Thursday, July 22, 2010

Introducing...

Peanut! (or Cashew as my mother has named our little one)

Some of you very lucky readers received this picture via e-mail earlier in the week, but the rest of you I'm sorry, but you had to wait till today to see.

For those out there here is the technical mumbo jumbo: the black blob? that's called the gestational sac, the little circle up and to the left? that is the yolk sac, this is what is currently feeding our little peanut. Further to the left, between the two +'s is our little peanut.

That day peanut measured 5mm! The best part of this whole experience was seeing that little tiny heart actually beating. There are no words to describe how wonderful it was to be holding Andre's hand and seeing this little heart beating inside of ME! Let's just say there were some tears. Andre still can't stop talking about how cool it was to see that heartbeat. Truly amazing.

The specialist reviewed everything, and said that everything was progressing normally and I am due back on August 12th. I hope we get another picture because that will be an awesome present for my dad who will be celebrating a birthday on that very day!

Week #6!

Better late than never! I officially only have 2 days left of being in week 6 so I thought I better get a move on it!

So to give you an idea of how big our little peanut (or cashew, it all depends on whether you're asking my sisters or my mom!) is look no further than:

No, not the whole thing, but one of those little sweet peas equals the size of our little sweet pea, oh I mean peanut! In fact, our little peanut is 5mm in size, so about half a centimeter, but that's for another post altogether!

This week in peanut development:

I think the most important thing is that our little one's heart is beating! It's truly amazing to think that something so small already has a beating heart! The kidneys, lungs, and liver are also developing. Little peanuts eyes, ears, jaw, cheeks and chin are also forming (destined to be a looker our little peanut...).


I've been feeling good overall so far. The biggest thing that has popped up this week has been morning sickness, or the correct name for it "Nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, or NVP". The "sour stomach" that I had been experiencing earlier on, has been replaced but full on nausea. I haven't experienced vomiting (I'm knocking on some wood right now), but have experienced some gagging and dry heaves. Equally as unpleasant I'm sure. Today it was so bad that I had to call in sick. Then as luck would have it ran into one of those cancelled clients in Shoppers Drugmart as I was purchasing some Ginger Gravol. That was definitely an "Oh Crap!" moment for sure! I felt too crappy to devise some clever excuse, so I just spilled the beans, and since she is herself a mother of 2 she was very sympathetic.


Some other things I am experiencing are:

-fatigue (O.M.G. I am so tired all the time!)

-heartburn (daily, cannot live without my Tums)

-frequent urination (I'm slowly turning into my mother, God help me!)

-aversion to certain scents (scents/odours that were before just unpleasant have me running from the room)

-bloat, bloat and more bloat

All in all though, I am feeling pretty good, and I will take each experience for the blessing that this truly is.



Monday, July 12, 2010

Week #5!

See that orange seed on the right? That is how big the baby is this week! Although resembles a tiny tadpole in shape more than the seed. This week still might be a little early to see the heart beating on an ultrasound, but hopefully by next week when we have our first ultrasound we'll be able to see that little flicker on the screen. The most important thing developmentally that is happening right now is the neural tube. This is very important, because as this closes it forms the brain and spinal cord of the baby. All that folic acid that I've been taking for months and months now comes into play, making sure that the neural tube closes properly and prevents any defects such as Spina Bifida.

Symptom-wise I am still feeling really good. The odd morning I have a bit of a sour stomach though, but over the last few days I've been feeling pretty normal in the mornings. I'm still making more frequent trips to the washroom, and getting those hunger/nausea pangs though. As long as I remember to stock the kitchen at work with lots of snacks I'm able to keep it under control.

I am starting to feel the odd little bit of pressure and odd crampy sensations throughout the day as well in my abdomen. I just have to remind myself that this is normal, and that this is just my uterus stretching to accommodate our little miracle.

Busy day in Baby Land

Today I had a few baby related items on the agenda. First things first I had to call my family doctors office.

I had already spoke to my pharmacist about my asthma medication and if it was safe to take during pregnancy, and they had said that the one medication was fine, but the other medication (the steroid medication) was a Category C medication. He told me that the risk of not taking this medication (ie having an asthma attack and being hospitalized while pregnant outweighed the risk of taking the medication) but that I should talk to my family doctor.

So after talking to the nurse, she assured me that the medication was fine, and that I should continue taking it. So all is well with that. Now to try and keep my asthma as controlled as possible especially since the majority of the time that I will be "really pregnant" will be during the dreaded cold and flu season.

Second on the list was the call to a local clinic of Midwives. Having my prenatal care through a midwife is something that I have always felt very strongly about, and I decided that this was very important to me. I was unsure about whether or not I had to wait until I was discharged with the specialist first, so I called the midwife clinic to ask them. They told me that it was definitely a good time to call and it was not necessary to be discharged from the specialist first. I had my telephone intake and they should call me tomorrow with the date of my appointment!

So many things crossed off the list!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Week #4!

Okay, let me start this by saying I totally don't understand how they date pregnancies, at all. According the medical profession I am already just over 4 weeks pregnant! I don't get it, but we'll go with it. I'm going to (try) to at least do one update a week telling you how big the baby is at that point, fetal development, and how I've been feeling.

This week the baby is approximately the size of a poppy seed!


All I think is "holy crap that's small!". Followed by "how can that little thing be making me feel all these symptoms!". Overall I have been feeling pretty good, and most of the time I feel just like my old self. I have noticed over the last two days though that there has been a little bit of a "blah" feeling in the mornings. If I do not have a little snack mid-morning I go from hmmm, I'm a little hungry, to I am going to puke. So I eat a snack. Seems pretty simple to me. I've found that for some reason after lunch that feeling stays away as long as I remember to have a little snack mid-afternoon too.

There's nothing too huge development wise going on this week. Right now the baby is just settling into his or her little spot for the next 9 months. Next week is when all the cool stuff starts to happen. Stay tuned!!

Repeat Beta today!

For those of you out there that are not familiar with some of the baby lingo out there a "Beta" refers to the beta HCG levels in my blood. HCG is the hormone that home pregnancy tests detect to determine whether or not you are pregnant. Doctors sometimes don't just take your word for it that you are pregnant, they order some blood work to check on these hormone levels, and continue checking them at a regular basis until they are satisfied that they are doubling at a normal rate.

Soooo, I had my repeat blood work this morning and everything is progressing wonderfully! We also found out some pretty exciting news: the date of our first ultrasound! On Tuesday July 20th we will see our little "bean" (because that will be about what the baby will look like!) for the first time. I am really hoping that we will be able to see the little flicker of the heartbeat by that point too. Andre and I will also get a chance to have a follow up visit with our specialist to find out the next steps, and find out when we "graduate" to an OB or a midwife.

Exciting times ahead!

Saturday, July 3, 2010

How it all began!

Well technically it isn't how it all began, but this is the moment that we knew that there was a little one in there. This picture was actually taken at 5am since I just couldn't sleep anymore. (Well I just couldn't hold it anymore!)

We would love to shout from the rooftops that we are having a baby, but since our journey wasn't a conventional one, and we know what can happen (not that it will!) Aside from our immediate families, and a handful of amazing people that have been cheering us on every step of the way, this blog will be a secret until the fall. It's not that we wouldn't love each and every one of you out there, but, what you don't know, well, you don't know!