Well.
Look at that.
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| 6 weeks |
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| 7 weeks |
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| 8 weeks |
Finding out. Like so many things in life, this was not as I had pictured. I found out about Baby H about two hours after Luke left for a two and a half week trip. So I called him and told him... he was driving through Texarkana and I spent the rest of the day in a fog of semi-incredulity. I tried to make white bean soup, which sounded so wholesome and simple and maternal, and it didn't work out. Bitter disappointment in Mark Bittman recipes continues.
Weeks 6 to 8: Little pukey, but not much. Extreme fatigue. [If you're wondering about the serial ultrasounds, everything is perfectly fine, it was a function of the unusual way I got enrolled in the OB clinic.] Grossed out by most foods, with the exception of cold, creamy things (egg salad, milkshakes, etc) Could not get enough guacamole. Salad and vegetables a no-go. Any strong cooking smell, especially of meat---> gag. I stop cooking. Luke reverts to his bachelor diet of cottage cheese and fistfuls of peanut butter. I eat Oreos, strawberries, go to Sonic for milkshakes. Often can't decide whether I'm going to throw up or I need to eat something. Having Saltines at the ready becomes paramount.
Week 9: Instructing an intern, I dissect a small (perhaps 12 week) miscarried fetus. So fascinating to hold in my hand and observe the perfect anatomy (each lobe of the lung appreciable; tiny digits; itty-bitty stomach) I think about how mine is the one of the only professions granted this sort of viewpoint. Not scary or disconcerting. I murmur to myself, grow, BH, grow.
Week 10: Continue to feel occasionally nauseated. Food becoming slowly more attractive again.
Week 11: When dining out at a restaurant I normally like, I complain about "how this restaurant smells like... food." Omnivorousness not regained yet. [I still don't know if I'll ever eat fajitas again. Sizzling meat smell. Blech.]
Week 12-13: Complete first trimester by camping for a week out of the van in the Iowa heat. Nausea thankfully resolved in the nick of time.
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| 13 weeks |
3-D ultrasound -- amazing!
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| 13 weeks |
I write this at 16 weeks feeling like a peach. My uterus is making a palpable ascent out of the pelvis, but has yet to start making appreciable gains on the x-axis.
Went to a baby store to investigate furniture. Perused some books about child care. Situation still surreal.But we are awed at this new adventure.
Julie this is awesome. The 3-D ultrasound---love it. Thanks for sharing this special time of your life with us.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff Julie! For those of us who have already raised children it takes us back to that wonderment and incredulousness of the first time. Can't wait to see how the pregnancy progresses. Very excited for you!
ReplyDelete~Julie Kowalski
So super excited for you two! I swore off chicken my entire pregnancy, and left restaurants because of their smell during my first trimester. I ate a ton of hummus, pita, olives, cheese and labneh which is a middle eastern yogurt. You'll be glad to know I am able to eat chicken again. Looking forward to hearing more and more about BH.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful account of your first trimester, Julie!
ReplyDeleteYay yay yay! Good to hear you are feeling well, if not occasionally pukey. I will never look at Kefir the same way after it was my first breakfast 'lost' to pregnancy (in the ENT's office where I was changing a man's tracheoesophageal prosthesis, no less!) Will you be finding out and/or sharing the sex of le bebe with the world? Can't wait for the subsequent blogs your pregnancy brings :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, you have had more ultrasounds in your first 16 weeks than I had in my entire pregnancy.
ReplyDeleteI even had one at 11 weeks that inadvertently didn't make the blog! All is well though :)
DeleteSo exciting!! Congrats! You are now stepping into the final frontier!lol I found your blog a few weeks ago, and really enjoy your writing. And again--congrats!
ReplyDeleteeven this . . . you do with style!
ReplyDeleteThanks all! It is an exciting time.
ReplyDelete