Well ladies and gents

I suppose it's time to update.

Alright, so what is going on in this little pregnant lady's life? Well I am now in San Diego, CA. Enjoying a wonderful time with my family and friends. I have some exciting updating news about our little baby... But first let me give you a tiny back story.

We have an ultrasound appointment in Iceland scheduled for the day after I return from California. It is supposed to tell us the gender. Well I am quite the impatient type, and I wanted to be able to shop for our little unknown. But it's not a very appealing idea to shop in only neutrals. That and, I wanted my siblings and family to see the baby now. So I looked online for some ultrasound places that were affordable and I found one on Black Mountain Road in San Diego. Called "A Baby Visit", they offer an amazing floor to ceiling screen along with theater seating, cozy as can be, for as many people as you would like. Offering tons of photos, a teddy bear with baby's heartbeat, and the whole experience on a dvd, at only $120. Of course, I sound like a commercial. They also offer gender stuff at 15 weeks and up. Sooo upon calling and asking, I also found out that they are so super nice, that they had no problem with me bringing my laptop and Skyping with Jónas during the whole experience. Wow! I was impressed.

So we decided to find out the gender. This was this last Friday. My whole family and some of my closest friends came with me and Jónas and I were delighted (as well as my family) to discover that I have a little baby BOY growing inside my belly!!!

Noah Þráinn Jónasson. Nói litli. Aw, my precious baby boy growing inside of me. Let me just say that upon discovering the gender, somehow it makes all the difference. Even if it had been a girl, knowing the identity of this little wonder makes me feel so much more real, and close to him. I know this baby. Not face to face, but as well as one person knows another who is in these circumstances. Amazing.

So I have many many ultrasound photos to share with my baby as he comes to the age where he may possibly care, and for when I miss little him.

Here is my little Noah at 15 weeks:

My mother has decided that we would have a baby shower on the 11th, and I have allowed my crafting side to get the best of me. I am making everything by hand. Body butters, bath salts, lip balm, candy, bath teas... you name it. I am having a blast. I have really missed making things like this...

I have a cold. Who would have thought that upon going to the unbearably warm country, that I would get sick. Ah well, best to stick it through, and all will be well!

I will leave you with this...

16 weeks

What a scary yet informative day.

When I went to sleep last night, I had no idea that today would turn out quite like it did. I woke up sometime in the middle of the night, to pee of course. But once I got out of bed, I felt this horrendous amount of pain in my right hip. After peeing, my uterus cramped up, and it was SO painful, that I couldn't stand up straight, and had to hobble like a hunchback to bed.

This pain continued until... well now. Except now I can hunch a little less when I walk, and can actually get out of bed.

At around 8am, I called my midwife hotline I was given before, and they didn't even ask me what was wrong, but immediately told me to call the doctor's office, where I had an appointment today at 1pm (it's currently 12:47). Well I asked to speak with a midwife, they took my number and told me she would call be back.

2 hours later, I was getting impatient, what a ridiculous amount of time, when I was in this type of pain. So I called back and they changed my appointment time from 1 to 11:20. Which was an hour and a half away from that phone call. Seriously, it's difficult to get anywhere with anyone here, it seems.

So I finally go in to my appointment, thankfully. And from then on out, everything seems to get better. Round ligament pain, is what I am suffering from, and it's no wonder it is so bad she says, as my uterus is measuring some 18 cm high, above my bellybutton at an early 14 weeks. Bellybutton level is generally for the 20 weekers. "If you hadn't already had your ultrasound, I would say you had twins in there" is what she says. So my uterus is growing at a very rapid pace, and my body is no wonder having difficulties adapting to this fast growth. She tells me that I am ok, but I must rest and let it subside.

Learned that while all this time (many years) I thought I had O- blood, I actually have O+. I learned the chances of down syndrome, which was 1 in 19188 chance. Ha. All of my chances for diseases were at least over 1000. So baby is more likely to not have healthy problems (hopefully!)

Also learned that I have only gained half of a kilo in the last 5 weeks. So I still weigh 52 kilos. And a half.

Sometimes things just have to have such a hassle attached to them.

OH. I got to hear the heartbeat, and she wasn't surprised that I had felt the baby move yet, and told us that apparently now, fingers can feel the baby moving better than the stomach can feel it, so before I leave to go on my trip, our goal is to get Jónas to feel lil baby move. Ah. that made everything worth it.

So I am in bed still. Still suffering much pain and discomfort from this round ligament pain. I hope it goes away soon. Just thankful that the baby is safe, and that I am at least able to walk again.

Another day, still pregnant

Ah, so as I relax here on my couch, typing away on my little laptop and listening to the buzz of Icelandic television that I can't understand, it seemed appropriate to add another post.

I had a bit of a disappointing morning. I had an appointment scheduled with my midwife for 9:40am today. I woke up early enough, woke Jónas up as well, and asked him to call and confirm the time of the appointment (since we made the appointment some 5 weeks ago, and who doesn't want to confirm?) only to discover that my midwife had apparently decided to take the whole week off. Wouldn't you think that we would/should have been informed of this information? It's not like we didn't have 5 weeks to be told. And not to mention the fact that I am leaving the country on Monday, and if I had been told, we could have rescheduled.

Of course this shouldn't really be such a big deal (I suppose) but it's hard enough being pregnant in this country. I know that my midwife speaks good enough English to explain to me the things I need to know, but how do I know if this replacement woman (who I am now scheduled to see on Friday) will be able to do the same, and make me feel comfortable? Well due to the fact that I had just woken up and everything seemed to be so difficult, my hormones got the best of me and I cried a bit.

I can't imagine that it is so unheard of for a pregnant woman to want things to be a certain way in order to feel comfortable. I want the people whose job it is to care for me during this pregnancy (such as my doctors and such) to do their jobs. And be professionals. Heck, I am leaving for over a month, and want my mind to be at ease while I am gone.

Well, moving forward - Have any pregnant women heard of the little thing called an Intelligender? Apparently it is some fun thing you can get at any old drug store in the states, and you pee on it or some such, and the color of it tells you what the gender of your baby is. They claim that they have an accuracy of 94% which is fairly high. Jónas and I decided that when I get to the states, that I should take this test just for fun. I have some 6 weeks until we have our ultrasound to predict the gender, and we might as well have a go at it. It's relatively unexpensive.

I've been noticing that I am no longer comfortable with my laptop resting on certain parts of my lap. It has to be low on my thighs in order to be cozy. The heat that comes from it, and the light weight (it's one of those TINY laptops) is even too uncomfortable for my growing uterus.

Began shopping for some "maternity" clothes. I am trying to avoid buying any clothes that are actually labeled this. I find that most actual maternity clothing is rather unfashionable while being ridiculously overpriced. So I am trying to stick with the stretchy tunic tops, and I have many stretchy cozy pants, and long dresses that can stretch with my belly.

My energy is so much higher now! I am in great spirits, and even though I find myself nesting in my living room, cozied up with my yarn, crochet hook, a blanket, and apparently my toaster (and eggo waffles) that I just feel like there is more energy in my body. Always a plus.

I've been cooking dinner again like old times, oven roasted chicken and potatoes, stir fry, buffalo chicken pieces... mmmm. Now I am hungry. I shall leave you with that.

And then it continues...

One of the most taxing parts for me concerning pregnancy is sleep. I have a really hard time with it. Of course I wake up several times to pee, that's really not the problem. The problem is that I overheat. Sometimes I worry that I am feverish. I really should by a thermometer and keep track of it all. Last night, was a night alone, as Jónas took a trip to visit his brother some 5 hours away for the weekend. I did 'sleep' better, meaning I had longer periods of time where I was actually asleep. On a normal morning, I will wake up around 6am, and have troubles snoozing a few more hours. This morning, however, was different. I woke up to pee, like usual, and by the time I was making it back to bed, I was shivering so bad you would think I was outside in the snow. We have a fan that blows every night, this is nothing new, but for some reason I was so overheated that the air from the fan was unbearable to my skin. So I dive under the covers, and shiver for a good 10 minutes before my temperature 'evens' out. But this means that any time I stick an arm or leg out from the blankets, I start to shiver again. But it is too hot to keep myself completely covered. So I turn the fan off, hoping to help solve this problem once and for all, and it does, but only slightly. So frustrating.

The other night, Jónas and I went to TGIFridays in order to get me some of their boneless buffalo wings appetizers. That's all we get, 2 orders of those, and some french fries. The only craving I can really take care of here in Iceland. Well after this delicious meal of spicy spice, we head towards the register to pay for our food. Suddenly I am overwhelmed by a pain in my abdomen. Every time I breathe, or move, it's there. Sharp, and only mainly across the right side of my uterus. I immediately assume it's round ligament pain, since I know the goods are stretching in there. But this pain lasts during the time it takes for Jónas to pay, us to leave, me to use the bathroom at the mall we are in, and for us to get to the car, several minutes. And man, was it bad. So last night I look up round ligament pain online to see what I can come up with. I see it says that it should only last a few seconds, this sharp pain, while mine lasted several minutes. But I had no spotting, and really, after it went away, it hasn't come back. So I decided not to call my midwife and cause concern. I just wonder if other first time mom-to-bes are out there experiencing strange pains they don't want to bother calling their midwife about? I don't want to call her about anything unless I feel it is an emergency. I know it is her job to be here for me, and help me with any questions, but I always have it in my mind that there are those women who are like what you would imagine in a chick flick comedy, annoying and never ending calls about silly things, and the midwife rolls her eyes every time she calls and tells all her midwife friends how silly this preggo lady is. I dread being that type of woman. So yeah. I know I can't be the only one to be like this. I just can't.

My uterus is definitely getting larger. While laying down in bed, my uterus extends very noticeably above where it did before. What a strange way to describe all of this. Well you can see it anyways, while I am laying down. It's of course super firm.

I believe I felt the baby move for the first time last night. I know so many doctors would probably say that it was gas. But you know, it was a very strange fluttering, as though I had a live goldfish in my uterus, on the left side, squiggling around. Something totally new, and not gas. Since this was the first time I had felt this, and Jónas wasn't here, I of course immediately called him and shared the news. I had wondered how and when I would feel this lil baby of mine move, and I was of course hoping it would be sooner rather than later. I realize this is so early, 13 weeks, but apparently it is not unheard of. So I will not be told it was something else!

What a miracle, life is. To be able to grow inside of a being. Truly something to behold.

From the beginning

Alright, so we all know that there are already so many blogs and websites out there of each woman's personal journey through pregnancy. But you know, I have found, that as a pregnant woman, for the first time, I can never get enough of reading what other women are going through, and comparing it to myself. I love knowing that other people understand what my body is dealing with, and I love the fact that I am not alone. Assuming there are plenty of other pregnant women in the world who look at the situation similarly to me, they will appreciate the creation of another blog in the infinite abyss that is known as the internet.

My name is Heather. I am an American girl living in an Icelandic world. I am married to a viking man named Jónas, and I am 24 years old. I am just coming up on my 13th week of pregnancy, and all seems well so far. I hope to share with you the simple, the rough, the bad, and the random things that I am going through or just wish to put up here. I hope that I will be able to assist in comforting some other soon to be mommas.

Here is what has gone on so far:

8 week belly shot

12 week belly.

Here is my ultrasound, done at 12 weeks.

I was pretty lucky, I realized I was pregnant pretty much as early as a home test can give you a plus sign. I had noticed my super sore boobs before I had even missed my period. I took my first test too early by about a week, and it was negative of course. On a whim, the next week, I took the test again, and the plus sign was instant. Quite a happy shock, but this was a planned thing. Exciting news all around of course! So I found out just before 3 weeks (Although I thought I was 3 weeks at the time)

When I went in for my first appointment, at 9 weeks, I did not receive an ultrasound. I had my midwife check my urine, and my weight, take some blood, and measure my uterus. She found out that I was under nourished, and indeed, I had been having quite the difficult time eating. Now granted, I did not have too much throwing up involved in my morning sickness, but I sure as heck felt bad. Not to mention my never ending exhaustion. Sleep was my best friend, but I always had a hard time sleeping for long. I weighed 52 kilos during this visit, and this is with gaining a little bit of weight. She also said my uterus was measuring 11 weeks, and that there was a possibility for twins. Twins run in my family.

So I tried my best to eat more food, anything really. I couldn't be bothered to make sure it was healthy. Food was food. I did better and better, and felt more energetic as time passed. I went out walking when I could muster the energy, and got testy whenever anyone tried to tell me to exercise more. I still get testy when people tell me to exercise.

My 12th week came along, and so did my first ultrasound, and Jónas and I were super excited. Not only would we get to see our baby for the first time, and hear the heartbeat, but we would be certain of how many babies we were supposed to have. It went beautifully, nothing wrong in the slightest. Both of us got a little teary eyed, and the awe and shock set in. We were also informed that instead of being 12 weeks and a few days, we were 11 weeks and 6 days. Kind of sucks having to backtrack a few days, but at least the baby is healthy.

Tomorrow is my first day of 13 weeks, according to the ultrasound, and I have so much more energy. I have come to understand that when my tummy is really bothering me, I just need to eat something. Anything really. I have been adding more and more fruits and veggies to my diet, and been so much more aware of what I am putting in my body.

After hearing that this is the best time for pregnant women to take trips, or travel, I have decided to make a good long trip to California this and next month to visit my family. This is much deserved, as I haven't seen them in over a year now, since I moved to Iceland and got married. This is super exciting for me, as my cravings are stunted by Iceland's lack of anything I want to eat. Iceland is such a small country, and after having been so spoiled by living in the states and having any type of food I could imagine, it's hard to be without. So my little siblings (soon to be aunts and uncles) will get the chance to be involved in this pregnancy, and my parents and friends as well. It's so important to me, I've come to realize, to have them involved as much as possible.

So while this first blog seems to be a novel, the future ones will be a bit more specific, and not so much a catch up type thing. Please, comments and questions are so welcome, and I hope that my journey can help you through yours too.