There's a person in there! And it moves!

Gabe and I had our first official ultrasound today and we got to see the minion together. There's something extremely emotional about actually knowing that there's a little baby in there. So far, minion has only been a theoretical grape-sized "sea monkey" that makes me sick.

(For the sake of not calling the baby "it" throughout this post, I'm going to go with "he". He sort of felt like a "he" as we watched him swim around today. But I reserve the right to alter the pronoun in future posts, until the sex is known.)

When the doctor came in, he congratulated us on our cute baby. And I have to say he was right. I was amazed at the amount of detail that can be seen on a 12-week fetus. Minion has a beautiful face, with a defined nose and mouth, seen in profile. He moves around A LOT and he frequently held his right arm up by his face. His legs were crossed for part of the time, indicating a very relaxed and laid back personality. I said he must take after his daddy. Is that too much to read into a creature the size of a plum?

Even more important than how the arms and legs were situated is the fact that minion has two arms and two legs and appears healthy thus far. Being a high-risk patient, due to my previous surgeries, I think this was a more intense ultrasound than for a normal pregnancy. We met with a genetic counselor first and they checked for blood flow through the placenta and the level of amniotic fluid around the head. Although . . . since this is my first pregnancy, I could be wrong; maybe they do this for everyone. At any rate, the minion is developing well and we're past the point of worry about miscarriage.

They want the mom to have a full bladder for the ultrasound and, boy, did I. The doctor showed us the size of my uterus, where the baby is living, to the size of my bladder, right next door. My bladder was at least twice the size. The doctor said that minion has great lake-front property. I liked that doctor (not my regular OB). :)

By the way, there's only one minion, in case anyone (besides me) was holding their breath for twins.

Sardines are not for me.

After three weeks of feeling consistently nauseous, I had my first actual vomiting episode on Wednesday night.  Gabe made me eat encouraged me to try sardines for the first time.  What possessed me to do that with an already tumultuous tummy, I don't know.  Actually, I do know.

I've been reading Eating Well When You're Expecting.  There are several vitamins, minerals and food groups that I should try to eat every day - proteins, whole grains, calcium, Vitamin C.  The book gives examples of foods that satisfy these requirements and one food pops up on several lists.  You guessed it, sardines.

So, I was reading some of these examples out loud to Gabe and he was intrigued by the sardines.  He's always trying to get me to branch out and try new foods.  Plus, he actually likes sardines.  Add to that the fact that Alton Brown has a recipe for sardines and avocado on sourdough, and he was on a mission.

I really like avocado and sourdough, so I was willing to give it a shot.  I knew right away that it wasn't something I would enjoy.  True, there is a similarity to tuna, but the sardines are oilier and mushier and saltier and . . . just not for me.  So, I scraped off the fish and just ate the toast and avocado.  As a reward for having tried something new, Gabe bought me a Wendy's Frosty for dessert.  I probably ate too much of that, which could have been part of the problem.

I didn't actually get sick until a few hours later, though, when I went to the kitchen before bedtime to load the dishwasher.  Well, if sardines right out of the can smell bad, they're nothing to sardines that have been sitting on the counter for hours.  I had to give Gabe the job of doing the dishes while I ran off to the bathroom.

I might have to hold off on trying new foods until the end of my pregnancy.