Making a life that's more with less.
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The internet is both my greatest friend and my greatest foe. I find myself spending entirely too much time researching my “condition.” Including, researching the odds and symptoms of miscarriage (no, I have no reason to believe that this is going on, but I am really nervous about it). The average risk of miscarriage is 15-20% depending on the source, but that statistic includes mothers of all ages. Today I found a source that broke it down by decade (20’s, 30’s and 40’s). According to their data, women in their 20’s have a 10% risk of miscarriage and about half of those happen before the 5th week is completed. So, since I am in the middle of my sixth week, according to their data, I only have a 5% chance of losing this one. Finally, a source that reassures me and makes me feel better/less nervous. Perhaps I should stop looking now, before I find anything that contradicts that information and makes me nervous again.
We have been trying to relax a bit and rejoice in this pregnancy. I don’t want to deliver in March only to realize that I spent the whole time worrying and not enjoying the experience of being pregnant. A few days ago we spent some time brainstorming names. No, we won’t be sharing names with ANYONE until the baby is born, but we did find one boy name that we both agreed on. Wonder if ti will stick until March? For now, it is still MB.
I am now in the middle of my sixth week of pregnancy and I still can’t quite believe it. As we walked to the train station yesterday, I actually suggested to my husband that perhaps I should take another pregnancy test. After all, its been almost a week since I took the last one. Maybe we should check again?
He as usual, talked me down from my craziness and reminded me that if I become un-pregnant there will probably be a pretty obvious sign (bleeding). He’s right, of course, but I can’t help worrying.
Signs that I’m Still Pregnant
Boobs – Tender, Different Consistency and Larger
Nausea – When it is here, I feel terrible. When it is gone, I worry. I can’t win!
Food Aversions – Aside from cucumbers, apparently I don’t really like melon right now. Took one bite this morning and spit it right back out. Hate anything that is sweet (can’t stand ice cream, chocolate, cookies, anything)!
Cravings – Hard Boiled Eggs. The only food that consistently tastes good. I have eaten more hard boiled eggs in the past week than I have in the past two years. (I figure, they have everything necessary for a baby chicken, why not a baby human?)
Period – Still missing.
Fatigue – Definitely. Love the naps!
Bloating and Constipation – Fun! Fun!
So, yeah, everything seems to show that I am still pregnant. I am not sure that I will believe it until the baby pops out!
Aaron found this comic while we were in the “trying to conceive” stage. It made us both smile then, and now that I am actually pregnant, it makes us smile even more.
and Cucumbers hate me.
It’s been decided. Cucumbers and I are no longer friends. Especially after the way they refused to stay down this morning. I made the mistake of having a little cucumber snack on a fairly empty stomach before lunch today. It wasn’t long before the cucumbers decided they didn’t really want to be my snack at all and I was running to the ladies restroom at work.
This is the second time in a week that I have vomited at work. Last time one person walked into the ladies room while I was at it. This time two people did. I really wonder how long it will take before everyone catches on. . .
Each day that passes the pregnancy thing keeps sinking in a little more. I have stopped taking a test every single morning, which is good for my sanity and our pocketbook. After having four tests all say the same thing, I suppose I can believe them.
I am in the middle of my fifth week (further than I got with the first pregnancy) and I am already noticing so many changes. The most obvious change is in my eating habits. I have found that I am, mostly, able to control the nausea if I continually eat small amounts of food throughout the day. Also, I have been craving a lot more protein than usual (eating tons of yogurt and hard-boiled eggs) and I have absolutely no taste for sweets of any kind. At school I have been given a variety of sweets lately and have had to stash each and every one of them in my desk drawer for another day. I can’t even stomach the thought right now! Which, knowing my killer sweet-tooth pre-pregnancy, is quite a shock!
I haven’t vomited in a few days, which is great! But I notice that when I neglect my tummy for a few hours, that feeling starts to come on. As long as I put something mild in right away, even though it is the last thing I feel like doing, it has been going away. Hopefully it will stay that way as time goes on.
I thought it would be interesting to chronicle a day of my eating habits. I feel like I am eating so much more these days, but I don’t think that I really am. It is just that I don’t go more than an hour or two without having a little something. I hope that I don’t gain a million pounds in the first trimester alone!
So, here is what I ate today:
5:00am – 2 Saltine Crackers
7:30am – Black Sesame Flavored Soy Milk
8:30am – 1 Piece Raisin Toast, 1/4 Cantaloupe
9:30am – 1 Bottle Aquarius (Sports Drink – I need this after my bike ride in 100 degree heat)
11:15am – 1 Hard-Boiled Egg
12:00pm – Cold Soba with Sauce
2:00pm – 1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries
3:45pm – Plum
4:45pm – Vegetable Juice and Club Soda Mixed
6:30pm – Chocolate Soy Milk
7:00pm – Asparagus and Salmon Pesto Pasta
9:00pm – Salad
Wonder how many calories that is? I guess it doesn’t really matter. If eating this way is what it takes to make sure that my food stays down and that I have some energy, that is what I will have to do for the time being.
The pregnancy test (in Japanese, of course) that you see in the photo is the reason for this new blog. It is definitely positive! As a note, that is a photo of the third test that I took. The first two were fainter, and I didn’t entirely believe them. Right now, it is difficult to deny that the test is positive and that my period has not shown up.
We are shocked and excited and scared and happy and nervous and overwhelmed that I have a little person growing inside me which, for now, we will call MB (short for embryo).
This one isn’t really a surprise. We did, after all, remove the IUD a few months back knowing full well that sex without birth control could lead to pregnancy, at least that’s what we remembered from health class. But for more than ten years I have been busy pumping my body full of chemicals to ward off pregnancy (and also keep my endometriosis manageable), and now, only about five months after stopping, I am a little bit gobsmacked that unprotected sex did lead to pregnancy! What do you know!
We are, of course, thrilled to have a little one in progress. I am excited in ways that I didn’t even know were possible. I can’t help grinning and poking my belly just to say hello.
Right now, I am about 4 weeks along. I am already having many of the early pregnancy symptoms (wowzer that happens fast!) including fatigue, morning sickness (for me it is an all-day, low-grade nausea, which has already resulted in vomiting twice), and breast tenderness. None of them are terrible, and for the most part I am doing okay, so long as I pay attention to my body and respond appropriately. We know it is very, very early, so we are just praying that this little one sticks around.
Welcome to our newest blog! And welcome to our latest adventure! As if living abroad in Japan weren’t quite enough, we thought we’d do one more thing to keep our lives interesting!
