A lime!

Last time I posted a visual of the baby's size compared to a quarter it was just a tiny poppyseed.

Well, now it is about the size of a lime! Actually a little bigger (maybe) because this Baby Center update is a four days old.

The BEST side effect

So many people have asked me if I have any cravings. My general answer is no. However I do have crazy aversions. The thought, smell and/or taste of chicken makes me want to gag. The smell of Benihana restaurant, sadly, is nauseating to me. The smell of seafood of any kind must be avoided at all costs. On a plus note, I no longer have an aversion to my husband! Basically, I like beef, pasta and tofu. I have however, had one craving that I was afraid to submit to.

For the last 5 years I have been severely lactose intolerant. I mean so much so that I wouldn't dare have a bit of dairy. No cheese, no ice cream, no milk, no nothing. Early on in my pregnancy I wanted cheese. Not my normal soy cheese but the real deal. After a few weeks of avoiding the craving at all cost I finally decided to give in. And I am so glad I did! I had no negative side effect from eating the cheese. In fact, it finally sated my craving.

I told this to my OB/GYN at my 11 week appointment. She said it was completely normal for lactose intolerance to reverse itself during pregnancy. Apparently the baby needs calcium and it's needs trump my body's needs right now.

Look out dairy, because here I come! Already I have enjoyed gelato, string cheese, grilled cheese, yogurt, cream cheese and more. I cannot wait to try some other delicious dairy delights that I have not had in years. Chocolate malted crunch ice cream, a mint chocolate chip sundae from 31 flavors, ravioli, manicotti, cheesecake, oh my!!!

11 week ultrasound

Going into the appointment we really didn't know what to expect except that we would see something. I was so nervous. For two days leading up to the visit I felt too good. It seemed that I had absolutely no symptoms of pregnancy. Of course, I went to worst case scenario that something must be wrong with the baby.

Happily, the baby is awesome! The lil' bean was waving and kicking and tossing and turning all over the place. We were able to make out the nose and mouth. We were able to see the heartbeat and it was the perfect size for where we are at.

Below is a picture. The lil' one was not as photogenic in the printout as he was in the actual ultrasound, but we hear that's normal. To quote Larry, "not to be a bad parent, but this really isn't a good picture of the kid."

Catching up

It has been about a month since my last post. Exhaustion got the best of me during the first trimester. Rather than write in my down time, I chose to nap! :)

I'll try to post as much as I can about what I missed. Please be advised that some details may be skewed or forgotten due to pregnancy brain. Well, let's just start there.

As of this week I am almost out of my first trimester. Everyone experiences pregnancy differently. In my first trimester, I have found that pregnancy makes me forget things, drop things, repeat things, forget things, mourn my losses, emotional, grateful, tired, pee a lot, hungry, my back hurt and more.

• The forgetfulness and clumsiness makes me laugh. I have to write important things down or else they disappear into the ether. I have tripped up and down the stairs more times than I care to admit. I now buy the nail polish when I get a pedicure because I stub my toes so often and need to touch up the paint. I dial phone numbers only to forget who I called while the phone is ringing. I have gone to the market for groceries (with a list) and I still end up missing items when I get home. Hmm, I forgot the other example I wanted to give. Oh well!

• The mourning deserves its own post. I will write about that next or very soon.

• My emotional state is all over the charts. I can cry at the drop of a hat or explode into laughter. I go from feeling fat and depressed to feeling like a beautiful goddess. I generally feel most beautiful after an ultrasound. There is nothing like seeing the baby moving and kicking. At 11 weeks it looked like a real baby! I expected to be overwhelmed but had no idea it would be so touching. Even Larry was taken aback by the lil' bean.

• This time has really made me appreciate the wonderful people in my life. I am so grateful for my amazing husband. I cannot imagine anyone being more loving, attentive and understanding. I also had no idea how much love surrounded me. Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the loss of my mom or the estrangement from my dad, so much so that I forget to be excited about the pregnancy. I have been hesitant to tell people because it will make me vulnerable or what if no one responds. Well, the exact opposite is the case. People are so excited! It is nice to be out of the 3rd month. Telling people has been one of my greatest joys to date.

• I have already touched on the exhaustion

• OMG, I thought that getting up once a night to pee was bad. Now that I am pregnant I wish I only woke up once a night. So far my record is 7 times!

• The eating! I must say it is tough to get used to the eating. They say you only need 300 extra calories a day but it is easy to exceed that suggestion. I seem to be hungry every 2 hours. I have learned that small meals are the way to go. Plus, getting too full feels awful. The hardest thing about the eating is the aversions. I do not have any cravings, but there are plenty of foods that make my stomach turn at the thought of them.

• My back is a whole other situation. I am not really even showing and I haven't gained much weight (4 lbs), but my back is killing me! If I exercise and stretch it hurts less, but man oh man, it scares me for later on when I actually have a tummy.

I will touch on a lot of these subjects in individual posts at some point or another. This was just a quick summary of what's been going on.