Baby Update, Ultrasound SOON!

In approximately 29.5 hours I will get my first ultrasound (for this pregnancy).  I am so excited I don't even know what to do with myself until then!  I guess I should give an update on my first prenatal appointment, which I had on Thursday.  I met with a nurse who gave me my due date (Valentine's day) based on my last period.  She also gave me a bunch of pamphlets, a book, a bag, a bunch of papers, etc.

I met with another nurse who took my height, weight, and blood pressure.  It was somewhere around 120/70ish, which is fine, but it hurt! I hate the blood pressure cuffs.  Those things hurt worse than shots, having your blood taken, having an IV inserted, having a spinal block, recovering from a c-section, etc.  =)  I know, maybe I exaggerate a little.  I'd rather have my blood pressure taken than a spinal block, but seriously, it hurts pretty bad sometimes.

I met with a new OBGYN at the office and he gave me an exam, a pap smear (GOD I HATE THOSE), and chatted with me briefly.  He didn't say either way whether or not I seemed to be further along than 8 weeks or pregnant with twins.  He just felt around to see if I had any pain in my abdomen (probably checking for signs of an ectopic pregnancy if I had to guess) and then told me we would schedule an ultrasound for this week to confirm the due date and check for a heartbeat.  I had my first ultrasound with my son around 9 weeks so it's standard, not a hint that the Dr. thinks I'm carrying multiples.

So the rest of my life and my sanity totally depends on what we find out in 29.5 hours.  Either I'm 8 weeks pregnant with multiple babies (that would adversely affect my sanity), I'm more than 8 weeks pregnant with 1 baby and my due date is going to change by weeks or even months (that would be great), or I'm 8 weeks pregnant with 1 baby and extremely, extremely bloated (that would be a shock).  My stomach started changing shape and getting larger 6 weeks after my last period and that is simply too early to make sense.  I swear my stomach feels hard even above my belly button.  I'd have to be over 20 weeks pregnant for my uterus to be that high in my stomach.  I truly don't think I'm 20 weeks pregnant or more, so I'm sure it's not my uterus, but things are definitely getting more crowded in there already.  My organs must be moving on up!

I've had weird symptoms this time around.  It's nothing like it was with my son.  I'm experiencing my symptoms this time in spurts.  I'll go through a few days feeling ravenous, where I literally get hunger pangs every hour and I absolutely must eat every time, and then I'll go a few days where I only need to eat 2 or 3 meals and I don't feel so hungry.  I haven't had the same type of morning sickness this time, but then again, it started much "earlier"- assuming I'm actually only 8 weeks pregnant.  If I'm 8 weeks pregnant I still have a few weeks of the first trimester left and morning sickness is still free to come and go as it pleases.  So far I've only vomited once.  Maybe I had the flu that day and thought it was morning sickness, because I felt absolutely horrible for a few days and have been feeling much better since then.  I vomited frequently when I was pregnant with my son, but didn't feel sick 24/7 like I do this time.  This time around I just feel like crap all the time.  I feel like I just got over the flu yesterday, every day.  I just don't feel quite right, even though I don't have any nausea or vomiting.  I feel sort of weak and my stomach feels unstable.  The smell of food makes my stomach churn but hunger makes my stomach hurt.

I sometimes think I can feel the baby moving.  I feel like there is swishing around in my belly.  I don't feel like I'm being kicked or punched, I just feel like there's a little fish wiggling around in there.  I know it's impossible to feel the baby move at 8 weeks (in fact, the baby might not even have started moving around much yet at 8 weeks), so if I'm not further along than 8 weeks I'll assume it's gas or something.

I feel like it's a girl this time.  If there are twins, I feel like at least one is a girl.  I just feel like I have a baby girl in my belly, and I'm anxious to find out if I'm right!  Either way, I won't care.  I adore my son and I would adore another one just as much.  I knew my son was a  boy from the moment I found out I was pregnant, so my mommy instincts have been right in the past.  We'll see how right they are this time!