Watch Me!!

I wanted to write this earlier today but I got so busy and TIRED! Just wanted to let you know my first MomTV show will be on LIVE in the morning at 10:30am EST! That's 9:30am CST 8:30am MST and 7:30am PST (for those of you like me who always get it backwards!)

I'm going to be talking to Joanne, one of the owners of Circle+Bloom, updating you on my pregnancy, and just blabbing about my thoughts on becoming a mother... I also am planning to give away a nice little fertility product to help my baby makin' friends!

I hope you'll tune in! I should be on for a half hour, and you can chat in the screen below me, ask me questions and things and tell me more about yourself!

So please please join in! I'd hate to be on there talking to myself!

Here's the link! See you in the morning!

Pregnancy at 7 Weeks

I'm not sure why, but for some reason when I pictured becoming pregnant I pictured life as I knew it standing still, and the small being growing inside me consuming my every moment of thought and existence.

Instead, life goes on... As I know it. I still have the stress of work, bills, and everyday life, along with the additional very time consuming process of growing a baby.

It happened almost immediately. It was the only thing on my mind, the only thing I really wanted to talk about, think about, and focus on, but the unknowing minds have no idea about my... Circumstance. They may not get why I'm staring at the door as if there's a ghost in the threshold. Ticking in my mind is the internal debates: If I should try to stick it out in the crowded meeting room while my head spins from the heat and lightheadedness, or swiftly escape, and run to the bathroom before the saliva running down the sides of my mouth quickly transitions into vomit projecting the other direction.

Hours later I'm scoping out counter space in the back dark room. It's not a pillow, but it'll suffice as a spot for my head to lie for a few glorious moments of rest.

I've been very tired and very nauseous. I haven't puked yet, but I haven't felt up to blogging as much the past few days. But I'm back now... I think... I hope. Oh, and Tuesday is my first LIVE MomTV show at 10:30am EST... Let's pray I still won't be vomiting then! More on that later.

Friday I hit 7 weeks of pregnancy, and I hope every Friday to update what's going on with me according to the Baby Center email I get, and what I read in my weekly update of my iPhone ap "What to Expect." I got this idea from my friend Baby Dicky's blog, so I hope mine will be as fun to read. She's almost done (at 33 weeks!) and I can't wait to catch up!

I was too tired last Friday to write this out, so I'm catching up today!

So according to Baby Center:

How Spawnie's growing:
-Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles.
-Technically, my baby is still considered an embryo (although it's a baby to me) and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of Spawnie's tailbone.
-Spawnie has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, or about the size of a blueberry. My iPhone ap says it's more about the size of a raspberry... Of course I'd prefer the larger fruit, but as my friends on Twitter tell me "It doesn't matter, in 6 more months it'll be the size of a watermelon and kicking my ribs."
-Eyelid folds partially covering Spawnie's peepers, which already have some color
-Tip of Spawnie's nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin are also developing.
-Both hemispheres of Spawnie's brain are growing,
-And Spawnie's liver is churning out red blood cells until bone marrow forms and takes over this role.
-My baby also has an appendix and a pancreas now!
-A loop in my baby's growing intestines is bulging into Spawnie's umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from baby's tiny body.
As far as me:
-My uterus has doubled in size in the past five weeks.
-Morning sickness should be kicking in... oh wait, it already has. I'm not throwing up, thank goodness. But I feel on the verge of puking almost constantly.
-I may need to pee more than usual... Yep! Guilty. This is because of my increasing blood volume and the extra fluid being processed through my kidneys. I NEVER use to have to go pee often and now I wake up EVERY NIGHT. It's quite annoying, and I hear it'll only get worse!
-By now, I already have about 10 percent more blood than I did before I was pregnant. And by the end of my pregnancy, I'll have 40 to 45 percent more blood running through my veins.

And I know it's silly for me to take a belly picture already but I figure it's at least a starting point, so don't laugh.

How often did you take belly pictures?

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Circle+Bloom winner:

Emily said... 23

I became a fan of Circle + Bloom on Facebook.

October 30, 2009 9:46 AM

Congrats Emily! Email babymakingmachine{at}gmail.com so I can get you in touch with Circle+Bloom. Thank you Circle+Bloom for providing a fun, and educational giveaway!

Being Pregnant and Thoughts on Delivery

I decided to take a little bit of a break from the flashback posts. Some are fun but some I've decided to just save for my journal! No sense looking back now.. Only forward right?

So, what everyone's asking... How I'm FEELING.

I'm feeling good. ALWAYS tired, and almost always nauseous. I haven't thrown up... Sometimes I wish I would, but I'm told that doesn't relieve any nausea, so I guess I'll take what I've got. Let me stress how tired I am... So tired I'm not going to proof-read this post. So please excuse any typos.

I have crazy cravings already. Cravings for Ramen, Mac and Cheese (we're happy the baby is a cheap eater) then brownies, carrots, peaches and jalapeno poppers. Not all at the same time.. But many of them, yes. Did I mention I have the best husband? He makes me/ goes to get me whatever I want. He even brings me grapes in the morning when I'm too nauseous to get up! Ok, I'll stop bragging about him now (by the way today is his birthday!).

So lately... I've been more obsessed than ever with watching baby shows. It's all I have set on my DVR. I know my poor husband is sad it's taking up sports time, but it's quite entertaining for me.

I must admit, they are NOT as fun to watch now that I'm pregnant. I mean, they kind of are, cause they've always been intriguing to me, but it's not as fun thinking about getting this baby out one day... When it's like 10,000Xs bigger.

As far as progress, I found a doctor I LOVE and a hospital I want to deliver at. I checked out a couple of hospitals and a birth center. I chose the hospital I did because of all of the reviews I've read, because I liked the feel of it, because of my doctor and some friends.

I also have a close friend who recently had a baby at another hospital I was considering and she was not impressed at all.

As far as the birth center... I'd have to come out of pocket a lot for it. I wasn't totally sold on it from the beginning, and from the start I thought I'd feel more comfortable in a hospital, so the money was an additional minus for me. Maybe next time... But this time I'm excited to have an OB I love... At a hospital I liked and possibly hire a doula to help along the way.

My OB was referred to me by my family doctor who I love. He gave me her name and one other. I did research on them as well as a few others I was considering, and a couple of midwife groups and I ended up choosing an OB I thought would be perfect for me. When I went to her practice for the first time I felt at home. She and her staff made no only me, but my husband feel comfortable, and she took the time to talk to us, and joke with us... I can't stress enough how much I love her and how excited I am to have her.

I later found out she delivered the baby of a friend I work with... She wasn't her OB but was the on call doctor the day she delivered and my friend told me she liked her more than her own doctor!

One thing that DEFINITELY tells me I'm pregnant is the CONSTANT outpouring of advice!! To my TTC friends here's a fact.. And to my preggo friends and moms... You know this is the truth... People LOVE to tell pregnant people advice. Whether it's some secret remedy for morning sickness, what books to read, how to deliver your baby, what to wear, EVERYONE has something to say.

Luckily for me, I don't mind. I like advice, the more the merrier... But I remember to take it all with a grain of salt, and so far... It's not getting annoying.

I was tweeting about watching a Baby Story which of course took us to the topic of labor. I don't know what it is but it seems like most of my followers are natural birthers/ home birthers etc. I think that's awesome because I get to hear from a side you don't often get to hear from, but the constant pounding about natural labor is making me nervous.

I'm TOTALLY open to things like birthing balls, hypnobirthing, and trying things the natural way but I am NOT against getting an epidural either. I don't see anything wrong with either.

I've had so many friends go into labor with an idea of how they'd do it but things changed. I know people who wanted an epidural right away but were too far along to get one, then ended up doing it naturally. I've known people who wanted no medication, and to try hypnobirthing and dancing through labor but ended up needing an emergency c-section while unconscious.

To be honest I'm not one to stress over how I'm getting my baby out. I just want to get it out when the time is right, and safely. I don't think an epidural is going to hurt my baby any more than delivering it at home unassisted... And I don't care which way others decide to go. I just know that I want to do what's comfortable and right for me. I actually don't get all of the hype/ obsession over Hospitals= Evil or Home births= Reckless.

Since when did people care so much about what other people do? As long as you're not pushing me into one or the other I'm not going to tell you my opinion on your birthing decisions. One solution isn't going to work for everyone. We all have different conditions and different things that make us feel more comfortable.

I feel so bad when women tell me they regret getting an epidural, or regret not going natural the whole way. I don't know why that is exactly but I hope I don't have regrets. My friend who ended up being put out for labor after dreams of a natural birth... Does she have regrets? No! She's happy to have her healthy little girl.

I think it's safe to say I've done my fair share of research. And I'll continue to do it as I go along. But don't hate me if I get drugs ok? We've all gotta do what works for us, and I'd hate to have my good moment ruined my people telling me I drugged my baby.

I hope if I don't put that pressure on myself to have a "perfect labor" I'll just be happy to have my baby in my arms once and for all... Regardless of how it gets its big self out of my womb. Sure, I won't go in begging for an epidural... (Or maybe I will). Either way, I just need to get from point A to point B. (A being enormously pregnant and B being a mom with a healthy new baby in my arms.)

Isn't that what's most important?

That being said, I LOVE reading labor stories! I hear all of the stuff on A Baby Story is overly dramatic... If that's the case, show me what you've got! Write a post about your labor story, or link up to one you've already posted! I've read some crazy ones already... From emergency operations to delivering at home on the stairs! Bring it!

PS: YES... I've seen "The Business of Being Born" I think I'll get that question as much as the question I got when TTC "Have you read 'Taking Charge of Your Fertility'?"

Telling Our Families

There's no question telling people has been one of the most exciting parts of this whole process right now. Especially family, because they're so happy for us... And close friends... And you of course! I wrote down the experience of telling our families the day after we broke the news so I'd remember.

5 Weeks 3 Days written October 26th and saved for today.

We told our parents last night. I'm SOOOO much more excited now, it feels real, and I'm feeling more confidant about it all! I do worry a little still about having to share bad news. Believe it or not I feel like it would be easier to share with you than with family just because I know so many strangers out there know what it feels like... And I wouldn't feel like I was letting you down. I worry about letting family down. It seems easier to express my feeling with people I don't know sometimes.

Anyway, I'm sending those negative thoughts away and bringing positive ones in!

It was so fun hearing the excitement in our parents' voices! In no particular order of reenactment:

I called my mom and was passed around to a few of my siblings before talking to her, then when she took the phone I said "Hi grandma!"

"Grandma?"She said. "Why are you calling me that?"
"Cause I'm 5 weeks pregnant!"
"5 weeks?! Why are you just now telling me?"

I'm glad we didn't wait until Christmas... I wouldn't have been able to do it... I'm not secretive, I'm not private, I want to talk about it and get excited!

My dad kept saying "Wow, that's all right, that's all right..." But picture that in a happy grandpa-sounding tone. And he told me how proud he is of me, and how happy he is to see how things have turned out for me. It made me feel so good!

It was so fun telling my husband's parents. We knew Sunday night the family would be spending the night together watching their current favorite television series. It's a tradition started a few years ago when 24 first came out. I'm not sure what they're watching now, and I knew we'd be interrupting but I also knew it would be worth it.

My husband thought of a clever way to tell his mom while she was on the phone and she yelled the news back to the rest of the family... I heard the applause.

A few key phrases stick out from that conversation:
"It's about time"

"She's in labor RIGHT NOW!"

"Your prize is going to be one spoiled grandchild"... Followed by a loud response from my SIL "NOOO!"

And one of my favorites: "She's probably updating her blog as we speak."

Yea, you'd think so, but look how long I kept this in! I told family first... And I'm proud of myself for that.

How did you tell your family?

I Did Something for My Baby

Did you miss my pregnancy announcement? I'm now going back to the drafts I saved from before I told you.

5 Days past BFP Written 10/20 but saved for today

In order to make things feel more "real" I bought something for the little Spawn. Oh yea, did I mention that's its nickname? I know people have cute names like "sweet pea" "blueberry" I dunno... There's a lot. But one of the first things that came to mind after finding out I was pregnant was "I'm with-spawn."

I know it's kind of alienish, but it's also different, and my little nudge is gonna be different... In a good way of course!

So far I'm the only person who likes it but whatever... I can call it what I want and for now, it's Spawnie! And I think it's cute.

Ok anyway, I went to Babies R' Us today to buy something for my best friend, who is having her baby shower soon, and I bought the CUTEST stuff for her little boy. I also really wanted to buy something for my baby to make this pregnancy feel more real.

I browsed the onesies and couldn't find anything gender-neutral and cute enough. Just when I was giving up (because my impatient husband was ready to go) I saw the cutest thing that I KNOW my baby will look cute in. Boy or girl!A cute little hat with ears and booties to match. I know Spawnie is due in June 25th but the hat is for 0-6 months, and they can wear hats in the summertime right? If not, by 6 months it'll be perfect for winter! And to be TOTALLY honest... This is the FIRST thing I've EVER bought for my baby! Yep... I promised myself I wouldn't buy anything for a baby I wasn't pregnant with first. But now... I can shop 'till my heart's content (or until I give my husband a heart attack)!

I think I've found a way to cure my fears about something bad happening during pregnancy... Shopping!!

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Blog makeover winner according to Random.org: Winner #40 ~Mendie~ . Please email babymakingmachine{at}gmail.com so I can get you in touch with Danielle!