Weeks 8-12

The next four weeks passed much in the same manner…more nausea, more exhaustion. Occasional cramping/pulling sensations that my doctor assured me were a normal part of uterus expansion. Lovely! Around week 10 I actually had several days at a time where I didn’t feel queasy much, if at all, during the day. I wish I could say I took advantage of the improved state of affairs, but no. Instead, I  WISHED for a twinge of nausea and felt sad every morning that I woke up without it. I was certain this improvement in symptoms had to be a sign of something going wrong with the baby. But I continued to have no cramps or bleeding, so I started to relax a bit.

Several times throughout weeks 9-10, I had some dull, aching pains in my upper groin area. Not like PMS cramps, but more like muscle pulls. Against my better judgment, I Googled it. Instead of warning me that these pains likely indicated death and/or disfigurement, as Google tends to do, I ended up being reassured that the pains were likely coming from my broad ligament, which is what holds the uterus in place. Apparently if often stretches painfully as the uterus grows. I later learned in my 12-week exam that these pains were likely rather intense because my wayward uterus decided to tilt itself as far back as possible into the abdominal cavity, thus exerting more pulling pressure on the ligaments. Of course my uterus wouldn’t just hang out in a comfortable location…that would be too normal and easy!

Somewhere approaching week 11, I felt like I had enough energy to actually work out. This was the day I’d been waiting for! I’ve always dreamed of having a fit pregnancy where I stay as active as possible - 1) because working out keeps me sane, and I get super grumpy without it, and 2) because I knew it would be easier to bounce back physically if I was in decent shape. So, one day that I felt semi-normal I went to the gym and swam 10 laps. My body felt great in the water, and I was able to swim with a good rhythm without getting too winded. I definitely think swimming will be one of my go-to pregnancy workouts from now on. Another day, I took a walk/jog for about 3 miles. I was pleasantly shocked that after all this time of inactivity, I could still jog without feeling like death. I plan to order a belly support band and continue jogging/walking throughout the pregnancy.

The day for the week 12 appointment rolled around, and Steven and I headed to the doctor’s office. Side note about my doctor – I’ll just call her Dr. C on here. She has been my gyno for about 9 years or so, and she is fantastic. She’s a little hippie, a lot sarcastic, and totally perfect for my personality. She isn't bubbly and doesn't sugar-coat things, and I respect her immensely.

We knew this appointment would take a little longer than usual because I would be getting a full exam and meeting with the doctor, then sticking around for a blood draw. We had decided to get an early blood test to screen for chromosomal abnormalities and also gender. It’s SO weird to me that they can tell the gender before there’s even a big belly to show for it! But of course we decided to do it…I am nothing if not a planner, and I needed to know ASAP. Dr. C did the pelvic exam (oh, the indignities of being a female) and talked about my backward-tilting uterus. Which is apparently not dangerous but just may cause me some additional back pain until it moves around to where it’s supposed to be. So, really looking forward to that…thanks, weird uterus. Dr. C then put the heartbeat-finder-thingy  (Doppler, maybe? I don’t know what these things are called) on my stomach and immediately found the heartbeat. We breathed a sigh of relief and took a little audio recording to commemorate the moment. I definitely felt like I could relax a little more after this appointment, although I have to admit it still didn’t feel too "real" just yet without a visible belly to see or little kicks to feel. 

Up next…holiday craziness and waiting for the gender test!