Trilogy...

Of symptoms...pregnancy symptoms, to be exact. Sorry to disappoint those who were looking at the blog based on the subject and who may have gotten their hopes up on some talk of a Sci-Fi movie or the latest must-have reads. I'm not a creative writer, so it's the least I could do to lure readers in.

Although I've lucked out on the morning sickness/nausea front, I have still experienced my fair share of symptoms that go along with being preggo. My top three (not my favorite three, just the three that seem to keep reappearing) are: allergies, headaches, and heartburn (oh-my!). Now, these are by no way new to me or my body, but they have definitely been amplified over the last several months. Being a native Texan, and living in Dallas now for almost three years, allergies are apparent and come with the territory. So, I didn't expect them to disappear. However, my books tell me that with pregnancy, women fall into three categories when it comes to their allergies: 1/3 will improve, 1/3 will stay the same, and the other third will get worse. Guess which group I'm in! Well, I tried to tough it out and not take anything at first (I'm an anti-medication kinda girl...or maybe just cheap), but when my sleep and work were being interrupted, I had to break down. Needless to say, Zyrtec has been a must-have the last couple of weeks!

To go along with the sniffles and congestion, my head has been feeling the pain. My doctor said headaches are most common in the second trimester, mostly due to hormones...but I have diagnosed mine as allergy-related (I hope my self-diagnosis makes all of my med-school and doctor friends laugh :) I have heard for some time now that Tylenol is about the only thing you can take during pregnancy...wrong. I still have not buckled under the headache pressure, but when I do, I'll let you know the remedy. And the third symptom I have been blessed with is...dun, dun dun: heartburn. I won't go into the details, but those who know me well know that I have had an issue with acid reflux for several years (it usually came down to me either A) eating my lunch too quickly at work, or B) eating and then hunching over books or a computer during grad school). And I hear it only gets worse in the third trimester! Goodness...

With more exciting (and probably less TMI) news, I went to the doctor last week for our 16-week check up. Everything is looking great! My doctor tried to play her hand in gender prediction, but she ended up canceling out any guess. She said, based on my symptoms (i.e., hunger, lack of morning sickness, etc.), she would guess we are having a boy. Then, she listened to the baby's heartbeat (ah, breath-taking), and changed her mind saying based on the rate, she would say it's a girl. She didn't tell me the reading, but at our 10-week check, we heard the heartbeat and it registered at 140 bpm (smack-dab in the middle). So, I am just as neutral as I've been...I guess I don't have the best maternal instinct. I hope I do, just not when it comes to my own body!

I digress, but the most exciting news is that we go in on May 4th to find out if we're having a little Brett or Courtney. That day couldn't get here any sooner!