11 Weeks & 6 Days - Introducing "Bud"

Well, we're nearing the end of the 1st trimester now. It's gone by so fast...but maybe that's because we've actually only known that I was pregnant since almost the 8th week!

During September and early October, I was finding that I was extremely tired and mildly nausous from time to time, but I had been sick with a couple of cold viruses, so we assumed that was why I was feeling the way I was. Even so, I decided to take a pregnancy test. Negative. Still, I just wasn't feeling like myself and couldn't explain what was dragging me down so much. So, in another week or so, I took another pregnancy test - just to be sure. Negative. A couple of weeks later, I was starting to feel a bit better, but still just not right, so I took a THIRD test. Negative! We were convinced that I was NOT pregnant, and that I was just fighting off a bug of some sort, and maybe just had the "winter blahs". But the week after my birthday (mid-October), I started to get some abdominal cramping. I did some Googling (as I'm prone to do), and started to find a lot of information about pregnant women getting cramps around week 6. So, I did what I should have done earlier, and made a doctor's appointment. On October 23rd, we found out that pregnancy tests CAN be wrong - I was almost 8 weeks pregnant!

Since then, my pregnancy symptoms have actually been very manageable. It was so much easier to handle now that I knew the reason that I was feeling the way that I was. I started getting a lot more sleep, which took care of the fatigue - but also means you shouldn't phone us after 9pm on weeknights :) The nausea started to get more intense around the 9th week, but I'm taking a baby-safe medication for morning sickness called Diclectin, and after fiddling with the dosage a bit, it completely took care of the nausea. I was SO glad for this, because as a pregnant diabetic, it's so important that I can eat properly in order to manage my bloodsugar. So now, as long as I get enough sleep and take my pills, I feel pretty good actually! I've been having some trouble sleeping (I wake up a lot), but that's starting to get better too. I'm actually having HEALTHY cravings too - mostly protein and raw veggies. Lately I'd pick salmon or eggs or chicken or baby tomatoes or celery over chocolate or candy... but salt is also a weakness of mine lately, so it's not all healthy.

We were able to give my parents the good news shortly after we found out because we had a visit to them scheduled for the following Sunday. They were VERY excited! We decided to wait to tell Martin's mom until mid-November because we were going to stay with her for the weekend and wanted to tell her in person (she lives 5 hours away). It was SO hard not to tell her sooner. (As it turned out, Martin got sick and we weren't able to go that weekend, so we did tell her over the phone. She was also VERY excited.) We waited until just recently to tell the rest of our family members and close friends (with a very few exceptions), and will be "going public" with the news this weekend. I'm so excited to finally be able to share our good news and not to have to keep in a secret anymore! I'm bursting to tell, and I know a lot of people are suspicious already too. I'm not showing at all yet, and haven't even gained any weight, but I can hardly wait for that "baby bump" to make an appearance!

I haven't had any prenatal appointments yet. My first one is scheduled for December 3rd. I have been referred to an OBGYN because, as a diabetic, I am considered a "high risk" pregnancy. I've heard only good things about my OBGYN and I'm really looking forward to meeting him.

As you may have noticed, we have given the baby the temporary name of "Bud", as it's better than referring to the baby as "it". I've subscribed to a website (www.babycenter.ca) that sends me weekly updates on Bud's growth and development. Some of the Week 11 highlights are:
- Bud is now approximately 1.5" or 4cm and has all his/her parts and organs, including toenails.
- Bud has now started kicking and stretching (even though it's too early for me to feel it)
- Bud's fingers and toes have fully separated.
- Bud's head is waaaay out of proportion with his/her body - he/she is very top-heavy for now.

Anyway, I will do my best to keep you updated via this blog on Bud's development, what Bud is doing to MY body, and what we are doing to prepare. Feel free to leave comments if you'd like! Eventually I'll post some pictures too, but there's nothing to see at this point, so I won't yet.

That's all for now! Wish us well for Trimester #2!