Eat or Vomit?

What a weird day I had.  I woke up thinking that I wanted to vomit (no thank you) but it turns out I was hungry.  Still, only had two pieces of toast and jelly and was satisfied.  The rest of the day I pretty much had to force myself to eat because I never got hungry again.

Then it hit while doing Tai-bo with 1st graders.  That unmistakable feeling.  Watery mouth, knot in the stomach, starting to get warmer and warmer... NOooo!!!  I had to fight the vomit feeling!  I did not want to do a mad dash through one hundred 1st graders to get to the restroom to puke.  Yuck.  Luckily I controlled myself and didn't need to.  After school I went to the gym and did 3 miles on the cross trainer.  I read somewhere that if you keep up regular exercise it will cut back on crazy symptoms like morning/day sickness.  Then, I went home to eat tortilla chips and take a nap.  Never hungry.  Feeling squishy.  Disgusting.

This may have been my first day of dealing with morning/day sickness.  I hope that there aren't many more of these.  I'd at least like to avoid the dry heave and actual up-chuck.

THAT is our baby!?

n the past two weeks I have managed to read the following books:

The Best Baby Names Treasury - yes, I read through all two-million names.

Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy

The Walking Dead book #4 - not everything has to be baby related.

waiting for Skinny Bitch; Bun in the Oven to come in the mail (fingers crossed for tomorrow)

and I am currently reading "Week 6" of Your Pregnancy Week by Week.

Let me make this very clear: I do not read.  I'm not trying to be funny, I'm being dead serious.  I do NOT read.  My recent discovery of the zombie graphic novel The Walking Dead is the closest thing that I've done to "reading" since I tackled the Harry Potter series in the summer of 2007.

Back to the point of today's post: THAT is our baby!?

So I crack open my 600 page manual on pregnancy that is Your Pregnancy Week by Week to page 100, that's right I'm already on page 100 of 600.  On page 100 I begin to read about the 6th week of pregnancy, which actually means that the embryo is only 4 weeks old (another question that I will have for my first appointment).  Let's see:  I'm supposed to be gaining weight, vomiting, experiencing heartburn and/or reflux, and constipation.  While all of those bodily functions sound so appealing I am thankful that I am not a typical pregnant woman who has to go through all of that (knock on wood).  After reading about all of the really crappy things that I should be going through I flip the page and see a picture of what the baby looks like at week six and I think, "THAT is our baby!?"  The picture up above is the closest I could find online to the one in my book.  I am just baffled at the fact that THAT turns into a human.

I know that I pretty much love all things science.  I was a biology major for the first 3 years of college.  But the science of growing tiny humans inside of your body... that is freakishly amazing.  I pretty much grilled my besties with pregnancy and kid questions.  Not because I was pregnant at the time, because I wasn't, but because I was honestly curious.  This past summer Hubs and I went to Vegas for his 30th birthday.  In our hotel there was an exhibit called "Bodies".  I, of course, had to go to this.  It was an exhibit that featured real, actual, once living, human bodies!!!  It was truly amazing.  It was the most amazingly, fascinating museum exhibit I had ever seen.  Anyway, they had a whole section devoted to human development.   Unfortunately, this section featured actual embryos, fetuses, and babies who did not make it.  While it was a little sad, I felt so lucky to be able to witness how a baby grows and develops.  I wish I could remember that section better instead of relying on crazy artists' renderings of the stages of development.

My little babe has a tail RIGHT NOW.  Pretty crazy.

And for some other odd reason the author of this book decided to talk about how STD's will affect the baby.  Let's just say that I didn't have to read much of this chapter, thank God.

6 weeks

Today by my guesstimate I am 6 weeks pregnant.  Apparently that means that Baby T is actually only 4 weeks old.  This pregnancy thing is very confusing.  It doesn't help that I ordered myself a 600+ page book that has more information about one topic then I think I learned in high school all four years put together.

o-ver-whelming

I can't wait to be able to ask my lady friends questions.  I have a feeling that I'm going to be one of those preggos that calls the nurses line once a week with questions.  I already did today and it's only 10am.  Legit questions: Can I take my Lactaid?  What can I take for headaches?

I have been reading online that morning sickness usually hits hard around week 6 and I woke up this morning thinking that I was nausiated.  Thank God I was just so hungry that I was nautious :)  Took care of that pretty quickly.  My pants feel tight, but they usually do when I am at this weight (140) which is at slightly above my goal range (132-138).  I haven't gained any weight yet, which is awesome. 

It's amazing how baby can completely set you right back on track.  Since finding out I have been eating awesome!  Fruits, veggies, whole grains, lots of water, and very little "snacky" foods.  I have also been back to the gym on the regular.  Honestly, I have been less hungry since Baby T made its' debut on March 18th.  Maybe it's because I've been eating better and therefore have been more satisfied.

I took also took my first belly picture. I look the same, but I wanted to have a 'before' picture to compare.  I wonder if anything will change in the next week.  I am hoping that I can stay tucked away until I get a job for next year.  I don't know if a new boss would like me taking maternity leave Thanksgiving week-mid January.  At least I'll get two holidays that won't count against my time off.  I'll get a full two months :)

How to Tell?

This could not be more perfect.  After doing the math and hoping that everything is on schedule the way that the blood test says, it looks like we'll be able to announce our good news to our families on Mother's Day.  I'm really excited about the timing for this because my mom is absolutely going to flip :)

Now we just need to come up with a really great way to tell our moms (all 3) for their Mother's Day present.  Some ideas so far are:

• picture frame with the sonogram picture in it (if we have one by then)
• 'Happy Grandmother's Day' cards
• 'I love my Grandma' onsies

And... that's all I've got in the idea factory right now - I'm exhausted.

Sushi Sadness

t has been exactly one week since that + sign showed up and luckily I still feel exactly the same.  The only differences in life are that I am hiding a huge, amazing secret and I've had to give up some of my favorite things.  I have had to give up the following:

• wine
• sushi
• cold lunch meat!?  I haven't had my first doctor's appointment yet but I read online that you're not supposed to eat lunch meat unless you have heated it to steaming.
• coffee/caffeine - my life source - I actually haven't given this up completely.  The nurse said that I could have a cup of coffee a day (a real cup).  I've only been drinking about 4 oz.
• training for my 4th marathon - I hadn't actually started this yet but on March 30th I'm going to have to apply for a deferment since on October 30th I should be 37 weeks pregnant and while I am amazing, I will not be allowed to do that.
• Busch Gardens - sorry again, NP.  I know that we planned on getting season passed, but it's going to have to wait.

Tonight I was talking with one of my friends, NP.  We were catching up with some ridiculous stories and whatnot when we decided it was time for a get-together.  I suggested dinner.  Now, I was thinking we could cook a dinner and throw ourselves a little two-person dinner party.  She, on the other hand, went straight for my heart and said, "Oh my gosh I know this really great sushi place that you have to try!"  My heart sank.  Hubs and I aren't sharing the pregnancy news for another 6 weeks!!  How am I going to go to a sushi place, something that NP knows is my FAVORITE, and not eat the freakin' sushi?!  Dilemma.  Sorry NP.  I know that you're reading this now, almost two months after I've written it, but this was my thought process.  I already tried the, "I don't have the money" which was actually true but she offered to pay.  My next thought was to avoid setting a date for dinner, but I want to hang out so that's out of the question.  Truly I'm afraid that I'm not going to be able to keep the secret in.  I love to gab and I can't wait to talk to people about all of this but not until we're in the second trimester.  

So, NP, you're my inspiration for this post.  I'm pregnant!  I just can't tell you yet... sorry!!

We're Pregnant

So about an hour ago I received confirmation from my doctor's office that I am PREGNANT!  Now, for those of you who know me well know that I tend to give off "no baby for me" vibes.  Well I found that was easier to do then to be bombarded by, "When are you guys going to have a baby?" questions like we were about getting married.

{sidebar}  Ok, ok.  I know that we dated for 8 years before we actually tied the knot and those questions were warranted at some point, but still...

Since Thanksgiving, that's right; on Thanksgiving Hubs and I had the "let's have a baby" talk, we have been trying.  We joked about having a 9/10/11 baby, but that would have been extremely bad timing since that would be the first week of school.  No teacher wants to be out the first 2-3 months of school.  Can you imagine what you could return to?  Yikes!  So then we began joking about having an 11/11/11 baby which I was completely down for - how AWESOME would that be!?  I know that people joke on how stupid that is, but c'mon.  Also, my mom would always remind me to make a wish at 11:11 - she still texts me at 11:11 sometimes :)  I think it would be special.  Problem was that we didn't think that I was ovulating.  We went to the doctor, they did tests, everything was fine, and then the next thing I know... I'm freakin' pregnant!!  Not only that but it will be a NOVEMBER baby!!  OMG could it be?  Could I be in the timeline for a 11/11/11 baby bear?!  A-MAZ-ING.

Finding out:

After being prescribed pills to regulate my cycle (t.m.i - I know) with no result I took a pregnancy test on Friday, March 18th just to ease my mind.  About a minute later the digital screen said 'pregnant'.  I almost #*&! myself right there.  I stared at it for a few minutes before I walked out into the living room and shoved it in Hub's face while he was playing video games.  He breathed in, turned around, looked at my face, and then immediately looked at my stomach.  Hilarious!  It almost looked like he was surprised I didn't have a baby bump pop out, out of no where.  I ran out to the drug store and proceeded to pee on 3 more sticks - all + in less than a minute.  We weren't believing anything until I did a blood test, which wouldn't be possible until Monday!  How the hell were we going to wait 3 days to find out if this was true?  We had to.  Crazy, is all I have to say.

Positive - 3/18/11

Concealing the Possible Truth:

Then later that night I met up with one of my besties, RD, and a bunch of friends for college to celebrate my running buddies' birthday.  Luckily I was running that weekend so no one questioned why I wasn't drinking.  Mind you - we were out with everyone only two hours after the positive tests.  Why was it tonight that all everyone talked about was babies?!  Do they know?  Is there some 6th sense?  What the hell guys?  You were killing me!!  Especially my bestie, RD, who just had her 3rd kid.

Of course this is the weekend that I see almost all of my friends.  Great!  Saturday morning I met up with my friend LC at the Shamrock Expo (that's right, Baby T ran his/her first half-marathon with a time of 2:17:34) and the first thing she says to me is, "You look great!!  Well, you always look great but you're practically glowing"  Are you serious?  That really happens?!  News to me.  I laughed it off and told her that it must be because it's finally warm enough for flip-flops and capri pants.

Half-Marathon Baby

I read everything I could about working out and running while pregnant just so I could be informed.

-Don't get breathless

-DO NOT dehydrate

-Listen to your body

Perfect, I can control all of those things.  If you read my blog about 'couch to half-marathon' you saw that I psyched myself out mentally during miles 6-7.  It's because I thought I was pregnant and I started to panic!!  Either way, I made it and honestly felt awesome once I was done probably because I kept super hydrated for once in my life.

Monday, March 21st

9am I called the doctor's office to see if I could come in for a blood test and they said, "no" that I needed to make an appointment.  Um, sorry, but there isn't a "no" in this equation.  Once I told them I had been irregular since November they said I could walk-in any time.  Thirty minutes later I was in the office getting my blood drawn.  They said I'd know for sure tomorrow and I was off.  Of course when I called the next day they said they'd call me back and never did!!  Argh!!!

Wednesday, March 23rd

9am I called the doctor's office and sat on hold for OVER AN HOUR before getting to speak to a human being.  This was the longest hour ever.  When a voice finally came on the phone she said congratulations you blood pregnancy test came back positive and your levels look great (whatever that means - hahah).  I was put on hold again and transferred over to make my first prenatal appointment, which will be on Wednesday, April 13th.  The nurse said that my levels showed that I was about 5 weeks along.

So crazy!!  I don't feel different at all except for excited.  Now that I think about it, I have been a bit more tired lately but that's it.  If I hadn't taken those pills to regulate my cycle I wouldn't have even thought to take that pregnancy test.  I hope that I continue to feel fantastic throughout.

It's killing me not to call everyone right now, Hubs too, but we agreed to keep it to ourselves until after the first trimester - sorry to whomever is reading this because obviously I won't be posting it for another 7 weeks :)

I love you all and I cannot wait to share this with you!!  Until then... I will be journaling everything 'pregnant' privately for later posting.