Friday, August 29, 2008

Morning sickness, etc

So early on I was having a lot of constant headaches & burping. There were some other minor things-changes in my skin, etc, but nothing major. I was considering myself lucky.

But alas, my stomach has decided to not cooperate anymore as of a couple of days ago. I have not vomitted at all & I am grateful for that. But eating in general is very difficult right now.

Being in the kitchen is hard for me. I can't really explain the feeling, but it's not good. A lot of smells are getting to me, too. I actually feel like I'm eating alot, but I haven't gained any weight, but that's ok, according to my book in the first trimester you only need to gain 2-4 lbs, it's later on that you really need to gain more, mostly in the 2nd trimester, so I guess I'm still on track for now. (I am 6 or 7 weeks according to the doc, but this may change whenever I finally get an ultrasound done).

I feel like a horrible wife/stepmom cuz making meals for my family is extremely difficult for me right now. I am so grateful that Vincent just went back to school yesterday cuz his last couple of days here I wasn't making very good food for him. At least he was polite & understanding about it & hubby has been too.

I did learn quickly that if I go too long without eating the nausea will get much worse. So eating frequently is crucial. And of course it's at it's worst first thing in the morning cuz I went all night without food. So now each night right before I go to bed I eat something--usually a piece of cheese or celery with peanut butter or something like that, to hold me til morning & so far that is working well. For breakfast I usually do corn flakes, they really feel good on my tummy. A couple of hours later I do crackers with cheese. The three best foods right now to me are egg salad, canned yams (with butter & alittle salt), & Trader Joe's canned chicken stew. So I usually choose from those for lunch & dinner & I usually have a quesadilla as a snack between lunch & dinner. And sometimes I squeeze in watermelon or celery with peanut butter as a snack too. Like I said it feels like a lot of food, feels like I'm eating almost constantly.

As for my sleepiness, it's still there a little but it's much better. I have struggled with my iron level since I was 15. Off & on I have to take extra iron supplements--I can always tell--I get very sleepy, but no matter how much I sleep I don't feel rested & I cannot concentrate or focus on anything, there's other symptoms, but those are the main ones. So I took a lot of extra iron for a few days there & am doing better now. My prenatal vitamin only has 60 mg of iron in it for each day, so I just might end up taking extra iron separately through this whole pregnancy. Yesterday I did fall asleep during the day, but it was more just an escape from my stomach than actual sleepiness I think.

I've been taking a prenatal vitamin for along time now, I heard it was better for your hair & nails & I heard you should take it ahead of time if you're hoping to get pregnant. BUT I was taking one a day & in reading the label again shortly after finding out I was pregnant I realized I'm supposed to be taking 4 of them each day. So that's probably also why my iron level dropped, I was only getting 15 mg!! But I'm doing good now, taking 4 of those & 2-4 iron (25 mg each) each day.

Earlier this month (before I knew I was pregnant) hubby had decided to take this last week of August off for a vacation, our last chance to take Vincent somewhere before he started back to school. So I had scheduled it off as a vacation. Then hubby ended up too busy at work & couldn't get it off, BUT it worked out perfectly cuz it gave me this week off right after finding out I'm pregnant & gave me time to get my iron level back up & learn what I can/can't eat, etc. It was really a valuable week for me. But alas, on Monday & Wednesday I go back to my registry job & Friday & Saturday I am back at my regular job.

I read that the baby is currently the size of the a lentil, so I affectionately call it 'my little lentil' for now..........

I guess that's all I have to report now........please pray for my stomach to ease up

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