Week 8, and Our First Ultrasound

Alright, so I am only 8 weeks in and I already missed a week. Sorry mom. I am back on the wagon. VJ and I had our first ultrasound on Wednesday. We saw and heard our little baby’s heartbeat, and we both fell in love. I took a deep breath for the first time since we first learned I was pregnant. Our baby is in there, its heart is beating, and it is measuring as expected. I couldn’t ask for more than that!

While I was taking a deep breath, VJ was coming to the realization that we are having a baby! I realized that this pregnancy is much easier for me to comprehend, since I am feeling tired and sick. I don’t think that VJ had been able to wrap his mind around the idea until he saw our baby. It was pretty funny to see him come to this realization. He looked so happy, and his jaw hung open the whole way home. He kept looking at the ultrasound pictures, I think he was in awe.

I took the day off because I knew that it would be impossible to do anything but stare at the first pictures of our baby all day. I was right. I called my family to tell them about our appointment. That’s the good thing about having a big family, I got to keep reliving that amazing moment over and over again. I compared notes with my older brother, since he just went through this 2 short years ago. I realized as we were talking that this was the first of many, many times that we will be comparing stories about our children. I am excited to see my nice with our baby, and I just bought her a t-shirt that says ‘I’m the older cousin’. I hope she wears it proudly!

Week 8 of Pregnancy:

How far along? 8 Weeks

Weight gain/loss: Not sure, I’ll find out next Wednesday. I have been eating like a champ, so I’m guessing I put on a pound or two.

Maternity clothes? Nope

Stretch marks? Nope

Sleep? I am still constantly tired. I go to bed really early, and that helps a lot.

Best moment this week? Hearing our baby’s heartbeat!

Food cravings: Still not many cravings. I have been trying to eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, and smoothies usually hit the spot.

Gender: Not sure yet, but everyone seems to think it is a boy.

Belly button in or out? In, but VJ thinks it is starting to ‘untie’ and starting to become an outie – how is this possible?!

Movement? Nope

What I miss? Wine!!! Yes, I know this my thing every week, I still really miss it!!

What I'm looking forward to: Relaxing on the couch all day today and not feeling guilty about it!

Milestones: Our baby’s is the size of a raspberry, and is starting to look more and more like a baby!

First Dr Appointment and Week 6 Update

Yesterday marked the beginning of week 6. Our baby is the size of a sweet pea now, much bigger than the poppy seed it was 2 weeks ago! We went to our first Dr appointment on Thursday. I was pretty nervous all week, so I decided to make an Acupuncture appointment right before my OB appointment. What a great idea that was! Dr. Loh was incredible, he gave me a big hug when I gave him my news. I asked him what I should do over the next few months to ensure a healthy pregnancy. His advice was to keep it simple, to relax and focus on remaining calm. Good advice, let’s see if I can actually follow it.

After my relaxing acupuncture appointment, I headed over to my OB’s office. VJ was already there, much to my surprise. I figured he’d be on ‘Filipino Time’ or ’15 minutes late’. The appointment wasn’t very exciting. The Dr just examined me and answered questions VJ and I were shooting at her like a parents-to-be firing squad. She was great, so patient and upbeat. She officially got on my good side when she confirmed that the book ‘What to Eat When Expecting’ was incorrect, I am allowed to eat more than one piece of cake a month, and yes, I in fact can eat chocolate. She was already on my good side when she gave me another nugget of good news – I can drink my morning cup of coffee. Ok, this pregnancy just got a lot more pleasant for all involved! VJ and I excitedly took the script she gave us for an ultrasound in 2 weeks, made our next OB appointment, which is in 4 weeks, and headed off to dinner.

6th Week Update:
How far along? 6 Weeks

Weight gain/loss: None yet. I got my offical 'starting weight' of 97 lbs at the Dr appt, though.

Maternity clothes? Nope

Stretch marks? Nope

Sleep? I am constantly exhausted. It isn’t even a normal exhaustion, it is this dizzying, sleep walking feeling. I take naps at my desk over lunch, I can’t wait to go home, so I can sleep some more. I just hope I have a job at the end of this first trimester, since I am working at a snail’s pace. Throw in 4 – 5 pee breaks an hour, and I am not exactly the picture of efficiency.

Best moment this week? Hearing that we get to see our baby in 2 weeks!

Food cravings: Not many cravings, but honey nut cheerios are never further than an arm’s length away. Even at 3am when I wake up to my stomach growling.

Gender: Not sure yet.

Belly button in or out? In

Movement? Nope

What I miss? Wine!!! Yes, I know this was last week’s thing… but I still really miss my nightly glass of red wine!!

What I'm looking forward to: sleeping tonight!!

Weekly wisdom: I need to stay calm. My body knows how to make a baby, and all I have to do is relax.

Milestones: Our baby’s heart is beating!

I'm Pregnant!

Disclaimer: This is my first blog post for my very first blog ever. While I thoroughly enjoy reading other people’s blogs, I never thought I would be a blogger myself. So why start now? A few days ago, my husband and I found out that I am pregnant! We have been hanging out on cloud 9 ever since we saw those two beautiful pink lines on the test stick.

To add to our good fortune, we were two days away from seeing my entire family for our annual week at the beach. I am one of five, and my family is spread out across the US. I am in NJ, I have siblings in PA, SC, and my parents live in TX. So you can imagine my excitement to be able to tell them our wonderful news in person.

We had an incredible week with my family. It was so great to see everyone’s reactions when we told them our news. My mom cried, my dad looked proud, my older brother high-fived me, my sister-in-law gave me a big hug, my little brother had this wonderfully happy look on his face (I hope I never forget it), and my little sister was grinning ear to ear. I am so happy we got to see all of these reactions.

Like all good things, our week at the beach sadly came to an end. During a tearful goodbye with my mom, I promised to start a blog to keep her updated as my pregnancy progresses. I couldn’t imagine going through this without her knowing every detail, and seeing my belly grow. So mom, as promised, here is the first of many weekly updates (this is borrowed from a few ladies on the Bump). The belly picture isn’t anything exciting, but I want to have it to compare to in the weeks to come:

Week 5 of Pregnancy:

How far along? 5 Weeks

Weight gain/loss: None

Maternity clothes? Nope

Stretch marks? No, hopefully that is my answer for the next 35 weeks!

Sleep? Yes please! I could sleep all day, every day.

Best moment this week? Seeing everyone’s reactions to our news.

Food cravings: Hmm, not sure if I’d call it a craving, but fruit smoothies have been hitting the spot in this hot weather (102 degrees today!)

Gender: Not sure yet.

Belly button in or out? In

Movement? Nope

What I miss? Wine!!!

What I'm looking forward to: My first appointment on Thursday

Weekly wisdom: I am pregnant today and love my baby, I shouldn’t borrow tomorrow's worries

Milestones: Our baby is the size of an appleseed!