And four months later...

Wow, I am such a consistent blogger aren't I? I'm rather pissed at myself for not being more consistent with the blogging. I wanted this nice 8 month diary of what happened, how it felt, etc, so that when we are expecting the next one I can compare. Well better late than never right?

Well, December 8th we had our big 20 week ultrasound and found out that our little bean was a boy, just as I had suspected for months now. I don't know why, I guess it was that mother's intuition you hear about. Everything seems to be measuring on average, but we've not gone back to the OB since the ultrasound. We go Monday. So cruel to have an appointment scheduled so closely to the holidays. I KNOW I've gained weight. I'm supposed to be good.

We've decided to name him Henry Allen after my wonderful PeePaw, my dad's dad. The middle name Allen can be more directly attributed to my father who passed away 10 years ago this January. His middle name was also Allen and it was always my intention to name first born son with that middle name. Unfortunately my grandmother wanted a girl and named my dad Terry so that was not an option. I love my dad, but not a huge fan of that name.

The family, especially my grandparents, were ecstatic about the name. It was my mom's idea to have a blanket embroidered with the name Henry Allen and to give it to my grandparents for Christmas. It is a baby blanket to keep at their house for when Henry visits his great grandparents. They were a bit confused when they opened it, as I expected. I mean, we told them it was from the baby, and for the baby to use, but the blanket had my grandfather's name on it. They just sorta stared at it for a few seconds until I explained that the blanket had the baby's name on it.

Moving on, Henry has been an active boy! I feel him several times a day. I actually started to feel movement probably around week 14 or so. I attribute this to the fact I slept on my stomach and would feel flutters. Jason's mom had mentioned that she felt flutters with him, so I was expecting them. Otherwise I probably would have no idea what I was feeling. Sadly Jason has yet to feel anything. I am pretty sure this is because of my size, the extra padding keeps Henry pretty well insulated.

I'm also not showing yet, at all. It really bums me out. Jason says he can tell, but honestly I think he's just being nice. That or he wants to see it as well. You see what you want to see right? I cannot wear my rings anymore because of the swelling in my hands, so I walk around with this man wearing a wedding band. Normally, if someone saw you were pregnant they would assume, especially if it was a woman who had children, that your hands were swollen and you couldn't wear any rings. With me, no one can tell so I feel like some hussy walking around with a married man lol.

That's another thing, the swelling. We've tried to cut back on sodium, but I am positive we could be doing better. Hopefully after the New Year we can really buckle down. This isn't about me anymore, it is about Henry. Everything is, isn't it?

My pregnancy journal

My cousin suggested I keep a journal of my pregnancy experience, even after the baby is born, to help me remember what all went on, what I experienced, and what I hope to never experience again.

As of today I am 7 weeks 3 days, exactly one week since my ultrasound. The ultrasound ended up being done about two and a half weeks before it was supposed to, originally scheduled for Sept 21st. It took place on Sept 4th, on a Friday right before Labor Day weekend. I ended up going in early because I had been spotting for 10-11 days, pretty much every single day. And the night before the ultrasound, I found myself getting cramps/pains on my right side only, sharp pains, which to me was a definite indicator I was miscarrying. I told Jason, my husband, this is it, it's over.

But we were pleasantly surprised when the doctor did the ultrasound (vaginal, since I am still so early on) and found a heartbeat immediately. This little flashing pulse on the screen in the midst of a white looking blob. The doctor said everything looked normal and found a cyst on my right ovary, which would have been causing the pain most likely. It's not an ovarian cyst, but a corpus lutuem cyst that produces progesterone for the mother. The book they gave me said it should probably fade away by week 10 or so. And if not, it's not really a problem.

As for how I am feeling, it's sort of up in the air. I have pretty much constant drainage going on which SUCKS. It contributes to me feeling queasy. If I don't eat every so often, it gets worse.

My breasts have been SUPER sensitive lately. Ever since I found out everything was ok, it was amazing, my body started feeling the pregnancy. I guess my brain gave my body the go ahead to stop worrying and simply be pregnant. Thanks a lot body! I definitely think I could be much worse off though, this isn't SO bad...yet.