Eleven Weeks

How far along are you? 11 weeks
How big is baby? a lime. Doesn't that sound big?
Weight gain/loss? No clue until the doctor weighs me
Stretch marks? same
Maternity clothes? I bought pants and a dress a Target. I'll need them soon enough.
Best moment this week? I am going to look at baby furniture today.
Gender? my feeling has been boy but I don't care either way.
Movement? no but I've had some odd cramps on my sides.
Belly button? The same.
Symptoms? Breast pain, itchiness, swelling and anything else that can happen to a breast. General ickiness and still very tired.
Cravings? Fruit and carbs, Coca-cola and Dr. Pepper
What do I miss? feeling pretty
What I'm looking forward to this week? Feeling a bit better every day. Oh, and I'll tell my book club on the weekend.
Milestones? Today I have 200 days left in this pregnancy. That seems doable.

I'm ALIVE!

Today, for the first time in over a month, I cooked food. I actually chopped and onion and made some black beans and rice for dinner. Yes, it was simple and yes, it was on the bland side, but it was still really tasty. I don't care. It's a victory. Real food. Real cooking. I am coming back to life. Thank you end of the first trimester.

Billy is also thrilled. I did the dishes. He's had to do them for weeks. I would wretch at the smell. I couldn't even open our garbage can without holding my breath. Did you know holding you breath can make you gag? Yeah. That sucked.

Ten Weeks/31 years

I turned 31 yesterday. I didn't eat cake or celebrate. Billy worked a late shift so we had the whole morning. He made me breakfast and shoveled the driveway and sidewalk. I wasn't allowed to help. I went to my Mom's for the afternoon. I rocked my nephew and cooed at him. I watched him get so excited he laughed little belly laughs. My sister gave ma a beautiful baby wrap. I napped. I ate some real food and I went home. Billy brought me sparkling grape juice and we watched an episode of Bones and fell asleep on the couch. It was a great birthday despite making a terrible story.

I felt strong and happy all day. I was surrounded by love and fun. The dogs and cats all visited me and slept on my lap. I felt lucky all day long.

How far along are you? 10 weeks
How big is baby? A prune. Gross.
Weight gain/loss? About the same as last week
Stretch marks? Same ole, same ole
Maternity clothes? Not yet but I think I should buy some soon
Best moment this week? having my birthday and closing the book on the past year
Gender? I go back and forth. For the first time, I think it might be a girl. Also the heartbeat was a girl heart beat. I got my old wives tales wrong.
Movement? not for another couple months. I can feel something internal if I bend over. It's a new presence.
Belly button? The same.
Symptoms? Feeling so much better this past week. I can stay up past 8pm and I often enjoy food.
Cravings? sour and vinegar things like pickles, lemons and vinaigrettes.
What do I miss? warm weather
What I'm looking forward to this week? just moving forward
Milestones? 25% there!

Nine Weeks

How far along are you? 9.5 weeks
How big is baby? The size of a green olive...yummy salty green olive.
Weight gain/loss? I lost 5 pounds in the past 4 weeks
Stretch marks? Same ole, same ole
Maternity clothes? No but I ripped a hope in the back of one of my few pairs of pants today
Best moment this week? An hour ago hearing the baby's heartbeat on the doppler
Gender? I still think boy. It has a boy heart rate (170)
Movement? no.
Belly button? The same.
Symptoms? Sour stomach and the breast pain is back. Feeling stronger but still very sleepy. Food aversions are more patchy now. Pimples are new and breast itching too.
Cravings? Mostly bland stuff, fruit and yogurt with occasional forays into real food.
What do I miss? energy
What I'm looking forward to this week? sleep
Milestones? first doppler heart beat!

Thinking about names

So, if the baby is healthy and good, which it seems to be so far, we are going to have to choose a name for it. That's a daunting task. I love names and I've planned baby names all my life. In junior high I wanted two girls named Tessa and Alyssa. I thought that pair was the height of chic. I named all my pets carefully and with human names.

So the fact that this is the big leagues, a real baby name, has me scared. I don't want to do it wrong. My friends named their son something "interesting and different" five years ago. Aiden. That's right. Just like every other little boy you meet. You can't walk through a classroom without tripping on three.

Then there is the friend of a friend who named her son Finnegan, no nickname. I think it's selfishly pretentious to name your kid something terrible just to announce to the world that your smartypants self reads James Joyce. I am sure she doesn't think it's terrible. She picked it after all. I just can't imagine how that was the best name of all the names in the world.

Then we have friends who asked us if they could claim the name Jayden in case they ever had a boy. We quickly agreed. They can happily have Jayden, a name that makes me think of high school students, not the college educated professionals they are. It makes Finnegan sound more and more appealing.

It's so easy to judge. This one too hot. This one too cold. But which one is just right?

So today I asked Dad about his grandparents' names. I am interested in family names and I don't know past my own grandparents.

So, my great-grandparents are: Mary and Walter Alva, Myrtle Millie and Charles. Dad doesn't know what Mary's middle name was or if she had one. He told me Charles' middle name and my pregnancy brain has forgotten. Not a bad list. Still, I don't think Myrtle is making a comeback this generation.

Eight Weeks

How far along are you? 8 weeks
How big is baby? The size of a raspberry or pinto bean. Different books offer different foods.
Weight gain/loss? Not weighing myself but I feel the same only bloated.
Stretch marks? The new stretch marks did not disappear unfortunately.
Maternity clothes? Not yet but I think I will need some pants options soon
Best moment this week? Feeling some energy mid-week
Gender? I still think boy. I had a boy dream.
Movement? no.
Belly button? The same.
Symptoms? Pulling/aching/cramp that makes a backward bend painful, intermittent exhaustion, 1 bout of vomiting, food aversions, huge boobs, aversions to vegetables and meat.
Cravings? Bland food in small quantities
What do I miss? Feeling like myself
What I'm looking forward to this week? Entering the last month of the first trimester.
Milestones? first morning sickness