Bloat or Uterus?...You Decide.

I am now 9 weeks 4 days pregnant. I cannot help but be excited that I will be in double digits in three days. AND, only three more weeks until my second trimester. Well, three weeks and three days...but who's counting?

So, above you see my belly. What do you think, bloat or uterus? I have been bloated for weeks now but my belly is starting to feel different. Maybe a little harder? I don't know. I don't even know if it's at all possible that I'm starting to "show" yet. Eh, either way, it's kind of fun.

This week, I'm feeling a little better than last week. The nausea is still here but not quite as fierce as the last couple of weeks. I'm hardly ever hungry still and I'm eating a little less right now, mostly because I feel so sick after a "meal", so snacks are where its at for me right now. The fatigue is still pretty bad but that, I can handle. Please don't ask about my boobs.

The newest feeling is what I now know is "round ligament pain". Oh yes, yet another pregnancy plus! This is basically the ligaments surrounding my uterus, stretching and making room for the kid. It.hurts. It can be a sharp pain on either side of my lower abdomen or dull ache. Either way, it feels weird. However, it is just another one of those sweet reminders that the baby is thriving and doing well. Truth be told, I would rather feel all of these slight oddities rather than nothing at all. It's somewhat comforting in a way. I think that any previously pregnant woman would agree with me. Ask me in about 25 weeks how I feel about all of this though...

The baby has arms, hands and even fingers this week. The eyes are well developed and it's moving around a lot, as it's muscles are growing! It's the size of a "medium green olive", as I'm told. It's still unreal to me that this is going on inside of my body. It's like some weird science project to read about but truly, a miracle.

Although I've been very good about not buying anything (and I mean, I have not bought one thing, which is some sort of record for me) I began looking online for Florida State gear for the little one. I'm unbelievably excited about it. Weird, I know. I found all kinds of fun things that I will be buying within the next couple of months. I'm still making myself wait another month though. Self control. I has it.

Our next doctor's appointment is one week from Thursday and we're counting the minutes. I just want to hear the heartbeat, not just see it. That will give me a healthy dose of reality and definite reassurance that the little one is just fine. Plus, that means just a little over a months until we find out if it's a boy or a girl!

Oh, and, the Asheville cabin plans...scraped. Dustin made a good point to me that in February, its going to be pretty ugly up there, and possible rainy. That would make for a miserable me (and a bored husband). So, the new plan is to take a few days and explore more of Florida. Probably St. Augustine and Crystal River. We're going to do the Asheville thing in late October or early November of next year with the baby and maybe the families too. It will be a perfect first trip with the baby =)