Bits and Pieces!

Well we made it to the 2nd trimester! Yay!!!! I thought since I am trying to use this blog as a bit of a diary that I would mention a few of the highlights and low points of the 1st trimester! Highlights definitely included sharing the news with all our friends and family. I think one of my favorite reactions was from Sarah Tuttle who practically screamed in the middle of the Chili's restaurant when we told her the news. I also really enjoyed the first scan (details below) and my second appointment with my midwife. I got to hear the heart beat again (which was good and strong). The midwife said my iron and hormone levels were fantastic, which was really comforting to know. One of the highlights of the 1st trimester has also been all the love and support I have received from wonderful friends and family. Cooked dinners and gifts from the neighbors, cards from friends in the U.S. and NZ, a big edible fruit boquet deliver to my work from Tyler and very special moments shared with Tyler as he has supported me through my struggles with morning sickness! My sister Bianca has also been fantastic with her well timed text messages of support and the reminder that I would be able to make it through the sickness.

Low points?..... Definitely the visit to the ER for fluids, where I think I was overdosed with Phenergan and had a not so friendly encounter with one of the ER nurses! Not to mention the daily struggle to keep my food down, get my work done and keep on going.

Well the morning sickness sure isn't over yet (two pukes today so far and counting)... but this last week has come with a couple of really good days where I have been able to enjoy a good meal without feeling sick and remember what it felt like to feel normal again. Fingers crossed the number of good days will continue to increase and soon the nausea will be a distant memory!

Wednesday was the start of trimester 2 and the belly bean is apparently the size of a lemon! I have graduated into a couple of pairs of prego jeans which are oh so comfy (Heidi Klum's prego skinny jeans to be exact). I put on one of my larger pairs of regular jeans to go out on a date last night (thinking they might still fit) and I couldn't get button within about 5 inches of doing up! Apparently other people are starting to notice the growth also as I got my first "you look pregnant comment" from a lady at my work on Wednesday (which I thought was well timed being the very first day of trimester 2).

I am excited to continue to watch this baby grow and experience the rest of this crazy new adventure...

First Scan!!!

Since the only date that we had to go off for the pregnancy was the date I think I ovulated my midwife suggested we go and have an early scan to be sure. This morning we got to see our gorgeous little belly bean! It was an absolutely fantastic experience! The baby (who we are convinced is a boy... according to the ancient Chinese gender predicting calendar) was adorable. It looked like a little gummy bear. The coolest part was seeing the heart beat and how much it was moving. It was waving its tiny arms all over the place and jumping all around (definitely Tyler's baby!) I got a bit teary. It was so much bigger than I expected and looked like a tiny human being (surprise surprise!) Luckily there was only one in there and my dates were exactly as I though - 10 weeks and 3 days! Here are a couple of pictures that were taken - Its amazing what technology can do these days.

What goes down must come up!

Well the last few weeks have been quite the roller coaster! Especially for my stomach! I have been sick almost constantly and have seen way too many meals come back up (the most exciting time being on the side of the road after one of Tyler's late night soccer game)! Thankfully my doctor has put me on Zofran which has definitely helped with the vomiting, although the nausea is still there most of the time. Night times are tricky because I can only go a couple of hours before I get hungry, my blood sugar drops and then I feel sick. I am up about 5 or 6 times a night. Not to mention the peeing!! I am constantly eating (which you'd think would be fun). Fingers crossed this only lasts a few more weeks! Tyler has been a fantastic support.

The much more fun side of the last few weeks has been telling our families and a few friends about our exciting news. We told the Capson side of the family at our annual week at snowbird. Tyler announced the news during "family home evening" as part of "family business." They were all so excited for us and it was great to get to talk to Sue, Liz, Jen and Emily about their pregnancy experiences. We told my family a few days later (although a lucky few already knew we were trying). It was fun to tell Mum and Carrie via a Skype chat and to see their expressions. Dad, Bianca and my brothers were all really excited as well. I have felt a lot of love and support over these last few weeks as I have been so ill. I am thankful for good friends and family.

We're Pregnant!

On December 15th, 2010 we found out we were pregnant! We had been trying since July, 2010 (5 months... which to me felt like an eternity). In reality, I think when we got pregnant was probably the first time we actually got the timing right thanks to work trips, a trip to New Zealand for Crystals wedding, illnesses and my wonderful irregular cycles (since I went off the pill my cycles were getting longer with a grand total of 60 days before I got pregnant!) But regardless it felt like an eternity. Along the way I found a fantastic book by Toni Weschler called "Taking Charge of Your Fertility"... Not only was it responsible for helping us time ovulation with irregular cycles, but I learnt all sorts of things they definitely did not teach me in Tawa College health education!

One of the first signs of the pregnancy was cramping a week or so after ovulation (which occured on December 1st according to waking morning temperature monitoring). I also started to experience cramping and mid-night hunger attacks in the few days before taking the pregnancy test.

The day I took the pregnancy test I was at the Himalayan Kitchen for a WTS Christmas luncheon. I was crampy and mildly nauseous throughout the lunch. I got up the courage to pick up a pregnancy test on the way back to the office after lunch. Three or four negative tests from the previous months made me pretty nervous to take one this time around. But I figured I was either pregnant or had some kind of tummy bug which ought to be seen by a doctor!!!

I was shaking like crazy when I took the test!

That night on the way to pick up Tyler from work I stopped and bought a little gift for the "daddy-to-be." We were having left over Indian and a celebratory bottle of Martinelli's for dinner when I surprised him. He gave me a big hug and was very excited! He's going to be a great Dad!

I have my first appointment scheduled with OB/GYN associates for Jan 20th. I will be 8 weeks when I go for my first appointment! I have decided to try out a mid-wife. Her name is Vicki O'Neil.

We decided it would be fun to take a couple of pictures every month to show how the Belly Bean is growing! Here's the first one! Yep... abs of steal baby! ;)