Success!!

I just heard our baby's heart beat for the first time! I thought I would try the Doppler this morning and, yay, I heard "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...." very fast and very loud. It was very exciting but I wish Charles was here. I shouldn't have tried without him here but I couldn't help it! It was neat becuase at one point my pulse was in the background so I could hear both of us at the same time. I'm really looking forward to the ultrasound on Thursday so we can see the difference 3 weeks makes.

12 week update

Your baby's face is beginning to look more human, even though she is only about 2 inches/5.5cm long from her crown to her rump and weighs slightly less than half an ounce/ 14 grams. The eyes, which started out on the sides of the head, have moved closer together. The ears are almost in their normal position on the side of the head. The liver is making bile and the kidneys are secreting urine in the bladder. The fetus squirms if your abdomen is prodded, although you cannot yet feel movement. Fetal nerve cells have been multiplying rapidly and synapses (neurological connections in your brain) are forming. The fetus has acquired more reflexes: touching the palms makes the fingers close, touching the soles of the feet makes the toes curl down and touching the eyelids makes the eye muscles clench.



Though the nausea seems to be fading, the fatigue still attacks with a vengeance. I feel like I'm in a haze most days no matter what I do. I went for a walk yesterday in some nice sunny, warm weather which felt good but I don't feel the boost of energize I normally would with exercising. For the past two weeks I have had progressively sore hips. This could be hormonal and/or the bed I sleep on (literature says to avoid firm mattresses while pregnant). While Charles is away I sleep in the spare bed as it is much softer. Hormones have been toying with my emotions the past couple days. I cry at just about anything; cried most of yesterday and today is starting about the same. I'm fine with crying at home, I just don't want to have it happen in public or at work. Poor Charles....

Besides all the drama stuff... I have felt flutters twice now in the same area which I think is my uterus. A very distinct feeling that I've never had before. And last evening I actually had Braxton Hicks contractions (I believe)... it caught me off guard & was very weird. I definitely look forward to my second trimester as they say it is the only time you can really enjoy your pregnancy!

Zombie

Well, just when I thought I was on the road to feeling normal again today happened. I woke a little later than my usual time and planned on walking after Charles came home from his hockey game. I felt more tired than usual and gradually fell into a nap on the couch around noon. At some point I moved to bed and slept... like I hadn't slept all night. I woke just after Charles left for work and have been on the couch since, completely exhausted. I feel like I've been drugged! Or that I've switched places with my cat.

11 week update

You're getting close to the end of the first trimester. Most of the baby's critical development will be behind you after the next couple of weeks, and the odds of miscarriage will soon drop considerably. Measuring from the crown of his head to his rump, your 1.5-inch/ 4-centimetre fetus has all his parts, from tooth buds to toenails. Your baby is busy kicking and stretching; his movements are so fluid they look like water ballet. Fingers and toes have fully separated. Now the fetus's main task during the next six months will be to grow larger and stronger until it can survive on its own outside the womb.

Just two weeks away from my second trimester & I can see a light at the end of the tunnel! I have been feeling generally well this past week; very mild nausea but still quite a bit of fatigue. Insomnia has taken over my once restful sleeps and I know there will be no more sleeping in for many years to come!

I had a much more thorough 'second' first prenatal exam with my new doctor on Thursday. I was given a lot of information and felt I received great care so one less issue to worry about. We have another ultrasound booked for May 3. This is for the nuchal translucency test (http://www.babycenter.ca/referencedarticles/pregnancy/nuchaltranslucency/). I will go back to the doctors a few days after that to go over the ultrasound results and then possible have a blood test done to estimate the chance of having a baby with Down Syndrome. Though, I know everything will be fine, I am mainly doing another ultrasound just to see the baby! After this one, we won't have another ultrasound until 18 weeks.

I will see the doctor every 4 weeks until week 32 then it's every 2 weeks until week 36 and then once weekly until delivery. Hopefully Charles can make some of the appointments as I don't always catch everything the doctor says so maybe he can remember the things I don't! Like the 5 finger rule to eating... 3 P's & 2 B's - pork, potatoes and pasta, beef &... don't remember the second 'B'.

I've decided to return to work May 10th. By then I am in my second trimester & should be feeling close to 100%. Management agreed to my reduced working hours as there is no way I can work 11+ hours a day. So, I will be on the same rotation but work just 8 hours a day. It will be nice to still have 4 & 5 days off, especially in the summer when we want to do some traveling. I also really enjoy the people I work with & was worried I may be switched to a different rotation, so it all worked out well.

Charles returns home today which I am very happy about (as usual!). It is very quiet without him here & I tend to not be as active when he is away. He'll have to drag me out on walks during his days off as I'm having a hard time doing it myself. Though, the weather here has been awful so I'll use that as an excuse!

10 week update

Picture of a 10 week old fetus (definitely not mine!!)

After a couple really good days this week, the nausea and fatigue have returned. I definitely expected to feel ill on Wednesday after my horrible experience at the doctors, but thought it may be nice and subside after our good day on Thursday. I spent most of yesterday trying to stay positive and hoped a different attitude could change how I felt. I'm sure that a healthy attitude does play a part but hormones and body changes will always win. I was sick all afternoon/evening yesterday and throughout the night. I am getting very bored in the apartment but don't like to venture far should a big wave of nausea hit. The cat likes it, though.

I look at our ultrasound pictures... all the time! It is very surreal to know that is inside me. Here is where she/he is at for development this week:

She/he is busily swallowing and kicking. Each day more minute details start to appear, such as fingernails and peach-fuzzy hair. The vital organs -- the liver, kidneys, intestines, brain, and lungs -- are fully formed and functional, while the head is almost half the length of the entire body. The forehead temporarily bulges and sits high on the head, but later will change into a more human-like feature. If you could take a look at your baby this week, you'd be able to see the clear outline of his spine. Spinal nerves stretch out from the spinal cord. The tooth bud fairy is making her appearance this week, heralding the arrival of your baby's little choppers, which are forming under the gums. (Those pearly whites won't break through the gums until your baby is close to six months old). Other systems are go, too. Your baby's stomach is producing digestive juices, the kidneys are producing larger quantities of urine, and, if your baby's a boy, he's already producing testosterone (yikes!). Bones and cartilage are forming, and small indentations on the legs are developing into knees and ankles. The arms (complete with elbows) can flex already; though your baby's arms are taking shape and getting stronger, each one is only about the size of this number 1. With the help of a Doppler, a hand-held soundwave stethoscope, you can hear the fetus's rapid heartbeat.

My protruding stomach is not due to the fetus yet but rather my bowels becoming distended. Which would explain why I am usually quite uncomfortable after I eat. The "fat" pants I purchased a few weeks ago are alreay getting too tight so today I will buy some stretchy-type pants (ick) or a "belly band" which allows my to wear the same pants but unbuttoned/unzipped. Thank goodness I still have my fatty uniforms for work... a few less items to buy.

Exciting day!

Baby at 10 weeks gestation

For those who can not see where the fetus is, he/she is along the bottom of the black oval (the black area is the fluid around the fetus). It is a side profile, with her/him lying on her/his back with the head at the right. You can see a little nose, the feet and part of the umbilical cord (the 'blep' at the left end of the fetus I believe).

Yes, that's our little fetus! We had a very exciting afternoon having our first ultrasound. I could not believe I was pregnant until I saw the "proof" & then it all became very real. We are both ecstatic! The little one measures in at 3.64cm and the heart rate was 163bpm. She/he was very active, moving hands & legs constantly. The experience would have been perfect if it weren't for the fact that I had to pee so bad! But definitely all worth it. The technologist aged the fetus at 10 weeks and 3 days, so very close to what we thought. I think we will both sleep soundly tonight!

Missing B.C.!

After my first prenatal appointment yesterday I am definitely wishing I still lived in B.C. I was very lucky over the years to have the same doctor and his great residents provide my health care. I took for granted having a relationship with a single doctor who has known me since birth.

The doctor I visited with yesterday was just shy of negligent. To make a very long, upsetting story short I received substandard care and left feeling very fortunate to be educated enough to know I needed to find another doctor. If I was a young woman who had not read any type of pregnancy literature I would have left that office completely dumbfounded.

One of the upsetting details was the fact that the doctor told me I didn't need an ultrasound until 18 weeks. Most of the pregnant women I know had a first trimester ultrasound and it is recommended in most books. This is for several reasons, like more accurately dating the pregnancy and visualizing where the pregnancy is. To make matters worse, I had some very slight spotting on the weekend (which I had mentioned to the doctor, to which she replied "yes, I saw that on your Pap test".... "if it continues, just rest") which needs to be assessed, properly. On the requisition form for the ultrasound she wrote "to assess slight hemorrhage".... at 18 weeks?! Two laboratories I spoke with said the ultrasound needed to be done now, which is exactly what is happening this afternoon.

The whole experience has been very stressful but this is the sad state of some parts our medical system. It has driven home the fact that we have to take responsibility for our own health and that is what I have done. I have an appointment with a new doctor next week for another "first" prenatal exam. I asked the very friendly and helpful assistant where the doctor received his medical training and how long he has been practicing; I never thought I would do that but after working with a few incompetent foreign veterinarians & my personal experience with foreign trained doctors I feel I have every right to put myself first despite offending a few doctors who should not be practicing in Canada.

So, I have to move on and try to keep positive. Charles has been very supportive (even though I am constantly giving him a hard time!) and is taking the afternoon off to come to the ultrasound with me. I hope to have good news later today.

4 weeks to go

I am counting down the days until I reach my second trimester as the past few days have been the worst for nausea. It seems no matter what I do it is always present. Charles & I walked the last couple days he was here. Though it is good to get fresh air, the nausea was worse with the movement of walking. I'd much rather look sick to my stomach at home in front of the cat than out in public, so I skipped walking yesterday but will try later today.




I can't believe it has been 5 weeks since finding out I was pregnant. It's amazing how time passes so quickly when you do absolutely nothing! Though it was a difficult adjustment to staying at home, I am thankful now for the time to rest and to put things into perspective.

Our fetus at 9 weeks

At week's end, our fetus measures approximately 0.9 inches / 2.3 centimetres long. In both shape and size, it resembles a peapod and weighs less than a tenth of an ounce / 2 grams. The eyelids are fused and won't open until week 27. The wrists are more developed, ankles have formed, and the fingers and toes are clearly visible. Arms are growing longer and bend at the elbows. By week's end, the inner workings of the ears are complete. Though you can't yet identify the sex of the fetus by ultrasound, its genitals have begun to form. By now the placenta has developed enough to support most of the critical job of producing hormones.

Charles had his 29th birthday yesterday! Unfortunately he is working but we will celebrate when he gets home.