oh boy, I guess the hormones are kicking in. I'm trying to read about the Democrat convention first thing this morning and this brought tears to my eyes: [Michelle Obama speaking]"He's the same man who drove me and our new baby daughter home from the hospital 10 years ago this summer, inching along at a snail's pace, peering anxiously at us in the rearview mirror, feeling the whole weight of her future in his hands, determined to give her everything he'd struggled so hard for himself, determined to give her what he never had: the affirming embrace of a father's love."

I got my first baby gifts this weekend. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law couldn't resist. I got 2 animal baby blankets, one tiger and one bear. They have a soft side and a satin side, just 12" square with an animal head in the middle.
Why didn't they make animals that soft when I was a kid! :)
I also got some body butter, and best of all it's unscented! Claire did good on that part. My already sensitive nose has gone further than I ever thought it could. urghhh.

I had another dr. appt this morning - he wants to see me every 2 weeks in the first trimester. The urine was fine, blood pressure was fine (though I thought low - 90/60) and I've gained a 1.5 lb, which he thought was great. Not much is happening with me besides the zapped energy which I know is normal, so I didn't really have any questions. For the next appointment, about 12 weeks we should get to hear the heartbeat.

So while I've been a slug and taking lots of naps, Jeff is on the ball and has been productive. This morning we bought a closet organizer for the nursery closet and he got it installed. And over the last few days he's cleaned up his upstairs old office to make room for a bed so that can be our second guest bedroom. He even had room to keep all his bookshelves with sci-fi books. Now the room is mostly cleared out so we can paint whenever I finally decide what I want. I think I want a jungle theme so I can do some custom painting. I first need energy :)

I know a few of my friends have heard me complaining about the style of shirts now days, how they are too loose and make anyone (even a size Small) look fat. Well now I'm thankful they are in style. My weight on the scale is still the same, but I do believe some of it has shifted. And due to some other issues of 'regularity' being gone, all I want to wear is loose clothes. So I went to Penney's today and got a few loose shirts to wear in the coming months. Maybe it'll help me hide it for another month at work.

Sorry, I'm a little late getting this scanned in. Had to ask a coworker for help since I dont have a scanner. So far though just 2 people know at work. Those would be my closest friends at work.
This is now 2 weeks old, so I'm at least 8 weeks along. Here's the proof.

Click on the image for a larger version.

According to the charts my baby still looks like an alien amoeba. They even describe arms as a paddles and the tailbone as a tail. I think the fingers separate next week though, that'll help with some human features :)
Last night I bought the 'What to Expect when you're expecting' book that everyone talks about. I think I've skipped over the first 70 or more pages though since it didn't apply anymore. Then I got distracted with Olympics. (The book will be there later).
At dinner last night Jeff ordered wine and I had a few sips - with his big eyes making me feel almost guilty. I know I'm a product of alcohol in the womb and I'm just fine, so I don't think 4 sips will do anything bad. Though Jeff is still trying to convince me otherwise. It's just that wine tastes so much better when you haven't had it in 4 weeks. I feel like there is no compromise on the man's part of this whole situation. Maybe my hormones will start kicking into manic overdrive and he'll have a demon to deal with. haha. So far hormones are just giving me pimples that I'm not used to.

So I've been reading some of the pregnancy boards and it seems like most people in the first trimester fall into 2 categories for morning sickness (m/s) and hunger
* They have m/s or all day/s and the thought of food is repulsive
* Or (like me) they are always a little bit nauseous unless their stomach has food in it.
I haven't puked yet and really only came close with one of the vitamins I was on - I looked after the fact and saw 90mg of iron. yikes! I'm a meat eater, so that was not necessary.
I've been craving fruit and grapes are awesome to munch on without feeling guilty, but I'm seriously wondering how women keep this up without putting on too much weight. I feel like it either feel a little bit sick all the time, or feel fine and eat constantly.
Right now I'm thankful I still feel good and I have a job that lets me eat at my desk.

Thinking of baby names is alot harder than I thought it would ever be. I can see how parent's to be could seriously stress about this. I'm not one to want to name a kid after a family member because I want him/her to have their own identity. I'm also limited in boys names since I have 6 brothers (that includes step and inlaws) and 6 nephews. I dont like freaky stylish names, certainly not for boys - it's just asking them to get beat up. And names that end in -er don't flow well with my last name. I've come up with about 14 names for each with only a couple that I love. Now I'm thinking since that's so limited I'm not sure I want to tell friends/family what I'm considering for fear of them telling me a story of someone they hated with that name :) I'd rather pop out a baby, say it's name and then if someone doesn't like it they will have to bite their tongue because it'd be rude at that point to say anything besides what a beautiful baby. ha! guess that's one way to get what I want :)
(Then again I know me and it's hard to keep a secret - my life's an open book, so I guess time will tell how it goes)

According to EHD- Endowment for Human Development just 3 days till free fingers are formed. You should check out some of the photos - pretty amazing.

I've always been a breakfast eater, but now it's mandatory. I still have cereal and OJ at home and now bring a piece of fruit or yogurt to eat about 9am. I still need to master the eat small meals and do it more often.
Yesterday I went home for lunch (the power was out here) and I took a 25 nap. It was a good day :)

First OB appt

I had my first OB appt this morning - basically a nurse just asked me a bunch of questions about my history and lifestyle. Evidently birthing classes fill up early, so I need to sign up now (8 months ahead sounds crazy but ok). I asked to make sure it was still ok to take these classes and get an epidural and she said oh yeah - they teach you what to do till you can get the epidural, and you get a tour of the maternity ward, etc.
There was some discrepancy between when I said my last period was and the results of the ultrasound. Based on my last period, my due date would be about March 18, but with ut said March 26. So I'm due sometime around there.
So far I feel fine, a little tired, definitely feel better with food in my tummy, my sinuses are a little more clogged, but thats about it which is all normal. I'm still trying out different vitamins, hopefully a more organic food based one will be in tomorrow.

This is from a funny comic strip: http://xkcd.com/

Freebies

Another part of my planning that worked out - I waited till several friends had babies so I could be surrounded by experts :) I've already been offered some books and a babyplus system. yeah!
I've mentioned how it didn't really feel 'real' till yesterday. When I said that to a friend she said it didn't feel real with the first one till she was holding the baby - till that point everything felt like a medical condition. that cracked me up!