i love bella bands

This is the greatest invention ever. Ingrid and Isabel are geniuses! Bella bands are basically elastic bands that help you hold up your unbuttoned jeans when you're in between regular clothes and maternity clothes. I'd heard about it from friends and they swore by it so I knew I'd get at least one. I ended up getting two -- one white and black.

What I like about them is that they just look like long layering tank tops. Fashionable AND comfortable! And boy are they comfortable. I started to hate wearing jeans cause buttoning them was a problem. These bands give me just the right amount of extra room that I need and keep my jeans from falling down. Bella bands. Love them!

the coconut wireless

Ah, Hawaii. We all joke about the "coconut wireless" -- the grapevine on steroids that pretty much guarantees that any piece of news (be it true or not!) will make it around the island and back again before the words "I'm pregnant" escape my lips.

Now, tell someone from my hometown the news and you can be sure that everyone from 16 Acres to Rec 4 will hear about it in a matter of days.

Case in point. A friend of mine told me that her friend (a girl I'm acquainted with but not really friends with) asked her if it was true that I was pregnant. How did she hear the news? She works with my other good friend's (whom I did share the news with) sister's husband. Hahaha!

And that's the coconut wireless for ya. ;)

13 weeks

Here was 10...





and here's week 13. (These pics are for you, Cheryl! hahaha)

Hmmm...I bet if I wasn't leaning back so much I'd still just look like I had one too many katsus. Although I did order a couple of bella bands cause buttoning my jeans is a challenge these days.

hitting the wall.

I've been feeling especially lethargic for the past few days and am convinced that I got a brand new batch of pregnancy hormones. I get tired much faster when I'm out running with Kainoa (who is a total speed demon, btw!) and find myself huffing and puffing every time I get to the top of the stairs in my house. It's not unbearable by any means, but just feels like I'm out of shape. Sad.

I've also noticed an increase in my "low-tolerance" moments. These days I hit the wall much quicker than I used to. Before, if I was hungry and there wasn't food immediately at arms length I could suppress the hunger pains and still be pleasant until I found something to eat. Not anymore! If I'm hungry and you are within 5 feet of me, it is your job to find me food or suffer the consequences.

If I'm tired, I could easily power through in the days before baby. But now, grouchiness ensues in full effect. I've even had moments where I feel so tired that I start to feel sick. There I am with my head on the pillow ready for Mr. Sandman but Brian is talking to me. I literally just need him to be quiet lest I throw up all over him (or feel like I will anyway).

But the most interesting low-tolerance moment happened at a baby shower I was at this past week. People talking all around me, three young kids jumping and screaming nearby and I started to feel the room closing in on me. Claustrophobia-like! This never happens. I had to stare at my lap to calm myself as I'm sure screaming out loud would be inappropriate as my friend opened her presents. At one point, I had to escape to the bathroom just to gain composure.

But the BEST was the other night when I started crying for no reason at all. Well, Brian and I were disagreeing about something but I completely overreacted and started crying. As I'm crying, I'm fully aware that I'm being totally irrational and silly. I even start laughing at myself a bit cause it's preposterous for me to be crying. But I seriously could not control it.

Sigh. I am becoming such a cliche.

pass me the tylenol! oh wait, i can't have that...

For the past three nights I've been getting headaches. I never get headaches so this really sucks. At first I thought maybe I was dehydrated or tired, but then I noticed that my pregnancy fact ticker says I may experience headaches, dizziness and fatigue due to hormonal changes. I was also complaining to Brian that I felt light headed.

On the one hand I'm kinda glad that I'm experiencing an actual pregnancy symptom like I'm supposed to. Part of me wondered if something was wrong with me cause I haven't felt all that different. Like, is the baby not growing properly cause I'm not having the symptoms? On the other hand, headaches and dizziness? Not really fun stuff.

Usually, I just try to sleep it off or I make Brian massage my temples. Sometimes I really want to take some tylenol, but I've resisted. With my long list of things I shouldn't have, I figure I'm negating my "good behavior" if I take an actual pill.

I just hope this is solely a week 12 downer that will magically disappear at week 13.

wow. that's just craaazy!!

That's pretty much all Brian and I said during my ultrasound today. No other words came to mind.

I had my nuchal translucency (NT) scan -- an ultrasound they do in the first trimester to screen for genetic abnormalities. They tell you to drink 24 oz of water an hour before the scan cause a full bladder helps them to see the baby better. But knowing me and my teeny tiny bladder, I stuck to drinking not even 12 oz. By the time I got to the ultrasound lab, I realized that was still too much. My fear of having too full a bladder was coming true and there was no way I was gonna make it through the scan like this. I was too uncomfortable! Luckily, I had lunch with my friend Rae earlier that week who had just had her NT, and she said she emptied her bladder a little and it was okay. So, off to the restroom I went (twice) to give me some relief. Note to self: next time, only drink half a bottle of water.

The lady calls us back to the room. Brian sits in the chair and I lie on the bed. There's a monitor on the wall to the left of us where we can see my insides. The very nice ultrasound tech puts the cold jelly stuff on my belly...and there's the baby!! No longer is it a little kidney bean. It now actually looks like a baby. It has a head, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, arms and legs; you can even see the fingers and toes! CRAZY.

But wait, it gets better. The baby is moving. A lot! The tech pushes down on my belly trying to get a good angle of the baby's neck (they measure the fluid at the back of the neck). The baby doesn't want to cooperate so she pushes harder trying to get a good picture. Ouch, lady. That hurts. After about 5 minutes of her poking me so hard I swear I'll have a bruise, I decide to say something and she lightens up a bit. Ah, much better. Now I can enjoy the experience.

The baby stretches, rolls over, even hurls its entire body up for a second! With every move, the ultrasound tech gets excited and points out exactly what's up on the screen. She even calls the baby "pumpkin" at one point. :)

We see the heartbeat fluttering and the baby even opens and closes its mouth a bit. This is so weird! It's only about 2 inches long, but all the physical features are there. At one point, the baby moves and we can see the top of its head.

"There's the baby's brain," the tech says.

No joke!! We could actually see the right and left side of the baby's brain. It's BRAIN. What a trip.

Here's some pics of our still alien-looking child:









After the NT, I had a bunch of blood drawn and then a regular appt with my doctor. She put the contraption on my belly so we could hear the baby's heartbeat. Wooosh, woosh, wooosh. Apparently, the heartbeat is at a healthy 161 bpm.

Oh, and I found out that my official due date is now Sept. 12, 2009.

First trimester down! On to the second phase...