Archive for September 1st, 2009

We found out that we were expecting on July 31, 2009…exactly 11 months after we were married. It was a very long journey with month after month of disappointment. We had gone through all of the “normal” testing and were told that everything looked ok. We both had a feeling that it was the stress of the situation that was weighing on us and possibly preventing the pregnancy to happen. I had been out of work since mid-November of the previous year and to say that our finances were “tight” and getting worse would be an understatement. Here are some of my thoughts and feelings (literally!) that I plan to share throughout my pregnancy.

So far the symptoms are not bad. The first week after I found out I felt the small cramplike pains that I had read about, but they went away after about a week and a half. I started Pilates on August 11th, it definitely felt good to stretch and get some muscles working. I felt a little nausea for the rest of that day and through the week. Crystalized Ginger helped, along with Orange Fanta! Through this entire time, I don’t recall a single time that I ever felt hungry…VERY strange! It is only because I know I have to that I eat anything, such an odd feeling, or non-feeling.

I read Jenny McCartney’s Belly Laughs the week of August 7th. It was really funny and gave me some good (or bad!) perspecitve on what I could potentially expect. I am glad that I don’t have any food aversions so far, and no real cravings either.

We went to our first Pre-natal ObGyn visit on August 10th. Bob is so awesome and came with me. we got a giant bag full of magazines, vitamins, pamphlets, etc., etc. and I still haven’t gotten through it yet!

[Bob] – Today, September 8, was our second pre-natal visit. All went well and our doctor even tried to perform a ‘quick’ ultra-sound to see if he could hear a whisper of a heartbeat from our tiny, unborn miracle. Kat is about 10 weeks along but just not quite far enough for the sound of a little heartbeat for us but in a couple weeks we should be able to hear then. After Kat’s exam, the doc gave her the A-OK!

We also had a few questions for him pertaining to immunizations. In particular, we are concerned about the Swine flu and lack of data for a rush-to-market, unproven vaccine. We wanted his professional opinion of this soon-to-be pandemic and whether we should consider immunizing Kat for protection from this deadly virus. He told us of a couple cases here in AZ and they weren’t good. One pregnant woman has died and another come down with H1N1 last week and is fighting for her life on her deathbed. That’s scary! This flu will ravage those with weakened immune systems. We will definitely take our doctor’s advice and consider getting Kat immunized come October. I want my wife and child around with me for the rest of my life.

[Update] – After doing some basic research on this new flu vaccine, we have come to the conclusion that we do not want to have Kat vaccinated. The reason being is that there are high levels mercury in this shot! The fact that mercury is toxic to humans, it definitely cannot be good for a tiny embryo especially in the developmental stages. The contained dosage is upwards of 250x the recommended expose limit to a person that is 550 lbs! We don’t even know anyone that large. Therefore we have considered our doctor’s advice and have left it at just that; a consideration. Also, in speaking with other pregnant friends of ours, they too are not opting for this flu vaccine. Besides what we have described here, really…who can trust such a vaccine that has been ‘rushed’ to market & not thoroughly tested?