Today I am 13 weeks pregnant!  I guess this means I am officially in the 2nd trimester.  Some people say after 12 weeks, some after 13, and some say after 14 weeks, but I'm going with now I'm in the 2nd trimester. :)  It sounds like I have less time to go that way...

I haven't stepped on the scale in a while, I've been too afraid since I have been eating lots of good (and unhealthy) Christmas food, and I only exercised for the first time in a week yesterday!  Oops!  So any weight gain would clearly NOT be pregnancy related, and really a result of Christmas over-indulgence!  Ohhhh well.

Yesterday Mark and I went into BabyCity (NZ version of babies r us I suppose, only much smaller and more expensive), and we scoped out some prices for various things we will be needing to buy.  Let me tell you, the childbirth in NZ might be free, but the baby items are EXPENSIVE here.  For example, one little baby onesie (just a white one) costs $20!!  You can buy 5 of those in a pack in the US for like $10!    But I have a secret... we already have a LOT of baby stuff.  We were offered a crib and changing table for free, so we graciously accepted (thanks Ashley), so we don't have to drop $1,000 on those big ticket items.  I also found a rocker for 75% off, and a bulk lot of baby clothes for $5.  Literally, tons of clothes, in good condition, for $5.  What can I say, I'm a sucker for a good deal.  I think most people wait to buy a lot of stuff because they get a lot of gifts at their baby shower, but seeing how I don't know many people here, and don't have any real close friends yet, I'm thinking I won't have a baby shower, so I've got free reign to buy things! Although that won't happen for a while (unless of course I find a great bargain, and then of course I won't have a choice but to buy it).   For example, I bought our nursery bedding because I loved it (gender neutral), and it was on sale.  Clearly we did not need that yet, but boy am I having fun setting up the (very very tiny) nursery.    Pictures of the actual nursery to follow at a later date, but here's a sample...  And yes, I did get ALL of that (it comes as a set, I couldn't resist).  And I suppose that bedding is a little more for a boy, but even if we have a girl, can you really see me buying some pick girly nursery bedding? YEAH RIGHT>

What else... oh we also bought a baby vibrating seat and swing (impulse buys, on sale, although completely necessary in my opinion)..

So anyway, that's our update! Today is the last day of 2009 here in NZ, and what an exciting year 2010 promises to be for us!  Happy New Year!!

Now the quality isn't great, so it appears pretty blurry (it looks much batter on the original version), but you get the idea.  Also, you can see at various times when the technician froze the video (hence the lack of movement) in order to get some measurements.  You have to look closely since it's blurry, but you can see arms and legs moving (one arm was up by the face a lot of the time).  On the actual video you can see the heart beating, but it's way too blurry to see it here.  Enjoy!

We have some big news for all of you...

In July of 2010, Mark and I are going to become parents!!  I am currently almost 12 weeks pregnant, and it has been hard to keep it a secret for even that long!  We decided not to tell ANYBODY until we had our first doctor's appointment and ultrasound to confirm everything.  But of course, we failed at not telling anybody, so we spilled the beans to just our families first, and then a few friends here and there... oops, we couldn't keep our mouths shut!  But today we had our very first ultrasound, which confirmed there is in fact a baby in there (I was a little doubtful, I must admit)!  So I've posted some pictures, although they are not the best of quality, and I tried to post a video of the ultrasound, which was amazing to see, but for some reason it isn't working.  Baby did a bit of moving for us, and we got to see arms and legs moving around (apparently it had its legs crossed!), and we saw the heart beating (160 beats per minute!).

So let me give you a little background info...

Right after we moved here in August, Mark and I decided we were ready to try and have a baby (or as ready as we would ever be).  We were both convinced it would take a while for us to actually get pregnant, so we thought we might as well just see what happens. 

So, long story short, 3 months later, I found out I was pregnant!  I found out on October 30th, 2009 and I was home alone while Mark was at work.   I took 2 pregnancy tests, and both turned positive right away, and I brought them to show Mark when I picked him up from the train station after work!!  He got this huge smile on his face and was so excited!!

So after the initial excitement died down a bit, I started the process of finding a LMC (Lead Maternity Carer).  It's a bit of a different process here than in the US.  Here all maternity care is free, but there are restrictions.  For example, all pregnant women are entitled to a midwife, but if you want to have an obstetrician, then you have to pay for that, unless you are considered high risk, and then your OB is paid for by the government.  Anyway, I had my first midwife appointment on December 10th (which seemed like the longest wait in the world!) and now that the we have confirmed our pregnancy via ultrasound, we felt it was time to share the news!  We've kept track of the past 8 weeks since we couldn't post them to share with you, so we have posted them after the fact, in case you are interested


WEEK 5 (Oct 30- Nov. 5)

Symptoms: none!  I still don't even really believe I'm pregnant!
Weight gain this week: 0 lbs
Total weight gain: 0 lbs
How we are feeling: Cautiously excited!  We are so happy, but it seems pretty surreal!  I think once we confirm with a doctor and get an ultrasound we will feel a lot more confident about this whole thing.  I want to tell everybody, but I know that would be a bit premature.  At this point I have told my parents, my sisters, and Mark's parents and a few select friends.  They have been sworn to secrecy, but we will see if that actually lasts!   Our first doctor's appointment is not until December 10th so we are waiting until after that to make sure everything is ok and going as it should be.

WEEK 6 (Nov. 6- Nov 12)
Symptoms:  A little tired, but not sure if that's a result of pregnancy or long days of work and soccer.  Also some cramping and stomach pains, but no nausea so far so that's good!  I have been able to stay very active so far, still playing soccer 4-5 times per week, which is nice!  Some days I still feel no symptoms at all.
Weight gain this week: 0 lbs
Total weight gain: 0 lbs
Any other changes: We are still counting down the days until December 10th!  Because I don't feel pregnant, it's hard to believe that this is real.
What's happening with baby: It's fun to read about our little baby's development each week.  This week the baby's heart begins to beat, and little buds for arms and legs begin to form.  A bunch of other monumental developments are occurring, but at this point our little one is only about 3-5mm long!

WEEK 7 (Nov 13- Nov 19)
Symptoms: Fatigue has hit me a bit hard this week, and of course it would figure that it's the week my parents are here to visit.  I've also been a bit irritable and having some stomach pain and cramping.  For the first time in my life, I am not able to eat a lot of food at one sitting, and sometimes I feel like I just can't eat at all! 
Weight gain this week:  1 lb
Total weight gain: 1 lb
Any other changes: We bought our first baby item since finding out we were pregnant.  We went into a baby store just to look, and they had this stroller I really wanted and it was $200 off!  It was a one day only special, and I'm a sucker for a deal, so we bought it!  Woohoo!  We also scheduled our first ultrasound (which does not happen at our first appointment), so that will be Dec. 21st!  That's the new date to look forward to!
What's happening with baby: Rapid brain and head growth is occurring this week. The baby now measures 7-9 mm, and has both arms and legs that resemble little paddles.

WEEK 8 (Nov 20- Nov 26)
Symptoms: Sort of the same as last week, plus more tired and more nauseous!
Weight gain this week: -2lb
Total weight gain: -1lb
Any other changes:
What's happening with baby: Pigment is developing in the retina's of the baby's eyes, and ears are starting to form.  Jaw, facial muscles, and teeth are beginning to form.  Baby is 11-14 mm long (1/2 inch)

WEEK 9 (Nov 27- Dec 3)
Symptoms: Pretty much the same as prior weeks, in fact, one day I slept from 11pm to 11am, then took a nap from 1:30-4:30pm!  I literally slept the entire day away!  Still feeling nauseous, and I don't have much of an appetite.  But now we're getting excited because we have our first appointment in a week, and we get to see our baby in 3!
Weight gain this week: 0 lbs
Total weight gain: -1lb
Any other changes:
What's happening with baby: Baby is now the size of an olive

WEEK 10 (Dec 4 - Dec 10)
Symptoms: Fatigue!  Not as much morning sickness, although it's hard to tell since I had the stomach flu for part of this week.
Weight gain this week: -1 lb
Total weight gain: -2lb
Any other changes: Well I got the stomach flu this week, which was a bit scary, and definitely not fun!  This also definitely contributed to the weight loss!
What's happening with baby: The external ears are almost completely developed, as are they eyelids and tongue.  For the first time, baby's limbs are capable of purposeful movement.  Baby is about 29mm long (over an inch)!

Doctor's appointment #1: Dec 10, 2009
We met with our midwife, and she seems very nice and I think we are going to like her a lot.  This meeting was mostly about paperwork, and starting to form a birth plan.  We did find out some interesting things about where we can have the baby here.  If we want to have the baby in a hospital (which we do), there are 2 options.  This is how she explained it to us:  Hospital #1 has individual rooms, with their own bathroom/shower/tub, and pretty much every birthing tool available to you that you could possibly want.  The kicker- no epidurals.  Oh and they are not equipped to deal with emergencies, so if anything goes wrong, you need to go in an ambulance to the other hospital.  Ok so that clearly is not happening for us.  The second hospital is much larger, more crowded (shared rooms, lots of people), but they have the ability to deal with anything, and, they can administer epidurals.  Looks like it wasn't really much of a decision to make...  The other amazing thing about having a baby here is that everything is free (no insurance necessary), which is  completely opposite from the US.

WEEK 11 (Dec 11- Dec 17)
Symptoms: My body feels so hot all the time!!  I've been able to eat almost normally, although still so exhausted!
Weight gain this week: 1 lb
Total weight gain: -1lb
Any other changes: Nope.  Nothing too exciting to report, so I suppose that's a good thing.  I keep reading all these things about how much weight people gain in the first trimester and how they already look pregnant, and I think they must be crazy seeing how the baby is less than 2 inches still.  I look the exact same as I have always looked!

WEEK 12 (Dec 18- Dec 24)
Symptoms: Nothing different from last week really.
Weight gain this week: so far 0 lbs...
Total weight gain:  S
Any other changes:  We had our first ultrasound this week, and it was AMAZING.  I forgot to mention that at our midwife appointment, she tried to listen to baby's heartbeat with a doppler, and she couldn't hear it.  She warned us in advance she probably wouldn't be able to find it that early, and we might only hear it if she got lucky, but it was still a bit disheartening to not be able to hear it!  I still kept doubting that I was really pregnant!  But seeing the baby on the ultrasound made it all very very real!
What's happening with baby:  At this point the baby's skin is sensitive, and any type of touch will cause it to move.  Also, when the baby's face is touched, it will open its mouth.  Baby is also about 2 1/2 inches long.

And now we're up to date!! 

We played in the National League semi-final game here in Wellington today, and we managed to come away with the win.  We were tied 0-0 at half time, and then ended up winning 4-1.  Now we will be playing Auckland up in Auckland next Sunday for our final game of the season.  And let me tell you, I can't wait!  For the season to be over, that is.  We have been training 5 times a week since the beginning of October, and I am now more than ready for a break!  And of course it would be nice to finish as National League Champions.  Then after that game (on the 20th) I have 3 more days of work, and then time to celebrate Christmas!!  Unfortunately we don't have any really exciting plans, just a low key day at the in-laws, with some wonderful food I'm sure!  But hopefully the weather will be decent, at least.

And now, off to dinner at the Bartlett's!! Yum!

Finished with yet another week of work.  I have officially been working there for over 2 months, and the babies are getting so much bigger!  And thankfully, I have recovered from the stomach flu, and finally am able to eat normal foods (pretty much).  Although the longer we live here, the more I miss some of my favorite US foods.  Like California Pizza Kitchen, Noah's Bagels, and Jamba Juice, just to name a few...  And I would give my left arm to have a Safeway sandwich (they don't even really have deli turkey here!!). Anyway, now it's almost the weekend, and the weather forecast is... rain.  Surprise surprise.  I have my semi-final soccer game here in Wellington, so the season is winding down (finally).  If we win, we play in the final next Sunday up in Auckland, and then the season is over and Christmas is almost here!  It's going to be a pretty strange Christmas with no family members from my side of the family, and I will definitely miss the games we play on Christmas Eve at my grandma's house!!  Maybe we should bring that game to NZ!

Literally less than 6 hours after my last post, I came down with the stomach flu.  And I haven't had the flu since I was in high school, and I totally forgot how AWFUL it is.  I hope to not get it again for another 6 or 7 years, thank you very much.  Oh the joys of being around sick babies!  At least they are cute....

And of course Mark just loved the fact that one of the perks of working at Roche was his free pandemic supply of Tamiflu, which can be taken to prevent the flu, so he is currently taking that to avoid the would-be inevitable fate of getting the flu himself.  Lucky, lucky man.  Although I would definitely not wish this flu on anyone, ever.  I still haven't been able to eat anything substantial (applesauce, bananas, and toast don't count).  Not the best way to spend the weekend, although I managed to convince Mark to sit on the couch and watch TV and movies with me!  Now just hoping for a happier, healthier tomorrow!

Oops, I haven't posted anything in quite a few days!  Mostly because it has been cold and rainy, and I have left my camera inside in the camera bag, and I always feel like every post should have some pictures.  But, I guess a post without pictures is better than no post for over a week, right?  So just a heads up, there will be no pictures today.

I think it's supposedly almost summer here, but I've been told that for quite some time now and so I'm not sure we even get a summer here, at this point.  It has been raining almost non-stop for the past 3-4 days.   Which means I am stuck inside for 9 straight hours at work with 2 babies.  I'm sort of pulling my hair out, to say the least.  On the upside, both babies caught some kind of stomach bug last week, and they managed to pass it on to both of their parents, and I managed to avoid getting it.  So that's a plus, at least.  Although dealing with puking babies in addition to being stuck inside is definitely less than ideal.

In other news, while I was away at Christchurch this past weekend, Mark removed one of the MASSIVE bushes in our front yard!  I should go away more often, he decides to be really productive while I'm gone.  Now just to give you an idea of how big these bushes are, it took him almost 4 straight hours of back breaking work to get that thing out of there, and no there is a huge hole where the roots used to be.  Too bad there are still 3 more to remove.  Yikes.

And now, we are just counting down the days until X-mas is here!  And everyone keeps asking me if it will be weird to have a summer x-mas, but at this rate, it will be just like California weather!