Baby Blog 11

According to my own calculations, I should be around 7 weeks pregnant tomorrow.  I suppose everything is going well in the pregnancy.  For now, I just have to kind of guess at how things are going.  Honestly, this is kind of a weird time because I feel like it will be a long time before I have a real doctor appointment where I actually will have any real clue of how baby is doing.


For now, I trust and pray that baby is fine seeing as how I am feeling miserable.  I am so tired all of the time.  I'm finding it especially hard to stay awake during 4th block at school.  I wish my boss would designate me a nap time so that I could then make it through the end of the day. Ha! That would be nice.  Honestly, my main symptom is being tired.  I was having bad nausea and some vomiting yesterday.  The day before that I felt it coming and going.  For now, I have found that taking my anti-nausea medicine in conjunction with ginger ale is working for me.  But I'll say that, when I woke up this morning and the medicine had worn off, I could definitely feel it.  It wasn't as bad as yesterday.  However, I'm finding that my symptoms can be all over the place and some days are worse than others.  


A new symptom that I seem to have acquired is dizziness.  I get that lightheaded feeling every time I stand up, and I still feel dizzy often when I walk around.  Unfortunately, with all of these things, I'm experiencing quite a bit of moodiness.  Poor Lee...I'm trying to control it, but some days I just feel so grumpy.  I sound like a great person to be around right now...tired, sick, grumpy.  It isn't THAT bad all the time; it's just the side-effects of pregnancy.  


Something that is odd to me is that it's hard for me to feel like baby is doing okay when I am feeling so awful.  Nausea and vomiting are supposed to be signs of a healthy pregnancy, but it goes against intuition to feel that all is well when you feel like passing out.  I keep thinking, "How can baby be doing fine if I am not and baby is living off of me?"  That's just one of the miracles of life that I won't understand.  I am just glad that I am having these symptoms in a way because they are reassurance to me.  And I do hope they keep on until I am in the clear for a healthy first trimester.


They are more than welcome to leave with the second trimester gets here.  ;)

Baby Blog 10

Thanksgiving went very well.  The day after, I started getting sick. Then, by Saturday, I was being controlled by my allergies and sinuses.  I was trying every method possible of getting better that I knew wouldn't hurt the baby.  


However, my body was not taking that.  The allergens in the air were irritating me so much that my body was reacting by clogging my sinuses.  So, I didn't know what to do.  I could easily clear my sinuses out, but I needed to keep myself from reacting to allergens.  


Well, yesterday, I felt absolutely miserable.  I'd have symptoms that could have been pregnancy symptoms or could have been from sickness.  That is a downside of pregnancy.  The symptoms are so similar to other symptoms that it can be confusing if you actually get sick while pregnant.  Anyway, with an unbearable headache that hadn't gone away the whole day and left my head spinning, I finally decided to go to the ER.  I couldn't take it anymore and I didn't want to have to miss school on Monday.


The doctor basically just prescribed me some things that would be safe for me during pregnancy, and I went home much happier.  I am feeling a lot better today.  And I am hoping that baby is doing just fine.

Baby Blog 9

I will be 6 weeks pregnant on Thanksgiving.  The nurse says 7, but I am convinced I'm not that far along. Only time will tell, though.


I had my big doctor appointment today.  However, it really wasn't much of anything.  We just sat down and went over information.   She asked me questions about my lifestyle, health, etc.  And, in the end, concluded that it seems to be a good pregnancy.  After that, I had blood drawn in 8 vials! Oh my! They do a lot of blood work with prenatal care on post. I'm glad, though.  I feel better being on the safe side.


That was it for my appointment, though.  Everything seems good and looks good. So, now I'm booked for my next appointment on December 20th! At that appointment, I am supposed to get to see little bean on an ultrasound.


It all seems so unreal right now since I haven't had an ultrasound yet or heard baby's heartbeat.  I was hoping to hear the heartbeat today, but that's not how they do it there.  Instead, we'll do it all at my (roughly) 10 week appointment.


For now, I am glad to feel like everything is good and I pray that it continues that way.  The Lord is in control and I am continuing to learn to sit back and trust.

Baby Blog 8

Right now, I am so hungry! I wonder if Thanksgiving will even be enough to satisfy my appetite?  Baby bean, you must need a lot of nutrients. The hunger is so bad that it hurts to not eat.  It feels like I haven't eaten in hours.  


Other symptoms I'm still experiencing are fatigue, moodiness, sensitivity to smells, and of course hunger.  I'm going to leave the TMI symptoms out.  Let's hope all of these things mean the pregnancy is going along well.  The main thing that I haven't had much of and still haven't had much of is morning sickness.  But maybe I just won't get it.  


Only time will tell.  For now, I am thankful on this Thanksgiving week that the Lord has blessed me with a precious, growing little life.

Baby Blog 7

Not much has really been happening.  Sometimes, I worry because I'll feel that the symptoms aren't as strong as they were.  However, I wonder if I just think that because I have started to get used to certain things.  


My appointment with the doctor is on Wednesday, and I am really looking forward to it.  I have no idea what to expect.  I just know that I had to fill out a detailed informational packet tonight in preparation for the visit.  I had to confirm several times that I am not taking any street drugs.  It did make me feel good to check "no" to most of the boxes, which would be cause for concern.  However, anything can happen.


All I can do is continue to pray that little baby bean is growing and thriving.  

Baby Blog 6

When I had gotten sufficient results back from my blood tests, I decided it was time to contact family medicine and start the rest of my appointments on post.  Weeelllll, I called them yesterday, and they told me they didn't want my blood work from some other place. Instead, I needed to go there and have my blood drawn in their lab.

Wow! That's the third time I'd had blood drawn in under a week.  I was getting to know the drill.

Anyway, the nurse told me to contact her after the blood was taken, which I did.  I called her this morning and we've set up an appointment for Wednesday next week.  I have to say I'm pretty excited.  I doubt a whole lot will go on at the appointment, but I'm ready to sit down and at least talk with a doctor about my pregnancy.  I have so many questions I want to ask! :)

Out of curiosity, I asked her if she could tell me what my hCG reading was from yesterday, and she said it was 596.  That's 3.5 times what it was on Monday.  So, it's increasing steadily.  The nurse asked me if I had picked up my packet, which I had no clue I was supposed to get.  They had some information they need me to fill out before the 24th.  

So, my wonderful husband graciously picked it up for me while on post today.  Luckily, I got a nice little book for free and, at least for now, I have a detailed chart of what nutrients I need.

My counteraction to worry about this pregnancy is to stop and immediately thank the Lord for the blessing of a precious new life.  It is amazing how simply thanking HIM for this gift takes away my worry and puts all perspective where it should be.  Not to mention, it brightens my mood quite a bit to think of the wonders of the Lord's creation.

Baby Blog 5

God has been teaching me so much in the folly of my own self and the peace that comes from being at rest with him.  Here I have been so often worrying about little things like a cramp here or there or the fact that I was nauseous one day but not the next.  I worried that maybe it wasn't a strong pregnancy.


Well, I was wrong.  I got my second blood test back yesterday and my hCG jumped from 26.8 to 170.6! It was supposed to double and the new number is like 5 times the old one.  How silly I am.  Only because I know I'm pregnant do I worry, and I did not make this baby get here.  God created you, little one.  And only God will continue to craft your life.
"For YOU created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb."  Psalm 139:13


It is the Lord who will do it all, and I am only ridiculous (and probably offensive to God) to worry about things.  God is helping me let go.  His patience is beyond anything I could imagine.


As far as pregnancy symptoms go, they are on and off.  Every now and then I have headaches.  Then, sometimes, I don't.   Nausea has been very on and off, but it has mostly been off and very mild when on.  It is still early, and I am aware that it probably won't kick in for me until next week or the week after.  I have been so moody.  Thank you, Lee, for putting up with my craziness.  He is being so patient and so giving.  Also, I have a sensitivity to specific smells.  A kid opened a locker somewhere in the hall yesterday, and I smelled sweaty old gym clothes.  I asked the other teachers if they smelled that and they didn't.  It's only certain smells, though.  It will probably be everything later. 


Little baby bean, you are loved so much and your life has just begun.