figuring out this pregnancy thing

So I'm starting my 6th week of pregnancy today ... and still having a really hard time believing this is real. I still don't really have ANY symptoms. Though I am extremely happy about that, it's not very reassuring. I keep going back to my drawer to look at my positive hpt, just to remind myself!

I did call back to my doctors office and talked to a really nice lady who is letting me see the nurse on April 13th! I CANNOT wait! I just want someone else to tell me I'm pregnant, then maybe I'll believe it!

In the meantime, I'm just going under the assumption that it is true and trying to figure out this whole pregnancy thing! I totally don't want to be one of those paranoid pregnant ladies that believes every wives tale she hears, but I definitely don't want to take any chances of risking my babies health either! So I'm trying to find a happy medium.

It's so strange that something (or I guess I should say someone) that I can't see or feel is now dictating so much of what I do, and eat! Take this weekend for example ...

Working out ... while we were ttc I also started working out again. Now that I'm pregnant, I'm questioning what I can and cannot do. I love doing pilates, but then my sister-in-law questioned whether I should be doing crunches. After a little research, I've come to the conclusion that I can do crunches throughout the first trimester. After that, I won't be able to do any exercises that require laying on my back because the baby can cut off my blood flow - which isn't good for either of us.

Caffeine ... I wasn't a HUGE coffee drinker, but I had gotten into the habit of drinking about 6 oz to get me through the mornings at work. And, like I've mentioned before, I had a diet coke for lunch everyday. I know the the research on caffeine is somewhat inconclusive and controversial, but the general idea seems to be that you can have 300 mg of caffeine a day and be ok - that's about two small cups of coffee. But besides the caffeine, the aspartame in diet coke seems to be of concern as well. So I'm trying to limit myself to only taking sips of my hubby's diet coke on occasion, to get my 'fix.' And I'm only drinking coffee when I absolutely need it, and then only about 4 oz at a time.

Hot tubbing ... my hubby's parent's have a hot tub at their home, and their lake cabin. But my little baby can't control his body temperature (and really I can't very well either! I'm always hot or cold!), so I'll be avoiding hot tubs for the next 9 months. It's going to be a long summer without it!

Bowling ... this isn't something we do often, but this weekend we had family visiting and we've had plans to go bowling for several weeks. Suddenly Saturday afternoon it dawned on my that maybe that wasn't ok for me to do! This one was a little more controversial on the pregnancy forums. Some said they wouldn't risk it since the baby may still be implanting. But most said it was safe, as long as I used a light ball and took it easy. So that's what I did, and it was a lot of fun!

(hmmm, each of those really deserve their own post ... )

It's especially hard to figure everything out, since only our immediate families know. Thankfully we spent the weekend with people who knew. But I'm sure it will start getting harder to explain why I am skipping out on certain activities and foods without letting our little secret out of the bag too soon!