The Joys of Bloating

Last night I was SO BLOATED. I've never seen my body like that. I looked 6 mos pregnant. It was bizarre. I'm so glad it went away somewhat over night because I would have had to wear PJ pants to work today. I guess it's a mix of gas and constipation (sexy!). At least that's what the books/websites say. I've never known any of my other friends who've had babies complain about it like this. It doesn't seem to matter what I eat or drink -- it's just there. I hate it. I don't want to move to a belly band in the 8th week of pregnancy.

Did some research and found out some info on why this might be happening...

Why do I seem to have so much gas now that I'm pregnant?

Everyone, pregnant or not, has some gas. The average person produces between 1 and 3 pints of gas each day and passes gas about 14 times a day. That said, you may experience even more gas than usual during pregnancy.

Don't be surprised if you find yourself belching like a champion beer drinker or having to unbutton your pants to relieve bloating weeks before you begin to show.

Why does this happen?

The primary reason is that during pregnancy you have much higher levels of progesterone, a hormone that relaxes smooth muscle tissue throughout your body, including your gastrointestinal tract. This relaxation slows down your digestive processes, which can lead to gas, bloating, burping, and flatulence and generally create miserable sensations in your gut, especially after a big meal.


Looks like I might need to practice eating smaller meals.

7 Week Symptom

So this morning when I got out of the shower I notice that my chest looks like a road map. My viens are now bright blue and are practically blinding. This is aparently an early pregnancy symptom. One of the many changes that are under the "Breast Changes" catagory. Oh Joy!

(From the American Pregnancy Association)

What changes can I expect?

Your breasts go through a number of changes during pregnancy. These changes include:

-Growth and enlargement

-Tenderness and hypersensitivity

-Darkening of nipples and areolas (the skin around your nipples), due to hormones that affect pigmentation of the skin

-Darkened veins along your breasts (due to increased blood supply to your breasts) -Your breasts may start leaking a yellowish, thick substance known as colostrum

-Nipples stick out more; the areolas and nipples will grow larger

-Small glands on the surface of the areolas called Montgomery's tubercles become raised bumps

Your hormones are the cause of these changes and you may experience some effects more than others.

Sick

Christmas marked my 7th week and also marked the first day of my cold. I've had a cold since Christmas morn. It started with an sore itchy throat and turned in to a snotty headed cough. I spent most of the weekend in bed with a humidifier and some Halls Cough drops. The question about whether it's safe or not to take over the counter medications to help ease the pains of the common cold have brought in an onslaught of confusing answers. Lost of people saying it's not safe to take anything and lots of other people saying it's OK to take some things. Since I haven't seen my OBGYN yet -- I am not sure what my doctors office policy is. So I went to seek advice from a friend who is 6 mos pregnant and is also in the "high risk" category. I figured what her doctors are telling her is safe -- is my best bet.

Her doctors list of things OK to take are:

Tylenol
Halls Cough drops
Sudafed

and a few others.....

I just took the top three. (I'm not taking anything now.) I also bought these Vicks Vapo Pad inserts for my humidifier. They are like THE BEST. They blow medicated air in to your face and it really helps to clear the stuffy passages in your head. I also drank gallons of water, pee'd about 5 million times, and slept for more hours than I thought humanly possible. I'm only at work today to see if I actually still have the back muscles to sit up straight. Lucky me -- I don't need physical rehab and I have no bed sores.

I did have an insane dizzy spell today which I'm pretty sure was caused by low blood sugar. I've had spurts of low blood sugar before but they usually come on slow enough that I can catch them in time. This one came fast and hard and scared me. I survived it by eating everything in site, especially things with high sugar content, and resting my head. It wasn't a good feeling and I need to remember to keep food in my desk so that I snack enough. Now after all that binging I feel ill.

P.S. I'm sitting at my desk with my pants unbuttoned because I'm bloated. Nice, eh?

7 Weeks

As of Thursday I'm 7 weeks pregnant! 7 down, 33 to go!

Here is the snippet from babycenter.com about our progress:

Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.

A Book Recommendation

Eric's good friend Mary brought a book to me at our Christmas party. It's called, "Ina May's Guide To Childbirth". Mary said it was very "granola, even for her" but she thought it was most useful in preparing for her VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean). Basically, it's the ins and outs of natural childbirth with some stories of encouragement to boot!

I started reading it last night and I swear my vagina started to close up and cry. I will keep reading the book but I'm not sure that, for me, birthing will be the all out party that it was for these women!

First Gifts to Baby

These gifts came on Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa Jones to Baby Jones!




This box was made by Aunt Holly and given to me at Christmas. It will go perfectly in the nursery!

Christmas Gifts To Me

My Mom and sister gave me some maternity stuff for Christmas. They are all very cute and I'm excited to add them to my collection (and then pass them on to Jansen when it's time!) I'm thrilled to get so many tank tops b/c my late pregnancy will be spent in the summer heat!

I think the white one with green lettering is my favorite.

**My hair was dirty during this pictures so please forgive me!*

Crying!

Sunday Eric and I watched TV all day recovering from our Holiday Madness Saturday. At some point the video for Carrie Underwood's "Just A Dream" came on and I started to cry. I've always thought this song had a terribly sad topic -- but apparently I've graduated to crying about it!

Gotta love hormones!

Thank You Jansen

I owe a big thanks to Janse for bringing over all her maternity wear! I am so thankful to have something to wear later on in my pregnancy. Her bag of clothes saved me hundreds of dollars! I'm very blessed to have a local friend that's my size.............all my other friends with children are the tiny sort with small feet and short legs.

Test Results

The test results are in!

I'm PREGNANT!

So I went in to get the official medical "positive" on the pregnancy thing -- jjuuuuuuust to be sure. And yes, I'm pregnant. But it was odd to me that the nurse congratulated me before testing me.

Nurse: "Why are you here?"

Me: "To confirm pregnancy"

Nurse: Smiling "Did you take home test?"

Me: "Yes."

Nurse: "Was it positive?"

Me: "Yes."

Nurse: "Congratulations"

.............then I just felt stupid for being there. I mean, obviously she believed my 7 home pregnancy tests -- why didn't I?

For me I guess waiting the next 3 weeks until I see my OBGYN will be easier now knowing that I'm not having phantom symptoms. That my boobs really DO hurt this bad. That I really AM this tired. That I really CAN eat a loaf of bread!

All-in-all I'm relieved.

6 Weeks - Fetal Growth

Here is what my baby is doing

How your baby's growing:

This week's major developments: The nose, mouth, and ears that you'll spend so much time kissing in eight months are beginning to take shape. If you could see into your uterus, you'd find an oversize head and dark spots where your baby's eyes and nostrils are starting to form. His emerging ears are marked by small depressions on the sides of the head, and his arms and legs by protruding buds. His heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through his body. His intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to his lungs has appeared. His pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of his brain, muscles, and bones. Right now, your baby is a quarter of an inch long, about the size of a lentil bean.

Here is Eric's response

"Funny. Hes so small I want to flick him across the room. And yell TOUCH DOWN, like when we used to play paper football..."

**Gotta love him! He always makes me laugh!**

TODAY

SO! I came in today and my co-worker told me that that ANOTHER person within our company is pregnant. This will make 4 pregnant women -- all due around the same time. So, I ran in to my boss's office excited saying, "Did you hear XX's wife is pregnant too?" and was told that she miscarried yesterday. =(

I went white.

Turns out she was six weeks yesterday (like me) and miscarried at week 4 without knowing. I can't help it I freaked out. I called my GP today and set up an appointment for tomorrow. I am seeing them at 1:30pm tomorrow to confirm pregnancy.

I'm very anxious.

Other than being scared and anxious about the results tomorrow I'm also astounded at the amount of pee I'm producing! Last night I was up to peeing twice in the middle of the night. This is up from my once in the middle of the night peeing that has been occuring since the beginning of pregnancy. I wonder how high the number will get?????

6 weeks and a little scared

SO MUCH IS GOING ON AND I CAN'T REALLY PROCESS IT!!!

YESTERDAY

I had a moody day yesterday. I found out a friend of mine gave birth to her first child and of course I was so happy for them. So happy that I popped open the pictures of them in the hospital with their new little one and FREAKED OUT. I don't know what happened but I got this rush of emotion that sounded like this in my head -

"OH MY GOD WHAT DID WE DO!"

Can you believe it? Me? Mrs. all I've ever wanted to do is have a baby! Mrs. "Oh, you have a kid? Can I have it?" Ya -- me.

I felt better today when I read this on babycenter.com:

Why have I been so moody lately?

It's common to have mood swings during pregnancy, because of hormonal changes that affect your levels of neurotransmitters (chemical messengers in the brain) and the broad range of feelings you may have about becoming a parent. Everyone responds differently to these changes. Some moms-to-be experience heightened emotions, both good and bad; others feel more depressed or anxious. Most find that moodiness flares up at around 6 to 10 weeks, eases up in the second trimester, and then reappears as their pregnancy winds to a close.

Pregnancy can be a stressful and overwhelming time. You may be overjoyed at the thought of having a baby one day, and then just as quickly begin wondering what you've gotten yourself into. You may be worried about whether you'll be a good mom, whether the baby will be healthy, and how the cost of adding a child to your household will affect your family's future finances. And you may worry about how your relationship with your partner and your other children will be affected — whether you'll still be able to give them the attention they need.

Turns out I'm not the worst mother-to-be in the world. This is actually a NORMAL feeling! THANK GOD!

My Breasts

"Breast soreness" is what they call it in the 1st Trimester world. It's more like Breast Hell in my opinion. Saturday night I had shooting pains in my right one and then on Sunday it moved over to my left. Today the whole boob region hurts. Babycenter.com says the best thing to do is to wait it out with a good maternity bra. I went to Sears at lunch and bought an Olga Wireless Bra. It's not a "maternity" bra, per say, but it's basically the same thing. It will provide me with comfort and joy during the work day, which is all I need! At night I'm wearing a sports bra which feels great!

The wireless contraption that I bought for work is not the sexiest thing on the planet but my new smile of relief is!

Week 5

Hi All!

Last Thursday I made it to Week 5! I THINK that actually means I've completed week 5. Pregnancy math is very complicated! Once I go to the OBGYN on January 12th I should have a firm grip on actual dates but by my calculations, and the calculations I've made using on-line tools, I'm in week 5.

How do I feel?

My boobs hurt all the time. Even when I'm standing still. You can just imagine how walking feels. Other than that I LOVE to sleep. I want to sleep a lot. I sleep sooo good when I sleep. Sleeping now feels better than any sleep I've ever had and therefore makes it so much more enjoyable! The way I see it is that come mid August, sleeping will be a privilege, so I should take advantage of my sleepiness now.

What is my body doing at 5 weeks? (Babycenter.com snippett)

Deep in your uterus your embryo is growing at a furious pace. At this point, he's about the size of a sesame seed, and he looks more like a tiny tadpole than a human. He's now made up of three layers — the ectoderm, the mesoderm, and the endoderm — which will later form all of his organs and tissues.

The neural tube — from which your baby's brain, spinal cord, nerves, and backbone will sprout — is starting to develop in the top layer, called the ectoderm. This layer will also give rise to his skin, hair, nails, mammary and sweat glands, and tooth enamel.

His heart and circulatory system begin to form in the middle layer, or mesoderm. (This week, in fact, his tiny heart begins to divide into chambers and beat and pump blood.) The mesoderm will also form your baby's muscles, cartilage, bone, and subcutaneous (under skin) tissue.

The third layer, or endoderm, will house his lungs, intestines, and rudimentary urinary system, as well as his thyroid, liver, and pancreas. In the meantime, the primitive placenta and umbilical cord, which deliver nourishment and oxygen to your baby, are already on the job.

Correction

Edit to yesterday's post - Jess has more than a slight case of CRS. Just for the record. Also, her emotions are making themselves known. She didn't get hit by a branch on the Weepy Tree, but she has mentioned to me on a few occasions ordinary things that have made her tear up.

The First Trimester

Pregnancy symptoms I've witnessed so far:

• Frequent urination
• Exhaustion
• Heightened taste buds
• Early (for Jess) wake-up times
• Slight CRS
• General glowing & happiness

The early wake-up time is unexpected but I'm liking it, as I imagine Eric is as well. Perhaps Jess's body is already preparing for getting less than 10 hours of sleep per night? My fingers are crossed that the Jessica Jones Gestation Project Version 1.0 (JJGP1.0) is developing a wee one who likes to sleep during the night and party during the day, not the reverse. Regardless of sleep habits, I'm looking forward to babysitting once the little one arrives!

Names We WON'T be using

Girls

Buffy
Edwina
Krystal
Ida


Boys

Bart
Hank
Jebediah
Ignacio

Just realized

...this weekend that I'll be taking out my belly button ring soon. Ahhh! I can't believe it. After all the blood, sweat and tears it took to get that sucker in.

I will say good-bye to the belly ring along with --

• Wine
• Cigarettes
• Narcotics *wink*
• Too much caffeine
• High Heels
• Paint *Yes!*

Telling Our Parents

Sunday afternoon, at a family Brunch, we told my side of the family. We presented my parents with a "house warming gift" for their new home in National Harbor. All wrapped up in a pretty box was a small onesie that said, "The best gifts come in small packages"on the front. They were ecstatic to say the least.

Next up -- Eric's family. Luckily his sister and her fiance are in town visiting so we had THE ENTIRE family there. We presented the same gift to them under the title of a "Family Christmas Gift" that we wanted to present while Heather was in town. Everyone was so excited for us and we got lots of hugs. My 4 year old niece was thoroughly confused about where this baby actually was. I don't think she understood why it wasn't in the box we gave them.....poor thing.

Tuesday, Dec. 2nd

First Morning Pee. I was armed with 2 regular tests and one digital.

I decided to pee in a cup so I could use the special pee for all three tests. Grossed out yet? Get a grip with have 8 more months of this shit and it's all going to be written on here!!!

Both regular tests were faint but definitely positive. Eric confirmed. I was still doubtful though. *smile* Next up -- the digital. In all caps that test read "PREGNANT". It was that moment that I finally believed I was pregnant and I jumped up on the bed attacking Eric with kisses. It was a great morning.

The worst of all of this was keeping it a secret. I'm not good about keeping my own secrets.

Monday, December 1st

Using the pee of all pees I tested using my generic Rite Aid Brad test.

The geneneral rule about testing is that "a line is a line". So if you see a faint positive line -- it's a positive.

Here is the science behind that:

Pregnancy tests measure the amount of hCG in your system. hCG is the hormone that is released after the egg is fertilized and implanted. The more pregnant you are the higher your hCG is. So if you take a test 1 day after your missed period -- you get a faint line because there is very little hCG in your body. If you take a test 10 days after your period -- the positive line is probably screaming at you.

That morning I thought I saw a faint line but it was SO FAINT that I was squinting and holding under the light. So faint it looked like a hologram - one minute it was there and then next it was gone! So I tossed it and moved on to work.

At 10am that morning I broke down and went to CVS to buy a brand name test. I bought an e.p.t. pack that came with 2 regular tests and one digital. The digital being the God of all tests.

I went straight to Holly's house and pee'd on the stick. I got a faint line. Faint.

That night at home I shared with Eric my confusion. We agreed that Tuesdays first morning urine was going to be it. He would be there. We'd analyze the results together and take it from there. I was still doubtful.

Saturday, Nov. 28th

I had mild cramping this day.

Inconclusive pregnancy test + cramps = Aunt Flow

Just to set my mind at ease I got home and took another pregnancy test WITHOUT first morning urine.

It was negative.

I was utterly bummed and greatly emotional.

11pm - drunk -- 2nd test of the day -- still negative.

Sunday I did not test at all. I knew my period would be here Monday, as scheduled.

Too Early To Test

I promised myself when we started throwing caution to the wind that I would never test early. I would wait until my period was late and then test. But at the urging of my sister I tested the day after Thanksgiving - 3 days before my period was due.

At 4am I got up to pee on the stick using "first morning pee". First morning pee in the conception world is like gold. It is the pee of all pee. It is the most reliable and useful pee of all your daily pees. Not only does the first morning pee feel good -- it's helpful in the science department too! Who knew!

moving on....

At 4am I used the pee of all pees to pee on the pregnancy test. I did not read the directions because it was just early. And I was soooo tired. Upon first glance it looked negative and after 30 seconds I noticed no change. So I got up and threw it in the trash and went back to bed. Little did I know that I should have waited for 3 minutes before reading the results. 5 hours later, around 9ish, I picked it out of the trash (I was just curious) and it read positive. Without getting my hopes up I did some research online about the validity of pregnancy tests after 5 hours. Turns out -- you're not supposed to trust the results after 10 minutes. So I disregarded it and went about my day.

I have to admit I was a little bummed.