15 weeks

Pregnancy is so much more enjoyable now that I'm not horribly exhausted or crunching to do homework! The last two weeks have been awful as I scrambled to get a whole semester's worth of research and writing into basically 3 days. But I got it done and received an A- in my Historical Research Methods class and a B+ in my Byzantine class. That one would have been an A if I had taken more time to proof read my research paper. And now I get to breathe until June 7th. But this semester should go easier, I'm able to get myself off the couch so that's a plus.

Had an appointment yesterday and everything was great. Baby's heartrate was around 130, which is good; and it was strong. It's about the size of a large navel orange now and is able to move a lot, though I'm not feeling anything yet. We should find out the gender around the end of June. I'm already getting a start on registering for some items because between school starting and the move, I know it will get hectic fast! It also makes me feel better since I can't actually buy anything. Even buying small onesies is a waste at this point since we'd have to ship it or make space for it for the drive home.

A few weeks ago I noted that I had read in the 2nd trimester you are supposed to gain 1 pound a week and that seemed impossible. Well, now it doesn't! I'm hungry a lot! And I finally have a taste for some vegetables again. Sauteed zucchini with a dash of salt, pepper, garlic powder and parmesean cheese is my favorite. I can't wait to enjoy some sweet summer corn too! I'm looking forward to the reduced produce prices summer brings. But I'm still really big on fruits.

Guess the gender, weight, length, day and time of arrival by going to this link:

13 weeks today!!!! :)

Wow, it's so amazing that I'm 13 weeks today! I can hardly believe it! Once I finally got pregnant I wasn't so worried about miscarrying, but before, I was. Having PCOS makes me a little higher risk for that, so I know it's such a miracle I've gotten this far. Technically still have 3 more days to go until I'm in my 2nd trimester, but I'll just give a review of the first one today anyway.

It's been a ride. I've only had a little bit of morning sickness, mostly between 8-11 weeks. No vomiting though, so I know I had it better than a lot of women. But I think I've been more exhausted than most, or at least that's what everyone keeps telling me. Sometimes people act like I'm faking it or something. Just because they weren't exhausted every second of the day and night doesn't mean I'm not! It's worse now than it was before because I'm not sleeping as well. It's been in the 60s here, which feels warmer than it does in VA, because -30 felt a lot warmer than you think it would. And then the house is about 20 degrees warmer than outside because our windows don't open, only our door which never catches a breeze. When I don't have the fan blowing on me on high, it feels really hot, the bathroom is nearly unbearable. So anyway, I'm drinking a lot, much more than the 8 glasses a day, so I'm peeing a lot more, even during the night. And it's the weirdest thing. I've nearly always slept on my side, every once in a while on my back or stomach. When you're pregnant it's best to sleep on your side, supposedly the left. Anyway, now all of a sudden when I do my neck and shoulders kill me and I toss and turn all night long. I suppose by the time baby gets here maybe I'll be use to waking up every hour! Oh, and yes, mood swings. Most of the time something triggers them, but there have been a few times when literally out of nowhere I will be crying or just wanting to scream. Doug's been great dealing with all of the symptoms, he's going to be an amazing Dad. But I think he's pretty happy he's at work all day. ;)

Let's see, I've been wearing some maternity shirts for about 2 weeks now. Most of my T-shirts were old and getting short before belly and breast growths. So far most of my skirts still fit because a lot of them were elastic. But I'll be ordering some from Motherhood Maternity soon, and hopefully buying some in Anchorage soon too for when the time comes.

Finally got the internet on at the house again! And my next appointment is 2 weeks away but we're still about 6 weeks from finding out the gender. I'm going to try to post weekly from now on.

Oh, almost forgot, cravings! POTATOES!! Chips, salad, fries, hashbrowns, baked, soup, mashed. Just give me the potatoes and everyone will be fine. Oh, and last night I learned a good lesson about not over eating. I ate about half of a medium size stuffed crust pizza and 5 breadsticks over the course of about 3 hours. I really shouldn't have had that later nibble and just put it in the fridge when I was done with lunch. For the next 7 hours I was so entirely over stuffed I thought I was going to explode. I couldn't hardly do a thing!

So, finals next week and then another semester starting June 7th. I can hardly believe it's mid-May.





Oooh, and we bought a silver 2004 Dodge Durango last night! Lots more room for baby and cargo space. We won't be flying to VA in June and instead will be driving there in late July/early August. The tentative leave date is July 22, with Doug's nephew Tyler with us. The SUV will be nice compared to the Jetta on the AlCan. Speaking of, anyone want to buy a 2002 Jetta? Lol.

This pic was taken today, 13 weeks. It's pretty hard to by yourself! So not all of that is baby, as I was fat to start with. Speaking of, I think it looks like just fat instead of a baby bump. :( Maybe soon. I'm so glad I'm on thebump.com. They load bump pics once a week, it's such a big variety. One girl is on her 4th and is only 12 weeks and looks like she's already 6 months. So that makes me feel a little better about my body. Gained about 4 pounds (some days less, some days more) which is right on average for the 1st trimester. Supposedly you're supposed to gain 1.5 pounds a week in the 2nd. That seems crazy. My appetite is picking up a little, but mostly just snacks, big meals aren't usually interesting me. I know some of that weight comes from the baby gaining weight so it's not all that I'm supposed to eat so much more, but it still seems like a lot. My midwives are great though. They said just focus on eating the right things more than weight. They'll only weigh me a few times just to make sure there's no drastic changes one way or the other, but I still plan to hop on once a week. Just good to know there's not so much pressure. I was reading since I'm overweight to start with I should only gain 10 pounds throughout the pregnancy (that 10 pounds is entirely baby, amniotic fluid, extra blood- things like that). I was really starting to panic, but they said don't worry about the number as much as eating healthy. It's really frustratin because aside from the occasional binges at Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, I'm not fat because I'm eating awful or eating all the time. It's the stupid PCOS. I wish I could wear a sign that explains it, even more so now with the baby.