No News is Good News

January 25, 2013 (17 weeks +):

Early in the week we saw Cousin Rikki, Curt, and daughter Celice twice (once for dinner and once for the 49'ers game - they are huge fans). Rikki is so supportive and offered to go to used/thrift baby stores with me when I'm ready to look at baby stuff and answer any questions I had about pregnancy. Otherwise, this week was a pretty normal week when it comes to the pregnancy. On Wednesday I had my blood drawn for the second trimester screening. I always look away when I have blood drawn and the lady always asks in a concerned voice, “Are you ok?!” I’m thinking to myself, do people actually watch you take the blood out of them every time? And if so, does that make them appear to be less bothered by the fact that you’re stabbing them with a needle? Maybe I should start watching so they don’t seem so concerned.  Anyhow, I called to check when I find out the results. If there is something abnormal then they call, otherwise it just gets discussed at the next appointment. No news is good news.

While I was on the phone with the nurse at my doctor’s office, I also asked about the timing of the ultrasound. Since I wouldn’t be back until almost 22 weeks, I thought maybe they forgot to tell me that the next appointment would actually be the ultrasound. Either way, Gus wants to be there, so I had to find out. She was surprised that they hadn’t given us the paperwork to schedule it. YES! That means we get to schedule it the week before my next doctor’s appointment! I’m so excited to schedule it. That means we will find out what the sex of the baby is (for sure) the week of February 18^th.

My weight dropped back down to an 11lb total gain. So that’s good. I just feel bigger. My uterus is definitely stretching out (ligament pain on and off) and my athletes are starting to get excited because they can see the baby bump through my shirt. This weekend is the men’s soccer banquet; looks like I will be putting one of the maternity dresses that my dad got me at Target to good use!

17 weeks:

No Gender Yet

January 18, 2013 (16 weeks +?):

So Gus and I have been talking about our changing future and, yes, it still freaks us out, but not quite as much anymore. A few weeks ago around Christmas Gus exclaimed, “I want the baby to be here already!” Well, as the weeks have passed we both agree we’re glad baby is not here yet. You REALLY need these 9 months for mental prep!  Not to mention the classes you have to take. We used some Christmas money we were given for our birthing/lactation/child care classes that will be in April and May. One of the classes is actually on Gus’ birth day. How appropriate!

We’ve started reviewing our finances again… where else can we afford to cut our bills??? The fact that our cost-effective wood-pellet burning stove is out of commission has really been hurting us with electricity heating (our land lord brought us over 2 large space heaters instead of fixing the problem). So we’re wearing layers, but we’re still running those babies for a solid 5 hours/day on weekdays and more on weekends. So until the weather warms, our house isn’t going to magically get a new insulation or, from the looks of it, a new wood-pellet stove. So that’s out. We don’t have cable T.V. or internet so no worries there. My phone (a smartphone) seems to be a high cost, since we all know if you have a smartphone you need a data package (it’s actually required), which is where an extra $70/month was going… wholly shit! Okay, so I sucked it up and said I’ll use my upgrade to downgrade… crappy phone here I come! It’s all for the good of the baby though. Gus says cutting funds from beer is not truly an option, I can’t blame him. I loved having a beer or two after work pre-pregnancy days… now I look on longingly.

Today there is another appointment, the one that I thought would confirm or deny the results of “Intelligender.” Unfortunately, when I called and asked to make sure there would be an ultrasound last week the secretary said that they typically wait until 20 weeks! BOO… So yesterday I called up again to mention that my father from Florida would be visiting, and it would be extra special if we could do it early… Hmmm, did I just use my father’s presence to convince them to bump it up? Perhaps. She said it really depends on how much time the doctor has, but he should still come to hear the heart beat either way. 

So Pops came in with me, but alas… no ultrasound. The doctor said at the next appointment we’ll schedule one (does that mean the next appointment we won’t even have one?). Either way, it looks like I have to at LEAST wait until February 25. Geeze! The doctor also commented on my weight gain (post-big dinner last night), “I am glad you thoroughly enjoyed the holidays.” Gaining a total of 12 pounds wasn’t really expected, but here I am 12 pounds heavier than when I started this whole thing. He said next time he sees me he only wants me to have gained 2 or 3… No more goat cheese and crackers after work I guess!

I was also told I should really consider lifting less... He said it wasn't a punishment, but it sure does feel like it. I cut out all Snatch movements and the Jerk just this week. I am still using the Clean. My other strength based movements are still all in. I only bench once a week, so I haven't cut it out yet. Probably 3rd trimester.

16 weeks:

Baby Bump

January 11, 2013 (15 weeks):

There's no doubt about it, I'm "showing." I suppose it's hard not to when the scale shows you've gained 10 pounds. This number brings up a bit of concern for me, first of all, this is the first time I have ever seen this number on scale before secondly, if you are at normal weight to start with you are supposed to gain a TOTAL of 25-35 pounds. At the rate I'm going it's going to be on the upper end of the spectrum. At my last appointment, my doctor was going over my stats, and said "Well, it doesn't look like you've been having much trouble eating." HA! Have I ever? No, but when I was in my first trimester I was eating A TON of quick carbs, like breads and my beloved goldfish. So I wanted to examine the causes here. 

I am not one of those people who needs a ton of motivation to exercise and lift or have I ever been, so in terms of the new "healthier" me you're supposed to be when you're pregnant, that didn't really happen (besides no alcohol or caffeine). I actually feel as if my activity levels have dropped, and initially during the first trimester I was truly turned off my my highly vegetable based vegetarian diet. Hence a shift in my eating habits. Now that I am at 15 weeks here, my eating patterns have almost fully returned. I am also still lifting 3 times per week for ~1.5 hours and 2 times per week for ~.5 hours with "cardio" tallying a solid 40 minutes 5-6 times per week. Here is where my life has shifted a bit. No more super high intensity biking weekends that have 2 hour rides built into each day, and truly no more high intensity runs (I finally know what jogging looks like) or road bike rides. My bike commuting, which totaled 1.5 hours of solid ride time 3 times per week is also out. With the rain, the cold, the lack of daylight, and reports of muggings in Sacramento growing exponentially, Gus and I would rather keep me and our growing baby safe. So here I am with a decreased calorie expenditure, and I'm most likely eating more (or even the same as I was before) and I'm gaining fast. I can't say the holidays helped either. Not that I binged on treats, but I don't remember passing on any either. 

So there you have it, 10 pounds at week 15. Every blog out there I read, women are freaking out about their weight gain being more than normal... I understand! Every scientific piece of literature you pick up tells you how much weight you "should" gain.  It's nice to read that lots of women gain much more than what the experts say and stay healthy and have healthy babies too. Also in almost every post you read, all of the women lost the weight very quickly with the help of breastfeeding (which I want to do for at least a year). So more good news! Not that I plan to stop weighing myself, but I do plan on changing my perspective about the gain. Whatever the number is, I plan on being more accepting of it and not immediately step off saying, "Oh, shit!"
 
 Now that I'm showing more, Gus has taken to talking to my belly. Very close to it. "Hello little, baby. I hope you know how much we love you in there. You will love having two dogs as you are growing up. We will do so many fun things with you." I'm not saying I cry when I hear him say these things, but it makes me so happy knowing what a great partner and parent he will be. This brings me to another sweet thing we did. Bought 3 pieces of maternity wear. We don't spend money really except for the essentials: gas, food, dog food, etc. So going to a store to buy clothes was definitely a shift. I ended up buying a maternity shirt, a maternity/nursing bra, and a maternity supportive tank. I guess I didn't do the math in my head before hand, because when I was given the total cost I asked the checker to repeat herself. Gus reminded me that these are things I need to be comfortable for the next however long, and I didn't feel so bad about it!

I also went to Human Resources to discuss plans for leave this week. The ongoing dilemma in my head (go back to work at the end of paid leave or take unpaid leave). As of now I am going to take whatever paid maternity I am given, and then begin working away at my vacation and sick day reserves. Working half-days every other day, and taking the other off. Gus lucky can shift his schedule a bit so he will watch baby for the half-days and then I'll come home and he'll go to work through August. Then he will take his paternity leave starting in September. The baby will only be 3.5 months by then... how do you give up being with your child at that age!? I suppose we'll figure these things out with more clarity as we get closer.   

I painted an oil painting that was pregnancy inspired:

 

Here's a picture of me today (15 weeks: Baby Bump):

Nuchal Translucency

January 5, 2013 (14 weeks 1 day):

The nuchal translucency ultrasound is the second step in the first trimester screening for various abnormalities or syndromes your developing baby might have. There is a final step in your integrated screen, which is the second trimester blood draw which tests for various hormones etc. Honestly, I was more excited to see the baby again then I was worried that our baby had anything wrong with him/her. My excitement mimicked my pre-race jitters of a race I had thoroughly prepared for. Strange, I thought, but the last time I saw Baby it looked like a pillsbury doughboy with little buds for arms and legs. Good news: we saw our beautiful baby, who had grown SO much since the last time. The doctor said based on what she saw everything is looking good. Bad news: our baby's measurements were too big to get the first trimester screening results. It was out of the size window that generates the risk statistics. So we have no certainty if the we are high risk or low risk until I get my next blood draw and results. Gus was disappointed to hear that. The doctor predicted our baby to be due July 1, our main doctor says it looks like July 5, and based on my missed period Baby is due June 29. A significant gap in time, but most likely between July 1 and July 5. Either way our baby is growing fast!!! Hooray! Just like it's parents!

Here is the full-body image of the baby. The head is on the right, the arms are by it's chin, it's spine is bright white, and it's femur is to the left of the photo.

Here is the baby's face closer up, with it's hands close to it's chin.

Post-babymoon

January 2, 2013 (13 weeks 5 days):

I thought this was a fairly amusing title, because of the way people talk about their post-honeymoons. Not to worry there was not the same type of let down that you have after your honeymoon, after all we were off to celebrate the holidays with family and friends! The only post-babymoon I felt was GOOD-BYE to trimester 1! Hooray!!! No more nausea!

We made it down to Anne and Jerry's to be warmly greeted by the happy couple, their young grandson, Tommy, and Lyndsey, Gus' sister. It was a fairly routine and relaxing Christmas here in the Sierra foothills. Jerry's sons, daughter-in-law, and grandkids all came over for brunch and gift exchange. We were missing Kerry and Eloy though, they usually liven the party quite a bit on Christmas day. I must say my favorite gift that was opened on Christmas morning for Gus and I was from, Lyndsey, it was a combination of gifts to help us outfit our soon-to-be chicken coop! My other favorite gift that we received was actually a gift for the baby. It was a baby food maker from Anne and Jerry. I am very excited to start learning about making our own baby food, that is after the year of breast feeding that I am expecting to do. I'm not actually sure when you start incorporating baby food. I am sure that the baby would like baby food and breast milk... More research must be done.

Gus and Keta had to head back home on Christmas day to work from Wednesday-Friday, so Oso and I stayed. Our dog Keta always thinks she needs to be working (it's the border collie way). I spent my time jogging with Oso, hiking with Anne, cooking yummy meals and watching my new favorite TV station HGTV (way too addictive). It's probably a good thing I don't have TV at our house.  My best friend, Crystal, and her fiancee, Onkar, were scheduled to arrive in town mid-day on Friday too. They were going to rent a condo up the mountain, in the beautiful winter wonderland, which was only 30 minutes away. 

Luckily, us humans and our 4 LARGE dogs were able to spend a good amount of time together too. We cooked dinners, went cross-country skiing, went for hikes, played board games, watched movies, and were able to do a lot of catching up. Unfortunately, being pregnant keeps me from going snowboarding so when Onkar and Crystal hit the slopes, Gus and I went back down the mountain. He went mountain biking, which I can't do anymore either, and I went for a 5 mile jog with the dogs. We were also able to get a lift in with our barbell and plates he brought down from the house.   The four of us stayed in on New Year's eve (falling asleep before midnight, but waking up again just before).  It was sad to say goodbye to Crystal and Onkar on New Year's morning because the next time we see them won't be until my birthday weekend (the end of March). More pictures to come (once we get them from Crystal and Onkar)!

Gus and I had plans to go to Yosemite on New Year's day for a nice hike in the snow up to Yosemite falls. Our truck is two-wheel drive (rear-wheel) which is the least helpful for icy/snowy conditions. Good thing for us, we don't really need it at this point in our lives (except when traveling on curvy snowy roads through, say, Yosemite National Park). Luckily we picked up some chains for exiting the park later in the day. Our hike was wonderful and very slippery. We had trekking poles which made our lives easier and we had our sliding technique down pat. We made it safely down the mountain, and headed over to the Yosemite lodge lounge for a quick bite to eat before venturing out of the park. It was a SLOW and slippery drive, and I felt lucky that Gus was driving. Since the sun had set all of the tire tracks had become iced over. We were going in and out of traction at multiple points and we were uncertain we would make it up the climbs out. Gus stayed in first gear for some of it just so the tires wouldn't spin too fast. We made it safely home by 9pm.

Friday we have our ultrasound, which is the second step in the genetic screening process, and I will get an official number on the pounds I have gained... I feel huge already. I definitely have a more prominent baby bump going now. You can see it VERY clearly in this picture. A pound a week in the second trimester is what I hear will happen. So I am mentally prepared for these changes to occur.