Week 5 Bumpdate

This week was full of super fun memories, and the beginning of some not-so-fun symptoms. Fingers crossed things don't get too much worse.

When is week 5?

Friday, September 29, 2017 - Thursday, October 5, 2017

What’s the size of the baby?

Baby is about 0.13 inches. That's the size of an apple or orange seed, as well as the size of a metal BB pellet! Apparently he or she will nearly double in size over the next week. Crazy!

Waist size?

I've already added an inch to my waist. Now I'm measuring 27" around my belly button.

Symptoms?

Body: Still super thirsty all the time. I've been drinking over a half gallon of water a day without even thinking about it. Compounding the thirst issue, I've been producing a lot more saliva than before. Something else that goes hand-in-hand with drinking massive amounts of water every day, is now I have to pee every hour on the hour... sooo.... there's that...

Also, the bloating is getting worse. I definitely look like I ate a giant burrito at the end of the day. Now, as soon as I get home, I change out of my work clothes and into something with a waistband made of elastic. It's fantastic (see what I did there?!?). I'm also still having the mild cramping/aching/discomfort in my abdomen. When I laugh really hard, I get an strong pinching/cramping sensation for about 10 seconds. I think it's safe to assume this is because baby and everything it needs is taking up more and more space everyday.

Another symptom that's hanging around for another week is sore boobs. It's not noticeable when I'm sitting at my desk, but if they get bumped or when there's no support, they hurt.

On a brighter note: my acne is clearing up! I changed up my skincare routine the past couple weeks. So, it's a coin toss whether this is or isn't a pregnancy thing.

Sleep: Still waking up at night, but I've been sleeping in 2-4 hour stretches instead of one hour. I'm pretty sure the main reason I'm waking up is because I flip onto my stomach, but my boobs and stomach are too achy for that.

Cravings & Aversions: I feel like I'm hungry all the time, but nothing ever sounds super appetizing. Part of the problem is that my sense of smell has started to heighten. So, when I go to the cafeteria at work, I smell everything. Food is not particularly appealing when you combine the smell of a fresh salad bar, pizza, fish, and stewed tomatoes.

One strange craving for me has been cheeseburgers with pickles, mustard and ketchup. If you know me, then you'd know how strange this is. I've always preferred chicken over red meat. When it's grilling season, burgers were always my last choice.

Nausea: Most of the time I feel good, but I am starting to have a lingering nausea. However, It's normally not worse than the nausea I get with my POTS a couple times a year. To put the POTS nausea into perspective, whenever I'd have it before we were trying for a baby, we were convinced I was pregnant. It normally lasts for a few weeks to a month, and it's an all-day-every-day nausea that never led to puking. Luckily for me, although it's annoying, I've also learned how to manage it. So, most of the things I would do before, have worked well for the pregnancy nausea thus far.

Sometimes, when I eat/drink too fast or too much in one sitting, the nausea will get more intense. Most of the time I haven't been anywhere near the point of throwing up though. Just need to sit, take a breather, and possibly munch on a few crackers. However, there was one particular time I felt pretty miserable for hours, but it was completely my fault. My parents made my favorite dinner (chicken and dumplings) before we left for home. I was so hungry, and ate probably twice my normal serving. The whole car ride home I felt queasy, and even after we got home. Jason would make me laugh really hard, and that made it worse. Luckily, that was the only time I was concerned I'd loose my meal this week.

Movements: Too early for this one.

Dreams: I'm not sure if it's because I'm not getting sound sleep, but I haven't had any dreams I can remember this week.

Stretch Marks: Still early for this one, too.

Gender? 

We still don't know the gender, but hopefully we'll have a better idea when we'll find out after my first doctor's appointment at the beginning of week 6. Jason and I are convinced it's a boy this week. We'll see if this changes before we find out.

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Must have items?

Water & crackers! The only things that sound good everyday are fairly bland foods. So, I've been drinking tons of water and eating different types of crackers (saltines, townhouse/club crackers, cheese crackers filled with cheese, and goldfish crackers have been my go-tos).

What do you miss?

Sandwiches... I know I can heat up deli meat before eating it, but there have been a few times when it would have been so convenient to pick up a sub from Jimmy Johns to eat in the car. Looks like those days are over for a few months.

What are you looking forward to?

Telling Jason's parents. Next weekend, Jason's youngest sister will be home from Ann Arbor (which is about 3 hours away). So, we're going to tell his parents and siblings. We're pretty excited.

Also, my first doctors appointment is at the beginning of week 6. It's mainly to get my medical history in the system, and do a bunch of blood work. But, it's exciting nonetheless.

Best part of this week?

Telling my parents and best friend! After finding out that Jason's sister would be home next weekend, we made last-minute plans with my parents to see them. Luckily, this isn't the first time we've made spontaneous plans to visit. So, hopefully they didn't think anything was strange beforehand (they did :) ). After getting everything straightened around with my parents, Jason and I had to quickly come up with a plan to tell them. We decided, we wanted Buddy do it for us! I made him a very fall-looking, plaid bandanna cover for his collar with iron on letters that said "BIG BRO". Then, we let Buddy go running into my parents house, so he could break the news.

My best friend, who grew up two houses down from me, came up from Indiana to visit her parents this weekend, too. She saw my car, and got a hold of me. We quickly made plans to hang out for a little while. It was awesome to be able to tell her, too!

I also went to a few stores to try on maternity clothing when I was down state. One major bone I have to pick with the Gaylord shopping scene is there is only one place in town that carries maternity clothes - Kohls. All the clothes they carry are not the cutest options, and they're way over priced. So, I wanted to try on maternity pants and tops at a few places while we were down there. Now, I feel like I have a good idea of what I like, so I can order them online. Also, I found a clearance pair of maternity jeans at Target for only $5.25 and a cheaper maternity t-shirt that I could layer with cardigans and open button ups. So, now I'm no longer super worried, I'll out grow my clothes and not be able to find anything to wear.

Challenges this week?

I think the hardest part from now until our big announcement, will be keeping people from posting stuff on social media, as well as deciding who we do and don't tell. There were some people we saw this weekend at the bowling alley, but I was too nervous to tell them this early into my pregnancy. Also, I'm waiting to tell my boss until after we have our first ultrasound in November. So, I really don't want it to creep up onto social media where a coworkers might see before I tell my boss.

Hubby’s thoughts?

Jason is still over the moon, and super excited. I feel like half of our conversations are baby related. Jason told me a really cute story this week. His dad called him to see how things have been, and Jay told him we went down state to pick out our rug (our large Christmas gift from my parents). He was trying to come up with a good reason for us to go down state to keep is dad from guessing the main reason (we did pick out our rug while we were down there, too. But that's besides the point.) Jason told me it was so hard to not say anything about telling my parents or just a general comment the pregnancy. He had to make an excuse to get off the phone, because he was afraid he'd tell his dad before we planned to next weekend. I think if it were up to Jason, he'd yell it from the roof tops, and probably put "We're Expecting" signs on our cars. He wants to tell everyone about the news, and can barely contain himself.

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