Sacred Vessel

A friend was telling D the other day how I'm a sacred vessel.  He was a bit confused at first.  :)  It's really weird when I think about my body being used to create another human, part D, part me.  I remember a friend of a friend telling me she did not enjoy being pregnant, that it just felt way too alien to have this being inside of her.  But I think it's quite amazing that such a complex individual will be the outcome of what started as a ball of cells!  All I can really picture right now is the silhouette version of Baby Buddha from ultrasound pics.  Likely will have dark hair and brown eyes (dominant traits though there is blond hair/blue eyes in my extended fam).  I picture gangly arms and legs and super skinny now though according to the weekly update I receive, he's starting to gain more weight.

Getting a lot more comments at work of how I've suddenly popped.  It's true, I am much bigger these days and I'm feeling it.  And I still have 3-4 months to go!

My biggest complain is regarding sleep, or lack thereof.  I've been having bouts of insomnia, usually around 4 AM.  Most of the time I'm able to get back to sleep, but some nights I toss and turn until my alarm goes off.  Could I be overheated?  Is 5 hrs all my body needs right now?  Is this preparation of learning to get by on less sleep?  Could be my body has just had enough of sleeping on my left side.  Sleeping on your back or right side with a growing uterus can lead to compression of the inferior vena cava.  And just shifting positions with a huge belly is uncomfortable and will wake me up.

I know I'm bound to become more uncomfortable as I get bigger and the weather warms up.  I really try to keep my complaining to a minimum but lack of sleep and caffeine makes me a grumpy girl at times.  Next time I'm awake at 4 in the morning, I'll just have to get up and do something productive.  Anyone have any easy baby knitting projects?

Appreciating...

...being able to sleep in.  I enjoy my sleep and being able to laze about the house on weekend (or holiday) mornings.  Not getting as much sleep as I'd like is one of those selfish reasons I didn't want to have kids.

...my health.  Recovered from a nasty cold a month ago.  I don't remember a cold hitting me quite so hard.  Exhausted, sinus pressure, lots of congestion, bad cough, not able to sleep.  Being preggers meant I couldn't take my usual Alka Seltzer cold medicine which would have taken care of some of my symptoms and helped me sleep.  I got by on a dose of tylenol and sudafed here and there.  Thankful I didn't get Darren sick!

...Netflix.  I went through about a season and a half of Dexter while sick.  Probably a good thing there aren't any more seasons available on instant view.

2nd Trimester

• I've been able to borrow maternity clothing from my sis-in-law who is the same size as me and has great sense of style.  Maternity style has come a long way.  I swear I'm dressing more stylish while pregnant than I normally do.  Maybe this just means I need to work on my regular wardrobe once I can fit back into it.
• We're starting to accumulate baby stuff from friends who have had boys and aren't planning on future kiddos.  This has been awesome.  Also nice to be able to find out which things are necessary vs. what stuff we can hold off acquiring until we know we have more space and/or money.  We receive a used carseat (and yes, I do know there are now expiration dates on these things--I wonder if this is really for the infant's sake or the company's profits).
• We find out we’re having a boy!  Really cool to see him so active during ultrasounds.  Pretty weird that I can’t feel any of that movement yet.
• Around week 18, I realize I can feel him move around.  Felt like gas bubbles in the beginning, but eventually I realize, that’s my son in there!  Love this peculiar feeling.  He gets particularly active after I eat (especially something sweet) or when I 1^st lay down in bed.
• I drop in on some prenatal yoga classes.
• Haven't been having specific cravings except for caffeine which I've done a pretty good job of avoiding.  I used to be a big tea drinker and have found that non-caffeinated tea just doesn't cut it.  I do seem to be craving sweets after lunch & dinner.  Chocolate or ice cream seem to hit the spot when I do indulge.
• My belly button is slowly turning into an outie.  It's true what they say about the inside of a belly button feeling very soft.
• Have been working on turning our 2nd bedroom which was an office/storage space (crafty stuff, music equipment, old letter, photo albums, random junk...) into an office/nursery.  This means going through everything to decide what we really need to keep and what can be given away.  A desk and an empty dresser will stay.  Eventually add some wall shelving for office storage.  A bookshelf will stay for kids books & toys.  A TV armoire will move into the basement for storage.  A crib (currently in pieces) will be moving in.  Eventually will also have to tackle the closet which also was a collection space of shtuff.

1st Trimester

• Found out I was preggers at 6 weeks.  Initial reaction was a bit of freaking out and feeling overwhelmed.  I’ve always wanted kids, but never felt ready—but I tend to overanalyze decisions worrying about all the negative outcomes instead of focusing on the big picture.  Also, I’ve spent 35 years not being pregnant, and now all of a sudden, + sign.
• When I went in to the doctor’s office to confirm I was pregnant, I peed in a cup.  The lab tech called my number, proceeds to tell me the results were negative (ahh, that’s rather disappoin…)... I mean positive (umm, is it negative or positive???)... yes, positive.  Hands me the ‘you’re pregnant’ piece of paper that I’m supposed to give to my nurse.  Feeling super confident about this lab (I switch clinics).
• Morning sickness seemed to start as soon as I found out I was preggers.  Actually, I wouldn’t call what I had morning sickness, but general malaise and nausea.  Had a queasy stomach in the morning or late afternoon when feeling tired.  I didn’t have much of an appetite and lots of food or drink just didn’t sound or taste very good.  I didn’t want to be in the kitchen so D did a lot of the cooking and cleaning.
• I feel like I’m showing, but I’m not yet, that’s just belly fat.  :)
• I find out I have a large ovarian cyst.  Cysts are normal during regular ovulation and menstruation, but this cyst is large (~3 x 4.5 inches)) so we’ll have to keep an eye on it.
• We tell family and a few close friends about the news, but hold off telling most people because miscarriages are somewhat common in the 1st trimester.