1st Trimester: And it gets worse.....

The last couple of weeks I had a new symptom to deal with. VOMITING. All I can say is that it is disgusting and it zapps all my energy out of me whenever I puke.
It started out really mildly with me puking some of my breakfast beverage out when I gagged when brushing my teeth.... it has now escalated to me vomitting after lunch or even when I shower. That is one of the worse, vomitting when I am showering. Especially when there is nothing to vomit and all that comes out is bitter, sour acidic bile. It burns my throat.
The only consolation I have is that almost all the materials I read say that as long as I am not vomitting everything that I take in, it is normal and that it is sometimes, a good thing . It signals that the fetus is growing well. Well, the sacrifices of motherhood. Hopefully what I read about it passing around 14 weeks is also true. Well, it did say that the vomitting might peak around 11-13 weeks and it did. I think I probably started puking around 10 weeks.... ok, another 2-3 weeks to go and it'll all be better.

1st Trimester: It's a little MIRACLE!

Etienne and I saw the baby today! It's our "petit(e) lastennet"! Praise the Lord for His blessing and His miracle of life!

OUR BABY!


Bebe is 1/2" long and has a heartbeat of 153 beats per minute (or there abouts since I heard only the hundred and fifty part). Bebe is now 7 weeks and 5 days by the ultrasound measurement... just one day off my LMP date calculation. And the ultrasound technician said everything looks good.
I am feeling truly blessed and thankful to the Lord that He is blessing me and Etienne with a healthy pregnancy this time round. I have been praying lots that by His strips on the cross I will have a discomfort free pregnancy and the baby will grow healthily within me. And I have been feeling much better. Compared to just a couple of days back where I was nausea and gassy etc, I am feeling so much better now. And it's ALL HIS GLORY!
Etienne and I are really excited about being parents! Heehee.... he asked me to call him DADDY after the ultrasound. Sometimes my hubby is SO SILLY. But that's what makes me love him so much too.
Can't wait for the next ultrasound..... in about another 4 weeks!

1st Trimester: I feel AWFUL!

I guess this is the "joy" of being pregnant. I feel like shit! I feel nausea and gassy at the same time. I feel tired and my entire body seems to be aching from I don't know what. I just feel like sleeping through the entire first trimester if it's possible. I think the only time I don't feel awful is when I am sleeping. But before getting to bed and after waking up, it starts all over again.
And my nose! I have supersonic sense of smell! And boy oh boy does Toronto STINK! We were at the cinema on Sunday and I nearly died! Oh, the smelly feet! I could not concentrate on the movie and had to constantly distract myself with a little bite here and there and a sip of gingerale now and then. And then when we were walking home, the whole city smell of pee! And the people who were all smoking. They're killing me. Sigh. I think I should just stay at home for the next 5 weeks till this "morning sickness" and all the other yucky feelings go away. I wish.
Anyways, I guess in the meantime, I'll look forward to the ultrasound appointment we have for the coming friday. I'm excited and at the same time, a little apprehensive... I'm sure it will be a wonderful experience!

1st Trimester: I just slept 20 out of 24 hours!

I am officially the sleeping Queen! I have slept 20 hours out of the last 24 hours. This is CRAZY. I never felt so tired in my entire life. And this is on top of the regular 10 hours or so of sleep I get per night. I sure hope this will wear off. There is no way I am going to be sleeping that much every day! I have to work!
On to something else. I have the first ultrasound appointment fixed for Aug 5. It is indeed very exciting and a little scary. That is going to be the first time we will see the fetus. From my book, we should be able to see quite a lot and of cos hear the heartbeat by then. I will be just a day short of 8 weeks when we go for the ultrasound.
Etienne has been the MOST WONDERFUL husband. He does ALL the housework: cleaning the toilet, ironing the clothes, clearing the dishes, laundry etc etc. Me? I sleep and sleep and sleep. I don't even put the dishes away after finishing my food. I would leave them on the table and go straight back into the bedroom and into bed. I am a slob.

1st Trimester: Pregnancy and Chinese Medication

Two days ago I decided to pop over to a Chinese Medical Hall (CMH) in Chinatown to get some tonic to nourish myself. There is a chinese doctor in this particular CMH and after explaining that I have had 2 miscarriages before and I want to take something to "protect" the fetus, she called me into the small room to take my pulse and check my tongue etc to provide a better diagnostic.
So, the chinese doctor told me that my "constitution" is weak and I should avoid cooling food like watermelons, cold drinks and particularly NO ICE CREAM. I love ice-cream but luckily I seem to not have any craving for it. And I should also aviod smooth fruits like bananas and mangos. Aside from that, she said that I should not be dress in those skimpy little dress and should put on pants to keep my womb warm at all times. We'll see about that part. It's a scorching 40 degrees in Toronto now and she wants me to wear pants all the time.... hmmmmm....
After the diagnostic, she went ahead to pick our my prescription for me. Chinese prescription is different from western medication. Chinese prescription involves mixing numerous herbs together. I think there was about 10 to 15 different herbs/plants that she mixed together into a pack. She packed three packages for me. I was told that I have to mix them with 4 bowls of water and boil it till only one bowl of water is left. I am to take this once every 2 days. After she is finished with that, she also crushed this rectangular block of black stuff and split it into 4 portions and told me to boil each portion with some lean meat and drink the soup. I am suppose to take this after I finish the 3 packets of herbal prescription she picked.
I started boiling the first packet of the herbs that night and the whole apartment smell so strongly of the herbs. I think Etienne didn't really like the "scent". After about 1 1/2 hours of boiling, the soup is ready to be consumed. Seriously, it looked a little disgusting.... All black and muddy. And it did taste YUCKY too. I had to FORCE myself to drink it down. I had to leave a bit behind as it was way too thick at the bottom and I would have puked if I continued. The things I have to put myself through for baby. But, if it works, I would happily drink a bowl a day. Anything as long as it will keep baby growing healthily in my womb.

The Beginning: I am quite sure I'm pregnant.

I did another test today. It showed two lines. The test line was faint but it's already much more visible that the previous 2 test. Oh ya, I forgot to mention that I did a test on Sunday, 10 July) too. I took a pic of each of the test.

July 10 Test

July 12 Test

So this morning, I called Dr. Bernstein's (my ob) office to make an appointment for an early ultrasound as instructed by him last year. Spoke with his nurse Marlene who told me to call back around the week of 25 July to go for a blood test and then they will take it from there. Apparently, it's still too early for any conclusive ultrasound. Even a blood test now will only confirm my pregnancy but no yeild any other significant information. Well, knowing that I AM PREGNANT is significant information to me.
Anyways, I will patiently wait for the week of 25 July for the test and possibly the scheduling of the ultrasound. Very exciting.
Everything feels fine except that my boobs are growing. Woohoo!

The Beginning:There was a very faint line!

This morning I did a test just after I got up. I sat on the toilet bowl waiting for the results and was hoping that there would be a positive line. The results started showing and it only reflected a single line. I felt disappointed. This is only my 13 dpo and I've already tested 3 times. Does this not shout IMPATIENT? Well, anyways, I left the test on top of the sink (about 1 mins after the test) and went off to sit infront of the computer and read my emails, play a game or two... It was about 1 hr later than I went back into the toilet to get a shower. I was about to throw the kit away when I took a quick look at the test kit and low and behold, there was a VERY FAINT positive line. I called out to hubby and asked him if he sees the line. He reminded me that the test instructions did say that results after 5 mins is non-conclusive and therefore I should not be too excited. He suggested that I test again tomorrow. I wanted to test again there and then but he dissuaded me.
So, I guess I'll test again tomorrow but I know deep inside my heart that the Lord is blessing us with a little one. He's answering our prayers. I will definitely test again tomorrow to get a much more affirmative result.
To me, a line is a line is a line, faint or not, after 5 mins or more.