Pregnancy: Weeks 5-8
May 4
Today marks the start of my 5th week. I’ve known about our pregnancy for almost a week now, and according to an online due date predictor our due date is January 4th--a little New Year’s Baby!
I've been feeling pretty good! No morning sickness so far, which is good. I've definitely been feeling more tired--especially in the evenings. No weight gain yet--but holy hell the bloat! I've never had period bloating before but if this is what it's like I feel sorry for everyone woman who has! I have this little pooch belly that sticks out from all my close-fitting shirts, and it's all soft and jiggly. I keep poking at it wondering, what the hell is this? I'm excited for the pregnancy belly, but didn't realize I'd be getting this first!
Oh--and I'm peeing a ton! I didn't realize this would happen in the beginning, but then I read something about a certain hormone that's increased in the beginning of pregnancy, which leads to more frequent urination. I feel like I'm constantly scanning for the nearest bathroom everywhere I go.
G is already such a wonderful father and has been taking such great care of me. Earlier this week he surprised me with a sweet "expectant mother" card that just melted my heart. I couldn't ask for a better husband!
May 9
I was back in my hometown today for my friend Dana's 30th birthday party, and an early Mother's Day celebration for my mom, so I shared the news with that side of my family. There were lots of excited well-wishes. Later in the day, the heckling I was expecting from my sisters finally came out with comments like, "I hope you gain a ton of weight." And, "You know your kid is going to be ugly, right? Good looking people don't make cute kids." Ahh, sisterly love!
May 10
Today is Mother's Day and G surprised me with an adorable card, a gift certificate for a pedicure, and dinner at a delicious Mexican restaurant. What a sweetie! Today is also the day we told G's parents, Steve and Pam, the big news. They were overjoyed! Lots of hugs and lots of watery eyes. Pam said it was the best Mother's Day ever, which was quite possibly the sweetest response ever!
Additional Pregnancy Week 5 Post:
Forgetting I'm Pregnant
May 11
Today is the start of week 6. I haven't had many symptoms over this past week other than feeling tired. And the bloating is gone, which I'm happy about! We spent last week referring to the baby as "our little poppy seed" because that was the equivalent size. This week it's the size of a sweet pea!
May 14
Have I mentioned that my good friend Jill is also pregnant? Yep! What are the odds of that? She's 7 weeks ahead of me, and it's been so nice having someone to share in this experience with. I've been using her as my personal encyclopedia when it comes to all things pregnancy since she's got 7 weeks of studying on me. Jill and I work together and we carpool nearly every day. Prior to getting knocked up, many of our drives home would feature a quick (or sometimes not so quick) stop for happy hour drinks. Well now that we're responsible expectant mothers interested in giving our unborn children every advantage at proper development, these happy hour stops have come to a screeching halt. Well...almost. Today was such a nice day that we decided to stop at a Mexican restaurant on our way home for some chips, salsa, and some non-alcoholic margaritas out on the patio. Mmmm...that hit the spot! But I limited myself to just one drink--after all, I was driving.
When I got home I was so surprised to receive a care package from my good friend Allison! And yes, in this case "so surprised" means bawling my eyes out over her kindness and thoughtfulness! Included in her package was a hilarious Safe Baby Handling Tips picture book with very informative dos and don'ts when it comes to caring for your newborn. For instance--did you know you shouldn't palm a baby by the head like it's a basketball? Or throw it in the dryer when it's wet? True story. And there's even diagrams to support these little-known facts for quick reference:
Also included in her care package were two books: "Belly Laughs" by Jenny McCarthy and "Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay" by Stefanie Wilder-Taylor.
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The title of that second book just owns me! Too funny!
Additional Pregnancy Week 6 Post:
Forgetting I'm Pregnant
May 18
Today marks the start of week 7 and so far I'm still feeling great! I'm still not having many symptoms other than feeling tired. And I have a stuffy nose--something I didn't even realize was a pregnancy symptom until I started reading more pregnancy books. In fact--I've been so symptom-free that I was beginning to worry I wasn't even pregnant anymore! So yesterday I took another pregnancy test--just for the piece of mind--and thank goodness I got the reassurance I needed that I'm still pregnant!
Our little baby is the size of a blueberry this week and is working hard at brain development, generating new brain cells at the rate of 100/minute. I, on the other hand, feel like I'm losing brain cells at the same rate as I constantly find myself forgetting what I'm doing, typing words out of order (or typing the wrong word all together), and I can no longer spell. I always prided myself on being smart. Guess it's time to kiss that goodbye!
Additional Pregnancy Week 7 Post:
Pregnancy Books Are Making Me CRAZY!
May 26
Today I'm 8 weeks and 1 day pregnant and still feeling great! We had our first prenatal appointment today! We got to see our little raspberry-sized baby and hear his/her heartbeat--it was amazing! More on that--and pictures--in an upcoming post!
Additional Pregnancy Week 8 Post:
First Prenatal Appointment
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17 comments:
Glad to hear the pregnancy is treating you well! My sister is due towards the end of January so she's not too far behind you. She's been lucky like you to not have morning sickness - just super tired.
Thanks for sharing your stories! Gotta love a litte Baby G&D!!!
Belly Laughs is the FUNNIEST and most honest book about pregnancy...I don't have kids yet...but I now feel prepared. You need to read Jenny McCarthy's other books about babies and kids too...they are a riot :D
So neat that you recorded those little snippets along the way! And those look like GREAT gifts!!
yeah!! I'm going to love keeping up on your pregnant stories, these are awesome!
Oh, I hear ya on the bloating. Due to the bloating I had already gained 2.5 lbs in my first 6 weeks! AHH! Thankfully, it has let up some...as has my weight, it's back down. Can't wait to hear about weeks 9-14! Hope you weren't stricken with morning sickness!
Be prepared. You will, like the rest of us, develop what is commonly referred to as "mommy brain" which means basically that you can't remember anything. Not even the smallest things!
I second the Mommy Brain statement.
Also: a tip for the stuffy nose. Mine got so bad that I was...well, nevermind. It was REALLY BAD. If your stuffy nose gets really bad, I suggest getting a netty pot (sp?) They have them at drugstores, and for the first second it feels like you might be drowning, but man that thing saved my life.
Ah yes, the dreaded bloat. It had me in proper maternity pants at 8 WEEKS with my second pregnancy! I bloated for absolutely ages, can't believe yours stopped so soon.
The stuffy nose thing - the only time I snored was when I was pregnant. Having a humidifier running helped with that. Grant called it the "anti-snoring device".
I'm so glad for you that you had no morning sickness!
I loved Belly Laughs! Another great read is The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy. Enjoy and best wishes!
I really enjoyed reading this. Yours are so much better than others I have read b/c you make them so personal. :)
I'm sorry to tell you that you really are getting dumber. No really, a pregnant woman's brain shrinks. And I'm not sure, but I think it never returns. So that crazy woman with 18 kids must have a tiny tiny brain.
Oh my goodness! Congratulations! I have not been to your blog in a bit- I will have to catch up. Congratulations a million times over!
I love your post today and your picture! Sounds like you are doing great and you have wonderful support in Madison.
Ha! Those books are hilarious. Also, if you can find "Hatched!" by Sloan Tanen, it's my FAVORITE. SOOOOO hilarious!
I think it's so neat you blogged during these weeks! I will have to tuck that away for when it's my turn. You don't want to lose those memories!
Thanks for your comments everyone!
@Amber--I didn't know Jenny McCarthy wrote other books--I'll have to check them out.
@Sylvia & Erin--oh yes, I definitely already have the baby brain. It's killing me!
@Erin & Jen--thanks for the tips for the stuffy nose!
@Julie--I've heard of that book, but haven't read it yet. I'll have to check it out. Thanks!
@Mrs.McB--that is such a sweet compliemnt, thank you!
@The Dutchess of Kickball--LOL! Oh yeah, I've already heard about the shrinking pregnancy brain. Eek!
@HG--Now there's a book I haven't heard of, but it sounds like a good one! I'll add that one to my list as well. Thanks for the recommendation!
I'm 6/7 weeks (no Dr appt yet, so kind of unsure) and I'm so happy to re-read through these posts. I feel like I have little to no symptoms so I keep thinking "Am I really pregnant?!" I'm glad I'm not the only one who had this :)
I have the stuffy nose too...I guess that is a symptom.
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