February 01, 2004
First symptoms!
Although it still doesn't quite feel real, something is definitly going on with my body. My already-small bladder seems to have shrunk to the size of an orange. On the trip home from Houston (about a 3 hr drive), I had to have Dale stop twice so I could pee, and I'd even gone right before we left the house.
The other big change is that my breasts have become really tender. I first noticed Friday night, that when I'd roll onto my side or stomach, it would hurt my breasts. Today, I can't even cross my arms over my chest, and my nipples are getting sore too. I guess some really is happening.
Yesterday, the family got together for dinner at Karen and Thor's (Dale's parents). Jill, his sister, and new mother to three month old Allison, brought me several baby books. I promptly sat down with one of them and learned the difference between gestational age and fetal age.
Apparently, doctors consider the date of your last period to be the start of your pregnancy. Ovulation (typically) takes place two weeks AFTER your last period, so a doctor will consider you pregnant before you even conceive! So, gestational age starts with your last period, and fetal age starts at conception. I'm just ending what I consider my third week of pregnancy, but I'm about to start my 6th gestational week. How whacked is that?
Although I haven't talked to a doctor about it yet, it looks like I'm going to be due in early October, around the 3rd. Once I mentioned that to Dale's mother, she got excited and said that her dad's birthday was the fourth. She was willing to be that the first thing her mother would do would be to asked me to have the baby on the 4th. That wasn't the first thing Grandmom mentioned, but she did mention that Grandad's birthday was the 4th. :D