Week 6 (and why daddy keeps calling you Cherry)

Week beginning June 24, 2012

Hi baby,

I've kept a diary since I was 12, so it was only natural that I would track the events leading up to motherhood.

Daddy has fallen into the habit of calling you Cherry, even though we have no idea if you'll be a boy or girl. I'm trying to stop him but I've found myself falling into the habit too. So how did it all start?

Late last year at Uncle Vinny and Auntie Kathy's house, we got to chatting about baby names. For some reason, instead of coming up with nice baby names, we started joking about the worst names we can give our children. Cherry came up tops paired next to daddy's surname and Bertie was the other winner next to mummy's surname. So, that's how those names have stuck. On their own, Cherry sounds quite cute. If you watch our wedding video carefully, you'll hear Aunty Kathy saying those names again. Don't worry though baby, we'll come up with better ones by the time you pop around!

Week 6 bump

How far along? Week 6. Bump has been showing but it could also just be bloating and too much eating...

Measurements: 53.1kg (not sure what the weight gain is since we only got our scales yesterday). Waist: 72cm and belly: 84cm

Cravings: No cravings yet
Symptoms: Pimples :( had my facial yesterday and the beautician thinks you'll be a boy because pregnant women with pimples usually have boys and pregnant women with beautiful skin have girls! Let's see if we prove her theory right. Daddy complains I've been moody lately too.
Obsessively researching: pregnancy pillows. I only just read that pregnant women need to sleep on their left side. So I started training myself to sleep on my left side last night using a pillow. Only halfway through the night, daddy stole the pillow for himself. I'm thinking of getting the dreamgenii for myself when you grow bigger.

When we first found out we were having you

Week beginning June 17, 2012

Hi baby,

We first had an inkling we were having you on daddy's birthday. Mummy wasn't feeling good all week but she thought she was a hypochondriac after reading all the pregnancy symptoms and was sure she had every single one of them. The symptoms were especially strong 2 days before on state of origin night when mummy managed to get a table booking at the best restaurant in Sydney to celebrate daddy's birthday. Halfway through the meal, mummy's sense of smell went into overdrive and was sure she could smell someone taking their shoes off. Then mercifully offending person must have put their shoes back on. All was well and we enjoyed the famous snow egg.

So we didn't have dinner on daddy's birthday because Quay was booked up on Friday all the way to December. No matter, we managed to have an impromptu dinner with your aunties and uncles instead at Pendolino.

First test

After coming home from our yummy dinner, I got curious and anxious (after being a few days late) and decided to take a pregnancy test. It wasn't quite the eureka moment I was hoping for because the 2nd line was so faint. I shouted for daddy to come upstairs and give a 2nd opinion.  Daddy duly came up and pronounced that he wasn't sure and we can see the doctor tomorrow. After that, daddy went downstairs to watch more TV and I googled obsessively to find answers on whether faint pregnancy tests signaled baby (all answers pointed to yes).

I was pretty sure I was pregnant by that point, all the tell-tale symptoms were there (sore breasts, moodiness, fatigue) but daddy wanted to be absolutely sure by seeing the doctor.

Our usual Saturday routine (I'm sure all will change once you come along) is to laze around in bed until 11am (or later) and then get up for a late brunch or sometimes even late lunch. But this Saturday was special, I woke daddy up at 8am so we could start lining up at the doctor's. Imagine our surprise when we got there and was told the medical centre was all booked up for the day! So back home we went, with a detour to the supermarket where we found a digital pregnancy test! I had no idea these things were so advanced! They actually tell you, in no uncertain terms, whether you are pregnant and how long ago you conceived. Brilliant!

Confirmation!

So as you can see, you came into existence 2-3 weeks ago.

Since I've been taking meticulous records in preparation to have you, I was able to use a pregnancy tracker to find out I was 5 weeks along and you were due around the 18th of February next year.

I was so excited and spent all weekend putting together a to-do list to get the doctor, hospital, insurance and all the boring stuff ready. It was a whole new project to plan for!

One of the first things I wanted to do was keep a visual diary of my growing belly. So, after asking daddy to take a gazillion photos to best show off my non-existent bump, here you are!

Week 5 bump

I'll start keeping weekly growing stats from week 6 onwards so you can track your growth.

You are the size of an orange seed this week and look like a little tadpole!

How far along? 5 weeks
Cravings: none
Symptoms: little twinges in the abdomen (I read this is because the placenta is getting built), sore boobs
Obsessively researching: maternity clothes (my work clothes are already getting tight - I couldn't resist buying clothes on topshop - my rationale? It will take 2 weeks to mail, so perfect timing). Also had to book in the OB and hospital, so did lots of researching on which dr and hospital to book.