And so it begins...

Nix-ing the questionnaire and focusing on symptoms.

Last week, maybe even before then, smells started becoming extremely noticeable: powdered carpet cleaner that I hadn't used in weeks (because Greg wasn't a fan), the dogs' scents, students' funky breaths, the fridge, something unknown in my car. They bothered me, but they were still manageable if I turned away or stuck my nose down my shirt.

Food aversions increased, but I was always able to think of something I wanted to/could eat. By the end of the week, I noticed that if my stomach got low or empty, I'd start feeling bad, not quite nauseous but definitely icky. Frequent snacks seemed to help. I also had a little on and off headache...not too bad though.

By Saturday, I nearly couldn't stand the smell of the fridge or the dogs (Briar in particular), and Greg's body wash and cologne were overwhelming. However, I still managed to eat real food, a cheeseburger, which makes me want to gag thinking about it now.

Three hour naps have become a trend. With seven more internship days left, I don't know how I'm going to make it! Today would have been a trial run for my teaching endurance had I made it past the shower. Here's a little background before I describe this morning:

Yesterday evening, after eating a decent dinner of pasta with cheese on top (sounds surprisingly gourmet when you compare it to the crackers and toast I've managed to squeeze down today), I headed to bed to relax for a while. Awhile later, my stomach started feeling a little strange and uncomfortable. As I watched whatever little gem was on TLC (I think it was Sister Wives at this point), I started feeling queasy. I sat up, the sweat instantaneously beading at my temples and neck (really, how does that happen so quickly?!), and I unproductively gagged into my handy, double-lined grocery bags I'd begun keeping at my bedside. Amazingly enough, I felt a little relief. And a couple hours later, I felt up to eating a pbj before hittin' the hay.

This morning, I woke up early to take a shower since I hadn't felt like putting forth the effort last night. I decided to pass on the cracker collection I have stowed on my night table (big mistake? mooost certainly) and headed to the bathroom with a super dry mouth but otherwise feeling alright.

I started washing my hair, but holy cow, my shampoo's scent got intense overnight. And my body wash- I had to hold my breath and lather and rinse in lightning speed. I made it through my pit-shave and started rinsing my hair when my brain started feeling warm and fuzzy. Having fainted several times in my past (due to random, sometimes funny-ish causes, such as cleaning my newly-pierced belly button at age 15), I knew what was coming. I scrambled to rinse my hair through the increasing dizziness, then turned the water off and sat down in our slimy bathtub. I was immediately nauseous and reclined, cringing as I put my back against the tub and kicking myself for not having scrubbed it recently. Yuck. The nausea and dizziness subsided, and I cautiously rinsed off again before heading back to bed, where I sipped water and munched on crackers, then texted my cooperating teacher, who told me to stay home and rest despite my offer to try to go in after eating and sleeping a little longer.

I stayed in bed ALL day, ate some dry Fruity Pebbles and toast, had on and off nausea and a nice nap. I still have yet to throw up, but I feel pretty miserable! Bleh. I can't miss work everyday this week, so I hope the biobands I asked Greg to pick up for me are effective! Fingers crossed.

Over and out.

Hey, little baby, I know youre in there!

Even if you're only a fraction of an inch in size, haven't yet sprouted your baby limb buds, and won't be able to kick me hard enough for me to feel it for several more weeks, your presence is known, sweetpea! And you're already grounded. Jk, love youuuu.

This week started off fine, but since Friday, I've felt the imminence of morning sickness. I've only been border-line nauseous, but it's kept me from wanting to do much other than lie down. In fact, I'm posting this update on my cell phone from bed having just woken up from a long winter nap.

Here's the updated survey for the past week:

Scratch that. Will finish this tomorrow.

Here is the six week belly. No real, visible change yet even though I feel bigger already. Our pic in front of the chalkboard door will be late this week...

Excitement

Found this questionnaire on another pregnancy blog:

How far along? 5 weeks, 1 day 

Total weight gain: not sure- probably none yet, but I don't have a scale!

Maternity clothes? still early for that, but most of my clothes are fairly loose fitting, so I'm stayin' comfy

Stretch marks? nuh uh

Sleep: I could sleep allllllll day. Needless to say, I'm sleeping well. I've noticed a few times in the past week, though, that when I wake up earlier than necessary in the morning, I feel like I can/should get up and start the day rather than fall back asleep. 

Best moment this week: Announcing our pregnancy to family! We've told everyone that we plan on telling right now (primarily our awesome parents and siblings), and everyone has been just as thrilled as we are. Other top moments include hubby's talk about names and parenthood.

Miss Anything? not too much- on Thanksgiving, I kind of wished I could have some wine or participate in Greg's beer sampling, but I got to make up for that with sparkling cider, cookies, and pie :)

Movement: I wish you could feel baby movement this early! Considering he/she is only the size of an appleseed and doesn't even have limb buds yet, I know we've got awhile.

Food cravings: mostly just food aversions, but one food I haven't been turned off by the thought of is cheese pizza w/ extra sauce

 
Anything making you queasy or sick: haven't really felt sick yet, but when Greg mentions something he wants to eat or makes a snack (today- Totino's pizza rolls), or even when I think of some foods I typically like (such as ice cream), I shudder and can't imagine eating any of it.

Gender: couple more months (at least) until we find out! I keep going back and forth on what I think. I had thought we would have a girl for our first kid, but when I found out I was pregnant, I immediately thought boy. Now, I think I'm back to girl! I know Greg would love to have a son, but I know he would adore a little girl, too. I voted girl on the poll; Greg hasn't voted yet.

Labor Signs: hoping not for another 8 months or so!

Symptoms: lower abdomen usually feels full, always sleepy, had a hint of heartburn today, constantly thirsty

Belly Button in or out? in for now! since I can pull it out anyway, I know it'll be bustin' out before too long on its own!

 
Wedding rings on or off? on. this is another one that I feel is irrelevant so early on

 
Happy or Moody most of the time: happy!! :)  had a moment last Thurs or Fri when I almost cried because Greg told me that he hadn't toyed around with a baby name I knew he had. today, I've also been more irritable...unnecessarily loud noises piss me off (which they always have), and Greg likes the tv loud and to harass the officials during televised football games- ugh ;)

 
Looking forward to: Christmas!!! none of my family lives within 7 hours of us, so I'm looking forward to seeing everyone. Our plans include heading to GA for a couple days to hang out with Greg's mom and grandparents and share the news with them (the gparents; Greg's mom knows of course), coming back up to Nashville for our very first doctor's appointment on the 20th (!!), driving to Lynchburg, Virginia to see ALL of my family and bestest friend (yay!), stopping by Charlottesville, Virginia to visit with Greg's aunt and uncle and get some Arch's frozen yogurt (can't wait!), and make our way back to Georgia to hang out with Greg's mom, sister, aunt, uncle, and cousins.

 

Pregnant!?

This week I have been super sleepy. Whereas I had been going to bed around 11:00/11:30 in recent weeks, this week, I took (or felt like taking) naps after work and still was ready for bed by 9pm. Then on Wednesday afternoon, there was a little bit of pink on my toilet paper and (since I have heard about implantation spotting) began to wonder. TMI? Sorry!

Thursday, November 17, I woke up, nothing unusual, but I thought about taking a test. But wait, me, pregnant? No, I couldn't believe that I would be so lucky to have it happen so easily. I almost decided I'd better not take a test when I realized that it would be wonderful to get some good news on the 8th anniversary of my Grandma's death. Then again, after that thought, I felt it would somehow be putting pressure on my Grandma to let me get a positive. Crazy, I know, but, again, I nearly dismissed the idea of testing. Ultimately, though, I went for it.

The control line showed up almost immediately, and I stopped looking at it and went about getting ready for work. I checked back a minute or so later and thought maybe I saw a hint of a line. No way. My eyes must be playing tricks on me. So I examined it closer, tilting the little stick this way and that in the light, and I knew I saw a line. It was faint, but it was a line!

Greg was still sleeping. I wanted to wake him up and ask him if he saw it, too, but I had no idea if he would even wake up enough to respond or if he would just mumble sleepily, not regaining full consciousness. That wouldn't be a fun pregnancy announcement. I wanted him to be fully awake. I guess I'll keep this a secret for a little while! I gave him a big kiss before leaving for work and didn't see him again until 5:30 that evening.

Throughout the day, I wanted to tell sooooomeone that I thought I might be pregnant. Yes, might: I still wasn't convinced. Knowing that my husband should (and that I wanted him to) be the first one to know, I didn't tell a soul.

When I got home that afternoon, I thought about how I could tell Greg the news. I didn't want to do anything cheesy though (you know, literally hide a bun in the oven, or feed him a bunch of baby-sized vegetables). However, I fell asleep (surprise!) in our over-sized living room chair before deciding on a plan, and I didn't wake up 'til Greg walked in the front door. Clever and creative plans take thinking time, and I had kept this secret allllllllll day. I had to tell him now!

I let him tell me a little about his day, asked him about baseball training, then Bailey, our dog, (through my voice) started talking to Daddy, and wound up telling him that she was worried about having to share him. She/I should have kept giving him little hints because he had no clue at this point, but I stopped and asked if he had heard her (he had) and then declared, "Yep- I'm pregnant!"

I don't remember his exact words, something like Not ah. Are you kidding me? You're kidding me. He obviously didn't believe me. I went and got the two tests (one from the morning and a second I had taken when I got back from work- yes, even with afternoon pee, the test line showed up) and showed them to him.

We were both amazed and sat wild-eyed for a few minutes, dreaming and talking about the future. What if we're still in this noisy dorm apartment when the baby is born? It better be a boy because Bailey is the princess (Greg's thought). He also said, "Well, that didn't take long," referring to getting pregnant and asked, "What do I do now?" I told him he didn't have to do anything yet, but he started predicting mood swings and cravings and began making jokes and teasing me about being a whale. Already! In his defense, he asked me if I would be offended by that, and I told him no. That might just change when I can't see my own feet.

 

11/19/11 *four weeks*