14w

I Will Be Grateful For This Day - Bright Eyes

I will tell you one thing, Baby: I am loving this second trimester thing so much more than the first! The sheer first trimester excitement of knowing you were on your way was often paired with terror, panic, the never-leaving feeling that something would go wrong. That was paired with the worst nausea that I think it's possible to even feel. Today is my first morning without the Zofran so maybe I'm all hopped up on the hope that this terrible morning all-day sickness is gone, but we'll go with that hope.

Right now I'm in 65% maternity shirts and 100% maternity pants. (Right now it's 40 degrees in South Florida and I'm bundled up in the only maternity sweater that I have. Totally unprepared for this). I'm not running to pee as much, my nausea has definitely decreased, I'm starting to gain more of an appetite. I am, however, having immense difficulty falling asleep at night or getting comfortable. Last night it took me two hours of tossing and turning to find a position I could be comfortable in.

Your Development: Today, Baby, you are the size of my favorite fruit: a lemon!

You are squinting, frowning, grimacing and learning to make facial expressions. Your kidneys are producing urine. You can even suck your thumb! This week, your liver will start to produce bile and your spleen will help produce red-blood cells. I can't feel you yet (I can't wait until I can!) but you're kicking and "punching" up a storm in there.

My favorite fun fact about you this week, Baby, is that you formed fingerprints -- all by yourself! As you moved your hands around in the amniotic fluid, the skin on the tips of your fingers formed unique ridges and folds.

We are already stocking up on so many things for you. I am counting down the days until we find out if you're a boy or a girl (I'm back to thinking you're a boy!) so that we can decorate your nursery!

Not the 13 week update I was hoping for!

This past Thursday was my 13 week mark but I'm afraid I don't have any belly pictures! This is because I spent Thursday day out of commission with this terrible cold/sore throat and then Thursday evening in the emergency room.

Most importantly, though, Baby is okay!

I had intense cramping (think menstrual cramps times a thousand) that ended up being a bladder infection, which is the short-story version. It was a scary hour or so of thinking there was a problem with Baby but it was wonderful seeing her/him bounce around on the ultrasound screen!

Since then, I've been recovering from both the bladder infection and the cold/sore throat and the stomach virus I inevitably picked up at the ER. It's been a rough few days. I'm still feeling super miserable, actually -- but also quite happy that Baby is unfazed and doing awesomely regardless of my own horrible bill of health. I'm pretty sure I've never been more scared in my life than I was when the cramps had me on the bathroom floor unable to get up, just sobbing and trying to figure out why I couldn't feel my legs. It's not a place I ever want to be again so, yes, I will dutifully add cranberry juice to my diet religiously and try not to complain too much about being so miserable. An unwavering cough, chest congestion, a cold, a persistent sore throat and a stomach virus cannot tackle my joy that Baby is okay.

And, plus, while I may not have gotten 13 week belly pictures, I did get the joy of being able to bring home this picture to hang up on my 'fridge and look at:



So even though I'm hacking up a lung with a tissue rammed up my nostrils, I can't really complain.

Books & The Beach

This morning, Baby, we went to the beach. I absolutely couldn't ever imagine living anywhere else as, to me, there's nothing more magical than being able to spend the morning at the beach. You'll learn soon that your dad doesn't agree, but that's okay...you'll see for yourself how great it is. We got to the beach a little bit after 8:00, which is the perfect time. The beach is still quiet other than a few elderly walkers or other people who came to sit and enjoy the fresh ocean air.

On our walk up and down the shore, something exciting happened! I got "recognized" as being pregnant for the first time! It felt as magical as I thought it would! I was wearing an already-snug old t-shirt (that I slept in...shh!) so maybe it was more obvious, but it was so great! This elderly woman asked how far along I was, just like that. I told her almost 13 weeks and she was so excited. She told me that she spent her pregnancies walking up and down Miami Beach in the mornings and there is nothing that can refresh you or make you feel better than the salt air. Before long, we were walking with her...which is good, because she moves at the same pace that I'm moving these days. She had that unable-to-ditch-it New York accent that my grandmother had and it was so comforting to be walking with her. Eventually she retreated back to her condo -- but not without a final "mazel tov!" -- and we sat down to read.

In my pregnancy journal, it always asks what I'm reading. Today we read a short story collection by Raymond Carver titled, "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love." He is one of my favorite short story authors. I'm sure at some point you'll read his work in school. My favorite days in school were days when we'd have to read Raymond Carver.

We spent nearly two hours at the beach and returned home a little after 10:00. Baby, I think I am going to have to make this part of our while-you're-in-my-belly routine. I loved spending the morning with you this morning. I can't wait until you're here and we can take you to the beach "for real" so you, too, can feel the magic of your toes in the water and the ocean air.

Bedtime Stories

Even though you're technically not supposed to hear us inside there yet, I can't accept that as a valid excuse not to read to you. We've been reading you bedtime stories since the moment we found out you were coming. There was no way my child would exist so long in my belly without bedtime stories! It just wasn't going to happen.

I love it when your daddy reads you bedtime stories. Tonight he read you Mercer Mayer's Just My Dad And Me. You have quite an impressive library already, Baby! I can't help but wonder if you'll end up being a huge bookworm like me. I can't wait until you get here and we can watch you look at the illustrations, too. I'm so excited to take you to the special events at the library or to pick out books with you at the bookstore. Between your books and mine, we're quickly running out of space! There are just so many magical components to reading with you...even now, even though you're still so tiny inside my belly.

12w3d

My 12 week update is a bit late this week, too. The good news is that I'm officially done with working so I can devote the rest of my pregnancy to the important things -- you know, like blogging. No, but really, I'm looking forward to getting in touch with my pregnancy and being able to enjoy it. Because I'm sure it has to get enjoyable at some point, right?

Right now my morning all day sickness has alleviated quite nicely. Right now, however, I'm also spending my evening with a bottle of prune juice and a box of Fi-Bars (I'll let you use your imaginations where I'm going with that one but, please believe, this is agonizing).

...But that's okay because this week, Baby has reflexes! His/her fingers can open and close, his/her toes can curl, his/her mouth will make sucking movements. His/her intestines will start to move into his/her abdominal cavity about now, and his/her kidneys will begin excreting urine into his/her bladder. Baby weighs half an ounce and is the size of a lime.

I'm also officially in maternity jeans. I gave up on my regular jeans on Friday and caved and bought my first pair of maternity jeans on Saturday. I can still wear my regular shirts with no problem, but I'm enjoying the comfort of maternity shirts here and there. Otherwise, things have gotten better...minus the lingering fatigue. And the whole prune juice thing. Minus that, too.