WEEK 10

I am 10 weeks pregnant (30 weeks to go!!). Before pregnancy the uterus was the size of a small pear, by this week, it's about the size of a grapefruit.

This is the beginning of the fetal period. The head measures half the length of the body, and tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing).

I really miss enjoying my food... Two more weeks and I will have appetite again, I hope.

Since Monday all is back, the nausea, the tender breasts, and the sore nipples too. The diarrhoea is back too, every morning it's the first thing before anything else.

Painful, red pimples on my forehead, around my mouth, under my nose. My face is decorated like a Christmas tree.

Sleep was really bad in the past five days. I have trouble falling in sleep at night and staying asleep early in the morning. I am waking up around 4-5 am and just tossing and turning until around 7 am.

Some pelvic pain, mild but frequent aches and pains come and go in my lower abdomen. Ligaments and muscles stretch?

I am growing more and more impatient. If I want something I want it NOW but it's already too late. I blame the hormones.

Seeing Bunny on Sunday gives this pregnancy a real weight, a consciousness, more reality.

A definite bump is sticking out and pointing forward!

ER

9+3 today. I woke up with no pregnancy symptoms, no nausea, no tender breasts, no sore nipples! On top of this I felt sharp pain on the right side aroud my hip, and sore lower back. I panicked so I called the hospital. The nurse said that because there is pain I best to come in for a scan.

After a quick shower and an ever quicker breakfast we went in (15-20 minutes walk, and I felt for taking a walk). It was noon when we arrived. There were only 3 couple waiting. Urine sample, chat with the nurse, blood pressure and temperature measuring, some data entry and we found ourselves waiting for the doctor to perform the ultrasound scan.

Then she came but shortly she was beeped away and she stayed away for long. I was just sitting there, I felt fine (apart from the waves of pain on my side) and terrified that my symptoms are gone. We took a long walk yesterday, we ate in a restaurant and the evening was pleasant for me, I wasn't so nauseous.

We were waiting, waiting, more people came, and the crowd got bigger. Most of us were patient but some of us were not. Then the doctor came back and she called me in.

I jumped right on the bed beside the ultrasound device and the next second the cold jelly was on my belly. I couldn't take my eyes of the monitor and I caught a glimpse of BabyBunny. He was there. It wasn't empty like last time. He was lying on his back. The doctor pressed the head of the device so hard that I had to tell her she is hurting. Then she pointed to the monitor and said there is the heartbeat, can you see? Tears filled in my eyes. Bunny's there, Bunny is alive! Strong heartbeat, she said. The pressing woke him up, he started to move and I was weeping. I wish I had looked at DH face to see his reaction but I just could not take my eyes off the screen. She measured 10w1d but she said the dating scan will be more precise. Good news, Bunny is not smaller.

She gave us a picture, Bunny's first picture! We waited four and a half hours but it's worth every minute. It's real! It is not just guessing anymore. We are officially parents-to-be. DH was smiling for all the rest of the evening.

"If you can see the baby's heart beating on the sonogram after 7 weeks, your chances of continuing with the pregnancy are greater than 97 percent."

WEEK 9

I am 9 weeks pregnant (31 weeks to go!!). BabyBunny is about the size of a grape. Bunny's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, the valves start to form, and the embryonic "tail" is completely gone.

No change in appetite, actually still zero. The mozzarella salad doesn't look appealing anymore but chicken broth soup more and more tolerable. Toast, toast, toast for breakfast...

The diarrhea ceased, replaced by stool only every other day. No fibre I guess. There is no quantity change in the urine, I go no often than before but there is change in the urge, now comes much more sudden. I am still checking the toilet paper after every wipe.

Pimples, pimples, pimples and more pimples!! I had periodic skin outbreaks on my forehead and around the mouth but those were nothing compared to what I have just now.

Nauseated all day. Still 3 weeks to go to feel any relief of this unpleasant part of the first trimester but I am hopeful that passing the 12 weeks milestone I will be enjoying the rest of my pregnancy. I will be more active, I will practice yoga, and I will be eating healthy again.