First Trimester Update: Avoiding Accidental Polygamy & Polygamists

This pregnancy is flying by!  I am just emerging from the first trimester hell!  I say it has flown by now, but weeks 5-9 were not particularly fun :s

Actually...none of it has been great, but that's because I've been sick for almost all of it :(  And not the morning sickness kind: I've had either one endless cold, or one after another, I'm not sure.  I mistakenly thought that your immune system is elevated when pregnant, but boy, was I wrong.  Your immunity is actually compromised when pregnant.  I get everything!  Doesn't help that this is my son's first year of daycare, so he gets everything, too, and brings it home to me.  When he's sick, he's extra snuggly, and who can resist that? But the other day, when I had to leave work to get him from daycare because he had a fever of 103.7, and took him into bed with me to rest (after a visit to the walk-in clinic), I was painfully aware of the fact that he was breathing his snotty, raspy, congested, sick air directly into my mouth and nose :s  But what can you do?  They're so sweet and pathetic when sick, you can't help but let them infect you!

Aside from continual respiratory illnesses, however, I've been pretty good.  I did have some morning sickness which started earlier than with my last pregnancy (at about 5 1/2 weeks), was more intense, and longer-lasting than with Avery (with him, I only felt nauseous for about an hour a day for a week; this time around, it lasted until week 9, and started around 11am, continuing the rest of the day).  Still, I didn't actually throw up, so I know I got off easy compared to some people.  But it still sucked.  I just felt gross, all the time.  Nothing was appealing to me to eat, every meal was a forced effort, though I did find I felt better after I had managed a few bites.  Grocery shopping was particularly painful - that's the only time I think I probably could have thrown up: I had to leave the store and wait outside, spitting into a water bottle :s  I know: I'm so glamourous and sexy.

Then there's the fatigue.  That's what I remember as the worst part from my first pregnancy.  And it was bad this time, too - still is - though not as bad as the first time around.  The first time, I remember trying to take naps at work, laying my head down on my desk, then going home and having a real nap for an hour or so, and still needing to go to bed early.  The past few weeks, I've taken a nap here and there, when I can, and I'm definitely tired by around 8pm...but I don't think it's as bad as the first time, and I think I'm getting my energy back now, at the end of the first trimester.  I've also been taking some sort of vitamin B combo that's supposed to help, but makes the nausea worse - catch 22.

The first time I was pregnant, I didn't really show until around 4 months.  I started to feel fatter before that, but was still able to wear my regular pants, just with an elastic band slipped through the button hole and used to give me an extra inch or so.  But this time, I had a definite baby bulge as early as 5 weeks!  They say your muscles remember...I say mine remembered and just gave up!  I was afraid I was going to "pull a Falco" (a friend of mine, who is notoriously huge during pregnancy, but is really a very petite person!) and be the size of a Buick this time!  But my belly has seemed to stay the same size since that 5-week expansion, thank God.

I was very relieved to find out I am carrying just one baby.  I had been nervous about twins, for several reasons.  The first is that my psychic predicted twins.  I know, I know - I'm not crazy!  I wouldn't have given this prediction any weight EXCEPT for the fact that 4 of his other predictions HAD been accurate, including the one about me conceiving right away, which was surprising because I had needed medical intervention to help me conceive my first time.  Couple that with the enormity of my belly (okay, slight exaggeration, but it was surprisingly large for that early), and I started to give it real consideration.  There are also 5 sets of twins in my family, just none that recent.  Finally, at my first midwife appointment, she was even surprised at the size of my uterus, and even moreso when she was able to detect a heartbeat with a Doppler that early (8 weeks)!  She suspected I was carrying twins, too, and started listing off all the complications associated with multiple pregnancies, and why I'd have to go into shared care with a physician, and the greater likelihood of needing a c-section...!  It was very overwhelming and scary!  So, I had to go for an ultrasound to find out.  Twins would have been fine...we would have managed...but we were not unhappy to discover just one, nice, strong, healthy fetus in there :)  Man, I give credit to mommis of twins!  I'm sure there are big rewards, and they're very cute, and the matching thing is somewhat appealing...but the sleeplessness times 2 part is not, nor is the need for 2 of everything!  Anyhow: 1 baby for me - phew! :D

My skin has not been as atrocious this pregnancy, either.  Though, I was prepared this time, and have been using Clindets wipes, which my dermatologist told me too late last pregnancy, are safe to use during.  Also, I have not detected any worsening of the remnants of my old mask of pregnancy - but I know I have a long way to go, and didn't really notice anything until the last couple months of pregnancy last time, either :s  No linea nigra yet, either! :)  Fingers crossed for me that I won't get either this time!

That's it for symptoms and developments so far...  We got to hear the heartbeat again at our 12 week appointment, and that's always pretty cool and moving :)  Justin got to come with me this time, so it was his first time hearing.  Ugh, though: at that appointment, I had to have more blood taken because I guess the bloodwork my doctor had already sent me for failed to identify my blood type - and my veins were being evasive that day, resulting in several failed attempts to get my blood, including one in my HAND :s  And I had to have a Pap - never fun.  This one was particularly traumatic because the midwife got me to hold all the instruments she was going to be using, and pass them to her as needed.  Some things I just don't want to know about!  Just let me stare at the ceiling and pretend I'm somewhere else, please.

Speaking of midwives, I want to take this opportunity to pimp them out again.  Many people don't know that Midwifery care is covered by OHIP in Ontario.  Or that they send you for all the same tests and ultrasounds as a doctor does.  Or that they actually have MORE dedicated education in all things "baby" than doctors.  Or that having a midwife doesn't mean you have to have a home birth (though you can).  Or that they're not all crazy, woodsy, hippie-types.  I will grant you, that was one of my concerns, as well.  There is the assumption that midwives look a lot like the polygamists on Big Love - and this isn't always false.  But if you look hard enough, you will find that many are not, in fact, polygamists, nor do they look like them or share the same beliefs :P  That was my criteria for selecting a midwife this time.  I had to find another, because I have moved and can't be cared for by my last one, who is now out of area.  Two friends recommended theirs, and I went online to see who looked least like Nicki from Big Love (Barb or Marge might be okay), and both clinics had photos of their caregivers, many of whom I was sure were not polygamists.  Ultimately, however, I chose a midwife at another clinic, nearer to my home and work, purely for convenience.  This is not a diatribe on polygamy; in fact, I don't really have anything against polygamists...okay, wait...maybe I do...I don't know...but that is not my point.  My point is that it's important to choose a caregiver for your pregnancy that you feel comfortable with and can establish a rapport with.  Personally, I relate better to people who don't live on compounds and share spouses.  But that's just me.  I hope my readers can appreciate this attempt at humour, and aren't totally offended right now ;)  In defense of polygamists everywhere, I should add that I was briefly a polygamist, myself - accidentally!  Justin and I recently bought a new home, and when we were doing the paperwork for the mortgage with the legal assistant, we declared ourselves common-law spouses.  But the next question was about my last name, which I'm only in the process of changing back to my maiden name.  It came out that I am technically, legally still married.  Which briefly made me a polygamist, right?  But the problem was quickly corrected when we decided to list ourselves as 2 single individuals purchasing a home together instead.  And I really hope my divorce gets finalized soon.  As in, before this baby's born.  For obvious, and slightly sketchy reasons.  But anyway.  If you'd like more legitimate information on why I recommend midwives, please see my earlier post: Fisting, Midwives, and Indian Rug Burn :)

So, what do you think?  Do you think the differences in pregnancy symptoms between this pregnancy and my first suggest that I might be carrying a girl this time?  I have no idea.  And no preference.  Honestly.  I think a lot of people assume that girls want girls.  But that is not always the case.  I love my boy!  One of each would be nice, but if I could only have one gender, I think I'd rather have all boys than all girls.  The previously mentioned pregnant friend who is expecting her THIRD girl, however, thinks I'm crazy ;)

Guesses or predictions?  I wish SOMEone could tell me what I'm having!  I don't care which, but definitely want to know!  We're scheduled for the ultrasound that will potentially reveal the gender (if baby cooperates) just before Christmas :)