The truth about morning sickness...

...the name is really a misnomer. It should be called 'all-day sickness' or 'permanent hangover sickness'.

The last couple of days my 'morning sickness' has really hit me hard. Leading up to this weekend I had what I thought was 'bad' morning sickness. I was permanently queasy, I was exhausted from throwing up in the morning and I just wanted to keep eating to stop the nausea. And to some degree, eating worked. It stopped the actual 'being sick' part of things. Until this weekend.

Since then, my morning sickness has moved to every half-hour sickness. And no amount of morning sickness tablets, ginger, salt and vinegar chips (my own personal remedy) or just eating is stopping it. I've followed all the tips and tricks in the book, eat crackers before getting out of bed, take ginger tablets, drink ginger tea, wear acupressure bands...nothing is helping right now.

Yesterday I was so exhausted from being sick I couldn't face going to work. Let alone the forty minute train ride. So, I headed to the doctor yesterday for something to reduce the nausea and got prescribed Maxalon. I'm pretty sure it's not helping...given I've had my head in the bucket for most of this morning.

Oh well, thankfully I have the best boss in the world, who, despite not knowing I'm pregnant told me to take a couple of days off or work from home if I'm feeling up to it and to just relax and get better.

Off to the obstetrician tomorrow, I'm not sure what to expect. Hopefully it'll all be smooth sailing and maybe we'll even get to hear the little belly bean's heartbeat.

Finding a maternity bra, who'd have thought it could be so hard?!?

Courtesy of the extra hormones our little bean is creating, my already slightly above averagely endowed chest has gone up about one and a half cup sizes. Hubby loves them. Me, not so much.

They are really heavy, it feels like even though they haven't gotten THAT much bigger, they are about twice or three times as heavy as they were. And so uncomfortable. So the other day, in an effort to try and make my boobs just a little bit more comfortable, I set out in search of a couple of maternity bras to get me through the day.

I headed to Chermside, the biggest shopping centre nearby, figuring they'd have at least a bit of a selection for me to choose from. When I got there, I headed to Bras 'n' Things first to try and judge what size I should be looking for. After trying on a couple of different bras, I settled on a 10DD. Before I got pregnant I was a 10C to 10D. Even in Bras 'n' Things I was fairly restricted for choice courtesy of my size. The bra I really liked was only available in a 10D or a 12DD, not really helpful.

Plus, all the bras there are like $50+. I really didn't want to spend that much given the likelihood of my chest increasing again before the end of my pregnancy. So I headed to to Target...and K-Mart...and Big W....and Myer, just to try and find something slightly cheaper. I could not find a single bra in my size at any of these stores...not one. Apparently if you have a size 10 back, you couldn't possibly have DD boobs. Or apparently you can't possibly be pregnant and a size 10.

So, after much traipsing back and forth around Chermside, I went back to where I started from and bought ONE bra from Bras 'n' Things. An hour and a half walking from one end of the shopping centre to another for one bra.

I also ducked back into Target and bought a couple of support singlets to wear around home.

I'm really hoping I don't get another growth spurt for a little while so I can at least get my money's worth out of my bra. But all in all, for something I thought would be easy, it not the best experience.

Can I get a woot woot!?!

...WOOT WOOT!

I went back to the doctor today to find out the results from my blood test on Saturday and they were great. My hcg levels are now 5600+. When the doctor told me, I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.

I got my referral to the ob today, who I have booked in to see on 6 May. Only two and a bit weeks until we hopefully get to see our little belly bean in picture and hear her heartbeat.

The doctor also referred me for some more bloods so I'm feeling a bit like a pin cushion today. I've got a bruise in the crook of each elbow (those pathology nurses aren't gentle!).

I'm officially letting myself get a bit more excited now and hubby and I are debating telling our parents. We really want to, but at the same time, we really want to wait. Who knows what could happen before the magic 12 week mark. We're leaning towards telling our parents after we get the scan at the ob - if we get to hear the heartbeat and everything is ok.

It's going to be a long two weeks and we're seriously going to have to restrain ourselves from spilling the beans.

16 days and counting....

Our first purchase for the baby

Last weekend hubby and I made our first purchase for the new baby. We had big intentions to restrain ourselves from buying anything for our little munchkin until we passed the magic 12 week mark but when Cushie Tushies decided to have a 50 per cent off sale, how could we resist?

We're planning on using MCNs (modern cloth nappies), rather than disposables. I think for the little extra effort required, the saving for the planet and our back pockets are totally worth it.

Plus, MCNs are totally cute.

So for $50 we got four one size fits all, all-in-twos, plus four booster pads. They arrived only a couple of days after we ordered them - super quick service and hubby and I are both very impressed with the quality.

We went for gender neutral colours and we love them...

Why doctors sometimes need to put themselves in our shoes

I had my first doctor's appointment the day after the two lines showed up on the test. I'd heard from friends that doctors just take your word that the test was positive and give you a referral.

My doctor does not.

I had to pee in a cup. Oh the joys. Then he put a couple of drops on their test and waited...and waited...and waited. Nothing showed up. I mentioned that I'd read somewhere that doctor's tests were less sensitive than first response. He didn't think that was true.

So he started the process on writing me a blood test referral. After a time (we'd been discussing obstetrician referrals and private health), I noticed there was a second line.

I pointed it out and the doctor said yep, you're definitely pregnant. No congratulations or excitement. But, hearing it come from a professional was just the reassurance I needed. This was really happening.

The doc suggested I still get the blood test, as apparently hospitals like to know your base hcg levels in case you present with possible miscarriage. So I took the referral with plans to get the test on Saturday and ring the doc on Monday to find out the results.

Hubby and I spent the next few days in loved up bliss, with him occasionally rubbing my belly and asking how his little boy was doing.

I rang the doc on Monday after the test and was told he'd call me back. Monday afternoon and evening came and went and no call. I was a little disappointed because I really wanted the referral to get the obstetrician I wanted in case she booked out.

On Tuesday, I called again and the doc rang me back. Apparently my hcg levels were lower than expected (at 75) and that either my bub wasn't going to stick or I was only 2-3 weeks pregnant, not the four I'd calculated.

I couldn't believe it.

So the doctor said he wanted to do another blood test a week after the first one and that I should come in and see him three days after. That was a whole week away. How could I possibly wait that long, not knowing whether my little one was going to stick around. I thanked the doctor, hung up and resorted back to my two best friends in these situations - Google and the forum I frequent.

Google told me that my levels were perfectly normal for where I was in the pregnancy and that the important thing was that the levels continued to rise dramatically. Sigh, a breath of relief.

The forum I frequent is full of lovely and very knowledgeable ladies who also assured me that hcg levels mean next to nothing and that most doctors refused to rely on them because of that. They also offered me their support and for that I can't thank them enough. These ladies are so incredible especially given I've only met a few of them in real life. You know who you are ladies - so thank you.

I rang hubby and arranged to meet him for lunch. I told him what the doctor said and he looked so inconsolable. But then when I told him the advice I'd found via Google and the forum his only concern was to make sure I wasn't too upset or stressed and to try and take my mind off things. And that's one of the reasons I married him.

Six days and counting until the results and we know where to from here...

And the realisation sets in

Wow. What on earth are we going to do? Are we ready for this? Can we really be parents? How are we going to afford having a baby? So many thoughts, so many questions, running through my and hubby's heads.

By getting knocked up the cycle before we planned to, we'd managed to time things just right to miss out on so many things.

My due date, by my (and the numerous online calculators') calculations, is 20 December 2010. We're likely to miss out on the government's paid maternity leave scheme by 11 days. I was hoping to combine that with my work's paid maternity leave at half pay and take six months off work. Hopefully we can still afford to do that.

My due date is also just four days after hubby graduates from uni. So I've told him, he has four days to find a full-time job and we both laughed...but part of me was serious.

It's also five days before Christmas. Poor kid, practically having to share their birthday with the big J man upstairs. And having to go to school a year behind other kids born in the same year.

But you know what, despite all this. Hubby and I are so ecstatically happy. Nothing matters other than the fact we're going to become parents. We'll find a way to get ready. We'll find a way to afford this bub and give it the best care and attention we can.

Nothing can take away the sheer joy we have at finding out we're going to be parents. Or so I thought...

And then there were two...

...lines that is.

At first I didn't believe it. Surely I was imagining the line. I passed the stick over to hubby and asked what he saw. He said there was a line but it was very faint. To him that meant negative. Until he read the instructions and realised that a negative would 'show no trace of a second line'. Or so said the first response test that we'd bought.

The smile that spread across his face was enchanting. Were we really going to do this? So soon? We had planned on trying for a bub next cycle. But my next cycle never showed up.

I'm not even sure why we had tested that night. My period wasn't late, we'd not done the deed much that month (I'd been away for work) and the only symptom I had was a massive case of heartburn since Easter (which I was attributing to the massive amount of chocolate I'd consumed).

But there was the evidence, staring me in the face. OH MY GOD! I'm going to be a mummy. I did a little happy dance and my gorgeous hubby told me to chill, we had a long way to go. But to be honest I was a little shocked. There were two lines there and we were going to be parents.

The next nine months are going to be a roller-coaster.