In Celebration of the End of the First Trimester

For three nights last week I knew before six o'clock in the evening what I was going to make for dinner. And had it ready to eat. Each meal included meat. Which I cooked. Without having severe nausea. (The rest of the week and the beginning of this week have been super busy. Otherwise the trend would have continued.)

This may seem like a ho-hum, everyday experience for the rest of you. For me, the last few weeks have been spent trying to keep from making any sudden movements that would cause me to feel sick, avoiding anything with a strong odor (ie. poopey diapers, Parmesan cheese, cooking meat, etc.), and having little to no appetite.

For me, there's something almost magical about week 14 of my pregnancies. The clouds part, the angels sing, and I'm not as likely to spend all day whining about feeling gross.

Not that I stop complaining entirely. It's my right. As a pregnant woman.

I had an appointment a few days ago and thought I would share the latest with you guys.

Baby is doing good. Strong heartbeat. I'm feeling movement already. I wouldn't be so confident in saying that, but every time they've listened for the baby's heart rate the baby was on the exact side where I feel most movement. At 12 weeks I had some spotting, but all is well. It turns out that I have a normal "pregnancy issue" that is a little TMI for blogging about. But I'm fine and so is Baby. And yes, there is only one baby in there.

We have an ultrasound appointment for the 9th of December and hopefully this baby will let us in on the secret it's keeping so we can start shopping and preparing. Of course, since we have two girls already, there isn't much that needs to be done if we are having another one.

I've had many people predict what they think this baby is going to be, but I wanted to list some of my pregnancy symptoms here and let you get your vote in.

• I'm not as nauseous as I was with my girls. But I was less nauseous with Amelia than I was with Hazel. Boy or Girl?
  
• I have NO brain. Not only have I accidentally shoplifted, but I did my monthly grocery shopping yesterday and even though I had a five page master shopping list to help me out, I couldn't remember what I was looking for most of the day. I've heard that pregnancy brain is worse with boys. I was also told that our bodies produce a chemical that actually eats your brain when you are pregnant with a boy. (I have no idea if this is true or not and I'm too lazy right now to research this for myself. Have you ever heard this rumor?) Boy or Girl?
• When pregnant with the girls I never wanted coffee. And I don't this time either. It's sad. But true. I actually crave tea. What? I feel like I don't know who I am anymore. (Because of the coffee. It has nothing to do with the fact that I'm about to be a SAHHM of four kids ages 7, 3, 1.5, and newborn.) Boy or Girl?
• I had first trimester acne. Arg! Boy or Girl?
• The heart rate was 160-165. Boy or Girl?
• Aside from the fact that I no longer have an unquenchable hunger for Taco Bell, I have a lot of the same cravings that I had with the girls. Spicy foods for the first 9-11 weeks. Cheese and bread. Anything take-out. With the girls I did want a lot of fruit. This time I really want hamburgers. And sweet potato fries. Boy or Girl?

Leave a comment with your guess. Hopefully we'll be able to answer this question on the 9th of December. In the meantime, here's the first portrait of Baby. This was taken at 10 weeks. I'm 15 weeks now. I'm also a little behind on many things.