Belly status...15 weeks (aka almost 4 months)!

I remember waaaay back when I used to not be pregnant, I always got annoyed by pregnant people referring to their pregnancy in weeks. And equally annoyed by moms who refer to their baby's age in months (when they're over a year old). I think to myself, you just made me do extra work by having me divide by 4 or 12. Now, I find myself talking in weeks, and even half weeks sometimes. I think its because I'm so excited with each passing day, and each week is like a milestone. So, I apologize in advance...

I am now 15 weeks and things are feeling normal again. Either that or maybe I'm getting used to this whole being pregnant thing. My eating habits are a bit better...I'm not eating as much or getting as hungry. My belly is starting to get bigger and bigger, looking more like a baby belly than a burrito belly.

I know it shouldn't be a shocker...but having a baby is EXPENSIVE. Apparently, having a PPO insurance (what we perceived to be "the best"), is hurting our pocketbook. We received a letter saying that the insurance will cover up to 85% of the charges, and that the delivery fee alone will be about $2,000 out of pocket. After talking to other parents, it seems like HMO was the way to go since some forked out as little as $150 for the delivery. On top of that, I wish we had put more than just $500 towards our flexible spending account.

For those of you fortunate enough to find out that you're pregnant during open enrollment, do your research and choose wisely since luck is on your side.

Did I say that?

All through life, we learn about things we shouldn't say or things we shouldn't bring up. Men learn not to say yes when a woman asks him if she looks fat. And men also learn not to ask a woman her weight or her age. But it seems like many women have skipped this lesson that men have learned all too well.

I think most women like to think that they are not the typical "woman" that the men make them out to be. So over the years, the women in our lives have told us things we needed to hear. Like, the guy you've been dating is a jerk, or, that dress doesn't flatter your hips. And through the years, we've taken the candor from our female friends and family with pride. Almost as evidence of how good of a friend that person really is. And of how so not "woman" you really are when you can take it as it was intended - constructive criticism.

This entry is meant to educate the female population. If your friend (or in my case, your daughter) is pregnant, abstain from making harsh (albeit truthful) comments. At the very least, just do it for 9 months. Yes, the scale has shown me that I have gained 10 pounds. I don't really need you to verify that it looks that way as well.

I saw my mom over the weekend and she kept on saying that I've gained a lot of weight. How the doctor's going to tell me to lose weight because I've gained so much weight. So I, as any normal pregnant woman would, burst into tears. She proceeded to apologize, then turned to Mike and said "Oh, she's a little emotional?" Thanks mom. Try to remember that you were pregnant once too.

In her defense, she called a couple of days later just to make sure I was feeling better. She had felt bad that she hurt my feelings. Then she ended the phone call with, "OK, don't be so moody. It's not good for the baby."

Jane or John?

The second I found out that I was pregnant, I wondered if the baby will be a boy or a girl. I knew that I wouldn't find out for a few months. In a way, I think not finding out right away is a good thing. It keeps me from running out and buying everything that I see the second I find out I'm pregnant.

Now that I'm reaching 14 weeks, Mike and I are both itching to find out the sex of the baby. We've done some research and it looks like you can find out the sex of the baby with a 4D sonogram at 14 weeks. Mike decided that we should try to schedule an appointment for next week, I think mainly because he's getting annoyed at the fact that I shout out random boy and girl names whenever they pop into my head. He must think that if we know the sex, the name suggestion will be cut in half. He would, of course, be wrong.

Baby or burrito?

A while ago, I heard a funny segment on a morning show. It was about potential celebrity baby bumps, and who was actually pregnant...or if they just happened to eat a lot that day. Hence, baby or burrito. Well, I've reached a time in my pregnancy now where I look at my belly and can't help but think that it looks like a burrito in my tummy.

Trying to find something to wear hasn't exactly been a fun experience either, since I'm too small for most maternity clothes and I've grown to large for regular clothes. I wore the belly band over my pants for a few weeks and it has worked well. But since my first trimester weight gain has already reached 10 lbs (more or less, I can't accurately say since I'm not in the habit of weighing myself), I've had to wear the zipper lower and lower. That was when I decided to walk into a maternity store for some pants without zippers.

I never thought I'd say this, but I wish my tummy would get bigger soon. Otherwise, my only solution right now is to wear stretchy knit tops and proudly display my burrito bump.

Baby's first picture

My first doctor appointment was on March 25th. Usually, the appointment is scheduled for the 8th week, but since the doctor I wanted to see wasn't available until the following week, and the date that I gave the receptionist on the initial call was about a week off, I was already on my 10th week at the first ultrasound. I know everyone says how amazing seeing the baby for the first time is, but all I can think of is acting like Rachel from Friends when she got her first ultrasound.

To my surprise, as soon as the ultrasound technician put the little wand over my belly, I was able to make out the head, the little arms, and the little legs. It was pretty amazing. All the time I spent questioning whether or not I was really pregnant went out the window. The days before the doctor's appointment I was half getting myself ready for the doctor telling me that the pregnancy was just all in my head, that I wasn't really pregnant. You know, kinda like Mr. Schuester's wife on Glee.

One thing that I learned during the first sonogram was that the sonogram isn't only done from the outside. Apparently, since the baby is so small at this point, they have a wand that goes up your lady parts to get a closer look at the baby. So don't be surprised when they ask you to strip down at your first appointment!

Am I really pregnant?

When I called to make my first doctor's appointment the receptionist did nothing to try to confirm my pregnancy. All she did was ask me if I took a home pregnancy test. She just took my word for it and asked me when the first day of my last menstrual cycle was. I proceeded to tell her some random day (which turns out to be a week later than what it actually was), and she said I should come in on March 25th.

The time between finding out that I was pregnant and going to my first doctor's appointment was about three weeks. During that time, I kept questioning, "am I really pregnant?" I think it must be because you don't feel all that different...aside from all those pregnancy symptoms, most of which can be accounted for by really bad PMS.

I remember going to a sushi restaurant a few days after my pregnancy test. I was trying to convince Mike that I could eat sushi because I'm not that pregnant. But he made me order a california roll.***

***Side note, here's an interesting conversation that happened while writing this blog:

• me: do you think california roll should be capitalized?


• me: like California roll


• friend: huh


• friend: capitalized


• me: because we capitalize California because its a persom place or thing


• me: but california roll is just food


• me: like we don't capitalize Hamburger


• friend: capitalize California


• me: even though its from Hamburg


• friend: i dont understand


• friend: you ok over there


• me: yea


• me: oh, like caeser salad you don't capitalize Caesar even though he's a person


• friend: what


• me: you're funny


• friend: who is this


• me: itsa me, mario!


• friend: you may have a hormone imbalance or something because of the baby


• friend: you are not making sense


• me: ooh! maybe you thought i meant capitalize like capitalize or expense


• me: i meant capitalize like upper case or lower case!


• me: mystery solved!


• friend: ...

Pregnancy annoyance #1

One of the most irritating things so far about being pregnant is waking up in the middle of the night to go pee. It started for me at about week 8, gradually starting with once per night and maxing out at three times a night. The worse part is that many times, I can't go back to sleep. I think it must be nature's way of preparing mothers to wake up in the middle of the night to care for their baby, and be able to go back to sleep soon after. For me, I would wake up at 3 am and not be able to fall asleep until 5 or 6, then feeling miserable when I had to wake up to go to work. I'd turn on the TV in hopes that it would help, but I find that it just keeps me up.

I've gotten better at falling back asleep since I get to practice at least once each night. My little trick is to make sure I don't open my eyes fully. Which means I can pretty much walk from my bed to the toilet blindfolded now. And, I concentrate on not thinking about anything...otherwise my mind runs wild and I'm awake for another 2 hours.

The urge to go in the middle of the night has tapered off towards the end of week 11. Where, if I remember to go pee right before I go to bed (typically around 11:30-12), it won't be until 6:30-7:30 before I get woken up by my bladder. I'm not sure if my body has gotten used to it, or if pregnancy is giving me a bit of a break. But I hear it gets worse as the little one grows.

An introduction

I found out I was pregnant before the pregnancy test. I had noticed that my breasts were extremely sore, I experienced moderate cramping (which is very unusual for me), I was super tired all the time, and cranky. I was feeling so bad that I couldn't wait for my period to come. A couple of weeks went by and I was still experiencing the symptoms and Mike mentioned, "Hey, maybe you're pregnant."

Of course my initial reaction was, I can't possibly be pregnant...can I? I started counting back the weeks of my last period and I was already a week and a half late. I had decided to go get a pregnancy test that night, but deep inside I had already known I was pregnant.

Mike and I went to CVS and I grabbed a two pack of the pregnancy test. I took one as soon as I got home, but it came out blank. I took the second pregnancy test, and all of the lines (even the control line) was very faint, but I can vaguely see the pregnant line. I was already convinced that I was pregnant, but Mike insisted we get another test just to be sure. Tired, I said I would grab another one tomorrow.

Two days later, we got another two pack, this time a digital pregnancy test. Although I had already expected it, there's a weird feeling you get from looking at a pregnancy test that says "Pregnant."