Sick, Party of 2 (well, three)

So when people have asked me how I'm feeling during this pregnancy, I've always answered "pretty good" - no morning sickness, no weird cravings, and while I'm more tired than usual, it's not the level of exhaustion that my friends have told me they experienced. However, I have had the "remnants" of a cold for quite some time... and those remnants came to a head on Friday. When I got home from work Friday night, I was coughing, had sore eyeballs, and was just feeling generally miserable. Normally, I'd pop some Tylenol cold, suffer through a day on the couch, and be worn out for a few more days. This baby's arrival, however, did not bode for that outcome.

No medicine. Tylenol for the fever (which never went above 99.8) and the only "approved" cold medicine is Sudafed, which as Shaun sweetly investigated for me Friday night, is for a stuffy nose, not a chest cold. Up all night coughing, sneezing and blowing my nose all day - all of these are par for the course with a cold but not for THREE DAYS. Three days of utter misery. And to top it all off? Shaun got what I had yesterday. So today I'm only a little bit better (thanks to the Dr.'s sanctioning of Robitussin DM) but poor Shaun is really down for the count. I had to run to CVS for more tissues today (buy stock in Kleenex!) because with a temperature of 99.3 I was the healthier of the two. Poor us. We are giant wastes of space.

You know what feels good? A long hot shower. I've taken at least 2 a day since Friday. I also purchased, on recommendation from Facebook friends, a neti pot. I don't know if I did it right - I mean, I did feel decongested for a little while, but I also felt like I had been tossed around the ocean swallowing salt water. I can't quite get that saline taste out of the back of my throat. I'll probably try it again before bed tonight... but I don't think I'm ever going to be totally on board the Neti Pot train. I can't wait to be medicated again.

In the meantime, our poor household is a cacaphony of coughing, sneezing and nose blowing. The baby is probably fine, but this is the first experience of this little fetus actually being a character in our little household dramas... a character who won't let me medicate myself.

12 weeks!

So 12 weeks is a big deal. According to one baby website, "Congratulations, you've reached the end of your first trimester!"... although others have told me that the first trimester isn't over until 14 weeks. Anyway, it's supposedly a big accomplishment. So yeah, we're here! I met my doctor for the first time this past Thursday. He's very nice and was very patient with me... and also treated me like an intelligent person, which was good. Then, on Friday, I had my "genetic testing" ultrasounds. One of the  benefits of being "advanced maternal age" is that I'll get tons of ultrasounds throughout the next 6 months or so. This one was specifically to check size and to do what they call a "nuchal translucency" test, which can indicate Down's Syndrome or worse chromosomal disorders. I wasn't nervous about the test, I was excited to see the baby on screen for the first time since my 7 week "dating" ultrasound, and was extra excited that Shaun was there too.

I couldn't believe how much bigger the baby is now - it looks like a baby! There was one arm in the air (as if to say "over here! over here!") and the kid was flipping around so much that the tech had a hard time getting it still enough to get the measurements for the test. It's just weird because it's moving, and it's inside of me, I just can't feel it yet. Shaun was really excited by it too. We passed nuchal translucency with flying colors, and then had a meeting with the genetic counselor to talk about our family histories and potential risks. At the next ultrasound they will take closer looks at the heart chambers, since there is family history of congenital heart defects on my side, and just check in to make sure everything is progressing as planned.

One of the highlights for me was that as they were asking me about my family, they asked if my sister had any children, and if there was anything wrong with my 16 month old niece that they should know about. Shaun's response? "She doesn't share." I had to laugh out loud. Now Eden is just about the most perfect child on earth - beautiful, smart, etc.... but she went out of her way over Christmas to let Shaun & I know that we were not in her "inner circle." I guess he's still a little hurt from that.

So once we got the thumbs up from the doctors that everything looks good, I made it "facebook official" by posting the news there, and now it's officially out. I'm glad that I was able to make a "facebook announcement" because it would be awkward to try to tell people individually, especially at work - this makes it easy, and everyone know that it's not a secret too. It has been awesome to see people's responses and shows of support. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about the prospect, but a lot of people not related to me saying that I'll be a good Mom was certainly reassuring.

Here are some ultrasound pictures from Friday:

Kumquat

I am really enjoying the baby websites where they compare the baby's size to a fruit. I liked raspberry week (because raspberries are delicious), then we had green olive, and now I'm at kumquat. I have never actually seen a kumquat in person to my knowledge, but I'm assuming that it's a little larger than a green olive.

I am forgetting to update this, since no one is reading it yet. The news that I'm "in a family way" is slowly spreading, but I'm waiting until the second trimester starts to officially announce it at work and, you know, on Facebook. Here are the things I want to remember about this pregnancy thus far:

1. Much like my friend Christina posted on her site, I feel hungover all the time. I wake up each morning with dry mouth, and it takes FOREVER to get motivated. I'm always slightly sleepy, a little off my game. A few bouts of nausea, and three actual products of said nausea, but overall I'm not too bad.

2. I hate the fact that my clothes don't really fit, so am kind of looking forward to maternity wear. Not that I need to spend more money on clothes.

3. I love the fact that Shaun is so excited. He wished my stomach a Happy New Year and that made me just about melt. When his friend Joe asked what was new over the phone, Shaun replied "Oh, not much, just creating life!" It's really adorable.

4. I love the fact that I cannot shovel snow for medical reasons. Hee hee hee.

I am not thinking about the fact that I need a new car, would like us to have a better place to live, and I can't imagine my life with an extra person in it.... but I'm a little less scared than I was a few weeks ago, and just a litte more excited.