Sarah replies:

My uterus is around the size of a grapefruit this week. I'll admit, I find this rather amusing. When you look at sexual anatomy diagrams (which are generally shown non-pregnant anyway), the uterus usually looks pretty large. In reality, it's about 3 inches and looks a bit like a pear. By 10 weeks, my uterus is now more the size of a grapefruit. In the grand scheme of things, this is still pretty small. This week, my embryo became a fetus. It is now just over an inch in length.

I also had my most recent checkup with my OB this week. Early in pregnancy, women are generally seen every 4 weeks (if you have a high risk pregnancy, it may be more often). My blood pressure and urinalysis looked good. One of the things they gave me is a special card that has my pregnancy information on it. It includes my EDD (estimated due date), blood type, Rh factor, and other information from my OB blood panel. I'm supposed to carry the card with me. If I were to be hospitalized, it would give other health care providers to have the basic information they needed to treat me & who to contact for my records.

I also was able to hear the heartbeat this week. They can usually first detect the heartbeat on a special handheld monitor sometime between 10-12 weeks. The medical assistant had to search, but it was there. My little peanut was bouncing along at 170 bpm (beats per minute), which is in the range it should be at that point.

They were a little bit worried because I had lost 4 lbs since my last appointment (4 weeks prior). This is almost certainly related to all of the nausea I've been experiencing. It is generally preferable not to lose weight during pregnancy. Because I've only lost a small amount so far, my OB/GYN is not too worried yet. He said that I need to try to make sure I'm eating properly, as much as I am able. I've been treating the nausea using various natural methods (ginger teas, sour candies, B6 supplements (taken according to my care provider's instructions & dosages)). I also have some prescription anti-nausea medication that I can take when it gets really bad. Usually they want you to try to avoid medications when pregnant (especially during the first trimester), but there are times where the rewards outweigh the risks of carefully chosen medications that have been shown to be safe. I try to avoid needing the medication, but if the nausea is so strong that I can't focus or keep down food, it becomes necessary.

Overall though, I'd say I feel pretty good. I am still tired and nauseated much of the time. I'm also still anxious. We discussed ways to manage my anxiety and my OB ordered blood work to check my thyroid. If it is still an issue at my next appointment, we'll look into it further. I've been using my management techniques with some success this week but it has been a hard week. A friend-of-a-friend who is also a young mom passed away unexpectedly this week. Another online friend had her baby this week and after delivery they discovered the baby has some health problems and will likely be having surgery in the next few days.

Last weekend, I dug out my maternity pants from my last pregnancy and laundered a few pair. In spite of losing 4 lbs, some of my regular pants are becoming increasingly uncomfortable around the waist. I have a couple pair of regular jeans that are alright, but it would be nice to have more options. So I got out 2 pair of corduroy pants and a pair of jeans that I had saved. They have elastic waistbands and sit low. (If you're familiar with maternity wear, I'm not wearing the kind with the full belly panel yet. I'm nowhere near that.) They are much more comfortable that squeezing into my other pants. You still would not know I was pregnant just by looking.

If you have questions, please feel free to post them as comments to the blog. I'll answer as I am able/comfortable doing so.