Pregnancy Journal, Week 12

How far along:
12 weeks, last week of the first trimester! Happy Thanksgiving!

Next doctor’s appointment:
December 19

Signs and symptoms:
The Zofran seems to mostly be working. I usually only throw up once every other day now, thankfully. I do still gag and/or sometimes throw up after brushing my teeth though. I try to not take the Zofran some days, but usually I end up feeling like I need to.

The nausea hasn’t gotten better per say, but now it seems to be cyclic throughout the day rather than lasting the entire day. I usually feel pretty good in the mornings when I first wake up. The nausea seems to kick in most when I’m hungry or right after I eat. I try not to let myself get hungry to prevent it, but that doesn’t seem to work most times, not to mention, when I do eat, I usually start to feel nauseous.  

I’m still tired all the time. Most days I really need to nap. On weekends or days I stay home from work, I usually can take a 2-3 hour nap in the middle of the day with no problem. It’s harder on days I work, but those days I try to rest right when I get home, and to go to bed a little earlier those nights too.

I’m getting pretty close to needing maternity clothes, particularly pants. I can no longer button my jeans without discomfort. Thankfully the slacks I have for work are a little big on me anyway, so they’ve still got some space for me to grow. If I wear a shirt that’s not loose or baggy, I think I look pretty pregnant. Jason is even agreeing now that I have a baby bump! We’re planning to start telling people next week, so I won’t have to hide it much longer. I’d probably wear PJs all day if it were socially acceptable (and do on days I’m not at work!). I do wonder how much of this is bloat, as I do feel very bloated these days.

My back has started bothering me, particularly at night. And it’s taking me a lot longer to get comfortable once I lay down to go to sleep. I think I’ll probably need an extra support on my chair at work. I try to get up several times during the day to walk and stretch my back. Normally, I fall asleep on my stomach and usually wake up on my back. The baby doesn’t really seem to like me lying on my stomach anymore, so my most comfortable sleeping position is on my side. I do have a body pillow that seems to help some.

Weight gain:
I’m up a pound! So only now down 7 from where I started. Let’s hope this trend of gaining weight continues.  

Food cravings:
Still wanting the cranberry juice. I drank an entire huge bottle of it last week. Nothing else really though.

Aversions:
As I mentioned, still the teeth brushing. It’s also getting harder for me to cook dinner, particularly dinners with meat. While I like eating it, the sight of raw meat is kind of off-putting at the moment. Sometimes I ask Jason to take out the trash even when it’s not full. Despite having a garbage bin with a lid, if I can smell anything coming out of the trash can, I don’t like it.  

What’s going on with the baby:
The baby is the size of a lime this week, about 2 inches long. Reflexes are hard at work developing this week. This was really evident to us at our ultrasound, we got to see baby suck his/her thumb! Probably the most precious thing ever. The nerve cells are multiplying very rapidly and synapses are busy forming in the brain. The baby’s intestines are starting to move back into the abdomen from the umbilical cord and the kidneys have started functioning and excreting urine into the bladder. The baby definitely looks more human (and has the cutest nose!).

What I miss:
Being able to fall asleep easily. Not throwing up. Not feeling sick.  

What I’m looking forward to:
Thanksgiving is tomorrow! Let’s hope that the baby cooperates. I’m excited to decorate for Christmas! I also can’t wait to see the baby again, but our next ultrasound isn’t for another 2 months. I keep looking at the picture of little one from yesterday’s ultrasound. 

Changes:
This most recent ultrasound was really amazing and special. Little one looks so much like a baby now that it’s unreal. I can’t believe in just 10 weeks of gestating in there that its already so human-like! Jason got to see the baby for the first time in 5 weeks and got to hear the heartbeat for the first time. I loved seeing his reaction. His love for our baby is already so evident, and I know he’ll be a great daddy.

Seeing the baby move was really cool. There was a lot of arm waving in particular, and it also did one flip for us. I can’t wait to feel it! I pretty much melted when I saw baby sucking its tiny little thumb. He/she has long legs like daddy!

Despite me still being down 7 pounds, the baby is clearly getting what it needs. It is right on track for size and is growing really well according to the sonographer.

At this appointment, I had my first trimester screen done which uses my blood to test for any problems with the baby’s chromosomes (yay science and non-invasive testing!). It looks for the three most common trisomies, and as a bonus, will also tell us the gender! We should know in about 2 weeks.

12 Weeks!