Why, hello there

I'm at 11 weeks today. Here is my little chicken nugget with legs (so sayeth Pregnant Chicken*). It had a heartbeat of 172 and was wiggling around! My husband loved the movements, and he keeps doing an impression of the kiddo by waving his arms and legs while laying on his back. I'm pretty sure that they are related. *wink* The tech said the kiddo is measuring on time and does not appear to have the neck thickening that is sometimes present with children who have Downs Syndrome.

It is getting really hard for my husband not to tell people that we are pregnant. This is what happens when you tell people that you want to start a family! I am pretty sure that one of my classmates from my 1L section knows what's up. She asked me "what was new" a few times in the course of two days and she keeps looking at my lower stomach (which is huge thanks to bloating). No one at school knows, but I have decided to tell my closest school friend in a week and a half when we go out for "drinks." I will be more than 12 weeks at that point, and even though we aren't telling most people until week 13, I really need another person in my life to know what is going on. She will be thrilled!

As for telling everyone else, we are moving at the end of the month just days after I hit the second trimester. We'll start calling people after we move, and then post something on Facebook after that. It will be weird telling everyone what is going on. At least they won't think that I'm bloating for no apparent reason.

*If you're pregnant, you should sign up for Pregnant Chicken's weekly emails. They really brighten up those early weeks of pregnancy when everything sucks. 

Gross jobs and food aversions

Over the weekend, we told both sets of parents about our little olive! They have been great about not spreading the news, so we're hopeful that they can keep it together until early August.

But the real reason that I am here today is the school refrigerators. The school used to have the janitors clean them out, but they stopped over a year ago. Now the school has split us into small groups by class and given us various fridges to clean. Each person will clean one fridge. They're starting over the summer to see how it will go. My problem is my super-powered sniffer, which has prevented me from even using these fridges anymore. I absolutely cannot get near them without wanting to vomit. I am not sure what to do, but I have to get out of it.

Speaking of food, my food aversions are subsiding a bit. Or I'm just overpowering them because I can't always eat carbs, whichever. I still do not want sausage in tube form (gross) and Diet Coke is losing its flavor (for the best, I drink too much). Thankfully, I have been able to eat more fresh fruit and salads, but I am not up to my normal desire for produce. My doctor said that I do not have to worry too much until my second trimester, but I am hopeful that I can switch back to a more normal eating schedule soon.

The first person we told that we were pregnant was...

...our landlord. This is not how I imagined it would be.

Let's go back to Friday morning. I went to the doctor for the first time and saw/heard our baby. It has a 150 bpm heart rate and looks like a blob, but it was not a figment of my imagination. I am, in fact, pregnant.

My husband has had a hard time not telling people that we're pregnant, but I asked him to wait to tell his best friend/parents until after we heard the heartbeat. I keep hearing about people who reveal their pregnancies so early, and it would break my heart if I had to tell all of those people that I had a miscarriage. I visited a friend last weekend who is currently pregnant, but who had a miscarriage just shy of 12 weeks.

Now that we are pregnant, we need to move. Our current apartment is nice, but it is too small. Our landlord was super nice about us leaving. It won't be a problem to move. However, I can't believe the first person I told that we're expanding our family was someone to whom we're not terribly close or related to.

My husband left a voicemail for his best friend. I texted my good friend (the one I mentioned above) the word "baby." She's at a family event right now. I wonder if she will catch on. We're planning to tell our parents in person over July 4 weekend. After that, I'm not planning on telling anyone else until we hit 12/13 weeks. Then I'd like to start calling family members and friends. We'll eventually put something on Facebook.

A close friend from school asked me whether I was pregnant on Friday. It was not totally out of the blue -- she knows that we are trying and that I didn't drink at dinner. I lied. I had to lie to my good friend last week, too. I'm just not ready for everyone to know when this tiny embryo is still so precarious.

I started buying looser clothes. I finally found a maxi dress that looks nice on me, and will continue to look nice as I blow up. At least I get to look cute, right? My nausea has mostly subsided (at least for now), so was able to eat like a normal human being today. Here's hoping tomorrow is even better.

Over the sea

My stomach was not feeling so great yesterday. I think it was a combination of low-grade nausea and a sour stomach. I've been keeping Sea Bands in my backpack since I discovered that I was pregnant, and yesterday was the first day that I had used them.

Here's the thing about Sea Bands: they're not particularly attractive. They look a lot like sweatbands. 

They feel tight on my wrists for the first hour or so, which makes me want to take them off. But once that feeling passes, I feel better. I was able to pay attention in class, although I was slightly distracted by my own fashion choice. Since you have to wear one Sea Band on each wrist, the effect is a little silly. Maybe I will buy a second pair so they don't have to match. Maybe I can put some bracelets over one. 

I was a little worried that people noticed that I was wearing Sea Bands, but honestly, I don't think that most people know what they are or use them regularly enough to jump to any conclusions about why I was wearing them. 

Still, I worry. I have been skipping out on informal bar reviews for a while now, and I have been trying to set up lunch dates rather than drinks dates. I hope that I can keep this up for six more weeks or so.

Keeping secrets

By far, the toughest thing about being pregnant in law school so far is hiding it. Unlike most of my classmates, I am taking classes this summer in order to lighten my load in the fall semester so that I can do a special part-time internship. Exhaustion really kicked in this week. After my longer days of class, I immediately brushed my teeth and went to bed. I did not have the energy to set up my computer or do anything else for days.

There was a miniature bar review this week that I set up, but I ended up not going because I was so exhausted. I have started to feel better in the last couple of days, but I am definitely not at my full energy levels. We're having a barbecue at home this weekend, which will be my first test drive for fake drinking and staying awake in front of other people.

The next problem will be clothes. While I can make do with my pants and bella bands, I tend to wear my T-shirts kind of tight. I wandered a few clearance sections today to find looser shirts. I know that I have not yet gained any weight, but I do not want to suddenly start wearing breezy tops one day because people will notice the sudden shift in wardrobe. I figure that I can slowly work them in over time. 

We have not yet told anyone that I am pregnant. I have one very good friend at school that I would like to tell, but I still think it is too early. A friend of mine suffered a miscarriage, so I am acutely aware of the possibility of losing a baby. I had told myself that I should not get too attached, but it is hard not to. It is growing inside of me! Having this baby will require a lot of planning that I have to start right now. I am very hopeful that things will continue to go well, but if they do not, I do have a great support system in place. I just need to tell them first.