Crazy little thing called life

Pregnancy seems designed to prepare you for life as a mother. You start making sacrifices nine months before the child is born, so by the time they put in an appearance you are used to giving things up for them.
~ Brett Kiellerop

First Morning Sickess - Saturday, March 15th
That morning, I was helping to clean my mother's house, and I got overheated. I had been feeling slightly nauseous all morning, but I had done everything I could to try to keep it at bay. Once I overheated, it was becoming more difficult to not be sick, so I went outside to take in some cool, fresh air. My parents Dog, Zeeva, is an adorable little Blue Heeler, who has many endearing qualities, but one great flaw: She loves to chase skunks. As soon as I sat down, she came up to me, and sat with me. Without thinking, I petted her, and immediately regretted it. As soon as I stirred the skunk oils on her fur, my stomach retched. Trying to not be sick, I went inside, washed my hands, and my mom sprayed me with OUST air freshener. I also turned to my Preggy Pops to help curb the nausea. That was a huge mistake, as I had brushed my teeth not long before going outside. Within minutes, I was unable to fight it any more. I was sick. Since then, I have had morning sickness, and nausea, but nothing as bad as Saturday. More than the nausea it's self, I have constant fatigue, and a persistent annoying headache. If I make sudden moves I get dizzy, which mimics nausea. However, it does pass quickly.

I have had some aversion to food. I still eat, but some of the things I would have loved before simply don't appeal to me. We went to Painted Horse last night, and all I had was a little bowl of soup. It was more than enough, and I almost regretted eating all of it. I can attribute that, and my efforts to eat as healthy as possible to my recent weight loss. i started out the pregnancy journey weighing 250 lbs, and I am now weighing 238 lbs. According to the charts, theoretically, I should not gain more than 11 lbs in my pregnancy because I am over weight. At this rate, I should theoretically weigh less at the end than at the beginning..? We will see.

One of the newest symptoms I have encountered is constipation. UGH. I woke in the night with so much bloating, and gas that I just almost threw up. I was a little worried, because I was not sure what was going on. I pray this is not common during my pregnancy. I would rather throw up. Many of the symptoms I have been experiencing, a lot of people would not have as strong as I am experiencing them this early. I did some research, and all of these are caused by progesterone, which is the hormone I am injected with daily.

I give you permission to laugh at me for the antics I am about to tell you about. When they told us we were pregnant, they told us I would need to go in a week later (this Thursday) for another pregnancy test "just to make sure your levels are developing as they should". The more I thought about it, the more it made me unsure. Yes, we know I am pregnant. I have confirmed this with two (light) positive home pregnancy tests, and a blood test at the clinic. However, despite all the symptoms, and the positive tests, I needed reassured. I bought a two pack of cheap tests, not wanting to waste money on this silly antic. Everyone will tell you that you need to take the test in the morning, using your "first pee", because it contains the strongest levels of hormones. I took my test at about 3 in the afternoon. This test was an undeniably positive one. The instructions require you to pee on the stick, and then wait three minutes to get your results. I however was shocked and happy when I peed on the stick, and immediately brought it up to look at it, and it was already showing a positive result. Within only 30 seconds, it was the strongest positive you could imagine. Since I already knew I was pregnant, There should have been no shock, but I was delighted to see that little blue plus sign. Go ahead, laugh at me if you want, but know that I will most likely be taking that other test before it is done.

Today marks the first day of the 5th week of my pregnancy, and my baby is the size of a sesame seed. There are already so many people that love this tiny little baby. Many family members and friends are super excited to welcome baby J into the world. My mother (Ok, and myself) have already bought some clothes for it. We have already made plans for the nursery. When we got home from my parents house on Sunday, we had a present waiting for us. Josh and Haley had bought baby J a giant, 4 foot plush giraffe, which we had seen and loved. The funny thing is that we had actually already bought one ourselves. Now, there are a pair of giant giraffes living in the corner of our living room. Yes, they scare me almost every time I go into the living room.

From whattoexpect.com:
It takes a lot of developing to become a baby — all the major (and minor) bodily systems (digestive, circulatory, nervous, and so on) and organs (heart, lungs, stomach…you get the idea) have to form from scratch. One of the first systems to be operational is the circulatory (or blood) system — along with its companion organ: the heart. When you are 5 weeks pregnant, your baby's heart is made up of two tiny channels called heart tubes — and they're already hard at work, beating to their own drummer (it will be weeks before those beats become coordinated). When those tubes fuse together, your baby will have a fully functioning heart (though it almost certainly already has its grip on yours). Also in the works this week are several other organs, including the neural tube (the precursor to your baby's brain and spinal cord), which hasn't yet sealed, but by next week, that open-door policy is over.

So what does your little embryo — already the size of an orange seed (how fast they grow!) — look like now? Actually, not unlike a tadpole, with a rudimentary head and a tail. But don't worry — there's no frog in your future. In fact, you're fewer than eight months away from holding a real prince (or princess) in your arms.