Pregnancy update: weeks 4-14

Ok, my dad chided me recently for not providing more baby related updates.  I swear I've been meaning to post more but pregnancy has been getting in the way.  Let's see... my last post was the big announcement and the discovery story.  That was at pregnancy week 4.  From week 4 to week 8 not much happened except that I started getting really tired all of the time.  I'm talking "I took three benadryl and washed them down with Nyquil so should I really be trying to function" tired.  I did not actually take benadryl or Nyquil, this is just to put the grogginess in perspective. 

Side note:  If you know me at all then you know that immediately upon baby discovery I ran out for research materials.  I picked up the must-have, basic pregnancy guides and proceeded to read about 4 months ahead.  Thus, I was immediately aware that I should not be taking Nyquil or Benadryl. 

Morning sickness kicked in at about week 7 and lasted until about week 12.  I did not actually every throw up, although I did sprint to the bathroom at home and at work a few times.  I absolutely HATE throwing up and I think this prevented me from ever actually vomiting.  I just felt really nauseous all of the time.  I had almost no appetite but when I did eat all I wanted was Baked Lays potato chips or popcorn.  I definitely got some weird looks at work when I ate chips at 9am and I irritate many of my co-workers by microwaving popcorn in the office area all of the time.  Poor Jason wasn't getting much in the way of home cooked meals at this point since I had no appetite and no energy to either cook or go grocery shopping.  I brought home lots of take out, pizza and Burgerville on my way home from work for him.  Once I got home I would immediately fall asleep, usually from about 5-6:30 or 7pm.  I would wake up, eat some toast and then fall asleep again by 8pm. 

Week 8 was a great week because we had our first doctor's appointment and we got to see the baby.
 

That white blob in the black that kind of looks like a Hawaiian see turtle is Baby Rosenberger's first picture.  I can't tell you how amazing that moment was.  Jason and I were really happy and excited and for the first time the baby seemed real.

Week 12 we had our second doctor's appointment and all was well.  We got to hear the baby's heart beat for the first time and boy was that tiny heart beating fast!  Jason was going to try to record the sound but the nurse found it so quickly that he didn't have time to get his iPhone recorder set up before we became transfixed by the sound of our baby's heartbeat. 

I'm at 14 weeks today and feeling a lot better.  I still go to bed around 8:30pm but I'm not exhausted at work all of the time and my appetite is back in full force.  I've always been a fan of pickles but lately I can't get enough.  I really enjoy the pickled veggie mixes with cauliflower, peppers, onions and other weird stuff. 

Jason did take a picture of my tiny baby pooch at 12 weeks and I'll post that this weekend, along with a 14 week picture of the belly.  In the 12 week picture I just look bloated but I've definitely got the beginnings a baby bump now. 

We will be finding out the sex of our baby on Mar 16 so stay tuned for that big update.  Until then we probably won't be making any plans for baby names, nursery decor, etc.  I'll just be getting bigger and bigger!  We have another appointment on Feb 16 and I promise we'll record the heart beat then for posting.   

This whole growing a human being thing is really strange and crazy and special and I'm loving it.