October 5, 2009

  • 19 Weeks!

    Man am I a slacker! School started and xanga died. I do miss blogging, but right now my writing capabilities have been thrust towards academic papers. Boring, huh? But it seems to be working. I just got my first grade back for one of my first papers and I got an A minus! So I'm happy with that. Someday I'll actually write more than one draft and REVISE and maybe I can pull off a high A. But that would require spending more than an hour or two towards said paper and I just don't know if I have that much of a desire.

    So...pregnancy update. Another part of the reason there has been less blogging is that I've been feeling much better in most respects. During most of the first trimester, I would lay in bed all day because of nausea and exhaustion, leaving me plenty of time to blog. Now, however, I'm in class most days and spend most of my "free" time doing class readings or dreaded math homework. While the misery of morning sickness is pretty much completely gone, my ever expanding uterus is already putting a strain on my back. I feel absolutely dead after a day on campus. I have to come home and just lay in bed for a while. Sometimes even while on campus I try to find a couch to recline on to give my aching back a break. Sometimes a whole day on campus, especially when it's rainy outside, is pretty much impossible.

    I was completely amazed at how quickly the first trimester bothers faded away. One day in my 15th or 16th week I thought I would have no appetite and feel queasy for the rest of my life. Two days later I had a raging appetite and felt totally normal. Energetic even! I felt like a whole new person. Except that I had to eat every three hours to quiet the monster in my belly. I had a couple weeks where all I wanted was carby Italian food. I actually craved Olive Garden! And I've NEVER liked Olive Garden. But now I like it just fine! My mom said she never liked Mexican food until she was pregnant with me. Weird, huh?

    Jeremy has upgraded the baby from "parasite" to "pot roast." He didn't actually call her a pot roast, but he called ME a Crock-Pot. I thought he was saying I was large and round, but then he said, "Cause you're a slow cooker! Get it? Get it?!" He is still very cute and supportive. He talks to my belly a little bit each night. Now that the baby can hear us, I try to talk to her or sing while I'm home alone, and have him talk to her a bit each night. You should see him talking into my belly button. Hilarious. It usually starts with, "Hello Baby! This is your daddy speaking!" and usually ends with, "Be nice to your mother!"

    I can't say I have definitively felt her move yet. Last night Mr. Potter was laying on my belly, and while he was putting that pressure on my abdomen, I felt like I could feel something pushing back against him. It lasted a little while but I couldn't tell if it was the baby, Mr. Potter's belly moving, or my belly moving food/gas down the pipes. I pushed him off of me and waited around to feel something, but never felt anything. I take a few minutes most nights before bed to see if I can feel her squirming around, but it's too hard to tell. Because of the position of the placenta (between her and my belly button) the doctor said it may take a few more weeks for me to feel her. And because it's my first pregnancy, it's a little harder to differentiate between her and normal belly rumblings.

    So I just realized this whole post feels a little formal, but oh well. I'm in academic writing mode!

    My belly is weird. When I'm sitting up or on my side it just feels kinda fat. But if I lay on my back, or even recline just a little bit while sitting, it is perfectly rounded and hard. The firmness is from my belly button down, and feels really crazy.

    In about a week and a half, we have the big ultrasound at the doctor's office. I'm SO excited to see her moving around again, but also worried to death that they will find something wrong. I will feel much better when it's over. Hopefully it will be good news because it's the day before Jeremy's birthday and it will be his little birthday present!

    I still want to write a nice, long letter to the baby about the first time I saw her--on the ultrasound--but I haven't gotten to it yet. Hopefully that will be next!