The kid can hear now. I found out about this a few weeks ago, from both a book and several websites, so I take it as truth. Sing to your child, the sites urge. Talk to your baby. Give him/her a nickname.

My first thought was, clearly, I should sing… Read full post »

My mom and I have a Sunday ritual that it’s fair to say we both love. We take turns reading out loud from a week-by-week pregnancy book and talking about what it says about both me and the baby. Last week, the book mentioned where to feel for your uterus, and… Read full post »

Someone recently asked me if the baby has any cravings. Kind of a cute way to ask if I’m stuffing my face with potato chips. I’ll take it.

The answer is yes, the baby has three very specific cravings:

-          fried chicken (but so far onl… Read full post »

When I was trying to get pregnant, I would often stand in my closet and mutter, “Boring.” I’d consider a shopping trip, and then I’d think, “I can’t buy fun new clothes, I might get pregnant any day and then I’d need a whole new wardrobe.” So I’d… Read full post »

For weeks, I’ve had early morning insomnia. I’ll sleep like a rock until about 2 or 3, get up to pee, and then toss and turn until around 4:30 or 5. It struck me as unfair – I fully expect to get crappy sleep in my third trimester, but this is… Read full post »

Last week, I went for a first trimester genetic screening, which consists of a long chat with a counselor, a detailed ultrasound, and dabbing blood in five spots on a piece of paper. The results are not black-and-white, but rather a percentage (expressed as 1 in X) that your child will… Read full post »

I’ve recently discovered how being pregnant and not having a huge wardrobe can push one to new levels of creativity. Today, for example, I’m wearing a skirt hiked up Erkel-style and zippered about ¾ of the way. There’s a safety pin just under the highest point I zipped… Read full post »

One of the biggest fears I had when I imagined telling people I'm expecting was judgmental reactions about having used IVF to get pregnant. (I decided early on not to hide our use of reproductive technology, in part because I think it’s nothing to be ashamed of.) Somehow, maybe because I’… Read full post »

On Thursday, I busted out of the preggo closet at work. I asked my boss to gather the team for a fake bitch session, which she was happy to arrange since she'd known for about six weeks and was bursting, too. We conspired in a stairwell, giggling as we hammered out the… Read full post »

This morning I was driving to work, listening to a community radio station. Prince's "When you Were Mine" had just finished and I thought the next song sounded like Stevie Wonder's "Superstition." When it got far enough in that I knew it was, I let out a "yeah!"

Then I started… Read full post »

After a series of e-mails with the IVF doc and my OB, and consideration of my sanity, I’ve decided to stop progesterone injections. This Thursday will mark the end of the first trimester, so that will be the last injection date. That’s an arbitrary line in the sand on my part;… Read full post »

Pretty much as soon as I found out I was pregnant, I started encountering situations where I was expected to drink alcohol. Most of these have been associated with my gig as a food writer -- a reasonable situation, but oddly not one that had come up more than once before.… Read full post »

I have another blog. I used to post on it regularly – at one point, twice a week. I thought I put up the last post a couple of weeks ago, but when I checked, it seems my last post was, um, June 12. That’s five and half weeks, folks.… Read full post »

I have another blog. I used to post on it regularly – at one point, twice a week. I thought I put up the last post a couple of weeks ago, but when I checked, it seems my last post was, um, June 12. That’s five and half weeks, folks.… Read full post »

A few weeks ago my prenatal yoga teacher passed out ideas for bonding with the baby before it’s born. One of them is giving the baby a nickname and using it to talk to him/her. Fun idea, but at 8 weeks, I just couldn’t relate, and actually felt a bit envious… Read full post »

This morning we went to see my OB-GYN, who is perhaps the smallest man I have ever met. Of course you realize what that means: Delightfully tiny hands.

Among other things, we discussed:

-          Genetic testing: Happens in a few weeks, ultrasound and f… Read full post »

About three or four weeks ago, I made eggs – one of my favorite foods – and had to choke them down because they tasted vaguely fishy. Ever since then, I’ve eyed the four cage-free beauties left in the carton with suspicion. I knew that if they still tasted that way,… Read full post »

I used to get up at 5 a.m. on weekends. I'd go grocery shopping, have the laundry done and my freelance writing turned in by noon, and spend the rest of the day cooking or hanging out with friends. Those days are gone.

Yesterday, I had a burst of energy in the… Read full post »

The knowledge that the baby moves around a lot at this point did nothing to prepare me to see it happen during this morning’s ultrasound. Me being me, I started a controlled sort of sobbing, and the tech lost focus. Note to self: learn to cry without moving when I’m moved… Read full post »

So... I've started having sex dreams. Which isn't particularly a pregnancy thing, but since I haven't had them since before I got artifically knocked up, it's a little startling.

They're not particularly graphic, and they have more to do with sensations than the actual act. Often the partner is impli… Read full post »

It’s become clear over the past few weeks that my pregnancy symptoms are not static. On the plus side, this means I no longer cringe when I pass the dumpsters outside my office – I just wrinkle my nose like a normal person. And I’m no good at pulling weeds, because… Read full post »

Nobody will be as shocked as I am at what I’m about to write: I’ve lost my taste for coffee. This is not a bad thing by any stretch, but since I struggled for years to limit myself to a reasonable number of cups, it’s a surprise.

I gradually switched… Read full post »

This week, we stop calling it an embryo and start calling it a fetus. Also this week, it begins to grow teeth and fingernails. The idea of teeth growing inside me kinda has me freaked out.

Even though my boobs are bigger, I can still wear all my bras. For this,… Read full post »

At work nobody except my boss knows I'm pregnant. In the last two days, people have said stuff about babies and/or birthing, apropos of nothing. It’s kind of freaking me out, like the smell of my pregnancy hormones is subconsciously making them reference babies.

Incident One:

At lunch,… Read full post »

Even in the absence of morning sickness, my stomach requires a bit of special handling, i.e., barbeque potato chips at 7:20 a.m. I suppose it’s a craving, though internally it just seems like a really good idea, as does starting the day by eating something every 20-30 minutes.

Here’s how… Read full post »