pregnancy week by week

Tuesday, 21 July 2009

I've moved!

I've finally got my own domain!

You can find everything you find here and more at www.acidicice.co.za.

Come on over!

Saturday, 18 July 2009

Weekend So Far

Failed at sleeping late this morning. I freaking hate when that happens. I can *only* sleep late on a Saturday because I have church on Sunday mornings and next weekend I'm working *sigh* I HATE working weekends.

We went to go watch Harry Potter with Leebeesa today. I really enjoyed the movie. I cried snot and trane at the end, but since I had read the book I expected as much.

My domain is live and my template is being worked on. I hope to launch my site next week some time. All depends on how long it takes to get the template the way I like it. I finally got my photos scanned in and mailed them off to my template designer to add in. It's going to be much easier to see how my site is going to look once the photos are also in. This will also probably help him to design as he'll get a better idea of the colours and things that are involved. I'm SO excited!

Tomorrow I'll be seeing my second cousin, Carmen, for the first time since December. She's come over from the UK to visit. I don't know if she'll be here this year December. I expect not. I'm bought her some Body Thrills and rumour has it she has brought baby gifts!

Speaking of which:



Gifts from Aunty Leebeesa :)



A baby grow and dummy I bought (both Eeyore :))

Anyway...Off to watch another movie with Rudi...on the couch this time.

Friday, 17 July 2009

HP!

So I've taken the plunge and paid for my own domain for the next year. It's still being setup and my template isn't done yet. Someone has been most gracious and offered to do it for me, but these things don't happen overnight. I'm excited. Yesterday when I got the ball rolling and started sketching my template idea I was almost vibrating with excitement!

Anyway. We're going to watch Harry Potter: Half Blood Prince tomorrow with Leebeesa. I'm really looking forward to it! I enjoyed the Harry Potter books very much and while the movies are not nearly as magical...I enjoy seeing the characters come to life.

I've got a TON of work and I'm totally unmotivated to do any of it. I'm only taking half a lunch today because I anticipate I might not be able to finish said work and on a Friday that is simply unacceptable. I've got angry customers waiting to be called back as well. I hate angry customers. Especially since they tend to vent on me, who did NOT CAUSE THEIR PROBLEM. The nicer you are to me, the more willing I am to help you mofo. Duh. So shout at me, take my name and take a number.

My domain will be live by next week (maybe even tomorrow), but then I have to figure WordPress out and also wait for my template to get done. The gentleman making my template also offered to move my posts from blogger to WordPress which would be lovely. I would hate to lose all the work and emotion I've poured into this blog.

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Wednesday, 15 July 2009

My Own Domain

So Angel has gotten her own domain. I've toyed with the idea before...and could not justify the cost in my head. Not that many people read my blog...do they?

So I was telling Rudi that Glugster gave Angel her own domain as a gift and that I had considered it. I told him about my reservations and he said 'Why not?! It's not *that* expensive. You should do it!' Encouragement from a very unexpected place. Rudi doesn't read my blog, he barely realizes that I blog even though I have saved the link on his phone for him to visit any time (at my own peril!). He saw me reading my comments on my phone once and asked to see. He read an entire page of entries (probably more text than he has ever read since I've known him) and complained that I hadn't mentioned him. LOL. Luckily he landed on THAT page and not another one where I was having a good whine about something that he had said/done.

So somehow his encouragement has gotten me to reconsider and start putting feelers out.

Of course...I'm probably going to have to move to WordPress and I have no idea how I'll design a template for myself since I'm not that way inclined. Angel had merylpixelmagic design hers and she did a smashing job!

Sherbet. My lunch is over. So. Maybe someone will be nice enough to offer to design a template for me? *hints* :)

Monday, 13 July 2009

Sad thoughts

Reading cathjenkin's blog post to her departed dad got me to thinking and got me to crying. It sounds like her father would have been a wonderful grandfather.

I am very fortunate that I have a wonderful grandfather. I was lucky enough to have a grandfather who LOVES me and wanted to teach me things, wanted to spoil me, wanted to watch me grow up, wanted to aid the process...he still does. He is an awesome grandfather. The.Best.Ever. He would take me on nature hikes and show me things. He would take me to the zoo. He would take me to a farm to go and see the horses. He would buy me books and encourage me to read.

My grandmother? A wonderful woman. Oh she is so wonderful. I love her so much. She would kiss my knee better when I scraped it. She would sew my button on after I'd ripped it off on some adventure. She would iron my bed so that it was warm when I got in, tumble dry my clothes and towel while I was in the bath so I could be snuggly and warm when I got out. She would rub Vicks on my chest and under my feet when I had a cold. She would make my hot water bottle. She would blow dry my hair while I wildly protested so I could look pretty for church.

They looked after me when My Evil Mother messed up (more often than not I'm sure). When My Evil Mother was in so much debt that we didn't have food to eat, they took me in. For years they carted me to and from school.

I can't even mention everything they have meant to me. How important they were in shaping who I am today (the good bits!)

I am terrified of losing them.

My child will not have the privilege I had. My Evil Mother...I don't even KNOW what I'm going to do about her and the relationship she will have with our child. Rudi's parents are OK and will love our child and spoil him/her...but it won't be what *I* had and I don't think it's selfish of me to want that wonderful experience for my child.

My grandparents aren't getting any younger. Perhaps by the time our child is old enough to start appreciating the experiences with them, they will be too old to make those things happen.

*sigh*

I guess I'll just have to be a much better parent. To make up for what our baby will miss out on. So sad.

Birthdays and Movies

Today is My Evil Mother's birthday. Had my grandmother not reminded me in church yesterday morning I would have completely forgotten. That is how disconnected I am from her and her life. I suppose I should get her something. I feel obligated somehow. Not that I bought her something the last two years (just returning the favour since she hasn't bought me gifts for the past 5), but we exchanged gifts at Christmas and I guess this has set the ball rolling again. Her birthday is before mine, as luck would have it.

It's my birthday soon. I have no idea what to do. It's the second consecutive year that I am pregnant, so no drinking or partying for me. Rudi wanted to take me to The Mount where we had our wedding reception, which is a very sweet and romantic idea. I kind of feel like a restaurant would be a bit of a waste though since I'm suddenly very fussy about what I want to eat and risk throwing up my expensive meal or feeling like I want to throw it up. That kind of sucks the fun out of it.

Any suggestions for what I might do?

The weekend was not bad. I managed to scrape through without throwing up, but did feel nauseous most of the time. I managed to schedule in a nap on Saturday and Sunday...but I still didn't want to get up this morning.

Yesterday we went to Canal Walk to watch Ice Age 3 in 3D. I freaking HATE Canal Walk. It's a HUGE shopping center and we got lost trying to find the cinema. We were constantly consulting the maps and still feeling completely lost. The queues for popcorn were really long and Rudi barely made it in before the movie started. The movie was pretty cool. Ice Age seems to be one of those franchises that aren't deteriorating every time they release a movie. We had a good giggle at the fact that the "monster" in the movie was named Rudi :)

I'm really looking forward to watching Harry Potter: Half Blood Prince with Leebeesa next Sunday. The reviews are already sounding good!


************SPOILER ALERT****************


If you have not yet watched Knowing with Nicholas Cage and you don't wish to know how it ends, stop reading now. I warned you.

I really enjoyed the idea of the movie. I liked the 'puzzle' aspect of it...and the supernatural feeling it had to it...but then there were aliens. I'm not so much into sci-fi so didn't find that part interesting or well thought out in the least. Personally I don't think I could think of a better way to end it, but I think there was potential there for a fantastic ending. When I was under the impression that just the two main character's children were being taken I wondered about the inbred race they would spawn, so I was relieved to see other pods or spaceships or whatever taking off from the planet earth.

I liked the way they chose to end the world. BOOM.

I also found it a bit confusing when Caleb (son of Nicholas Cage's character) started writing down the numbers. This would lead me to believe that the numbers don't necessarily 'run out' and that he is perhaps predicting further events. I found that small part a little bit contradicting.

But I'm no movie critic! Let me know what you thought!

Friday, 10 July 2009

Bleugh

I'm really trying my best not to write an entire rant about Jubba. I will refrain. I must be zen. I must not let him get to me. Breath in. Breath out. In. Out.

Right. So Rudi and I are also going to watch The Knowing with Nicholas Cage on Saturday. The trailer looks really good, but I've heard whispers on Twitter that the ending is a disappointment.

I'm probably being quite optimistic with all my weekend plans, considering the all day sickness seems to be getting worse at the moment, but I can't stop my life.

***Later***

Just barfed at work. That's a first. Usually my system doesn't allow me to barf in public. I do feel a bit better though. My lunch is almost over and I haven't had anything to eat yet. I thought I could have plain salted popcorn, but they didn't have. Leebeesa gave me two provitas. So sweet of her.

Anyway. Hoping Jubba stays out of my way for the rest of the day and that I get enough rest this weekend. I certainly need it.

Thursday, 09 July 2009

*MAJOR YAWN*

*yawn* I am so tired I feel like my head is going to fall off. This morning I rushed to get ready and then crawled back into bed for 10 minutes. I would SO much rather have stayed in bed and slept. Keeping in mind that I've been working for 11 days straight now. That doesn't help. *yawn*

It doesn't look like sleeping late will be forthcoming this weekend. On Saturday I have to go and renew my car license...it expired on the 30th of June already and I'm already into my 21 day grace period. Then at 11:30 I have a hair appointment.

Sunday morning will be church and on Sunday afternoon we're going to watch Ice Age 3 in 3D with Beauty Queen, SLK and a bunch of their friends. Quite looking forward to that.

Weekends are too short dammit. Three days. Is that too much to ask? I'll still give four full days to my employer. Just ONE more weekend day. Either that or I should have become a construction worker or doctor. With all the strikes going on at the moment I would have been granted some time off.

Going to bed at early doesn't seem to help much either, although Rudi decided it was more important for him to go out and watch darts last night than to spend time with me, so he did wake me up when he got home and then I had heartburn so struggled to get back to sleep. I'm actually quite annoyed with him for going, but what can you do? I suppose he needs some time away from me as well. Hmph.

So I'm 9 weeks today. The appointment for my nuchal scan was made for 7 August 09:00. I will probably be anxious and nervous before this scan as it will be done with high definition scanning equipment and this is where we'll get our first indications of what exactly is happening inside me at the moment. My ticker says our baby has fingers and toes already...so we'll most likely be able to see a whole lot more by the time 7 August rolls around *fret*

Ok. Enough of that.

I'm going to have a nap on my desk.

ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Wednesday, 08 July 2009

All about throwing up

Yesterday I broke my throwing up record. Twice in one day. I know it doesn't seem like much, but throwing up twice a day is traumatic, OK? The first time it was just as I got out of bed. Nothing in my stomach, which is what I'm used to. If you don't know what bile tastes like, pop an E on an empty stomach. Ok, so I can't really encourage drug use on my blog, but you get what I'm saying. Yummy. What a way to start your day. I was hoping that I was done for the day having gotten it behind me first thing in the morning, alas it was not to be.

After work we went shopping for some groceries and I had to push Rudi to just get the bare minimum so we could leave as soon as possible. I was not feeling the shopping vibe. It's strange, the worst feeling of nausea always hits me around the same spot on the way home. I think it's part psychological. I know in my mind I will soon be at home in the privacy of my own bathroom with my own toilet and then it will be OK to barf. Loudly. As I tend to. I have never thrown up in public or at anyone else's house. Not even in the car. While I was pregnant anyway.

When we arrived home I felt better though and had a chocolate milkshake. I was sitting playing with Rudi's new phone (his old one completely gave up the ghost after the encounter with the pool) and had to get up to make the white sauce for our mac and cheese dinner (I am the white sauce QUEEN!). There it came. Suddenly.

I know from previous experience that chocolate B-fast turns pink in your stomach while it's digesting (weird, huh?). Chocolate milk it seems, doesn't.

I must say, this pregnancy, this "morning" sickness....everything just feels much more like I expected it to be. With James I was so sick ALL THE TIME that I really, really considered offing myself eventually. This time it is so much more manageable. I am very grateful for that.

My jeans don't fit me anymore. I need pants man! The lovely Tertia has said I can come and have a look at her maternity clothes, which I definitely will. I have 4 pants that currently fit me, which means I have to wear once pair at least twice in a work week. Not cool! I'll also be able to meet her and the infamous Max when I go to have a look. Yay!

All this taken into consideration - I AM HAPPY! I am in awe of the miracle that is taking place inside me. I was having visions of sperm meeting egg yesterday (like they show on TV) and thinking about how very lucky I am.

YAY!

Tuesday, 07 July 2009

Scan :)



It's just a bean for now, but according to the measurement on the scan our baby is 2.13cm in length already.

Our bean was moving around yesterday. Something James only did much later on. I'm hoping it's all a good sign.

Monday, 06 July 2009

My HUGE News

2009-06-05, Friday:

Today we found out that I'm pregnant. 1 - 2 weeks. We're elated! So happy! Of course also a little apprehensive. This blog entry will go into drafts for quite a while. At least until I've been to the gynae to confirm that the baby is safe and snug and that there is a heartbeat. Right now all I have is a positive urine test and a blood test.

I was only a few days late. My cycle was supposed to start on Monday, it had never been this long since my last pregnancy and the curiosity was KILLING ME. On Thursday I went to buy two pregnancy tests (thinking, like last time, I would need more than one) and waited till Friday morning to take it. All night I dreamt of positive pregnancy tests. It was quite weird. Sure enough, the first one I took came out positive, rendering the second test useless:



I couldn't believe it! I asked a colleague to take me down to the hospital in the morning to have blood drawn to confirm this. Pathcare won't interpret the results for you, but after work Rudi and I went to collect the results. My BHCG (pregnancy hormone) level was 156 and flagged as 'High'. The key on the results sheet says if your number is between 50 and 5000 you are 1 - 2 weeks pregnant.

2009-06-07, Sunday:

Today the sickness began. I got sick while brushing my teeth. Have had an underlying feeling of nausea all day. Already so many things about this pregnancy feel more 'right' than they did last time. For one, Rudi and I found out together, instead of him knowing before I did. Not that he didn't try. He wanted to pick up the results at Pathcare on Friday, but I had to show my ID, so he had no chance. I've found out very early on, which means I can take good care of myself and avoid medication, alcohol, etc. I'm still in denial. I'm still in shock. I don't understand HOW we got pregnant. We were specifically careful because I was on so much medication last month including cortisone, antibiotics and schedule 5 sleeping tablets. We used condoms for goodness sake! Unless it happened while we were in George...

Tomorrow I'll make my gynae appointment. I'll try to schedule it for around 7 weeks from now so we can see the heartbeat when we go. I should be around 8 or 9 weeks then. It's so long to wait. So long to keep this HUGE secret.

I'm worried about telling Angel. It was one of the first thoughts that crossed my mind. She has been trying for such a long time and in my opinion really deserves to be knocked up also. I can only hope that she is knocked up before I release the news to the world. I really want to tell her already since I know in my heart she will be happy for us, even if it makes her heart sore...but it's so early on and anything can still happen. I don't want to upset her unnecessarily. I will call her before I publish anything about this on my blog. So by the time you read this, she will already know.

2009-06-08, Monday:

I felt a little sick this morning, but managed to keep everything down. Feeling fine throughout the day. I must say it feels a bit dishonest keeping this secret. I want to announce it to the world, despite what happened last time. I made my gynae appointment. It's for the 6th of July. 11:30 in the morning. I don't think we'll be able to see the heartbeat by then, but we'll be able to see the gestational sac at the very least and make sure everything is where it should be.

2009-06-09, Tuesday:

So I may have gone a little overboard shopping for the baby yesterday. I bought:
A Snookums bottle warmer: R309.00 (Game)
A Snookums microwave bottle sterilizer: R130.00 (Game)
Rubber duckies: R30.00 (Ackermanns Baby)

Not to mention the the 2 NUK dummies (size 1, R89.99 - Checkers)I bought the Monday after we returned from George. I also bought myself a Carriwell maternity bra(R130.00 - Ackermanns Baby) as my breasts are already getting sensitive.

It's so weird. Last time I didn't want to buy anything. Not even until I was 5 months. This time I'm shopping up a storm. I must have a good feeling about this :) Also, this is probably going to be a reeeaaalllyy long blog entry by the 6th of July.

2009-06-11, Thursday

So CUTE! When Rudi dropped me off for work this morning he said 'Take care of my baby' *heart melts* He took a very long time to get this way last time. Going for another blood test tomorrow.

2009-06-13, Saturday

So I went for my second blood test yesterday. The BHCG (pregnancy hormone) level in my blood has shot up from 156 to over 2000 in one week. This is a good sign, but throws off the gestational age. The first number indicates 1 - 2 weeks where the second one indicates 4 - 5 weeks. Guess we'll have to wait for my scan in July to confirm where I'm at...and whether there's only one baby in there!


2009-06-16, Tuesday

After doing some research on the Internet it seems like Pathcare's BHCG key is wrong. Looks like there is probably just one baby in there.

I feel so wonderful. I don't feel sick at all (which worries me because I seem to be eating for the A team). My biggest complaints could be getting up at night to pee and fatigue. Walk in the park compared to my pregnancy with James. Really. It makes me nervous...like it's too good to be true. How can I possibly feel so well and be pregnant? I suppose my previous experience has jaded me somewhat. I'm so excited and happy!

I called Angel and told her. She was happy for us, as I knew she would be. I'm so glad.

2009-06-17, Wednesday

I really don't mind getting up at night to pee (even at this early stage), but really. It's bloody freezing suddenly. Was shivering all the way to and from the loo during the night. Will have to put on warmer PJ's and socks tonight.

2009-06-19, Friday

I'm exhausted! It's my twelfth consecutive day of work and I NEED to rest! Had a lovely bout of morning sickness yesterday that made me very nervous, but it passed by lunchtime and I'm feeling fine today. I'm starting to feel my womb migrating north (well, upwards) and my jeans are already a little tight, even after I lost weight. I went out and bought myself a pair of nice light grey track pants which have PLENTY of tummy room for the future (but look a bit big for me now) and are nice enough to wear to work. Pants are going to be a real problem for me. Although there is a market for plus size maternity wear (because fat people get pregnant too, you know)...nobody seems to cater for it. Luckily I'm not in the top sizes of regular plus sized clothes, so I guess I'm going to have to buy the bigger sizes in future. Seems kind of a waste, especially since plus sized clothes are quite expensive.

2009-06-30, Tuesday

So I've been putting off posting here. There's not really anything to tell right now. It's frustrating that you never know how your pregnancy is going between gynae appointments. I'm looking forward to my gynae appointment (although tentatively). I don't think we'll be able to see much, probably not even a heartbeat. I estimate (and I could be wrong) that I'll be around 6 weeks when I see him. I think we'll most likely just establish whether or not the pregnancy is ectopic and discuss our options from there. I would assume that my gynae would want to keep a close eye on the baby's developments this time around, although that is just an assumption. I don't think I need to tell my gynae how to do his job. He usually does a check up once every six weeks in the beginning. It seems painfully long in between visits. We'll most likely talk about the big scan (that I didn't go for last time) on Monday. I'm a little superstitious about having my appointment on a Monday. He picked up the problems with James for the first time on a Monday. We went for the scan where we made our final decision on a Monday. I became kind of anti-Mondays during that whole period of my life, but it is a new beginning and a new pregnancy and a new baby. Things will be different this time. I hope.

2009-07-01, Wednesday

Yesterday after feeling very ill in the car on the way home (I actually think I suffer from all day sickness which is made worse by being a passenger. Motion sickness if you will) I had to dash to the bathroom as soon as we arrived home. I was completely fine when I left work, we stopped at the shop and in the short distance between the shop and home things took a turn for the worse. After that I was OK again though. That is more what I expected 'morning' sickness to be like. Sudden onset, barf and you're done.

I hope Rudi will be able to make it to the gynae appointment. He's been very non-committal due to operational requirements at work, but I hope he can make it. I really want to have him there.

*****Later*****

Still feeling nauseous today. I'm not going to complain, but it really isn't nice. Fuggit.

2009-07-04, Saturday

I had a wonderful dream last night. It was both good and bad, but it left me with a good feeling. I dreamt I had a baby girl. She was tiny, but so wonderful to hold and she had a lovely temperament. This gave me a wonderful feeling. The bad part of the dream was where I needed to change her and I seemed COMPLETELY unprepared and overwhelmed. I probably dressed and undressed her 5 times, stuffing up something in the process. I didn't have bum cream, I couldn't find a nappy to fit her small body...when I put powder on her I managed to get it in her eye, but she wasn't upset with me. She still cuddled me. She also had bruises on her bum, where I assumed in the dream that she had been injected while in hospital. After all the changing drama, My Evil Mother was also in the dream. She berated me for wanting to hold on to my baby and basically being inseparable from her. Trust My Evil Mother to do something like that.

All in all the dream left me elated and VERY impatient to meet my baby! (I probably still have around 8 months to wait though - they gynae will clarify on Monday)

2006-07-06, Monday

My gynae appointment was scheduled for 11:30 this morning, but due to unforseen circumstances the gynae called and rescheduled it to 16:15. I was already super impatient, but I was glad it was still today.

I must say I love my gynae. He is absolutely awesome. His first concern was to make sure my mind was at ease after everything that happened last time. He did a scan and determined that I was already 8 weeks and 4 days! It's much further along than we thought, but it's really nice. Much closer to 12 weeks when the risk of miscarriage is reduced. He brought up risk assessments and I told him that I would like to go for the risk assessments, although I am not up to another amniocentesis which was useless and very expensive last time. He understood my reluctance.

He was very positive and very encouraging. He said he is certain everything will be OK, but recommends that I go for the risk assessments if it would put my mind at ease and to re-inforce the positivity. He is very happy with everything so far. His receptionist will make an appointment for my nuchal scan in the next 4 and half weeks. I'll be going to the doctor that did the more advanced scans for James. I really like her and I'm very comfortable with her so I'm really glad that she'll be doing the nuchal scan.

He's pushed my next appointment with him as far as possible so that he could do another test which can only be done at that stage. Another thing I love about him, he's economical. He doesn't try and book you for a million appointments unnecessarily to make money off you. His business is very obviously booming. My next appointment with him is 24 August.

So there is my huge news! I'm so glad I can finally talk about it!

I will see if Jubba is in a good mood tomorrow. Maybe he'll scan in the pictures of our jelly bean for you to see :)