I'm not crazy

Much of my complaints during these three months of my pregnancy is my constant fatigue. This fatigue should wear off for the second trimester. I was talking to my mom last night, and she mentioned an article that a doctor that she works with forwarded to her. She sent me the link today and I checked it out. (http://www.sleepfoundation.org/hottopics/index.php?secid=17&id=173) This part I found particularly interesting:

The rise of progesterone, one of the hormones essential for the maintenance of pregnancy, may be one of the reasons pregnant women feel drowsier than before they were pregnant. The soporific (sleep-inducing) and thermogenic (heat-producing) effects of high progesterone secretion from the placenta are known to cause fatigue and earlier sleep onset.

Mhhmm.. And the article continues by saying that women cannot sleep as well due to feeling uncomfortable with their body such as breast tenderness, frequent urination during the night, nausea (in my case, going to bed feeling nauseated, waking up in the morning feeling nauseated and waking up during the night feeling nauseated).

I take my naps because I have to and my schedule is busy. If I do not take a nap, I am a zombie and non-functioning. I hope that this offers insight as to why women are often fatigued during their pregnancy.

End of week #11

Here we are at the end of week #11. I can hardly believe that I am almost done with my first trimester! It's exciting to think about what will happen these next few months as my belly grows bigger. I am still wearing my pre-pregnancy clothes, but with much discomfort. At the end of the day, I have to undo the button of my pants and breathe! A couple of times I have felt fluttering (this was after Alfonso had put his face next to my belly and had spoken to the baby and another time a co-worker of mine had done the same). The baby was like "hey! What you doin?!" Nothing majorly new with symptoms; just fatigue and my gums feel a little sore at times. I love taking my daily naps, it feels so good to wake up and feel refreshed. Also, I am very hot at night when I sleep and I need to open the window and balcony door so that I don't sweat. It's been really hot here in Los Angeles this past month (90's at times) so that makes it worse. I know everyone back east is telling me to not complain- but 90 degree weather in November is a bit ridiculous.

This was my conversation with Alfonso earlier today before he left for work-
Me: Hey baby, do you know what tomorrow is?
Alfonso: Tomorrow is Thanksgiving... and the start of week 12 for us.

I am really big on dates and time periods, so I keep bringing up our progress. I mention it about twice a week, so I think he is well trained at this point. :)

Here is the development of baby for week 11:
Nearly all structures and organs are formed and beginning to function.
Fingers and toes have separated.
Hair and nails begin to grow.
The genitals begin to take on the proper gender characteristics - It will be just a few more weeks before your ultrasound can show if you are having a boy or a girl!
Amniotic fluid begins to accumulate as the kidneys begin to function - This fluid, consisting primarily of water, helps provide a cushion for your baby while she's nestled within your womb.
The muscles in the intestinal walls begin to practice contractions that digest food.
Your baby is about 1.61 inches (4.1 cm) long and weighs 0.25 ounce (7gm).

House Shopping

We have decided that we want to buy a condo/townhouse in the next couple of months. Today was our first day of checking out the local real estate, and we also went to get pre-approval for a loan. We are in the market for a 2 bedroom/2 bath condo or townhouse that is $450,000-$500,000 in the area of Studio City, Toluca Lake, or Burbank. We could move up to Valencia, but this would be a 40 minute commute (w/o traffic) and we do not want to face the commute (not only for work, but other factors as well). We are also taking into the consideration that we may only be living in the condo for 5 years (once the baby is older and ready to start school) and then we will move to an area with better schools and larger homes (welcome to suburbia).

It went pretty well today- we met with three different real estate agents and liked the last real estate agent. We may go with her- she sat down and explained more to us and seemed friendly and knowledgeable. We went to our local Bank of America to apply for a pre-approval for a loan. After numerous questions looking at our credit reports, credit score and annual income it looks like we will have pre-approval for a $475,000 loan. It's crazy to think of a loan that size, but it's a reality out here in LA. I hope that this is something that we will be able to manage financially.

In two weeks we will have our first pre-natal visit. We will be able to find out the sex of the baby then, but then again, we may want to wait until the baby is born. There are so few things in life that are totally a surprise and waiting to see the sex of the baby is one of those. So, we may just be sticking with green and yellow until then.

Until next time, Becky

Baby Development Week #10

So, we just finished up with week #10 and are heading into week #11. This is what happened this past week with baby:

• Baby is now called a fetus in "medical terms". You, however, may have chosen the name "peanut," "angel," "jumping bean" or simply "miracle."
  
• The most critical part of your infant's development is complete. Now you are headed into a period of rapid growth.
  
• While a bit strange to envision, your baby's head is now about half its length - Soon the rest of the body's growth will catch up but this area is prepared to keep up with the rapid brain development!
• Eyelids fuse shut and irises begin to develop - Eye color is also determined by this point.
  
• Placenta begins to function this week or next - The placenta is the organ responsible for both the provision of nutrients along with the removal of waste to keep your baby growing strong!
• Your baby will be about 1.22 inch long (3.1cm) and weigh 0.14 ounce (4gm) at the end of this week

Week #10

We are finishing up week #10 and heading into week #11. Nothing incredibly new to report, but I think my around-the-clock nausea is starting to subside! I just feel a little tired, and take a nap once a day. In terms of my body changing, my tummy is sticking out a bit more and my breasts are getting bigger. I just woke up one day and my belly was sticking out. It was like I had a growth spurt over night. I am having some food cravings- lemonade, vegetarian pizza, subway turkey sandwiches, In-N-Out burger after watching my co-workers order it the night before (I regretted that one- I got some nasty burps after that), Ben & Jerry's chocolate/brownie frozen yogurt, popcorn (I think I was craving the salt), and Indian food (curry seasoning). I can still fit into my clothes, but they are slightly tighter around the waist. I weighed myself last week and I weighed 130 lbs, which is about 5 extra lbs. Eeek! I am drinking a lot of water too, I noticed that I feel more thirsty.

I am having a lot of stress with school, and I can't wait for my semester to finish. I will feel much better when I am done. I finally got my insurance situation sorted out through my job, so I was able to find an OB doctor. My OB is over in Los Angeles, just bordering Beverly Hills. It looks like I will be delivering at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, which is a good hospital. Alfonso and I wanted to deliver at the hospital that we both work at, but since I have HMO and I wanted a female doctor, my only option was to choose from the Cedars Sinai Health Associates group. Our first appointment will be December 6th, and I am hoping that we will be able to find out the sex of the baby then. Knowing me, my baby will be modest and not want to show himself!

Thank you for your emails and kind words. I am trying to figure out how to allow my blog to post comments. I've tried changing the settings, but it still does not allow people to post comments. I may have to reconstruct a new blog page if I cannot work this problem out. Here are some photos that I took just now in the mirror.

Love, Becky

Miscalculation; we are in week #9

Ok, I made an error. I had initially told the doctors office that the first day of my last period was September 9th and we calculated my due date to be June 15th. That's fine. But, for the last several weeks, I thought that I was two weeks behind from what I actually was for my pregnancy. So, although I was actually seven weeks, I thought that I was at five weeks. You are considered pregnant even when you are not actually pregnant. Does this make sense? The first two weeks of pregnancy is the time of conception and implantation of the egg into the uterus. I was not taking those first two weeks into consideration. So I am officially in my 9th week of pregnancy (even better for us!) and 3 more weeks left of my first trimester!!

In terms of how I feel. Pretty much the same! Same nausea (at any time of the day), fatigue (I need a nap in the afternoon or else I am completely dead for the rest of the evening), food adversions (the thought of red meat or mushrooms makes me feel sick), food cravings (I had a sour craving today, so I bought some yummy lemonade), emotional changes (I was crying uncontrollably the other night when I was taking a bath and sometimes I get annoyed with Alfonso for minor issues- I am sorry baby!), and now I am seeing my belly stick out a little bit more. Also, my breasts are looking fuller and they feel tender! Ouch!

We finally got my insurance situation straightened out, since I was working per diem at my job before the pregnancy and then I switched to part-time with benefits after we found out. After four weeks, my insurance will start December 1st. Now I need to find a doctor (I have a few in mind) and make my appointment for the first week of December (the sooner the better and this will be before Alfonso leaves for Mexico to pick up his mom). By this time, I will be in week #13, so we might be able to find out if it's a boy or girl. I really want to know, since I am such a planning freak and the wait will kill me!

Alfonso and I have been doing a lot of financial planning lately. We are thinking of ways to put a down-payment on a condo for next year. The prices here are so expensive! We are looking at $350,000-$400,000 for a 2BR/2BA. Only in LA! I met with my financial advisors today at Ameriprise, and announced that I was pregnant. They were surprised and excited, and even more excited about planning for me and Alfonso's finances.

I have another 6 weeks left in this semester. I just want it to end. I have a lot of work ahead of me (3 papers and a presentation), so I just want to make it and then I can relax. I will be taking classes next semester part-time, and for the remainder of my program. So, I will have another three years after next spring, but it's ok. It will be one day a week, and I can also work part-time with the baby. Well, I guess we will see how this will work out. :)

I will have Alfonso take a picture of me this weekend, so you can all see my little belly.