13 week Nuchal Translucency Scan

Today was the 13 week nuchal scan!

In short, the nuchal translucency scan is used to ensure bub is growing properly, everything is present that should be, and the skin at the back of the neck is measured to indicate the likelihood of the child having a chromosomal abnormality such as Down’s Syndrome.

What took me back was how active bub was, bouncing around and yawning, refusing to hold still long enough to get a clear 3D picture. It was pretty amazing to see how much was going on in there considering I don’t even look pregnant. This tiny little person is already a person, quite clearly. It’s only 7.5 cm long, but it’s got all the body parts, though underdeveloped, all it’s organs and tissues are there, and quite clearly, it is alive and literally kicking. I can’t feel it yet, but seeing bub bouncing around in there was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. Really. I couldn’t stop giggling, which didn’t help the tech’s job, and may have been the real reason we couldn’t get a clear 3D shot.

So there’s my first glowy pregnancy moment. 🙂

12 week Brain Fog

So at the moment I’m teaching 2 nights a week of contemporary. I’m filling in for a teacher who is currently on maternity leave (still waiting to tell boss I’m expecting myself…) and loving the challenges of cleaning up choreography which isn’t mine. Even better, cleaning chorey is pretty low intensity, it’s mostly been a battle of the mind wrapping my head around all the names, faces, formations, chorey, timings, entrances, exits etc. Not difficult, but a new challenge I haven’t experienced before and I’m loving it. 

What I’m really loving is that it requires very little demonstration on my part, so I feel like I can get away with teaching for a bit longer before I reveal that I’m currently also incubating. It’s not that I don’t want to tell them because I want to hide it from them, but because I’m scared of jinxing the pregnancy and losing it right after I reveal it. It’s my first, so all my google sources (very reliable stuff) tell me I’ll show later than if it were my second, third, tenth (just kidding! ten would be my worst nightmare realised!) pregnancy, so I may be able to get away with it a little longer. Finger crossed. 

As far as teaching during pregnancy goes, so far there hasn’t been any issues. Occasionally I’ll perform a (low!) arabesque and feel this alien pull in my lower abdomen which hurts a little, but mostly feels so foreign and wrong! I also can feel that I won’t be able to lay on my stomach soon, sometimes I’ll get down on the floor to demonstrate the arms for a roll or some back strengthening exercises and I can feel an uncomfortable fullness in my tummy which is probably my body telling me to pull back a bit. 

I’m a little more flexible as well, except my feet which are already retaining some fluid and my once archy feet feel tight and bloated (really? bloated feet!?) like I’ve been on a 20 hr flight. Its a little frustrating because my feet are the only thing I’ve kept that I worked so hard for during my years dancing, so to see them stiffen up is breaking my heart a little. Only a dancer would really get it.

Mentally I’m still there, but admittedly I have had a few moments of complete brain fog which I’m going to coin Pregnancy Fuzz where I couldn’t tell left from right, or count in sixes without messing it up. A little funny, but not a great way to leave a positive impression on your new students when you can’t do things you’re supposed to learn in kindergarten. 

Maybe I’m not mentally all there. I do keep having to retype sentences because I’ll glance up and realise that what I’ve written is not legible, even to me. So I have to fumble back through my Pregnancy Fuzz to remember what I should have typed when all I’m reading is “Mybe i’ no mentay ll here.” 

Ok, I’m definitely not mentally all there. I’m just going to go now…

9 Months in 1000 Pictures

watch the video

If you haven’t seen 9 Months, 1000 pictures yet, it’s time to step out of the bubble.

There are so many pregnancy time lapse videos on YouTube, and I don’t know if this was the original, but of the ones I have seen, it certainly wins bonus points for creativity, forethought, and music choice.

Maybe the setting could have been nicer, but hey, I’m just being picky 😉

So when I first found out I was expecting, I wanted to do my own one of these.

It’s not easy. Hubby and I lasted a day.

Between little arguments of what to fit in the screen, getting exposure and focus correct, and being frustrated that well, I was looking pasty and just generally unattractive compared to my visions of the video.

I know it’s shallow, and totally not the point of it, but all I saw was poorly fitting workout shorts, fat thighs, an ugly backdrop, and a general look that screamed ‘cheap home video.’

Considering all we had to do that day was take a photo, it was such a stressful and disappointing experience that we gave up and I haven’t seen the camera since.

5 weeks on, I’m not showing yet but seeing my belly ‘fill out’ and I’m ready to try again. In a new outfit, new setting, and hopefully, it’s going to be as awesome as I envision.

We’ll see…

Teaching Dance while Pregnant

Photo Credit to Laura Tong of the Australian Ballet.

 

So another branch of my Pregnancy blog I want to explore is my experience of teaching dance, whilst Pregnant. 

I’m an information junkie, so whenever I have a knowledge gap I Google my way through life’s questions. What does that word mean? Why is my dog dragging it’s bum along the ground? What will I have for dinner with [insert whatever is in the kitchen]? Why do I keep getting that headache? (Note: Googling symptoms is NEVER a good idea.  Everything is caused by some type of cancer, and it very quickly turns you into a hypochondriac.)

So when I found out I was pregnant, I knew it was going to be a roller coaster ahead, but what I didn’t know was how it would affect my teaching career. So I identified the gap of knowledge, and headed for Google in search of experiences and advice for teaching whilst pregnant. And what I found was disappointing. I wanted details and stories about the effects of the emotional and physical effects of teaching ballet whilst in a hormonal, alien, and expanding body.

There is plenty of information available about Exercise during pregnancy, but anyone who has anything to do with Ballet knows that its is not exercise. It is not aerobic, nor is it yogalates. It is this completely unique blending of athleticism and artistry, with its own dynamics and range of movement, with an incredibly musical grounding and a whole set of attitudes, beliefs and opinions. 

So where were all these articles I was craving about teachers who would cry over sickles and secabesques, find themselves unable to demonstrate basic enchainments, and struggle to motivate kids to stretch and stay fit over their holiday breaks while they themselves are barely able to tie their shoelaces and get out of the car without assistance.

So here I am, deciding to make my own contribution to the topic for the world to stumble across and read when they find themselves in the same position. 

I won’t add any of my experiences yet, I’ll get there soon. For now, I’ve just decided it’s something I wish people shared more. Having children is (supposedly) this amazing, life changing experience, yet in the Ballet world, which really is a world of its own, no-one talks about it!

 

Just let me sleep

I’m having another lazy, unmotivated day. You know it’s going to be a productive day when you already need a nap after waking up at 8 to watch a movie.

The best part is the comments by family, loving (snarky) reminders that in 6 months time sleep will be a thing of the past, along with sex life, clean clothes, silence, and generally life. It’s so frustrating the way that everyone thinks that because you’re incubating you become interested in their opinions of how to be pregnant.

I’m taking the attitude of smile and nod but its looking less believable as my frustration rises.

I guess I’m just a little blown away at how crappy the first trimester (and possibly the entire pregnancy) feels. I’m aware that a little miracle is happening within, but all I’m seeing so far is bloating, wider hips, frumpy thighs, and a wardrobe that no longer fits because I’m bigger but not showing.

What’s worse is that I feel so terribly guilty for not shining and loving this special moment when there are so many who cannot conceive, or are like my very close friend who recently lost her bun-in-the-oven.

So today I’m just full of beans and happy snaps, and wishing I actually was. At least my dogs will always adore me – if only I was half the person they think I am.

11 week Lime

Right now my baby is the size of a lime, I’m 11 weeks along and still waiting for my pregnancy glow to start shining. Instead I’ve had a 6 week case of what my husband has coined the PGs – pregnancy grumps. I’ve been constantly irritable, unmotivated, tired, gassy and an absolute delight to be around.

‘Morning Sickness’ (which hasn’t been named very well) isn’t actually so bad, but just because I’m holding most of my food down doesn’t mean that this pregnancy has been a delightful bubble of happiness and cooing noises. I’m constantly holding my breath to access the kitchen, because the smells make me gag and heave over the sink. Doing dishes is an absolute delight.

About all I want to do is curl up in bed with my Game of Thrones on Kindle and stay there for the next 6 months.

Pregnancy is fun. I’d kill for a beer right now.