Baby's First Pictures

Ultrasound Magic

How far along? 12 weeks, 4 days

That was amazing!! Simon and I just saw our baby for the first time and I gotta say, that was so incredible! It's really happening. There's a little baby growing inside. Just one! phew. This pregnancy was just a concept and the reality of it was very hard to grasp until seeing our baby in the ultrasound.

Our technician was so lovely and nice and she walked us through the images of our baby (Thank goodness we got her and not the drill sargeant from the other room). That little baby (I was gonna say 'sucker' but then thought people would think me crass) was movin' around like crazy! You could see the profile of the nose and lips so clearly and you could see every finger and toe. Really, I can't describe the feeling.
I was so happy to hear the heart beat...for some reason this was my main directive... it reassured me to hear his? little heart beat. Of course we don't know the sex yet but for some reason we have taken to referring to the baby as "he".

The actual purpose of the ultrasound was for part of the screening for genetic and other disorders (Downs syndrome, spina bifida and trisomy 13). Seeing as I am 35, our baby is in a higher risk category for having one of the above disorders. The specialist examined our baby via ultrasound and he said that the nucal fold, which is what they measure for early detection of down syndrome, looks normal. He said everything looks pretty good that we will have a "normal" baby.
I had to go for a blood test as a part of the first series of tests and I will go for another in a few weeks. The combined results of the tests will be a good indicator as to whether our baby will be free of disability or not.
So here are some pictures of our little one...yes, including the alien baby in the last photo.

Midwife or Obstetrician- What will be your M.O.?

Who's it gonna be?

How far along? 12 weeks

I don't know why but for some reason, even before I was pregnant, I always thought that I would have a midwife. At the time I didn't know anyone who had been under the care of a midwife nor did I really know that much about it- I just thought that they strove for a more natural child birth experience. I thought that a hospital birth with a mid-wife was the way I, oops...WE would go. The more I read up on the philosophy and options for childbirth under the care of a midwife the more I was sure that was the right choice for me...us.

http://www.bcmidwives.com/node/1

When we had conceived back in November my first attempt to contact a midwife group was unsuccessful. They never called me back. I was rather annoyed at that, I mean, they are running the type of business in which it is important that their clients can get a hold of them when necessary and them not returning my call... at all, did not instill any confidence in me. When I lost the pregnancy I really could have benefited from the support and knowledge of a midwife. I had so many questions that I relied on the internet to answer. I will write more later about my experience with the miscarriage soon.

Anyway, when we got pregnant again I had my heart set on a midwife group that I had heard was really good and had excellent classes and programs and their web-site was excellent. They called me back right away. Halleluia. "Wait, what? What do you mean you don't take on clients from my neighbourhood? But your web-site said you did." Crap. Back to the drawing board.
I called another midwifery (pronounce mid-whiff-ery which I hate so will avoid using the word henceforth) and they only took 4 days to call me back (insert sarcastic tone). This particular midwif... was in my neighbourhood and the midwife was very informative and friendly and speaking to her quickly started to melt my annoyance that she took so long to call me back. "Wait, what? What do you mean you don't have time to meet with me?" I couldn't believe it! In a business where one of the main attractions is a more personal health care experience the midwife was unwilling to meet with me to see how we "clicked" because she was busy. She said we would just have to decide without meeting her. Back to the drawing board.
Next I called Commercial Drive Midwives (they didn't have the hated word in the title so that was a good start) and they called me back right away! (Insert chorus of Handel's Messiah) I made an appointment and the next week we were in their office. "Wait, what? We found our midwife!?!" or group of midwives. This particular practice has 6 midwives and over the course of our pregnancy we will meet all of them at our scheduled appointments and then whoever is on duty when we go into labour will be the one to deliver.

http://www.commercialdrivemidwives.com/

Phew!

Putting on a "Show"?

This has got to be more than poo.

How far along? 11 1/2 weeks

Holy crap! Not literally(see previous entry). I just measured my waist and found that it is 3 inches bigger than usual!! Really?? How can that be? My belly is still sticking out, granted it's not as big as the picture featured in "The Prune Juice Challenge" but can it be that I am starting to "show"??
It's true that for weeks I have had to adjust my wardrobe choices to hide some changes but at 11 weeks?
Double crap! How many of you are in there??
Maybe "showing" is more than just the baby...it must be, seeing as the little tyke is only about the size of a lima bean right now. TO THE INTERNET!

Okay, I looked at several different chat rooms and info sites and found that it can vary greatly as to when a person starts to show. Depending on how "big" you were to begin with, how tall you are, whether it's your first baby or not and more. Also, your belly is not the only thing that's getting bigger- your uterus is getting bigger, your body is relaxing to accomodate the baby, most people experience bloating and, if you are experiencing constipation, your intestines are full too(why I'm being delicate now I do not know).

Technically I've only gained 3 pounds but to me it looks like I've gained a lot more. I have this fantasy that I'll be one of those people who looks exactly the same as they did pre-pregnancy except for the baby belly. Somehow I'm not so sure I'll be that lucky. Damn you bitches who are. Whoa, where did that come from?? Hormones. Hey I just got an idea for a new blog entry.

On a more personal note, this stage of my body changing is a bit difficult because, though I am excited to see the effects of my pregnancy, I am an actor- fine I said it- and in this industry you either have to be skinny or fat to get the job, there is no in between and pregnant is rarely heard of. Lets face it, I am only in the beginning stages of my career it's not like I'm established in my own tv series and the writers were just looking for a new story line..."she's pregnant?! That's just what we've been looking for!". I'm trying not to stress about it by telling myself that casting agents usually strive for diversity in casting and maybe that can expand to include not just people of different skin colors and disabilities but to people with expanding baby bellies? Okay, now I'm depressed. Hormones.

Prune Juice Challenge- WARNING-T.M.I.

I challenge thee, prune juice, to cure my constipation!!

How far along? 10wks, 3 days

Since near the beginning of this pregnancy some things have not been on par. Most uncomfortably, what has gone in has definitely not come out.

Might I refer to you again how far along in my pregnancy I am- 2 1/2 months...why then, oh why!!? do I look like I'm 5 months pregnant? I have passed the "food baby" stage and am now at the "poo baby" stage. See "before" and "now" photos.





Unbelievable, right?

I swear I am not pushing my stomach out...or anything else for that matter. Sorry, couldn't resist...I warned you (see title)

Much to my chagrin I have decided to give the old prune juice a try. Simon bought me my first bottle, sweet guy, and insisted that I give it a try..."old people swear by it", he says. What have I got to lose? I sure have lots to loose...sorry.

Can I say DISGUSTING? Just the sight of the sickly brown liquid in my glass is enough to make me wanna hurl. DOWN THE HATCH.

My first glass proved to be somewhat helpful. A couple hours after downing said drink a little movement beyond the usual rabbit pellets occurred...again I warned you. Thinking things must be on the mend I gratefully put the prune juice back on the shelf not to be thought of again until a couple days later when, that's right, rabbit pellets were all the action my toilet was getting.
Time for the prune juice again and somehow it didn't seem so bad this time. A couple hours later I made a slightly more successful visit to the bathroom. Mind you not nearly to the level as to what has been building up inside. I mean really, how much stuff can one intestine hold anyway???
Well, here we are about 3 days after that and, well, you've seen the pictures. This morning I decided I have had it! I went out an bought myself a king size jug of prune nectar determined to rid my bowels of all unwanted tenants. Well, I just downed my third glass today (morning, noon and night regime) and so far....rabbit pellets.
I BEG YOU! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!! I mean... GO! MAKE IT GO!! I will embrace my baby belly when the time comes but this poo baby has got to go!

Several hours later...
Okay, I drank 4 glasses of prune juice in less than 24 hours. I am disparaged. I thought for sure it would work. I hate prune juice and don't want to continue this regime. Perhaps I should perservere, up the dosage but I really don't have the heart anymore. It seems in my time of most need, the prune juice did not rise to the challenge.

What now?

Keeping It A Secret- A Guide to Creating a Diversion

It is soo hard to keep being pregnant a secret!

How far along? 10 weeks

My partner, Simon, and I have decided to keep things under wraps until we've passed the 3 month mark. We've decided that we will wait until our first ultrasound (booked on the 20th of April) to tell people. I just want to see and hear our baby's heart beat before we spread the news. Don't get me wrong, my best friend knows and a couple other strategically chosen people who are sworn to secrecy.
We had a miscarriage previously and I guess we just want to protect ourselves from having to explain a loss to all our friends and families in the most unstable time during pregnancy.
Last time I was pregnant I had a dentist appointment to check up on a problem and I had to explain to him why he couldn't take x-rays. I had to return to the office again because I was still experiencing pain and called ahead to inform the secretary that an x-ray would be okay because I had lost the pregnancy and to please pass the info on to the dentist. She didn't. That was awkward.

So anyway, listed below are many ways to explain behaviour out of the ordinary to keep people off your trail. Create a diversion.

Not Drinking
"I'm driving." Easy one, however, if you've taken some other mode of transportation..
"My stomach has been upset lately, I don't want to aggravate it." Weaker, might raise an eyebrow but not really disputable.

Note: the above mentioned excuses are not lies but merely diversions from the real reasons for you're not drinking but if you are with a hard core group of friends and you don't think the mild excuses will work you can always say...

"I drank so much yesterday I'll probably throw up if I drink any more." or some variation of that.

Nausea and/or Morning Sickness
"I shouldn't have eaten that mall food."
"I think my multivitamin is making me nauseous." Easily backed up. Some multivitamins create nausea that much resembles morning sickness if taken with too little in your stomach. I almost threw up once because I took my multivitamin before I ate my breakfast...a tip off from my friend and a little internet research pointed to my vitamin as the culprit.

Note: the above mentioned excuses are not lies but merely diversions from the real reasons for your nausea and an actual lie may be required such as...

"Man, am I hung over."

WE DID IT!

My egg and his sperm successfully united!! Hey! It's not as easy as you might think!

How far along? 9 1/2 weeks (hey, isn't that a movie?)

Okay, so I'm a procrastinator. I've been thinking about meaning to write a blog about what I'm going through during pregnancy and just didn't get to it until now. I feel like I should be starting at the beginning but I think I will save that 'til a bit later. Right now I am going to share an email response I just sent to my friend Susan (one of the very few people who know I am pregnant) when she asked me how my blueberry is. Took me a while to figure out she meant baby. Anyway, here it is...probably most effective if read at a quick pace.

Just got home from a movie.
Just fed my blueberry some peaches. I had a little bit of a freak out moment last night. I was trying to sleep and I was fantasizing about my having my first ultrasound and then the fantasy turned into something else, that I won't say, when I imagined the technician showing me 2 little blips on the screen. Yipes. That freaked me out. Couldn't sleep for a bit after that.
Then Simon and I both woke up to this flash in the sky that had an accompanying sound of a light bulb bursting (no source to be found) and I then got freaked out that the apocalypse was coming and I didn't put aside my emergency canned goods!!! Flash backs of "The Road" came to me and I felt myself at a realization that we really don't have an apocalypse plan. If that would have been some sort of nuclear fall out situation last night we would have been in trouble. And how am I to grow a baby properly under those circumstances???? hmmmm??? I ask you that.
Anyway, yesterday I was feeling great! I had so much more energy than I had for a long time...today, not as much but much better than before and then I started worrying if something was wrong because I was feeling good. oh dear. What a dramatic day it was yesterday.