Week 11

Finding food to eat in Portugal is rough… lots of seafood I can’t eat or red meat that I choose not to eat too much of because they have growth hormones and weird stuff like that here…

You have definitely started to loosen up my ligaments, I sprained my ankle AGAIN… it wouldn’t have been too bad, but I had to get on a plane and have all my blood (+ 40-50% more due to pregnancy) pool in my ankles.

Week 10

At Boom! I got very worried for you this week mavpa since it was so hot here. It was over 110 during the day and I started to get really terrified that you were going to overheat and get defects like you can if I get a fever… and there really wasn’t anywhere to go, just the hot shade lying there sweating or under direct sun in the lake. Ugh. But I thought about the millions of women who have worked outside in this kind of heat and given birth just fine and decreased my panic a bit. 

Well you were certainly acting up today. I woke up utterly grumpy. I had decided to sleep in today rather than wake up early and go for a run… terrible decision. Perhaps running could have calmed you down or evened out my hormonal insanity at least a bit. I felt like an entirely different person, I could look in and realize that my feelings of frustration, anger, annoyance, uncomfortable had no real sufficient basis, I just couldn’t stop having them! I snapped at Andrei a few times then just told him to leave and go have fun at the music because I was irrational and should be ignored. It was a rough day of nausea and grump and generally not being myself in the least. Maybe this was a preview of you as a teenager? I hope not…

Week 9

Craziness getting ready to go to Portugal and going and getting to Boom… Wrapping up everything at work was a bit stressful, and doing it while also doing several of my second and third prenatal appointments was extra fun! My appointments were really quite useless and for bureaucratic purposes as far as I could tell… 

I tried to relish the last week at work when I don’t have to think about hiding a baby bump :-)

Week 8

Geeze! Someone really decided that week 8 was a good time to need to draw a pint of blood for tests??? Seriously? Someone neglected to tell the doctors that this is the time when the mom is also trying to increase blood volume by 30-50% and already have super low blood pressure and various symptoms related to trying to make more blood…? 

The doctor was fine with not doing an ultrasound since it is really only for accurate aging and to see where in the uterus it is implanted… and I know the age and haven’t had any symptoms of ectopic pregnancy. The nurses however, had serious issues with it and thought I was crazy… dangit. The doc did convince me that I should do the first trimester screening for genetic abnormalities and such, which includes an ultrasound (only way to get a good estimate for Down Syndrome) and a blood draw.

It was great to have Andrei at my first real appointment and the nurse went very ooey gooey over how supportive and sweet and happy we were. She told him he has to do all the cleaning and cooking- I intervened and told her we always like to share things, but that I would indeed certainly let him play with all our cleaning chemicals :-)

 

Let me tell you- pregnancy and teeth are a bad combination. I already had slightly questionable teeth (probably from no floride as a kid, maybe just genes), but a chunk of teeth just spontaneously fell out, yes, a small chunk… not a tooth, not a filling, just a piece… while eating yogurt… so then we come to the fun that is going to the dentist when pregnant. They gave me a filling BUT without anesthesia because you can’t have any when you are pregnant! How rough is that!?!

Week 5

Obsessive research into baby growth! You are itty bitty and look very alien-esk :-) 

Definite breast tenderness and growing this week…

Week 3&4

The waiting game is a terrible one! I have to wait these two weeks to know if I am really pregnant… the waiting is so difficult! Every symptom I keep feeling could be pregnancy or could just be my period, they are all the same!

I had my first somewhat potential symptom… or it was just a bad day on the metro. I was going into the city and the subway platform smelled really strongly terrible. 

Wow! Finally! I got the pink cross on the pregnancy stick!!!!!! I had to tell  Andrei over the phone, but he was pretty floored!

Weeks 1&2

I spent a lot of time these weeks thinking about the potential you and hoping maybe this month would be the time. We have been trying for a while and really wanting to bring you into the world to share our life. Since we got married almost three years ago, life has been fabulous and we have been really enjoying our lives together. 

In thinking about why we do what we do and what we enjoy and what gives life meaning, it is so clear that bringing you into the world would be the most meaningful thing I could do. I have so much energy and focus in the world, so what should I focus it on- you of course!

Pregnant!

Pregnant! The stick turned pink and I was SOO excited! Andrei was sadly in Texas, but i had bronchitis and wanted to know if I should take any cough syrup, so did a test - and it was positive!

I called Andrei and let him know, he was on the way to work and sounded stunned :-)

first test post!

test post, please delete