Pregnancy Acne, Giant Boobs, hemorrhoids, and that Belly that kinda looks either fat or pregnant...FUN!

Today is the first day I tried on official "maternity clothing", a pair of Old Navy maternity denim shorts.  They are surprisingly comfortable, and I have realized that while I wear stretchy clothes, I look even fatter because they don't have that special maternity panel that I have only today realized, is actually slimming!

So, totally fatigued, with a new friend the hemorrhoid slowly emerging and a face that looks like a nervous 8th grade clarinet player, I tackle my days.

Oh, did I mention?  It's a GIRL!

Spotting in 12th week...quite a wake up call!

First, let me say, there is no longer any need to panic so breathe!

Here is what I have learned, and it isn't all Miss Manners pretty!  First of all, pre-natal vitamins make you constipated, secondly...pregnancy makes you constipated!  With the overflow into your body of pregnancy hormones and God knows what else, apparently there is a consistent side effect of all of the soft tissue in your body relaxing.  This causes a great deal of fun.  One thing few folks understand, the majority of your digestive tract is made up of...guess what....wait for it...soft tissue!

This makes digestion take longer, gas more prevalent, and, oh joy, constipation!

So not to be overly disgusting, but I was on the toilet, pushing like a Vietnamese woman giving birth in a rice paddy to expel something from the other end.  We are talking feet on the toilet seat people...anyway, once I had completed this daunting task, a swipe of the Cottonelle revealed BRIGHT RED BLOOD and I went into sheer YIKES mode.  The books all tell you that brown blood is good, red blood is bad.  Double YIKES.

A quick call to the doctor's office, a call back from the midwife who passed it off as "totally normal" and "happens to everyone", me=not satisfied.

Bleeding during pregnancy, it happens, but it is NOT normal.  Further research revealed to me that straining to have a bowel movement can put additional pressure on your sensitive cervix causing slight rupture and bleeding but it's really ok.  I did want to share this information with others so that they might learn from my panic attack.

All is well now, but going to be keeping an eye on my fiber.

Thank you Champion for the best sleeping bra EVER!

I have just finished an old fashioned practice...I wrote a letter to Champion to thank them for creating such an amazing product to help me sleep!

The Champion C9 Camisole Sports Bra has so far saved my sleep and hopefully my overly ample bosom.  You can get them at Target and they amazingly protect the sensitivity AND provide great support!  I am soooo excited to have found this wonderful product, and I am NOT a paid spokesman but I would be happy to be one!

The Big Reveal

Couldn't see what they were looking for because the little alien was face-forward, but it's definitely a baby...it might be an alien baby, but it's a baby!

Appointment scheduled for genetic counseling and level 2 sonogram on December 1st...more anon! 

We have a heart rate...

So there's an old wives tale that states that fetal heart rate is a gender predictor, the opinions are mixed on this topic among the medical community and my doctor kind of rolled her eyes when I brought it up but...

Heart Rate at 11 1/2 weeks....183

Do with it what you will.

Ultrasound tomorrow, stay tuned!

Never thought I would be excited about this Gold Card!

The alien lima bean has coverage now!  Through persistence I now have pregnancy Medicaid in the State of Florida.  A tip for the future to all of the women of child-bearing age out there...DO NOT OPT OUT OF MATERNITY COVERAGE!  Opting out of maternity coverage leaves you with extremely limited options, as pregnancy is pretty much a pre-existing condition under most definitions.  You options tend to be, self-pay or Medicaid.

The great thing about pregnancy Medicaid in the State of Florida is that once you are approved, you are approved until 2 months after the baby is born, no matter what (hopefully positive) changes occur in your financial situation.  I had been worried about pursuing currently active accounts and booking meetings without weighing out the risk of losing coverage and now I can go gangbusters with work without worrying about how it will impact my maternity coverage. 

What does Medicaid cover for pregnant women?

• 1 ultrasound
• 10 prenatal visits (14 for high risk pregnancy)
• 2 postpartum visits
• 1 newborn assessment
• delivery, etc.

In today's economy, it is good to know that these resources are out there for folks who may have made the error of opting out of maternity coverage...

Out of the funk…

Had to get through the whole questioning paternity (even had the BALLS to question the pregnancy?!?) negativity that was invading this pregnancy with the gentleman no, I dare say not the gentleman, the mammal who chose to release his baby juice into me without permission or warning. Growing up in the South, there are some things about me that are quite old fashioned. First of all, I do NOT hand it out like candy, and I have instructed and mentored many of my female friends not to do the same. Being accused of such strikes in me an angry tone, having been one who is relatively chaste in comparison to many of my peers. So I move on. I proceed with this condition, which is teetering on being an event, without the "baby daddy" by my side. Over the last two weeks I have felt the negative energy wash away and my soul cleansed of that anger and badness.

Here is a point that struck me in these interactions; after making said point I shall veer away from addressing it much at all. If I happened to be one of those women who did hand it out like candy, I also happen to choose gentlemen to date. I daresay that if I had been with 3 different men, all of whom had irresponsibly spilled their seed into me, and if I had told each and every one of them the entire situation and the impending new life on its way (remember that this is a hypothetical with the men that I tend to date, not the one in question), if you gathered the last three men that I dated, each and every one of them would have stood up and been by my side throughout the entire thing. Been emotionally and financially supportive; while perhaps not wholly enthusiastic, and ridden out the entire nine to ten months waiting on a verdict. Perhaps I am too optimistic about my mate selection; but I believe that would be the case. It just seems that this time I chose poorly.

So what is there to do but to move forward for the sake of this child. Reach out to my friends and family for the love that they share for me and for the world and create an amazing being!

And so, my village…welcome.