week 14... hello heartburn!!

So the dreaded heartburn is upon me. Enough said. I am dealing with it through the help of my trusty tums... but it only helps so much. Luckily it's not been an all day symptom, but it hits me in the evenings and it pretty much ruins my dinner.

My headaches are also on the comeback this week (I swear that this blog isn't going to be a 'woe is me' sorta thing... I have just never experienced heartburn and headaches quite like this before... so I feel the need to bitch!! haha). My very good girlfriend Jamie, who is 13 weeks pregnant, is STILL experiencing her morning, afternoon, and evening sickness. I feel so bad for her! I only had a few bad days/nights of nausea so I definitely couldn't imagine constantly feeling that way. Poor thing :( 

But other than the H&H (it pains me too much to say it out loud for fear that I might suddenly start to feel the sudden onset of one, if not both), I am feeling just dandy! People everywhere I go are sneezing, coughing, blowing their nose... ugh. I have become quite obsessed/intrigued with this whole flu/H1N1 thing that's going around. I received my flu shot nearly 3 weeks ago - so I hope that little guy keeps me nice and safe from the regular seasonal flu. And as soon as the H1N1 vaccine is available to me (either at work or at my doctor's office, whichever comes first) I will be getting that as well. I have done my research and have spoken with my OB about the vaccine and am feeling pretty confident about it. The virus is 10 times more deadly than the vaccine... so the decision is pretty easy. I'm gettin' the shot!

Pregnant women are at a top priority for the vaccine (and are STRONGLY encouraged to get the flu shot, every year) and it frightens me to hear these stories of pregnant women on respirators, giving birth to their premature baby, and then not surviving. Unfortunately for myself and for Eddie, I am a full blown hypochondriac so with every little sniffle, sneeze or cough I am running to the internet and googling my "symptoms". Call me crazy... I have hand sanitizer coming out the wazoo - in my purse, on my desk at work (along with clorox wipes), in our kitchen, in our bathroom - everywhere I am, a bottle of hand sanitizer and/or wipes are nearby!!

Even Eddie has improved his hand washing skills, ten fold! Besides, I tell him that it's excellent preparation for infection control once the baby is born!! He will be getting his flu shot this weekend and once the H1N1 is available to the general public then he will get one as well. 

It's easy to be afraid of the unknown, but I trust my doctor and believe that she has my (and our unborn child's) best interest at heart.

So as of week 14, Baby R is growing, growing, growing. Size comparison this week: a lemon, is measuring about 3 1/2 inches long, and weighs about 1 1/2 ounces. Baby R can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck its thumb. Thanks to brain impulses, the facial muscles are getting a workout as the tiny features form one expression after another. Baby R's kidneys are producing urine, which are released into the amniotic fluid all around - a process it will keep up until birth.

It was 10 weeks ago that Eddie and I found out we were going to be parents! Can you believe that!? Baby R will be here before we know it! By the way... we've finally decided on the nursery colors - which I will tell you all about in my next blog. I can't wait to get started on making a place for Baby R in our home. It's going to be absolutely fabulous!!

More to report from the baby belly at week 15... 

Peace, love, and baby, 

Meredith & Eddie

week 13... officially in the 2nd trimester!!

So the nail biting first trimester is finally over! We made it! I'm telling you, that was a tough few weeks to get through. But here we are in week 13 (almost week 14 at this point... sorry that my blog was a little late in getting out!) and I am feeling great!

Like I said in week 12, my extreme exhaustion has pretty much subsided. So now instead of my head hitting the pillow at 9p I am able to make it to 1030p or 11p most nights. I am slowly but surely feeling that normalcy once again. I am walking Grayson every day anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. My doctor has highly recommended that I exercise at least 30 minutes a day, 3 to 5 times a week. It has really helped with my energy level and it just feels good - plus Grayson absolutely loves going on walks and up to the park for some play time. So it benefits the both of us!! 

I am now starting to eat a lot more!! My stomach growls for food at least every 2 hours. I am drinking lots (and lots and lots and lots) of organic milk and water, eating lots of organic fresh fruits and vegetables, and eating three healthy and filling meals a day. I've gotten lots of "advice" (if that's what you really want to call it) to eat whatever I like... and eat lots of it! So many people have said "this is the time to eat anything you want, so take advantage of it!" NO THANK YOU. I will still have the weight to lose after the baby is born. So just because it is inevitable that, yes, I am going to be gaining weight doesn't mean that I am going to stuff my face full of Big Macs and french fries (although, for those of you that know me know that I have a sick obsession with french fries. They are my weakness.) Of course I'm sure that I will have my cravings - and I'm sure that I will give into temptation a time or two - but at least I am being smart about this. I say this now... check back with me in three months and lets see if I am still being "good". 

So, as of this week, Baby R (the baby's current name) has lots of little changes going on. Size comparison this week: a medium shrimp, nearly 3 inches long and weighs about an ounce. Fingerprints have formed on Baby R's tiny fingertips, the veins and organs are clearly visible through the still-thin skin, and the body is starting to catch up with it's head - which makes up just a third of the body size now. If we're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. As I start my second trimester, most of Baby R's critical development has been completed. Good news!!

As many of you know, Baby R will be the first grandchild on BOTH SIDES... so you can already imagine the excitement from our families. My mom and mother-in-law have already bought the baby lots of clothes and other nursery gadgets! They just can't help themselves :)

Even I couldn't resist the urge to buy the cutest little blue and brown owl onesie at Target the other day. It was just too adorable to pass up. So, here is a picture of a *few* (because believe me, we have a whole stack of baby clothes already) of Baby R's outfits. He or she will definitely be rockin' it out in style!

And, of course, here is my baby belly at 13 weeks... And I swear, I am not pushing out :)

More to report from the baby belly at week 14...

Peace, love, and baby,

Meredith & Eddie

week 12...196 days to go!

Whew! It's already week 12. My oh my, how times flies when you're having fun... and when you're not sleeping!

I am happy to announce that I do believe my energy is finally coming back. It was getting pretty ridiculous there for a while. I would wake up in the morning and want to go back to sleep (even though I had slept for nearly 10 hours); I would come home from work in the evening and take "naps" for a good hour; and my head always hit the pillow before 930a. But something amazing has happened... I have regained the majority of my energy back! Hallelujah!! I don't know what it was, but I'm not complaining. After Eddie and I spent this past weekend in Cincinnati with Jamie and Ivan's wedding festivities, it all of a sudden hit me. I can be busy all day and not take a nap and go to bed past 930p and wake up the next day feeling like my normal self! To you this may seem weird... but to a pregnant gal, it's the greatest thing ever.

Unlike most people I know, I have not had the horrendous experience of morning (afternoon or evening) sickness. I have had a few bouts of it, but nothing too terrible. I did have to leave work a little early one day due to my nausea. But I went home, napped (duh), and woke up feeling pretty stellar.

But honestly, I shouldn't complain. All of the tiredness, headaches, boobs in SO MUCH pain, unannounced breakouts on my face (bleh), waves of nausea, peeing every hour on the hour, and bloatedness are totally worth it. Because I have a teeny tiny little miracle growing inside of me. I am honored and priviledged to be the mother of this little (2 inch, as of this week) human being inside of me.  I can't wait to meet baby and get to know him or her. I can't wait to hold it and stare into its eyes, kiss its soft lips and smell the sweet, sweet baby skin that we all know smells soooo good!  I absolutely cannot wait.

Baby is currently a little over 2 inches long (comparision this week: baby is about the size of a lime!) and weighs half an ounce. The most dramatic development this week are reflexes! Baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, toes will curl, eye muscles will clench, and baby's mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if I prod my abdomen, baby will squirm in response, although I won't be able to feel it.

So as I leave this first chapter in our baby's development, I enter another amazing one... one of which baby will continue to grow and get strong and healthy. We will finally be able to view the ultrasound and I will finally be able to feel baby kick. That will be simply amazing.

More to report from the baby belly at week 13...

Peace, love, and baby,

Meredith & Eddie

My baby belly at 12 weeks...