I renamed my blog tonight. I thought that Blob Blog was more appropriate (not to mention alliterative), as that is my pet name for the little fetus floating around someplace in the depths of my abdomen. The name is based on our first ultrasound image taken at six weeks. The doctor told us that it little white area in the sea of black was a baby, but to the untrained eye it appears as nothing more than a little shadowy blob.

My Blob. Our baby.

The last time I posted things were still up the air regarding Blob's well-being, but since that post it has been determined that 1) there isn't an ectopic pregnancy and 2) this is definitely (at least as of this moment in time) a healthy, viable pregnancy.

I am now 8.5 weeks pregnant. According to pregnancyguideonline.com the following is occurring:

• Elbows begin to form in the arms and fingers start to develop.
• The leg buds begin to show feet with tiny notches for the toes.
• The face continues to change as the ears, eyes and the tip of the nose appear.
• The intestines start to form in the umbilical cord.
• Teeth develop under the gums.

Exciting stuff!

And this is what that same site has to say about what is happening to me:

• Your uterus is the size of an orange now, and you may find your waistline expanding. If this is your first pregnancy, you're probably not showing. If it's not your first, you may have a "pooch" already. You will tend to show earlier in subsequent pregnancies since your muscles and ligaments aren't so tight.
• You may be feeling like a teenager if you find yourself with pimples and other skin problems. Don't fret ~ pregnancy causes an increase in oil secretions not to mention those rampant hormones! Your break-outs will go away either after the first trimester as your hormones level off or after delivery.

Man, are they right on the money with that! And add to it fatigue, nausea, and extraordinarily tender boobs. Fun, fun, fun.

I have not had any morning sickness, per se. But that merely means that while I have not actually vomited, I feel as though I could pretty much all day long. And already I feel like I've gained about 20 pounds because I eat all day long in a futile attempt to keep the nausea at bay. And since there are some foods that I can't stand to even think about without feeling ill, while there are others that I can't get enough of, I am not limiting my carb intake or otherwise limiting what I "can" and "can't" eat.* I'm going to be a sea cow, I just know it. But there's really nothing to do about it at this point, so I just try not to worry too much about it.

I'm sooooo tired. Unbelievably tired. I usually crash around 9 or 10 every night, which is completely unlike me. Unpregnant I'm quite the night owl. But pregnant me could sleep all night and all day and still be tired. No matter how early I go to sleep, I wake up tired. Exhausted. And I stay that way all day long. I just have no energy to do anything. I have to force myself to do basically anything that isn't sleep related.

I will be glad when this first trimester is over. I recall feeling pretty spunky during the second trimester with both William and Lizzie, so hopefully that's how this one will go, too. The third trimester is just miserable no matter what, there's no getting around it, and it'll be especially so for me since I'll be big and pregnant during the hottest months of the summer. All the more reason to look forward to, and appreciate, the second trimester.

This week, after interviewing a home birth midwife, consulting with a midwife who works under an OB practice in Cary, and touring the birthing center in Chapel Hill, I decided upon a prenatal caregive: the birthing center in Chapel Hill.

It was really a hard decision for me to make. And even though I've already made the appointment at the birthing center, I'm still doing a little internal waffling. I really wanted to try home birth. The whole idea of it really appeals to me: familiar surroundings, low stress, complete comfort. BUT no safety net. Well, other than an ambulance or a car trip to the hospital whereupon a complete stranger would take over my delivery. So I have settled on the birth center because it gives pretty much the best of both worlds. It has all the comforts of home birth (minus being in one's own home, of course) with the added benefit of hospital access, with the midwife in tow, if needed. Plus they do give some pain meds, if it comes to that (and that is, to be completely honest, a fairly big concern of mine since I tend to have enormous children).

I'm still considering finding the one midwife in this area that is certified to perform home births (all of the others are not certified--they're essentially doing it illegally), and who has a physician she works under who would be available in the event of an emergency or if hospital transport became necessary, and setting up a meeting with her. I certainly still have time. I have my prenatal vitamins and I am being seen by Dr. Deigan for ultrasounds and other testing, so I'm fine in that respect.

So maybe I will try to contact this woman and at least talk with her. Can't hurt, I suppose. And I can still keep the appointment in Chapel Hill.

Right now, though, it's nearly 9 p.m. and time to call it an evening.

I go back to Deigan on March 21 for some testing and a level-2 ultrasound. If I don't write before, I'll be sure to write then.

*Both lists change almost daily. Although chips and salsa remain steady as a favorite, and eggs stay at the top of my "oh-my-god-I-think-I'm-going-to-barf"list.