Back in Iceland

Aw. It's always so sad to leave my family and friends. But then again, it is lovely to be home again with my husband and lovely kitty.

Yesterday we went in for the 20 week ultrasound with Helga (Jónas's mom). The tech who performed the ultrasound was rather lacking in the brains and personality department, and when we left, I was rather disappointed.

She not only was rude, but forgot to check the heartbeat, and made us pay for more than one of the exact same pose picture. She also never asked if we wanted to check for the gender (or in our case, confirm, but SHE didn't know that...). She didn't allow Helga to come in except for the last minute of the whole thing. She also refused to double check and confirm the due date still applied, merely looking at what the last lady (in Iceland) had said which was the 19th of March. Well remember how the last U/S in the states came up with the 8th of March? I really just feel rather jipped.

Jónas was able to feel Noah kick the night I came home, which was no shock to me. Heck, you can already see his kicks from outside my skin, and he is quite the active baby. Strong little Noah.

So now that I am home again, I am struggling to adjust after the jet lag, and have found a lot of aches and pains in my back and whatnot to be almost insufferable. Around halfway through my stay in the US, my tailbone started acting up, and I have had nothing but a terrible time with it. My belly button is also sticking out already.

I have to remember to keep my sanity while I can in these next few dark and cold months of Iceland. :/

Feeling clumsy and cowish

Ahhh, right right. Saturday was my baby shower, and it went amazingly. Everyone was so absolutely wonderful, and made me realize that Noah really has a lot of love already, and he isn't even born yet. What a soothing and comforting thought. My goodie bags were a hit, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and all of our delicious food.

Made me stop though for a moment and realize that a lot of people love me too. Helps, you know, when you live in a far away country with barely any friends, and you sit in a room surrounded by people who are just so happy to see you and be a part of your pregnancy. Makes you feel all warm inside.

So yesterday I woke up to a bout of lovely throwing up. On an empty stomach. That lasted for a long time. After I was finished, I had broken blood vessels surrounding both of my eyes. Oh man and there were a lot. I had to struggle to keep from crying. It wasn't a good morning. And then we had plans to go visit lovely Brooke, who so generously volunteered to take pictures of myself, my belly, and some of my good friend Jessie and I as well. So lovely, this Brooke. Beautifully pregnant as well.

I feel like I could get sick this morning too. Really now, am I to be one of those pregnant ladies whose sickness lasts throughout the entire pregnancy? But randomly? Can I seriously not ever feel like I am having what one would consider to be a "normal" pregnancy? "Normal" of course, because every woman is different. But generally following in the same guidelines!! So I must be consistently measuring super duper large (while Noah measures normally), have ridiculous round ligament pain that prevents me from moving pretty much at all, continue to throw up throughout the entire thing.... This is beginning to be exhausting. Noah, if you can hear my fingers typing, I hope you are a magical baby enough to understand what I am typing... Let's just try for the nice and easy pregnancy (if that exists)...

Ha. This is just one of my grumpy-ish rants. I am not feeling so well right now, and I have some light cramping.

Oh man, I ate so much food last night. Made me stop and remind myself that I CANNOT do that regularly, and gain too much weight. Gotta keep an eye on it all....

And now, dear readers... whoever you may be... I must bid you adieu for I feel an upchuck on it's way...

Curious and curiouser

So here I am, a few weeks into my visit with my family, and I don't think I have been this relaxed and carefree and easygoing in quite a while. Iceland seems to stifle me. Makes me feel small.

I ended up going to another ultrasound yesterday. I know I know, I have been to quite a few as of late. Well a total of 3. But I'm not going to act like I don't get absolutely thrilled at the idea of seeing little Noah each and every time. But the reason I went was because I was feeling moving at the top of my uterus, which even though I am only 17 weeks preggers, is way above my belly button. Still large, of course. But it was making me anxious again as to the twin thing, because I was also feeling Noah squirming around quite often down at the bottom. It was a free ultrasound (hooray!!) and my good friend Jessie came along. Nói was sucking his thumb, and dancing for us, and was getting sooo big. But we found out that his feet are near the top of my uterus, and his head down below, so it all made sense, and eased my mind finally. I don't think I will have anymore twin feelings from here on out. Also measured him and measurements say I am 18 weeks and 4 days. So she said my due date would be around March 8th, rather than the 19th. Cool. Have a few more u/s pictures to add to the scrapbook now. Have another one on the 29th.

So yesterday I spent the day with Jessie, and we went to her house, and looked at some pictures of her beautiful baby Sophia. She is no longer with us, and it was quite an impacting thing, that i don't think I would have been able to fully comprehend if I wasn't pregnant now. My heart squeezes so tight in my chest when I think of this, and my throat tightens too. She showed me this amazing book that is for mothers who have experienced the things that she has, and there was one page that has really been going through my mind quite a lot. It mentions how the baby's soul has met a person named Noah, who shows them the first rainbow, and they become friends. Next to this is a beautiful painting of a little blond haired girl who I could see as little Sophia.

This made me cry, because Sophia left us around the time that Noah came to us. I am not one much for believing in God, and Heaven and the like, but I keep thinking of maybe our children know each other, and are friends, and brought each other to us. It's a powerful thing.

I love you Jessie, and I wish I had been able to meet you, Sophia Rose.

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.