8 Weeks!

March 3, 2014: 8 weeks along

I feel…

-Grateful for new life. Grateful for the Lord’s mercy on me every day.

-Up for the challenge.

-Hopeful.

-Aaaanndd…nauseous most all the time. 🙂 But not necessarily like I’m going to throw up all the time…only really when I’m eating and gag reflex is really bad. Or when I don’t eat quickly enough, I throw up. But I will take being nauseous over throwing up ANY day of the week!!!!

-Super, super weak. Gone are the days of getting out of bed AND making the family breakfast AND unloading/reloading the dishwasher by 8 am. Getting out of bed is my max :). And sometimes I can even make the family breakfast on a good day!

-Like I’m eating all the time. Because I–literally–am. This is the HARDEST part by far…trying to find SUBSTANTIVE (i.e., MEATY) things to eat every 1-2 hours, day AND night (although at night I can get by with snacks). Whew. And then it takes me 30-60 minutes to eat said meal. So by the time I finish eating, I’m onto preparing the next meal. All of this is extremely difficult with two little ones running around…and not to mention that I have to focus and go to my “happy place” in my mind to make it through each bite without gagging/throwing up. A wee bit challenging when my kids want to sit in my lap as I eat, take bites, and ask me questions about EVERYTHING. But hey, we’ve survived this far :).

-so grateful that this pregnancy is overall so much better…

What’s working…

Lavender essential oil to help me sleep (miracle in a bottle). Apple sauce in squeeze pouches and Zone bars throughout the night. Brian brings me two hard boiled eggs and apple juice before I get out of bed. My tummy settles, I nurse Selah and then go downstairs for the third hard boiled egg. Make the family breakfast and then 30 minutes later, make 5 or 6 sausage links (dipped in maple syrup!) for my second (fifth?) breakfast. Hot dog for an early lunch. Nap with the kids. Macaroni and cheese for second lunch. Big snack of some sort, twice. Dinner. More macaroni and  cheese for second dinner. Bed.

There you have it–my schedule. It’s what’s working right now, and keeping me from clinging to the toilet ’round the clock!!

The Vomit Count…

THREE TIMES. THREE times, folks!! That’s A MIRACLE!! When we found out I was pregnant, Brian said, “I think you’re going to throw up a maximum of three times.” I rolled my eyes and laughed…that’s usually a good average–per day–during one of my pregnancies. But so far–he is RIGHT! And I will NOT be ashamed to shout that he is right from the rooftops if, indeed, I make it the rest of the 9 months with no more upchucking. Please, Lord…

Biggest challenge of the month…

Besides the fact that Elliott, Selah and I have all been sick the last two weeks, the biggest challenge has been trying to wean Selah. I decided about week 6 that as much as I didn’t want to, I wasn’t up for losing the extra calories. So we began the process on that Monday. On Tuesday, she got sick and a tooth started to pop through…great timing :). So we did our best, but it was too hard to wean a teething, very sick and congested baby. Plus, she still won’t really take a bottle (or a sippy cup) of milk very well so the one feeding I had dropped she wouldn’t really drink any milk. And it was important to keep her as hydrated as possible. She’s now been sick for two weeks 🙁 so I’m hoping this upcoming week she’ll finally be over it and we can start the process again…

What’s out?

Going to the grocery store with the kids. Sheesh. I can barely stand up to get my 12 meals prepped every day, in addition to their 5-6 meals a day…just thinking about loading my 1 and 2 year old in and out of the car–twice–to get groceries makes me want to cry. So I promised Brian I would keep the kids alive during the day and he promised to do the grocery shopping :).

What’s in?

Cheeseburgers….THEY’RE BAA-AAAAA-AAAA-CK!!! Really, any kind of MEAT is my saving grace these days. And Mac and Cheese. So much mac and cheese (hey, at least it’s organic and whole wheat :)). And Ginger Ale, the natural kind.

Quotes of the month:

6 weeks, 1 day: “So does this mean you’re going to stop being able to look at me now?” –Brian, after I had had my first super nauseous day. (You may or may not remember, but during my ENTIRE pregnancy with Elliott, if I even LOOKED at Brian first thing in the morning, I would immediately throw up. It wasn’t that way with Selah’s pregnancy, but I think he’s still scarred from the experience, haha!!)

6 weeks, 2 days: “Hey! We’ve got this! We’re in the home stretch now!” –Brian, after I had relayed some sentiment about how this was just the beginning… 🙂

6 weeks, 3 days: As Brian saw the very pronounced baby bump protruding from my tummy: “Awww!! Look!! Our beautiful little baby bump!!” Me: “Or, a beautiful little taco soup bump…either one!” 🙂

8 weeks: “Hmm…I probably shouldn’t have had as many cups of coffee as I did this morning because I can’t get this needle in your arm!” –the nurse, trying to draw blood from my arm for a blood test. Yes, EXACTLY what I want to hear as she goes for prick number 3 to try and get the needle into my vein… :/

Some things I have been overwhelmingly grateful for the past 4 weeks:

-That I’m not a single mom

-That I have incredible friends who care deeply for me

-That Brian is amazing

-That we live in AMERICA…hence, food options that I (sort of) trust everywhere I turn.

-That we live 3 minutes away from a Carl’s Junior

-That I’m throwing up less than ever!!

-That the Lord’s mercy is always abundant and right on time. 

 

Well, there you have it…one month down, and FOR-EV-ER to go………. 🙂 Thanks for journeying with me! 🙂