It's official -- this baby LOVES Arby's

I have lost the taste for almost all meat, except for the heavenly goodness that is the Arby's Roast Beef Sandwich. I think I should start eating them every day, since they're so damn good. Definitely the highlight of my culinary week.

crazy amazon hair

I have read many articles and books on pregnancy, but have never been warned about the crazy hair. I truly look like an aboriginal woman, straight from the forest, where someone was nit-picking through the bees' nest on my head. I will now show you a picture that you will be kind about, and say 'Oh, your hair looks healthy and voluminous.' It looks like I didn't bother to brush it. I figure I'll just pretend I've been out partying all night, and make people jealous with stories of rock stars and my rapidly expanding beer belly.

All's well

We had our first OB appointment yesterday, and to my dismay, we did not have another ultrasound.  She says that my uterus is growing as expected, and we're scheduling an Ultrasound appointment for the week of June 8th.  I did have my first (few) bouts of serious morning (afternoon, evening) sickness and I can officially say that I am not a fan.  But they're few and far between, and so far happen when we're in the car and I'm a passenger.  My bloated belly is also starting to look more like a fat belly.  I fear that this will get worse before it gets better.

We did have a nice time at Sisters' Dinner last night.  Thanks for all the stories, everyone!  Thanks, also, to Jenni, who may have actually put me at ease a bit about birth.  Way to go, Jen.  :)

More later...

that's sick... just sick!

After breakfast yesterday, my stomach felt a little strange.  Nothing horrible, but not normal.  It reminded me of the incident the other day when we were in the car for a five minute drive and I felt very nauseous.  I also figured this was what I get for announcing that I'm not feeling any morning sickness whatsoever.  But yesterday seemed a little more like the flu.  I was sick to my stomach before I got in the car for work, and again a few hours later.  I felt icky most of the day, and stayed on the couch until Karen came home from work. 

So, why is my crazy brain worried that things aren't going well?  It's been eleven days since we heard the heartbeat, and were told that we're 98% sure to carry to term, but still I worry.  I'm not visiting the bathroom as often, and in my mind this is cause for concern.  Sure, I still wake up at least once a night to go to the bathroom, but still...  there is no place for logic here, people.  I haven't been falling-over-tired like I was at first, so I worry.  I read too many symptoms of problems in the wonderful 'What To Expect' emails, and I worry.  I hope this phase passes soon so I can go back to just being excited.

But I do have my first real OB appt on Thurdsday.  I'm hoping for a real big-girl ultrasound.  :)  See, it's not all pessimism;  just partly cloudy.

learning to respect Creed, or my fall from coolness

Friday was a great day:  good ultrasound appointment, went to see a chick flick, half-day of work, sunny skies.  Nothing on the horizon as mildly unpleasant all day long.  Until Karen mentioned that there was likely a Creed song to sum up how we felt. 

Susan:  what are you talking about?
Karen:  the Creed song, about having a baby
S: there's no such song.  They're a Christian rock band, I don't remember any songs about babies.
K: google their most popular song's lyrics.

(pause)

**tearing up.

(pause)

K: read them out loud

If I had just one wish
Only one demand
I hope he's not like me
(sob)
I hope he understands
That he can take this life
And hold it by the hand
(sniff)
And he can greet the world
With arms wide open...

And I'd like to pretend I'm oh-so-cool, but even as I copy and paste these cheeseball lyrics, tears are streaming down my face.  I have heard this song a hundred times, and never realized it was about babies.  And now, suddenly, I am not cool.

Ultrasound results

Everything's going as planned!! We saw and heard the heartbeat -- 122 beats per minute, and the kitten is .83 cm, or about the size of a gummy bear.

I'm so excited, I can't stop smiling :)
It is starting to feel real now!
Still no morning sickness, pretty tired after 4pm but not much else :)

apparent pregnancy brain

Tonight, we Karen began putting together our kitchen cabinets.  There's hammering and other tool usage, and midway through she asked me to grab her some Advil from the bathroom.  I remember grabbing them, I stopped at the fridge to fill a water glass, took a drink of water from it, changed the pregnancy count on the fridge, and then realized I had no idea where I'd put the Advil.  Pockets were checked, every surface in our rapidly running-out-of-surfaces-kitchen was checked, but to no avail.  I did, however, find a tiny piece of metal on the floor that only microscopes could likely find.  So, at least I have some skills...

We still can't figure it out.  I had to admit that I may have switched on auto-pilot, and taken them, and immediately forgotten.  Of course, I freaked out -- Advil is not advised for use by pregnant women -- and figured I should induce vomiting in an attempt to save my unborn child.  When that didn't work, I asked my midwife friend if I should worry, checked the internet to make myself even more worried, and I resigned myself to the fact that I may have taken them and I may have lost them, and that things would likely be fine.  Either way, I am officially no longer responsible for anything at all.  Just in case...

nope -- still hasn't hit me yet

Heading to the bathroom for the twenty-fourth time today, I realized that this whole pregnancy thing hasn't really hit me yet.  I am very excited to tell people and talk about it, but in reality it's not much different than when I'd daydream about what it might be like to be pregnant.  I'm not sure if that's because it's so early, or because I'm not sick yet.  The one thing I have definitely felt is lethargy.  I am so tired from the moment I pick my head up from the pillow until the moment I lay it back down.  I am ready for several naps in the day, even though the work fascists current workplace standards frown upon naps.

I am definitely looking forward to the ultrasound Friday -- it feels like a big milestone after a week and a half of no blood tests; clearly, I need progress reports.  I have found there is only so much pregnancy info out there, though.  Between my emails from Fit Pregnancy, WhatToExpect and the American Pregnancy Association, I know what part of our baby is growing every second, and what I can expect in the next few days.  I can't imagine how people did it before, without a constant reminder of everything hitting the inbox at the same time. 

Also, why on earth did no one warn me about the bloating?  It's not a great look for me, I'm sorry to report.

More updates as pseudo-interesting things occur.

6 week update with names

We're in our seventh week.  (In our sixth week?)  I am even having a hard time understanding how the many different publications and doctors count these damn weeks. 

Yesterday I learned a valuable lesson the hard way -- doing too much all weekend long makes your body fight back.  I was at work for about an hour and felt like a bus had hit me.  So I went home and slept.  All day long.  It felt nice, and my  worries about not being able to sleep through the night were unfounded.  Slept like a baby even after a five hour nap.  I guess that whole 'you need to get more rest' thing isn't just a wives' tale.

We have a few new names on the list...  Let us know what you think:

The boy's name is pretty much decided upon:
Daniel Shaniuk Kennedy

Girls' names are still up in the air:
Emily
Emma
Piper
Lily
Lucy
Clover
Addison*
Olive
Hazel
Etta


That's it for now.  The list changes daily, so stay tuned for updates.

And, for the anonymous commenter who wanted to know how to speak directly to the kitten, (hi, mom), my advice is to wait about seven months.  She'll likely be welcoming guests then.



*we will not be naming our baby Addison.