Let There Be Life

Well, my son, I am practically halfway through my pregnancy with you (19 weeks). My job of growing you is almost done. Hard to believe it's gone so quickly. I went and saw Dr. Raby again this morning. I was wearing a great big sweater and had just eaten a great big breakfast. I was up to 162 when Lisa weighed me. Dr. Raby said though that I'm doing a great job growing you. Everything seems to be going well.

Last night around 12:45 AM I was laying on the loveseat on my back watching TV with Daddy. I was feeling hungry and then my belly gurgled. A few seconds later it did it again. After the second time I realized it wasn't my belly; it was you! You finally moved enough that I could feel it. I whispered for daddy to come over so he could feel it too. You even moved again but daddy's hand was in the wrong spot. We went to bed right away so daddy could hold his hand on my belly but you must have fallen askeep because you didn't move again. But you woke me up again this morning with a tap-tap-tap. Almost like you were letting me know you were hungry or something. I excitedly woke up daddy but he was too sleepy to say anything more than mmmmhmmmm. :) It was still really early. Even as I'm writing this you're kicking me. I can feel it at the top of my belly on the left side. Now that I know what it feels like I've been feeling it a whole bunch. You're a pretty active baby!

Daddy and I have been thinking about names for you. Our favourite right now is Shawn Anthony Martin. I'm starting to think of you as Shawn.

We went to the mall on Saturday and daddy picked up a couple of outfits for you. Wait until you see how small the shoes are! I'm getting so excited to finally meet you!

The BIG Ultrasound

I can't believe that 2 weeks have passed since my last entry already. SO much has happened... I'm going to be writing for a while.

First, about a week and a half ago I had my first baby dream. You were a girl and Craig named you Cassandra Daisy. The labor and delivery were easy, quick and painless. In my dream I was shocked that women scream and yell because I was just "chillin'". I was sharing a room with another lady and her husband. She had a boy and named him Tarrence Devin but he was black and both she and her husband were white. Needless to say there was lots of shouting. Once our baby was born I went for a walk downtown while the baby was sleeping at the nursery. I told the nurse I'd be back in time to feed and change the baby. By the time I got back to the hospital I had bled through my hospital gown and I'd been gone so long the nurse had already changed the baby's diaper and fed her a bottle. She gave me a really hard time, saying the baby was soaked, and blah blah blah. When I woke up it took me a few seconds to remember that there's not a baby in the next room to go change or anything... yet!

Second, I'm so glad Craig and I are taking weekly belly photos. I am shocked at how quickly my belly is growing. It seems to be bigger every morning when I'm standing in profile in front of the mirror. This baby's growing so fast.
Third, Craig and I are officially a year older. Craig turned 26 on Saturday and I was 24 almost 2 weeks ago. That's not so young to have a baby! Sometimes when we tell people they react with such scock that we're "so young". Hey, we have a house and a car. All our bills are paid. Money in the bank. We're just really young to be so smart and in such great financial shape.

Finally, the biggest news of all!! We had our second ultrasound this morning. The baby was moving and twitching like crazy on the screen but I can't feel the little monster yet. The technician took a whole bunch of photos. I was in the room for about an hour before Craig was asked to come in! Craig and I had decided on the weekend to ask the technician the sex of the baby if she was sure. Initially she said it looked like a boy but wasn't sure because the umbilical cord was in the way. But once she got a better angle she got a straight on shot of the penis and scrotum. So, without a doubt, we're having a BOY!!

I'm going to pick up groceries tonight at Zehrs and I'm going to look at boy clothing. Preparing for this baby is going to be so much easier now!!

16 1/2 Weeks

This morning was my second visit with Dr. Raby. She's very much a no nonsense doctor - really quick. I heard your heartbeat for the first time! It was really faint and Dr. Raby had to ask that no one use the toilet for a minute so we could hear it. You're still sitting really low and on the right side.

I asked about a hepatitis immunization for before we go to Mexico. She said to talk to Dr. Hawthorne about it but I think she said that because she thought I wanted to know where to get the shot from. She never said anything about benefits or risks so I think I'll get it. Dr. Raby did say to only drink bottled water. Not even ice cubes. I guess getting sick can be pretty serious for the baby.

The next ultrasound has been booked for 2 weeks from today at a place across the street from KW Hospital.

I was shocked this morning when I was weighed. After eating so much at Mediterraneo last night I was sure I'd be up a couple of pounds this visit but I was the same exact weight as three weeks ago: 151. But Dr. Raby didn't say anything so I guess that means it's not serious enough to worry about. I would think, though, that if I'm still not up by my next visit in 3 weeks she may start questioning what I'm eating.

Daddy and I spent the weekend that just passed getting more of the house ready for your arrival. We gave Moe the old coffee table and bought a new one from Zehrs; one that holds backets on a shelf underneath for diapers and toys. We also found a cheap ($25!!) bookshelf to put in your room to hold all the books you're going to have.

I'm still looking for the perfect baby book though.

16+1 Weeks

So much for finishing that entry last week. Craig and I have been sick and in bed since Friday night with cold/flu symptoms. We were home from work on Monday and Tuesday; we couldn't even get out of bed. Yesterday a man came from Handyman Connection and installed the railing. One more thing to keep you safe, baby. I've been feeling fine baby-wise this past week. Almost not pregnant. Very soon I'll be feeling you!

15 Weeks

My bulging belly has blossomed this past week and a half. It's begun to expand past my boobs and into my view when I'm standing. Even laying down, there's a small dip where my sternum is and then my belly extends up again from there. No movement yet but it's probably still a week or so early.

First Visit With Dr. Raby

Yesterday Daddy and I went to see Dr. Raby for the first time. She's going to be (hopefully) the doctor who delivers you. She asked me a whole bunch of questions; they were the same ones Dr. Hawthorne asked. It turns out all of the blood work came back normal and my blood type is O+. That's good because a negative could mean a Rhesus problem. I got weighed and even in my bulky sweater I was only 151. Right where I was expecting to be. Pretty good considering what the last two weekends have been like. Dr. Raby tried to listen to your heartbeat but you're still hiding behind my pelvis so there was nothing. She scheduled my next appointment for 3 weeks from yesterday. Hopefully we can hear you by then and I might even be feeling you move too. She also said that the office would book an 18 week ultrasound so we'll finally get to see your picture! Everything is happening so quickly. The first trimester is over already!

Our Second Anniversary

Baby, you're as big as a jumbo shrimp this week and you weigh about an ouce. All of your organs are developed by now so all you have to do is grow. The umbilical cord is completely supporting you. Hopefully it's doing a good job.
Daddy and I are going away for our anniversary this weekend. We're staying at the Pantages Hotel in Toronto and on Saturday night we're going to see Medieval Times.
Thanks to the fabulous anniversary gift from Grandma and Grandpa Jambor, we're going to visit your great-grandma tomorrow and finish paying off the car. Some money has already gone into RRSPs and onto the mortgage too.
You're growing so fast. My belly is having a hard time keeping up. It was very achy today. Anyway... enough complaining.

12 weeks

Boy, what a difference a week makes when it comes to size. I think it's time to start taking belly pictures every week. And time to book those maternity photos too.

My senses are definitely heightened too. There is a student teacher at work who is seriously lacking in personal hygeine and on Tuesday this week I was in tears over it. I had to get the name tag maker from the bathroom cabinet but Stinky (that's what Craig has named her because I don't even care to know her real name) had been in there before me. The smell was so terrible (I even held my breath but it was the smell OUTSIDE the bathroom) it made me gag. No poopy or anything but body stink. I tried to escape it by going into the office but her smell was there too. I couldn't get away from it and through all the gags I seriously thought I was going to barf. Julie was in the office on her break and offered me Kleenex to dry my tears. I was crying; it was so hard to keep myself from getting sick. I had asked Bev on Monday if we're allowed to say anything to students about their personal hygeine and Bev said "no". But once Anne came into the office and saw my state she emailed Shelley and asked for clarification. Turns out it's okay so Bev's going to keep and eye on it and maybe talk to Stinky if necessary. My view (and Craig's too) is that if the smell is affecting staff, children, parents, or her interactions with any of these three it needs to be addressed.

And on the way to work today a city bus pulled out in front of me. The instant I smelled the exhaust I got a dizzy spell. Thankfully there was a Mac's/gas station close by that I pulled into. I had to recline the seat and take a few deep breaths to stop the spinning. That happened a few weeks ago, too. Bev had put on a firefighter movie for the kids and as soon as I saw the flashing lights on the trucks I got dizzy. I guess everything is sort of heightened; my senses I mean. Maybe to protect the baby?

So we go to Mum and Dad's tomorrow for a dual anniversary celebration. It's going to be nice to spend the whole weekend. And Wes is going to be there Saturday afternoon. I've only met him, never talked to him. And Craig hasn't even seen pictures. He's my future brother-in-law so I'm looking forward to getting to know him. That's about all from here. There'll be more news soon, I'm sure.

11 weeks

Boy oh boy. I haven't written in so long. There's been a lot happening.
My body's definitely been changing and rebelling a bit over the baby. I'm fitting into maternity clothes now. Melissa from across the hall loaned a whole bunch to me. All I have to buy is spring and summer stuff. I'm even starting to show a bit. And this morning in bed I was stretching backwards and it HURT my belly. Like everything was being stretched. I'll have to remember not to do that anymore. I've been experiencing a lot of constipation too and my appetite has increased significantly.

Dr. Raby has an appointment for me and Craig on Valentines Day. According to everyone I talk to she's great but very busy. Sheri's friend says we could wait over an hour for an appointment. If that's the case, I'm going to seek out another doctor. We'll have to see...

Waiting on Doctors

9 1/2 weeks pregnant... already. It's been 4 weeks and 1 day since we found out we were going to be parents. I did some follow up phone calls this afternoon to find out about my next appointment with either Dr. Raby or Dr. Hawthorne. Turns out Dr. Hawthorne's office never sent the referral because they were waiting for the ultrasound results. And the ultrasound lab didn't send results because they were waiting for Dr. Hawthorne's office to call to get them. Sheesh! So hopefully Dr. Hawthorne will call tomorrow or Wednesday with my first appointment with Dr. Raby.

I'm going to book a spot in a prenatal class tonight. It's from Conestoga College and we'll take it the first and second Saturdays in May. I'll be right around 6 months pregnant by then. I've also began completing all the forms for the pre-registrations at the hospital.

Last night all the Martins came over for a homemade pizza dinner. Craig and I spent a few minutes showing Sheri and Lisa some of the things on our wish list; like the high chair and Eddie Bauer stroller. I'm so glad Craig and I are so alike in colour likes/dislikes. That makes this so easy. All I really need to find now is a PERFECT baby book.

Everything's beginning to come together.

The First Ultrasound

So baby, Daddy and I saw the first pictures of you this morning. The ultrasound technician started the scan in the regular way, with the cold gel on my tummy. She spent a lot of time looking at the screen and after about 5 minutes she told me that she couldn't see you well enough and that I'd need an internal ultrasound.

She put the cold gel on the end of a probe (it was like the regular ultrasound scanner but longer, about 8 inches) then put a regular condom over the end and some KY-Jelly. She placed the probe inside me about 3 inches or so and took lots of pictures of you.

It turns out, the regular scan wasn't very clear partly because my uterus is sideways. Usually the uterus follows the curve of the bladder but mine is more tilted towards my spine. Apparently it's fairly common, although not normal. The technician said it shouldn't affect pregnancy, labor or delivery. Phew! My mom (your grandma) had the same in all her pregnancies.
Daddy and I are spending more and more time on the internet finding information and searching for baby things. I'm on the search now for crib bedding; fitted sheets and things.

On the ultrasound you were 1.4cm long from crown to rump (your legs aren't measured yet because they're still just stumps!). We saw your tiny arms and legs and your heart beating. Daddy and I firgure your heart is just a bit bigger than a sesame seed and you're about as big as a kidney bean. It's still too early to see the placenta (I'm at 8 weeks) but we saw the yolk sack and the umbilical cord. Daddy kept saying, "look at the heart!", "oh, look, that's the umbilical cord", "those are the arms!" Real proof that you're healthy and growing!

Yesterday afternoon when I got back to work there was a bunch of pamphlets for the prenatal health fair taped to my locker! Everyone there is looking out for my health. Rachel brought me a catalog from Sears and a pregnancy magazine, too.

I scheduled the ultrasound today. The appointment is for... *drum roll*... tomorrow at 10:30. I couldn't believe it was for so soon. I also sent all the info to Dr. Hawthorne's office about Dr. Raby so I can start going to her for prenatal appointments instead of to London.

So all we really have to look into now as far as prenatally, is prenatal classes with the local public health department. I'm not even sure which one we should take yet, assuming there's different ones to choose from.

I'm so excited to see the ultrasound! WOO HOO!

New Year, New Family

Wow, 2005. This is the year you will be born, baby. And the year we become parents. Very, well, surreal I guess. Daddy and I went to visit Dr. Hawthorne this morning. She did all the blood tests and did all the normal stuff. My weight was 149 at her office and blood pressure was 116/80 (I think, I had trouble reading it). The lab will test for many things, including: blood count, Rhesus (+ or -), iron, syphillis, blood sugar, HIV (?!?!) and others. I feel confident that all will come back normal. Dr. Hawthorne couldn't give us an official due date because of my irregular cycle so is sending me for an iltrasound within the next 2 weeks! That way we'll know when I'm at 18 weeks so we can go for the routine ultrasound. Very exciting changes!

We bought a glider and ottoman at The Brick on Sunday for $250 to put in your* nursery.

* I hope you appreciate when you're older how strange it is to write to a baby that's the size of a raspberry! Maybe it's strange for you to read! If that's the case, then we're even.

Nursery Rhymes

I've been working on the nursery for the last few days. I still catch myself calling it the spare room. It's quite a mess right now - there's stuff strewn all over the floor. I took the doors off the closet and removed the old backwards shelf that was in there. It's been replaced with a wire one that can accomodate hangers.

Daddy (ooh, that looks strange) and I bought a bassinet this morning at Nursery Rhymes. I saw it yesterday when I went "wish shopping" with Auntie Sheri. The more of that I do, the more I realize I need. Silly thinks like soothers, an ear thermometer and nail clippers. I suppose all that little stuff will come at the shower or we can buy it later.

My nausea has eased up to the point of being hardly noticible but my appetite has increased tremendously. I'm finding I'm practically famished only a few hours after eating. I'm not so much eating larger portions but I'm eating more frequently.

Baby, you're about the size of a raspberry this week according to the August 10 due date I'm guessing. Dr. Hawthorne will tell us more accurately when we can expect you on Tuesday January 4. We've already told so many people you're coming in the middle of August that I hope we weren't too far off!

Spreading the News

So pretty much the whole family knows. The immediate family anyway. We'll tell the rest Christmas Day at Uncle Jim's. Even the kids at daycare know. Some of them are pretty excited! Expecially Nicholas and Gregory, believe it or not!

My breasts are still extremely sensitive. I don't even want to move because they hurt. They're a little tingly, too.

The nausea eased up a bit today but it comes and goes. At times my stomach feels hollow and gaunt and then 5 minutes or so later it passes and I'm fine.

Who Wouldda Thunk!

So I woke up this morning at 7:30 with terrible cramps and memories of a very strange dream. One where I am pregnant and Craig and I are making calls to the family. It's so real I have to convince myself it's just a dream. I use the toilet and return to bed only to awaken again around 10. This time I grab the pregnancy library book and bring it back to bed to read. As I'm reading the many symptoms of pregnancy I'm realizing I have all of them: extreme fatigue (I've been sleeping after work from sheer exhaustion), tender breasts (Craig can't even touch them without me grimacing), feelings of PMS (cramping mostly but has lasted 3 days), frequent urination (even when I drink nothing). So I finally conince myself to take another test. This time it's positive! Craig was still sleeping so I woke him up and showed him the stick. It took him a minute but finally he looked at me and said, "that's good, right?"

So I immediately called Craig's sister Sheri and then we headed to the Urgent Care Clinic to get our baby confirmed. Sure enough, we're pregnant. The doctor thinks the baby is about 5 weeks. When we got home we called everyone!

The Journey Begins

Today is the first day that I really truly feel nauseous. There were days last week and the week before that I was feeling yucky but I had assumed that it was just left over gastrointestinal stuff that had been going around work. It's been 3 weeks today since we started trying. I'm on day 31 of my cycle. My cycle seems to be on a 40 day rotation so I think it's too early to take a test. Maybe I should call the Telehealth line...

Later... so I called Telehealth and the nurse advised me to see a doctor within 3 days if the nausea persists.

On my way to work this afternoon I picked up a pregnancy test and took it in the washroom at work. It was negative. The nausea has persisted through the day.