This month's web hangouts:

• December Pregnancy Calendar
• Fit Pregnancy - Pregnancy at a Glance, Month 1
• HomeArts - How Your Baby Grows - Month 1 (also available at ParenthoodWeb)
• Life with Baby - The First Trimester
• Mayo Clinic - The First Trimester
• The Mining Company - Pregnancy week by week
  • Week 1 (Nov 17-23)
  • Week 2 (Nov 24-Dec 3)
  • Week 3 (Dec 3-9)
  • Week 4 (Dec 10-16)
  • Week 5 (Dec 17-23)
  • Week 6 (Dec 24-30)
• ParentTime - First trimester home page
• ParentTime Week-by-week Guide
• Stages of Your Baby's Development - Pictures from Conception to 6 Weeks
• Women's Link - The Journey Begins and Your Baby at 1 Month

Conceived Dec 3, 1997
Due August 27, 1998
Labor August 29-31
Born August 31, 1998

Even though a bloodtest would have indicated a pregnancy as early as the 11th, I really did not think I could be pregnant until around the 20th. I kept expecting my temperature to drop like it normally does before my period, but it didn't! On the 20th, Joe and I were driving up to Maine to visit his sister Mary, whose first baby is due in mid-February. I had taken a pregnancy test along with us just in case. In the car, Joe and I started writing down some of the things that could be pregnancy symptoms:

• Lots of gas
• Slight nausea when eating
• Craving for hard-boiled eggs
• My skin felt incredible to Joe
• Slight stretching sensation in my abdomen
• Hungry a lot

While in Maine, I read some of Mary's What to Expect book. I had already read through What to Eat when You're Expecting a couple weeks earlier. I happily told Mary, her husband Theron, and his Mom that I was pregnant--though most everyone seemed to guess it before I said a word. There were some cramp-type pains that made my worries go wild, thinking I would miscarry like I did back in April, but no bleeding...at least not yet.

On Christmas Day I called and told my brother he was going to be an uncle if everything went right, and I told my parents "the rabbit died." A visit to my parents a couple days later blessed me with a broken toe, and made me wonder if pregnant women are somewhat clumsier even before their center of balance starts to shift toward the 2nd trimester.

On December 29th, I went in for the first bloodtest to confirm the pregnancy and show how far along I was. My HCG count was 7,876, indicating that I was about 3-4 weeks along. That fits quite nicely with the conception date, so I am elated!