Update. And, happy Friday the 13th!!

I went into the clinic today, to give a urine sample. I found out last week, at my nurse visit, that I had a bladder infection. News to me, since I had absolutely no symptoms (until later that day, oddly enough). So, I took the medication for the seven days required, and finished it up on Wednesday this week. The last couple of days, and during the week of antibiotics, I've felt as if I wasn't getting better. The only symptoms I've had (and seem to continue having) are lower pelvic pressure and a feeling of fullness in the bladder and then not seeming to empty it when I pee (this happens about every 3 or 4 times I sit down to pee). A little concerned that the medication hadn't cleared up the infection, I called the clinic this morning and they just happened to have a cancellation, so I got in right away.

Everything is fine. No more infection, and everything else seems to be normal. Now, I'm not one to worry over every little pain and twinge, and I don't go running to the doctor's office for medication - like, ever (if you know me, you that I'm pretty adamantly against popping a pill to "heal", unless/until it's absolutely necessary). But, this is my first pregnancy, and I'm a little paranoid. I figure, I have health insurance, so I should take advantage of it and head off any difficulties right away - or, at least rule them out. So that's what I did.

And I'm glad I went, for several reasons. First, the obvious: peace of mind. To have a doctor (in my case, a midwife) tell me - actually, show me - that everything is testing okay, and that I have nothing to worry about, is comforting. Second, I finally got to meet one of the midwives - and it was John! The one and only male midwife in Minnesota (referred to him in my first post)! He is super nice, and very thorough. He did a spectacular job of making me feel better about things, and didn't make me feel like and idiot for coming in and having all kinds of questions. We talked about all of the possible reasons for my "symptoms", one being that I have a fibroid on my uterus, making my uterus larger than usual, and thus pressing on the urethra making me feel like I have to pee. (by the way, fibroids - I found out - are not atypical, and are usually benign) Also, we'll check during my exam next week if I have a tilted uterus - I had read about that, and asked if that could be a possible reason for all of this discomfort. After informing me that I could take a drug that would help in the coating of the bladder, which could be inflamed from the infection, I told him I didn't want to take anything unnecessary, and he said not to worry about it. He suggested I try cranberry tablets, just to keep things running smoothly, and to try leaning back when I'm peeing to make sure I'm emptying my bladder completely. As he puts it, a couple of different things are competing for space in there right now, making it a bit more difficult for smooth sailing. But it should get better once I'm in my second trimester and things reposition.

Lastly, I was really happy to be able to ask some questions, and felt much more at ease about some things when I left. First, we are 8 weeks and 5 days along (which answers one of my questions I had posed in my first post), so very nearly 9 weeks. That is so exciting to me, I can't even tell you! We're that much closer to the second trimester. At the exam next Friday, we'll be nearly 10 weeks. I can almost breathe a sigh of relief. Fingers and toes are still crossed, of course. I also asked if I should be concerned about my weight gain (they weighed me again today: 168 - eesh!). John assured me that, so far, I shouldn't be concerned, and that a lot of women are a bit surprised in their first trimester to be packing it on so quickly. But, evidently there is a lot of fluid retention in that weight right now (especially if I'm having some issues), and it should even out very soon. We'll keep an eye on it.

I wanted to post a picture of what our baby might actually "look like" right now, so I found an image on the web and posted it. It's just fascinating to me that something so tiny can have all these miniature organs and parts, even if he/she is only about the size of a grain of rice!