13 Weeks Pregnant

I will be 13 weeks pregnant tomorrow. I'm still in disbelief as I type this. I can't believe this little one has survived and Mike and I still cry tears of amazement, joy and relief every time we have an ultrasound.

Last week I had my "old lady" testing, to check the thickness of the baby's neck for signs of Downs' Syndrome. All looked well on that front. We also got to watch the baby lounge around. What a contrast to Mia's u/s at that time. This baby was sleeping when we started, so we had to wake him up. His heart rate was only 154 and it freaked me out (it was 185 last time), but the tech assured me it was because he was sleeping. He kept trying to move away, get comfy and go back to sleep. At Mia's 12 week exam, she was jumping around and playing the whole time. I said this one must be a lazy boy. ;-)

This week I have finally admitted I am more sick with this pregnancy than I was with Mia. I've been in denial a bit on that front. I've missed a tremendous amount of work this time. I've almost had car accidents due to vomiting while driving. With Mia I was more lethargic, especially at night. This time I'm not as tired, but I'm definitely more sick. I'm taking Zofran, as I did with Mia, so I'm not vomiting too much. Instead, I'm gagging and dry heaving all the time. Sometimes it's all day. I applied for intermittent FMLA this week, because it seems to be getting worse, not better.

I've gained a ton of weight already. It varies day to day, somewhat drastically, depending on whether or not I've gone to the bathroom. One day last week I weighed myself and I was up 8 pounds since conception. A few days later it was 18 pounds. As with Mia, I'm very constipated. I'm also eating mostly carbs, as they seem to fight off the nausea the most. Unfortunately, I have to eat almost constantly, so I'm really packing on the pounds, and I'm not exercising since I feel so sick. I hope once this passes I'll be more active and go back to a healthier diet.

Mia is so incredibly excited about this baby. She kisses my belly all day, talks about what we'll do when the baby comes, "I will hold the baby, but I WILL NOT change its diaper!" I think Santa may bring her an American Girl baby doll for Christmas so she can practice, and have a baby of her own to care for while Mommy and Daddy care for Trucky. Yes, Cara has named our new baby Trucky. Mia doesn't like it, probably because Cara came up with it, but it's funny. Mia likes Angela, Natalie and Ash-a-ley, her favorite girl names. For a boy she likes Liam and Rome (coincidentally, the same names as her friends at school).