We had our first prenatal appointment this morning and all went well. It was my first time meeting my new doctor. She seems really nice, and competent, too. I know that seems like a harsh thing to say about a medical professional, but my past experiences with doctors has taught me that years of schooling and a license is not enough to guarantee one's competence (hence, the three doctors who misdiagnosed me for various ailments in the past)!
I didn't have too many questions for her since I've had over nine weeks to read up on pregnancy, so for the most part the appointment was rather routine. I decided that I wouldn't be doing the test for down syndrome. No matter the circumstances, I couldn't bring myself to abort my own child. As far as I'm concerned the fate of my baby is in God's hands.
Overall, she said everything looked good, and since we have an idea of how far along I am she felt we should wait until twenty weeks to do a sonogram because you really can't tell too much at ten weeks. I was a little bummed about it until she pulled out the Doppler and searched for the baby's heart beat. When I heard my baby's heartbeat for the first time I was so consumed with joy! If there was ever any doubt, hearing the heart beat made it all real to me now. Definitely one of life's best moments thus far!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
The First Eight Weeks
I know that most expecting moms like to post week to week, but my first eight weeks really haven't been all too eventful. I guess I can't complain. Pregnancy has been really good to me, but just when I start to doubt if I really am pregnant, those tell-tale pregnancy signs kick in and remind me otherwise.
Around weeks four and five I found myself tiring easily and would have to fight the urge to doze off in the middle of the day. I found myself running to the bathroom constantly, and the hunger has been unbelievable. I would have these insane moments where I'm full, having indigestion, nauseated and starving all at the same time. My body doesn't react well to hamburgers anymore (goodbye Five Guys, it's been nice), but other than that I've been doing well with food. I've only had one bout of morning sickness (mine actually happened in the evening) which is a blessing because over fifty percent of pregnant women suffer from morning sickness. Between weeks four and six I started getting frequent headaches and worried that they were going to become a problem, but they finally let up after about the sixth week or so. I have also begun to feel my uterus stretching. The feeling is a bit unpleasant at times, but also very reassuring.
I've begun to realize that being pregnant means that some serious life changes are in order. First of all, I can't be doing these 12+ hour days anymore. It's important I rest and keep the stress at a minimum. With the semester coming to an end and finals soon approaching this is going to be a bit of a challenge. I have a lot to think about when planning for next year. July will be here before I know it!
As far as my diet goes, for the most part I have successfully eliminated caffeine consumption in an attempt to reduce stress. I never realized that there is so much stuff that pregnant women shouldn't eat. Did you know that pregnant women can't eat lunch meat unless it's been heated up? Apparently pregnant women run a higher risk of contracting listeria from lunch meat. I guess that's not really much of a loss since I'm not much of a sandwich person, anyway. Other items that are no longer on the menu include smoked salmon, shell fish, and yes, sushi *pout*, but little baby no name is totally worth it, and I want to make sure I am feeding him/her well.
Speaking of eating well we had our big Thanksgiving feast yesterday, and after I woke up from my nap by belly was popping out a little! To most people I still only look like I've had a big lunch, but to us it's finally starting to become evident that there's definitely someone in there!
Around weeks four and five I found myself tiring easily and would have to fight the urge to doze off in the middle of the day. I found myself running to the bathroom constantly, and the hunger has been unbelievable. I would have these insane moments where I'm full, having indigestion, nauseated and starving all at the same time. My body doesn't react well to hamburgers anymore (goodbye Five Guys, it's been nice), but other than that I've been doing well with food. I've only had one bout of morning sickness (mine actually happened in the evening) which is a blessing because over fifty percent of pregnant women suffer from morning sickness. Between weeks four and six I started getting frequent headaches and worried that they were going to become a problem, but they finally let up after about the sixth week or so. I have also begun to feel my uterus stretching. The feeling is a bit unpleasant at times, but also very reassuring.
I've begun to realize that being pregnant means that some serious life changes are in order. First of all, I can't be doing these 12+ hour days anymore. It's important I rest and keep the stress at a minimum. With the semester coming to an end and finals soon approaching this is going to be a bit of a challenge. I have a lot to think about when planning for next year. July will be here before I know it!
As far as my diet goes, for the most part I have successfully eliminated caffeine consumption in an attempt to reduce stress. I never realized that there is so much stuff that pregnant women shouldn't eat. Did you know that pregnant women can't eat lunch meat unless it's been heated up? Apparently pregnant women run a higher risk of contracting listeria from lunch meat. I guess that's not really much of a loss since I'm not much of a sandwich person, anyway. Other items that are no longer on the menu include smoked salmon, shell fish, and yes, sushi *pout*, but little baby no name is totally worth it, and I want to make sure I am feeding him/her well.
Speaking of eating well we had our big Thanksgiving feast yesterday, and after I woke up from my nap by belly was popping out a little! To most people I still only look like I've had a big lunch, but to us it's finally starting to become evident that there's definitely someone in there!
Friday, November 20, 2009
Doctors Appointment
Today we went to the doctor, but it wasn't our first official prenatal appointment. I simply needed to sign up for insurance and get a referral to an OB/GYN. At this point I am seven weeks pregnant and my due date is July 4, 2010. My first prenatal appointment is set for December 9th. I'm excited and a bit nervous. I really hope they do a sonogram. It would put my mind at ease.
The whole insurance and finding a doctor process wasn't nearly as difficult as I expected. I bombarded the doctor with questions to which he was very accommodating in answering. I'm very concerned about this whole swine flu vaccination. Personally, I do not feel that flu vaccinations are safe during pregnancy, especially the swine flu vaccine since the drug companies are in such a rush to get the stuff out that it probably hasn't been adequately tested. I mean, we have no idea how this stuff will affect unborn fetuses and I sure as hell don't want my child to be the guinea pig for this whole swine flu vaccination experiment. I wondered if maybe I was being paranoid, but the doctor said that he didn't recommend it, at least not for the first two trimesters. He said if I started having flu like symptoms to just come in and they would put me on Tamiflu. It's a tough decision to make as an expecting mother, but I feel that I'm doing what's best for my baby.
I left my doctors appointment feeling a little more assured. Before I left the office the nurse practitioner placed my pregnancy test in a zip lock bag and handed it to me. I asked what I needed it for and she said that I might want to hang on to it and put it in a scrap book or something. What?! Seriously? First of all, I don't scrapbook, and even if I did, ewww! I peed on that! Do people really do that?
Weird.
The whole insurance and finding a doctor process wasn't nearly as difficult as I expected. I bombarded the doctor with questions to which he was very accommodating in answering. I'm very concerned about this whole swine flu vaccination. Personally, I do not feel that flu vaccinations are safe during pregnancy, especially the swine flu vaccine since the drug companies are in such a rush to get the stuff out that it probably hasn't been adequately tested. I mean, we have no idea how this stuff will affect unborn fetuses and I sure as hell don't want my child to be the guinea pig for this whole swine flu vaccination experiment. I wondered if maybe I was being paranoid, but the doctor said that he didn't recommend it, at least not for the first two trimesters. He said if I started having flu like symptoms to just come in and they would put me on Tamiflu. It's a tough decision to make as an expecting mother, but I feel that I'm doing what's best for my baby.
I left my doctors appointment feeling a little more assured. Before I left the office the nurse practitioner placed my pregnancy test in a zip lock bag and handed it to me. I asked what I needed it for and she said that I might want to hang on to it and put it in a scrap book or something. What?! Seriously? First of all, I don't scrapbook, and even if I did, ewww! I peed on that! Do people really do that?
Weird.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
I'm Actually Pregnant
Three years ago John and I decided to try for our first baby. I was really disappointed when I wasn't able to conceive. My doctor at the time misdiagnosed me as having endometriosis and said that it was unlikely that I would be able to conceive. After about the two year mark I started coming to terms with the fact that this probably wasn't going to happen for us, so you can imagine my surprise when I was actually "late" this month.
As of right now I am only a week late, but I decided last night that I would take a pregnancy test first thing this morning. After going through the denial/grieving/acceptance process for the past year I can't help but be skeptical, but last night I had the most amazing dream and it gave me hope. I actually saw my baby! At least, I guess it was my baby, but it was the most precious little baby. I couldn't tell the sex, but he/she was only a few weeks old and I fell in love immediately. It was the last dream I had before I woke up.
John is still asleep and I just took my pregnancy test. It's positive! I can't believe I'm actually pregnant! No seriously, I'm really having a hard time believing that I'm actually pregnant, but I still can't help but be excited!
If I am actually pregnant it's a blessing from God and one that I am truly grateful for. Personally I'm not partial to either sex. John is partial to having a son, but as long as it's a healthy baby I consider myself blessed and could not ask for more.
As of right now I am only a week late, but I decided last night that I would take a pregnancy test first thing this morning. After going through the denial/grieving/acceptance process for the past year I can't help but be skeptical, but last night I had the most amazing dream and it gave me hope. I actually saw my baby! At least, I guess it was my baby, but it was the most precious little baby. I couldn't tell the sex, but he/she was only a few weeks old and I fell in love immediately. It was the last dream I had before I woke up.
John is still asleep and I just took my pregnancy test. It's positive! I can't believe I'm actually pregnant! No seriously, I'm really having a hard time believing that I'm actually pregnant, but I still can't help but be excited!
If I am actually pregnant it's a blessing from God and one that I am truly grateful for. Personally I'm not partial to either sex. John is partial to having a son, but as long as it's a healthy baby I consider myself blessed and could not ask for more.
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