Week 8

This past week might have been the most low-key for me of any week since I've been pregnant.  Like the newness/excitingness is not QUITE as front and center and now pregnancy is just a constant.  Each day I wake up to see if there are new developments or changes and for the most part I really haven't seen anything drastic.  I'd say the one thing I keep waiting for (dreading) is the always talked about, and never pleasant: Morning Sickness.  I keep waiting to feel nauseous and queasy and just awful - but I haven't really.  Just a faintness in the mornings which goes away for the most part, after I get up, eat and get moving.  It'd be great if this was as bad as it gets for me!  But I'm still skeptical...  Guess I'm kinda waiting for the other shoe to drop!

However, this past weekend I'm very happy to have so far avoided feeling crappy since we were not home.  We spent the weekend plus 2 days with family, which included a 1.5-2 hour flight.  I was most worried about the flight, since I have a tendency towards motion sickness even when I'm NOT pregnant!  But I had barf bags, water, snacks galore (including two kinds of candied ginger!) and felt so great I didn't need any of it - I mean other than the snacks and water when I got hungry...  Lucky!!  I think the air in the cabin that you can make blow directly on you, and the fact that they keep the planes nicely air conditioned while flying - helps A LOT.  I've found that I feel more queasy when I'm warm and not really when I'm cool.

How far along: 8 weeks and 1 day!
What did baby do this week: Baby is now the size of a raspberry, pinto bean or gummy bear.  We had our 8 week ultrasound this morning, so I know that baby is exactly .63 inches long from crown to rump and is growing about a millimeter a day!  We got to hear the heartbeat (!!) which is beating 170 bpm - exactly what they want for this gestational age.  It is beginning to look more human-like.  The fingers and toes are only slightly webbed now and even though I can't feel it, the baby should be moving around a lot!  Baby's tail is just about gone and while gender was established at the time of conception, this week is when the baby's reproductive organs will become either testes or ovaries.  A tiny tongue is growing inside the small mouth and developing taste-buds!
Total weight gain: 3.8 pounds
Symptoms: Some very faint cramping on and off during the week.  The breast pain/soreness I felt last week (for maybe 1-2 days) has disappeared.  I might be noticing my areolas getting a bit larger, but it's not extremely obvious.  I'm just looking for changes since I expected to see changes in my breasts by now.  The last couple weeks I've been very aware of my raised heart rate (which is normal - with so much extra blood volume flowing through my body).  I especially notice it when talking to people in animated conversations.  I almost find myself out of breath sometimes - which has never happened before.  I definitely get more worn out faster - like I was strolling around the mall recently and found that I wanted to sit and rest a little - another something I'd never have needed to do when not pregnant.  But I don't seem to be as sleepy as I was a few weeks ago - a little more tired, but not sleepy.  I suppose it could also be from cutting back on the progesterone shots (been doing every other night for the past 2 weeks instead of nightly).

Queasy or sick: Like I mentioned above, EVER SO FAINTLY in the mornings.  And usually it goes away after I get up, eat and just get moving.  But it can be a little hard to get up.  And I've noticed that my vitamins are not as easy to swallow.  I've gagged on them more than once in the last week.  However, it's so NOT bad.  Like Day 2 of a birth control pill pack makes me feel way more queasy than this!
Sleep: Sleep is okay other than waking up to pee all night long.  It seems to be like clockwork: 1am hour, 4am hour, 7am hour (then usually go back to sleep for just a bit before getting up).
Best moment this week: Getting through our flights/travel without me feeling bad or losing my cookies!  Plus I think I successfully tricked all the family we saw - I don't think anyone would have guessed I was pregnant.
And of course our 8 week ultrasound this morning!  AMAZING to hear the baby's heartbeat - beating so fast!  And to see the difference in growth over just 2 weeks.  The heart was prominently beating - very easy to see.  In our 6 week, we had to strain a little (and I had to hold my breath so the image wouldn't move around too much) to see the heartbeat.  But today - just beating away so sure and strong.  Incredible!  Baby is right on schedule and growing exactly like Dr. A wants to see.  WHEW!!!
Hardest part of the week: Not really HARD, but I was nervous again waiting for our 8 week ultrasound.  Not AS nervous as I was for that 6 week one (OMG I almost lost it then...)  But I did feel a lot more at peace knowing we'd already seen the heartbeat.
Also, sometimes it's hard thinking up what I want to eat for meals.  And while I usually love cooking, I just don't feel like it.  Not sure if it's because things don't sound as good or whether I'm just a little pooped, but I think takeout is soon to become my BFF.
Looking forward to: Just relaxing over the next couple weeks.  Usually my schedule is packed full but I've been keeping it pretty light (not knowing how I'll be feeling) and I'm glad for that.  After our travel plans this past weekend it'll be great to just lay low and hang out with Hubby this coming weekend.

Movement: Baby is moving - but I won't feel it for probably another 8-10 weeks.
Food cravings: Nothing specific, though savory food sounds awful in the morning but tastes fine in the afternoon or evening.  I tend to start my day eating blandly and graduating to more rich foods by the evening.  But various things definitely don't sound as good to me as they typically would.  I've heard that pickled foods help with nausea and I did notice that a pickle I ate on the plane a couple days ago was really very satisfying.  I noticed myself catching the scent of pickles/pickled peppers when we were at an event this weekend and it smelled SO GOOD too!  Haha!
Happy or moody: Maybe neither - but definitely more emotional.  Sometimes I get choked up at ridiculous things on TV, but for the most part, I've managed to hold it together and not become a slobbering idiot.
Labor signs: No
Maternity clothes: Clothes are getting a little tighter as I feel a bit more bloated, but no new clothes yet.
Belly button in or out: In
Wedding rings on or off: On
Stretch marks: No

Baby is a lot bigger at our 8 week ultrasound!
(compared to 6 weeks) .63" long!

Learnings from the week: I've enjoyed playing around with the Baby Name Voyager tool for YEARS, checking out the popularity of names I'd think up.  But now that we really do have the responsibility of naming a person, this book is the best organized I've found.  Most name books are set up like a dictionary: with A's in the beginning, Z's in the end and tens-of-thousands of names in-between.  Not helpful if you ask me.  This book puts some logic to the name selection process and provides lists of "similar style" names.  My favorite part is looking up a name and then checking what the "sister and brother names" are.  I've been shocked to find that many names we like are on sibling lists for each other!!
Final Thoughts: At least for me - with my ever-so-slight level of nausea, it's good to force myself to get up and do things.  I always feel better once I'm dressed and out in the world and distracted.  Just sitting on the couch all day makes me notice the "ugh" feeling perhaps a little more so.  But now, if the nausea gets worse I'm not sure I could force myself to get up and at-em!