Last week, we got to see our little blob again and got a picture:
Everything was measuring on track (you can see the numbers on the bottom right) and the RE said the heartbeat looked good. The cross hairs on the photo mark where baby's head and bottom are. To me, it's the cutest little blob I've ever seen.
I couldn't stop staring at that photo for the rest of the day but had a hard time connecting the tiny person in the picture with what was happening inside me. It seemed like two separate things, neither of them completely real (even though I threw up right before we left for the appointment that same morning). Today, I could actually feel the beginnings of a bump forming above my pelvic bone and now it's starting to sink in. This is really happening.
Next week, I'll have my first appointment with my family doctor. It looks like the midwife thing is a no-go so I will have to spend some time researching good OBs. Nothing is guaranteed but my GP at least asks if we have a preference for specialists, so I should be able to make a request when referral time comes.
The first trimester has been a bit of a drag so far but I'm starting to see glimmers of my former self again in between bouts of nausea and exhaustion. I'm hoping that will start to taper off soon and I can get some energy back. Now if my body can just figure out the whole "sleeping through the night" thing again, we'd be all set!
It's Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada and I have a lot to be thankful for this year. I also have a lot to look forward to, starting with the 8 week scan this Thursday when we'll get to see our bean again. I will confess, however, that I've been doing more complaining lately than giving thanks.
I promised myself that I was not going be one of those women who tries for so long to get pregnant only to constantly complain about it once she is. As it turns out, that's a lot easier said than done when the first trimester is a rough ride. I've been doing my best to limit the moaning and groaning but this week, the insomnia, nausea, aching breasts, bloating, gas, constipation, and exhaustion really started to wear me down. Not being able to predict my appetite, my mood, or my energy level from one day to the next (or from one hour to the next) is getting frustrating. Work has been slow so I had hoped to get all kinds of things done around the house. Instead, it's all piling up while I lie on the couch staring at it.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought this might be a good time to revisit the Good Things project and remind myself that there are still good things happening while I'm semi-conscious on my couch. Here's what I came up with:
All of those symptoms are caused by a baby. There's still a baby in there.
We'll get to see it again in a few days and finally get a picture to keep.
DH has been wonderfully patient and understanding, and willing to live on carbs with me while I continue to avoid most meat.
We survived three consecutive days of family meals this weekend without our secret getting out and without me feeling horrible (at least not in public).
I don't have to worry about lesson planning and facing my classes every day feeling like crap this semester. Supply teaching has its advantages.
Egg McMuffins and hash browns. Breakfast of champions (and the only breakfast that appeals to me these days).
Just 4.5ish weeks to go until the second trimester and hopefully some relief.
If you're in Canada, I hope you've had a great Thanksgiving weekend!
They say that there is a magical time (also known as the Second Trimester) when the nausea goes away and energy returns. I am very eagerly anticipating this magical time because right now, I am a useless lump.
On Thursday, we had our viability scan with the RE. It didn't go exactly like I'd expected but the important thing is that all is well so far. We saw the yolk sac and fetal pole on the ultrasound, and a beautiful flickering heart beat. It still blows my mind that there's a little creature in there with a beating heart!
We didn't get a picture; Doctor P. said he doesn't give them out this early (I was 6w1d at the time) because everything is too small. We also didn't get any measurements. They prefer to just check to make sure that everything that should be there at this stage is there and wait until later on to start measuring. This seemed odd to me but it all went so fast I didn't have a chance to question it. I am supposed to go back in two weeks for another scan and at that time, they will do all of the measurements and give us pictures to keep. I thought I was supposed to be done with the clinic after the initial scan so this was a surprise, but I'm not going to complain about another opportunity to see our bean!
If I am done with the clinic after that 8 week scan, I'm not really sure what happens next. I've contacted the two midwife clinics in my city and am on the waiting list with both of them but it doesn't look good. The demand in my area is much higher than the supply and one of the clinics I spoke with already had 30 women waiting with May due dates. I will most likely be stuck with my GP until the time comes to refer me to an OB.
For the time being, we wait - for the next scan, for midwife call, for me to start feeling somewhat normal again. Turns out, that game doesn't end with a +HPT ;)
The good news is that I'm still pregnant, chugging along at 5w5d.
The bad news is that "occasional bouts of queasiness" has turned into full on morning sickness. For the last few days, right around lunch time, the nausea would start and stick around for a few hours. At first I assumed it was because I was hungry but eating didn't help. And this morning, I was actually sick to my stomach. That one snuck up on me; I wasn't even feeling nauseated until suddenly, I was overwhelmingly so. Also, stewed prunes have recently become part of a complete breakfast. Those go great with the nausea...NOT.
So, in the span of a week, I've gone from feeling mostly ok to feeling mostly like this (though considerably less cute):
But I am not complaining. I will take whatever crap I need to take as long as it means baby is staying.
I always promised myself I'd never test that early but starting at about 5 DPO, I began feeling really weird. By 9 DPO, I was a hormonal mess and my temperature, which usually takes a dip on that day, stayed up. Then, on the drive to work that morning I saw one of these:
Full disclosure: this was not on the drive to work. I was too busy driving to take a picture. This was taken from my driveway two days prior. Multiple rainbows this cycle = definite sign when you are getting desperate.
I decided that if that wasn't a sign, I didn't know what was and tested as soon as I got home. My initial reaction was "I KNEW it!" followed by "I can't wait to show DH the second he comes home!" followed by "holy shit, it's only 9 DPO, what have I done?!"
Needless to say, we are extremely nervous about this. Excited but also really nervous. As of today, I'm 4w6d, which is three days farther than I made it last time. We have a viability scan coming up on Oct. 3rd with the RE, at 6 weeks, when we will hopefully see everything in the right place and a beautiful little heartbeat. If all goes well, EDD is May 28, 2014 - just a few days after my own birthday and just about a year after our first BFP.
For the most part, I've been feeling pretty good. From 5 DPO to about 12 DPO, I had lots of symptoms but they've settled down. Now I've just got major bloat, occasional bouts of queasiness, and want to sleep 24/7. Oh, I can also smell everything now and it turns out that everything smells bad. That's been fun.
Over the weekend, we told our parents by giving them each one of these:
They were a hit!
We are trying not to get too excited or attached yet, but we are so grateful for each day that this baby sticks around and are hoping that we get to bring this one home.
[Today's usual TTC Friday post is going to be a few days late. I haven't been feeling great this week and I've been sitting on this review for a while, so it will have to tide you over. I'll be back soon!] The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope, William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
Audiobook
Rating: 3.0/5.0
Like China Road earlier this year, this is a book I only discovered because the author was interviewed on The Daily Show. Being a physics teacher, the story of William building a windmill for his village after teaching himself about electricity sounded interesting and potentially inspiring.
Here's a condensed description, taken from Amazon.ca:
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is
the immensely engaging and inspiring true account of an enterprising
African teenager who constructed a windmill from scraps to create
electricity for his entire community. William Kamkwamba shares the
remarkable story of his youth in Malawi, Africa—anation
crippled by intense poverty, famine, and the AIDS plague—and how, with
tenacity and imagination, he built a better life for himself, his
family, and his village.
William's story is amazing to me for a few reasons. First, William grew up in a superstitious community. People tended to explain things away with magic and didn't really encourage scientific curiosity. William, however, never stopped asking questions no matter how many times the adults around him tried to dismiss them. Also, this young boy takes it upon himself to make his own education. He goes to the library to read books on the subjects he would have studied in school. He works to improve his English so that he can understand the physics books that captivate his interest. His determination and drive are inspiring.
As a teacher, I found myself wondering how many of our North American students would do what William did if they couldn't go to school? The way that our students take their education for granted often frustrates me, especially when I read books like this (see also: Three Cups of Tea, Little Princes, or Reading Lolita in Tehran). When my physics class began our electricity unit last semester, I showed my students a TED talk that William gave and told them his story, hoping to show them how the concepts they were learning are fairly basic but their applications can be life changing. I hoped that they, too, might get something out of William's determination and ingenuity. Unfortunately, it sparked nothing with that group. So disappointing.
All of this sounds like great stuff but the enthusiasm is entirely mine. The book itself is actually very dull. It's marketed as the story of the windmill but that part is just a very small portion toward the end. The majority of the book talks about William's childhood, some of his parents' history, his village, and Malawi. I get that all of those things are important for context and to convey the significance of the windmill for the people in William's village, but it was long and meandering, and at times just boring.
If you're interested, here is the second of the two TED talks that William has given:
There is also a documentary in the works. The video at that link has a more current interview with William and talks about what he's been up to in recent years.
Overall, William's story is worth hearing and learning about but the book may not be the best medium to do it.
Doesn't it feel like I start every post with an apology for being MIA? This is one is no exception! I have so many things waiting in the wings to be written about, just haven't had the time. I will be playing catch-up again next week but for now, something short and sweet...
A friend who was TTC a few years ago found a song that she'd use to help her every time CD1 came around and after she had her baby boy, it became "their" song. It was Michael Buble's Just Haven't Met You Yet. I loved that, but never really found a song that conveyed the same thing for me.
A few days ago, I got this Rascal Flatts song stuck in my head and everytime I got the part of the chorus that goes, "while you're out there getting where you're getting to, I hope you know somebody loves you..." I started to get a little choked up. Call it PMS hormones or whatever, but this is my song:
My wish for you
Is that this life becomes all that you want it to
Your dreams stay big
Your worries stay small You never need to carry more than you can hold
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to, I hope you know somebody loves you
And wants the same things too, Yeah, this, is my wish.
