8 weeks 1 day

Sorry for the radio silence. What started out as mild nausea quickly progressed to misery once I threw up, and the meds I'm on for that (plus being pregnant) have queued up zombie-like exhaustion...to the point that I can't generally comprehend turning on the computer when I come home from work.

(I did actually get about halfway through a post on Tuesday, but the iPhone Blogger app doesn't save posts, and in my rush to make a post-lunch meeting, I shut the application down and lost everything. Doh!)

In order to force myself to post at least weekly, and as a way of journaling this pregnancy (something I didn't do at all with the twins), I'm following in some of my fellow babyloss-rainbow-mama-blogger pals' footsteps and starting a weekly pregnancy update. Enjoy!

How Far Along: 8 weeks (baby is the size of a large raspberry or a kidney bean, whichever you prefer)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: In yesterday's post, I was going to say 1.5 lbs. But then I weighed myself this morning. OMG. I'm up 4 lbs. WTH?

Maternity Clothes: Not yet, although I am showing a bit. I can't button any of my pants, and some of my tops are a little tight across the belly. Maternity pants are sounding appealing, but I'm going to try and hold out until 12 weeks if I can.

Movement: Despite what some silly women in the BabyCenter threads think ("OMG, I felt my BB move and I'm only 6w2d!"), baby still isn't moving at all at 8 weeks...and even if he/she was, it's way too early to feel anything. I'm hoping to feel something around 14 weeks like I did with Bennett.

Sleep: Pretty decent, except for the 4-6 potty breaks during the night (up from my usual 2-3) and the occasional searing round ligament pain when I roll over too quickly.

Baby's Sex: We know E2's sex, but we're keeping it largely under wraps for now. (As for gender, which is what this question usually asks for, that's for him/her to decide when he/she is older.)

Symptoms: Well...fairly well managed through drugs. My morning sickness ended up beginning to follow the same timing and pattern as it had with the twins...tiny twinges of nausea throughout the day starting at 5w5d, followed by a ramping up of all-day misery in the 6th week, followed by an episode of vomiting at work at 7 weeks. By then, I was crying all the time when I was alone. Turns out, I have PTSD, something that makes sense, in hindsight, but something I didn't consider until my counselor informed me that yes, I have it. She also said if managing my morning (all day) sickness was taking more of 120 minutes of my day (yes, every waking hour, actually), I should not be afraid to request drugs. So, I cried "Uncle" and requested a prescription for Zofran, which I started last Thursday night at 7w2d. Up until the last couple of days, the Zofran - plus the Vitamin B-6 3x daily and a nightly Unisom - was doing a beautiful job of keeping the nausea at bay. I think my hormones have ramped up again, though, because the last couple of days I'm having a harder time...but it's still less than the very earliest level, so I'm good. The downside to Zofran is it's nasty side effect: constipation. Holy Hell. I've added Colace, Benefiber and some relief cream to my arsenal to combat that. (More than you ever wanted to know, huh?)

Cravings: Nothing steady. On my way home tonight, I had a sudden craving for a salmon burger. Not just any salmon burger, but Tom Douglas' salmon burger, which I've only had one time. I can't fulfill that one...his restaurants are in Seattle, and there's no.way.in.Hell we're driving to Seattle tonight. (Besides, I'm in my sweats with a fire going and don't even want to step back outside the house tonight!) I'm thrilled that the Zofran allows me to eat (and gain weight, apparently). Looking forward to yummy food tomorrow night for sure!

Belly Button In or Out: I'm an innie girl, and it's solidly still in, where I expect it to stay until a much later date. (By 14 weeks with the twins, the area around my belly button was already starting to hurt because the top of my uterus (fundus) was already about two inches above it and trying to turn it inside out. It didn't happen, though.)

Freak-out of the Week: Honestly, none. I haven't freaked out since just before our first ultrasound, when that stupid dream had me convinced we had multiples in there again. #nightmare

What I Miss: Right now, being a mommy to two 10.5-month old babes who would be trying to walk and causing a ruckus in our household. As friends' kids hit those milestones, it stings.

Looking Forward To: My first prenatal appointment with Dr. M. on Monday, November 26th. I'll be 8w6d and hope he'll give me an ultrasound. (I'm thinking he will since we haven't seen E2 since 11/8 and he hasn't seen the bean at all...he likes to verify things with his own eyes.)

Next Appointment: See above.

No belly shots this week, but I'll start those soon...as soon as I don't look quite as much like something the cat dragged in.