17 Weeks

Tomorrow is ultrasound day! I'm excited but also kind of wishing I could veto that part of pre-natal care as it costs a lot of money. All of this costs a lot of money and it's really ridiculous that having a baby costs more than I make in a year. Of course, it doesn't really since insurance kicks in at some point, but I don't know what they charge people with no insurance.

However, it is really cool that I get to see the baby tomorrow. The real test will be to see if Chris's Doppler skills were correct and there is only one baby in there.

Hopefully, I can post a few creepy photos afterwards and we can all guess about the sex and if this baby is going to look just like Chris. After seeing Jacob and reviewing his ultrasound photo, I was shocked that I couldn't tell before that my baby was going to look JUST LIKE CHRIS.

I suppose I should be grateful that I am going to the doctor tomorrow, since my first phone call with them led me to believe that I might not be able to see her as I hadn't been to the office before 8 weeks. The nurse told me that I might be considered high risk and would have to ask the doctor if she would take me. I understand I did wait a while to go to the doctor, but when you have a 3K detuctable, would you want to go get a 1K worth of blood work, scans and whatnot in December and start all over again in January? It just wasn't possible for us, when it wasn't my first pregnancy and things were going well. Even if a test or scan came back as troublesome, I wouldn't terminate.

Luckily (for the doctor) I was approved as a patient and hopefully, all will be smooth sailing from here. I'm happy that Chris is working in the medical field, as we are learning a lot about what we can and can't do in terms of labor/delivery. It's nice to have an inside man.

Heartbeats

Jacob requested that I take his picture. He looks much too big and grown up. But at least he's wearing clothing. I'm not sure how he runs around naked when the house is about 59 degrees but he does. He's also taking his pants off at bedtime and sleeping in just a shirt. When he comes to my bad in the middle of the night, his little legs and bottom are ice cold and somehow he snuggles right into my back where my shirt is pulled up and my very warm skin is exposed. That might explain why I have a hard time sleeping at night, actually.

In non-Jacob related things, I had to bring Chris his disgusting can of chew to the hospital last night because he is a completely unable to remember to bring everything he might need for the day/night to work. At some point, I'm going to have to cut him loose and he'll have to suffer the consequences. However, last night when I stopped by the hospital, we asked one of his co-workers if we could use a Doppler to listen to the baby. She happily went and got one for us, and Chris got to find the heartbeat for the first time! It was very nice to have that little assurance since I'm no longer feeling like death to confirm that I am in fact still pregnant. The heartbeat was good and strong, somewhere in the 150-170 range.

And since that level falls under the lovely myth that I'm going to have a girl, it was a great night!

Let the Assvice begin!

Alright! I think I've gotten the "all clear" to begin writing. I know I made a great statement about posting more often, writing, blah, blah, blah. But then I realized that until I told everyone in the need to know, I couldn't bring myself to push through posts when I really wanted to talk about the fact that I'm going to be having a baby in 8 months.

I guess I'm joining the ranks of the mommy-to-be bloggers. Although, according to my doctor I'm only 7 weeks along and that's about halfway through the first trimester so I'm trying, trying not to be overly confident because I don't have that "All Clear" yet. Maybe I shouldn't be telling the internet yet, but that's just my cautious side.

I wasn't really expecting to get pregnant on the first month off the pill, did you know only 25% of couples do? I took a test on the 18th but it came back negative so we left for Christmas sans the other test and I wasn't going to go out and buy a new one. Those tests aren't cheap, people! And I can wait for a week to get to the one I have in New Mexico! I took the test the night I got back to Hobbs, right before bed. After the pee on stick part, I put the cap on and proceeded to watch a bunch of lines appear. Except I forgot what lines I needed so I had to dig the instructions out of the box and look over them. It took me about a minute to figure out that the "Not Pregnant" involved one less line than I had. I went back into the bedroom and announced to an almost sleeping CS that "I'm pregnant." "No shit" was his response, I think. We went back to look that the test and I took out my contacts with very shaky hands. We didn't sleep much that night.

It's hard to believe that I found out on the 2nd of January because that feels ages behind me but it's really only two and a half weeks. I think time will move so slowly for the next 8 months. I've been to a doctor, and their computer program declares that August 26th is the due date but I think it lies. Partially because of the negative test in December and partially because I want a September baby. Not an August one. I don't want to share my birthday! Plus, September has a better birthstone.

I haven't felt too badly, a little more tired at times and sometimes a little nauseous. I can still eat, but I'm always thirsty. I don't look different, and I've actually lost a pound since Christmas.

I'm not sure if I want to continue with traditional "health care" options because my Doctor has already told me no weight lifting, no skiing, no alcohol. Not that I'm about to go drink a bunch of wine, I just know that it's not the end of the world if you have a small glass of wine. It's ok to lift weights in moderation, and if you know how to ski it's not like you will seriously damage yourself. I don't want a doctor who wants to induce me if I go past my due date one day. There are so many rules that pregnant women have to follow and I can't help but think it's a problem we've created. I'm not even supposed to eat Deli meat unless I microwave it first? I get the raw fish thing, but really? How far do we have to go?

I'm thinking about hiring a midwife and having some granola, hippy birth plan.

Now, to the real reason behind this post. The Assvice. I believe this term was coined by Amalah and it's completely true. I had a phone call from someone this week, and her excellent advice was that I can't vacuum or sweep the floor anymore. I'm pretty sure that if I'm not giving up daily workouts, then I'm not going to allow a dirty house because "sweeping and vacuuming uses stomach muscles and that's not good." CS said I should get a tattoo with "No Touching" on my belly. I think it's a good idea.