15 weeks

I have no idea if anyone is even reading this anymore, but I’ve been looking at some other blogs to see how my pregnancy symptoms/size/etc. compare to others. I’m going to try to post updates every week or so, and these will be entirely about pregnancy, so for those who are not feeling up to reading, I completely understand.

Total weight gain:
7-8 lbs. I gained about 5 lbs in the first 12-13 weeks and am trying to just keep my weight gain gradual and not excessive. During the first trimester, I had to just keep eating, or I felt sick. It was sort of bizarre to not eat when I was hungry, but because I was feeling queasy. I was afraid my weight gain was going to be really excessive, but 5 lbs is about average (maybe a tad on the high side). I was a totally normal weight when I got pregnant (but actually lost a few lbs during IVF).

Maternity clothes:
I had to start wearing maternity pants around 13 weeks. Before that, I was using a belly band with my regular jeans unbuttoned, but once they wouldn’t zip, the belly band became a little awkward. I’m not sure why I outgrew my pants so early. My clothes are generally very fitted, and I’m picky about the way everything fits, so I wonder if it’s partially just my level of tolerance for having clothes that are too tight. I can’t wear any full panel pants, but the low-rise demi panel pants and skirts from Old Navy and the Gap are great. There’s no way these jeans will fit throughout my whole pregnancy, but I’m ok with that. I also started buying some maternity shirts. I don’t need them, but the elastic waistband of the maternity jeans and pants is sometimes hard to cover up with regular shirts. I also went up a cup size, which isn’t helping things. Maternity shirts will fit me if they’re empire waist – everything else is too big. I can still wear some of my regular tops and sweaters if they’re long enough, too.

Stretch marks:
none so far.

Sleep:
I don’t sleep as well as I used to. Sometimes I wake up to pee, but other times I just wake up. I used to sleep really soundly.

Movement:
I don’t think so. I’ve wondered if I felt it once or twice, but then I think it’s probably gas. 😦

Cravings/Aversions:
Tons. I thought maybe these would go away in the second trimester, but I think they’re here to stay. Things I normally ate all the time – fresh vegetables, salads, chicken – all sound terrible. Vegetables are also still making me feel sick most of the time.

Gender:
98% chance we’re having a girl! I had a blood test to see if the baby’s blood type is positive or negative (I have o negative blood), and the test also showed the babys sex. We’re super excited!

Symptoms:
I still get worn out easily, but it’s much better than before. I also have sore breasts, but it’s better than it was throughout the first trimester. I still get nauseous at times, but it’s not bad. My skin is also dry.

Exercise:
I’m taking a regular yoga class (which I took before being pg) and modifying the poses. I stopped running and am trying to walk 3 times a week, but that hasn’t been happening. I need to be better about it. I also bought a prenatal exercise video that I plan to start soon, and I’m hoping to take a prenatal yoga class in February.

What I miss:
Wine and beer; not second-guessing everything I eat; running

What I look forward to:
Having a real baby bump. Right now I look like I drank a lot of beer.

Mood:
Good

Milestones:
Second trimester!
Also, this isn’t really a milestone, but we found out that M is not a carrier for cystic fibrosis, which was a big relief!

Medical concerns:
My post-LEEP cervix (my concern…not my doctor’s)

Sex:
We have! Not as often, but nothing bad happens when we do.

Update – 14 weeks

Warning – this will be all pregnancy related…

I’m 14 weeks today – very exciting!

I had my second OB appt this week. It felt like so much time had passed between appointments, and I was thankful for the holidays to distract me a little. It was SUCH a relief to hear the heartbeat again, and I know it’s early, but I am finally starting to feel more confident that this will actually work out. I’m still a little cautious, but I’m feeling more optimistic. It’s still hard to believe, really, but I’m working on it.

My body has been changing a lot. It’s sort of fascinating, but in all honesty, it’s been sort of hard, too. I didn’t think the changes would bother me, and I think as I start to look more pregnant, I’ll embrace them. Initially, though, it looked like I was just gaining a lot of weight. As someone who had been fairly fit before, this was not as easy of an adjustment as I thought it would be. I gained about four lbs in my first trimester, which I think is fairly average, but I added a layer of belly fat I wasn’t expecting. I guess I assumed you just went from normal stomach to pregnant tummy – I wasn’t aware of the fat stage in between (maybe everyone doesn’t go through this?). I know I probably sound like a whiner, and I’ll take any amount of belly fat to be able to have a successful pregnancy, but I just wasn’t prepared for it. My clothes got tighter a lot earlier than I expected, and the fact that my friends were able to wait quite a bit longer to start wearing maternity clothes didn’t help. I had to use a rubber band/ponytail holder to button my pants around 8-9 weeks, used the belly band from about 9-11 weeks, and was in maternity jeans at 12 weeks. They aren’t the type of jeans that will work throughout my whole pregnancy, but it’s a heck of a lot more comfortable than wearing jeans that I can’t zip. I know a lot of people are able to fit into their regular clothes for much longer. I also already went up a cup size in bras, so my shirts are tight or too short, as well. It’s made getting dressed a little complicated, to say the least. I’m really looking forward to looking a little more pregnant so I can just switch over to full time maternity clothes! Luckily, I noticed last night that my little lump of belly fat seems is starting to look more like a little pregnant tummy, instead of a beer belly. It’s a welcome change! I’m still a little tired and am sometimes nauseous, especially at night, but I am feeling SO much better than I was. The first trimester is really just not an awesome time.

On the medical front, things seem to be going well. We heard the baby’s heartbeat on the doppler this week, and the Dr. said everything looked good. She said at my first appointment that my cervix looked good (I had a LEEP procedure a year or two ago and wasn’t sure how much cervix I had left), but we’ll have to recheck it at the 18-20 week u/s. She said I had "enough" cervix, but that its hard to predict if I’ll have any issues as things progress. Fingers crossed that my cervix does it’s job and doesn’t get any crazy ideas! I also have O negative blood, which isn’t a huge issue, but is something to keep on the radar. I had b/w to see if the baby’s blood type is positive or negative (how crazy is it that they can do that???), and if it’s positive, I’ll have to get a Rhogam shot down the road and then again after giving birth. The test they did to determine the baby’s blood type will also show the sex of the baby, so we should find out at our next appt! I don’t know if we can get the results before then, but the one downside of my doctor’s office is that they aren’t great about reporting back with test results. It’s sort of annoying, but it’s not like waiting a few weeks to find out will make a huge difference. We also found out this week that I’m a carrier for cystic fibrosis. My husband is being tested now to see if he is, too. Odds are that he isn’t, but if he is, we’ll need to see a genetic counselor. I sort of wish my RE had tested us for this, because we may have opted for pgd testing when we did IVF, but I can’t worry about that now. Hopefully, M is not a carrier, and that will be the end of it. If he is, there’s a 25% chance the baby could have cystic fibrosis. The odds are really in our favor – M is hopefully not a carrier, and if he is, there’s a 75% chance the baby would not have CF, which are good odds. The thing is that we still have two frozen embryos, and I don’t know how many times we would want to chance it. I’m really hoping, though, that none of this will even be an issue – and that the test will show that M is not a carrier. I’m operating on the assumption that he isn’t and that everything will be fine. Why worry until there’s a reason to, right?