Baby News: What a Mom!

A northern Kentucky woman believes she is the smallest woman who ever gave birth to such a large baby.
Stacey Herald, 33, gave birth five weeks ago to an 18-inch daughter who is not much smaller than her mother.

Check out this video from cnn.com. I love this mom's personality and attitude. When I'm feeling overwhelmed during my pregnancy, I'm going to try to remember to think of her.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2008/02/29/wagner.big.baby.small.mom.wlwt

Look What the Cat Dragged In!

Well look what the "Cat" (that's you baby) dragged in. I will start posting here regularly and try not to "POISON" this baby blog. I promise also to keep the pictures of the progress and my art coming. Sorry this post is so short but its time to go home! YAY!

CrazyBee AKA Bill

Eating for Two?

What the heck happened to my appetite, then?

I've been lucky to have (so far) avoided the dreaded morning sickness, but (in spite of that) my appetite has abandoned me in the last few days. This is just a tiny bit of a concern to me, because the doctor wasn't exactly thrilled that I had lost two pounds since becoming pregnant. At the beginning of my pregnancy, I had a crazy intense, could-not-be-sated appetite. In fact, I was really surprised that I had actually lost weight. I chalked it up to abstaining from alcohol and junk food.

Bill made it his personal goal to "fatten me up" (but without resorting to feeding me outright junk), and we've made progress. As of this morning, I have finally surpassed my pre-pregnancy weight by one pound. But starting yesterday, maybe Sunday, my appetite just sort of went into a coma. I've been eating well, but finding no pleasure in it. That's no fun!

Girl's Night In @ Cat's

On Saturday, I hosted a Girl's Night In, which is a tradition among my girlfriends that my friend Cheryl started a few years ago. When I began planning the party, I had no idea I would be pregnant by then. So with one of us pregnant, and another having recently given birth(four weeks ago), as you might imagine there was a whole lotta baby talk. This was really good for me, because I heard great stories, advice, warnings, and it also helped me get a bit of my baby obsession out of my system. Now I feel like I'm better able to focus on things other than the kogojira now - like work, for example.

New Stuff for Baby
The last thing I expected was to get some baby gear, but a few friends came bearing gifts.
Baby Mozart CD

Girlfriends' Guide


Thanks to everyone who came. I appreciated the food, the baby stuff, the well-wishes, and most of all the laughs!

Kogojira

I received the image below in an email from Bill today, with the subject "In Cat's Belly."

If you're wondering what it is, that is a baby godzilla, which was Bill's pet name for me in about my second week of pregnancy because I was the most irritable he has probably ever seen me. Neither of us knew I was pregnant at the time, but I was Baby Godzilla!

Isn't it CUTE!? Awww. Maybe we should forget about bees, giraffes, and monkeys to concentrate instead on a Godzilla theme for the nursery. That would be pretty darn cool.

The Princess and the Pea

Once upon a time, not very long ago, I, the princess (everyone is treating me like one, after all), was struggling to button my jeans and muttering about how could the nearly microscopic being in my tummy already be forcing me into a larger pants size, especially since I haven't even gained any weight yet!

The prince in this fairy tale, Bill, who has definitely been reading "The Everything Father-to-Be" book I gave him, calmly explained that even though the embryo is only the size of a pea my body is changing to accommodate it. Then, for brownie points, he mentioned that the changes were beautiful. Awww!

I immediately thought of the fairy tale about the Princess and the Pea, because even though the embryo is tiny at this stage, its presence definitely doesn't escape my notice, particularly when I'm trying to sleep at night, since I wake for multiple bathroom trips from the little sweetpea's influence on my bladder. Such a tiny little thing is completely rearranging not only my womb, but my entire world. It's really amazing.

As a child, I always thought the Princess was quite whiny and a bit rude to complain about that pea. I understand better now that even the tiniest thing can indeed have a tremendous impact. The story could even be considered symbolic of early pregnancy considering the rain, the round green pea, the mattresses, the marriage, and so on. Hmmm.

First Prenatal Visit

I had my first prenatal checkup today! Ooh!

Bill and I met at the doctor's office and waited for fifty minutes. I sat there scared to death that somehow I was going to find out that I was not pregnant - that I had made a mistake somehow. Of course, I know, and I knew, very well that I am pregnant. I have no period, no energy, no bras that fit, and no control over my emotions. Still, I was a bit worried, and looking forward to some medical reassurancem which the lovely Dr. R. provided. She came up with the same due date: October 13.

Then she really surprised us when she informed us that we would be doing an ultrasound today. I wasn't expecting that at all. She said she was completely justified doing it since I had lost two pounds and I have had some queasiness - insurance requires two "reasons" in order for doctors to be able to do an ultrasound at six weeks, apparently.

So I went to see a perky ultrasound tech named V., who treated me with all the patience, understanding, and kindness of a kindergarten teacher, which was completely appropriate and appreciated (if not a little amusing, too). She put a wonderful warm gel on my tummy, and we all looked at the screen to see the wee one, but we couldn't see squat! Those fears about not really being pregnant began to surface again as V. asked questions like "Are your periods usually regular?" "Have you had any cramping?" and so on.

Then she informed me that she would have to do the ultrasound vaginally in order to get a better look. We tried that, and at last we could see something: the yolk sac! Whee! Exciting! She informed us that ultrasound was putting the baby at 5 weeks 2 days instead of the 6 weeks 1 day that my cycle suggested. Sounds reasonable enough to me, I could have ovulated later than expected. Dr. R. decided not to change the due date, because there is only six day discrepancy, but I do have to get another ultrasound in two weeks (March 4) so we can see all the stuff we were hoping to see today, such as the heartbeat.

Bill and I left feeling pretty excited. I'm happy to know that nothing is amiss, the little critter has positioned itself inside my uterus. So far, so good. Looking forward to getting more good news on March 4. And to be honest with you, I'm looking forward to "getting fat" - because I can't wait until I'm past the first trimester.

Bill, the Provider

Since revealing my little Valentine's secret to Bill last week, we've told our immediate family and a few friends last week. We're not necessarily trying to keep the pregnancy a secret, but we're not really ready to tell the whole world yet since it's so early.

Bill is so enthusiastic about becoming a father. He's been reading the "Daddies for Dummies" (as he calls it) book I gave him for Valentine's Day, and he's obviously been doing some independent research on various pregnancy topics because he surprises me with little tidbits of information that even I, the voracious pregnancy book reader/pregnancy site surfer, have overlooked.

He's been especially attentive and sweet to me, not that he was any slouch before. To be honest, I almost feel a little guilty about the extra attention and fuss. But, then again, I suppose I would be disappointed without it. He's been very patient with my absent-mindedness and chronic fatigue. He's taking great care of the cat box, too. And, he seems just as keen to discuss all things baby as I am lately.

And, I guess he's taking his role as provider to the wee one pretty seriously because he's already begun to accumulate some baby stuff. I was very suprised and touched yesterday when he brought home an adorable baby record book and a very fancy body pillow for me. Check them out:

The book is so cute. I'm sure I would have picked the same one myself, because I intend to use green and yellow in the nursery AND I adore giraffes.

The pillow is a downright luxury. When I first saw it, I said, "Bill, I don't need this yet, I am nowhere near close to showing!" But he pointed out that I could start using it now so I would be used to it when I "really" need it. Also, knowing I'm a tummy sleeper, it will give me an opportunity to get out of that habit. Isn't that a thoughtful fella? I slept with it last night, and I really loved it. I was only on my tummy maybe twice, and briefly. Excellent!

And, even though he'd already been to the baby store, he was happy to go look at baby stuff with me that evening. Yeah, that's how we spent our Friday night. Then we came home and he whipped up dinner, without his usual assistant because she was snoozing on the sofa, of course. Lucky her.

OMG OMG OMG!

Can you keep a secret?

Well, I don't know if I can trust you to keep this big secret, so I'm going to wait to post this until later this week. I'm writing on February 11, 2008 (Monday).

Look! Look!

Wow!
Let me just say, "I knew it!" I knew it all along, but I couldn't be 100% certain. The apparent false negative really confused/concerned me last week, but all's well that ends well.

In spite of the negative HPT, I noticed the following mild symptoms:

• Swollen chest, growing sore


• Weepiness


• Irritability


• Increased appetite


• Increased urination


• Heightened sense of smell


• Unusual sensations in lower abdomen, similar to menstrual cramps, yet different


• Absence of period

So, after a week of these symptoms each continuing to grow stronger, I re-tested. I knew it had to be positive this time, otherwise what could explain these symptoms? I mean it's not uncommon for me to be late, but it's certainly not common, either.

I've had no morning sickness (so far)! Could I be lucky enough to avoid morning sickness all together? My doctor advised me to start the pre-natal vitamins before even trying to conceive, and she mentioned that doing so might help reduce morning sickness after conception. Maybe she was right? Maybe I'll start puking tomorrow, who knows? It was the one thing that kept me from being 100% certain I was pregnant after the negative HPT. I kept thinking, if I had nausea, I'd know for sure.

Last night, I stopped drinking around 7 pm, because I didn't want my urine to be too diluted. I was so careful with the test this morning. Instead of peeing directly onto the stick, I peed into a disposible cup. Then I dipped the stick into the urine, carefully counting off five seconds (one thousand one... one thousand two...). The test is supposed to take about two minutes, but it was just a few (long) seconds until I could see a faint vertical line. I felt so very lucky and relieved and, even though "I knew it", I was also shocked. I was laughing and crying at the same time. I was euphoric. I still am, really.

I don't want to tell Bill until Valentine's Day (that's why I'm waiting to post this), but how can I keep such good news to myself for three days??? If you're reading this before February 14, then you'll know I couldn't wait!

Obviously, I couldn't wait! I gave him his Valentine's Day gift a day early (a book on pregnancy for fathers-to-be). More on his thrilled reaction later.

Not Positively Negative

But only a few days late (CD 32), so no need to start re-painting the spare bedroom.

Being Positive When You're Negative

How's it done?

I took a home pregnancy test today, which is the day my period is due to begin, in the dark (because last night's tornados knocked out the electricity), and the results were negative. It's disappointing news, but I am keeping my chin up.

Forgetfulness During Pregnancy

Interesting Pregnancy-related News. I'll try to remember to POAS (pee on a stick) tomorrow morning. Cross your fingers!

Pregnancy 'does cause memory loss'
Psychologists reveal 'baby brain' is not a myth and new mothers suffer forgetfulness for years
Denis Campbell, health correspondent
The Observer,

This article appeared in the Observer on Sunday February 03 2008 on p21 of the News section.

Mothers-to-be have long complained about forgetting the simplest things as soon as they fall pregnant, jokingly blaming their 'preg head' or 'baby brain'. Now a major study has found that many women expecting a child do in fact suffer considerable memory loss, which continues even after birth.
Julie Henry, a psychologist at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, who conducted the research, said: 'Pregnant women are significantly impaired on some, but not all, measures of memory. The memory deficits are smaller than the deficits found when comparing healthy 20-year-olds and 80-year-olds, but are probably close to the modest deficits found when comparing healthy 20-year-olds with healthy 60-year-olds.'
Henry and Peter Rendell, a memory researcher at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne, reached their conclusion after examining the memory performance of 412 pregnant women, 272 mothers and 386 non-pregnant females. Pregnant women experienced the worst problems in memory tasks which were more challenging, the authors said in the report published in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology
'Regular, well-practised memory tasks are unlikely to be affected, such as remembering phone numbers of friends and family members,' said Henry. 'However, the ability to perform more novel memory tasks, such as having to remember new phone numbers or people's names, or recalling five or six digits for a short period of time, may be affected.'
The authors admit that, while they believe the syndrome definitely exists, they cannot be sure why physiologically it occurs. 'Our own suspicion is that lifestyle may be a relevant factor to consider; for example the increased disruption and dislocation of pregnancy, busyness and the lack of routine associated with this period,' said Henry. 'Sleep deprivation is also going to be a relevant factor post-pregnancy that could affect cognitive performance.'
But some academics have dismissed 'maternal amnesia' as a myth. Dr Ros Crawley, who led a team of researchers from Sunderland University in 2003, suggested that negative mood swings were causing the apparent problem, or that the reason could be 'cultural expectations of impairments which make women more aware of forgetting things and attributing such mistakes to their pregnancy'.
However, Carole Mitchell, a mother-of-two, who edits a National Childbirth Trust newsletter in Surrey, said: 'My memory began suffering five years ago when I was pregnant with my first child, Erin. I think that for some women it starts during your first pregnancy because you're stressed about it and you get bogged down with all the preparations. Then, once you've got a child or children, you're bound to forget things because you're always on duty, doing things and attending to your kids.'