It’s A Baby!
March 12, 2006
I’m pregnant. I can’t recall how many times I’ve said that in the past several weeks – to myself, to my husband, family, coworkers, friends, and pretty much anyone who will listen. I’m 12 weeks along, so I’ve already missed out on blogging some milesones. Thus far: I found out I was pregnant on January 24th. By that time, I was about 6 weeks pregnant. Zach and I had been trying for a while, and I was so excited that I couldn’t wait to tell him in some sort of creative way. They say that your first pee in the morning has the highest concentration of the HGB hormone, so when I got up for work, I pulled out the test, took it, and my hands shook when the little digital read-out said pregnant. For the previous seven months whenever I was late for a period I would take the test and then be crushed when it came out negative.
So, unable to contain my excitement, I told Zach as soon as I got out of the shower. Since I had been discussing my conception woes with several women at work, I was also eager to tell them, and of course it didn’t feel right not to tell my family immediately too – I mean, if co-workers know, then family should too! So, I called my sister at home. Her reaction was great. She must have said ‘oh my God!’ 50 times. She asked me a bunch of questions, and told me I had to call Mom at work, which I did. My mother I think was a bit in shock when I told her. She said congratulations and not much else. I think she was also worried about how hurt we would be if things did not go well, but at that point, I was thrilled to know that I was actually able to conceive! I also called Mandy (my sister-in-law), who also had an excellent reaction and was almost reduced to tears on the phone, which of course also almost reduced me to tears. She asked me a few questions, and then let me go so that she could call P.J., Zach’s brother at work and tell him the good news.
After getting the word out, I began to panic that maybe I had spilled the beans too early. I mean, my family has a history of miscarriages, and this is our first attempt, and I was only six weeks along. I began dreading that I might have to go back to everyone I told and tell them that I had miscarried, and then face down pity looks for weeks to follow. So, I tried to think positively. I started taking pre-natal vitamins (apparently they don’t write prescriptions for these anymore, but simply tell you to buy some over-the-counter, which I did). I ate as much fruit as I could tolerate, and made sure that there were vegetables at every meal.
Ginger ale and ginger snaps became my morning routine for many weeks. I discovered that I couldn’t eat first thing in the morning, or I would be face down in the toilet before I walked out the door for work. Now that I am headed out of the first trimester, my morning sickness is slowing down – it is much more sporadic, though some smells (such as pizza) can still set it off. In the first few weeks I craved Big Macs, though I only indulged once or twice. Recently, I can’t get enough strawberries. When I discovered this at the grocery store one day, I couldn’t even wait to get home to eat them – I rinsed them in the restroom sink, and then ate half the pint during the 8 minute drive to my house. I have also threatened friends and family with bodily harm if they get between me and my strawberries – something I didn’t think food would ever influence me to do!
At nine weeks Zach and I went to our first doctor appointment together (I had gone the previous week to meet with the nurse, give a social history and 6 vials of blood for testing). We got to hear the heartbeat which was the most thrilling sound I have heard up to this point. It registered at 174 beats per minute. We went back this month (12 weeks) and got to hear the heartbeat again, slowing down to 166 beats per minute, which is apparently good and normal.
Now that I am at 12 weeks, and out of the biggest danger zone, I feel safe enough to blog about my experiences with the rest of the world. Two weeks ago I had to purchase bigger pants, and I’ve been buying up bigger bras for several weeks now. My breasts are starting to feel more normal, not as tender, though I’m starting to develop a complex about how big they are getting (I’m much more comfortable with smaller breasts). I’m thinking that having a round belly will be somewhat acceptable – I mean at least pregnant women have a good excuse for their larger size. However, I don’t really look pregnant yet, just a little fatter, and that is depressing at the moment.
I return to the doctor next month at 16 weeks for more testing (and more blood taken from me). As I do not have much medical history on my mother’s side, I am eager for any testing they are willing to do. So far, I’ve learned that I do not have any sexually transmitted diseases (no big surprise), and that I’m not a carrier for cystic fibrosis (phew!). Next month they will test for spina bifida and downs syndrome, and hopefully start talking about a sonogram! And yes, Zach and I do want to know the sex of the baby – Zach explains it best: people who don’t want to find out the sex generally say they want the surprise, and in Zach’s mind, what’s the difference between a surprise at 18 weeks and one at 36 weeks? Plus, if you find out early, then you get a surprise at 18 weeks (the gender) and then again at 36 weeks when you find out what the baby looks like. As I am a Type A personality, and need to have everything planned far in advance, I don’t think I could handle waiting until the end (unless the kid doesn’t cooperate and I dont’ have a choice)
So, you can expect about 24 more blog posts on this pregnancy topic – I’ll do my best to blog at least once a week and give everyone an update as to what is going on medically, what Zach and I are talking about, how things are going with nursery planning, and anything else I can think of. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment – I’m happy to answer pretty much anything to do with my pregnancy experience.
Yay BABY!!!
im nervious today,but very excited iam 12 weeks pregnant with my second and today i have a doctors apt, to hear the heart beat.wish me luck . also want to say congrats to all who are exspecting…….sara, thanks for writeing all you wrote on here,it sure helpd me feel alittle more calm today,congrats to you and zach..oh and as far as showing iam..and as far as cloths not fitting i know how you feel,also totaly know where your comeing from when you say you feel fat ,i do too ,but being fat for this is worth it….i get lots of headaches and nausea in morneing ,and lots of back pain and shoulder pain, hope it goes away soon… so long for now.
Hi Christian – congrats on your second! I hope your doctor’s apt. went well. Hearing the heartbeat for the first time is such a wonderful thing. I’m glad you are enjoying the blog, and that it’s helped to calm your nerves a bit – we could all use that once in a while! You are entirely right the “fat feeling” you get from being pregnant is entirely worth it (as are the residual symptoms that remain, like stretch marks…) It certainly sounds like you’ve had a long 1st trimester with the headaches, back and shoulder pain and nausea – I hope that your baby gives you a break soon! Good luck to you and please keep us updated!
Hey Sara today makes 12 weeks for me to I get to hear my babies heartbeat for the first time and I know what you mean as far as bra size I was a 34c now a 42d crazy ! But as for my husband Zeb he’s loving it haha! Well I was lucky not much sickness just tired and light headed a lot I had the smell problem to and like healthy foods now anything greasy makes me sick feeling so I stay away ! Congrats ! I’ll keep in touch k!
Hi Francis – congratulations on your pregnancy! I’m told that we’re supposed to enjoy the larger bra size while we’ve got it, but I never saw it as much of a benefit… at least your husband is enjoying it! You are definitely lucky that your symptoms weren’t too bad, and now that you’re headed into your second trimester, hopefully those symptoms will start to fade. Good luck, and please keep us posted on how you’re doing!