Growing a Smalley (2.0): From the early moments . . .

Welcome to our blog, everyone! As most of you know by this point, Jay and I are expecting our first baby on September 3rd! We're very, very excited to become parents, and thought the best way to document our journey was to put it on the web so we could share with our family and friends. I'm going to try to post regularily, so check back often!

Just to bring everyone up to speed . . .

I've determined I'll be a nerd and take a picture of my belly every week from now on (if I can) so I can have evidence that it grows. And boy is it growing, as you'll see in a bit. Not that it had a totally flat starting point, but you get the idea . . .

Here's me on New Years Day, which was exactly 5 weeks.

We were in Alabama at Marie and David's house, visiting for New Year's Eve and Marie's 30th birthday. We actually found out we were pregnant at 5:30 in the morning on the 29th, right before we were about to leave for the airport. I had a suspicion I was pregnant, and bought some tests the night before thinking I might should take one before I went down to Alabama and partake in some adult beverages. I didn't even tell Jay I was taking it, so it was a bit of a shock to both of us to see the plus sign.

When we got back from Alabama, we went right away to confirm everything with blood work, and then shortly there after had our first ultrasound at 6w4d. These will be good memories for the bean one day, I hope. Here's our first peek!

It's the little white blob in the middle of the weird looking black blob. And its got a heartbeat! That's beating at 114 bpm (now up to 165 bpm)! After that, we told our families one by one and everyone has been overjoyed. We've told our friends and everyone has been SO supportive. We are lucky to be surrounded by such loving people.

You may be shocked to hear that in preparation for the bean I have also given up my five Diet Coke a day habit, in addition to all of the other wonderful things I've been told I need to give up (alcohol, lunch meat, sushi, feta cheese, the list goes on . . .) I know I can have some caffeine, but it was a nasty habit anyway and I think better for my health in the long run if I quit now.

It hasn't been too hard to give those things up, mainly because I'm not awake enough hours in the day to miss them. I swear, if I could sleep 24/7 I'd be a happy lady. The first few weeks I could hardly keep my eyes open past 7:30 p.m., and when I tried to buck up and make it 'till 8 p.m. a few weeks ago, I broke down into tears. Jay likes to say it's because the bean is really a parasite that is sucking the life out of me. I'm prefer to think of it in gentler terms, but for the most part, I think he's right. It takes every ounce of strength I have to keep my eyes open sometimes. I'm finally stretching it to 9 p.m. some nights, but it's a rareity.

Another very weird thing is the fact that I now have ginormous boobs. And they ache so badly, that if I happen to roll onto my stomach at night the pain wakes me up. I fear what weapons they will become over the next 6 or so months. Deadly ones, I presume.

Overall though, being pregnant is very liberating. I don't feel the need to suck in my gut anymore, I like eating healthy foods for the sake of eating them (not because I think they'll make me thinner or prettier), I like the idea that I get to rest and take care of myself. So far, so good. The reality of torturous labor, sleepless nights and daycare that costs more than my whole month's salary hasn't quite sunk in yet.

I have crazy dreams, and in them I've been revisiting old friends, jobs, homes, boyfriends, habits, personalities, trends -- everything you can imagine from an entire lifetime. I find that I'm trying to make peace with decisions I've made in the past, people I've loved and lost or hurt, things I would have done differently. It's like I have to clear out all the excess garbage to make room for all of the new memories that are forming in my life. It's a bit perplexing to find myself comtemplating something I thought I'd shut the door on many years ago, but in a way, it's making it easier to come to terms with who I am and what kind of person I've become and hopefully will be for our child. And that can't be a bad thing.

We had our 13 week appointment yesterday and everything is looking good. Today we had our nuchal transluency test, which tests for Down's Syndrome, and the doctor said everything looked great, also. The little one did not want to cooperate, so I was poked and prodded for about a half-hour until it finally woke up and started flailing about, finally moving into the right position. Jay said it looked like a T-Rex on the screen, with these little arms and big head and body. It was not happy to be woken up!

Here's the sonogram from today:

Here's also a picture of me today. Did I mention I have not gained a single pound this entrie pregnancy? However, my entire body composition has changed, and I am clearly showing. The top accentuates things a bit, but STILL. I can't believe that's my body! And not a single pound gained!