Crazy Talk.

Being pregnant for the first time has really opened my eyes to a lot of things, and I’m also beginning to understand certain things- like a pregnant woman’s random psycho and/or emotional fits.  Pregnancy not only changes you physically, but emotionally, and it is definitely a test of your relationship strength with your spouse.

Granted I’m only in my 14^th week right now, but my body has gone through a whirl-wind of changes already.  My hormones went through the roof, sometimes I feel like the life has been permanently sucked out of me, my boobs are growing at a phenomenal rate, and now my belly is beginning to bulge.  And that’s just the beginning.

Sometimes we think emotions are simple- happy, sad, angry…  However, if you’ve ever experienced a crazy PMS moment where nothing makes sense and not even your husband understands what the hell is going on- well, mulitply that by 10 or 20 and you get crazy preggo lady fits.  No ice cubes?  The world is ending.  Nothing in the fridge sounds appealing?  You’re surely going to starve.  Annnnddd cue the random crying and emotional rampages.  I’ve had a few of these moments so far, and my poor husband will ask “Why are you crying?”.  Ha! That’s a silly question because even I don’t know the answer!!

All of these physical and emotional changes can make a pregnant girl feel alone.  Because as far as the baby daddy is concerned, he thought everything would just be normal- sort of.  And that’s where social networking comes in.  I’ve found that it’s nice to know other pregnant ladies, or veteran mommies to talk to because as a first time mom there’s a lot to learn.  Most of the stuff I’ve heard, I could’ve done without…like the gross stuff that happens in the delivery room.  But I suppose it’s good to know what to expect. 

Hopefully these next 6 months go by fast- I’m tired of waiting already. J

Baby Belly Bump

Tomorrow I start week 14, and now that my belly has decided to expand it’s putting a damper on my wardrobe.  T-shirts are getting tight, the waistline in my jeans doesn’t fit right, and I think I need to invest in some super comfy slip-on shoes.  Oh, and now that the 9 months of rain has started here in Oregon, I feel like I should invest in some sort of rain jacket- but how am I going to pull that off without looking like a human seal?  Hopefully someone won’t harpoon me.

I’m still at that stage where if you don’t actually know that I’m pregnant you might just think I have a nice little belly pudge.  But what people don’t see is MY view- I get to look down at my belly every day.  Looking down at a baby belly bump is much different than looking at one- my belly looks huge from that view!  And it’s only going to get bigger….

Speaking of baby belly bumps –say that three times fast- I’ve already had people touch my belly.  Thankfully they were people I know, which is easier for me to deal with than a complete stranger randomly touching me.  I swear- if some stranger actually has the nerve to even try to touch my belly I will go crazy psycho preggo lady on their @$$!  For those of you who know me will find that statement completely normal.  But for those of you who don’t- I have a really big personal space bubble.  I don’t let very many people into my space bubble, and I certainly do not let strangers in.  My husband understands this about me, and it’s nice to have him with me when I go out in public- he’s like my personal space bubble bodyguard.  For example, I really really really hate it when I’m standing in line –let’s say at a grocery store- and the person behind me thinks that by crowding me I will scoot forward somehow making the cashier work faster.  It doesn’t work that way you moron! Enter, Sam- he usually stands behind me in grocery lines because this happens every single time.  Sam will either say something to the crowder, push their cart backwards, or do some other crafty thing to get them to back off. 

TIP:

Use your common sense- if you have it in the first place, respect people’s personal space and privacy, and most of all don’t touch strangers- even if they have a super cute pregnant belly.

1st Trimester- finished!

Today I start week 13 in my pregnancy; wrapping up my first trimester.  Hopefully over the next few weeks I’ll lose my constant nausea and regain my severely diminished energy levels.  Some days I have enough energy I swear I could do EVERYTHING on my giant to-do list, and other days I wish I had enough energy to get out of bed.  Oh, and that’s the other thing- write things down!  I’ve figured out that I can no longer rely on myself to remember things for later.  It’s either do it now, or write it down and do it later.  Trust me, the ideas go just as quickly as they come and it’s a pain in the butt to strain your brain in hopes of remembering something you probably don’t even have the energy to do in the first place. 

Another tip I’ve come across- make other people do things for you; I mean, delegate.  First of all, us preggo chicks aren’t supposed to be lifting heavy objects… so make your man slave do all the heavy lifting –they may resist at first and think you’re just being whiny or lazy, but in reality they LOVE flexing their muscles for us…and they should just do it anyways. J

The next tip- don’t try to over work yourself.  I have a tendency to try and do as much stuff as I possibly can before I lose my beloved energy burst.  Pace yourself- it’s ok if you don’t finish everything you wanted to for the day…I have to remind myself that making a baby is hard work!

Updates…

I had my first prenatal appointment a couple weeks ago, and we had our first ultrasound done – it was completely amazing seeing that little peanut and realizing there really is a baby growing inside.  And no- I’m not having twins!

I tried looking at baby names the other week –I never realized how difficult it would be to pick out a name for another human being!!  Maybe I’ll have better luck when we know if it’s a boy or girl.  I’m still rooting for a girl!

11 Weeks!

Woo hoo! And 29 to go… Apparently my baby is officially developed enough to be called a Fetus, and it’s also the size of a lime.  Well, lil’ lime baby, me, and daddy all have a date to meet for the first time on Thursday.  The more I think about a doctor appointment for my baby check-up, the more surreal it seems.  At least we’ll be able to find out how many babies I’m harboring –Sam, and a few other people think that I’m having twins. We’ll see about that. I’m voting for a sweet little girl, but that’s my biased opinion.

Complaints…

Why is it that one second I don’t have to pee, and the next second I feel like my bladder is going to explode?!  What happened to being able to hold it for a bit? Until it’s convenient!?

Remedies…

In response to my bouts of serious nausea, I set out on a serious mission to find anything and everything that would either reduce, cover-up, or even cure my ‘morning sickness’.  I’ve tried ginger tea, peppermint tea, sprite, saltines, hard peppermint candies, gum, and so on.  Over this last week I’ve made some amazing discoveries:

            Dum Dums- these are good for the random moment of nausea or car ride queasiness.

            Vitamin B6- it took a few days before I noticed any relief from my nausea, and I’m not sure if they worked at all thanks to my prenatal vitamin discovery.

            Prenatal vitamins- thanks to my preggo brain I have a tendency to forget to take these, so   after a few days I realized that I was feeling significantly better.  By George, I’ve got it!  My prenatal vitamins were the culprits of my nausea all along… not morning sickness.  Apparently the iron and folic acid can cause nausea, so hopefully the Doctor can help me out on this one.

Cheers!

I give kudos mainly to my husband, but I say kudos to all husbands out there dealing with a pregnant woman.  From the beginning, when I sheepishly told him the news till the days where I have my head in a bucket, he has always been supportive and caring.  He’s willing to drive to the store at whatever hour to get my chocolate milk, pizza, or whatever last minute craving I’m having.  He’s also figured out that naps are inevitable, especially after a meal.  “I’m tiiiiiired” and “I wanna lay down” really mean “Get me home and to my bed before I pass out cuz I’m TIRED.” 

After everything he goes through in taking care of me, dealing with my insanities and my crazy emotional roller coaster, working hard every day to pay the bills and put food in my belly, he really does deserve an award.  He really is my knight in shining armor. J

Update…

*I bought Dum-Dums yesterday.  They seem to help a bit -except they just don’t last very long :D

*Today is day 2 of my vitamin B6 trial…so far I’m starting to feel a little better –except I’m also wearing my Sea-Bands, so I think my little study is a bit skewed.  However, I think that everything together has given me enough relief to be able to do my chores, errands, and taking care of our home –except I just feel queasy all day.

9 weeks 2 days

So far I’ve experienced nothing but large amounts of nausea, a fair amount of vomiting, and a lot of peeing.

It’s hard to find things to eat these days since the smell of everything makes me run for the hills.  Fruit seems to be my safety food –I could eat it all day if I had it available.  On that note, I’m not too keen on super-sweet foods… apparently I’ve lost my sweet tooth.  Water seems to make me want to vomit; unless it’s ice water, but my stomach prefers juices or Sprite.

Vomiting seems to mainly happen in the mornings.  Usually I wake up with the sensation that my bladder will explode at any second, so off I rush to the bathroom.  All of this movement upsets my already empty, volatile tummy and you can figure out the ending.

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Today I scheduled my first prenatal doctor appointment; one week from tomorrow.  It’s kind of scary knowing that I’m going to the doctor to get the run-down of how our BABY is doing.  Wow, I’m going to the doctor because I’m PREGNANT?!?!  I’m still not sure how I feel about that- the reality of it all hasn’t quite set in all of the way.  Good thing Sam plans to go with me, otherwise I’d probably chicken out…  Pregnancy seems to be a concept that my brain just cannot fully accept yet.  However, I can hardly wait till I get to hold that little chunky baby monkey in my arms J

Twins?

Everyone but myself thinks that there is more than one little creature in there…my mom decided to inform me on my birthday that there’s a good chance I might be having twins… or triplets.  Apparently it runs in the family, and she swears that’s why I’ve had so much nausea –because she never had nausea during her pregnancies. Sam also thinks that it’s twins… not just a hunch, or because that’s what he wants –because he knows.  So I’m counting on that ultrasound to figure out what’s going on!

Complaints…

I hate this weird stage when you’re pregnant but your belly is nowhere near looking pregnant –you just look like you ate too many maple bars.  And week after week your little donut shop grows…I asked Sam the other day if he could tell (as I stood sideways waiting for a hopeful answer), but he says no… well, I feel HUGE!!! 

Remedies…

Another morning filled with massive amounts of nausea and disappointment led me to another hopeful internet search to find some sort of relief from puking my brains out.  Sea Bands.  They’re these wristbands with buttons on the inside that press on pressure points on the underside of your wrist that helps relieve nausea from sea sickness, motion sickness, and morning sickness.  Well, I figured I’d run down to Walgreen’s and pick some up along with a new supply of Tums and give ‘em a try.  Eight hours later and I think I’ve actually noticed a difference with these Sea Bands!  The only downside is that they look like little workout wristbands, and if you wear them out and about people may look at you funny.  But I don’t care at this point.

I also discovered that extra doses of vitamin B6 will help with the nausea –that’s next on my ‘to try’ list.  And no, saltines do not help –they just taste like crap when I’m pregnant.

Update:

*NEVER eat carrots if they might be coming back up soon thereafter.  I puked so hard I swear my vision went cross for a few minutes and my hearing felt like I was in a fish bowl.

*picked up some vitamin B6 –hopefully the dose I took dissolved before it had a chance to come back up with the carrots.  Apparently it takes a day or two for the full relieving effects of B6 to take place….so we’ll see….