week 7 / ultrasound

According to the ultra sound lady it's also the size of a lima bean

Our little pumpkin is so cute!

February 28, 2012

Ultrasound day finally got here.  It was so exciting to see the little blob with a heartbeat.  Actually seeing a little living almost person inside me is an amazing experience.  Hearing the heartbeat and seeing it on the monitor was probably the coolest thing I've ever seen. I'm a lot less anxious now that the professionals have taken a look at our little pumpkin and said everything looks good.  The heart rate is 128bpm (Steve was counting when we heard and was close with 120bpm) and the gestational age is 7 weeks and 1 day today.  That will keep us at an October 15th due date.  I'm pretty sure I saw the baby fist pumping with it's little nub arms - already got some Jersey in it :) 

Updates this week:

Physically:

The nausea is starting to come.  Coffee has started looking green along with a few other foods.  Mostly it's a mild nausea that just stays for a while; I've only had two moments so far where I thought I was actually going to hurl but nothing happened.  The weirdest thing is that even while I'm nauseous, I'm starving too.  This past weekend I couldn't get enough to eat and all I wanted was the unhealthy kind - oreos, cheeseburgers, fries and the such.  Steve is enjoying my increase in appetite for crap foods.
The tiredness is also starting to hit.  I'll feel fine one minute and all of a sudden I can't keep my eyes open.

I'm pretty sure Steve is having sympathy pregnancy symptoms - he's had an increase in appetite and tiredness as well.

Emotionally:

Just excited.

Other:

Dash seems to be taking things better; no more episodes with him.  He's been his normal co-dependent self.
We went looking around at different neighborhoods and houses this weekend to get an idea of where we would like to buy.  Hopefully we'll have a real house for little pumpkin to live in by this summer which is also very exciting.  We're just continuing to say prayers that everything works out for Steve for job.  It's kind of overwhelming to think how different our lives will be this time next year - all good changes though.

First Appointment/week 6

This week our pumpkin is the size of a sweat pea.

February 21, 2012 (Mardi Gras!)

I've felt like a kid counting down the days to Christmas this past week as I've waited for our first appointment.  I guess I just wanted that official recognition from a doctor that I am indeed pregnant. (2 blood tests and 2 home pregnancy tests wasn't enough for me)

The pregnancy was confirmed and anything the doctor can tell by just looking at me looks good.  Other than the confirmation there was nothing too exciting.  I gave about 7 tubes of blood, got a packet of information and confirmed to Steve that a trip to Universal Studios would not be fun because I would just watch him ride all the rides.  Although he was board as I was brought from room to room, Steve was a good sport.  He event took me to get donuts afterwards in case my blood sugar was low from giving so much blood (guess who really wanted donuts).

Right now the due date is October 15th.(this could change after the ultrasound). I'm just counting down the days until next Tuesday when we go to first ultrasound.  Can't wait for the first picture of our pumpkin:)

Here's what's happening this week:

Physically: 
I'm starting to feel small waves of nausea. Nothing too severe, it's mostly comes when I have food aversions such as the donuts this mornings.  I've noticed I want eggs all the time.  According to Steve I've been "housing some eggs."  I'm also starting to get tired more. I've taken a nap (not that that is unusual to me) for the past four days.


Mentally:
Still just excited.  A little relief that I made it one more week and there is still a baby in there.  I have moments when it actually hits me that we're going to have a baby and freak out a little bit but that gets overrun by excitement of a little combination of Steve and Jodi will be running around the house in the future. Steve had a moment of panic when we had to pay the first bill today. I'm going to blame hormonal mood swings for me calling him a cheap a**.

Other:
We've also shared the news with a few others. It's so hard to contain the excitement.  Also, there have been no more outbursts from Dash.  I think he is getting use to the idea or he is enjoying joining me for naps and eating food I can't finish.

week 5

February 15, 2012

Week 5

I'm at about the 5 week point in this pregnancy now.  I know eventually I'm going to want this to slow down and its going to seem like it's all happening way to fast but right now I just want to get through the next few weeks to make sure I'm at a safe point and that this is really going to happen. Also, I want to be there so I feel more confident when telling friends.  I still hate keeping this joy inside of me!

Here's what's going on this week:

Physically: 

• I have some cramping, I think that's my uterus stretching or something.  That is the most constant feeling I have which is also a little scary because it feels like I'll start my period at any moment.  All reading materials say this is normal.
• I don't really feel tired unless exercising.  My running has definitely slowed down and decreased in length.  I can only do about 3 miles almost comfortably.  Other than that the exhaustion that is suppose to hit in the 1st trimester hasn't hit yet.
• The boobs are sore and definitely growing.  I think I may get to toss the A cups for a while. (sorry if any guys are reading this, be forewarned I tend to over share)

Mentally:

• Still excited and trying to convince myself this is real.  Really pumped for our 1st doctor visit in less than a week.
• Trying to prepare myself for body changes and accept my body for where it is now.  This is an area I definitely struggle with and hope it doesn't get in the way of me fully enjoying growing our pumpkin.  Just be prepared for upcoming I feel fat comments.
• I don't think I'm emotional yet.  However, I did go see The Vow and cried through almost the entire film; I rarely ever cry in movies.

Dash's Dealings with Pumpkin

February 14, 2012

Since it will be 15ish more weeks until we know the gender of the child, we decided we needed a nickname to refrain from calling out future baby "it."  This was a suggestion from my mom (I think it's because she read the book series of "A Child Called It").  Steve would love to call my growing fetus little parasite.  Although an endearing term ( I wish there were a sarcasm font), I find it sort of gross like I have worms or something.  He did sign my Valentine's day card love, Steve, Dash, Addie, Xanny and unborn Ryder which I guess puts Unborn Ryder in the mix for names.  I don't find this very affectionate either.  Baby Ryder seems a bit cliche' for a fetus name.  Since it looks like our new addition will be making an appearance in October, I thought Pumpkin would be fitting.  Although this growing baby is far from the size of a pumpkin (more like half a pumpkin seed at this point) we're going to try this name on for size for now.

As I mentioned in the last blog, Dash doesn't seem to fond of Pumpkin's presence.  In the last 2wks he has peed in the house 3 times, something he hasn't done since he was a puppy.  We were concerned he may have a UTI.  We took him to the vet to find out today that he is healthy as can can be.  The vet did say he could be acting out to any changes and asked if anything was different.  We inquired if he would be able to sense an early pregnancy and she said it was possible and has known of dogs having a change of behavior during the owner's pregnancy. 

If Dash peeing inside wasn't evidence enough about him having anxiety over being a big brother, the day after we found out for sure we came home to this:

The demolished baby

For those unfamiliar with King Cakes (so unfortunate for you) This is what one normally looks like.

This king cake baby had been sitting on an end table for about two weeks and all of a sudden he has decided to show us the damage he could.  This is going to be a long 9 months for him.

In order keep track of Pumpkin's changes and growth I'm going to try my best to post weekly (at least monthly) a belly picture, changes I've experienced, and steps we've taken to prepare for our pumpkin.  I'll start next post with week 5 updates.

The Big News

February 9, 2012

There's going to be a new Ryder in town and not a furry one this time.  Steve and I are going to be real parents!  We just found out and it's all amazing, exciting, scary and a bit overwhelming at the same time.  It is a planed pregnancy so we did have an idea this may happen but now that it actually is, it seems so surreal.  Probably the hardest part of this past week besides taking five million tests to convince myself there is really a baby in there has been trying to keep the news a secret.  Also, I've been a bit paranoid that at any moment it's just going to go away - is that normal?  I've been known to be a bit neurotic before.  The array of emotions has kept me on a roller coaster. That and cutting back on the caffeine makes me feel a bit sorry for Steve. And then there are moments when I actually get side tract and forget all about it - not for long though.

 I found out the exciting news on Feb. 3rd at work after a night when I passed out at 6pm and slept soundly until 7am the next day.  I love my sleep but the exhaustion I felt was a bit ridiculous.  I was convinced I was anemic (even though I've been taking my prenatal vitamins) and got our lab tech to do a blood test.  She asked if maybe I was pregnant so I told her it was a possibility since we were trying. I hadn't missed a period yet but it was possible that it might show up. Sure enough, this little Ryder growing inside me was the one to blame for the 13hour sleep fest. 

I was so excited to tell Steve the news and he was ecstatic to hear it.  Dash on the other hand not so much. The cats are indifferent since they do what they want anyways.

On Monday morning I reconfirmed the test was positive.  The line was much darker this time; my mind was eased for the moment. I made the first doctor's appoint but was unable to get in soon because of my crazy work schedule the next few weeks.  So our first appt. will be on Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras - Feb. 21st.

One of the ways we want to share the news is through Dash's big brother t-shirt I made him.  Like I said, he's not too happy with this whole thing.  In case you don't know us that well, Steve and I are those crazy dog people who think of little mongrel as a child. I'm so excited to share our love with our upcoming addition!

This is the happy face of an only child.

Dash's new shirt.  He peed on it soon after this picture.

 

This is Dash's "I'm trying to grin and bear it but I really don't like this" face