January 18, 2010 - 11 weeks, 2 days
I'd hoped to update my blog more frequently than once every 7 weeks, but life, and morning sickness, kind of got in the way! Thanks to Betsy's request for me to start blogging more, I figured I could muster up the energy to add another update to my blog. The hope is to get at least one update per every 4 weeks. If you start to notice that I'm slacking in this blogging hope of mine, feel free to give me a little pressure!
For some odd reason, getting pregnant created this urge in me to take some classes. Nope, not pregnancy classes (at least, not yet - that will probably be coming in a few months). First, I enrolled in an online continuing ed course in December. Fortunately, this class allows me to go at my own pace and I hope to be done with all of the coursework by the beginning of February. Not knowing that my pregnancy wishes would be granted within the first month, I had initially planned on enrolling in a 9-credit summer ASD cohort to finish up my ASD certificate. However, once I realized that my due date fell on the last course in the series, I knew I wouldn't be able to accomplish this goal. Two weeks ago, I was informed from the advisor at St. Thomas that the same cohort of classes was starting on the 20th of January, and that if I hurried and signed up, I could join the group! Before even realizing what I'd gotten myself into, I'd signed myself up for classes that would run every Wednesday night from 4 - 8 and every 3rd Saturday from 8 - 4 from the 20th of January until the 5th of June. What in the world was I thinking? Well, my rational brain wasn't really thinking. It was my "how in the world am I going to afford motherhood??" brain that kicked in. I realized that if I quick take 12 credits before the baby comes, I can move up a lane on my teacher salary! That way, maybe I can kind of afford being a mommy!! Even though its stressful to think that I won't have a week free of class for the next 5 months and that every 3rd Saturday of mine will be shot, I feel it'll be well worth it to feel a little bit more financially stable!
Okay, so back to the fun stuff - pregnancy!!! First of all, I am still in shock that Aaron and I were able to get pregnant so fast. About a dozen times a day I thank my lucky stars that I have this little human being growing in me. I feel so blessed and honored that this little miracle chose my uterus to grow in! I can't wait until I get to meet my little boy or girl come early August! A few things I've learned about pregnancy:

1. Morning sickness sucks!!! Up until the beginning of week 6, I was feeling pretty good. I was under the assumption (stupid me) that I would be one of those lucky people who didn't have any nausea or vomiting! Boy, was I wrong! On the Monday of the 6th week, it hit hard! On my drive home from work that day, I pulled the car over to the shoulder 2 times to dry heave into a plastic bag. Thank goodness no vomit actually came out! I lay down right when I got home, and the nausea trippled. I knew immediately that I wouldn't be able to go to work the next day. On Tuesday morning when I woke up, I felt even more horrible than I did the day previous. I could not stand up, let alone roll over without feeling the urge to vomit! I was so scared to eat or drink anything because I was in so much misery. Was this really what morning sickness was supposed to feel like? How did millions of women have babies feeling like this??? Well, I eventually found out that most pregnant women don't feel quite as bad as I did, although some actually have it worse. After staying home for 3 days, consuming a total of 600 calories and losing 2 1/2 pounds, my obstetrician suggested that I come in to get checked out. Within the first minute of my appointment, she told me that there WAS something she could give me that would help. Into my life entered...Zofran!! I don't know how I would have functioned and gone to work the past 6 weeks without this drug! Granted, I still feel waves of nausea throughout the day and get frequent dizzy spells and headaches, the way I feel now is much more bearable than the way I felt during week 6!

2. I never thought I could sleep so much. I could literally sleep all day if I didn't have to go to work, eat, use the bathroom, or pay attention to my husband or dog. I pretty much take a nap every day after work - and we're not talking a measly 30 minute nap; we're talking a 2 - 3 hour nap. And, no more late nights for me. I'm lucky if I'm up past 9!!!

3. Indigestion is the devil. I don't think I've ever burped so much in my life. Its so bad that half the time I fall asleep, I have to fall asleep sitting up in my bed because otherwise my dinner might come up to visit me! Uck!

4. My body feels completely different than it used to. Everything from my back, to my stomach, to my digestive system, to my boobs, to my head feels different! I have acne like I did in high school, and my boobs feel like someone used them as a punching bag. I'm surprised people can't tell I'm pregnant by how much I'm hobbling around.

5. Aaron is totally stepping up to the plate! I already can tell that Aaron will be the most wonderful dad ever! He has been so great taking care of me - running around town to get me food/tylenol/gatorade/seabands/vitamins, giving me back rubs, cleaning the house, doing the laundry. You name it, he's doing it! I think he just feels so bad that I feel so crappy that he's willing to do anything!!!

6. I want to meet my baby soooo bad!!! Its going to be so hard to wait 28 more weeks, but I know I can do it!

7. I'm more paranoid than I ever thought I'd be. I'm constantly thinking, "Oh my gosh, should I be eating this? Are these clothes hurting the baby? Is sleeping on my stomach going to hurt my baby? I don't feel sick this morning, does that mean something's wrong? Is the baby okay? Will the baby be okay?" I know that everyone worries when they're pregnant, I guess I just don't know what's "normal." In the end, I just want to be sure that everything is okay with my baby.

Okay, so this is enough for now, I think!! Will update soon in 4 weeks! Then, I will officially be in my 2nd trimester!!!