Baby H Week 8 Pregnancy Update

SURPRISE! We're having a baby, due in early August. I'm writing this post in real time (12.26.15), but it's publishing late, for obvious reasons :)

How big is baby: The size of a raspberry, about .63 inches

Movement: "The Bump" tells me the baby is moving its arms and legs like crazy, but I certainly can't feel anything yet! 

How I'm feeling: It's been a great week. I've certainly had my ups and downs; HOWEVER, I bought sea bands from Target on monday, and OMG they have saved my life. They're ugly as heck, but my nausea has been significantly decreased, and I've been pretty active all week, aside from a slow day on Wednesday. It's such a relief to feel human again. Also, we met our Midwife on Tuesday and got to see our little one!! It was such an amazing feeling. Baby was measuring about 3 days ahead, based on my due date, but the Midwife confirmed that we'll go with an August 6th due date! Hooray! 

Symptoms: The nausea has been much more manageable this week, but I've certainly felt exhaustion. And when the exhaustion hits, it REALLY hits. I've had to take a couple naps this week, and I've really had to put myself to bed on the early side. I've also been feeling a bit of the soreness and sharp pains with my uterus beginning to stretch...nothing lasts for long, but I'm definitely having feelings.  

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: I've keep my food on the white and bland side, but my midwife told me that was just fine--such a relief for both Yasu and me. I've been starting each day with a sliced apple, then eating mostly meat, bread, and cheese, but I've also been able to stomach a few all fruit and yogurt smoothies and some bland vegetables. I even ate salad and brussels sprouts during last night's christmas dinner--Yasu and I did a high-five. As far as aversions go, garlic, soy sauce, fish, and eggs (usually 3 things I eat on the regular) are the worst sounding and smelling foods. I'd prefer they stay far away! 

Weight gain/loss: We finally fixed our scale! I think I'm definitely down about 1.5lbs, but that makes sense given the scant food intake! 

Sleep: I've had a few crazy dreams this week--the couple I remember, my pregnancy is definitely involved but not a focal point, but they've been really crazy. I'm also tending to wake up around 6:30 every day feeling super hungry. So I've been sleeping much better, but extreme hunger makes the mornings a little tough. Also, Yasu bought me a snoogle pregnancy pillow as my christmas gift! I'm a stomach sleeper, so I'm really hopeful that it will help me sleep safely and comfortably throughout this pregnancy. 

Exercise: I have not exercised at all this week, however I was much more active on the daily. I'm hopeful that I'll continue feeling better and that I can at least get some yoga or walks in this week. I'm certain that with my diet as it is, my body is not going to be capable of anything near intense. 

My best moment of the week: Seeing our baby!!!!! Our midwife was so awesome to us, and was adamant about us being able to see our baby. We had to do a vaginal ultrasound, but it was completely worth it. We got to see the little bean and baby had a super strong heartbeat--about 150bpm. There were tears of joy and some cheering when we confirmed just one little one in there! 

Separately, I spent a lot of time in the kitchen this week, baking Christmas cookies with Eilee and helping Yasu prepare for Christmas dinner with our friends Waki & Hiroko. We had such a nice time celebrating the holiday together, and are already so excited to celebrate with a little one next year! 

Yasu's thought of the week: It was super exciting to see the heartbeat of the little baby. 

What we're looking forward to: Telling more family and friends! Now that we had our first good ultrasound, we'll begin telling a few more family and close friends in the coming weeks! I think we'll announce "publicly" after our next appointment on January 22nd.