Second Month of Pregnancy

There's a lot more to talk about for the second month of pregnancy. I actually just finished my second month (woo-hoo), and now begin the third month. I'm currently 9 weeks pregnant (just a reminder: Ziggy's only 7 weeks in existence - remember the two-week freebie?)

Nausea
Week 6 is when the nausea settled in. Not fun. I actually think my friend Lara gave it to me, as she is also pregnant and nauseous. She and her family came to visit at the end of my 5th week of pregnancy, and the day she left I started feeling nauseous. I suppose that's ok, because I'll get her back. We're visiting her when she is 8.5 months pregnant, and Mark and I have this amazing ability to induce labor in our friends. We're two-for-two with friends recently, both of whom went into labor within hours of visiting with us. So I just hope she's prepared to give birth as soon as we leave. :)

So it's hard to explain how yucky the nausea is, and I'm guessing mine isn't/wasn't even that bad. I had it hard-core for about two weeks -this past week it's been more manageable. I think part of the reason it's so yucky, is that it's not just nauseousness you're dealing with. You have to mix it in with fatigue and moodiness. I think it's as emotionally tolling as it is physically. I would sit there on the couch, too tired to do anything and if I did get up to do something, the nauseousness would get stronger. So I would sit there, half-bored and feeling useless and like I was just wasting lots of time when I could be doing something productive. Like I said, being at work is easier, because I have to get things done, go to meetings, and have people to interact with. The weekends were/are harder because I'm less distracted. It's also hard because Mark and I have been so busy on weekends fixing up our house, which I love doing. The last month he's been super busy with work/auditioning, and I can't do a lot of the projects by myself even if I had the energy. So I went from go-go-go types of weekends to sitting there on the couch. I have a tendency to catastrophize, so I would just make myself feel worse by thinking about how badly I felt, and I was sure it was never going to get better, and I was just going to go on merely existing in this crumby state. I know it sounds ridiculous, but that's how I felt. It's still a little depressing on Sunday nights when I realize how little I accomplished on the weekend. At least tonight, I'll know that I've started this blog. :)

Weight
So many women I know lose weight during their first couple months of pregnancy. Not me. I'm guessing based on how I'm starting, that I'm going to be huge. I'm already starting to insulate myself. :)

Now it's hard to say just how much weight I've gained so far. The doc says six pounds (that was at my 7-week appointment), but that is since my last normal check-up in April. And since then, we've remodeled our kitchen - which involved lots of convenience foods - so I'm guessing some of the weight went on then. Although, I was exercising a lot during that time, so maybe not? But here's the thing. When I get really hungry, I get nauseous. That's just me normally - not just in pregnancy. So when I feel nauseous throughout the day, I think I'm hungry, and that eating something will help. So I eat a lot in the hopes of feeling better. I'm always surprised when that nauseous feeling is still there after I eat.

Eating is rather stressful too. Even with eating all the time, it's still hard to fit in all the nutrients that you are supposed to get when you're pregnant. Pregnant women are supposed to get 150% the amount of calcium a normal person gets. That is a lot. And I'm even a milk-drinker. And you'd be surprised how little calcium lots of food actually provided that you would think otherwise. Cottage cheese for instance - 1 serving only gives 6% - and that's 6% for a normal person! Eating all those fruits and vegetables is also daunting. I'm trying to do my best, but I take comfort in knowing that there's lots of healthy babies out there born to junk-food addict moms. I have cut down on my Whataburger intake, and totally cut out the Mountain Dew. Actually, the soda cut-down has been much easier than I thought it would be. I don't have too many cravings, but instead have had some food aversions. Not such strong aversions that I think I might yack if I ate something, but rather more subtle aversions, such as soda doesn't sound all that good most of the time (it used to sound good ALL the time). Likewise my sugar tooth has decreased quite a bit.

Doctor's Appointments
I've had two so far. The first was at the 7-week point. I like my Dr a lot. She comes in the room to talk while you are still dressed (ie before putting on the gown), and then leaves for you to change before she comes in for the exam. She's actually pregnant herself - due in January. Which means I'll have a different doctor for a couple of months in there, but I think that's okay. Mark came to the appointment too. It was fun having them there, although a little weird when she actually did the exam part (not used to having an audience). Although, it wasn't really an exam, just an ultrasound.

And here's the part where I get mad at my friends who have already had babies. No one told me how they do this first ultrasound. It's a vaginal ultrasound. So yes, they take a picture by inserting a device. Yuck. I dread my well-woman appointments for like 6-months before they happen. And then there is this, with no warning. None of those movies or pictures ever show an ultrasounds being taken this way. They are always on top of the belly with everyone smiling. Liars.

The ultrasound itself was pretty cool. Ziggy just looked like a bean, but the doc pointed out the fluttering in the middle, which is his/her heart beating. That was neat to see. And she said that once you see the heartbeat, there's less than a 5% chance for miscarriage. That was also reassuring. Her equipment wasn't sophisticated enough to date the pregnancy, so we went in for another appointment this past Monday with the radiologist who took another ultrasound (yes, that way!). During this one, though, she was scoping everything out - checking out the ovaries, etc. It took a long time and was rather uncomfortable. But we did get our first picture out of it:

I have a couple of weeks off until my next appointments. I have an ultrascreening appointment on 11/20 (I have mixed feelings about whether to do this - more about this later), and then my normal 4-week check-up with my doc the next day 11/21.

Here's the two-month pictures. You probably won't notice any difference, and in fact I was surprised that I don't look very different. I definitely feel like I've got some extra belly (whether that's just extra insulation, though I can't tell), and many of my pants are too tight. Granted they were snug before, but now I just can't wear them.

And for those of you that think it's just your belly that changes - not so. My chest has also gotten bigger, and I've always been self-conscious about "chesty" shirts, which makes it even harder now! My button-up shirts seem to pull at the chest, and my sweaters are getting snugger there too. Oh well, I guess it's all part of the game. :)

There - I think I've covered everything I wanted up to this point. Stay tuned for more updates!