okay, peanut.

from me …

Yeah, no improvement. I know there’s still a week left in the first trimester, but my heavens, PLEASE GIVE ME A BREAK! I’m so sick of feeling sick! I can handle the vomiting (Which, by the way, has picked up quite a bit in frequency this week. Argh.), just please let this feeling in my stomach and taste in my mouth move on. I’ve had quite enough. I did have 3 good days, and I loved every second of them. And I have stopped taking the vitamin B6, Unisom and Dramamine, so I guess it would be fair to say that there has been some improvement. Unfortunately, I feel worse than I did on the pill cocktail, but I don’t feel bad enough to justify taking them again.

On a more fun note, I got to tell two more people today! With the first, I was discussing wanting to order Chinese for lunch with her and another co-worker. I told her, “Today, <coworker>, I need Chinese. Last night, I needed Mexican. It’s not me making these demands, <coworker>. It’s not me.” Um hmm, she knew right away. Yay! The second is an absolute sweetheart who works for a sister company. She came over to ask me a question, and somehow she ended up asking, “Are you thinking about it anytime soon?” After a co-worker had walked by, I whispered to her, “Shhh, I’m 12 weeks!” He he!

from babycenter …

Your pregnancy: 12 weeks

How your baby’s growing:
The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby’s fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won’t be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby’s brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

stats @ 12 weeks:
Your baby is, by this time, the size of a lime and weighs 1/2 ounce. (Length: just over 2 inches, head to bottom.)

from whattoexpect …

Week 12 of Pregnancy: Fetal Organs and Systems
Most of your baby’s systems are fully formed, and if you haven’t already, it’s likely that you’ll finally hear your baby’s heartbeat at this month’s checkup! Your developing fetus now has a crown-to-rump length of about two and a half inches (the size of a large plum).

This week marks a turning point for your baby. The herculean task of developing new bodily structures is nearing an end as most of your baby’s systems are fully formed. Now comes the maintenance phase, during which your fetus’ systems continue to mature for the next 28 weeks and the organs get to work.

Your little fetus weighs as much as half an ounce now, and the crown-to-rump length is about two and a half inches (the size of a large plum — busily working his or her way through the whole produce department). It’s hard to believe (especially from the outside, since you’re probably barely showing at this point), but your baby has more than doubled in size during the past three weeks. And that’s just on the outside — there’s plenty going on inside too. The fetal digestive system is beginning to flex its digestive muscle — literally — as it starts practicing contraction movements, a skill your baby will need after birth to push food through the digestive tract. The pituitary gland at the base of the brain has started producing hormones. And the bone marrow is making white blood cells, which will one day help your baby fight infection (including all those germs passed around the snot-nosed playgroup).

Tomorrow, we arrive at 12 weeks. I’d be celebrating if I really thought I’d be feeling better in the near future, but it just isn’t looking so good. It’s just my luck. Anyway, not the point.

So I’ve always thought I’d want to know if we’d be having a boy or a girl. Always dead set on knowing so that my gendered child wouldn’t be swallowed up in a sea of neutral greens, yellows and whites. I always knew I wanted to make it more fun, though, so I had planned to have the technician/doctor write it down and put it in an envelope for us to open at a later date. Fun, huh? Justin, on the other hand, has always expressed the opposite opinion; he’d rather wait for the surprise.

There’s a chance we may be able to find out before Christmas, as I have a level 2 sonogram scheduled for December 17th. At that point, I’ll be 18w5d, and if our bubble cooperates, we should be able to find out. How cool would it be to open the envelope on Christmas with our families there and find out all together!?

But … don’t get too excited. Justin and I have switched roles; he now wants to know, and I don’t! Come on!

Here’s my thinking … I am rarely ever surprised, and I happen to l-o-v-e surprises. This is our one chance to have the biggest surprise imaginable, and I want to sell out? I think not!

I was talking to a friend at work yesterday, and she was telling me her story of how she waited until delivery to find out. She said they were prepared with names for either gender, and were so excited to finally find out. That sounds like a great plan to me!

Yes, it makes shopping much less fun for us and all involved. And the anticipation will be too much to bear. But what better distraction during labor than that!?

We’ll see what happens as the date approaches. What do you think? What were your reasons for or against finding out?

Decisions, decisions!

So I called back. I will not let a silly dentist’s office tell me what to do. I simply can’t do today. As I mentioned in my previous post, there were two choices – one easy, one gross. So I told them that I need to cancel, and if I’d be charged, I would not like to reschedule. The person on the other end of the phone was the same I’d spoke with before, and she canceled my appointment, communicating without words that I would be charged for the visit. I then told her I’d like to cancel my husband’s appointment, as well. Yeah, take that.

Not more than a minute later, I got a call from them. It was someone else from the office calling to say I would not be charged. I apologized, again explaining that I’d had several “good” days and truly thought I could do it, but this morning’s fun proved me wrong. We made up, and I’m rescheduled for January.

She caught me just in time; I had already started writing my letter to the office stating my dissatisfaction with the whole situation. I probably wouldn’t have gone back if I had finished the letter.

I know who the person on the other end of the phone was. I don’t know her name, but I know her voice and can picture her face. She’s always acting like she’s on some sort of power trip. Don’t power trip this pregnant woman, lady. I’m mean, and in the end, I’ll win the fight.

So I have a dentist appointment this afternoon at 1:10. It would normally be okay, but today is a “sick” day. Yesterday was a “sick” day. Believe me, every day is on a minute-by-minute basis.

Hoping to avoid vomiting on the poor person who will be cleaning these choppers, I called just a few minutes ago to reschedule. Yes, I understand that there is a 24-hour cancellation policy. Let me give you this choice: let me reschedule or risk cleaning up my vomit. Apparently, my dentist’s office would like to take the risk because the lovely woman on the phone would not let me reschedule without being charged. The conversation went like this:

Office: “Good morning, Drs. xxx and xxx’s office. How may I help you?”
Me: “Hi, I have an appointment this afternoon at 1:10 that I’m going to have to reschedule.”
Office: “Okay, well you do know we have a 24-hour cancelation policy?”
Me: “I do, but I’m 11 weeks pregnant and have been sick all morning.”
Office: “Well, I’m sorry, but …”
Me: “If I’m going to be charged for it, I can risk it, but I can tell you it’s not going to be good.”
Office: “What’s your name?”
Me: “Am I going to be charged for this? If so, I’ll just risk it.”
Office: “Um, okay … I’m sorry …”
Me: :hangs up:

The way I’m feeling at the moment, it’s not going to be pretty. I’ve been doing this for 6 weeks or so, lady; I know what will happen. I wish it would be her dumb a** cleaning it up. Maybe then she’d think twice about the cancellation policy.

Argh! I am so not looking forward to this!

No, not 2 … 11 weeks, silly!

from me …

Half good, half bad this week. My days were either really good or downright rotten. Hey, I’ll take half and half, because it sure beats being sick all the time! Maybe in a few more weeks I’ll be sick-free? Eh, I won’t hold my breath!

from babycenter …

Your pregnancy: 11 weeks

How your baby’s growing:
Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.

She’s already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won’t feel your baby’s acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

stats @ 11 weeks:
Your baby is now about as big as a fig. (Length: just over 1 1/2 inches, head to bottom.)

from whattoexpect …

Week 11 of Pregnancy: Baby’s Hair and Fingernails Develop
Slightly more than two inches long now and weighing about a third of an ounce, your fetus is growing by leaps and bounds. And so is his or her head, which is equal in length to the rest of the body (don’t worry — all fetuses are top-heavy).

On the crown of that large head (and over the rest of the body), hair follicles are forming. Fingernail and toenail beds begin to develop this week and by next week, the nails themselves will start to grow (so don’t forget to add a baby nail clipper to your to-buy list).

Your baby’s body is straightening and his or her torso is lengthening (sounds like a yoga pose, doesn’t it?). Other poses your baby can assume now: stretches, somersaults, and forward rolls. And while you can’t tell this baby’s gender by its cover yet, testes are developing if it’s a boy and ovaries if it’s a girl.

This morning, I had a bit more to “rise & shine” for. Or rather, a reason to lay in bed without the “rise” and just “shine.”

I’d say I sleep mostly on my stomach, but somewhat on my side. I end up with my legs in a figure four type position, with more weight typically on my left side. (Not that it matters, but I’ll give you a picture. I make horrible stick figures that are totally worth a good laugh.)

So over the past two weeks or so, I’ve been able to feel the bubble in my belly made by the growing bubble. It’s felt the same day after day, small but noticeable, and it’s been nice to know it’s in there.

This morning, however, the bubble in my belly was bigger and more noticeable. How cool! I stayed in bed for a bit, just enjoying the feeling. I know it’s not the real bubble I’m feeling, but it’s certainly in there somewhere.

I’m really hoping I’m not sick for much longer, because I’d love to enjoy the next 29 weeks of bubble-growing. I can only imagine what’s next!