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Sunday, November 9, 2014

Happy 12 Weeks, Bug!



It's actually 13 weeks today, but this is my 12 week post that I intended to write a few days ago after the sonogram. Even though I read that the risk of miscarriage goes down to 2% after a heartbeat is detected, I've heard 12 weeks so much that it still felt like such a relief to make it there.

For my own future memory, I want to quickly document some of the first trimester symptoms. Feel free to skim past it, it's really for my own reference.

  • exhaustion combined with insomnia the first few weeks
  • fleeting periods of queasiness, some mild and some more severe but never to the point of vomiting (only once did I even feel close to it, waking up sick at 2:00 AM); over by 8.5 weeks, returned more mildly at 10.5 weeks for just a week before disappearing again for good
  • smell sensitivity only in the very early weeks, passed quickly
  • craving red meat in the first weeks (most likely a need for iron)
  • followed by meat aversion and difficulty with the thought of eating most foods except for fruit, dairy, and simple carbs like pizza, bread, crackers, and pasta; still can't eat chicken breast, zucchini, or cooked mushrooms because of early experiences that scarred me!
  • cravings in the past few weeks that pass as soon as I stock up on them; root beer (I haven't had soda in over a year!), yogurt (I HATE yogurt typically, but couldn't get enough of full-fat Dannon fruit on the bottom and was having it as a mid-morning snack for almost a week before being grossed out by it again), boxed macaroni and cheese (have yet to indulge that craving but it's been on my mind for a week)
  • headaches from my hormone levels going up rapidly; it happened for a few days right before coming off the progesterone supplements, so I was hopeful that that meant my placenta was taking over!
  • a couple weeks with yellow discharge around week 10; I don't care if that grosses you out because it's one of those things no one ever talks about so it freaks you out when it happens, but researching it assured me that it was normal! So I'm talking about it! 
  • voice huskiness; I would NEVER have thought to associate this with pregnancy and just kept thinking I was getting sick or it was allergies, but it would go away and then return every few days. When I researched the discharge, it came up on a list of "strange symptoms your doctor doesn't think to tell you about," and voice hoarseness/huskiness was on the list. Something about the progesterone loosening everything in your body (it relaxes your intestinal tract so that food moves through more slowly and your body absorbs more nutrients, leading to bloating and sometimes constipation), including vocal cords, mucus membranes, etc. So you can be extra snotty and have a hoarse voice. For someone with year-round allergies that sometimes break through the meds depending on the season and the triggers, I just hadn't thought to associate it with pregnancy.
  • WEIRD dreams! I rarely even remember my dreams, and now almost every night I'm waking to some super strange dream.
  • Peeing ALL THE TIME.
  • Lower blood pressure. Again at the 12 week appointment, it was 120/80. I'm always high, around 138/90. Thank you, baby! I've read that this is usually only for the first two trimesters, but I'll still take the reprieve with gratitude.
Still no bleeding since stopping the progesterone suppositories almost three weeks ago. The day of the last pill was the day of the last bleed. Such a relief! It would have been nice if someone had told me from the beginning that this was a possible side effect so I wouldn't have been so anxious.

The 12 week sonogram was incredible. It was the first one done transabdominally instead of transvaginally, and having them smear the gel over my belly felt like such a pregnancy moment. Like, "yes, I've seen this on TV! I'M the pregnant woman!"

Baby was incredible. The image was cast on a screen in front of me so I could watch it there instead of craning my neck over to the monitor like I usually do. Baby was laying down so comfortably and was MOVING. The radiologist commented that baby was "very active," and I had a momentary feeling of guilt over the coffee I'd had that morning! Baby kept moving away from the position she needed it to be in to measure the neck (indicator of birth defects), and she said "this is a stubborn little baby!" I joked to Nicole later that I did a good job picking out her traits in the donor. :) As she poked and pushed down to try to get the measurement she needed, baby stretched! It had one arm up by its head and stretched it up and arched its head back. This is a first trimester fetus the size of a lime and it was this active little person! I was so in awe and started sobbing as soon as I saw it move. The sobbing made my belly shake - sorry, radiologist, for making this even more difficult! Then again at the heartbeat. I really didn't think the heartbeat was going to move me so much. I mean everyone told me it would, but I've heard it so many times in movies and on TV and it all sounds the same, so I didn't think it was going to be so special. But knowing that's OUR baby, and hearing evidence of the life force in it, was just overwhelming. I was so in awe.

Happy 12 weeks, my sweet little bug. Eight more weeks til I see you again, but I have a beautiful photo to gaze at and get me through til then. I can't wait to feel you!!!


 Our Facebook announcement - so abnormal and yet so perfectly us. Jack was a good sport!

 Our fridge with all sonograms - 5, 7, 8, 10, and 12 weeks

Our baby at 12 weeks!