6 Week Update

What’s New With Mommy

Doctor’s Appointment:

We went to our first doctor’s appointment on Tuesday! We got to see little Baby Simons and we thought we might have seen a heartbeat, but we’re going back at 8 weeks to confirm. Doctor said everything looks good and that it’s not unusual not to see a heartbeat at this stage (especially since I ovulate later and, instead of a March 9th due date as indicated by LMP, Baby is more likely due March 13th).

The doctor talked a little bit about delivery (so soon?), saying he is more lenient about induction with second pregnancies. He is on-call during the week and the reasoning is he could induce me on a weekday and he would be the doctor there at delivery (I went into labor with Penny on Friday night and she was delivered by the on-call doctor on Saturday). One of the things I really wanted during my last pregnancy and that I want for this one is to do it as naturally as possible. I really want to labor at home for as long as possible. But I’ve decided I’m not going to put much thought into that yet. I just want to enjoy this pregnancy as much as I did my first!

Symptoms:

This week I’ve noticed a definite increase in nausea or morning sickness, and a little bit of fatigue (those three flights of stairs up to our apartment have started taking it out of me). I’ve been battling the morning sickness by eating small meals every couple hours and it seems to take the edge off…even though eating is often the last thing I feel like doing. I’m thinking about getting the Preggie Pop Drops (they helped last time around).

I’ve also been extremely moody. For example, while watching an episode of A Baby Story the other day I went from sobbing to giggling in the span of about 5 minutes. My husband, being the sensitive-type, took out his iPhone and filmed me.

Oh! And the saliva! Pregnancy can bring up all sorts of weird symptoms and this is definitely one of them! I’ve had a lot of extra saliva lately, which doesn’t help with the nausea, but other than that it doesn’t really interfere with the day to day.

Baby Bump:

I haven’t noticed a bump yet (although my husband says he thinks he might see something). What to Expect When You’re Expecting has a much prettier explanation…bowel distention (beautiful…) I don’t know if this is the case, but I find it hard to believe that I am already showing. Some says 2nd timers can show as early as 8 to 10 weeks. We shall see.

I’ve started the Belly Butter regime (I use Burt’s Bee’s Mama Bee Belly Butter – it’s AWESOME because it doesn’t really have a smell and it’s not greasy or too thick.) I didn’t get stretch marks last time, but I’m not about to chance it or chalk it all up to genetics this time around.

Weight Gain:

None so far. Still clocking in at 121.

Sleep:

Extremely vivid dreams! I usually only remember my dreams maybe once or twice a week, but man oh man…I wake up every morning remembering every detail of whatever crazy dream I had. It’s exhausting!

Cravings/Aversions:

I’ve really had no appetite to speak of. There have been moments that I’ve thought I might actually want something, but I make it and then…I change my mind. There has been one exception.

Yesterday I had my first real craving. I really had to have some thick slices of tomato on a turkey sandwich. Now…this may not seem that weird, but I’m not a huge tomato fan. I put them on sandwiches and burgers normally because I’m trying to squeeze in some veggies, but I don’t look forward to them. Not so yesterday. It was the tomato I wanted and the sandwich without it just wouldn’t have cut it. P.S. It was DELICIOUS!

What’s Up With Baby

Size:

Baby Simons is the size of a lentil or the head of a nail (about 1/4 of an inch).

Growth:

Little arms and legs are forming and Baby will start moving them around toward the end of this week. There are also dark spots where his or her eyes and nostrils will be. There are little indentations that will form the ear canals, and the heart is forming the different chambers and has started beating (looking forward to seeing that flicker at our 8 week ultrasound!) Lungs, intestines, pituitary gland, brain, muscles, and tissues are forming as well.  Basically, Baby is doing a whole lotta growing 🙂

Movement:

None that I can feel, but those little arm and leg buds are waving around like crazy!

Pregnant for the First Time: A Recap

Since I’m still very early in my pregnancy and not a lot is going on (I don’t really “feel” pregnant yet), I decided a recap of my first pregnancy is in order.

It all began with the birds and the bees…well, it took a few months for a successful bird n’ bee hook up to be made, but made it was and baby was on board in August of 2011. I was working at a bank and the morning of my positive pregnancy test I went in bright eyed and bushy tailed to…the reek of paint fumes. One of my coworkers was about 12 weeks pregnant at the time and amid near-hysterics from some of the others about the safety of breathing in paint fumes at such an early stage of pregnancy, she went home. I made some quick, secretive, conference room calls to my OB and was told I should avoid the fumes. So keeping my news a secret until the proscribed 12 week mark wasn’t in the cards for me. I told my boss the news and that I needed to get out of the fumes. (I’m sure he was thinking, “Great…two pregnant women to crazy up the office…”) However, I got to spend the day listening to the CD my husband made me and browsing the pregnancy books at Barnes and Noble. A very good day!

Fast forward a few weeks: I had absolutely no appetite and the only food I was able to get down was Bagel Bites…that’s right, I have a bunch of brand spankin’ new books about eating healthy while pregnant and the only thing I can stomach is Bagel Bites. But it got better! After a few weeks of morning puking and Bagel Bites for most meals, I moved past the “morning sickness” and on to feeling healthy, happy, and accomplished (I’m a human incubator!)

Chris and I had so much fun basking in the baby glory. We took lots of long walks around Town Lake (Lady Bird Lake) taking pictures and enjoying the beautiful scenery. We went to breakfast and sat outside talking about the things we wanted for our baby. We enjoyed lazy days off browsing bookshelves and drinking coffee (decaf for me!) on the balcony of our apartment. So peaceful!

Then we had a scare at 31 weeks. I noticed some bleeding while I was at work and (after a panic-filled day and some additional bleeding) I called my doctor and was told to go to the hospital to be safe. Well that didn’t do a thing to ease my fears and, when we got there and the nurse in charge wrote down ‘preterm labor’ on my slip and wheeled me up to the Labor and Delivery wing, I was at a new low. Chris was great – a calm, reassuring presence that kept me sane and from dissolving into tears. Luckily, after hours hooked up to a fetal and contraction monitor, I was cleared with the equivalent of a medical “I dunno”. Apparently my uterus was being proactive and getting some reps in before the big game. We were lucky and had no more scares the duration of my pregnancy.

In the weeks leading up to my due date we were kept busy with Lamaze classes, a beautiful baby shower, a maternity photo session (courtesy of my husband and Hat Creek Photography), and UT baseball games. It was a busy but amazing time.

Finally, the day arrived…well, Baby Penelope decided that she wanted to make her debut a few days before her due date actually. I was making dinner on a Friday night, standing in the kitchen when I felt a strange gushing sensation…my water had broken! We made our way to the hospital at a surprisingly leisurely pace (in retrospect) and the rest is history – we welcomed our beautiful baby girl, Penelope Lee Simons, on May 12, 2012, the perfect Mother’s Day gift.

I had so much fun being pregnant and I’m really looking forward to it the second time around! Stay tuned for updates!