14 weeks (err, yesterday).

Not much to report, other than that Buckethead is developing fur (aka lanugo) all over the place. So now we match, Buckethead and I, in terms of fuzz.

How far along? 14 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: Another pound, so six total.
Maternity clothes? I really should buy some (I'm down to two skirts that fit), but I hate the thought of buying new clothes just to move it all across country in three weeks.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Kind of tricky at the moment. I can't sleep on my stomach anymore - it feels really weirdly compressed if I try. At least I can still sleep on my back for a while longer.
Best moment this week: Seeing Buckethead's creepy visage on ultrasound.
Movement: Wild and vigorous, but I can't feel it.
Food cravings: Chili with crackers.
Gender: Girl, maybe (just so I can put big flowery headbands on)? Little hooligan wouldn't show the goods.
Labor Signs: No, dammit!
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach. *sob*
What I am looking forward to: School being done in a couple weeks.
Weekly Wisdom: None. I feel mildly retarded this week.
Milestones: Finishing my first pack of prenatals (two months' worth!).

In other news, we got the results back from the NT scan. Buckethead's chance of developing Trisomy 13 or 18 is 1 in 10,000, which is great. The chance for Down syndrome is 1 in 500, which is not bad, but it should be 1 in 900 for my age, so we're probably going to get some second trimester bloodwork done to make sure everything is as it should be. I'll talk to the midwife about it at my Friday appointment.

Good day for staying inside with my slippers.

And as evidence for my current baby-brainedness, let me just say that the first thing that went through my head when I looked outside was "Buckethead is never going to see this kind of weather unless we go home for the holidays."

The second thing, of course, was "No way I'm going to school today."

More doctor adventures.

So, I went in for my NT scan yesterday. I expected it to take maybe an hour, but it turned out to be more like three hours, two of which were spent in waiting rooms. This resulted in my tragically missing my first class. Other than that, though, it all seemed to go well.

I first had to go back with the genetics counselor to give a family history and hear exactly what they were planning on doing to me. She was very nice, but one of those people that give constant eye contact, like you're in some kind of staring contest, so it was slightly weird. It was a bit troublesome having to attempt to give a complete health history of every person in both my and Noah's extended families, which was, of course, completely impossible. I tried, though, and at the end we had an extremely attractive family chart and a prognosis of probably healthy. She also promised that the required blood test would just be a finger-stick, which was delightful news. Despite my previous blood-drawing triumph, I am still a complete baby about it.


Somehow I am not shocked that my spawn appears to be all brains and mandibles.

At the end of this visit, I was somewhat dismayed to learn that I would need a full bladder for this ultrasound, since I had specifically asked the receptionist when I came in and she instructed me to go pee and not drink anything. So I wound up guzzling water for the next half hour until the nurse came to take me back for the ultrasound. I'm pleased to report that I've graduated from the dildo-cam and now get to have belly ultrasound, with extra-convenient warmed gel. I'm not sure why they didn't use the warmed gel for the trans-vaginal one last time, when it would've done a lot more good...


If mandibles don't do anything for you, how about this fine straight-out-of-the-X-files portrait?

Anyway, the ultrasound was kind of fun (and aided, of course, by the fact that I didn't have to strip). There was a student-doctor in there at the same time asking lots of questions that the nurse found to be stupid, and listening to her explanations to him was quite informative. She kept exclaiming joyfully about Buckethead's brain. "Look at this lobe development! This brain is absolutely textbook! Do you see this brain, Dr. Foolishness? Look at that!" So, Buckethead apparently has an exemplary brain.


Probably the best of the lot. There is a face and a potbelly and it's all very charming and less alien-like than the previous ones. Also you can see the exemplary textbook brain - in profile!

She tried to guess the gender as well for us, but alas, Buckethead was unwilling to show the goods. In addition to scrunching his legs up as tightly as possible, he also insisted on flailing about and refusing to hold still and be seen. This was, of course, extremely adorable (insofar as a creepy skeletal 2-D alien thing can be adorable) and very strange. Last time I saw Buckethead, the best comparison would be a potato. Now there is arm-waving and head-banging going on in there. Bizarre.


Skull and spine and baby belly and ridiculous little feets.

After a report that my fibroid is impressive and the nuchal fold (what they had to look at for the test - the liquid at the back of the neck) seemed normal (huzzah!), they sent me down for a blood draw. After waiting there for nearly an hour, lulled by the shrieks of some poor woman in the next room with apparently invisible veins, I discovered that the genetics counselor was a dirty liar and I would be getting stabbed with a massive needle by the same person who had failed repeatedly to get blood from the previous unhappy soul. Fortunately, I was able to take it valiantly, and I eventually escaped relatively intact, and that is the end of the story. I'll report on the test results when I get them at the end of this week.

Second trimester requires celebratory egg rolls.

As you can see, Buckethead now has a more appropriately-sized head. Could stand to work on the ears a bit more, though - the child apparently procrastinates like its mother...

Also important to note: we made it to the second trimester*! This is important because, first, it sounds very mighty and impressive, and second, it means the miscarriage risk is much much lower. I've been worrying so much about that lately. I can't wait to go in for my NT scan (9:30 tomorrow morning!) and see that everything is (hopefully...) just fine.

* Okay, well, there's some debate about when that starts. Some say 12 weeks, some say 14. I'm splitting the difference and going with 13.

---

How far along? 13 weeks tomorrow!
Total weight gain/loss: Up another pound, but I think this one is Chinese food, not baby. Still, that's five pounds in the first trimester, which is apparently right on target (doctor said 3-6 pounds in the first tri).
Maternity clothes? Not quite. I've been having to use some sneaky tricks to get some of my clothes to fit, though. This is especially problematic since my winter coat barely fits right now (especially in the boobage region, which has grown more than the belly, actually), and it's cold and snowy outside. Don't want to buy a new one, though, since I'll never use it again once I move to Georgia.
Stretch marks? Nej.
Sleep: Eight hours is enough now (big change from eleven or twelve a few weeks ago).
Best moment this week: It went by way too fast to tell. I hope things slow down a bit once I get moved and don't have as much stuff to do constantly.
Movement: Nein.
Food cravings: Chinese. Yum yum yum.
Gender: Back to thinking it's a boy. Maybe they'll give me a peak tomorrow...
Labor Signs: Nyet.
Belly Button in or out? In!
What I miss: Not being tired after one flight of stairs.
What I am looking forward to: My NT scan tomorrow morning!
Weekly Wisdom: Don't stress. Don't stress. Don't stress.
Milestones: Second trimester! Seriously for reals.

Why do they use food for comparison purposes?

So, Buckethead will apparently be the length of a shrimp in a couple days, and now I've got the most unholy craving for shrimp, accompanied with a pleasant side of guilt (representations of mah babby make me hungry? really?). I am currently dismantling a couple of spring rolls to get at the shrimp inside*. Pathetic.

* The bastards put cilantro in them, rendering the rest of the rolls completely inedible.

Fur.

Or body hair, if you want to be crude about it...

Specifically, I am sprouting it. Plenty of it. My arm hair is getting dark and luxuriant. My stomach apparently feels the need to protect itself with a coat of increasingly-irritating down. My legs develop a fine 5 o'clock shadow by the end of the day. Worst of all? I could probably now hold whisker competitions with Bruce and have a fighting chance.

Turning into a wookie is apparently fairly normal, but while I'm sure Chewbacca is the absolute image of maternal beauty, it's rather upsetting.

I suppose my main dilemma now is: should I wax it or... wax it?


Big decisions here, folks.

Playing hookie...

...on account of nearly puking on my slippers every time I move towards the door.

Curse you, baby hormones - I thought we were over this!


Diabolical, no?

12 weeks today!

So this is the very last week of the first trimester - yay! It's kind of crazy thinking I'm almost a third done already. Buckethead is about 2.5" long, which is extremely mighty and impressive, and is apparently slurping down amniotic fluid and peeing it back out. Urinating, as it were. Inside my uterus.

...

Right.

Anyway, here is the standard weekly update:

How far along? 12 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: Up a pound from last week, so four pounds total.
Maternity clothes? No, but my clothes are all getting kind of tight. I looked at maternity stuff at Target the other day, but it was way too intimidating so I left without buying anything (except three metric tons of grapes).
Stretch marks? Not any new ones.
Sleep: The best thing in the world. I go to bed at like 10pm now, which is kind of bizarre.
Best moment this week: Hard to say - it's been uneventful. Best non-event was not feeling sick much at all!
Movement: Nope.
Food cravings: Grapes and pepperjack cheese and I have both right in front of me now! *cue maniacal laughter*
Gender: No idea. I've been flip-flopping back and forth.
Labor Signs: Nope.
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: Roast beef sandwiches.
What I am looking forward to: Being done with this semester so I can move down with Noah already.
Weekly Wisdom: Hats with ears are probably the best thing in the world. That's not wisdom, you say? Prove it.
Milestones: Last week of the first trimester! Holy crap that went fast.

A girl would be kind of nice.

I'll need to study this.

Click to enlarge.

Morning sickness...

...is the weirdest thing ever. It's stopped with the all-day nausea, which is great, but now it's switched to random intense occurrences. I'll just be walking down the street, all happy, feeling great, everything's just wonderf- holyshitihavetothrowupRIGHTNOW. It's kind of hilarious, really.

Otherwise, it's been an uneventful week as regards Buckethead. Noah and I are making a little bit of headway on the moving situation. We got a suggestion from my dad regarding a moving option we hadn't thought about, so that might make things kind of easier. It still is going to take an awful lot of planning, though. I got some boxes today so I can start packing right away. I don't want to be left trying to pack my entire apartment during finals week right before moving...

11 week update.

How far along? 11 weeks, can't you read?
Total weight gain/loss: Same as last week - up three pounds.
Maternity clothes? Nope.
Stretch marks? Not any new ones.
Sleep: Satisfying. I can still sleep on my stomach, which is very nice.
Best moment this week: Getting a speculum jammed up in my business. Oh wait, that wasn't any fun at all...
Movement: Nope.
Food cravings: Grapes and chicken and I don't have either. Whaaaaaah!
Gender: I dunno. Noah's got me thinking girl now.
Labor Signs: Nope.
Belly Button in or out? In for the duration, I hope.
What I miss: Extremely rare meat.
What I am looking forward to: My first trimester screening, scheduled two weeks from today, when I'll be 13 weeks along.
Weekly Wisdom: Jiminy, I'm incubating an alien here - you expect wisdom, too?
Milestones: I've officially got a fetus here - Buckethead is no longer an embryo!

And now I'm craving key lime pie.

We're 11 weeks along tomorrow, and apparently Buckethead is fine-tuning the details. Bones are starting to harden up, fingernails are coming along, and hair follicles and tooth buds are developing. The head is still the same size as the rest of the body put together, though, which is slightly hilarious. He might have proper people features, but he is still pretty damn silly-looking.

The weirdest thing to me is that apparently Buckethead is now the size of a lime (or a fig, according to some, but I'm still craving citrus, so we're going with lime). That's about 1.6" long and a quarter of an ounce, and big enough that all the bits and pieces are visible to the naked eye.

At least I don't have syphilis.

So I went for my second prenatal appointment today and was all excited because the receptionist told me last time that I was scheduled for another ultrasound this time. Alas, it was not so. No ultrasound. No baby heartbeat, either. All I got were my blood test results (negative on everything bad, awesome on everything good), my blood pressure reading (104/62 - good, apparently), and a date with the speculum. Now I smell like nasty hospital lube.

Oh, and they pushed my due date back to June 1, based on the date of my last period. My next appointment is December 3, at the ungodly hour of 9:30 in the morning. I don't think I'm supposed to have an ultrasound then either. Sad face.

On the up side, I contacted my insurance company about first trimester screening, where they measure the baby's neck folds (nice mental image) to see what the chance of chromosomal issues is. Apparently it costs about $3000, but my insurance company will cover all of it, so I'm going to make an appointment for that on Monday. I'm not really worried about any defects, but it will at least make sure I get another ultrasound before the 20-week gender ultrasound. Take that, evil midwives.* Your dastardly plan to stop me from peeking at Buckethead has been foiled!

*I kid - they are all very nice. Still foiled, though.

*hyperventilates*

Important things that have already been done:
-- Noah passed DLPT, thus making everything awesome. Yay!
-- I finally told my professor I was leaving, and he was nice and supportive (though a tad disappointed).

Important things that need to be done still:
-- Noah moves to Georgia.
-- Noah gets driver's license.
-- Get married.
-- Find a house.
-- Get a car.
-- Finish semester.
-- Figure out all the crazy military paperwork.
-- Move me and all my stuff to Georgia (which the military probably will not pay for, as it turns out).
-- Find a new OB/GYN in Georgia and get all medical stuff transferred.
-- Take a 30-second breather.
-- Get ready for imminent arrival of Buckethead.

*sigh* One thing at a time is much easier said than done. This is why I generally prefer to cower in the bathtub and pretend nothing needs to be done.

Silly Buckethead. Doesn't know where ears go.

Please see to it that they are moved upwards shortly, or else there will be a great many extra-long hats in your future.

10 weeks!

Okay, it's not second trimester or anything, but double-digit weeks is something, yeah? Plus the morning sickness is getting better, which is always a delight, and I no longer feel like collapsing into a coma all day every day. Life is good.

Life is apparently good for Buckethead, too, who is roughly kumquat-sized and has a giant bulging brain like an alien telepath from an old sci-fi movie.

(picture ruthlessly ganked from Baby Center)

An update on the pregnancy statistics:

How far along? 10 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: Mysteriously dropped a pound last week, so up three pounds total.
Maternity clothes? Not yet. Hopefully not for a few more weeks.
Stretch marks? Not any new ones.
Sleep: Not as necessary as it was before. I'm satisfied with eight or nine hours a night, minus a potty break or two every night because my bladder is a complete wuss.
Best moment this week: Realizing my morning sickness is much improved.
Movement: Nope.
Food cravings: Oranges. Lemons, too.
Gender: Won't know for another eight weeks or so, but I'm thinking boy.
Labor Signs: Nope.
Belly Button in or out? In, and it better stay that way.
What I miss: Gin.
What I am looking forward to: My ultrasound on Friday! Yay for seeing Buckethead again. Apparently s/he'll even look sort of human this time.
Weekly Wisdom: Morning sickness doesn't last forever. *fingers crossed*
Milestones: 10 weeks out of 40 weeks = about 25% done. That sounds impressive, no?