Thursday, September 10, 2009

15 weeks tomorrow - hard to believe it

I can't believe we've made it this far. I keep praying for the best, but still thinking that the other shoe could drop. Hopefully things will continue to go smoothly. DH says I'm getting a bit of a belly now, and I agree that even now I can't suck it in as well as I could last weekend for our 14 week photo.
We went to Chicago for the long weekend, and had a great time. I had some Brie or Camembert on the plane on the way down, then felt guilty about eating a soft cheese without being certain it was pasteurized. I had the Italian place check that their ricotta was pasteurized the next night before ordering a really tasty pasta dish. We stuffed our faces at breakfast one day, and had a great Argentinian meal the next night. Walked a ton, checked out the architecture, and had lunch at the Mexican market on Sunday. Tasty tacos and tamales, for pretty cheap. Yum! And then to finish things off, I had some great crab and veggie sushi with a mango/banana smoothie on the way back to the airport. It was fantastic.
Then I didn't sleep well the first night we were back. Had some weird dream about spotting and something having gone wrong (though I was a little earlier on in the pregnancy, I think), and so I had to find my way to a doppler at work the next day to reconfirm that baby's ok. I had 45 seconds of sheer panic when I couldn't find the heartbeat in its previous location (found my own heart ticking away at 90/min, when it's usually around 60), but finally located it pretty high up and on the other side of my belly. I guess things are growing and the kid is shifting around. I can't wait until I can feel it move for reassurance.
Last week was the anniversary of the day our first baby should have turned 2. I didn't work out the due date for our second baby, since things looked bad right from the start, so I don't have the same milestones to regret not seeing for that one. It was also the day that my niece (my brother has 2 boys already) was due, but she waited until my SIL was induced yesterday to make her appearance. Thank God, I'm still pregnant, or I don't know how I would have handled seeing them have healthy baby #3 without any issues whatsoever. Having some hope for DH and me and our baby makes a big difference to the amount of envy I'm feeling.
My department chief is away for another 2 weeks, but I'm planning to break the news at work when he gets back. I don't know how much longer it'll be before people start asking if I'm pregnant. My next antenatal visit is next Thursday, and after that I'll feel more comfortable sharing things with colleagues and acquaintances.
So far I've only gained about 1kg. I'm not sure if this is ok (didn't really have any morning sickness to speak of so far, so that's not an excuse). I started off with a BMI of 18.7, so on the skinny side. A couple websites I've looked at said 1-4lb in the first trimester, and that I should gain 28-40lb overall (or 11-16kg), and gain about 1lb a week in the second and third trimesters. I guess I'd better start bumping up my snack/calorie intake! It's pretty challenging when I struggle to find time to heat up food for lunch at work, and when my only time to eat is during a case when I can stand outside the OR and keep an eye on things while I chew. Somehow I need to get more protein into me - must buy some fresh almonds, because the ones I have all taste a little old and rancid to me. Yuck. And I need more fruits and veg too. Maybe I should start making more soups, since I love to eat those. And even sandwiches that I can keep in my bag and not have to reheat might work too. When you're restricted to tuna/cheese/PB&J though because of the no-cold-cuts edict, that doesn't sound all that appealing. Any tips?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yay for 15 weeks!!! You can eat sliced meat that is not processed - like turkey, roast beef - I am going to start taking sandwiches to work - I eat out every day for lunch and have been spending a fortune.

IF Optimist, then... said...

Yowza! 15 weeks is great news. Your trip to Chicago sounded amazing. I'm hungry just thinking about it. There is no cold-cuts thing, but you can always buy one of those pre-roasted chickens or turkeys at the supermarket and just tear off hunks for a turkey or chicken sandwich. Also chicken salad sandwich or wrap is nice.

Elisabeth said...

Yippie for 15 weeks

Victoria said...

A milestone for you.

I couldn't help but laugh when you mentioned finding your own heartbeat.

kayjay said...

Congrats on the 15 weeks!! Your trip sounded great and I had to laugh - you described it in terms of the food you ate and that's how I describe my trips as well! You're lucky not to have had any morning sickness...I'm -5lbs right now and the twins book I'm reading is telling me I should be 12lbs heavier by now!! Oh, an if this is my first pregnancy (which it is), I should add another 5lbs AND if I conceived through IVF I should add ANOTHER 5lbs!!! Not going to happen when I'm leaning over a toilet with alarming regularity :(. As for the no cold cuts thing, I second the pre-cooked chickens...they're awesome for sandwhiches. If you feel up to cooking, you can always roast a pork tenderloin and then thinly slice it as sandwhich meat for variety. Egg salad sandwiches? Vegetarian sandwiches made from roasted vegetables and some hummus or a tasty spread of some sort (tzatziki, baba ganoush, roasted red pepper spread, pesto)? I don't know how you feel about supplements, but the twins book I'm reading suggests those high calorie protein shakes (like Boost or Ensure) to help you bulk up. I've also been trying to drink V8 to get more vegetables into my diet.

one-hit_wonder said...

Am glad things are still going well!

I'm sorry about the anniversary (of your baby who would have turned 2): those days are so hard.

Isn't Chicago great?

I do egg salad - tastes good these days. I'm having trouble eating enough, too: I'm just not hungry and I'm so busy now.

Springroll said...

Yahoo for 15 weeks!!! Every week is such a fantastic milestone for us...
I totally relate to the "food guilts". I myself have eaten sushi (only the cooked kind, though), and then felt immediately guilty because doesn't the cooked stuff touch the raw stuff when it's being prepared?? Anyway, we can't deprive ourselves!! :)
Looking forward to reading more about your pregnancy as time goes on...
Springroll

Kate said...

Happy 15 weeks! I am so sorry to hear about the rattling dream and the 45 seconds of hell with the doppler, and so very glad everything turned out just fine.


Thank you so much for coming by my blog and for offering such a sweet and supportive comment. My IUI was just converted to an IVF so your good wishes worked! Sincerely, thank you for your good wishes.
I send mine to you- here's to a fabulously uneventful pregnancy!

warmly,
Kate

Anonymous said...

Congrats on 15 weeks!!

I love long weekend trips to Chicago. Glad to hear you had a good time. I wonder if you went to the same Italian place I went to, I can't seem to remember the name right now but it was so yum!

So you didn't have morning sickness? Did it freak you out? I had it but today its been gone and I'm very concerned.