Week 14

I have been sending these messages to my family for awhile now and I just thought that Vicki might enjoy getting them too. Let me know (this goes for everyone) if these emails start to bug you and I'll take you off my list. So, as usual, below is a link to an article telling you all about what is going on with the baby and I during this week. Also, I am starting to attach belly pictures so you can see my developments even from FL, NH and MA. Nothing terribly new to report, I still have reoccurring headaches that start in the base of my head and occasionally jump to the temples but they are just mild-moderate. My sciatica isn't too bad but definitely present on one side in certain positions. Some exciting things to report: Matt & Harold came over from Boston on a whim this weekend and Matt and I went maternity clothes shopping (thanks to mom's gift certificate). We bought stuff for cold weather mainly since I'll be biggest then. On Sunday, I think I may have felt the baby move for the first time, but I'm not positive yet. It was a weird feeling I had never felt before, just where the baby is but it was fleeting and hasn't happened since so I'm still not fully convinced. I also ordered a prenatal yoga DVD through NetFlix and I liked it enough to consider purchasing it.
OK well, that is it for this weeks update!
Love,Stacie

PS- here is a week 13-14 picture with my head in it!

Week 13

Dear family:
Our baby has reached the size of a medium shrimp and weighs nearly an ounce. (Length: almost 3 inches, head to bottom.)
Our second prentatal appt went well. I now weigh 128 lbs (pre-pregnancy = 125 lbs) and my bp is at 108/62. We got to hear the baby's heart beat, which was fantastic. I wish we owned a doppler so we can hear it anytime!
Next month we are going to meet with a midwife instead of our OBGYN to see if she will be more in line with our natural birth plans (in a hospital but hopefully without medication or intervention--unless necessary). The OBGYN was okay with this plan but of course one of her colleagues might have to deliver us (if she isn't on call) and she said we'd have better luck sticking to our plan with a midwife. If we don't like the midwife, she said we could come back to her (they are all in the same building/practice).
I still haven't had to buy maternity clothes yet but I sometimes unbutton my pants while sitting down at the office (or movie theatre).
I have started experiencing mild-moderate lower back pain where I used to have issues from diving.
To read more about the 13th week of pregnancy, just click below.
Love,Stacie

Week 12

After 12 weeks the risk of miscarriage drops significantly, so that will be nice. We were supposed to have our 2nd prenatal appt on Friday but were rescheduled for Tuesday. Perhaps I'll give you a brief update after that appointment. Hopefully we'll get to hear our little one's heartbeat for the first time. Our 12 week old fetus is now the size of a lime, so have a Corona for me! Dave and I are finally just about ready to let the cat out of the bag by telling my boss and then all of our friends. I was/am hoping to get a manuscript turned in to him before I told him (to ensure he sees how productive I am) but we'll see how that goes. So, if you haven't already, please feel free to let our little secret out.
Love,
Stacie

Week 11

Our fetus is now the size of a fig! I think my belly is starting to look just a tad more than pudge recently and my pants are getting more and more uncomfortable to sit in (standing usually isn't too bad). My frequent urination issue has certainly ramped up a bit, which was less than fun while driving to Boston, but luckily Dave had to pee just as much (after drinking a 48 ounce Dunkin Donuts iced coffee). I will start to send belly photos as soon as it looks less like my pudgy belly and more like a pregnant belly. Only 2 more weeks until we are officially done with the first trimester (ends after week 12). We have our 2nd prenatal appointment in 4 days and I'm just hoping I haven't gained too much weight (they say you should only gain 25-30 pounds total and I had already gained 4.5 lbs after 8 wks). Dave and I still continuously flip flop on whether or not to find out the sex of our fig but we have until week 20 to make that decision. Any votes?

Love,
Stacie