Expecting the Best: 8 Weeks

Welcome to my first ever blog series!! I’m pretty excited about it. Part of me really wants to doubt myself and believe that I won’t follow through with it, but heck, I’ve been blogging for just shy of five years and haven’t missed one yet, so I’m hopeful it’ll be fine 😉 I went back and forth on names for the series, trying to play off the names of the days of the week. Fertile Friday. Sunday Bun-day. Stuff like that. While those were witty, I like the title I settled on better. Expecting the Best. Because I really am. I desire very much to stay positive as I go forward into another pregnancy.

Each Saturday, I’ll post about the past week, and likely answer the same questions. There will obviously be some flow and change in that, as some weeks will likely be more eventful than others. I’m also thinking that I might do a full week of gender predicting wive’s tales later on, just for fun. I always love those videos on YouTube, sod hopefully a photo blog post is almost as fun.

Without further ado, I’ll kick off with the questions for my seventh week of pregnancy!

Comparison/size: Being 8 weeks on the money, baby’s size is compared to a little square Lego brick. As in the one with four nubbins. Though apparently my uterus is the size of a grapefruit!! I have no bump to show for it (save for the super bloating that just kicked off this week) so I’m not sure where that grapefruit is tucked, but I’m glad its in there!

How am I feeling mentally: I feel ok. Better than I thought I would, honestly. I’ll go for another ultrasound soon, though. We didn’t find out Theo had passed away until around 11 weeks, but he passed at 8 weeks. I can’t help but wonder if I would’ve seen his heartbeat had we had an early ultrasound that time around. So call me crazy, but I feel a very real need to see his beating heart again after that 8 week mark. I have the most understanding doctor. She gets it. I’ll say again, though, my mental health is in better shape than I thought it would be. I don’t spend all day expecting my baby to die. I’m happy and excited, and while anxiety is present, its decent far back in there, and peace is further ahead.

How am I feeling physically: I feel sicker than I’ve ever felt in pregnancy! For the first time, I am actively taking the full doses of nausea medication that was offered to me. Could I get by without it? Sure. But the constant sick feeling is so so hard, and even on medication, I gag and dry heave often. There. I just did it, because I’m talking about it. It doesn’t take much. Not too much specifically sets it off, thankfully. Brewing coffee is probably the worst. Eggs are a close second. But everything else is fine. I’m a picky eater at the moment, but haven’t barfed yet! *knocks on wood* Beyond nausea, I’m pretty sure my boobs are trying to kill me. If they’re going to grow, I wish they just would, and then be done with it! But I’ll leave it at that. Oh, and I have the shakes. It comes and goes, and I don’t much care for it. That one is completely new to me. I’ve never been so shaky in any other pregnancy.

Any appointments recently?: I had one prenatal a while back. It was pretty uneventful. My doctor wasn’t available, but we actually were able to see the student doctor that had been through our pregnancy with Solly with us! It was a reassuring appointment. I’m really looking forward to more along the way. I know that sounds silly. Most people hate going to the doctor, especially so regularly during a pregnancy, but I really like it. I like my doctor, I like being able to ask my questions and talk about my emotions with her. I always leave feeling excited and uplifted. Another three weeks or so until my next appt.

Buys/Wish List: I have practiced restraint so far! No baby buys yet at all!! Though I could, easily!! Haha! If we’re being real here, I pretty much exclusively wear maternity clothes all the time now. I never even really try between pregnancies to get into regular clothes. Maternity clothes, specifically jeans, are WAY comfier. But my nicest pair of dark jeans got a snag in them 🙁 So I’m keeping my eyes open for a good sale at the Gap, because I have my eye on a pair there that will replace those ones and feel oh so nice! So thats probably at the top of the list, but I’m not in any rush, being that its summer…

How are the other kids feeling about the whole thing?: The kids are stoked 🙂 They talk a lot about the baby in my tummy. They often speculate whether its a boy or a girl, and the most common conversation they start is about naming the baby. Their top contender is “Lovey.” Which is just about the most adorable idea ever. I’m totally on board. Their second option is “Rowan.” I tell them we already have a Rowan, but they argue back that they like Rowan, so they want another. I get where they’re coming from.

The BEST thing about being pregnant this week: I can safely say that my favourite part of being pregnant this week was getting to share the news with you guys!!! If you didn’t notice, I didn’t put an actual announcement on Facebook, but just on the blog. I’m 100% comfortable with people finding out; I’m not at all hoping to keep it a secret. But this way, you loyal blog readers found out first, and other people are finding out gradually, which I’m kind of enjoying! Almost every day, someone has either commented or messaged me excitedly about it, and I’ve gotten to gush and celebrate all over again. Its so nice 🙂 I’ve enjoyed SO MUCH the support you’ve all offered our family as we navigate through all of the emotions of another journey through pregnancy! We are SO fortunate and happy and blessed, but also very nervous and anxious. There is a lot to process and take in, and I haven’t been made to feel silly or petty or judged. Not even once. THAT has felt like the best part of this last week for me, hands down.

Anything else?: Mmmmm…not off the top of my head. Anything else you guys want to know?

Pictures: Bear with me here, haha! I took a “belly picture” quite quickly after getting a positive test. Its not great, but it was an attempt at being positive, anticipating a successful pregnancy, and wanting to track my size from the very beginning. It was a bit of a shocker to see my body this way, since I had showed by 8 weeks with Theo, and in this picture right around 4 weeks, there was no bump to see. It was a bit sad. But, nonetheless, here is my freshly pregnant picture.

And now, four weeks later, its not a lot different, but I am definitely bloated! Haha! Its not as though anyone would see me and guess I’m pregnant, but something is definitely brewing in there!

Hahaha! Looking at them like this now, I just look a little thicker. Lol! I’m happy with it 🙂 I just hope I keep growing and changing because the baby keeps growing. This is some weird deja vu that I don’t much care for, but I’m trying to embrace it and keep rolling. I’m thankful for every moment I get to be pregnant.

Alright, guys, I think thats it for my first chapter of my first series! Did I miss anything? Do you have any other questions? Anything you’d like to hear about in the future? Feel free to ask, public or private doesn’t matter. I’m really excited to keep record of this pregnancy this way 🙂 I know there will be some repetition because inevitably I’ll talk about at least some of these things during the other days of the week, but I’ll try to keep the overlap to a minimum.

Enjoy your Saturday! I’m looking forward to hopefully a bit more sun and a bit less wind than usual. We can trust the Saskatchewan weather forecast. I mean, they’re basically always right!! 😉