Morning sickness showing up at my door?

Im 10 weeks 4 days today and I feel as though i might have a late case of morning sickness. Is it usual for morning sickness to kick in so late in pregnancy? Probably not as common but im sure it can happen at any stage. Its the long weekend here in Canada. Monday beingVictoria Day. While Federico is over 200km away from home backcountry camping, Ive been enjoying the long weekend weather at home in Toronto. On Saturday morning, I decided to take the streetcar to St Lawrence market - apparently named the World's Best Food Market by National Geographic in April 2012. While on the streetcar, I felt nauseous and had sudden urges to spew. This feeling did not subside until I got off the streetcar, but even while walking outside amongst the fresh air, I did not feel 100%. I have since then been feeling good, up until this morning. Monday morning. I got out of bed STARVING. So decided to cook some scrambled eggs for breakfast. One bite of breakfast and I had to set the plate down immediately. I now have a plate of uneaten scrambled eggs sitting next to me, which I think I will be introducing to the thrash shortly. What a waste. I have not felt this way towards any types of food until today. Hoping this is not a late sign of morning sickness. Wish me luck!

They've started...

... so I had been craving chicken nuggets ALL week last week. Pretty sure this was a pregnancy craving as I had never craved anything for such a long period of time before. Federico and I were out and about on a Sunday afternoon, on our way to Chinatown for lunch when we passed a McDonalds. "Chicken nuggets!!" I yelled. Pre-lunch, here I come!

They say that if you crave salty or sour foods during pregnancy means you're having a boy. Cravings for sweet foods, means you're having a girl. Based on this old wives tale, i guess we're having a boy. My strongest cravings as of late have been Thai Tom Yum soup, fresh chillies with noodles - this pregnancy thing is really bringing out the Asian in me!

Feed the Belly!

I am reading this very informative book right now, recommended by my sister-inlaw (who's also pregnant - Due end of May!), called 'Feed the Belly' by Frances Largeman-Roth. A healthy eating guidebook for women expecting. In one chapter, Largeman-Roth clears up the confusion behind seafood and pregnancy and actually encourages expectant mothers to eat fish twice a week.

"When the Food and Drug Adminisration and Environmental Protection Agency released their original joint advisory on seafood and pregnancy in 2004, it was a great public service and helped steer women away from the major food sources of harmful methyl mercury: shark, swordfish, tilefish and king mackerel. Unfortunately, the media hysteria that followed caused many women to misinterpret the advice and stop eating seafood altogether".

The fatty acids in seafood (DHA and EPA or Omega-3) play a key role in fetal brain/eye development.

"The Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency recommend that pregnant women eat up to 12 ounces of low-mercury fish and shellfish a week"

I have been referring to this book a lot these days. It also includes great recipes for pregnant ladies :). Tonight we had mini meatballs with kale and orecchiette. Great for iron and daily folate.

...we had one unhappy diner however. "This is too salty!" - Federico.

Ultrasound Details

My doctor's appointment finally arrived today. Nervous. Anxious. Excited. I felt like a party bag of feelings going into the clinic. To my relief, everything came back normal. According to my LMP (Last Menstural Period of 3/3/12), I should be 8 weeks pregnant. Making my estimated due date, December 8th. However, according to the measurements of the fetal CRL (Crown-rump length - length from top of head to bottom of buttocks), 6.8mm; yolk sac, 2.7mm and gestational sac, 22mm, I was 7 weeks 2 days on the day of my scan. So I should be about 7 weeks 5 days today. Which brings my estimated due date to December 15th, which according to the doctor should be the date I go by.

Looks like I was caused to worry over nothing as baby's heartbeat rate is normal - 118bpm. Anything above 100bpm at this stage is a good sign apparently. As well as that, no comment from the doctor with regards to any abnormality in the yolk sac size. Besides, I read that an 'enlarged yolk sac' (which would usually be a cause of concern), is one that measures more than 6mm. Mine only measures 2.7mm. So I think we're good :).

Dating Scan

I went for my first scan on Saturday morning. The appointment was only meant to last 15minutes but ended up going for 45 minutes. The radiologist first did an abdominal scan on me - I was more nervous than excited! She starred at the monitor while scanning my belly for a few minutes in complete silence. At this point, i was really concerned that she might not have been able to see an embryo, but she finally confirmed that she could in fact see it. Next, she performed a transvaginal ultrasound to take a closer look. As I laid there anxiously, she explained to Federico everything that he was seeing on screen. Giving him a lesson - Female Anatomy 101. First she showed him my cervix... then my fallopian tubes, then my ovaries.... then little appleseed 'Herrera'. As soon as she announced that she could see a heartbeat (the little flicker of light), I was overcome by emotion, I wept silently non stop for the next 5mins. I am still unsure exactly how far along I am, nor do i know my estimated due date. Perhaps things are different here in Canada, but i know in New Zealand, you can pretty much find out more detail right after your scan, rather than having to wait for your doctor to receive the results to get back to you. Although not permitted to give me any details, the radiologist thought our 'baby's' heartbeat was a little slow. I wont take her word for it - well im trying not to. Now to wait for my doctor to contact me. Fingers crossed everything is normal.

Sharing the News

A few days ago we decided to share our good news with the immediate family. Even though we are still within the first trimester our parents knew that we were thinking about starting a family. So 4-5 weeks in we decided to share the news with them. Both of our parents are in New Zealand so we decided to break the news on one of our regular Skype calls. 

Needless to say the news was well received. For my parents it will be their first grandchild, so for them it was wonderful to hear. To be honest I expected mum to shed a few tears, I think she got tears in her eyes but not the Iguazu Falls that I had expected. 

Positive Test

Close to 1 week ago, we found out that I was pregnant through a home pregnancy test. This was by far one of the happiest moments in my life. Federico and I had been trying to conceive since late January, and some may calculate that we became successful on my third cycle, but because my cycles had been so long and irregular, we were lucky enough to become successful after only two cycles. April 1st, Fertility Friend detected my ovulation day, http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/3b12ce/. The 2 week wait period to test did not feel anywhere close to to how long it felt during our first cycle. I was a lot more relaxed and I guess 'un-hopeful' this cycle, realizing that on average it would take a healthy couple 6-12 months to fall pregnant. I told myself, it would be better to expect a negative test result than to expect a positive one and set myself up for disappointment. Come April 13th, Saturday morning, I was 13 days post ovulation. I took a urine test and got my first positive. I remember staring at the two lines with no emotion, questioning if I was interpreting the results incorrectly or perhaps the test was faulty. Went straight to my sleeping husband and woke him with the good news. I took a second test 14DPO just to be sure, got my second positive, and because I like to be absolutely sure, I even took a third test at 15DPO. Third positive. Success.

I started experiencing mild symptoms a couple of days later. Constant hunger pains, headaches and sore breasts- nothing extreme, followed by very green veins on my forearms and palms. As of the days that followed, my symptoms subsided. It sounds crazy, but i almost wished I felt a little bit more for peace of mind. I hardly felt pregnant at all. 

Since moving to Toronto, Canada, we always felt that we would have at least our first child born in Canada. To follow in my father in law and mother in law's footsteps - they went to College in Guelph, Ontario, where Federico was eventually born. But over the recent months, although we have come to really enjoy our lives in Canada, we feel that we must return to New Zealand to be with our families and friends. Not only do we want our child to have a close relationship with his/her grandparents, but the working life here just isn't working out. Some day, we hope to return to Canada with our kids - whether we have 2... or 3. Let us hope for 3 although I know Federico would be happy with 2 ;) 

As soon as I saw the positive result on the pregnancy test, I contacted as many midwiferies in Toronto as I could. There is a huge shortage of midwives in Ontario, and seeing that baby will be due in December, this meant an even greater shortage over the holiday period. Im still on a couple of waiting lists, but I do not think ill bother that much seeing we will be leaving anytime now. The important thing is, I have managed to secure a midwife back home in Auckland and she has so far been absolutely fantastic- I cannot wait to meet her.