Sugar!

Quick! Put a teaspoon of sugar in your hand. Look at it. Feel it. The weight you are holding is approximately the same weight as our baby!!!! C.R.A.Z.Y. If you don't have sugar handy, search for a nickle. But know that a nickle is a whole gram more than what the baby weighs. So awesome.

Asking for Prayers

My anxiety is pretty high today. I read a message board this morning that said the woman had two miscarriages, one at 9.5 weeks, and one at 11 weeks. This is her third try at pregnancy.

I am 9 weeks, I'm so close to having the risk of miscarriage be greatly reduced. Get. me. there. I will feel so much better.

Please Lord, keep my baby safe. Help us to stay healthy. Grant me the serenity to leave things in Your hands and to remember You have a plan.

Grape

Our baby has teeth! How crazy is that?! It is also a boy or a girl this week but we won't be able to tell for a while longer. So exciting!!!! Only 217 days left! It is the size of a grape this week and now that all of it's body parts have formed it will start growing more rapidly.

Abacus Time - No Longer!

My blog is no longer on abacus time!!! I fixed it :-D

Morning Insomnia

Well from 2am-5am seems to be a time that I am wide awake these days. I decided to actually get up an do something instead of tossing and turning. I've woke up at this time all week long. One day I counted 167 sheep before singing the alphabet backwards, reciting the Pledge of Allegence backwards, and then planning a party. The planning a party thing always seems to help me fall asleep. It doesn't seem to make sense to force myself back to sleep when I could be a little bit productive and take a nap later. (It is inevitable that I'm going to take a nap anyway!)

I think I've been feeling pretty good. I have spurts during the day that are definitely uncomfortable but my overall days are getting much better. Don't tell anyone but hmm, how do I put this without jinxing myself? The thing above my shoulders has been feeling pretty okay lately! I think maybe I had some withdrawls from the Topamax in the first couple of weeks (thus getting really mean migraines) but things seem to be smooth sailing right now. If I do start feeling pain I know I have to eat or sleep and the pain goes away.

I've been waking up 2 and 3 times a night to go to the bathroom. I'm not talking, oh I'll just get up and try, I'm talking "You've been dreaming about peeing for an hour now, check the bed to make sure you knew you were dreaming." Seriously, urgent trips to the bathroom.

Nutrition continues to worry me. I've decided, if I like something I need to just eat it. Otherwise, I'm not getting anything in my tummy. So, yesterday I had two big bowls of macaroni salad, a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and a chicken nugget happy meal with two bottles of milk. Do you see why I'm worried about nutrition?! The Cinnamon Toast Crunch is whole grain and has vitamins in it. I think, if I can hold it down that it is okay to eat it. Plus, it comes with a race car inside the box! I've stuck my hand in the box looking for the car but so far I haven't found it....

Yesterday I wrote part of a paper for class, made macaroni salad, cleaned out the fridge and freezer, did all the dishes, and emptied all the trashes. I was impressed with my ambition! Today I HAVE to work on my paper for Research Design. Hopefully I'll be able to go to Border's to work on it all day. It is hard to focus on work when I'm sitting in bed... It seems to be one of those things that I am dreading, I feel like I don't know where to start but I will make a to-do list and just plug away. I am very lucky to be on vacation this week so I can get it done.

I tried to keep my week free so that I could concentrate on just my homework but I've seemed to make myself busy anyway. Tonight I have a meeting at church that I'm very excited about. Tomorrow we might get together with our friends, Jay and Betsy and then we all have a Lenten Study dinner at church. I'm excited about that too but not as excited as Monday night's meeting. I am worried (when am I not?) about Tuesday's Lenten dinner because it is soup and soup often has MSG in it. Oh well, I do know that there will be bread and dessert. I also know that the actual eating of the soup is NOT the point of the study so I will work around it! Wednesday night I have tried to leave free because we have a 7:30am doctor's appointment on Thursday and I will need my sleep! After our appointment I'm going to visit my parents. I am soooo excited I can hardly contain myself!! Hopefully my homework will be done so that I can truly enjoy myself. If not though, I can still visit while working on homework. I'll be gone from Thursday morning to Sunday morning. Hopefully my family will be able to get together to celebrate my mother's 35th birthday. Yes, I said 35. You can thank me later, Mom.

That's it for now! That was a LONG update! I'm 9 weeks pregnant today. I am so looking forward to being out of my first trimester! I especially can't wait to finally tell people! Kourtney Kardashian had her baby on TV tonight. They showed parts of the actual birth. Of course, after her water broke she got in the shower, shaved, and put on makeup. That cracked me up. When the time comes, somebody should remind me to put on makeup so the pictures turn out nice. (I'm thinking that will be the last thing on my mind!)

You're Always on my Mind

Dear Blogging world,

I haven't forgotten about you. I've just been very tired! I promise to come back soon.

Love,
Amanda

The First Two Months

Yuck!

Kidney Bean!

This is from Babycenter.com: "Your baby is now 5/8 of an inch long, about the size of a kidney bean. New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. His arms have lengthened, too, and his hands are now flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart. His knee joints have formed, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways."

Isn't a blueberry bigger than a kidney bean?

Valentine's Day

I had a great Valentine's Day! I am sooo lucky!

Insurance Coverage

We are soooo blessed!

I called my insurance company today. Turns out my entire pregnancy will be covered 100% by my insurance company. I had to pay a $5.00 deductible on the day I took the pregnancy test at the doctor's but other than that...I'm covered. My insurance pays for my prenatal, delivery, and postpardom care. It covers any medically necessary labs (blood work, ultrasounds, etc).

Blueberry

The baby has doubled in size this week. That has a lot to do with the amount of morning sickness I have had.

It is now developing arms and legs. And can you believe it?! It has eyelids! That is so crazy!

In 7 more weeks the morning sickness should go away. Seems like a LLLOOONNNGGG time!

I can't believe our baby has eyelids.

Buh Hum Bug

My abs hurt from throwing up so much. NOT ONE PERSON EVER TELLS YOU THIS. Geez, even the Kardashian's only threw up like 3 times when they found out they were prego. That may not be true but it is all they showed on TV and they both stayed beautiful. You never saw them sick in bed or too tired to move. I'm beginning to think this pregnancy thing is a disease. Seriously, I want to glow. Aren't people supposed to glow? I want people to guess that I'm pregnant just by how happy I am. I don't ever want to say I can't do this because I'm petrified that God will take the baby away. But I'm scared, and sick, and lonely.

I know I'm supposed to eat a little at a time but I can't. I can't eat anything, what goes in must come out and I'm MISERABLE. I don't want to go to work, or school, I don't want to do my homework, and even going to church seems like it might be a chore. I just want to sleep, sleep, sleep.

Looking on the bright side, I was told morning sickness is the sign of strong hormones and a healthy baby. I sure hope that's true.

Description (I think)

It seems like in the ultrasound picture the baby might be flipped around.... I'm not sure what part of the baby connects to the yolk sac. I thought this was pretty sweet anyway!

Pregnancy Isn't Pretty

The morning sickness is hitting me hard. Turns out I vomit quite violently. I do tend to feel better after I get sick although things I've read says that isn't usually the case.

I've always had weak muscle control when it comes to trying not to to pee when I do anything forceful - like sneeze! Having an accident has accompanied my being sick every time. I bought some Depends. I'm not above wearing them if it will make me feel more comfortable in the long run. I also bought some SeaBands (generally used for motion sickness), ginger-ale and some B-Natal lollipops which are lollipops with B6 in them. I've heard them referred to as "pregopops." I promptly shook the ginger-ale in order to get it flat then I left the cover off for a couple hours. Mission accomplished. Luckily, I have been able to sleep. I've had several migraines but as long as I can sleep they are manageable. Emotionally, I think I'm doing well. It helps to have so much support.

The first trimester of pregnancy is NOT what you think.... I had never formed any ideas about it, but if I had, it wouldn't be this. So far, pregnancy isn't pretty.

Ultrasound!

Ed and I had an appointment with a nurse today and then to get an ultrasound.

The nurse was really nice. We just sat and talked. She gave us a binder full of information. Probably one of the best things she gave us was a sheet on what to expect at each visit. I will be going to the doctor's every two weeks until I'm in my third trimester. I'm not actually sure what week it changes but I know it is more toward the end of pregnancy. I will start going weekly.

Here is a picture of my ultrasound. The thing that looks like the baby's head is the yolk sac. The baby is just that little itty bitty spot that looks like the baby's body. So small, and yet, causes so much trouble already! It was super amazing to be at the Ultrasound. The lady was very nice and welcomed all sorts of questions. Originally my due date was September 26th because we assumed I was 6 weeks, 4 days pregnant. Turns out I was only 6 weeks, 3 days pregnant which OFFICIALLY makes my due date SEPTEMBER 27, 2010! Woot woot! The baby's heartbeat was 124.17. Pretty amazing.

Video of Weeks 1-9

Migraine number 5 yesterday. Luckily it went mostly away after I took a nap.

Sarah-Jean is in labor!

I am not sure how to get the video on my blog, but you should watch this! http://www.babycenter.com/2_inside-pregnancy-labor-and-birth_3658872.bc

Nose!

I just noticed the ticker at the bottom of the blog says the baby is starting to grow a nose. Gosh, I hope it has Ed's nose. I wonder if we'll be able to tell by looking at the ultrasound on Thursday. :0) Just kidding.

Gotta say, I'm a tad nervous about the ultrasound. It is the kind they stick up your wazoo. I had that done when I had a ruptured cyst and the mean nurse kept TOUCHING the spot that hurt with the magic wand. I think I have a little PTSD from that. As it is she had to leave the room and get someone else because my crying was "scaring" her. What a wuss! SHE was the one hurting ME!

Groceries - WIC

I cannot wait for my grad courses to be over. They are going to be the death of me. I. am. just. so. tired.

Being off my medication is kicking my butt. Ed has been VERY supportive. Thank goodness.

I got my first set of WIC groceries today. Saved myself $30.00! Well, sort of...I would have never bought TWO gallons of milk if it wasn't on the voucher to do so.

I got:
2 Gallons of 1% Milk
64 oz of Apple Juice
12 oz of Tortilla - Nasty corn kind
24 oz of Rice Krispies
12 oz of Plain Special K
16 oz of shredded Cheese
12 Eggs
1 Lemon
2 Oranges
5 Grapefruit
1 Bunch of Bananas and
3 cans of fruit cocktail

Not WIC related...I picked up
6 Yogurts
1 Sour Cream
1 Cream Cheese
1 Chocolate Syrup - If I have to drink all that milk I should get a treat every now and then!
1 Box of Lemonade Packets -Again, every so often I deserve something to get that water down!
1 Pound of Pork - Y'all should be proud!
1 Pound of Chuck Roast
1 Box of Oatmeal and of course
1 Cottage Cheese - The biggest I could find.

It still cost me 40 bucks but I think I did pretty well. Now I just need to know how to use the crock pot...

I've still done really well with no caffeine and no red dye. Red dye is tricky. It is in things that aren't even red!

Did you know caffeine-free tea has 5 mg of caffeine? Tricksters. All of them.

THREE DAYS until my ultrasound!!!