Stretching and Soreness

I had more stretching of the muscles in my abdomen and soreness today. On the brightside, this means that it was probably not the football game last weekend that made me so sore. I am of the opinion that too much shopping yesterday was probably the culprit, along with Sparky's growing (and probably moving). I headed to Lansing yesterday to meet my Mom, Aunt Sue, Hannah, Emily, Meghan, Elaine, and Laura to do some shopping. It was a great time catching up with them and finding too many good baby bargains. Sparky, whether a he or a she, will not have to wear the same outfit twice for at least the first month or two or more. There are shorts, shirts, bathing suits, and in great abundance. It was a lot of fun to spend the time with my family and to enjoy planning for this new little life.

Since I was sore all day today, Sparky and I will be working up to the football game again on Saturday. I think I may have a football addiction. Steve may have to drop me off at the stadium and then walk down by himself, but I think I can make it. I have a feeling that Sparky will be a Michigan football fan right away too. Afterall, at least two of the new shirts are Michigan shirts, with coordinating shorts. And now... after that attempt at "relaxing" this weekend, I will probably be heading off to bed at a very early hour.

Peek-A-Boo (Or... The Story of an Obstinate Child)

Sparky did not feel very cooperative this morning. Steve and I arrived on time for our appointment with the obstetrician, but Sparky was not feeling friendly and decided it would be an appropriate time to hide from the Doppler heartbeat monitor. So, the doctor was rather worried that we couldn't find a heartbeat and decided that an immediate trip over to the ultrasound room was in order. A few minutes later Steve, the doctor, and I met Sparky for the first time. He was moving around quite a bit - especially with his little arms. The end of the story is that everything is fine, Sparky is in fact 10 weeks old and due April 21st or 22nd, and apparently I am going to be in for a few months as a human punching bag in the very near future.So, rather than post a picture of how big I look at 10 weeks, we will post a picture of how big Sparky looks at 10 weeks. Sparky is about 3.42 centimeters long and very active. He has also inherited the Hodges stubborn streak. Our next check-up is in 4 weeks and we will be checking in on Sparky's growth in another 10 or 12 weeks.

I Miss Naptime

One full week of work down. The job is good, I can handle the physical and mental demands and they don't mind my frequent trips to the bathrooms. But... I really miss the 2 o'clock naps I had become accustom to during the early part of the pregnancy. Right about 1:30 or 2 o'clock, when I am reading a particularly boring contract, I find myself feeling sleepier and sleepier. I'm sure it will be getting better soon. We are almost at 10 weeks and most of the fatigue is supposed to be over by 12 weeks. We shall see how accurate the predictions are.

My belly is still big and seems to slowly get bigger. I am feeling well and the nausea has subsided. We are going to the doctor on Wednesday ~ Steve is going to accompany me on this visit so that we can both hear the baby's heartbeat. Hopefully they will be able to get a good heartbeat so that the visit isn't anti-climactic.

The Belly at 9 Weeks

Note: not flattering pictures
Pregnancy acne is in full swing this week. Unfortunately the face wash I have used for years is on the banned medication list. Hopefully my face will adjust quickly to plain soap and water. And no, this is not a maternity dress, I was just hoping I could wear it a few weeks longer now that I am back to working in an office - I don't think I will be wearing it outside of the house though.
Oh for the good old days, back when my stomach looked flat while laying down...

First day back at work

Sparky and I went back to work for the first time. It has been so nice to have been off work since last November - I have become very spoiled with sleeping in, getting around to things when I feel like it, and just enjoying a very flexible schedule. Luckily the new job will be just perfect for us. I made it through the whole day without feeling overwhelmed or exhausted and my co-workers were all amazingly kind and considerate. They had been warned that I was expecting, so I am probably getting it easy. My new job seems to be right up my alley - starting tomorrow I will be spending most of my time on the phone or email working with contractors, businessmen, and attorneys to work out construction contracts. I know nothing about construction law or construction practices, but I am sure I can catch on to what I need to know quickly. And... with an hour for lunch I can eat fast and sneak in a 30 to 45 minute power nap.

My cold has almost left me alone. Since I am limited to taking Tylenol, which does nothing for a cold, I have resorted to Breathe Right strips to help keep my airways open at night. I'm hoping to be over this soon and will definitely be getting a flu shot this year, in spite of my severe needle-phobia.

The belly doesn't seem to be growing, but we will post another picture soon so you can judge for yourself.

Check-Up #1

I went to prenatal check up number 1 this morning. It was rather uneventful. I had heard horror stories of the humiliation I would have to endure, but this was rather painless. I remembered to tell the nurse that I am a fainter when it comes to needles, so I got to lay down during the draw and was able to get right up and walk out without the ususal dramatics. Of course she said after the poke I wouldn't feel a thing, and of course I could feel the darn needle the whole time. I'm sure I will be donating blood to the lab everytime I visit, so I guess I will just have to get used to the whole get-up, but that doesn't make it any better.

So six vials of blood later I was told to come back in two weeks for the visit with the doctor and all of the poking, prodding, and checking. The nurse gave us the estimated due date of April 22nd, which is the same date I had calculated. Check back on September 26 for all the cool stuff, like the heartbeat.

Tomorrow it is off to the Michigan/Notre Dame football game. This baby is destined to be a Wolverine. Hopefully the team can pull off a win so that Sparky doesn't try to escape the game again and stretch my belly out even more. It will also be the first time we spend with Steve's classmates after announcing the pregnancy, so I am sure that a lot of belly rubbing will be occuring - I might as well get used to it now since I am sure it is going to happen a lot during the next seven months.

Ups and Downs

We had a lot of ups and downs in the last few days. Since the baby decided it wanted to get out of the Oregon/Michigan fiasco early, my belly decided to pop out last Saturday (the photographic proof is in the last post). So... while my clothes had been getting really tight already, they just plain did not fit after Saturday. This was quite a problem with the new job starting next week. Thankfully I have wonderful family. Mom and Grandma Lorriane helped get me all fixed up with the start of a maternity wardrobe. Then came the downs - first a tumble down a flight of stairs. Luckily I managed to ride it out on my hands and knees, so there wasn't any risk to Sparky, but my knees are now a lovely shade of purple. Then the cold. And of course you can't take cold medicine while pregnant. Such is life. Our first trip to the doctor was moved to this Friday and we are looking forward to getting more information and hearing Sparky's heart beating.

Baby Bump at 8 Weeks

Before - Not as slender as high school, but still respectable.

At 8 weeks - already in maternity clothes

The Cat is Out of the Bag

Today is the day we decided to let the proverbial cat out of the bag. Many factors have lead us to this decision 4 weeks before we had initially planned to make the announcement. First, Grandma Lorraine will not buy the "ate something bad" excuse for too many more days of feeling sick and will come and start cooking for us soon. Second, most of Jen's regular clothing no longer fits and shopping trips with Grandma Lorraine have been increasing and increasingly awkward explanations about not needing to pick up anything will not last much longer. Third, we did not want friends from Sunday School to figure out that we were expecting before the future Grandmas and Great-Grandmas got the big news (we want to live to see 30). Finally, Grandma Mary will only have a first grandbaby once and needs to start preparing early and Great-Grandma Jennie is just itching to have another baby around now that David is 3. So, by the end of the day the news will be out and you will have been emailed the link to this page so that you can all keep up with the minutest details about the first Obreiter pregnancy.

My Poor, Aching, Expanding Belly

I had to buy new shorts this week to have something to wear to the football game. Although I am not quite at 7 weeks yet, it is becoming more and more apparent that my mid-section is expanding. I still have some clothes that I can squeeze this burgeoning belly into, but the drawers are getting emptier and emptier. The expansion has also brought with it muscle pains in muscles I did not know existed.

The biggest dilemma with the expanding belly is the adjusted timetable for making the "big announcement." While we were planning to wait until 12 weeks to let people know about our new addition to the Obreiter crew, my belly is not cooperating and by 12 weeks may look like 20 weeks. Hopefully the growth is not being spurred on by multiples - one child is more than enough for us. Still two weeks from the first doctor's visit, which has become the new target date for the big announcement - we shall see whether the belly cooperates or whether it will become too obvious by then.