the day.

All in all, I am looking forward to the second trimester if this is a glimpse at what it will be like.

We had our first appointment with the doctor on Valentine's Day. Everything went well. We even got to see the little bean again on ultrasound. She had tried finding the heartbeat with a Doppler but was unsuccessful so she had to get the ultrasound machine to confirm the heart was still beating away. (Oh darn!) And of course it was, and still moving around those little arms and legs like crazy.

I keep joking around saying this baby is already learning how to keep a beat. He/She is being born into a musical family, there is no option so he/she might as well start early! Maybe we have a little drummer on our hands. :)

We are so anxious to find out the sex of the baby. The plan is to find out on my birthday, April 11th. I will be right around 19 weeks so it should be perfect timing.

The plan so far is to keep it a secret from not just the family, but ourselves too. Then plan a "gender reveal" party with close family and friends. It will not only be a surprise for them but for us as well. We will see if we can hold out and not get even more anxious in the mean time and change our plan.

I don't have a baby bump picture for this week. I have kind of slacked on taking weekly pictures, but mostly because my belly really hasn't changed drastically since the last picture I posted.

It's weird...some days...there is an obvious bump. And other days...it's just barely there. I'm sure things will start moving along pretty soon. I will do my best to take a picture for my next update. :)

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 12 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby is the size of a plum! Which is close to 2 inches. Out of measuring in centimeters and now in inches. Wow.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Sill no drastic weight gain or loss. Maybe 1 lb but that's about it.

Maternity Clothes: I broke down and bought two more pairs of maternity jeans. They are way too comfortable and I know I will be able to grow into them for the next 7 months. Plus they are super cute! (Motherhood Maternity)

Gender: Waiting..waiting...April can't come soon enough!

Movement: Not yet but can't wait for the day that I do!

Sleep: Not feeling as tired as before. I have my days where an afternoon nap is a must in order to survive the rest of the day. But most days, I sleep till 10 AM and can go all day feeling pretty rested.

What I miss: Nothing specific. At the beginning of the pregnancy, I tried to not drink Coke but I gave into limiting my intake to one a day about three weeks ago. Doc said it wasn't going to hurt anything as long as it's in moderation.

Week 10

Almost through the dreaded first trimester!

Okay, I know I've still got four more weeks, but I feel I'm on the downhill slide of things. :)

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 10 Weeks

Size of baby: Not sure exact measurements, but my IPhone app says baby is almost 3.1 cm and weighs 4 grams. Based on the last ultrasound, I think baby is already growing faster than expected. :)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: So far I've managed to maintain my weight. After two weeks of not eating much at all due to feeling sick, I'm feeling good about breaking even at this point!

Maternity Clothes: I have bought one pair of maternity jeans which I absolutely love, so comfortable! But can still manage to wear my existing jeans with the help of my Bella Band

Gender: Don't know yet; hope to find out sometime in April

Movement: Not yet but can't wait for the day that I do!

Sleep: Getting lots of it! Tired a lot of the time. I do find it hard to get comfortable at times, but usually feel good on my right side. The back pain during sleep has subsided, thank goodness!

What I miss: Not really anything that I can't/don't want to eat that I used to love. Don't want chicken at ALL but I can do without it as long as I can eat beef! :)

Cravings: Nothing specific yet. As I mentioned above, I want beef at most meals. Starting to get cravings for more sweets lately. I do crave Coke most days and I usually go ahead and indulge. One Coke isn't going to hurt.

Symptoms: I'm tired all the time and sometimes I feel nauseous, but mostly I feel great and starting to feel like myself again! SO glad the days of constant nausea are over! (knock on wood)

Best Moment this week: Feeling good enough to wake up early in the morning (if need be) and having the desire to eat pretty much anything. Hopefully the days of "nothing sounds good" are over.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

First Appointment and Ultrasound Pics!

Today was a big day! Wes and I both had trouble sleeping last night, possibly due to all the excitement we had about getting to see our little one!

Although I was very excited, I have recently developed crazy lower back pain only when I sleep at night. Wes kept telling me it was from laying in bed too long but I beg to differ. First of all, I'm pregnant, I'm supposed to sleep a lot! And two....it bothers me no matter if I've been laying in bed five hours or ten.

Once I get out of bed, I'm fine and the pain slowly goes away. But my gosh...the pain while I am sleeping and trying to move from side to side and get comfortable is ridiculous! The nurse today said it could just possibly be my uterus is growing and causing all the muscles and ligaments in my hips and back to stretch and adjust causing the pain. Every ache and pain in pregnancy always has a silver lining and it is usually always the same...baby is growing! Which is always good to be reminded of.

And of course what is the ONLY pain reliever safe for pregnancy....Tylenol!! Lovely...really could use an 800mg Motrin for this pain but Tylenol it is. So I am going to try taking Tylenol before going to bed and see if it helps. I'm hoping it does, but not getting my hopes up.

My belly has officially started to grow (pics at the end of the post, I promise). I wasn't so convinced it was baby but Wes kept looking at me saying, "No...I'm pretty sure that hasn't been there before. That's got to be baby."

I worked Monday night and a friend at work talked me into doing a quick abdominal ultrasound just to see baby's progress.

And....

Okay, Wes was right. The belly is most likely due to baby and how much he/she has grown! Wow!! How fast the little thing grew in just four short weeks is remarkable! Our ultrasound machine at work isn't the best quality but we were still able to see the outline of baby which now actually looks like a baby and not a little dragon!

Heart was just a pumping and little arms and legs have sprouted. Pretty amazing and such a "little" miracle. I was glad I was talked into doing this ultrasound (even though my real one was just days away). It had been a long weekend and it was just what I needed to get through the rest of my work week.

This morning was our first official prenatal visit. I only visited with the nurse but she went over all the pregnancy "dos" and "don'ts", drew some blood, answered any questions we had and then sent us on our way with an order for our ultrasound.

I have continued to feel really great the past two weeks. However....this morning was a huge challenge.

I think it was due to me not being used to having to get up early and start moving so quickly. I'm used to not only sleeping in until ten o'clock but then I have plenty of time to ease into my morning with breakfast and getting ready.

Not the case today...I immediately had to hit the floor running and therefore didn't have time to eat when I woke up.

And thus the nausea hit....hard....

By the time it was time to walk out the door, I felt awful and not feeling like I could eat or drink anything. Great....Let's hope I can make it through this appointment without a trip to the bathroom.

Well, I did make it through my appointment but just barely. We were walking out to the car, got into the car and I immediately had to get right back out and hurry into the building to find the nearest bathroom.

Side Note: These fancy automatic flushing toilets are wonderful inventions and all....but for someone who has their head in the toilet bowl, sick as all get out...the repetitive, out of no where flush...is a little annoying...just saying...

Our ultrasound appointment wasn't for another hour so we left and went home. I was able to eat a little something and take a short nap then it was time to head back for the moment we'd both been waiting for! And was it ever worth the wait!!

They sent us home with a CD of a few still pictures and then a couple videos. This baby was moving like crazy! I can only imagine what that will feel like in just a few short weeks. I can't wait!!

And the heartbeat....what a beautiful sound it was to finally HEAR the heartbeat. We had seen it since week five but to hear it took the reality of the situation to a whole new level.

She turned on the sound so we could hear, and let me tell you what....that little thing was a racing!! She calculated it out to 180 beats per minute. Wow! It's no wonder I'm always hungry, it's burning so much energy pumping that heart so fast!

We were told that girls are known to have faster heartbeats than boys but we will just have to wait and see! Either way, we are happy. A healthy baby is all that matters.

Here are the pictures and videos we got:

According the the measurements, baby is measuring 9 weeks and 2 days.

Already growing faster than the original due date!

Our little gummy bear!

Baby is doing a little kickboxing action in this one.

If you look close at this one, you can see the little heart beating like crazy. Pretty amazing!

This the best one of how active he/she is! Maybe it's a good thing I can't feel all that movement just yet! I'd really not be able to sleep. Give it time...I know.. :)

The night before our appointment, we made a trip to Target. I got the idea from a friend at work to start buying one package of diapers each pay period. She said she didn't have to buy diapers for almost four months.

So we decided we might as well!

Our first pack of diapers!

And we just might have jinxed ourselves on this purchase, but I couldn't resist when I saw it. I was afraid when it was time to buy it, it would be gone. Tell me these aren't perfect for our family. :)