Week 8

Baby's development:
"Your baby measures just over 1/2 inch (14 to 20 mm) from crown to rump.
Your baby's head is still larger than the rest of his body, and his facial features continue to develop. He now has a tongue and nostrils--you can even see the tip of his nose--while his jaw is fusing to shape his mouth. The next eight days are crucial for the development of his eyes and inner ears, responsible for balance and hearing.
Most of your baby's internal organs such as his heart, brain, liver, lungs, and kidneys have developed in their basic forms. His intestines are starting to develop in the umbilical cord. His heartbeat has normalized and the pumping capacity has increased. Under his paper-thin skin, you can see a network of blood vessels.
Up to now, your baby's framework has been made up of cartilage. Now bone cells begin to replace this. His leg and arm bones are hardening and lengthening, and his joints start to form. He begins to move around, although you can't feel him yet."
- from: "The Pregnancy Bible" by J. Stone and K. Eddleman
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It seems as though the whole morning sickness deal is starting to get worse, much to my chagrin. Often I will feel sick the entire day and, this morning, for about an hour I felt as though I was going to vomit. Generally the "vague nausea" that I have been describing feels about how you feel if you've been reading too long in a moving vehicle. Sometimes it's better and sometimes it's worse. My brain keeps trying to convince me that these are ulcer-related problems, probably because I just cannot grasp that hormones could hijack my body and betray me by making me feel ill all the time! Whatever the case, I am very much looking forward to the 2nd trimester, when I feel better than now but not so uncomfortably large and swollen as I no doubt will in the 3rd.

Our friends, Mike & Carey, gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Matthew McRae, on Tuesday October 24th. Congratulations!! Check out our normal blog (see link in box on the right) for a photo.

Even though Baby is less than the size of a pingpong ball, I find that my pants are starting to get uncomfortably snug!

Darryl may be experiencing sympathy pregnancy symptoms, because his pants are getting uncomfortably snug too! :-) (He's much happier than I am about gaining weight)

Well, maybe I do have some morning sickness after all.....

Because I felt pretty decent during earlier weeks in my pregnancy, I think I had convinced myself that I was immune to morning sickness (and I have to admit that I was kind of revelling in that fact). However, for the last week, I'm felt generally, vaguely sick. It's the sort of nausea where, if it were pain, it would be a dull ache vs. a sharp pain. It's a dull nausea, that is almost always present. At first I was trying to convince myself that it was an effect of me no longer taking any proton-pump-inhibitor medication (for my ulcer, or to prevent an ulcer, etc.)... but somehow I no longer think so.

Why? Because the vague nausea feeling is no longer just after I eat. It's sort of constant. This morning, for example, I felt like the only palatable thing to eat would be a toasted english muffin with butter. (Of course, I decided to eat cereal like usual because it's practically my only source of calcium). I feel like I just could not possibly stomach any high-fat foods, like ice cream (which I was really craving only last week) or Kentucky Fried Chicken (which I was really craving last weekend; after I ate some, I sort of became averted to it again). The whole time I'm at work I have this general nausea, and it makes me feel very un-motivated. It is amazing to me how people who have vomitting or acute nausea can possibly go to work!!

Anyway... I haven't written anything yet about week 8 because, according to my ob/gyn, they believe I'm just starting week 7 now. I figure that if/when the ultrasound gives a more accurate clue as to how far along I am, I'd rather add in an extra week to catch up, than retract a week.

Yesterday, I joined a pregnancy message board for people who are due in June 2007. I think it will be a good way to get an idea of how other people who are in similar stages of pregnancy to me are feeling. A lot of the people on there already have at least one child, and a lot of them are VERY gung-ho about their pregnancies. I seem to be more laid back. I know it's a HUGE milestone, but I don't feel viscerally THERE yet (I think this whole thing still seems a little surreal to me). Also, I think perhaps I'll be more excited about it when the baby is actually here, as opposed to taking over my body.... (thanks to Jen for the suggestion about the message boards).

Darryl & I are increasingly thinking about finding out before the delivery the gender of our baby. I think it would be nice to know so that we can stop referring to him/her as "it" or "baby" and start using his/her name. Personally, I would be REALLY excited (and scared) to find out I was carrying twins (esp. fraternal twins, esp. if 1 was a boy and 1 was a girl).... Anyway, that's something we've got time to decide.

Yesterday I was also looking up on the internet about cloth diapers. We would definitely like to use cloth diapers. I remember my mom using them for my brother, but the styles they have nowadays have come a long way from the cloth squares and pins that I remember (possibly erroneously) from my brother's babyhood. They're kind of expensive, but can be used for multiple kids and they are better for the environment, which is a major concern for us.

I'm going to be a Daddy!!!! That is very exciting, I think about all of the things that I will get to do with our child. All of the amazing things that I will see and be witness too, the greatest miracle that God has ever granted us. I am also worried about the situation of the world today and will our children and grandchildren have it as well as we did when we were kids. Have we used up all of the resources that the Earth has, polluted the waters, poisoned the air. Will our kids ever see snow cover mountains or know that there are Polar bears in the wild and not just in zoos. This might be heavier than the joyful news that this blog contains, but these are some of the things that I worry about. I do the only thing I can for these, I try to make my little corner of the world a better place. I try to conserve and reuse, and encourage others to do the same. I worry about the safety of my growing family and think of ways that I can try to better protect them. So at times I may seem a little obsessed with things, do not worry for I am just overcome by Love for my family and I am trying to make this life the best that it can be for them. I so look forward to the first steps, the first dirty diaper, the first words I can not wait to journey down the road of fatherhood. I just hope that I am the Daddy that mine was.

Ooh, ooh, ooh. And the winner is..............

Maria Elisabeth

After a gruelling and arduous couple of weeks (moreso for Darryl than for me, I think), we finally have a girl's name! It was really difficult! I've already listed the eliminated names from the first round. Then we did a second round and eliminated more names. Then we both started getting frustrated because we would rate the names differently over time. So Darryl took charge and picked out all the names from the list that we had both rated a 4 or 5 (out of 5). I think that list was 19 names. From those 19, we each picked the 10 that we would most want to keep. Then, out of those 10, we only kept the names we both had in common on our lists. That turned out to be about 6 names. From then, it was just a matter of choosing a pleasing combination of first and middle name.

Mom got to find out first what our girl's name was. Why? 'Cause she's mom!! :-)

I will later post our lists of top names, so you can see what other names we like.

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In other news, my cousin Jen, who had a baby (Eben!!) about a year and a half ago, told me that my ob/gyn appointment seems pretty normal, as far as timeline goes (for internal exam, ultrasound, etc). That definitely made me feel better. Jen also said she had had a midwife, whom she was very satisfied with and highly recommends. I'll check into my options. :-)

And in yet other baby-related news, our friends Mike & Carey are either in the process of having a C-section today (if the baby did not move into a favourable position), or will be induced next week (if the baby changed positions). They are, or soon will be, the proud parents of a baby boy! They aren't telling his name, though..... Congratulations!!

I don't think my ob/gyn appointment was what I expected.

Based on what I'd been reading, your doctor should be able via internal exam whether or not you're pregnant starting from week 6 or so. And my book also says that an initial ultrasound is scheduled between week 7 and 12. So, in my mind I'd been expecting a physical confirmation of my pregnancy, as well as possibly an ultrasound!

A nurse drew a bunch of blood samples (I do not know what for, except to test for HIV [mandatory by the State] and toxoplasmosis, by my request), and asked me some questions, took my weight and blood pressure. She did a urine-based pregnancy test, which came out positive. She gave me a little bag of free samples (some magazines, prenatal vitamins, DHA-omega3 supplements, infant formula).

The doctor asked me a few more questions and asked me if I had any questions for him. I asked him about flying, prenatal vitamins (is the kind I'm taking okay?), whether the Rubella vaccination I had 3-4 weeks before conception would be okay, and something else.

Based on a little wheel, and knowing the date of my LMP (last menstrual period), he is currently estimating me at 6 weeks, due June 12. He did not ask me how long my cycle is, which would affect that estimate.

So, yeah, it was not exactly the visit I was expecting, and it needn't have been. However, I simply don't feel particularly as though I would place all confidence in this doctor. A really limp handshake doesn't do it for inspiring confidence either (I just can't stand limp handshakes; or limp hugs for that matter, though hugs were not an occurrence here). I will perhaps see if a third doctor in this group suits me better.......

Week 7

Baby's development:

"Your baby measures about 1/6 to 1/5 inch (4 to 5 mm) from crown to rump.

Your baby is beginning to look more human now, and her tail has almost vanished. However, her head is still bumpy and bent forward. Dark spots on the sides of her head will be her eyes, two holes represent the beginnings of nostrils, and her lips, tongue, and first tooth buds are visible. Her arms and legs have lengthened, and she has rudimentary hands and feet.

This is a vulnerable stage for your baby when all her major organs are forming, so you need to avoid any potential hazards, which could adversely affect this development. Her heart has divided into the right and left chambers and is beating about 150 beats a minute--about twice the rate of an adult. Her liver, kidneys, lungs, intestines, and internal sex organs are all nearing completion."

- from: The Pregnancy Bible, by J. Stone and K. Eddleman

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Tomorrow I have my first appointment with an ob/gyn. I'll be sure to record how it goes...

Firstly, I apologize that this blog does not appear to allow anonymous comments (i.e. have to have a Google or Blogger account). I'm not sure why this is, or why I cannot change it.
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This weekend we're trying to figure out one or a few girls' names that we can both agree on. I've had a book called something like 100,000 Baby Names for some time and I went through all the girls' names and picked ones that I liked or thought were okay. Darryl meant to do the same but only got to the Hs so far. I put all of those names into a list and each of us rated them (purely on sound, not spelling) on the scale: 0="I will never subject my kid to a name like that!", 1="don't really care for it", 3="meh... it's alright", 5="I really like it!".

Next, any names that either of us gave a 0 or 1 were eliminated from the list (unless the other person gave it a 5). So now we're on to round 2.

Here are the names that were eliminated in the first round:
(please don't laugh)

Aolani
Abeline
Addison
Adien
Adonia
Adora
Aida
Ailis
Akina
Alana
Alandria
Alexa
Alexandra
Alexandria
Amelie
Anabel
Angelina
Anjelica
Aria
Arista
Arleen
Ashanti
Aspen
Astrid
Aurelia
Austen

Badia
Bakari
Bashia
Bella
Blake
Blossom
Braeden

Calista
Cameron
Cara
Cedar
Celia
Celina
Celine
Christabel
Cian
Connor
Cordelia

Dagmara
Daphne
Darcy
Dawn
Deirdre
Delfina
Deva
Dhara
Dina
Dora
Dorian
Dylan

Eva

Faith
Faye
Felicia
Florence
Flora
Forrest
Freja

Gala
Geneva

Hailey/Halley

Ilana
India
Iris

Jaden
Jadzia
Jamani
Jana
Joelle
Juliet
Juno

Kaiya
Kalea
Kamea
Kasia
Keena
Kenya
Kiana
Kiara
Kody

Lea
Leif
Leslie
Linden
Logan
Lucelia
Lucia
Lydia

Mara
Margarita
Margot
Marika
Marla
Mattea
Mavis
Maeve
Meadow
Mika
Mila
Mira
Mirabel

Nadi'a
Naida
Naima
Natania
Nia
Nika
Niobe
Nova

Ocean

Pandora
Peregrine
Phaedra
Priya

Qadira
Qiana

Rashani
Reagan
Reia
River
Rosalee

Sabiya
Sadiya
Salima
Salvia
Sandrea
Sapphira
Saria
Sean/Shawn
Seda
Selena
Shadia
Shea

Tabitha
Tameka
Tahlia
Taryn
Taylor

Waverly
Wesley
Winnie

Xena

Yasmin

So now with these options gone, we are down to 196 potential names to choose from. Unless both partners have a few names in common that they really like from the get-go, I think choosing names can be very difficult. For one, it's very time-consuming to go through a book of 50,000 (approx.) girls' names. You start to lose objectivity after a while: all the names sound the same, or they sound great (when they're not), or they sound awful (when you may actually like them later). That's how "Aurelia" and "Delfina", among others, even got onto our list in the first place! And so it continues........

There are a couple of things I wonder about whether they are related to my pregnancy or not:

- I am often either very hot or very cold (especially at night)
- My ears are very itchy!!

Maybe this last one just means that a lot of people are thinking about me (or the baby).

I'm still trying to convince Darryl to look at girls' names, so I can compile a list of names we both like (or can both tolerate).... I'll let you know what we come up with.

I'm going to post a sort of week-by-week play of what is (supposedly) happening with the baby. I really have had few symptoms as of yet, and I cannot peek inside myself to see what's going on, so I will rely on ultrasound images and other info taken from the internet and some books I have.

Day of last menstrual period: Sept. 4, 2006 (I'm assuming they mean when it began?)

Presumed date of conception based on 23-day cycle: Sept. 11-13, 2006

Estimated due date: June 6, 2006

Therefore I just finished my 5th week and will be starting my 6th tomorrow (Monday). Here's some catching up:

Week 4

photo by: Robin Elise Weiss

expected symptoms:

- feeling more tired (yes! I think this is mostly due to lack of sleep/relaxation on my part, though!)

- needing to urinate more frequently (no)

- mood swings (somewhat: more emotional as in I have strong feelings of attachment to people I love)

- tender or swollen breasts (yes)

- nausea, vomitting, dizziness, headaches (no, no more than usual)

- poor appetite (no!)

- I am also very infrequently experiencing tiny uterine cramps (do not hurt; on par with gas)

baby's development:

"Your baby is 2 weeks old and measures between 1/70 and 1/25 inch (0.36 and 1 mm) from crown to rump.

This is a time of astounding development for your baby. At the end of the third week, the fertilized ovum (egg) is embedded in the lining of your uterus where it continues to multiply and grow. What was originally a simple sperm and egg cell has become a blastocyst (fluid-filled ball) of several hundred cells. This blastocyst now divides into two, one half inside the other. The half attached to the wall of the uterus becomes the placenta. Its outer layer forms the umbilical cord, the amniotic and yolk sacs, and the chorion (protective membrane in the uterus).

The inner half of the blastocyst will become your baby. This divides inot three layers, known as germ layers, which grow to gorm different parts of your baby's body. The inner layer will form the liver, pancreas, bladder, thyroid gland, and the lining of the gastrointestinal tract. The middle layer develops into muscle, bone, cartilage, blood vessels, and kidneys, while the outer layer will become the brain and nervous system, skin and hair."

- The Pregnancy Bible, by J. Stone and K. Eddleman

Week 5

photo by: Robin Elise Weiss

expected symptoms:
- same as last week

- irritability (not really, I hope)

- increased metabolism (could be; sometimes I feel very hot--of course, other times I feel very cold)

"There are also a lot of women who will have none of these symptoms. They will sail through early pregnancy without vomiting or being light headed. For a lot of women this can be normal as well. Do not panic if you do not have pregnancy symptoms, although you should contact your care provider if you suddenly lose your pregnancy symptoms."

- http://pregnancy.about.com/cs/pregnancycalendar/

baby's development:
"Your baby is 3 weeks old and measures about 1/20 inch (1.25 mm) from crown to rump.

What was a round mass of cells has begun to elongate and a head and tail are now distinguishable. The central nervous system begins to develop, and your baby's brain and spinal cord start to form. Traces of the eyes and ears are discernible on the sides of her head, the liver and kidneys are beginning to develop, and muscle and bone are also in the early stages of development, although her bones will not ossify (harden) for a while yet. The walls of your baby's heart are now forming--her heart will begin to beat by the end of the week.
At this stage your baby derives most of her nourishment from nutrients stored in the uterine walls, but from as early as week 4 the placenta [yolk sac?] begins to provide nourishment."

- The Pregnancy Bible, by J. Stone and K. Eddleman

Week 6 (this coming week)

photo by: Robin Elise Weiss

expected symptoms:

- same as last week
- the articles really talk a lot about morning sickness; hopefully I won't have to experience that hallmark of pregnancy

baby's development:

"Your baby is 4 weeks old, and measures about 1/12 to 1/6 inch (2 to 4 mm) from crown to rump.

Growth is very rapid this week. Your baby might look like a tadpole, with his curved back and tail, but he now has a brain. His tiny heart is no bigger than a poppy seed, but it is beating on its own. Other major organs, including the kidneys and liver, continue to develop, and the neural tube, which connects the brain and spinal cord, closes. Your baby's head now begins to take shape.
A rudimentary digestive tract begins to form, together with the abdominal and chest cavities and the backbone. What will eventually become the testes or ovaries appear as a cluster of cells. Rudimentary arms and legs appear as tiny buds on the body. Your baby now has his own bloodstream, which has started to circulate blood."

- The Pregnancy Bible, by J. Stone and K. Eddleman

Here are photos of the first two home pregnancy tests (hpt) that I took upon returning to Alabama (Oct. 3, 2006):

(you can click on the photos to view larger-sized versions....). I just decided to take another hpt today, for kicks I guess, and it was also positive (no surprise there).

This weekend was really the first time I started thinking about what it feels like to be having a kid! It's pretty amazing, and I'm very excited. I am now starting to refer to "my baby" (usually I hold my stomach at that time :-).

This weekend, Darryl was so funny, telling everyone at the SCA event (see today's posting at http://123456cats.blogspot.com) about me being pregnant. And next thing I know people are all asking me how I'm feeling, since Darryl had relayed to everyone that I had felt slightly nauseous (a tiny bit!) yesterday morning. I know he's very proud and excited--I just wish he'd start looking up some girls' names so we can have a few choices ready if this baby is a girl.

It's kind of hard to read the above graphic (it's a screen capture from a website), but it gives you an idea of what may be happening when. I'll post more week-by-week details later. At the moment I have some kind of a sinus cold, which is no doubt being exacerbated by the fact that I am getting too little sleep. Also, I don't want to take any sorts of medications, so sleep would by far be the best remedy... however, this weekend we have our SCA event and it seems doubtful that I will catch many Zs camping in a tent with all sorts of revelry going on till the wee morning hours.

I've got a confirmation appointment with Lee Obstetrics on Monday, October 16 at 11 a.m.

Also, I realized this morning that I should perhaps not be taking Prilosec anymore. I don't know what the possible effects on pregnancy are, but after a bit of internet reading, there are some cases where Prilosec may have led to some developmental problems in the fetus. I can definitely tell that I haven't taken a Prilosec this morning, and I'm not exactly sure how not taking any sort of PPI (proton-pump inhibitor) will affect my personal health (i.e. ulcer). It looks like antacids are okay, so long as they don't have tons of calcium.

Darryl & I found out yesterday morning that we're pregnant!

This journal will be solely dedicated to this amazing experience! I'd been planning to write in it previously, to detail some pre-conception hopes and thoughts but I guess it's a little late for that now! :-)

I thought I might be pregnant before I left to go to Canada, for Dave's 25th birthday, but I tested negative at that time. The morning after I arrived back in Tallassee (i.e., yesterday morning), however, I tested positive. It showed positive almost right away, and I have to admit I was somewhat in a state of shock. I mean, we'd been hoping to get pregnant sometime soon, but hadn't really been trying until September! I didn't expect that we'd get pregnant so quickly! I didn't know exactly how to feel when I saw the result--probably because: I have never been pregnant before, there are so many implications that I have to consider, it's so final somehow (i.e., irreversible), and because it was so unexpected!

Originally, Darryl & I had been hoping to get pregnant sometime before Christmas, so that we could tell our two families jointly, in person, at Christmas and it would be a wonderful sort of Christmas surprise, especially if we had some kind of ultrasound photos too! However, after yesterday morning, I just felt I couldn't possibly wait to tell them! How unfair it would be for me to tell people at work (for risk management reasons) when my parents won't yet know for some time!

So we went shopping yesterday evening and also bought a different brand of pregnancy test. I tested after supper and it was also positive! So I called my parents!

Dave answered first and was, as a result, the first person to hear our good news! Then Pap, then Darryl's parents, then Mom when she had finished slaying her slugs and earwigs. I don't know about Sandra & Jerry (Darryl spoke with them, I didn't), but I definitely think my family was surprised! I think sometimes it's hard to know what to say in a circumstance like that! Pap was sort of laughing/chuckling in a happily surprised way, and mom kept saying "wow". It's really still hard for me to believe too.

I don't want this to become too well-known at this point, in case something should happen. 25% of pregnancies end in miscarriages.

I know I've said this before, but it's REALLY hard to believe that there is the beginnings of a baby growing inside me. I suppose it may not feel "real" until I see some kind of evidence like a bulging belly or an ultrasound photo or something. I really hope that the baby is going to be healthy and okay; I think I will be continually worried about that until it's actually born (probably even after for the rest of his/her life!). Over the summer, and even up until Sept. 25 or so, I was feeding feral cat feeders, so there was some kind of minor risk of me being exposed to toxoplasmosis. That's mostly why I'm a little worried.

I guess we'll (Darryl'll) really have to get motoring to paint the now-office a light yellow colour! And finish the guest room, for that matter! There are so many things to get ready! I feel like all I want to do is knit some little baby clothes! Of course, I don't know how to knit, but anyway...

I wonder how our cats will react. I think they'll all be okay (that is, tolerant) except for perhaps Gizmo. She so readily bites us and is jealous, that she may have problems with the baby. If she does, we may have to give her to Darryl's parents to be an outdoor cat with Rascal. I think Dennis will love the baby and try to snuggle with him/her as much as possible. Dennis will really be the baby's cat.

If this baby is a boy, we have a name picked out already: William Walter. If she's a girl, I have no idea! Around May, I got a baby name book and went through all the girls' names, finding ones I like. Darryl started doing the same but never finished. We are having a major problem agreeing on a girl's name that we both like! Some of the ones we can both tolerate are: Gwyneth, Sasha, Maria, and Sofia (actually, we both really like this last name but I'm hesitant to use it because Jer & Jess' daughter is named Sofia; maybe I'll ask them what they feel about it).
I really like the names: Naida, Tamika, Lindsay, Sylvia, and Ashley, but Darryl doesn't. And he likes some odd names that I don't (can't recall them exactly). Mom was just saying this past weekend that a name she really likes is Khaterra (sp?), but I find it sounds too harsh for me.

Oh, don't worry: I will post our whole girl's name struggle on this blog at some point! By the way, we will not be finding out before the birth the gender of our child; we would like it to be a surprise.

I think that once this whole idea actually sinks in, I will be very very excited! I know Darryl's excited. I keep calling him "pops" and he keeps calling me "momma". :-) Later tonight, I will post photos of our positive-result tests!