Sunday

It's been a fairly uneventful week for us. I do seem to have traded my morning sickness for migraine headaches, so I'm still not glowing. I should say here that migraines run in my family, but I've had so many recently that I'm attributing this to the pregnancy. I read that something like 80% of women get migraines in their second trimester. After one headache that was still killing me on the morning of the third day, I finally called the doctor. He prescribed a medicine called Midrin that seems to help. I have to take two capsules as soon as a headache starts, then one every hour for up to three hours after that. It has so far taken at least 4 capsules before my headaches will start to go away, and that worries me a little. I know that the doctor wouldn't prescribe something that isn't safe, but I don't like taking that many pills when I have headaches nearly every day. So, I'm using the Midrin only when absolutely nothing else will work, and if I just cannot function. It makes work very difficult when my head is pounding, so I am grateful for the meds, regardless.

Happy Birthday to Me!

I'm 35 today, and although I've never worried about getting older, that sounds pretty grown up for someone like me. Of course, so does having a baby! I told Jeff that the next time we celebrate a birthday (his was last month), it will be a literal celebration of a birth-day. Elizabeth is due almost exactly 6 months from now.

We have had a very nice day so far. Jeff made me scrambled eggs with bacon for breakfast, gave me a beautiful jewelry box, and he then took me to the Outback for lunch. Then, I got to come home and take a long nap, and we're going to another of my favorite restaurants, El Chico, for dinner. We have cake, too, but I'm still too full to have any. :-) Jeff said that on my next birthday, he and Elizabeth are going to get up early and make me chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. We then had a good laugh over the thought of a 6-month-old smeared with chocolate! Then there was the shocked realization that in 6 months there will be a brand new baby with us. Wow!!

Checking In

I woke up with an unfortunate bout of the stomach flu on Friday that lasted til Monday morning. I really didn't think I needed the flu after three months of morning sickness, but no one asked me for my opinion! Today, I feel much better, although I did start taking my nausea meds again. I was having too many nauseous moments throughout the day to go without it, although I wasn't throwing up much any more. So, I took the meds today, and I really felt good. I was even able to come home and start some laundry instead of taking a nap!

Rude Comments and Awesome Doctor Visits

I had my first rude comment yesterday, which was funny because I had been reading about how to respond to rude comments just the day before. A co-worker of mine said, "You know, you'd better be careful of how much weight you gain. It is going to be so much harder for you to take it off." As if I didn't know that, but still, why do people think that sort of thing needs to be said? When I informed her that I'm three months along and still haven't gained any weight, she looked at me like I was lying and said, "You haven't?" Then she proceeded to tell me that my boobs were way too big. What do you say to that?

*For any of you who don't know, and I sure didn't know before I got pregnant, weight for some reason, shifts around and shows up again in strange places. So, my belly is sticking out a lot more, as are my boobs, but I actually weigh less than I did before I got pregnant.*

Oh well. I had my final first trimester appointment today, and the nurse confirmed that I hadn't gained any weight. I have to admit, I started to think I might be wrong about that! My blood pressure was good, and I got to hear Baby's heartbeat through the doppler. It was nice and strong and steady, and it was wonderful to hear. I wish I had a recording of it so that I could play it over and over. Now that the nausea is actually subsiding, I am just in awe over this miracle. To think that a real, live, human being is growing inside me! I have been teary all afternoon. Oh, and in 6 weeks, we get to find out if she's really a girl!

Baby Bump - 12 Weeks

Oh, what the hell. I am fat, but I am also pregnant for the first time, and I am incredibly proud of that fact. So, here is my first "baby bump" picture. It was taken at 12 weeks, 4 days. Keep in mind that it was at the end of the day, so forgive the hair and smudged makeup. :-)

Motherhood Maternity - Woo Hoo!!

On Saturday, Jeff took me to the mall so that I could finally break down and buy some more maternity clothes, since the first two tops I bought already don't fit. Since I am now 3 months along that is probably to be expected, but since I still haven't gained any weight, I wasn't prepared for how tight and uncomfortable my clothes had gotten.

We went to a Motherhood Maternity store, and God was smiling at us that day. Being a plus sized girl, clothes shopping is not the most fun thing for me. From what I have seen and read, it is even harder to find cute maternity clothes. Imagine my surprise when we walked into the store and found a fairly good sized plus section! It wasn't huge, by any means, but there was a very nice selection, and most everything was on sale. If that weren't enough, the saleslady was an absolute angel. She was cheerful and energetic, and she made lots of great suggestions. She even made some non-clothes suggestions to help me. It was such a wonderful experience. In the end, I got a pair of maternity jeans, a t-shirt that says "Kicking 24/7", 3 tops for work, and a container of Preggy Pop Drops for morning sickness for just over $100. Jeff and I were so pleased, that I just had to plug the store a little bit here! I wore new clothes out of the store, too, because I was SO much more comfortable than when I had walked in. Oh, there was also a cushion in the dressing room that could be strapped on to simulate a big belly, so I was even able to see that my new clothes would fit me through the whole pregnancy. The look on Jeff's face when I came out with the belly on was fantastic! He had to do a double-take.

The Preggy Pop Drops work really well, too. They are slightly sour hard candies that really do take the nausea away. I didn't take nausea meds at all this weekend, and thanks to the candies, I still felt good and was able to eat. Thanks to God for another terrific weekend!

Belly Pix

Here's the thing: I am dying to start taking "belly shots" so that we can document every stage of this pregnancy, but I can't yet. One of the worst of my side effects of the PCOS is that I gained a lot of weight in my belly. So, I've had a large stomach for years. I haven't gained back all the weight I lost yet, but my pants no longer fit, so I know Baby is growing. I just can't tell where! I want to have those cute little pictures to post here for you, but I suppose I'm just going to have to be patient.

In other news, I am doing a little better with the nausea. I think my tolerance for the nausea meds increased, which is why they weren't working. Now I've been taking two in the morning and at night (which the doc said was fine, no worries!), and I have been doing MUCH better. I am still hoping that things start to get better next week, as I officially enter the second trimester, but if not, at least I can get by now.

Venting

Let me just preface this post by saying that I know I am going to sound terribly ungrateful, and like a whiny little brat, but I just have to vent. However, this in no way means that I wish I weren't pregnant. I am very glad to be pregnant and I consider it a huge miracle, and I feel very blessed to be carrying this child. Okay, here goes . . .

I am so flippin' miserable!! I am sick all the time, even when I take my anti-nausea pills, which I do daily. I will feel fine for an hour or so, but then I will start to feel queasy and sick, and that could take the whole day to go away. Then, I'll feel better . . . for a short time. I feel like I haven't felt good in weeks and weeks. I am still throwing up, although not as often, and I am having other stomach issues as well, so I feel like I live in the bathroom. Nothing seems to help, although I have been told I can take several different OTC meds to try and feel better.

I am tired constantly. I come home every day and take a nap, and when I wake up, I feel like I haven't even slept. I get up about 5:30 from my nap, and I'm ready for bed by 9 or 10. I barely make it through work each day, and I feel like I'm constantly on the verge of tears because I am so exhausted. I get so tired just putting on my "happy face" each day.

I can no longer button my regular pants, but the maternity pants are too big, so I bought myself something called a Bella Band. It is like a halter top that I can wear over my pants so that I can keep them unbuttoned. I have to say, that little piece of fabric is a God-send! I also bought a few maternity tops, and I really do enjoy wearing them. I feel like I'm huge already, but in reality, I still haven't regained all the weight I lost when I was sick all the time.

So, there you have it. I feel terrible complaining because this is what I wanted. I just didn't know it would be so hard. I do have to say, though, that even if I knew it was going to be like this, I would still do it again. I just want to know when the happy, glowing part of the pregnancy starts?