I've discovered three things today:

1. I love having McChicken's for breakfast.
2. I now have a serious aversion to garlic. It's too bad because I eat garlic every day, I love garlic. But not anymore. It just doesn't have the same taste to me.
3. Ice-cream sammy's are a girl's best friend.

S.

Baby Lee at 9 weeks 2 days:

There you go, a picture of the little guy. Doesn't look much different than the picture of an 8-week ultrasound, except this little guy is mine and so he's GORGEOUS. The best looking in-utero baby in the WORLD! Speaking of the little "guy", Donald and I think we are going to find out the sex after all. Will know by September - I think my detailed ultrasound is September 2. We're still talking about it, but I think we'll go for it.

Here's another picture with notes:

His heart was beating at 171 beats per minute. Didn't hear it, but saw it. He was moving around in there too, very active!

At my appointment on Wednesday, Dr. Rhone told me that I'm definitely delivering at BC Women's. I was so relieved! Either she or someone on her team will deliver, depending if she's on call at that time. I'm sure I'll meet the other doctor's, I think there's four that rotate. That's all way down the road though.

It's no problem to go to LA and Vegas in July and October, so I'm happy about that. Besides, if anything were to happen, I feel safe in those two places.

She's not concerned with the fact that I lost a bit of weight, we're just going to monitor it. According to her scale I weight 122. So I like her scale better than mine. Although her nurse did the reading wrong and told me I was 145 lbs! I laughed my head off, so did everyone else in the waiting room. I don't think so....

Don't have to take folic acid after 12 weeks becuase the risk of spina bifida is over (it's either present or not) as the spine is formed at that time or something.

Now, let's hope I explain this right:

There's a screen available only for women 38 and over that's 90% accurate (as opposed to the 70% accuracy of the triple screen) in testing for the markers for down's and neural tube defects (spina bifida being one). It's two different blood tests, one at week 11 and one at week 15. It tests for the levels of certain things that would be in your blood if the baby is at risk of having any of these defects. It measures two factors, #1 being the age of the mother (in my case at 38 the risk will automatically be a certain percentage), and #2 being the actual blood work results, which could be extremely low or high. I'm hoping for the low level, of course. Married with an ultrasound (that measures certain things on the fetus like folds at the back of the neck that are present only in Down's babies, among other things), it's pretty accurate. There's always an amnio as well, but I'm not leaning towards that as it's so invasive, and, well, for other very personal reasons.

I say this all now, but who's to say how I'll be if it ever presented itself?

Other than that, my next appointment is August 1. Until then, I'm feeling good and feeling pregnant and all is right in the world.

Except for the fact that I'm going to a party tomorrow and nobody there will believe the fact that I'm not drinking. So I'm doing one of three things:

1. saying I'm on a cleanse.
2. saying I'm just finishing antibiotics and can't drink.
3. pouring myself virgin drinks.

Later,

s.

9 weeks yesterday, and feeling great.

Alot of new people are showing up so if you want to start at the beginning, go to the May archives (see the right sidebar).

The latest on the symptoms:

• Surprisingly I'm not as exhausted as I thought I'd be. I need a 20-minute nap in the early afternoon but that's it. Not napping for hours like last time. That's good. I can get more done. I have energy which is great. Especially when you get the urge to shop like I just did.
• Face is still breaking out which totally sucks.
• I'm using the bathroom more regularly THANK GOD. I'm peeing more now, noticed over the past few days.
• No crazy cravings at all, but I am fussy about what I eat. That is still going on... wanting one thing and then 15 minutes later, wanting something else. That doesn't help with the supper planning at all. We've eaten alot of take-out.
• I'm having crazy dreams still, but I'm liking that. I'm sleeping through the night, and sleeping soundly now so that's awesome. I feel rested when I wake up now, although I don't look it. Could be the new mattress, it's AMAZING.
• I'm also suprised that I'm not really moody. Although Donald may beg to differ.
• My boobs are delightful.

Oh, and I looked in the mirror thismorning and my waist has officially disappeared. It's gone. *Poof* I actually wore maternity clothes to a business fuction last night because nothing I have fits me anymore. Except my yoga pants, but I couldn't very well have worn those. (Although it may have made for more interesting conversations than I actually had with anyone in the room.) It all boils down to the fact that my waist has expanded. I called Rachael on the way and didn't know if I was more upset about wearing the maternity clothes because, A) someone might figure out that I'm pregnant and I don't want anyone out here to know yet, or B) someone might think I'm fat. Because the area between my pelvis and bellybutton is not attractive anymore. I look like alot of other late-30's gals, BUT I'VE NEVER LOOKED LIKE THAT BEFORE, so you can completely understand my panic. I mean for crying out loud, I'm usually 117-120. AND USUALLY HAVE A WAIST! I know, I know, it won't be long before I look pregnant instead of chunky, I just want it to happen before I have to go in public again. (On the flip side, I bought a GORGEOUS outfit for LA thismorning. It's just beautiful and summery and fashionable. The maternity clothes these days are beautiful! I wear my skirts and shorts even when I'm not preggers. Lovin' the whole tummy-tube thing) So, this tangent is over, back to the pregnancy...

I weighed myself yesterday and came in at 126.6. I lost .4lbs since last week. WTF?

Here's the deal for week 9:

He weighs 2 grams. (I have no idea what that means as I've never used grams before. What, are we in the UK? Dena, can you translate for me?) His body parts and organs are all present (still sad he lost his tail) though they're not yet fully formed.

By the end of the week, he'll be .9 inches long and resembles a peapod. The eyelids are formed and fused and won't upen again until 27 weeks.

He can begin to hear! His teeth are forming! He can turn his head and frown. And he can hiccup. He wriggles and shifts and dances around in there. At 9 weeks! At 2 grams. At .9 inches. It's amazing.

And so here's what he looks like in that non-waist chunky area between my pelvis and bellybutton:

(Doesn't look like a peapod to me....kinda looks like an alien or astronaut in outerspace, floating there with that big head.)

I had my first appt with Dr. Rhone today and it went really well. AND I'M DELIVERING AT BC WOMEN'S! More on the appointment later or tomorrow... I've got to get back to work.

Later,
s.

So
Tired.

So, SO tired.

It's 1:48 and I need a nap. And I had one at 11am thismorning too. So I'm going to lay down for 20 minutes. Yawn.

And the latest symptom (are they actually called symptoms if you already know that you're pregnant?) is acne. Not just the backne but acne. Ok, not so much acne as just a few blemishes showing up.

Ewwwww.

Later.
s.

8 weeks!

It's a great feeling. I'm not nauseous anymore. I'm *almost* regular (thanks to prune juice, lots of water, All Bran, Blueberry bran muffins and about 6 servings of fruit a day. So all in all, it's alot of work to be *almost* regular). I'm sleeping pretty much through the night (got a WICKED new mattress). I have an appetite and am eating normally again. Although what I want for supper at 5pm, changes by 5:15pm. So it's totally driving my husband bananas. Oh! Yum! Speaking of bananas... (what, Bert? I can't hear you, I have a banana in my ear!) I think I'll make banana bread tonight!

I all round feel great. I feel healthy. I feel good.

So 8 weeks yesterday. I weigh 127 now, up from 123.4. And it went directly to my waistline. Yup, look like I have a spare tire, albeit a small one, but a spare tire nonetheless, wrapped around what used to be my waist. Hey, it's better than going straight to my ass.

Boobs, still sore. Not needing a new bra yet, but they're still fabulous! Still needing a nap mid-afternoon or so, but still for only 20 minutes. Although yesterday I had THREE naps! I thought it was the exhaustion finally starting, but I think it was just that I worked really hard in the garden the day before and was physically exhausted. Whatevs.

Looking forward to my doctor's appointment on the 25th. I have so many questions for her. Mostly just stuff like can I travel in July and October? Can I eat Salba? What's safe to take when I have indigestion from eating WAY too much? Can I deliver at BC Women's Hospital?

And here is the little one at 8 weeks:

And a picture of an 8-week ultrasound (not mine, just found it on the web):

Big head, eh?

So this week it moves from an embryo to a fetus (which means offspring, apparently). My uterus is still expanding (which would explain the cramping that still comes around once in a while), to accommodate the little fella, who now measures 1.6 cm.

His tail is gone (kinda sad. Having a tail is cool.), and his organs, muscles and nerves are beginning to function! His hands bend at the wrist. His feet are loosing the webbed aspect. He has eyelids. Eyelids!

I'm just so in love with this little guy. When I got my email from babycentre yesterday saying "Welcome to Week 8!", and I started reading how it's developing this week, I just started to bawl. I'm just so in love!

Later,
s.

I've GOT to remember to have some sort of protein during the day or I'm STARVING all the time.

Let me see... what did I have today?

1/4-ish cup plain yogurt at breakfast (to smush up my prenatal vitamin because I can't swallow pills - especially ones as big as prenatals), plum, apple, prune juice (which is working magnificantly).

Grilled cheese sammy at lunch while watching the end of the US Open... and then watching Hole 19. Poor Rocco (is it Meed-ee-ate or Meed-ee-ate-ay?). He messed up on the 18th, big time. I wanted to see the underdog win this one. Anyhoo, I digress.

At 6pm I dashed out to pick up some tomatoes and potatos for a curry dinner and I realized I was STARVING to no end. I hardly ate all day. Well, usually that would fill me, but not these days. Apparently I'm not eating for two yet - I guess in the first trimester you really don't have to eat that much more than you usually do - but my God, I've got to eat protein or my body fights back.

So... the curry is on the stove, the husband is doing the lawn, and I'm eating peanut butter and crackers to hold me over until din-din.

All for now,
s.

A new symptom today..... I'm starting to get tired. Only slightly, but tired nonetheless. Around 2pm each day, I'm having to shut my eyes. I wake up automatically after about 20 minutes later, feeling right as rain, but I am noticing that I'm getting tired.

So I've got ALOT of gardening to do this weekend before I start to get totally exhausted and not be able to do much at all.

On another note... my Godsister found this blog today (hi Mona!). I swore her to secrecy though, as I'm not telling my mom, or anybody (ok, except Deeners and Rache) until the end of July. Or I'm going to try not to anyway....

Had dinner with the inlaws tonoight. One of my sisters-in-law is 23 weeks pregnant right now and is having some complications. She was telling me at supper (I was asking because I love her and want her to be ok) about the might and the maybe's, and I totally got squeamish. A) Because I get squeamish easily, and B) because I'm pregnant and I'm hearing about all these things that can happen that I didn't know about.

All for now,
s.

Something I've noticed over the past two or three days is that I'm getting a bit emotional.

Take four minutes ago for example. I found myself crying reading the Sports pages. The Sports Pages! (first of all, the Sports pages? I never even open that section.) Seriously, I got teary-eyed reading a story on Trevor Lindon retiring. Jesus.

And you know what else is up?

I'm actually wanting to spend time with my husband. We're having "quality time" on a daily basis these days. That never happens! (Editor's note: we're madly in love, it's just that we do our own things most of the time.) But it's happening now. And I'm enjoying it!

We have nightly movie nights. His brother is a movie fanatic, so once a month or so we get tonnes of DVD's from him. We usually watch one or two, then return the rest, but not these days! We're watching one each night. Staying up until midnight or 1am, cuddled up on the couch, watching movies. It's great (except "There Will be Blood"... that one did not deserve my attention nor staying up until 2am to finish. Daniel Day Lewis was freakishy fantastic as per usual, but I just didn't like the flick. Loved the story, just not the overall movie. Anyhoo, I digress...).

What I'm especially liking about hanging out with the husband is that in 33 weeks, we won't have that special time. Everything will be different. We'll have another little presence in the house, it will never just be me and him again. So I'm really enjoying our time together, really enjoying my husband, and really enjoying our movie nights together.

All for now,
s.

Oh My God.

I am so pregnant.

I'm saying the wrong words, getting tongue-tied, and being a bit absent-minded.

My brain isn't working normally.

Not that it ever worked normally, buy you get the drift.

I was just leaving a message for my friend Anne about the upcoming Kid Rock concert and as I was hanging up I said, "Ok, talk to you later LUCKY."

I meant to say Lovey. I said Lucky. What, have I been drinking today or something?

Nope, just pregnant.

I'm walking across the parking lot of the mall, spot my car, and stand there for almost 30 seconds wondering why I can't unlock it. 30 seconds! It took me that long to realize it wasn't my car.

Not even the same make.

Later LOVIES.
PS: just watched a beluga giving birth. Looks easy enough.
s.

Week 7!

Feels good to be here. I'm 1/2 way to when we can officially tell everyone. Although we ARE going to wait as long as possible. Until the time comes when I can see it in people's eyes, "Is Stephanie pregnant, or just a little weight gain goin' on?". (We announced it at week 13 last time only to find out at week 14 that the baby had died... so we want to wait as long as possible to ensure everything is as it's supposed to be.)

• Nausea? Completely gone. Good times.
• Appetite? I have one again. Nothing too crazy, but at least I feel like eating.
• Boobs? Sore.
• Energy? Not exhausted by any means, but I do get a little tired mid-afternoon. A 20-minute nap brings me back to life.
• Constipation? Still going on. Onto the prune juice now, and tonnes of fruit and water each day. We'll see how that goes.
• Cravings? None.
• I'm a bit lazy, but I think it's because of Vancouver's shitty weather this year. No sunshine. Doesn't exactly make me want to do any gardening, or really even leave the house.

Here we are:

How cute is he??!!

I couldn't get over this picture. I started to bawl. I can't believe that this is inside of me, that this is going on inside of me. It's wild. It makes me realize that fighting with my husband over the size of the mattress we bought is really kinda foolish. I mean, I'm growing arms and legs and eyes and organs inside of me for crying out loud. There's more important things going on than the size of a friggin' mattress, ok?

It's only 1/2 and inch long, the size of a lentil. (Apparently it didn't grow longer from week 6?)It's like a little jumping bean, hopping in fits and starts. The elbows are starting to develop and it has a fascination with bending and flexing them (ok, ok, so it doesn't have a working brain yet so I don't really believe that it's "fascinated", but there you go). The fingers start to devleop. The feet start to appear with tiny notches for the toes. They eyes and ears start to appear, although they look kind of like an alien, they'll get to where they're supposed to be, I'm sure. The liver is churning out large amounts of red blood cells, until the bone marrow takes over.

And me? I've only gained .2 of a pound. Weight thismorning was at 123.4.

Had a dream two nights ago that I wasn't talking to it enough.

And it was a boy.

All for now,

s.

Good times! I have an appointment with my Doctor. At least, I think she'll be my doctor.

Wants me to have a dating ultrasound prior, but I don't want to. Especially not at the ultrasound clinic they want to send me to. Not good times. Bad experience there. I want the Women's Hospital, so they're trying to get me in. We'll see.

I'm just happy I finally have an appointment, time to get this rollin'!

Update:
Boobs even MORE sore. Like mad.
Still can't use the bathroom.
Still no appetite (had breakfast at 10am then nothing until 9pm tonight and it was only a tuna sandwich. Just no appetite. I know, I know, I've got to eat, but the thought turns my stomach. Which brings me to....)
Not nauseaus at all. Not whatsoever. But.. as above, the mere thought of food makes my stomach turn. Not nauseaus, just don't want to eat.

All for now.
s.

Week 6, Day 3.

When do you stop counting the days, I wonder? After the first trimester? Whatevs....

So, weird dreams still, but they're always fun to recall and try to figure out what they are about. I'm a full believer in dreams leading you along your path, so I do pay attention. I also dream things that happen in the future, so that's kinda cool. Although I highly doubt I'll be living in Marge Simpson's blue jello hair in the Jetson's pad in outer space... but you never know.

Nanu Nanu.

Last night, very quickly, I dreamt that I made a purchase and the clerk gave me too much money back. 100.00 back actually. 100.00 too much. I hesitated for a moment wondering if I should say anything. I stopped to turn back to go to the store again but decided against it. I thought, "hey, if the universe wants to reward me with money, so be it!" and I walked away. But 1 block down the road I was consumed with guilt, because it's just not who I am. So I went to turn around and go back to return the money and I woke up.

Fast forward to 12 noon today. I'm at a store, buying razor blades when I'm over-charged. "The sticker says $10.99" I say to her. So she dashes over to the razor blade section and comes back and instead of taking $0.50 off the price, she takes off $10.00. I totally did not say anything, but then a few seconds later I couldn't do it. It's just not who I am. "Um, I think it should be much more than that actually, I think you discounted too much."

"Oh no", she says, "if we mess up, you get 10.00 off.

YAY!

Karma, gotta love it.

In this case, anyways.

So, the symptoms are changing a bit. I'm not nauseous over the past few days, so that's friggin' GREAT. So happy about that!

I got rather emotional out of the blue yesterday morning. Was totally bawling over something very very small. Felt good, but unnecessary. Here we go, I suppose.

And I have swollen ankles.

OK OK, no I don't. That doesn't happen till the end I don't think. What's happening, is that I had a coffee date earlier thismorning and wore heels for the first time in a while and that's what happened. Sore feet. Not because of the pregnancy, because I'm not used to wearing business clothes that often now that I work from home.

Such a drama queen.

Last night I'm walking downstairs and I say to the cats, "You know, I'd feel much better if I could poop." Only to realize that our tenant could here me through the vent. That's the only place where we can hear a bit of each other, and that's what he heard me say. FRACK. (Frack, in case you're not aware, is the Battlestar Galactica word for f***. I don't want to put the eff-word on here, even though I use it alot, because I'm thinking of putting ads up and I don't want them to be x-rated.) He doesn't know we're pregnant, only you know, so it's rather embarrassing.

Although for some reason I'm not embarrassed telling you that I can't poop.

All for now.
s.

I woke up thismorning, 36 minutes ago, TEN A.M. for crying out loud, feeling like I was hit by a mack truck. I just feel awful. Not nauseaus, not dizzy, just like I was hit by a truck.

And I had bizarre dreams last night.

The first one I was living in Marge Simpson's hair except it was made of jello and it was in The Jetson's apartment in outer space.

The second one I was with my dream-family (you know, they're never the same as your real family) and my dad was an opera singer in the men's washroom of a Japanese-owned, Caucasian deli in Boston. Even though HE was the singer, Chicken and Ling Ling were the entertainment. WTF?

The third one, me and my dream-boyfriend and an older lady were waiting for the bus on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. I had to pee so we broke into my old boyfriend's apartment and the lady made us a delicious lunch while a bunch of Twitter birds ran around. I finally got to use the bathroom but it was a potty.

And that's when I woke up.

Feeling like I was hit by a truck.

Later,
s.

Week 6!

God, this past week seemed like forever. I think it's because I'm posting each day. So I'm thinking about it and thinking about it, and trying to update with the latest (I mean, how many times can I talk about my boobs?) (Ok, alot.) (Because I've never been very well endowed and now all of a sudden I am. So I can talk for DAYS about the girls.) (But I won't.) news and symptoms. So I might not post every day, but I will post often.

Note: That was for my 1 reader.

So here we are at week 6.

I'm having very vivid and bizarre dreams. Nothing surprising there, I AM a crazy dreamer, but they are more lucid than normal. Kinda groovy. Last night's? I was a superhero, scaling down a highrise. Now that's cool.

An update on the symptoms: I'm still getting mild cramping now and again. Not waking up as much in the night, except to pee (from downing the metamucil before bed!). Still constipated. Not dizzy anymore. Still not much of an appetite. Not one for large meals at all, the thought of it makes my stomach turn. And so yes, stomach still turning.

New symptoms? Cranky and impatient. I'm totally blaming it on the pregnancy. Even though it could just be me. You'll never hear me say that again.

Still weigh 123.2 lbs.

The embryo is the size of a small bean, about 1/2" long. It's hands and feet look like paddles! It will make it's first movements this week and it's heart is beating at 150 beats/minute.

So I'm thinking the top one is at the beginning of the 6th week and the bottom one is at the end? I'm no doctor here, but for two pictures of a 6-week embryo, they look alot different! Personally, I'm thinking the bottom one is cuter, so that's the one I'm going with. (By the way, do you know the CRAZY stuff that comes back when you google image a 6-week embryo. Don't do it. It's heartbreaking. I'm sure it will get worse the further along too. And there are some crazy groups about stem-cell research that quote the bible. Or some bible (I've never read it myself). And anti-abortion groups (that also quote the bible). Hey, to each his own, I'm just sayin'.)

All for now.
s.

Update:

As soon as I hit Publish on my last post, the nausea hit.

And... is anyone else a psycho crazy bitch as soon as they're pregnant?

Week 5, Day 6.

I'm not nauseous today! I feel great! I have energy! Good times.

But you know what? It also kind of makes me nervous. Last time I woke up "symptom-free" I was in the midst of a miscarriage but didn't know yet.

Still haven't heard from the OBGYN about an appointment. If I don't hear by Thursday I'll give my doctor a buzz and see what's happening. I'm not in a rush to see a doctor, I don't really need to yet, but I just want things under control, you know?

I was cramping a bit last night still, but nothing today. Slept like a baby last night, which is nice for a change. I know I'm only in the very very early stages of pregnancy, but I have been very uncomfortable trying to sleep. The boobs are one issue, they're so sore I can't really get comfortable (I've been a stomach-sleeper for my whole life) unless I'm on my back, but then Chicken and Ling Ling decide to walk all over me and crush my boobs and make bread on my stomach and, argh, it's difficult to sleep!

Gotta love the cats. And here they are:

Chicken

Ling Ling

All for now.

s.

Week 5, Day 5.

So I think I'm onto something. I'm eating little meals throughout the day instead of my usual 2 meals. And when I say "meals", I mean "crackers".

I was doing ok until about 10:00am. And then I got out of bed.

Had a bowl of All Bran, did some work, felt like shit, did some more work, layed down on the couch from 1:00pm until 5:00. Not good.

You know what this pregnancy really feels like?

A constant hangover.

All for now.
s.