I’ve been keeping a journal since then so I can remember everything! I’m completely fascinated with reading about how Baby is developing! Here’s some of what I’m willing to share…
February 27: Today we found out we’re pregnant! I have been “feeling pregnant”… can’t explain it… Totally went with the digital test… I didn’t want to be confused by all those lines or plus signs! I’m guessing that I’m about 3 or 4 weeks pregnant; not exactly sure how they calculate it as far as when the “count” starts. The baby is the size of a poppy seed right now! We got the poppy seeds out of the spice cabinet to see how small after the pregnant test came back “Yes!”. The baby’s heart will begin beating in the next few days, as well as blood beginning to circulate throughout the body. Your baby's first organ system will be up and running! All major systems are forming. I loved this quote: “Your baby's new digs—the amniotic sac and the placenta (aka the hotel and the restaurant)—are still forming at this point. All that high-speed development and your baby is only 2 millimeters long.” I can’t get enough of reading about our baby! How amazing!
March 2: So I almost appreciate the nausea… never thought I’d say that! Since baby is so small and this is such a fragile time, the nausea almost makes feel comforted that I really am pregnant. I feel GREAT in the morning so the whole phrase “morning sickness” is not so much for me. The late afternoon and evening is usually when I start to feel yucky. I’m hoping this pattern will continue if I’m going to feel this way so that I can get through the school day okay. I spoke with my nurse today. In 2 weeks I go for my first prenatal appointment. In a little over 4 weeks we’ll go for our first ultrasound and to hear the heartbeat! I can’t wait for that! Despite the “yes” on the pregnancy test and the physical changes I’m experiencing, I think it will feel more real then! I am praying our baby is healthy. There are so many emotions now… excitement… anticipation… fear… and back to excitement again.
March 15: Baby has a new nickname… The Bug! We like to watch Private Practice and one of the characters is pregnant; she calls her baby Bug. So for the past week or so, that’s been the baby’s new nickname! My sister spent the night last night. It was rather interesting because I was having a really hard time with nausea on Saturday morning. I think we hid it pretty well! I can’t wait to be able to tell her! She will be ecstatic! Pre-natal appointment is tomorrow! I’m so excited even though not much will happen!
March 22: I’m definitely not wondering if I’m pregnant anymore. Fortunately the bad days have corresponded with the weekend so work’s been okay for the most part. Name of the game = exhausted! I have slept SO much this weekend and yet I still feel exhausted! I’ve also been sleeping a lot better at night. I have to pee a lot… but right now I only have to get up once during the night. Fortunately I’ve been able to go right back to sleep. Nausea has been not-so-great. And yet I know that it’s not near as bad as what other women experience. I had to leave church this morning a couple times feeling like I'm going to be sick. Sometimes I wonder if I’d just feel better if I throw up. However, I had noticed some patterns. I need to eat something every 3-4 hours. The nausea seems to come on when I haven’t eaten. Also the nausea subsides when I eat. It takes a longer if I’m feeling really bad but for the most part eating helps. I guess my hormone levels are increasing! Cravings… not sure if they count but when I’m hungry sometimes there’s something I really want… like today it was a baked potato and chicken nuggets. Once it’s in my head, I can’t think about anything else. The other day it was pizza! On Monday, I had my pre-natal appointment. We talked to the pre-natal nurse. She gave us lots of information & I had LOTS of blood taken; kind of scary how much! Surprisingly I had no trouble with that despite my syncope condition. The nurse suggested I take my pre-natal vitamin at night instead of in the morning to help with nausea… thought it was helping but then this weekend hasn’t been so great. During week 6, the Bug’s eyes, ears, nose, cheeks, and chin started to grow. Since it’s hands and feet are like paddles, Christopher’s been calling it “Paddle Bug.” The heart is beating twice as fast as mine and blood is starting to circulate. This coming week, the Paddle Bug’s brain is growing fast… about 100 new cells every minute! Arms and legs are emerging as joints start to form. A permanent set of kidneys is now there too; thebump.com said this is the baby’s third. The baby’s face is more defined and a tiny mouth hole, tongue, nostrils, and ear indentations are visible. Paddle Bug’s eyes are open wide but there are no irises yet. The umbilical cord is now visible. Even though so tiny, Paddle Bug is 10,000 times bigger than at conception! Praise the Lord!
March 26: What a crazy week it’s been! Monday we went to the Kids Everywear consignment sale in search of a crib. We didn’t have any luck there… but did get found out by Alisa! I was hoping to make it in & out pretty quick… just in case… but that didn’t happen! So Alisa knows now which is such fun, but I really was looking forward to a clever way to tell her we’re pregnant! We’re pregnant together after all! Last night they had us over for dinner & playing Wii. She gave us our first baby gift too… an adorable sleeper set with little ducks all over it and a very soft Winnie the Pooh blanket. Yesterday we also had another surprise… Tuesday I was experiencing sharp pains on both sides near my belly button. I called the doctor and they wanted to see me yesterday for an ultrasound. Turns out everything’s fine; the doctor said it was probably just some ligaments stretching. Nothing major! It turned out to be just a sweet treat to see our Bug a week early! It was absolutely amazing… Christopher laughed & I cried... haha! The ultrasound technician was able to get a close-up of the heart and we could see the valves moving and it pumping.... AMAZING! We could see the little arm buds, the spine, the yolk sack (current source of food), and the developing placenta. Everything (me and baby) looked normal! The Bug is actually 4 days ahead as far as growth with respect to the projected due date. I felt such a huge relief! We still go next week for our originally scheduled appointment and will get to see The Bug again! It was fun to share the pictures with Alisa later that evening! We plan to tell our families this weekend!
April 4: Telling our family and friends has been so much fun! Wednesday morning we had our second ultrasound! It wasn’t as close-up as the first because it was on the mobile machine (rather than the permanent machine like last week). I started telling my school friends as soon as I got back to school! I wish I could have had a video camera taping my students as I told them about the Bug. I knew they'd be excited, but I didn't realize quite how much!
Once they guessed the letters in the message, here were some of their comments...
- "Do we have to be quiet so we don't wake up the baby?"
- "Mrs. McLendon... I feel sorry for you... my stopmom says it hurts... bad"
- "Why aren't you fat yet?"
- "Can you make the baby be born soon?"
- "Where is the baby now?" (Implying why don't I have a baby bump yet.... I had to get a penny to explain to the child how small baby actually is right now!)
- "Can I come to your baby shower? My mom says it's okay."
- "Now you will have 21 kids!"
One of my children has pretty much informed everyone he sees that I'm having a baby. He got to several people before I could! And of course, several want the baby named after them!
This week The Bug turned eight weeks old and is the size of a raspberry! The Bug is growing about a millimeter every day and continuing to straighten out in the trunk. The Bug is moving those little arms, legs and (now only slightly) webbed fingers and toes like crazy. Elbows have begun to form in the arms and the legs begin to show feet with tiny notches for the toes. The face continues to change as the ears, eyes, eyelids, upper lip, and tip of the nose appear. Teeth are developing under the gums! The heart has four chambers now and is beating twice as fast as mine. I’m getting slightly bigger… I’ve got a pooch & am definitely more comfortably in roomy clothes! I definitely feel tightness of my muscles in my belly. I’ve been feeling a lot better as far as the nausea! I’m still feeling tired and lethargic… and have to pee a lot!
