The first 15 weeks

In case you've wondered why this blog has emitted nothing but silence for the past three months, it's because I'm bad at keeping secrets. I would have had a hard time telling you, my faithful readers, about work and family and the many excellent books I've read when I've just wanted to type these words again and again:

I'M PREGNANT!!!

Did you hear that??? Pregnant! Ten years after having Aidan, I finally get another one! Since I only shared this blessed first trimester with a few people, I had to document some of the most salient parts of it here. Here's a quickish recap of the last 15 weeks:

I find out I'm pregnant super early. Almost a week before my missed period, I had the nose of a bloodhound and it physically hurt to hug people. Hmmm.... sore boobs, strong sense of smell, peeing every two seconds. I took a test on January 30th and found out that I was four weeks pregnant. These were my subsequent actions: I called Robert, my mom, and Amy in that order. Received mixed results from the Chinese gender predictor calendar about whether I was having a boy or a girl (the jury is still out on that one). Worried that self-cleaning my oven the night before damaged the fetus. Indulged in a minute of gratitude for my timely New Years resolution to stop drinking. Called my doctor to make an appointment. Prayed to God that I wouldn't miscarry.

Luckily, my doctor was willing to see me at five weeks because she is a saint of the highest order. Every baby website is like, "Your doctor probably won't see you until eight weeks." Pshaw. Not Dr. Li. She slid me right in and confirmed that I was indeed pregnant. In case you are keeping track, that was positive pregnancy test #2 on February 4, 2015. Once we got home, I signed Robert up for weekly Baby Center emails. When asked if that was okay, he said, "I'll do whatever makes you happy. Zy-got your back."

First belly shot, five weeks.

Nausea kicked in around six weeks, but nothing like the debilitating, life-sucking nausea I had with Aidan. I spent the first FIVE MONTHS of my pregnancy with Aidan alternately puking and crying. This baby, by comparison, has been mercifully kind. I only threw up twice the entire first trimester. The first time was when Robert made me steak and eggs for breakfast, and I learned that eggs were on the Do Not Consume list (Note: not the official, lengthy unsafe for baby lists that include things like sushi and unpasteurized cheese. I'm talking about my personal "this will make me throw up" list). The second time was after Red Mango frozen yogurt with strawberries and Captain Crunch. No rhyme or reason to that one since I've had yogurt, fruit, and cereal almost every day for the past three months.

Just because I'm not sick doesn't mean I'm not picky. Here was my approved food list at six weeks: Saltines, peppermint tea, grilled cheese, fruit smoothies, bananas, Grape Nuts, granola bars, pistachio nuts, the salad bar at Marie Calendars, and chili basil chicken over rice from Ekamai.

This was my "wouldn't touch it with a ten foot poll" list: peanut butter, most fast food, EGGS, most chicken, and any meat cooked at my house. Robert cooked bacon at our house once around this time, and I learned that bacon is like the glitter of the food smells. It might be good for a minute but the unsavory aftermath lingers for days.

At seven weeks, Aidan told me that he hopes the baby's first word is Aidan and that he is going to teach the baby to say, "Aidan's awesome." He also asked if I am going to treat the baby like the mom treats the baby in Diary of a Wimpy Kid. How's that? I ask. Like a prince, he says.

Eight weeks was obviously lackluster because I didn't make a single note about it. Sad.

At nine weeks, I started eating like a Hobbit. Second breakfast? Elevensies? Dinner? Supper? Yep. All of the above. This is not to say that I was loving food at this point. I still hated food at nine weeks. But if I didn't eat every two hours, that familiar wave of sickness rolled in again. Since most food also made my stomach turn, I ate a lot of meals from the approved food list above. Did I mention that I had an incredibly important, all-day job interview at nine weeks? Nothing like nausea with a side of stress.

I did, however, learn about the Finnish Baby Box in week nine, which fascinated and delighted me. This is what every baby in Finland has slept in for the past 75 years:

Yes, a cardboard box

The Finnish Baby Box gets sent to every expectant mother in Finland packed full of everything that a new mother might need. If there is a Utah government official interested in implementing this program in our own great state, read more here: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22751415

At ten weeks, I started feeling a little better. I was finally able to stay awake past 9:00 p.m. and my selection of food broadened out past Yoplait and Grape Nuts. I felt a little thicker around the waist but was still pretty far from a legit baby bump.

Best of all, I got my first ultrasound!

Ziggy (the baby) was super active during the ultrasound, kicking its little feet and legs like crazy

Heartbeat, 165 bpm. So far, so good. 

At eleven weeks all my clothes still fit fine, but I was definitely getting squishier from lack of exercise. My nausea had completely abated, but my aversions were still outweighing my cravings. Aidan and Robert started demolishing the bedroom downstairs so Aidan can move into it and the baby can move across the hall from me and Robert. Aidan is going to get a super pimped out room downstairs to compensate for the fact he is being displaced. Our home's floor plan is two bedrooms upstairs, two downstairs, and I am not trekking up and down the stairs ten times a night to check on the baby.

At twelve weeks I was feeling a whole lot better, but feeling chubby with a capital C. I was ready to have a full-blown bump, and I kept pestering Robert by asking him, "Can you see it yet? How about now?" Like a good husband, he still claims I look exactly the same.

I've also started Lenore's dry brushing routine to prevent stretch marks. Will report back in a year to tell you if it worked. I didn't get any with Aidan so at least I have that on my side.

Thirteen weeks coincided with Easter and we certainly had a lot to be grateful for. I was so relieved to have the first trimester behind me, not because it was so bad, but because the risk of miscarriage was virtually nil at that point. I also found this video of Aidan at Easter in 2011 that made me smile.

Easter 2015

Tree is in full bloom again

Aidan dressed like a cowboy this week for the third grade square dancing program at his school. It was adorable and reminded me that any discomfort of pregnancy is more than compensated for when you get to watch your child do-si-do wearing a cowboy hat and bandana.

Oh my gosh. So handsome. 

Fourteen weeks. The start of the second trimester and Ziggy was about the size of a lemon. As happy as I was to have the "risky" part of pregnancy behind me I now had the unwelcome task of telling my work that I would be on maternity leave six months after starting a new position. I love my job and hate to seem less than 100% committed to my work. Which is crazy, right? On one hand, I'm indignant that in America we only get 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave (though I have like ten weeks of sick leave piled up that I can use). On the other, I feel like an enormous drain on my work by taking 3 months off to care for my new infant. Awwww, the first pangs of new mom/ working mom guilt. How I've missed thee.

Baby bump at fourteen weeks. Still kind of looks like a food baby.

Fifteen weeks - Back to the present day. My pants started to feel tight when buttoned so I invested in two Bellabands this week. At first I was a little put off by the price. $28 for what looks like an oversized headband? But every mom website said to buy them so I did. You guys, they are magic. My pants all fit again and theoretically should for the rest of this pregnancy. From the bottom it just looks like I'm wearing a camisole but the material is so thick it camouflages the fact that my pants are unbuttoned. For those of you who have never seen one, the white thing in this picture is a Bellaband:

This did not exist when I had Aidan

Okay enough about the Bellaband. On to something else I love: my husband. People keep asking him if he is ready to be a first time dad, and every time he gently corrects them by saying, "First time infant dad." He is so sensitive to the fact that he was Aidan's dad first and what's changing is that he finally has to change diapers and watch me go crazy with hormones. When this happens I feel absolute certainty that I married the perfect man.

Every expecting mother should have a Robert. Strike that. Everyone should have a Robert.

My last update is that I did a super high maintenance pregnancy thing this week and switched doctors. I love my normal obstetrician but found out early in my pregnancy that she doesn't have surgical training so someone else would need to step in if I need a c-section. Since I had one with Aidan, that's not exactly an outside chance. Did you even know there were OB's that can't do c-sections? I didn't. My new doctor is the chief of obstetrics at the University of Utah and is definitely qualified to handle any wacky things this pregnancy might send our way. Thanks to my mom, Amy, and Kristen who encouraged me to make the switch. If they can't be in Utah, they want to know that I'm in the best possible hands.

Well friends, that was the first 15 weeks. If you read all that, you must really love me. Expect a lot more blog posts over the next six months now that there are no more secrets between us. And if you see me in person, make sure to tell me how tiny I look. Even if it's not true.