And because I am a big dork:
Archive for the 'Pregnancy' Category
Eighteen weeks!
Check out that bell-ay. I am amazed every day at the rate in which my stomach is expanding. It’s a little freaky and I’ve started to get a wee bit concerned about stretch marks. I’ve been slathering myself with a yummy rich body cream from Origins, but does anyone have any other suggestions?
I’ve also started feeling the baby moving around. It’s totally wild. I can feel it best when I’m laying flat on my back. At first it just kind of feels like a weird pressure buildup in one area of my abdomen, below my belly button. But when I have my hand on my belly and he/she really gets going, I can actually feel the shifts and the rolls and the occasional distinct “bumps” from a hard kick. Last night I swear this kid was doing somersaults in there. Hawk was joking that the baby must be a girl because nearly every time I call him over to feel the kicks, he can’t feel it. He says, “She’s already defying her father. This does not bode well.” He did feel it last night though. Maybe it’s a boy 
Feeling my baby move has brought with it a whole new sense of reality. For four months I’ve thought, “Yep, I’m pregnant,” with not much to show for it other than a bloated-looking belly and a craving for Nachos Bell Grande. It’s almost been an abstract thought with ultrasound pictures to back it up every few weeks. But the first time I felt the baby move it was like, “Oh! You ARE in there!” There is a totally separate being living in my belly. Holy. Crap.
The movements also have given me more of a chance to feel connected to our little one. I love laying there, with my hand on my belly, quietly waiting to feel something. For a long time I feel the usual stomach gurgling, gas bubbles and then when I’m about to give up…*tap*. I smile and say, “Hi, sweetheart”. In these moments I am filled with such an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. I am so blessed, for so many reasons. I am blessed with the chance to be pregnant, to feel this life growing inside me, to nurture it as best I can (I promise there is much more to my diet these days than the aforementioned Nachos). And I see it as a blessing that surviving the pain of two miscarriages has allowed me to feel this gratitude all the more deeply. Would it have been so present if I hadn’t had those losses? I’m sure it would have to some degree, but I don’t know if it would be as intense.
Sixteen weeks!
Had another ultrasound this morning and all looks awesome. I can’t believe how much our little peanut is growing. It’s so amazing how we can now see all the bones - spine, ribs, fingers, arm and leg bones. He/she was doing lots of waving and kicking and wiggling. I can’t *quite* feel it yet, although there has been a flutter or two that I haven’t been able to dismiss as gas
In belly news, it’s freaking huge. I have officially moved up to my first pair of maternity jeans (which the ultrasound tech today chuckled at because she says I’m going to outgrow them in no time) and I finally feel like I look pregnant. Also, my boobs are enormous. I actually tried to go buy a new bra the other day, but the girl at Victoria’s Secret was trying to convince me that I was actually a 32B instead of the 34B that I am currently spilling out of. So instead I left and went to Mrs. Fields and bought myself a cookie.
I’m really doing great. It feels good to be able to say that after everything Hawk and I have been through these past three years. I finally feel like I can (knock on wood) let my breath out and really just enjoy being pregnant and not have to worry all the time that the other shoe is going to drop. I know that a lot can and will happen between now and January, but I am just going to take it as it comes. Our baby looks wonderfully healthy so far, thank goodness. I feel so blessed, so lucky to be where I am right now, to being having this experience, to be sharing it with my husband and my family.
In the past couple weeks I have weaned myself off of the anti-depressant I had been taking since last September. I could have taken it through the second trimester, but I decided I was ready. So far so good - I had a couple days where I felt my anxiety level creeping up, but it passed. It certainly helped seeing the little one today - the beating heart, the kicking legs, the HANDS. Too cool.
Plus I’ve started nesting. Ordered the crib and changing table, spent half an hour on the phone with my mom poring over crib bedding online. It’s starting to get more exciting and more real. Man, I’m having a freaking baby!!
(Click picture to enlarge)
Fourteen weeks today! Went to my first prenatal yoga class yesterday and it kicked my butt. I hadn’t been to yoga in a while and it showed - boy was I pathetic. Three months of sitting on my ass watching tv and reading do not make for a lot of stamina. Although, by the end of class I could touch my toes again, so I guess it was worth it. The instructor had the air conditioning set at 65 degrees and all of us pregnant ladies were fanning ourselves and huffing and puffing. I am so sore today.
You can see by the picture that the belly continues to grow. I guess I am starting to look pregnant, because over the weekend I had three separate people reach out and pat my belly! At least they were all friends and people I know, no strangers yet, although I have been told to watch out for this.
Had our twelve week ultrasound yesterday and all looks perfect :) They did the nuchal transparency screening and everything looks a-ok. Our little peanut was wiggling around, waving arms and legs and so very very baby shaped! It gets cooler and cooler every time, when we get to see how much he/she has grown. The baby is measuring 12w5d and is a little more than 6cm long. We don’t go back to the doctor for another four weeks.
I have been alternating between feeling great and feeling like crap. Last weekend I was ravenously hungry and pretty energetic, but come Monday I completely lost my appetite for anything but “Ants on a Log” aka celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins. I threw up for the very first time of this pregnancy on Wednesday night, the last day of my first trimester. I was attempting to choke down a salad when my upcooperative body decided to gag on a forkful and up came dinner. Lovely.
I hope everyone has a wonderful relaxing holiday weekend! We have some plans to see friends, but other than that we are going to lay low. Happy 4th!
No ultrasound pic this week, but everything seems to be progressing as it should. I felt pretty crappy all week, tired tired tired and yesterday nauseous nauseous nauseous. This week has found me in bed rewatching all of the extended DVD versions of Lord of the Rings, including hours and hours of the “making of” featurettes. That’s a lot of LOTR. But I love it and it has been a good friend when I feel like I haven’t the energy to lift my head off the pillow.
Tonight I get to play designated driver for my husband, brother in law and one of our friends when we go to some restaurant in Hollywood that does tequila tasting. Although sitting around and watching them get loaded isn’t exactly my idea of a good time, hopefully I’ll be able to get in a tasty quesadilla or something.
Had another ultrasound yesterday, the first one that was done with the warm gel on my belly as opposed to the dreaded “wand”, and the kiddo is doing great. He/she measured either 10w5d or 10w3d depending on the angle, and that’s actually a couple days ahead of where I actually am. We got to hear the heartbeat for the first time, and that was awesome - “swoosh swoosh swoosh”. Strong and steady, about 160bpm. And! We got to see him/her move a bit. I swear he/she was waving - like “Hi Mom! Hi Dad! Here I am!” Plus, our little one officially entered “fetushood” this week. That’s right, no more embryo for this kid, as of Wednesday, he/she is a fetus. Congratulations, kiddo, you’re kickin’ butt! Keep up the good work and Mama will give you a cookie when you come out. And a balloon. And maybe a pony.
I ended up going back to my old OB/GYN, the one we worked with before the fertility specialist. We had wanted somebody closer to us, since he’s in Beverly Hills and it’s a bit of a pain to have to drive over the hill to go see him. Also, I’ll end up delivering at Cedars Sinai (let’s cross our fingers that I don’t go into labor during rush hour) instead of the hospital five minutes from my house, but he’s so chill, and he knows me, knows my history, and I’m comfortable with him, so there ya go. We had a very lackluster meeting with another potential doctor last week, which left me actually very disappointed and sort of sent me into a negative spiral, until I realized that I could just go back to my old doctor.
I go back in two weeks for an ultrasound where they will do a test to screen for the potential of Downs Syndrome. It’s called the nuchal transparency screening. As of right now I’m not worried about it, but as the test gets closer I may start to get a bit nervous. Right now I’m just eager to enter my second trimester and maybe not hold my breath as hard as I have been. But so far, so good!
Sorry for the lack of updates but I’ve been feeling pretty lousy and haven’t been doing much besides laying around, reading and watching tv. And feeling my belly. It’s really starting to feel different. At first I just thought I was really bloated, but it’s kind of…staying… that way, so I guess it must be baby!
All is still well here in the Corbell house. I feel like crap, so I’m taking that as a good sign. Super drained all the time, still queasy, plus I think I am entering the “emotional basketcase” phase of pregnancy. Quick to anger, quick to cry. My husband said something this morning, something totally innocuous, and I wanted to punch him in the throat. Poor guy. Nobody ever said he isn’t long-suffering.
No ultrasound this week, which is a little nervewracking. I got used to the weekly reassurance with my fertility doc, and now that we are interviewing OB/GYNs, I have no idea when my next one will be. We meet our first potential doctor tomorrow, so that’s exciting. I think everything is going as planned though, as the past few days I’ve been feeling lots of stretching and pulling in my lower abdomen, so I’m thinking that the beh-beh is growing as he/she should. I’m not really showing yet, but my lower tummy is getting really firm and rounded. I just ordered this thing called a “Belly Belt” which is an extender for your pre-pregnancy pants. I don’t really need it *yet*, but I will very soon.
I am also waiting eagerly for the “bottomless pit” phase of pregnancy. I’m excited to just want to eat all the time. These days I really don’t want to eat much. Not only am I nauseous before I eat, now I’m nauseous *after* I eat too. I also get full really fast. Food is just generally not my friend. But, fear not (mom and dad), I am making sure that I do eat enough. The only craving I’ve really been having is for baked goods - cupcakes, cake, brownies. Those all sound heavenly. I’ve only indulged once, though, when my friend Marlene brought me a black and white cupcake from Lark in Silver Lake. Best. Cupcakes. Ever. I have heard that their Salty Caramel Cupcake is to die for but I have not been fortunate enough to try one yet.
