Diary of a Real Pregnancy: Week 9 - Starving and Stuffed

It seems these days there are two states: starving, or stuffed to the point of nausea. I can be fine one minute and the next minute, so hungry I feel like I'm going to implode. And if I can't eat within 15 minutes, the nausea sets in or I get head-spinningly crazy. Do NOT get between me and my food!

Interestingly this week, formerly ill-fitting pants are suddenly zipping and buttoning without issue. The bloating has all but disappeared, leading to worry about whether everything is really okay and if this whole thing is even real?

By now most women have had their first prenatal appointment with the family doc or OB/Gyn, or it's been scheduled. If you're old like me (Advanced Maternal Age... nothing will make you feel like you're over the hill like getting pregnant over age 35!), or if you live in a place where these things are offered to everyone, you'll have the option to get a bunch of tests near the end of the first trimester. These tests (a blood test and ultrasound) check hormone levels and various measurements on the baby, as markers for things like Downs Sydrome, Trisomy-18, and cerebral palsy. It's usually at the first prenatal appointment that you'll get info on these tests and decide if you want to proceed with them.

My first prenatal appointment this week was largely uneventful, partly due to the fact that I'd just recently (2 weeks before we conceived) seen my doctor for my annual check-up, and knowing we were "trying", she went ahead and did some of the extra pokes and prods that you'd normally get at your first prenatal. Since she'd be "down there anyway" she went ahead and did the STI/STD screens and such, which is standard here when someone gets pregnant.

One thing she did do, though, was have a feelski of my uterus (hello!) and much to my relief, she said it felt very much like a pregnant uterus. Yay! It's still too early to hear the heartbeat with a regular Doppler, so she didn't even try that.

Between my pregnant-feeling uterus, and the bloodwork I had done to confirm the pregnancy, at this point it's starting to hit home... we really ARE pregnant, yo! Now let's keep it that way!

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Next: Week 10: Still Starving, And Letting the Secret Out (a Little)