Outed!

While out of the country, I was outed for the first time. A woman working in a family-owned hotel bounded over, 2 hours after we arrived (unwashed and sleepless), and patted my tummy as I slouched on a couch checking email via the phone. "Baby?!?" she hopefully cried.

I was a little embarrassed. It was also the first incident of pregnant-belly-touching - though at that time I could still (with effort) button my low-rise jeans so the belly wasn't much.

It happened again today back at work. A lovely lady whom I like very much was chatting with me about our trip, and at the end she remarked I hadn't gained weight, despite going on and on about how great the food was. "Yes," I replied, "as I was telling you, we walked so much every day!" D'oh! That did me in. Her suspicions confirmed, she gestured at my stomach. "Are you...?" Yikes! My days of keeping it on the DL are clearly numbered. (This is one reason it's a secret.)

I saw my dad and sister two days ago, as far as I know they don't know. Also, I work with very few moms. All the women that most frequently interact with me do not have kids, so I think they will lack the eagle eye of moms-who-aren't-having-more-kids.

That being said, I know the next time I see my MIL, it's all over there.

Wiggly!

Today was the 1st Trimester Nuchal Scan Ultrasound. It checks for Downs Syndrome and other stuff. (I do know the details, but not gonna get all technical here.) Came out fine, as expected. Turkey measured 13 wks 5 days, and I was (approximately) 13 wks 1 day on that date. (This means time lapse since start date of last menstrual period, since no one reading this so far has been pregnant. Not a super-exact way to measure time-since-conception-that-happened-about-2 weeks-later.)

But the fun part, of course, was that it was the first ultrasound we would get. It was a 1.5 hr appointment, so I told The Hottest Computer Scientist in the Universe to get there 15 minutes after the appointment began. That would give me time to fill out the paperwork and get called in without him missing extra work.

D'oh!! I was in an out of the ultrasound room within 10 minutes of arrival. :(

It was really interesting to see the little Guajolote wiggling around, but I was also really disappointed that THCSITU had missed it. :( Which was completely my fault, I made a wrong assumption.

They gave me two images from the ultrasound but on the video monitor it was so clear what parts were what: you could see all the little ribs, the hands wiggling around, little ears, heart beating, black hole of a stomach... the picture is just like every other ultrasound picture you have ever seen. "Oh, is that a baby? How nice..."

Guajolote, 13 weeks 1 day:

Head to the right, white line on the left is the spinal column. In the video you could clearly see the ribs and the little hands waving around. I like the ear too, that's a cute detail.

First Prenatal Visit: there is a heartbeat!

I like the midwife office I picked more and more. They are so low-key and relaxed. I was NOT relaxed on account of being late.

The Hottest Computer Scientist in the Universe came to the appointment. He acted totally disinterested at first, but he also liked the midwife so once she came in he was friendlier. He was also so cute, reading all the materials we were given by the nurses.

She felt up my uterus and my boobs, but then the fun part (that wasn't fun? No, no it wasn't, thanks though) was hearing the baby on the doppler.

I learned there is lots of static in my abdomen! And there is also a mouse. The midwife said the heartbeat was at 160-170 beats per minute. If I was more on the ball, I would have thought of a piece with that beat and tried it out to see if it fit - have a gauge for myself. :) Tip for you when it is your turn. :)

It kinda freaked me out. It was the proof that yes, there is something in there. Woah.

Afterwards we talked about it together. THCSITU had some interesting observations: that little click-click-click (seriously sounded like a metronome over the doppler) already started a few weeks ago and will keep going for possibly 90 years! Holy smoke.

Then it occurred to me that with a heartbeat so very fast, that tiny tiny heart will beat more times inside of me than it will for the first couple of years outside! That's kind of weird.

Another question we had, is it already four chambers and compressing like our hearts? Or is it a little mass of cells pulsating rhythmically but otherwise unrecognizably? I looked it up since to find out.

No room here.

I was late. I tried grabbing a cab, but the one I stopped was on the way to a pickup. So I booked it the mile+ from the train up to the midwife office, plus having to detour to not be spotted by family en route. About five minutes before the end of the journey, I saw another cab. Huzzah! I would just make it in time!

He refused me a ride. That totally pissed me off, especially because it was on the grounds that my destination was no within walkable distance. "It's just, like, 3-4 blocks!" he says.

I KNOW where I am going. I happen to be late. Can I pay you to drive me a quarter freaking mile, please? Since that is your profession??

Also I moved many boxes and some mattresses the day before. Uterus kicked in with a vengeance afterwards, and all that hustling across town 24 hrs later made me feel all tender over there.

But whatev, cabbie. It's cool. Sorry I offered to pay you for 3 minutes of your time.

You are what you eat

I got this today via email:

10 PreNatal Power Foods from 100 Healthiest Foods to Eat during Pregnancy

Does Chipotle count?

Symptoms: from bad to... gone?

Argh feeling worried. Feeling worried because I feel totally normal.

This post is a boring account of aches and pains. Just chronicling them so that I have a reference.

Over the weekend, I felt pretty terrible. Friday night and Saturday night I only slept 4-6 hours, which of course were punctuated with trips to the bathroom. Saturday I had to lay down for a while mid day because I felt dizzy and sick. Not like actually throwing up, but just really crappy in the stomach-type area. Saturday night my uterus was cramping horribly, I was sort of bent over to finish putting the laundry away. It cramped like that up through Sunday morning, then that went away. I checked my nipples but couldn't figure out if they were less sore, or it was all in my head.

Monday I was totally exhausted. It as as though I had been at work 12 hours after just 5. And then I had to keep working 9.

The websites I looked up said that at 9 weeks, the uterus grows a whole bunch and can cause cramping, so I thought it could be normal maybe, and growing more tissue could lead to the exhaustion too.

But now today, Tuesday, I feel... fine. I didn't eat as much as I ought, but I felt *hungry* instead of ill. My nipples are definitely not sore. I had so much more energy today, even after going to the gym in the morning.

And I am wondering, wtf?

:-(

Inappropriate

Well, we better have sex now because your baby is totally going to cockblock.

That's gotta be true. No way people have more sex AFTER they have kids.

(That was me saying that. The Hottest Computer Scientist in the Universe laughed in spite of himself.)