Week 39: Doctor's Visit

Today I had another Doctor's visit and my first internal exam! :) Oh, to clarify, I am IN my 39th week, so I have 38 weeks down... I always feel like it's probably confusing how I post. When I started, I was ambitious with each week and now I feel a bit silly about that- hehe.

I did all the normal stuff- urine sample, blood pressure (good), then stripped from the waist down. I had a male doctor today (in the practice there are 2 females and 4 male doctors), but I'm good with all of the guys. I have an overall preference for female doctors- particularly with OBY/GNs- because they usually know better what things feel like, but with this practice I have found EVERYONE to be really fantastic! Great bedside manners, very gentle, pretty go-with-the-flow people :) And the guy who I met with today is from California (yay! hehe) and he also is very active with the blood cord donation council at Fairfax Hospital- which I think is pretty cool.

Anyways, because it was a male doctor, the female nurse stayed in during the internal exam (as did my husband). To start with, we listed to the heart (good), he measured my uterus and then felt around to guess about how big he thinks Baby H is. His guess what that she is around 7-7.5 pounds NOW and so maybe 8 pounds by next week/delivery. I actually was not scared by this- I think I'm so big I was almost hoping she WOULDN'T be 6 pounds because that basically would be I'm that much heavier- lol. Just kidding :) But, I am rather pleased by her weight as it doesn't seem TOO big and certainly not small. We'll see how she is when she is born.

So, he then started the intern, which was really just him feeling around with his fingers. I didn't find it that uncomfortable and he said 'ok, a bunch of pressure,' but I really didn't feel too much. Of course, I usually don't have problems with my yearly exams, so maybe that makes a difference. Anyways, he felt in and... I'm starting to thin and I'm not dilated at all!

I'm actually not as disappointed by this as I thought I'd be. I think if it was that way last week, when I was getting so many harder contractions and back pain and all that stuff, I would have been disappointed, but I haven't been feeling that way this week. So, I haven't been feeling like I would have anything 'going on' down there. I think it's weird that I felt so much stuff pretty much for the few weeks BEFORE this week, but ah well. :) (don't get me wrong, I'm sore and tired and all that, but the back aches and really hard pre-contractions or whatever kinda' slowed down)

So, I'm still just waiting! My mom is planning to fly out Feb 12 which should still work fine. If nothing is going on by my due date of Feb 16, they are going to wait until the week of Feb 22 or even Mar 1-3 to induce me. So, no matter what- I will have a baby soon! :)

Side note- as you can sort of see in my photo... I now have stretch marks on my belly :( I went until about week 36 I think with a clear belly (ok, 1-2 marks after week 28) and then it just exploded! So, I now have stretch marks on my tights/butt (those I got early on), my breasts (not too bad, whew!) and my belly (grrr). And this week my belly button went from really shallow to..... ok- I don't think it's an 'outie,' but it's not an innie. It's just kinda' not there anymore... lol

Week 34: Complaints ;)

So, if you are following me on Twitter, you have noticed my complaints. ;) I actually kinda' use twitter to keep track of what I am feeling so that I can write about it later here. Here are some things I have been writing on Twitter:

"So, mostly @ night & first thing in morning,I have pelvic pressure and now this: Stinging in my vag**a area- not constant; just quick stings"

"Ugh, awake w/heartburn. Apparently I'm meant to get a max of 4 hrs of sleep at a time for the rest of this pregnancy! "

"I keep wanting to walk around and then it's SO uncomfortable :( And it makes me feel super fat ... All sorts of unhappiness tonight "

"I feel like I'm in the first trimester again with all this dairy I want! "

So, my new and ongoing things are: 1. Not able to sleep as much, and 2. Heartburn.

1. I can't seem to sleep more than 4 hours at a time. I actually have a SUPER hard time falling asleep at night and then wake up early. Which always annoys me and before I was able to get back to sleep right away, but now I'm up for between 1/2 hour and hour (and usually do go pee). The good news is that I don't feel tired after that, which I normal would be.

With all this lack of sleep, I DO REALLY hope that when I go into labor it is either morning-afternoon. If it's at night, I would probably be tired and sore from the day and therefore MUCH more aware of any labor pains. If it's earlier, I would probably be happier and able to handle pain better. At least, that's my theory... ;)

2. Heartburn. Ok - this is new for me. I don't really get heartburn and I don't really get acid reflux (are they the same?). For the last week or so, I find that I get the burning sensation, kinda' like my food is going back up. The annoying this is that it always tastes the same! lol - before if I had any sort of regurgitation, it would taste a bit like what I ate. This is all the same! At first, it seemed to be worst laying down; now I think it's worst if I'm sitting up a bit. Overall, it's not so bad.

Other Updates

My mom came from CA for the week between X-mas and New Years, which was very nice. She certainly is more active than my husband and I on a normal day and so I walked around a TON more than normal. :) But, we also cleaned house really well and got the baby room painted and all set up! Yay! It's very cute. The baby clothes for months 0-6 was also washed and put away. I'm all set for Baby H to come out now!

This past weekend I packed the baby bag for the hospital. I need to still pack my bag. Any 'must haves' that you recommend?

Body Updates

Looking back at my photos, I feel like I was now so skinny then and so big now! Ok, not skinny, but my belly is so much bigger now! And still growing! I'm a bit sad, I finally started to get some stretch marks on the underside of my belly. Not too bad, but I was happy that I didn't get them until week 33.

My breasts have been leaking, which is interesting. Usually the right breast gives me a small dot of wetness on my nightshirt. The left one not so much, although the other night I had a wet spot that was about the size of a half dollar! hehe

Baby kicks: She is very active now - today she has been jumping all around! It is certainly mostly movements; she never really seemed to be into the kicks as much as just moving and jumping around. I sleep mostly on my left side and she will slide over there at night and then move back to the right during the day. Right now, she's just stretching all around.

Location: I'm not sure if she has 'dropped' or not - she has been rather low the entire time! I think at times she does, but then she seems to move back up. I have noticed in the last few days that there is more pressure on my pelvic area and I have to pee more often, but also that I get these brief stinging sensations. I don't sting when I pee, just these quick little stings at times. The pressure and stings seems to be mostly in the morning and at night, and these are when Baby H seems to be the lowest. I'll have to ask the doctor about this.

I see the doctor this Wednesday - yay!!! They don't do much when I go in besides listen to the heartbeat and measure me; I kinda' want them to check to see how things are 'down there' - ie, is anything changing or still all closed up? We are anxious to meet Baby H!!! Less than 6 weeks to go!

Weeks 22-34 Belly Shots

Hehe - another big mix of photos. Hopefully, they will load right this time (I had issues getting photos up before X-mas)

Week 34

Week 33

Week 32

Week 31

Week 30

Week 29

Week 28

Week 27

Week 26

Week 25

Week 24

Week 23

Week 22

Weeks 23-31

Soooo.... I haven't written for about the last 2 1/2 months. I know, I know - I'm a bad blogger. I hate to say this, but I only blog while at work and work has been busy! :) I work at a university and so we run in ups and downs during the year. Thankfully, the students are now on winter break which means I have a bit more time to relax - THANK GOODNESS! My pregnancy was timed good like that ;) Bad for my boss because I'll be out this spring during what is usually our MOST busy time, but I'm glad to have this 'breather' as I go into my 3rd Trimester.

As you have noticed, I also have been twittering only off and on. I try to tweet anything I notice that I would want to write about later and... there really wasn't much to write about in between around week 23-27! It was interesting because there just wasn't all that much to say! I was continuing to get big, but nothing really different in feeling from before. Or rather...

... I gained lots of weight
... My feet started to swell a bit (although it went down when I flew to CA; maybe because I was closer to sea level?)
... The baby kicks got stronger and I got to get to know her pattern

... Otherwise, nothing else too much!

Now, after week 28 (when I came back from CA), things DID start to change again - right on cue for going into the 3rd Trimester. I can't recall everything week by week (my mental recall has gone downhill as I got more pregnant! Not good for me, as most things are in my head...), but here is what is going on now:

*Feet/ankles swelling
*MUCH more movement - it freaks me out when she doesn't move so much... this Sunday she seemed quiet and often when I'm busy at work I wasn't noticing it, but all this week (Mon-Wed) she has been very active and consistently every hour there is a period of movement. It's getting to be less 'kicks' and more 'movements.' It changed over at the start of this week to the movements and part of the reason I felt I didn't feel her this weekend was that I was more feeling her on my internal organs and not really seeing the pops from movement outside. Now, I get more of both.
NOTE: The movement is probably the most interesting thing at this point because it's what I notice the most and is so obvious... The other physical stuff with me is just stronger feelings of what I was getting before :)
*Back aches - I've been having this since early 2nd trimester, although starting around Week 25-26 or so my butt stopped hurting - yay! It also seems to bother me less, but I may just be getting used to it; it's GREAT if DH F rubs my back a bit
*Sex - not really comfortable in many positions now - poor DH! We usually have sex at least once a week, but went recently a whole 2 weeks (I think) without it! I think it's going to be less here on out because I just feel big and it's hard to get in a good position...
*Pregnancy Brain: I'm VERY distracted at work and in general and feel sometimes like I probably don't talk properly and trail off and can't focus so well. Again, I'm so lucky that the semester is over and I'm also SUPER lucky my boss is awesome and understanding with everything.

Hmmm, if I think of anything else, I will write.

So, I now see my doctor every two weeks, which I'm very glad because I just start getting anxious about things. Although now that I feel baby H more often, I am more relaxed. Oh! The other day I was just upset for an entire day (no reason - just cranky) and she totally responded by kicking the heck out of me all day! Kinda' funny.
Anyways, I'm glad to see the doctor every two weeks because it's just nice to hear the heartbeat. I don't get any more ultrasounds - the last I had was at 20 weeks (to which I think I started a blog about and didn't finish - I'll have to look back at that) and it's sad that I don't get any more unless they want to check something. I mean, I feel her, but seeing is always something COMPLETELY different. Ah well. So, when I go, I just get the basic measuring of my uterus, weight check, urine check, blood pressure check, questions...?

BUT - the last appointment I had (Dec 10 at 30 weeks), they gave me a goodies bag of stuff!!!! Yay! I love goodies! It was free samples of some magazines and formula and then the hospital pre-registration and stuff. PLUS, I found out that while my doctors usually deliver at iNOVA Fairfax, if they don't have anyone else they are already 'working on' (my words, not theirs), I could deliver at iNOVA Fair Oaks!!! Everyone says that Fairfax is better for most things, but Fair Oaks is like 10 min away from my home, compared with at least 30 min to Fairfax! :)

Finally - I get TONS of spam about blood cord banking; which seems to be fine if you have a family history of illness. For the most part, I have been viewing them as spam. But, my doctor brought it up last time and (I don't know WHY I didn't think of this) YOU CAN DONATE your baby's cord! Your hospital must be a participants in the campaign, but I am a big believer in donations, when possible! More more information, go to:
http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Donate_Cord_Blood_Share_Life/index.html
I'm sure there are other links out there, or ask your doctor or hospital.

Week 22: Feeling a bit down & swollen feet!

This past week I have been feeling a bit down... and a bit panicked about everything that is coming up. I have gone through my second period of time of feeling rather big, but this time I got VERY upset (ie, cried) about my growing limited mobility. Over the last about week and half or so, I have found it getting harder and harder to bend over... as in to pick up stuff from the floor, put on pants (I usually step in, now I have to sit down), put on knee-highs, etc. I HATE not physically being able to do things. I don't like scuba diving because I can't move around the water like normal and this is getting frustrating. Plus - my back/butt is hurting and it's like being sore ALL THE TIME!!!! :(

So, I got very upset and cried. Poor F - he didn't know what to do. Thankfully he pretty much hung around for a bit and then left me alone. (that's exactly what I need- to cry and be upset and get it out without drawing much attention to it while I'm crying)

He did ask why I don't ask other people how they handle the 'comfort' and so far I really just see things that is - 'this is pregnancy' and it's going to get worst. It's not painful - just very uncomfortable at every point of the freakin' day!! I also can't really ask my mom because I know that because she is on the other side of the country, she will worry about things because she is not here. (also, I don't think she would give any hints - so far it a 'deal with it' sort of thing because she didn't get advice during her pregnancy and doesn't seem to know what the doctors did either) Any advice? I asked my cousin (kinda' got stuff I already knew, plus to wear small heeled shoes), but I've also been just changing the way I move and walk and that is helping...

Good thing - this weekend we got a bunch of hand-me-downs and that is such a mental relief to have that here and not have to worry about choosing the 'right' one of things. Whew! We got a rocking chair, nightstand, changing table/dresser, and crib!!!! Yay to my family!!!! I know that it's nice to buy your own stuff, but buying stuff can be so overwhelming - it's nice to have the stuff and now I have an idea of what colors to decorate around! I found a few things that I like at Buy Buy Baby - I'll probably register there and some smaller stuff at Babies R Us. My babyshower will be in California in about a month and they don't have Buy Buy Baby over there, but hopefully registering with BBB will make everyone mail stuff to our house and not bring it to the shower!!

Other new thing of the week: I had a long (8-10 hours) drive to get the hand-me-downs and my feet swelled!!! First time for that - I thought it was pretty interesting ;) I think it was more the heat than the car ride because it didn't swell so much on the way back home. The swelling just felt like extra pressure - I was told that when I fly to walk as much as possible because the air pressure will also cause swelling... fun. :P The funny thing is that my feet are now a bit tight in my shoes, but otherwise don't really seem swollen...

Swollen feet after 8 hour drive... (actually, from this angle it doesn't look that different from my other foot picture - but I felt the difference!!!)

Week 21: Doctors Apt

Today I had my monthly doctors exam... I getting into the swing of things with these. I go once a month, they weigh me, check my pee, check my blood pressure, say hi, listen to the heartbeat (it always seems to take a few minutes to find this!), ask if I have questions and done! All in all, it takes only about 20 minutes maybe. Pretty quick!

I am in a group practice for my OBY/GN - I choose them initially because they are close to my house and the nearest hospital... of course, then I find that they only deliver at one that about 30 min away (no traffic), but I decided to stay with them. (they deliver at the further one because they prefer the staff and their epidural people... I have heard that if anything is 'wrong' with me or baby they would have to transfer me to this hospital anyways, so that's fine)

Because it's a group practice, they want me to meet with all of the doctors before I give birth. The doctors rotate who is 'on call' at the hospital so that someone is always there for delivery. Good idea, I think! :) I prefer female doctors usually because they better know what things feel like, but I'm not opposed to male doctors (I just find that they aren't as gentle or warm up instruments before sticking them in you; and they don't stick in quite as well as females). So, today I met the first of several male doctors. And I LOVED him!!!

He was pretty funny, very laid back and easy to talk with. All of the doctors in the practice (and nurses) have been this way and so I'm glad the men (so far) is like this too. I'm pretty laid back and enjoy people explaining things to me in rather... flippant ways, I suppose! ;) Everything seemed normal to him - my blood pressure was good, the heartbeat of baby Z (her nickname starts with a Z!) was good (between 145-50s), ... good! I asked 3 questions this time: (I'm paraphrasing his answers)

1. I have gained about 11 pounds (176 lbs) since last month. This is pretty high, is there anything you recommend?
- Yes and no. I wouldn't worry too much about this - mainly the more you gain, the larger baby will be and big babies can mean c-section as opposed to vaginal delivery. But, one month at 11 lbs is nothing to really worry about. Perhaps if next month you come back and gained another 10 pounds, we may want to talk about what you are eating :) Try to avoid the cookies and cakes and stuff with sugar. Fruit juices (apple juice, orange juice) has LOTS of sugar, so watch that. I think that because you are aware of this, you won't gain that much through next visit.

2. What's your opinion about the H1N1 shots?
- You MUST get the shot. About 6% of the pregnant women who get H1N1 die - much higher than the normal population. While the CDC and our office is kinda' eh about most years and the flu shot, this year we are VERY insistent that pregnant women should get both the flu shot and the H1N1 shot - and your husband too. They are starting to distribute the H1N1 vaccine, but we don't know to whom yet or how many. Call around and find SOMEONE to give you the shot!!!!!

3. I have been getting these dark... bubbles of skin on my nipples? ...???
- That's just your ducts starting to (shot, what did he say?) grow/fill up (?). Very normal :)

So, that was my fun appointment this morning. This week I did start to track my food intake - I had stopped for this past month- and hopefully that will help me be more aware of what I eat and control things :) I'm also planning to try to swim AT LEAST once a week - I don't get a chance during the week to do much, but weekends are good for this sort of thing. Oh - at the start of my pregnancy I was around 148-50 pounds (I have actually gained about 10 pounds this past year!) and I'm now at 176. You can mostly tell in my face I think, although my husband thinks I still look good... he says I'm trying to catch up with his belly size ;)

Wish me luck!

Week 17: Birthing classes

Note: Weeks 16-20 are being posted during week 21 due to life and computer problems getting in the way! Sorry for the delay!________________________________________________________________

So, my sister is a nurse and while she is not working in the maternity floor, she used to work in the women's health center at our local hospital where she would help with women heart education/stuff and mommy/baby stuff. (side note: it's amazing the difference between women and men with their hearts!!! Be educated as a women about heart disease and how it shows up in women!) So, while she has not been pregnant (and honesty annoys me many times with comments she makes - the joys of being pregnant and all of a sudden understanding SO many things!), she does have a very good idea about pregnancy, babies and the education classes.

So, I have been starting to look at the classes offered through the hospital I will be delivering at (I love these programs!!!) and they pretty much have the basic classes:

* Childbirth Preparation A four-week course that provides you and your support person with information on pregnancy, labor, birth, relaxation techniques and the early postpartum period. Other discussion topics include medication, anesthesia and Cesarean birth.

*Childbirth Express Ideal for the busy couple, this condensed six-hour course covers pregnancy, labor, birth, medications, anesthesia, and the role of the support person. Learn basic tips for managing labor to practice on your own.

*Maternity Tours See where you and your baby will stay during this visit to Labor, Delivery and Recovery, the Nursery, and Postpartum Unit; offered for adults only. (ok, not a class, but in that grouping)

*Baby Care One session class for expectant or adopting parents. Information on what to expect from baby, feeding, bathing, diapering, sleeping, crying, illness, and safety.

*Breastfeeding for Success Prepare for a successful, rewarding breastfeeding experience. Coaches encouraged to attend.

So - I will do the maternity tour and I think the Baby Care and Breastfeeding classes would be good too, although looking at cost, maybe just the Baby Care for now and see about a consultant and my mom when baby comes. But, the main thing that everyone talks about this the Childbirth Preparation classes.

So, me being the busy person I am (!), I would probably want to do the condensed version. I hate to be very self-centered like this, because should I want to spend the time to learn everything well, but I just don't see me sitting through 4 sessions. Also, I don't expect my husband to come to these classes. I don't want him in the room while I give birth (just my preference, I think it's great when fathers are in there, but I'm not feeling it) and it would nice for him to know what's going on, but I've been down that road before and it doesn't get to far. :)

Also, I'm not sure about these classes because I always hear from people that they forget everything they were told from these classes and follow what the nurse tells them to do during labor. I'm not sure if I want to be around people who probably range from not knowing ANYTHING about children, babies, their bodies, labor, pregnancy to those SUPER excited about the pregnancy and probably with an idea of things will be all cheerful and rosy and such. It's fine for them, but I'm not sure I want to be around them.

So, I asked my mom and sister what they thought and kinda' felt it out on Twitter. But, my sister is pretty familiar with the classes and me and said, "I don't think you should go. I think the people in the class would annoy you too much." !!!!!!!!!!!!! I thought that was really funny, but actually made me feel better because, as much as I want to know EVERYTHING about what is going on, it made me feel better to hear someone say I didn't HAVE to go. She went on that I can read as much as I want to about labor and everything leading up to it online, watch videos, ask people and - when it comes down to it - it's the nurses' job to let me know what is going on and help me through the process. Of course, I'm going to ask my mom about her techniques (see my last post on THAT; she only thinks you need to know how to breathe), but I'm feeling ok not taking the labor class.

... the baby classes I think would be good to take. I mean, the baby is going to come out of my one way or the other (yes, my knowledge can help with comfort so I am going to read up on EVERYTHING), but I need more guidance in the 'after' parts of birthing.

Other Stuff:

* I'm waking up (and alert) at 7 am. Why is my body preparing me for the baby's schedule NOW?! Can't it wait another few months?!!!

* Starting to pee more frequently (didn't really have this in first trimester)

Week 16: Dr's apt and other stuff I'm noticing

Note: Weeks 16-20 are being posted during week 21 due to life and computer problems getting in the way! Sorry for the delay!
___________________________________________________________________

I know, I know - I'm not posting as often as I used to. (thank goodness for Twitter!) There are two main reasons to explain this as I expect it will continue through the next 2 weeks, then again during parts of Oct and most of November: 1. I work at a university and we go in cycles of being super busy :) 2. I'm getting more used to being pregnant I guess - I don't wonder about every little thing any more. I think...

I had my regular doctor's appointment which was the normal weight check (164 lbs I think - hehe, I'm totally over what I should be... :/ That's around 14 lbs since I got pregnant!), pee in cup, listen to heartbeat (heart beat in 150s, uterus about inch or less below belly button), questions? Everything is fine - I also met a new doctor (female) who just had a baby actually and looks GREAT!! I hope that I will be that thin after my baby is born! In my office, there are 2 female doctors and 3 male doctors. I know - everyone is qualified, but I do prefer the female doctors. They just seem to have a better idea of what things feel like and I appreciate that during exams. I was told when I made my appointment for next month that I need to meet with another doctor, so I'm going to go on a Friday to meet one of the male doctors. I understand why - the doctors will rotate who's on call at the hospital and so I could get any of the doctors delivering baby and it's better to meet them before hand!

I was really hoping that I would have another ultrasound to find out the sex of baby, but they said that they do that outside the office and so I have a referral to get that done between weeks 18-22. At that appointment, they will check for all of the limbs and everything to make sure things are all good, plus they will see what the sex is!!! I can't wait! :)

Other Stuff:
* My skin around my belly is getting so tight! It's not a very good feeling - it's like everything is stretching and is going to pop at some point. If I'm feeling like this NOW, what's it going to be like later?!!! I'm obsessing about that a lot now - it's just this very ODD feeling - not too happy with it. On the other side, my husband is loving my boobs (I'm usually a bit small...)

* I got UBER cranky for about 2 days to my husband; then it got better. Hopefully that is the last of that mood swing! :)

* My contacts in my left eye is bugging me - it's find while in, but when I try to take them out, they are stuck to my eye! I'm wearing my glasses a bit more - I don't want them to get stuck!!

* Started getting some leg cramps... :( I think it may be tied to the temperature in our room

* Frustrated with my lack of maternity clothes - I have 1 pants and 5 tops!!! I need more variety!!!

* Dreams: not really about babies, but rather violence and murders and stuff... is that an indication of anything? Will I have a psycho child? ;)

* Starting to feel baby more - a bit stronger and more like 'pops' I guess... It's hard to tell because it's not really something I can feel and go "oh yeah, that's a kick"

* I get cranky (think 5 year old kid) after 9 pm!

* Boobs getting 'tingly' (I didn't get that in 1st trimester)

Week 15: Belly Shot!

A bit late, but here is my week 15 belly shot - actually taken at week 15 and 2 days ;)





















Week 14 belly shot




















Week 11 belly shot





















Week 5 belly shot





















It's coming along! I feel a difference, but I don't think it's looking all that difference from last week. We'll see about week 16 though :)

Week 14: Belly Shots

Week 14 pictures up! With week 13, 12 and 5 to compare :)

Week 14




















Week 13




















Week 12




















Week 5

Week 13: Belly Shots

A bit late, but here is my picture when I was done with week 13 and the old pictures for comparison:

Week 13 done!




















Week 12 done!




















Week 11 done!

Week 14: Pregnancy insomnia

So, I have been complaining about this on Twitter and have decided to officially gripe on my blog about my sleep cycle these last few days. I have anyways changed my sleep cycle once I got pregnant because I was, of course, TIRED beyond words. I don't nap, but changed things so that I was pretty much in bed between 10-11 pm (I would normally sleep around 12-1 am).

In the last week and half, I have been following that schedule, but I wake up at least once at 2:30-3:00 am. I always heard that people wake up during their pregnancy, but they always tie it to having to pee. I DON'T NEED TO PEE! WHY AM I WAKING UP?!!

My first reaction is that I am hot... we are getting into the really hot time in the DC area and in the past week and half, we got hot and humid. In order to combat the humidity (because there is not much of a 'cool off' at night and no breeze), we have to use the air conditioning. Normally during the summer, I have it set to 78 degrees at night; 76 if it gets really hot. Since I got pregnant, I have it at 74 degrees at night and when I wake up, I sometimes turn it down to 72 degrees. That does seem to help.

If it's cool enough, I just wake up, turn to my other side with my body pillow (I use the Leachco Snoogle Total Body Pillow). If I get hot, I'm up longer. Last night though, I couldn't fall asleep for about an hour!!! :( I was not a happy camper.

I then also wake up around 5:30 am - 6:00 am. I'm not SUPPOSED to get up until 7:30-ish. I suppose I could start getting up early, but I'm not a morning person and frankly, I get a bit pissed off about waking a bit early from my alarm :P

So, what I have heard about sleeping?
Mostly that everyone seems to get this and that some contribute it to having to pee, your body getting ready for middle of night feedings, and just hormones. Here are some hints I found online:

• Go to bed and wake up at about the same time every day. (I already do that)
  
• Don't nap during the day. (I don't - not even during the 1st trimester)
  
• Avoid alcohol and tobacco. Pregnant women should do this anyway. (duh - I don't drink or smoke)
  
• Don't drink caffeinated beverages four to six hours before bedtime. (I don't drink caffeine at all these days; I just don't like it... I can barley stand 7-up)
  
• Avoid spicy foods. (hmmm; well, I don't have it that much. And when I do, I think I have slept better. Maybe I should try that tonight.)
  
• Get regular exercise but not too close to bedtime. (ha! Yea, I don't exercise close to bedtime - I would be too tired)
  
• Do not watch TV or read in bed. Go to bed only when you're sleepy, and use the bed only for sleep or sex. (yep; actually, I try to read, but I'm too tired)

Oh - do you guys follow the spicy food rule? I don't eat super spicy food, but don't have any issues with that - no heartburn and whatnot. I think it mostly depends on how much you eat it anyways. I mean, in some regions of the world, you can't AVOID it!!!

I would love to hear any suggestions you have for sleeping; I would just like to sleep through the night and not wake up so much. I know that I will be doing this a lot with baby and would like a bit more time to enjoy my nighttimes :)

Week 12 Belly Shot and Baby picture :)

Here is my weekly belly shot (with week 11 and 5 next to it for comparison) and below pictures of our little guy/girl from the first trimester screening last Friday :)

So, I *think* I may be getting stretch marks. I'm not sure, but I have little red spots on my buttocks. :( I do have stretch marks (on my rear end again) from when I gained weight my first year of university so I guess it's too be expected. Hopefully it won't get very bad and I'm still not convience they are stretch marks, but I have a feeling they may show. I lotion up, but I know that the stretch marks come from deep in...

The other thing - my baby pictures are 2 ultra sounds and 1 3-D. They don't even ask me if I want the 3-D or not - they just do it! :) I'm not that crazy about it... however my mom - who didn't even have ultrasounds with us for the most part - thinks it's super cool because it's so in detail. I guess it'll look better as the baby develops a bit more!

Week 5 belly:



















Week 11 belly:




















Week 12 belly:




















Doesn't really look like that big of a change, huh? I actually think my weight gain this past week was very low. We'll see how things are this upcoming week... I don't think it's anything to worry about! I already seem to be showing earlier than some people!

Baby pictures:

Week 12: Dizziness!

Apparently, I'm pretty right on time for this! This weekend, I went shopping for a pair of maternity jeans and some longer shirts (I hate buying clothes that I will only wear for 6 months; well, again when I have another kid, but still- I'm trying to buy 'flexible' tops) and after trying on the clothes, I got so dizzy and felt like I was going to pass out! I had to sit down on the floor of the shop while F finished paying for the clothes. I then had to sit down and ate and had water for a bit before feeling better. I thought it was because we ate kinda' late on Saturday, but then I got a bit dizzy on Sunday as well! No where near as bad, but still kinda' dizzy! And this morning, I'm feeling kinda' dizzy, but that could be just because I'm tired :)

So, I opened my emails this morning and got in at least 2 of the daily pregnancy updates that this week could see the start of dizziness! This is kinda' the first week where I have been on track for my symptoms matching the emails :) This is what they say:

What to Expect.com
Week 12 of Pregnancy: Dizzy Spells

During pregnancy, progesterone increases the flow of blood to your baby, resulting in lower blood pressure and reduced blood flow to your brain — giving you that dizzy feeling all over.

Here's a quick tip: If you feel dizzy or faint, lie down or sit with your head lowered between your knees, take deep breaths, and loosen any tight clothing (like that button on your jeans you struggled to close in the first place). As soon as you feel a little better, get something to eat and drink.

And guess who's to blame? Yup — it's your old friend progesterone again, which causes your blood vessels to relax and widen around 12 weeks pregnant, increasing the flow of blood to your baby (again, good for baby), but slowing the return of blood to you (as always, not so good for mom). Less blood flow to you means lower blood pressure and reduced blood flow to your brain. All of these can contribute to that light-headed, dizzy feeling — especially when you get up too quickly — which is why slow and steady wins the race against dizziness.

Another cause of dizziness during pregnancy is low blood-sugar levels, which can occur if you're not eating regularly (so don't try to run…or even walk…on empty). And looking ahead to later in pregnancy, dizziness in the third trimester can be caused by the pressure the growing uterus places on your major blood vessels, especially when you're lying on your back.

Babies Online.com

While your morning sickness and tiredness may be even less frequent, you may be getting lightheaded or have headaches again. This is from the increase in blood volume. Remember the safety precautions regarding dizziness? Well, those can apply here as well. Be sure to talk about any symptoms or illness you may experience with your healthcare provider. It is important for you to communicate any concerns, worries, or questions you may have.

So, I have my next appointment with my doctor this Wednesday and I'll be sure to mention that. I'm going to mention how tired I have been, but I don't think it's anything abnormal. I will bring up how I have had low iron in the past, but again - I don't feel like I'm low now (I can usually feel when I am - I get very tired and I crave red meat :))
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Anyone have any good questions to bring up at this time? Here is my list for now. It's not so much questions as just stuff to bring up...

1. General philosophy: Don't do anything stupid - what will be will be. But - I do read stuff and trust my doctor to tell me things I need to know

2. Background:
*I choose my new doctor because she is close to my house and tied to the hospital there, so I thought - great! I can use this hospital when I go into labor. But, she prefers to use Fairfax INOVA hospital (better anesthetic people she thinks) which is fine, except that without traffic it takes about 20 minutes to get there and I'm due in Feb which can mean ice, snow, rain and/or traffic which could possibly bump up the commute time to 1 hour or so. Why is that a worry? My mother gave birth to all three of us (her children) in under 3 hours (the first in 2 hours) and so I'm worried that I may be the same :) I read that there is nothing conclusive about this so I don't know how worried I should be - any advice?
* I am for the most part a very healthy human with very few problems. I have only had constipation once, I can get low iron and besides that, if I get a fever- there is something MAJOR wrong (ie, internal staff infection or something like that - lol). So, many things that may be 'normal' to other people can be new to me - if I ask about something, please just let me know if it's normal or not- I will only ask about things that are new to me. More than anything else, I just like to know if it's something that other people have and so no worries! :)
* Outside the above - I have some physical problems that I put in a different category and can already feel causing problems as I gain weight, specifically. I have tendinitis in my ankles and shoulders and most of my cartilage has been worn away from my knees due to the repetitive nature of swimming (I know, it's good, but when you train these problems are pretty common). I also have a bit of arthritis in my knee. Because of this, when I gain weight I feel it in my knees and legs - I used to take Naxprofin (hmm, I spelled that wrong), but now usually just take Motrin if they bother me - is this fine when it starts to bother me with the baby weight? :) Do you recommend any braces?

3. Weight gain: so, I gained about 5 pounds that first two months and have gained around 2/2.5 pounds this past month. I think it's mostly because I have been so tired, but this month I'm moving more and I'm not eating bad or really that much more (however, before I would gain about a pound if I ate more than 1,100 calories a day - I'm 5'7''!! According to charts, I should be able to eat at least 1,500) Also, I had gained about 10 pounds between last October and this May. I kinda' question if I have a slow hypothalamus gland, but I think my main question would just be if I should increase my exercise as I get more energy - does she think that will help keep things more on track? What do you think?

4. Dizziness: Got it a bit this past few days - just fyi more than anything else J

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Day after update: My doctor wasn't concerned about my weight at all and said it's probably mostly water weight and gas... whew! Also, she said that I should just drink more water to help if I get dizzy, which makes sense because I don't think I drink as much on the weekend. I get up later and so don't eat and drink until later. I have to start changing that :)

Also, no ultrasound :( just heartbeat. It was in the 160s/minute so looking good! Tomorrow we go for the first trimester screening and I'll get my ultrasound then. I hope that from here on out I do get an ultrasound every time I go to the doctor - anyone know?

Week 11: Belly Pictures!

Ok - so I went ahead and took a picture of my belly this morning. I did it myself and I don't think it's the prettiest shot out there, but ah well. I don't think it'll be pretty until it starts looks less like a fat belly and more like a pregnant belly ;)

Without further ado.... (lol - I first wrote 'adieu', but found this: "It's "Without further ado," not "without further adieu." "Ado" means "fuss" or "delay." "Adieu" is not a noun but a complete statement which simply means "goodbye." - lol!)

Week 5 belly shot - hmmm, I should have thought about putting the toilet seat down!





















Week 11 (that is, today should be either Week 11 or week 10, day 6). I'm actually kinda' holding my stomach in... ;)

Week 11: Baby Names

So, I have been meaning to write about this at some point, but got my first question here (thanks Bounty!) about if we have started to look at names for the baby. Of course, we have plenty of time; we don't know the sex of the baby yet; but I also know that this is something that takes people FOREVER to decide. And with good reason! Your baby is stuck with that name for the REST OF THEIR LIFE!

The short answer is: yes, we know what our baby's names will be. For anonymity purposes - I will say B or G in this blog for the names (b for boy; g for girl). Sorry!

So- What is the long story that I wanted to share about our kid's name?................. I am a naturally born (as opposed to naturalized - I'm not making a statement, just clarifying my culture growing up) white American, brought up in Northern California (Contra Costa County). My husband is Jordanian and grew up in the Middle East (mostly the Gulf). I bring this background info up because of how the baby's names are chosen within that culture vs with most people in the US.

In the Arab world - and this can be Christian, Muslims or Jews who are Arabs (although please allow for family preferences as I'm sure you can find people who DON'T do this) - people are MAJORLY into their family. If you think that the US is in any way family orientated - it is nowhere NEAR family-orientated compared to cultures in the Middle East and Asia (and bits of North Africa). In many of these places, there is a very BIG emphasis on the goodness of marrying and having kids and treating your parents well, etc.

How does this relate to a baby's name? Well, it is pretty common (although not for everyone) for men and women to know what their child's name will be by the time they are around 13 years old. At this time, the children are hitting puberty and one way to honor their transition into adulthood is to address them, as an adult, by their future children's name. (yes, the male names usually come first) You may have seen in the news or history books when someone is called Abu (name) or Om (name). This literally means Father of (name) or Mother of (name). (it also goes the other way with Ibn - son of (name)) You are proud of your children (of course!) and likewise - once the child is born, it adds to the idea that you don't want to do anything bad so that your parents are associated with something bad you do (obviously this can be more complicated, but I'm giving general gist's here).

So, my husband knew what he wanted to name his kids by the time he was 13. He would be CALLED by this name within his family. It's a pretty big deal.

Now, this isn't to say that I have no say in the matter. And I'm sure this comes up a bit more within Arab-to-Arab marriages... And, this does seem to only be something that comes from people who grew up in that area - I know Arab-Americans who have never put this thought into the naming of there kids (lol - which has created some drama as they name their kids and it's not following the 'traditional' practices... Well, more confusion on the part of the family still in the ME rather than drama. "The middle name is what? That doesn't make any sense! How will they know who the father is?")
Anyways, I know that if I don't like the names or something like that, I can discuss that and we would find a new name. But, this was also something that we talked about before we even got married (naming the kids with an Arabic name that is; more than anything else - although I think I knew the names because F would be called by it).

So, I like the names and kinda' think the entire process it interesting - also, I didn't have any names in mind anyways. :) Our biggest issue now is trying to figure out how to SPELL the names in English so that it is pronounced correctly. We are not going to switch the names because of this -- at some point I would like to move to the Middle East (probably the UAE due to jobs) and these names are super good ones for that area. The biggest problem in the US is the pronunciation - Americans usually pronounce one part of it with a hard 'a' where it should be more like an 'an' like in 'ton.' lol - we keep coming back to this and how to spell it to help it be pronounced correctly in the US! But, I technically still pronounce my husband's name wrong (I actually have to think in a British accent to pronounce Arabic correctly - it's because of the vowels) so I'm not too worried about this :) Poor kid!

So, I wanted to share this in my blog because it's a part of me and because I know that to many people it sounds like I'm losing out on the 'naming process.' I already got at least one comment on that. I like to share the background to the naming process instead of just saying, " yes, it's ___________" because I think it's a very unique cultural thing that is not bad... It's different from how we name in the US, but it's not bad.

In our family, the mix of American and Arabic cultures is a major part of who we are and I want to share that with people because I love to answer any questions people have - based on MY personal observations, of course - and I think that this type of dialogue is very important. I encourage my family to ask questions and likewise, please let me know if you have any questions. Btw, we have been married for about 5 years, so I should be able to answer most questions - heck, I've probably asked them, plus more!

Oh - yes, we also plan to raise our kids to be bi-lingual (I also want to throw in French, but I don't know much so I'm not sure that will happen). I have read a bunch of cool stuff about this, but please let me know if you have any advice. A friend of mine has 3 kids (she is German and her husband is American) and she said the biggest challenge is making the language learning fun and that the kids will tend to speak English to each other because that is the dominant language here and in school. (she had a great plan for a while where she would send her kids to Germany in the summer for soccer camp... fun + have to speak German to get along with other kids!)

Anyways - I did like the baby names link at http://www.bounty.com/babynames and found some Arabic names that I didn't know were Arabic!

Aida - Girl Meaning - Reward
Akilah - Girl Meaning - Intelligent, Logical
Amber - Girl Meaning - Reddish-Yellow Precious Jewel
Anisa - Girl Meaning - Friendly
Bethany - Girl Meaning - House Of Poverty
Cala - Girl Meaning - Castle
Jed - Boy Meaning - The Hand
Kadin - Boy Meaning - Friend, Companion
Kamilah - Girl Meaning - The Perfect One
Leila - Girl Meaning - Born At Night, Black (well, I think I knew this one)
Martha - Girl Meaning - A Lady (ok - I'm wondering about some of these! Huh, I found another one that says Aramaic so I can see that now)
Rihana - Girl Meaning - Sweet Basil
Selima - Girl Meaning - Peace
Shakira - Girl Meaning - Grateful (this makes sense - the singer is half Lebanese)
Tabitha - Girl Meaning - A Gazelle
Xavier - Boy Meaning - Bright (another one I question - huh, I looked it up and had Arabic, Spanish and Basque under origins!)