Nest nest

While still mired in the nausea and exhaustion of the first trimester, I think I am starting to move into the nesting phase of the second trimester. Just a little. Yesterday I bought three onesies (so cute!) and today I am obsessed with figuring out car seats. A little early to be worried about such things? Perhaps. But I can't help it.

I've started reading some different information sites about car seat safety, the different types of seats, etc., and I am learning quite a bit. I didn't know infants had to be in a rear-facing car seat up to age one. I don't remember this sort of thing when I was growing up; maybe it is a new safety requirement. Nonetheless, I will accept the government and blogosphere's warning that rear facing is the only way to go. But don't children also have to be in the back seat? And if a baby is in a big car seat, facing backward, in the back seat, how can I see what is going on? How will I know if little Rachel Jr. just spit up everywhere or started to slide down or something else? Do parents today have to install some elaborate system of mirrors in their cars? It all seems very complicated, but I suppose safety is more important than simplicity.

The other issue I've come across is the myriad types and styles of car seats. Infant only car seats, convertible car seats, travel system seats that work with strollers, etc. It's like I'm walking into a world of complete confusion, filled with its own rules and vocabulary. Newborns should recline 45 degrees? Where is my protractor! Different kinds of seats work better with different types of seatbelts? I guess I better crawl in the backseat of my car and see what's going on back there. There's something called LATCH? I'm just lost there. It's a mystery!!

We have been informed that a family member would like to buy us a car seat or stroller as a present. Another family member found a gently used crib they thought we might like. Their generosity is greatly appreciated, but it reminds me that I need to start figuring this stuff out! We haven't thought about the type of stroller or car seat or crib we want. I know I want a stroller that is tall enough that I don't have to bend over when pushing it...but that is about it. I think a research trip to Babies R Us is in order soon.

This whole baby thing is getting more real every day. Very exciting.

Goodbye first trimester

So the official end of the first trimester is very close. I welcome it with open arms, and look forward to the second trimester with great anticipation. Things are already changing. I don't feel awful every single day, now it's every few days. I actually have good days, and sometimes two in a row! Alas, the nausea and spontaneous vomiting still occurs, but it is not constant. I'll be gald when it is gone entirely, but any change in the right direction is a good thing. I'll be especially glad when I can cook food again. I think I could cook a few things now, but the real hurdle is being able to stand up for 30 minutes straight. That's the kicker.

But aside from the nausea fun, other things are changing, too. I *feel* more pregnant. My lower abdomen is starting to poke out a little more and my last pair of work pants are definitely too tight. And even though I'm pretty run down most of the time, I don't NEED to take a nap every day. The people at my office know I'm expecting and everyone has been very supportive and nice. I'm starting to get more excited about being pregnant, instead of just knowing that I should be excited. It's hard to be super happy about something that makes you feel so awful all the time. But as the awful fades, the excitement builds.

So we're down to 192 days. That seems like an eternity, but I know it will go by quickly.

Local news...priceless

This is a story from today's Denver Post. The story itself isn't funny, these kids could have been seriously injured, but the state trooper's response is hilarious.

Speeding teens survive plunge off cliff
By Joey Bunch The Denver Post

Three 16-year-olds were injured when their sedan flipped on a sharp curve and tumbled into a ravine off U.S. 36 in Boulder County this afternoon. The driver was attempting a drag-racing maneuver called a drift, according to the Colorado State Patrol. A drift involves a fast-moving driver slamming on his brake and skidding his car sideways around a sharp curve.

In this case, the driver went over the guard rail backwards and flipped two and half times down a 200-foot embankment.

"He apparently didn't do it very well," Trooper Gilbert Mares said of the driver's attempted drift.

All three teens were wearing seat belts, but the driver was airlifted to St. Anthony's Hospital in Denver with serious injuries. His two passengers were taken by ambulance to Longmont United Hospital with minor to moderate injuries, Mares aid.

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Is it wrong that I think that comment is so funny? It's as if the trooper wouldn't have minded the stunt if it was executed better.

I am easily entertained.

Life's great mysteries

I've been eating prunes lately. Aside from the fact that it is somewhat miraculous that I can eat a prune, but throw a banana or apple at me and I can't keep it down, they are actually pretty good. The fiber and *ahem* digestive assistance isn't so bad, and apparently they have twice the antioxidants as superfood blueberries. Not too shabby.

But I don't understand why PRUNES are so great, when no one ever talks about PLUMS. They are the same food, minus some water, right? Prunes = dried plums. But you never read about the awesome properties of plums. The doctor won't tell you to drink plum juice to get things moving. I am confused and seeking answers. Is it a marketing thing? I wouldn't think so, since prunes have a geriatric-constipation connotation. Maybe it's because you can't get good plums year round? If anyone knows why prunes are so great but plums are not, please pass it on.

Week 11

I am so close to the mythical land of milk and honey...the second trimester. When food will taste better. When food will stay down. When I won't need to nap every day. It's a lovely place and I can't wait to be there.

I am slowly starting to feel better, if not 100% yet. I have to eat something every moment, but I can't eat much at any one time. I get tired really quickly and walking or standing is the worst. BUT, I'm not vomiting every single day, just about every other day. And I have far fewer really bad days. So that's good. Things are looking up.

I am in dire need of some new clothes, but I don't want to buy anything since it won't fit for long.

That's all for me. My mom was in town this weekend and it was great to see her.

The big news

Pretty much everyone who reads this blog already knows, but here it is, official, in print:

I am pregnant!

We had our first ultrasound today and got to see the heartbeat and the little hands and feet. It was pretty amazing; I'm glad Jon was able to come. Everything looks 100% normal and healthy. And while we aren't out of the magical first-trimester danger zone (so keep good thoughts), we are out of the we-haven't-heard-the-heartbeat-yet zone. It's very exciting!
See the head at the top, and the little arm and leg? A very nice profile, I think. :)

Now I can post about how lousy I feel ALL the time, and how much I eat (not much), and how much I vomit (more than enough). Aren't you excited? I know I am. Only a few more weeks of this all-day morning sickness and I'll be normal again. Well, not normal, even more pregnant, but hopefully more normal in the eating and keeping it down department.

I'm just waking up from a nap (my most favorite afternoon activity) so my brain is still a bit foggy. I will write more later.

TV...I miss you

I miss new TV. Pushing Daisies, Grey's Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother...they are gone. To add insult to injury, we are now subject to crappy mid-season replacement shows, the ones the networks had in the hopper but weren't good enough to start in the fall.

Not that I have to watch them or anything, and mostly I don't, but it makes me mad anyway.

Resolve the writer's strike. It's for the good of the nation.