6 Weeks, 1 Day

I'm going to attempt weekly updates. Mostly because I love how well documented my first pregnancy was and I don't want Baby #2 to feel jipped that he/she didn't get enough press. However, you know how sporadic my posting has been since I started school, so don't expect too much.

Also, last time I gave all kinds of information from the internet and other sources about where we were in development. If that's what you want, you can look at other informational sites. This time, I'm going to tell you how I feel each week and then compare what I feel this time to how I felt last time.

First story. On Wednesday evening I started noticing random pains on my left side (near where I would expect my ovary to be). I wouldn't describe it as cramping, it was sharper. It wasn't take your breath away pain, but I noticed it, so I told Eric if it continued I would call the doctor in the morning. I was slightly concerned about the possibility of an eptopic pregnancy and since I'm already down an ovary, I didn't want to take the chance of losing a tube too. Next morning pains were continuing, so I called. After speaking with the nurse who relayed my concerns to my doctor, they called me back. Dr. B was not very concerned, especially because I have had no bleeding or spotting, but they did have an 11:15 a.m. cancellation, so they could fit me in for a scan if I wanted to. I did. So Eric and I trekked to the doctor. I joked that they were going to think of me as "that patient" you know the one who imagines up a new ailment every week. I'm just a lot more cautious than I used to be. So, Dr. B came in and was extremely nice and not at all judgemental about my call. She told us that all we were looking for in the ultrasound was a gestational sac, maybe a yolk sac, and that it was in the uterus. I had already warned Eric that 6 weeks is borderline about being able to see a heartbeat on ultrasound. She started the scan and immediately located my sac safe in the uterus. Then she scanned over to my ovary and I have a 2 cm corpus luteum cyst. She didn't seem concerned and after further research I have found that these can range from less than 2 cm to 6 cm and aren't technically classified as an ovarian cyst unless they are over 3 cm. She said it was probably making my ovary heavy and as things push on it or it twists, I feel the pain. I'm just supposed to limit my "bouncy" exercise or contact sports. Then we scanned back over to the sac. It measured about right for my estimated gestation, but she said things are too small to get a very accurate dating measurement (we'll do that at my normal first appointment), then as we looked closer we saw the flicker of a tiny heartbeat. It was cool to see we've reached that milestone. Dr. B then went on to say seeing the heartbeat this early is great news and that it further lowers our risk of first trimester miscarriage to about 5% (versus 25%). Yay! So, not planned, but a good appointment.

I've started a flicker set (album) for this pregnancy. All that's in there so far is a picture of the pregnancy test and my 5 week belly picture. Click here. I'll work on setting something up in the sidebar.

Ok, so how I'm feeling. It's crazy, but I swear my pants are already getting tighter. I've only gained 1 pound though, so it can't be overeating. Maybe things really do happen faster the second time? The tiredness is just starting to set in. It actually is worse in the morning, it takes me an hour or two to start feeling normal. I'm also really tired after eating. I can't say if I'm nauseous yet. It's weird, I don't feel good, but not like I want to puke either. Just very "blah". At least I'm not puking yet. Hopefully not at all. Also, my breasts are extremely tender, although I don't feel like they have grown much.

Compared to Grace's pregnacy at 6 weeks?
- I mentioned losing my appetite and turning down ice cream. I have been eating, but sometimes nothing sounds good (even if I'm hungry), so I don't eat. I did turn down fudge today, sweets just didn't sound appealing.
- I mention a strong sense of smell. This is definately true too. I had to make Eric move to the other end of the couch earlier this week when he was eating a brat that was just too stinky.
- I talk about total exhaustion. I didn't think this was as bad this time, but today especially is bad. I went to be before 11 last night and still couldn't drag myself out until 7. I was dying for a nap after lunch and tonight I did doze during an episode of Dora the Explorer (Grace was laying with me on the couch).
- I mentioned being cranky. I haven't really noticed this one yet. Except that I have been a bit more short-tempered with Grace in the evenings when she starts getting whiny because she's tired.
- I had my first wave of nausea send me to the bathroom, just in case, at 5w4days. Not yet.

That's all for now!