Cravings...yum!

You know how you hear that pregnancy cravings are related to nutrients or minerals that your body is missing? What do you think it means that I really want the following three items:

1. Cheetos
2. Rice Krispie Treats
3. A hot pastrami sandwich

While pastrami is the most erotic of all the salted cured meats (ah, Seinfeld), I'm not sure it is packed with any particular vitamins. Ditto for the first two.

Just funny.

15 weeks and ready to go

I had my 15 week midwife appointment today. Yay. Everything is great, baby's heartbeat is normal, my blood pressure is normal, etc. The fatigue I get from, oh, standing up or sitting in a chair for 5 or more minutes is totally normal. So are the debilitating headaches and weird pokey pains in my abdomen. Everything is normal! The only not-completely-normal thing is that I've lost 10 pounds since getting knocked up. Yay, morning sickness. Even though I feel like I'm eating ALL THE TIME, apparently I'm burning all those extra calories, and/or throwing them up. Luckily, my midwife isn't too concerned, as long as I'm eating food in general and drinking enough water. I need to pick it up a step with the water, but I'm doing alright.

Six weeks from now I have an appointment to get the gender-determination ultrasound. Very very exciting. My sis-in-law is having another girl, so it would be fun if I was having a boy. Not that it matters either way.

I am super crazy busy at work this week, and not too motivated to do any of it. Alas, it will all get done. Speaking of which, gotta get to work!

I am your target demographic

Last night I dreamt that Jon and I were hanging out in the living room of a big fancy colonial house, apparently his grandmother's, when Hillary Clinton showed up. We chatted for a while about the election, made fun of Utah for some reason, talked about my time in Washington, etc. Very normal, like it was no big deal for Hillary Clinton to show up. Then John McCain arrived, with a bad brown dye job on his hair. He wanted to convince me that he had a really great surprise guest showing up soon, but he couldn't tell me who it was in case I tipped off the press. Pretty soon Mitt Romney was there, too, with another guy, setting up some camera equipment to shoot a TV spot. Romney and the other guy filmed their spot, targeting Michigan voters, then John McCain was up. While he was filming, Clinton kept talking to me about her furniture woes, as if she was trying to be "real" and "authentic" or relate to me as a woman or something. She had gone to the Lane furniture store by the Walgreens and couldn't find a thing! Oh the trouble!

Then I woke up.

No Barack Obama in my dream. And why Mitt Romney? Why indeed. Dreams never make a lot of sense, but that one made me chuckle when I awoke.

Turning a corner

I believe I am turning a corner. I now am able to eat fruits and vegetables again. This morning I made a fruit and yogurt smoothie for breakfast. It's pretty amazing that I could eat strawberries, raspberries, bananas and peaches at all, let alone all mixed together. Oh sure, I also threw up this morning, but that's only because the toothbrush is my ARCH NEMESIS. Yesterday I was able to do a sink full of dishes and make a box of macaroni and cheese for dinner. You might not think this is an accomplishment, but ask my husband--it's been a while since I did either. Oh sure, after cleaning and cooking for 25 minutes straight I was so wiped out I laid on the couch for the rest of the evening, but it's a small victory. I didn't say I was around the corner, just turning it.

But my new sense of optimism is giving me hope that I will feel normal again. That I won't feel like a person on the brink of death for the rest of my life. That this pregnancy is actually progressing. Hooray.

Tomorrow I'll probably vomit twice and feel unbelievable tired and take this all back. But today I feel like a human being.


Last night Jon came home from work and gave both dogs a bath. Our dogs hate getting baths, but it was time. Tucker kind of keeps himself relatively clean and doesn't get baths all that often, but it had been too long. Sophie had an incident, shall we say, that required a good scrubbing. But it made me think that this will be our lives soon. Jon comes home from work, or I'm getting ready for sleep, and we have to bathe our little one and put them to bed. It made me kind of excited to have this kid.

Bouncing baby boy?

Jon thinks this baby is going to be a boy. We have both had dreams where we had a baby boy so he's sticking with that. My step-dad also thinks it is a boy. I have no idea. All the old wive's tales split down the middle, kind of leaning toward girl. We won't be able to find out for a couple months so I'm not too worried about it. It doesn't really matter, though. All babies are great!

One thing I do know is that this kid will be a picky eater. He/she certainly doesn't want me eating anything! I'm not getting the nausea so much anymore, at least not much, but still with the spontaneous vomiting and food aversion. Now, a fun new adventure, with mind-bending sinus headaches! Ugh. I can barely lift my head out of bed in the morning. I am loathe to take any medicine for these headaches, but I'm reaching the end of my rope. My midwife gave me a list of medications that are considered relatively safe in pregnancy, so I'm going to head to the drug store this afternooon to get some Actifed or Dimetapp or other drug off the list. Sadly all the allergy/sinus drugs I have in the house are not on the safe list.

Earlier this week Jon and I took our first trip to Babies R Us. It was an informational trip, to look at carseats and strollers and whatnot. We have a lot of stuff to buy...woah. I think we got overwhelmed. We'll have to go back again at some point and focus our energy, instead of wandering around thinking, "everything is $300." We did find one thing we love. Of course, way too expensive. But so awesome!! The most comfortable rocking chair in the world.



I love it. Maybe we can find something equally as soft and comfortable for cheaper somewhere else. There were some really horrible rocking chairs on display, though. Hard, uncomfortable, scratchy fabric. Who would buy them? It was a mystery.

Jon is out of town until Monday morning so it is just me and the dogs. We all miss him, but we're getting along. Napping. Relaxing. It's good.

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.