Experiencing Christmas

Norm and I decided awhile ago that we weren't going to buy Lauren any gifts this Christmas even though it is her first. In all honestly, she has no idea what is going on from one day to the next right now, so the thought of spending money on gifts seems silly to us.

Instead we plan to 'experience' Christmas with Lauren this year. Just her presence alone is a gift for both of our families. We'll get to see our once hard-ass fathers fawn over her, our mothers ohh and ahh about how much she looks like each of them (not sure how that's really possible, but it makes them happy so we go with it). She'll get to meet some of her aunts and uncles for the first time and see others again. Being the only grandchild on either side of the family will surely have it's perks - I'm sure my sister has been shopping for gifts since Lauren was the size of a walnut.

I plan to take as many photos as possible to commemorate Lauren's first Christmas and all of the joy that brings to others and us.

Anyone who knows me, knows I like me some gifts. All that shiny paper and those frilly bows make my heart go pitter patter, but this year I am perfectly fine with not exchanging gifts. Lauren is our gift. Good thing I love her, because I've been told there are no returns.

12 weeks

Lauren is 12 weeks old today. Three months have flown by! I tried to take a photo of her, but she threw up on herself the moment I started shooting and then I lost interest.
She looks so big to me today! How can we stop the aging process? I want my baby to stay a baby.

Family Photo Shoot

We had a family photo shoot last Sunday when Lauren was 10 weeks old. I had debated doing this since she was born certain she's scream the whole time, but she was actually very good through most of it. I'm glad we decided to do it. I know neither her father nor I are too thrilled with how we look, but her photos are beautiful.

I told her this is the only time in her life she can be topless with a tutu on.

The original babies.

Sleeping on a bench. I hope this isn't something she does a lot in the future.

She is sleeping in a bucket here. Why? I don't know, but it looks adorable!

This is about as real life as it gets. Lauren screaming, Molly investigating and George taking it all in.

With her daddy.

With her Mommy.

As good as it gets.

Dear Santa

Lauren had her first photo with Santa taken Saturday night. She was 10 weeks 5 days old.
She slept through the whole thing, but looked adorable while she did it. Wonder what she asked Santa for?


Santa was very nice. I don't even think he was drunk.

The times they are a'changin

Life really does change when you have a baby. Who knew? I wish someone would have warned us.

Gone are the days when we grab our car keys and hit the open road. Now just getting out the door means packing a bag bigger than a carry-on would have been in my old jet-setting life.

Days are now made up of three hour chunks of time in between Lauren's feedings. Even that three hours gets whittled down, by the time I feed her, change her, pack the bags, get myself ready and load her into the car seat, three hours has become two or less. I am constantly asking myself "Can I get there and back in two hours?" "Do I have enough time to do what I need to do?" "Is it worth going out?" Many days the answer is no, but I try anyway.

Gone are the days when Norm can fill his Sunday afternoon with Xbox or when we can watch a movie without pausing five times while Lauren melts down for a variety of reasons both known and unknown to us.

However, being the glass half full kind of person that I am, I do see the trade-off is worth it. Every time I hear her goo goo and ga ga, or I see her little legs kicking in the air I know these days are exactly where I want to be.

She is a total pain in the ass, but she is our pain in the ass and we love her.

Chatty Cathy

The best time of day is in the morning after Lauren eats and I put her back in her crib so I can tidy up or get dressed. I can hear her in her crib just babbling to herself. She makes the cutest noises and sounds. Her legs kick wildly and her arms flail around. She seems to be a morning person. Just another way she is already like her dad. Totally adorable!

Twice her size

Lauren had her 2 month doctor's appointment today. She now weighs 12lbs 3 ozs! I can''t believe how big she has gotten - although to me she still looks so small! She got one immunization today as well. Unfortunately they did not have the second shot available so we have to go back next week for another needle. It was pretty traumatic for her which was difficult to watch, but she did really well.

She is still sleeping very well. Usually going 7 or more hours straight a night. I feel very fortunate about this!

I told Norm yesterday that for me having a baby is much easier than I thought it would be. If he were drinking milk, it would have shot out of his nose.
I guess I'm finding it easy for a couple of reasons:
1) it's better than being pregnant. That was an absolute nightmare for me.
2) I had prepared myself for the worst. No sleep, colic etc. But because she has always been such a great sleeper we don't have the sleep deprivation issues that many parents have.

Crying baby - must go!

Our first babies

People have been asking us how Molly and George are reacting to Lauren. The answer is GREAT! The first week was rough for them, with all of our attention directed to this little helpless person, along with all of the strange noises that were streaming out of her, but in the weeks since they have really settled in just fine.

Norm and I are very careful about making sure they still get their two daily walks and of course meals. We try to pay lots of attention to them when we aren't with Lauren. We are very easygoing about them sniffing her, but for the most part they really don't bother with her much. They love all the extra company that have been coming over to visit and I'm fairly certain they think all of these people are here to see them.

Get your sleep now

We've started eating meals with her on the table. She seems to enjoy it and it keeps her quiet while we eat. Everyone wins!

Here she is on the table.

I love the peaceful carseat photos I've been able to get of her.

This is her snowsuit. Tee hee. Clearly it no longer fits. It's been retired.

Remember how much I hated people telling me that when I was pregnant? I still do.

Sleep, or the lack of, was the thing that scared me most about parenting. Sleepless nights were something I dreaded. I think being sleep deprived is something that can really put a strain on new parents and the one thing that you really can't prepare yourself for. Well, I am happy to announce that Lauren agrees. My girl has been a great night-time sleeper really since week 2 or 3. She has been very consistent from the start. We put her to bed at 10 a.m. she usually wakes up around 3-4 a.m. eats and goes right back to sleep until 6-8 a.m. You can set your watch by her. We've only had a handful of nights when she was unable to get back to sleep after waking up. The last couple of nights she has slept 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. That's my girl!

However, the trade off to this fantastic night time sleep routine is that she rarely sleeps at all during the day. The only time she sleeps throughout the day is if she is in the stroller and we are walking, she is in the car and we are driving, or if I am holding her rocking, shushing, putting the soother in her mouth, bouncing etc. Sleep when your baby sleeps is just not possible for me because in order for her to sleep she needs me to be awake facilitating it. Oh well, as long as she sleeps at night I'm thrilled!

Harder than I though

Not parenthood, blogging. It's not easy to type with a screaming 5 week old. So while her dad is cuddling her tonight, I am going to update with photos. They are in no particular order. Forgive me.
Four generations.

Lauren's first halloween. Seems like so far she likes the holiday as much as I do. But doesn't she look adorable in her costume?

This is one of my favourite photos ever.

Lauren's first bath. Not a fan.

This even hurts my eyes.

Computering with her dad.

My little superhero.

The Shower

The luxury of a shower. For years now I have never understood when people talked about how once you have children having a shower is nearly impossible and becomes a luxury. Norm and I would often talk about how we just didn't get it. Put the kid down and go take a shower. What's the big deal?

We're assholes.

With Norm being back at work this week I have realized what everyone has been taking about. Lauren is very fussy during the day and seems to do nothing but eat and scream. There is rarely a moment when I'm not holding, rocking, shushing, changing or feeding her. Showers are a thing of the past. One day when she did drift off to sleep, I quickly had to decide what I wanted more - a shower or breakfast. The shower won, but it was certainly not the long leisurely shower I once knew.

Pushing through

Okay, this is not the most flattering photo of me, but it might just be the only one of Lauren and I to date. I'm not looking so hot in general and go running when cameras come out, but at least she is not screaming in it.

Since Lauren arrived, the blog has suffered. I wonder why that is? Oh wait, I think it's because it is taking two grown, fairly capable, and intelligent people, 24 hours a day and four hands to care for this screaming nearly 3 week old squawk box. Squawkey as I lovingly refer to her.

We were on a positive role, with Squawkey feeding like clockwork every 3 hours and going back to sleep at night without an issue. However, that seems to be changing. Last night she woke up at 3:30 a.m. and screamed until noon.

She broke her parents.

Luckily we cracked at different times, so at 5:30 a.m. when I had all I could take, Norm stepped in, then later on when his eyes were showing signs of insanity, I took over for a bit. In the end I broke down and gave her some gripe water and she almost immediately conked out and slept for a couple of hours.

The dad is going back to work on Monday and this mom is scared! He seems to have more patience with her and can calm her when I just don't know what else to do. How am I going to do it alone?

Long days, long nights

So we're on day 11 of The Life of Lauren and our lives have definitely changed. All those people who warned us were not kidding when they said it was tiring. I am trying to sleep when she sleeps, but honestly how do you ever get anything done?

The hardest part of the day is 10 p.m. - 12 a.m. we just can't seem to get her to settle down at that time. Between gas, hiccups, intense hunger and poo explosions, that time of the day is very difficult and frustrating. Once she is asleep, the rest of the night seems to go fairly smoothly with her waking up at regular three hour intervals to eat, but it's getting her to sleep initially that is difficult.

I am still having some issues with my incision - I wont get into the details here - but that is weighing heavily on my mind. I am very much ready for the "my body is a science experiment" to be over. I look forward to the day when my boobs, crotch and milk supply are no longer the topic of every conversation.

I should also mention before I end this post, that the best part of the day is right after she eats and she drifts in and out of sleep. She makes the cutest facial expressions - she even smiles at me - or it could just be gas, but whatever it is, it's adorable!

She's here!

Lauren Molly Young was born on Monday September 27, 2010 at 3:55 p.m. weighing in at 6lbs 14ozs.

I have no desire to re-live my labour experience at this time so perhaps I'll save that for another post. I also warn you that what you are about to read will not be a literary masterpiece as I am too tired to put a whole lot of thought into my sentence structure or grammar.

We were able to leave the hospital on Thursday and have now spent four nights at home. I am counting the time in nights because they seem to be the hardest to get through. Everything seems harder at night. Crying is louder, hiccups seem more severe, feeding is more difficult and solutions to problems are harder to recognize and administer. The same things could happen in the day and they seem so much easier to deal with.

Norm and I have been working very well as a team. He is the Baby Whisperer when it comes to burping and getting her to sleep,while, I, being the one with the boobs have got feeding covered. I'm also better at dressing her. Many times now she has been presented to be with both legs in the same leg hole of her pants. In his defence, her legs are small and the holes are big...

So far we really have no idea what we're doing but somehow we're all getting better at it every day.

Waiting is weird

I am officially due tomorrow - Sunday September 26. So far from what I can tell I have no real signs of an impending labour. Due to the high blood pressure, my OB wont let me go over due, so if I don't have her before then, I am scheduled to be induced on Monday September 27 at 6 a.m.

That's two sleeps. Or less.

Norm and I feel like we are waiting for someone to jump out from behind a bush and yell "BOO!" well Norm actually thinks it feels more like waiting for someone to drop an A Bomb. We're planning our last meal, what we're going to do with our last day, it's all very strange.

I am starting to get very nervous about the whole 'giving birth' part of the deal. I'm trying not to freak out, but be warned it's definitely coming. God help me if I start to give any thought whatsoever to the 'having an infant' part. Total meltdown awaits.

I'm not sure if it's better to know the date and time that it's happening or not. Being a planner, I thought I would like knowing exactly when it was going to go down, but now I'm wondering if being surprised would be the better option?

I could play centre field

My hands are insanely swollen. My engagement ring barley fits on my finger now past the first knuckle. I can't touch my thumb to my pinky finger. My hands look like baseball gloves and I don't think they are supposed to be that shiny.

I think the one thing I am looking forward to after giving birth (besides having a baby) is the swelling to be gone. I'd say I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but, well, that would be impossible.

Only a few more days until this balloon deflates.

Now all we need is a baby!

With 12 days to go until our expected delivery date I thought it was about time I posted some photos of the room we have ready for her. We're very happy with the way it has turned out, although we could use some additional square footage.

George and Molly are the big feature on the change table wall. We still need to fill the third frame, but we're thinking a family shot when she arrives would be nice.

We still need to fill this frame with photos. I'm thinking a collage of Mommy would be lovely.

Love the drawer under the crib for extra storage which is desperately needed in our house.

The closet! Honestly, how many clothes can a baby wear? We're about to find out! In preparation, I've embraced The Pink!

This is by far my favourite thing in the room. This chair rocks, swivels and reclines. In terms of scale, it's far too big, but I don't care!

The DIY mobile. I bought these lanterns in 2004 and they have never been taken out of the packaging until now. I knew they'd come in handy some day.

Some of the bedding

Ta-da!

Moving toward the light!

Call it wishful thinking, but I swear she is moving down. I keep telling her to follow the light and for once I think she might be listening to her mother. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Good-bye work, hello life of leisure!

Well this has been an interesting day to say the least.

I had to drop into my OB this morning so he could check my BP. I've been on medication since Tuesday so he wanted to see if it was working. Upon checking he decided it was okay, not lower, but not higher either. My blood work came back normal as well so I don't have any issues with my kidneys or liver which is all great news.

Then he asked me if I was resting, to which I said, well as much as I can be at work. He said well today's your last day. I said no, I have next week too. He said no, today is your last day. Huh? Wha? So that's it. As of today I am off on sick leave for the next three weeks.

Needless to say, when I got back to the office the chaos ensued as I had to notify HR and change my previous vacation time to sick leave, clean up my files, wrap up as much last minute stuff as I could, send out my out of office emails etc, etc, etc. (I sound so important don't I?) I thought I had all of next week to do this stuff so it was crazy to do it all in one day. My brain hurts.

Well now I have to switch gears from important working woman (lol) to life of leisure. That's what I'm in for right? Let the fun begin!

Baby Gabe

Just found out that my friend Marnie's son Gabe is very sick and is in the NICU at McMaster Children's Hospital.

Of course I can't help but worry about our baby and something similar happening. I don't think I'm ready for the constant worry of parenthood.

Get well soon Gabe.

Blood pressure update

Today, my visit to the OB lead to the discovery that my blood pressure is too high. This is not a surprise to me because I have been feeling it increasing over the last week or so. As a result I am now on blood pressure medication to help try to lower it. I also had blood test done to check my liver and kidney function to make sure the elevated blood pressure is not the result of a problem with them.

Have I mentioned that I'm ready for this baby to come out?

In better news, my friend Marnie had her baby boy this afternoon. Welcome to the world Gabe!

35/35!

I'm a few days late on this post, but on Monday I hit 35 weeks, which means I have 35 days to go - OR LESS! (or more but let's not talk about that).

Saturday my sister threw a shower for me. Lots of really lovely things were given to us. Norm and I both feel very fortunate to have such generous friends and family. We have been very lucky.

I am starting my weekly OB visits which means we are getting closer to the end. I'm still dealing with a lot of swelling, and my blood pressure was just slightly elevated today, but so far it's nothing to be alarmed about.

I have two more weeks of work left after this week and that is something I am really looking forward to. I'm not exactly functioning at a high level these days, and I feel like I'm just killing time at this point, so it's frustrating having to get up, get ready and go in every morning. When do I get to watch soap operas and eat bon-bons?

Please don't tell me to "get my sleep now"

I find this so annoying. It's not like you can bank sleep. Not to mention the 3rd trimester is not known for allowing you to sleep comfortably or deeply. Why do people say that? I get it, when
the baby comes you don't sleep, but sleeping now isn't going to help even it if were possible.
Ignore me, I'm grouchy today because I didn't sleep well last night.

Ready, Set....

No go yet, but soon!

We're still in preparation mode. We had our first of two baby classes on Saturday. Three hours talking about pre-labour, early labour, active labour and what all of those things mean. Only a little bit of crotch ripping mentioned but that was mostly by me. Next week's class will consist of a solid hour of breast feeding talk, plus more on baby care. Hold on to your hat Norm!

Then last night we had our hospital tour. Let's just say that was interesting. The combination of the other couples on the tour and the hospital itself made me feel less ready rather than more. At least Norm and I didn't get into this by having a one night stand which is the distinct feeling I got from at least one of those other couples.

There is still more to do, but I am sidelined lately by swollen feet, toes, ankles, knees and fingers, so once I'm home from work my nights are spent in the recliner asking Norm to hand me my Tums. I'm so sexy right now. The poor guy can barley keep his hands off of me.

It's A Sad Day

When you realize one of your necklaces no longer fits.

For fuck sakes.

Back to the grind

Today is the last day of our vacation. It's been fun filled and busy and we are exhausted! I'm very sad that I have to go back to work, but knowing that I only have 6 weeks of work left (and two of them are four day weeks) means there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

I'm running out of outfits to wear that look half decent, I'm running out of energy and in terms of work I am running out of patients. I'm hoping the next six weeks fly by without incident.

Today, I am going to spend as much time as possible with my feet up.

Feelin the burn

Oh how I wish I was referring to exercise. Nope that would be heartburn.


Dear Heartburn,

Fuck off all ready.

Kisses,
Grouchy, Tired, Preggo

Random acts of kindness

One of Norm's "coworkers" gave us a very generous gift today. I say "coworker" because Norm has had very little, if any, interaction with him since he started a year and a half ago. Norm and one other guy in his office are fathers-to-be and both of them were given this gift.

Okay here is the rundown:

• diaper bag
• 4 newborn onsies
• a package of receiving blankets - 3-4 I think
• 10 washcloths
• 6 pairs of socks
• a hand-knitted set including a blanket, sweater, hat, mittens and socks
• J&J Baby Wash products
• What To Expect In The First Year
• a bathtub rubber ducky
• 2 packages of outlet covers
• and a lovely card in which my name was spelled correctly!

I think I've got it all there. Seriously? I have never met these people and Norm hasn't done more than say hello to this guy in 19 months of employment. Does this seem weird to you or just incredibly nice?

I'm 30 weeks!

I'M 30 WEEKS, I'M 30 WEEKS!!!

Can I just tell you how happy that makes me?! That means I have 10 weeks - or less - (or more but let's not talk about that) to go!!!

Oh happy day!!!

Can you imagine what I'll be like at 39 weeks? I might hire a band.

Parenting Fail.

George has an ear infection.

We figured that out Friday morning and visited the vet that afternoon. He'd been giving us hints for about two weeks. First he peed on the floor two days in a row, but we couldn't be sure it was him. Then he hasn't wanted to eat for the last week or so but it was stinki'n hot outside and no one wanted to eat so I didn't think that was a big deal. Then the big show, Thursday he decided to eat the carpet. Not a lot of carpet but the same piece of carpet he ate about a year and a half ago. (It has since been replaced once and now will need to be replaced yet again.) After eating the carpet he proceeded to vomit. Twelve. Times. All over the couch, floor, kitchen, basement, washroom, etc, etc, etc.

Norm steam cleaned the couch and carpet but the smell of vomit is still lingering. That's another story.

In the chaos of the carpet eating and subsequent vomit-fest, we noticed that the phone book, which was delivered earlier that week, was suspiciously missing it's plastic bag cover. I looked around for the bag, but found no evidence that it ever existed. I can't really count on my memory these days or Norm's memory ever, so we really weren't positive there ever was a bag. Well we are now! Last night - Saturday - George started pooping out pieces of plastic bag. Great. Now we're on poop watch. The problem is it can get dangerous if the plastic wraps around his intestines or blocks his innards. We're hoping it passes, but how will we know if it all comes out? I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can avoid an expensive vet visit complete with xray and a possible surgery to remove the bag. Sigh...

All of this because of one little ear infection. That's what you call a parenting FAIL.

"Are you getting excited?"

Is it bad that whenever someone asks me that question, I say no?

I'm not excited. I'm anxious and uncertain, but not excited. I think I'll be excited when she gets here, or maybe when I go into labour, but probably not sooner. There are other things to think about in the meantime, crotch-ripping labour being the main one. There is nothing that excites me about that.

Crotch.Ripping.Labour. Are you getting excited? Ummmm.... no.

I'm grouchy

I feel fat, gross, hot, sweaty, puffy and just generally miserable today.

On top of my physical yuckieness, I have decided I absolutely HATE my job and I have no idea how I'm going to make it through my last 8 work weeks without losing my mind. I don't know if it's hitting me so hard now because I know there is an end in sight and it's not coming fast enough or if I would be at this level of annoyance pregnant or not. All I know is that I can not imagine going back there after mat leave is over. At this point my rope is so short I don't care how much vacation I have, or if I have to take a pay cut. Nothing is worth this misery. I think I am even more annoyed because there is really nothing I can do about it right now. I can't really apply for jobs because who is going to hire a woman that's 7 months pregnant? lol! But thinking about job hunting while on mat leave and finding something that works out perfectly with when I have to go back seems nearly impossible. This is the first and only real job I've had so throwing myself into the job market, after having my first baby seems very daunting.

I developed an eye twitch today. Am I stressed?

Dear Husband

and loyal follower,

While the list currently taped to the fridge titled "Things to do B 4 Baby" was not intended as a list of task specifically for you, I truly appreciate you taking ownership of it. Never have I seen you so committed to one of my many lists. In fact, usually you throw them out when I'm not looking. And sometimes when I am. Not this time. This time I see you checking and re-checking the list, crossing off things as they are complete and saying "We need to finished that list this weekend!"

It makes me feel so much better knowing that when my feel are swollen sausages that need Mount Kilimanjaro size elevation, you are spending your evening tackling yet another job on the shrinking list.

Husband, consider yourself appreciated and indispensable!

Your Loving, Sausage Footed Wife

My crotch is scared

I guess the good news is that after my ultrasound yesterday it was determined that my placenta has moved enough for me to deliver naturally rather than by c-section. I wish I could say I was happy about that. As we all know, I was kind of looking forward to the c-section plan. Oh well. Now I get to go through crotch ripping labour just like everyone else.

The other, really, good news is that now I have an official last day of work! Friday September 10, 2010 will be my last day in the office, then I'll take two weeks vacation before my expected due date. This makes me happy. I need that day to look forward to. I NEED to know when I'm outta there. Now I do, so that part is a relief. Only eight more works weeks to get through!!

This week has been horrible weather-wise. It's been a wicked 30+ degrease plus extreme humidity. I don't "do" heat when I'm not pregnant, so when I am it's so much worse. Unfortunately there is no real end in sight, so I have been staying inside as much as possible and moving as little as possible. It really isn't how I want to spend my summer but there really is no choice.

The good, the bad and the ugly. Each day is an adventure.

Does everyone go through this stage when pregnant?

All of the sudden I am feeling anxious about the baby's health and well being.

I've never worried about it to this point because we've done all the IPS testing and everything came back normal. All of the sudden I'm wondering if everything really is okay.

It came on today after having another ultrasound to check the location of my placenta. The ultrasound tech again was not very friendly, hardly spoke and was just generally crusty. (This must be a prerequisite for this profession.) Her face was very serious when she was working which had me worried. She didn't show me the baby at all, and when I asked her if she had seen it, she just said yes. I didn't get a photo or anything! What a rip off!

I have an OB appointment tomorrow, but I don't think the ultrasound results will be available by then so I'll be in suspense for anther two weeks. This is getting frustrating.

I am a hermit

Not by choice.

I've been off work for four whole wonderful days, but I have accomplished very little and rarely left the house.

I tried to go to Chapters and Zellers yesterday, but I was so dizzy that I had to cut my trip short. I don't know if it's this insane heat, low blood sugar, dehydration or just pregnancy in general, but I didn't like the feeling that I was going to hit the deck in the middle of the nursing bra section of Zellers so I've been home ever since.

Oh wait, no, my lovely husband took me to Niagara Falls last night where we donated $25 to the casnio, saw many people in questionable outfits, and came home.

I'm so boring.

My Dogs Are Barkin'

My feet are killing me! My heels especially, but my feet in general hurt.

I read online that 18% of pregnant women have heel pain. Count me in! It took me a while to figure out that this could possibly be a pregnancy related issue. Who would think that your heels could hurt when you're pregnant? I hope this is temporary.

For your daily dose of cuteness :

We spent some time reading on the front porch on Sunday Molly really enjoyed it obviously, and then George spent some time in our new hand-me-down-bassinet.

Learning curve

As I mentioned in a previous post, Kim and Brett have been kind enough to give us many many useful baby/child related items. I'd list them for you, but I really have no clue what most of them are or do. But we totally appreciate every single one of them!

Kim dropped off a car-load (seriously) of things last weekend. So I thought I should begin to familiarize with these items so I don't find myself overwhelmed with a newborn and the related apparatus.

I started off with the bottle warmer. Took it out of the box, read the directions, seemed simple enough. A once cold bottle of liquid is then made warm. Got it. Makes total sense.

Then, feeling confident, I moved on to the sterilizer. Confidence immediately dashed. First off it has more parts than the aforementioned warmer. It's okay, I can handle this. Once again I unfold the instructions which by the way are much longer than the warmer. I'm getting nervous. I put the parts together as instructed. That's it. End of instructions. Well, how does this sterilize anything?? Where is the 'on' button? Where is the plug? I kid you not, I looked this thing over for five minutes, flipped it up-side-down, poked buttons that didn't exist, turned and re-turned the lid and could not, for the life of me figure out how to turn it on. (My fantastic husband was playing on his xBox during all of this, and although I was tempted to fetch him and get him to figure it out, I thought NO I can do this!) So then, after many (many) minutes of pulling out my hair trying to turn this damn thing on, I decide to check the box. Well sure enough, right there in black and white "MICROWAVE STERILIZER". Microwave... riiiiiiiight.

This kid is fucked.

Busted!

So I'm 25 weeks and 3 days as of today. Until yesterday no stranger or acquaintance has ever said anything to me about being pregnant. I was starting to be somewhat offended because to me, I am huge. It should be obvious to everyone just by looking at me as far as I'm concerned. Apparently not.

Wait, let me back-track, at work about two weeks ago, one of the nurses who I don't know very well did say something, but for the rest of the day, not one of the other 20 nurses and medical professionals in the room, many of whom I know much better than that woman, said anything to me. From that, I determined this woman was just bring a complete moron. She was taking a wild guess and had a 50% chance of being wrong and seriously offending a not-so-skinny-but-not-pregnant girl. Next time she wont be so lucky.

Anyway, back to yesterday. Yesterday I was at a meeting in Ancaster. On the way back to the meeting after my 5th trip to the washroom, I ran into another nurse in the hallway. This nurse I know quite well and really like. She is nice, and normal, unlike most nurses, but that's another post all together. We haven't seen each other in a while so she asked me what was new. I don't usually mention it, but I said "well, I'm having a baby!" And she said "Yah I can see that!" Wait..... wha? Me: "You can?" Her "Of course!" Yeh! I look pregnant and not just fat! What a great day!

Yep that's the whole story.

I belong to a family of early risers

And I can't say I'm overly happy about it. I am trying to sleep train the baby in utero by sleeping in as often as I can. It is my theory that maybe she will be trained by the time she gets here just from hanging out with mommy for the last 10 months, but if the rest of the family keeps getting up so early I fear my plan will not work!

It's Saturday. We've been up since 6 .m. Although I tired to resist by staying in bed until 7 a.m. but it was a futile effort.

Now it's 11 a.m. and so far I've:

• showered - you're welcome
• vacuumed
• cleaned the bathroom
• enjoyed a breakfast of delicious blueberry pancakes and coffee - no I didn't make it, but I enjoyed it.
• gotten groceries with my lovely husband
• put groceries away also with my lovely husband
• Draino'ed the bathroom sink - success!
• and baked a Strawberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake. Behold!

• Please note: yes I am being prematurely cocky since I haven't tried it yet, but it certainly looks better than my last attempt at baking.

Now I am sitting down and trying to relax a bit before my next job starts. For those of you wondering what exciting things I have planned for the rest of the day, hold on to your hats because Zellers is having a sale on many items that I want to buy like laundry detergent, Scope mouthwash and diapers. See I told you it would make your toes curl.

Could it be?

I seem to have a serious spurt of energy lately. I can't stop cleaning. When I look around all I see is dog hair. I love them so much, but holy fuck they are dirty pigs!

I just keep cleaning and cleaning and cleaning and I can't stop!!

Is this the 2nd tri energy spurt they talk about?

Could this be the one thing in pregnancy that actually happens for me the way people say?

Bring on the energy!

Okay before anyone gets too excited, this is not to say that I no longer get tired or want to take naps, but when I am awake, I seem to be very productive. That's all I'm saying.

I make no promises how long this oddity of nature will last.

Odds & Ends

• Tomorrow marks the six month mark in the journey. Yeh! Only three to go! 2/3rds done!
• I went to a shower for my friend Vesta yesterday. Her little girl is set to arrive sometime the next four weeks. Vesta looks fantastic. She has always been small and beautiful and that's what she still is. Just this cute little bump in the front. Perfect hair, perfect skin, looking totally fashionable and comfortable in her skin. He only issue - she has swollen feet. Somehow that made me feel better.
• While I was gone my fantastic husband cleaned and organized the kitchen so we'd have a spot to put baby supplies - bottles, plates, cups, other....stuff...
• Went out for dinner with my friend Laura Friday night. Her little girl is set to arrive and the end of the month. She looks great too, but definitely ready to go. She too has swollen feet except hers are very swollen. Very, vey swollen.
• We've been very productive today. Went to Costco where I ordered some new glasses and developed some photos that we're planning to use in the baby's room. Check that off the list. Also went to Home Depot and ordered an area rug for the nursery, got a book shelf and Norm got some supplies to build a photo shelf to mount the frames we bought. Check, check and checkedy-check!
• Thinking of going to a movie tonight if we can stay awake.

And what's with....

maternity clothes anyway?

Unless you start out shaped like a stick, you end up looking like a blob in polyester by month six. The selection is horrible, the fabrics are awful and the "styles" are non-existent. Very few stores carry maternity lines which I am finding very surprising. Even WalMart recently discontinued their maternity line.

Can you tell it took me far too long to find something the wear this morning? It was very frustrating and a bad sign for what is to come. How am I going to find something appropriate to wear to work five days a week for the next three months at least? I'm scared!

I'm going to be one of them

I've been noticing lately that my toes, feet and ankles are swelling during the day. I've always felt bad for those pregnant women who end up with huge swollen lower extremities. It looks so painful and uncomfortable. So far, my swelling has only been slight, but I have a feeling I'm heading down that extreme road. If my ring finger episode last week was any indication, I'd better invest in some more flip-flops.

Let me tell you about my placenta

I've always wanted to say that.

We went to the OB this morning for our monthly visit. For the most part it was uneventful. The ultrasound we had on May 9 showed everything with the baby is just fine. She is growing normally and looks good. There does seem to be an issue with my placenta though. At the moment it is slightly low. It's a condition called 'placenta previa' and according to google it can occur in 1 in 200 pregnancies so it's not that uncommon. The OB says because it is still early in the pregnancy (22 weeks) there is still time for the placenta to rise up to where it is supposed to be. I have to get another ultrasound done at 28 weeks to see if it has moved up. If it does not move up, I will have to have a c-section. Right now this is not a big problem, but according to my friend google, if it stays where it is into the 3rd trimester it could become serious.

I'm not going to worry about it too much right now. I'm not really concerned about having a
c-section. There are a lot of up-sides to it from what I can see. Let me list them for you:
1. It's fast. No 24 hours of labour for me!
2. It's pre-planned - date and time. I'm a planner so this sounds ideal.
3. (this should probably be #1 but whatever) I believe they usually do c-sections at 37 weeks - I'll be pregnant for less time!!! Since we all know how much I've been enjoying this pregnancy to date, I'd say that's the biggest selling feature.
4. You get good drugs during and after.
5. I'd much rather have a scar than a ripped vag-jay-jay. There I said it.

So that's today's story. The next ultrasound has not been scheduled yet but it sounds like it should be around the first week of July.

Notice Of Eviction

Is it possible to carry a fetus in your thighs? I'm pretty sure that's exactly where she is currently residing. I'm going to start charging her rent. Definitely should have gotten a security deposit. There seems to be a lot of damage being done to the structure.

Sausages

It's a warm day today leading into a hot week. I've always had problems with my fingers swelling in the hot summer months, but never bad enough for me to have to take off my rings. Not this year. I'd taken them off a few weeks ago and put them back on for the past several weeks, but today after taking the dogs on a nice long walk this morning my poor sausage fingers were so swollen they were throbbing. We were planning to do some work in the garden so I knew I had to get my rings of before I was in real trouble. Well that was easier said than done. It took me close to an hour of icing, elevating, lubing and panicking, but I finally got them off. After the trauma my poor finger was twice the size of normal and I had to take a photo.

Now I have to be the pregnant unmarried girl that all the old ladies stare at. Oh well. I am from Cobourg after all.

Kicking a horse when it's down

Why this saying comes to mind should be pretty obvious. Only this time getting kicked is a postiive thing.

I *think* I am starting to feel movement. It's actually one of the few truths I've been told. Someone told me the early stages of kicking feels like bubbles bursting and that's exactly what I'm feeling. It's not all the time. Usually it happens when I'm leaned over my keyboard at work. One bright spot in an otherwise abysmal day at the office. At least I think that's what I'm feeling, it could very well be gas for all I know. Being almost 22 weeks I was starting to wonder when I was going to feel something. The answer for future reference is 21 weeks 1 day.

I think this will be a turning point. The more I am reminded she's in there and doing well (and wanting out) the better I will feel.

Our next OB appointment is Tuesday when hopefully we will get the results of the IPS testing and the ultrasound we had a couple of weeks ago. I'm not worried since we probably would have heard something by now if there were any problems. In the meantime I'm going to enjoy this beautiful long weekend!

Sharing

As I sit here watching my beloved Judy Judy on "my" TV while my husband plays xBox on "his" TV, all I can think is, I hope this kid likes to read. There are just not enough televisions in this house for everyone.

Note To Self

Dear Self,

You are an idiot.

The next time you think baba ganoush would be a delicious and nutritious snack, please remember how it felt between 1 a.m. and nightfall today.

The garlic burning your entire digestive track both going down and coming back up.

How violently ill you were while your husband snored in the next room.

The hearburn that accompanied the vommitting for the duration of the night and day.

So not worth it.

The lesson reinforced yet again today, only eat things that are white, and bland and made of a carbohydrate. Usually, those things don't make you barf. Usually.

Sincerely,

Your smarter, wiser, self

Somebody call 911

Heartburn is a bitch.

Last night I suffered. S.U.F.F.E.R.E.D with heartburn. There was no puttin' it out. I tried Tums, milk, bread and tea. Then I barffed. And still had heartburn.

My Old -Wives-Tale-Believing-Husband thinks it's great because that must mean the baby will be born with a full head of hair. Who the fuck cares? It's a baby, why does she need a full head of hair? It's probably going to fall out again anyway. Her hair is the least of my worries.

Today the name of the game has been avoiding the burn. I've only eaten things that are white. So far, so good.

The Young's Are On ....

TEAM PINK!

This is not a surprise to me, but it might be to some. Norm and George are officially outnumbered.

Guilty pleasures

I've developed a few guilty pleasures since this blessed event happened. A few can be considered good, the others, not so much. I was thinking about them tonight during my nightly bubble bath which occurred right after my two back-to-back episodes of Judy Judy - okay so there's two right there. Those are the ones I consider good.

The bad all seem to revolve around food.

After the bubbles were gone I sat down to my Thursday night TV lineup and cracked open my can of Grape Crush. BB (before baby) I would never even consider drinking anything but diet pop. I didn`t see the point of consuming the extra calories if I don`t have to.

The other major, and guiltiest, of all of my current pleasures is poutine. Yep, french fries smothered with gravy and cheese curds. Heaven. BB I ate poutine maybe once a year. Maybe. Norm calls poutine `the fat man`s crack cocaine`addictive and dangerous. I`ve been using this blessed event to find the best poutine available in the Niagara Region. So far I`ve tried four fine establishments and have a two-way tie for first place. Now, I`m sure my loyal followers are thinking well Marcie... who has the best poutine! Well let me tell you my thoughts. New York Fries was my least favourite. They use the dark beef gravy which is not my favourite in this dish. A nice light chicken gravy is what you`re looking for. The Feathery was good, no real complaints, but not amazing. The tie is between Harvey`s and KFC. I`m leaning toward KFC for first place. Excellent gravy, lots of cheese curds. Delish! I know what you`re thinking, fast food, really, that`s your pick. My answer is yes, and I stand by my choice, but I`m not necessarily done searching yet.

I wonder if one day I`ll ever write a post about carrots being my next guilty pleasure. In about a year when I`m crying into my salad wondering why I`m so fat, someone please remind me that I did this to myself. Sigh...

Role models

My one and only follower has demanded that I make an entry today. Apparently my blog is all he lives for, although I can think of a million and one other things he could be doing ;)

When I questioned him as to what I should blog about he suggested (demanded) I post about our friend Kim who has been so generous, supportive and helpful during this hellish.... umm blessed time.

He's got a point. She has been all of those things. She deserves an post in her honour. So here goes.

Kim has two young children. She was the picture of a perfect pregnancy both times. Bitch.

Oh back to my point... Kim has been extremely helpful to me during the last four plus months - as well as pre-pregnancy of course. I can vent to her and ask her for advise. I value her opinion even when it's different than mine. She is a wonderful mother and definitely someone to emulate in the months and years to come. As an added bonus Kim, and her lovely husband Brett, have been kind enough to offer us many of baby gear items they have saved from their own children which is a huge help to us. My follower - ahhh husband - and I are very grateful for their generosity and more importantly friendship.

The Guilt Factor

Everyone says the worst part about motherhood is the guilt. You always feel guilty - you can't spend enough time with them, you can't give them everything they want, you can't protect them from everything all the time.



I all ready feel guilty.



I know there are lots of things I could/should be doing to prepare for baby, but I just don't feel like doing them, or I don't know where to start. Weekends are the worst. I should be doing something. I should be doing more. But what? I really don't know.



On top of that it seems like daily I am finding out things that I should not be doing, which I have been doing for the past 4.5 months. I'm failing at motherhood and I haven't even really started yet. How is that possible??



Guilt for me is not new. I tend to feel guilty about lots of things on a regular basis, so this baby is only going to heighten my all ready large neurosis. Yep, I've got problems and they're only going to get worse. Thanks a lot baby.

The only thing keeping me going is that those girls on 16 and Pregnant seem to be decent mothers, so I can't possibly fail. Can I?

Either Or

Either, I ate WAY TOO MANY Miss Vicky's chips last night, or I have officially "popped".
I LOOK pregnant today. Pregnant, not just putting on a tummy, thank you very much Doris.

I may start taking progress photos now. Before it seemed silly to take pictures of my fat tummy.

I may also have to consider naming the kid Vicky given the amount of chips I've eaten this month.

Putting on a tummy

One of the 8o+ year old volunteers at work yesterday waited until I left and then asked my coworker if I was just getting fat or if something else was going on with me. Apparently, according to Doris I'm not usually one to "put on a tummy." Ummm okay thanks, I guess.
Lovely. I'm only 17 weeks, so the comments about my size can only get worse from here. Sigh....

One a happy note, we pick up and assembled out crib yesterday. It looks so great! Very happy with it. I will be posting pictures of the nursery when it is completed. That will be a while. Stay tuned!

I'm still alive

And feeling more human than I have in many months. Not perfect. But better. I haven't thrown up in a few weeks which is awesome! My main complaint now is the acne. I have the acne of a 14 year old. I'm not impressed.

In other news, we've painted the nursery and ordered a crib which is big progress. Photos will be posted when it is complete.

On the Beagle front we've been dealing with George and a mystery illness for the past few months. Not only is it frustrating and worrisome, it's exhausting! He's been up all night with a sick tummy and other delightful symptoms. Good news is we've finally figured out that he has worms. Again. This is both good and bad news. At least now we can treat him with the medicine he needs and hopefully eventually they will be eradicated. Fingers crossed.

I'm starting to look more pregnant now and not just fat so that's exciting. I'm also feeling some streatching and aches and pains now too. Can't wait to feel the first kick or movement from the little fella.

Next ultrasound scheduled for May 9.

Frustrating

I'm feeling very down today. I have a headache, I'm tired and just generally feel crappy. I am really tired of feeling this way. When will I feel normal again?

I'm watching a 16 and Pregnant marathon on MTV maybe that will make me feel better about myself.

Keeping a running list

It seems to me that I should be recording my symptoms as I go along so the next time I think getting pregnant is a good idea I can read over this and remind myself it probably isn't.

I have waited until now to start the running list because before this point even talking about my myriad of symptoms made me want to barf.

Which brings me to symptom number one:
Excessive barfing. E.X.C.E.S.S.I.V.E. Morning, afternoon, night, middle of the night. At work, in my car, at WalMart.

2. Excessive nipple pain. I have likened it to someone giving you a purple nurple while wearing a sandpaper glove. All day long. God forbid you towel dry after a shower, or wear a bra.

3. The acne of a 14 year old. My skin looks like a pizza. Disgusting.

4. Hair loss or hair breakage - I haven't figured out what is happening yet. I have all of these baby hairs at my forehead hairline. It's really weird.

5. Fatigue. This is not new to me. Having hypothyroid I have had some major fatigue before and unfortunately it's back again. I sleep 10-12 hours moist nights (see symptom 6) plus I nap when I can -weekends usually - for 1-2 hours. So sleepy

6. Trouble sleeping. Luckily this only happens sporadically. I'll wake up at 3 a.m. and not be able to sleep. I'm uncomfortable - yes all ready. My left arm seems to fall asleep and that wakes me up because it is so uncomfortable. Very frustrating to not be able to sleep when I'm so tired (see symptom 5)

7. Shortness of breath. I can't even walk up a flight of stairs without having to catch my breath. What will months 8 and 9 be like? Oh my.

8. Rapid heart rate. Happens randomly.

9. Weight gain. I know eventually this is going to really be a problem for me both mentally and physically. I am going to gain a shit-load of weight. I'm not a small person to begin with and the hypothyroid doesn't help, so the future is not looking good for me. At the same time, because I have felt so horrible I am not eating well at all. This kid is going to look like a french fry when it gets out here.

10. Depression/Apathy - Is it possible to have "pre-partum" depression? Pre-baby blues? I've got some non pregnancy related problems going on which have either happened at a bad time or a good time I haven't decided yet. But these issues are somewhat overshadowing the pregnancy. Plus feeling horrible all the time (see symptoms 1 thru 9) doesn't help brighten my mood.
The apathy thing is weird for me. I would have thought I would be freaking out - excited or worried, or planning crazy, but I'm not. I'm not really thinking about the baby, or what we need or need to do. I'm just numbly getting through each day. I think/hope once I look pregnant and thse issues slowly erase, that will change.

I'll stop there for now.

This blog is so positive and upbeat isn't it? haha!

"I don't feel well"

Not a day has gone by in the last 13 weeks and 5 days that I haven't whined those words.
I can't wait until this is over.

baby's first official photo shoot

Had our first official ultrasound today. Baby Young appeared to be very photogenic and had a strong heartbeat. He waved his hands, kicked his feet and did some reverse ab crunches for his mommy and daddy. By far the most (the only) rewarding part of this whole experience so far.

Lazy Saturday

Well to be honest every day lately is lazy. I just don't have a lot of energy, but I think things might be looking up. I haven't thrown up in 6 days. I think that's some serious progress.

So far today, I've taken the dogs out for a nice hour long walk, changed and washed the bedding and am currently doing more laundry. Norm is out for a bike ride and eventually we plan to go to Babies'R'Us to start learning about strollers and then Costco. If I manage to accomplish all of that, I think this will be a very successful day.

We're going for our first real ultrasound on Tuesday. I'm anxious. I just want Tuesday to get here all ready. I think I'll feel much better when I see the Little Fucker again. Hello? Is anyone in there??

Wish us luck at Babies'R'Us. I think we're probably going to need to sit in a quiet dark room when we get outta there. Overload. Not to mention some strollers cost more than my car.

Great day!

Gasp! I didn't throw up today! YIPPIE!!! Day is not over yet, but so far so good. Isn't it funny that is how I distinguish a good day from a bad one now?

Husband is away on a"business" trip (yah right!) so it's just me and the Beagles tonight.
Fingers crossed that tomorrow goes as well as today.

Far from it

Norm told his friends yesterday about the kid. Everyone of course was happy and had lots of questions to ask, but the best was from his friend Mark.

Mark and his wife have a daughter. Mark asked Norm how my "hormones" were - a loaded question, but whatever.

He said "Is she euphoric?" Apparently his wife was euphoric throughout her entire pregnancy. Bless her!

Norm just about shot beer out of his nose. The truth is, I am about as far from euphoric that I could get. I don't think I've ever been euphoric in my life. That's a big emotion. Not many people can pull it off.

You're all a bunch of liers!

Why is it now that I'm pregnant people are telling me how horrible pregnancy really is?
Funny, no one mentioned it before... grrrr!

I just spoke to my oldest friend Rachel and told her what a hard time I've been having and she said "oh I know didn't I tell you how awful it is?" Ummm NO! I distinctly remember her telling me she was tired. Tired, well I can handle that! Now that the truth has come out, it turns out she was tired from BARFING 24/7! Funny... you never mentioned that...!

Can't wait until people start tell me the horrors of child birth.

Photogenic

I realize I haven't posted any photos of George and Molly yet!

I got some cute ones today of them outside. Molly loves spring. It was a very warm day today and she took advantage of it. George really isn't a huge fan of the outdoors but he does enjoy laying in the sun for a while.

I can't resist posting another cute one of George.

Blunders

I can't cook. Thank God Norm can. Very well.

I thought I could bake, but lately every time I try, I fail. Miserably.

For example I received my March edition of Canadian Living - yes, I am old - and inside was this simple, delicious looking recipe.

So, I thought I give it a try. Simple. Five ingredients. What could go wrong?

Well I'm still not sure exactly what went wrong, but here is how mine looked.

Does this look even remotely the same to you? It didn't taste that bad, but it certainly didn't look good . Unfortunately another failure in the kitchen for me. I'm hanging up my wooden spoon for a while. It's just a waste of good ingredients.

Cat's in the bag, and outta the bag

So it's been a busy week. We made a road trip to see my family on Sunday and told them our exciting news, then Tuesday we went to the OBGYN for the first time - more on that later - then had my in-laws over Tuesday night to share with them. The mother's squealed, the fathers didn't ask any awkward questions, so I guess we couldn't ask for more. We are trying to wait until the 12 week mark to tell friends and work, but we'll see how that goes.

Back to the OB appointment. I was nervous because I'd read some not-so-great-reviews online about the doctor, but he seems fine to me. I don't need a best friend, I need someone to pull a screaming (I hope) kid out of my crotch. He seemed capable. Nuff said.

The exciting part was that he did a basic ultrasound so we got to see the little pea!
Good news is, it's in there, bad news is it's still making me sick. Not as sick as before, but sick nonetheless. Doc said everything looks normal. He said he thought I was 9 weeks and 3 days, while I thought I was 10 weeks and 1 day. I'm sticking with mine. He's a doctor yes, but what does he know? So we have a real ultrasound on March 23 and go back to the doctor on March 30.

On a side note; I am looking forward to posting some more pictures. I don't think a blog is good if it's too wordy. Right now though the only picture that would reflect what is happening would be me leaning over the toilet. And that's not something the internet needs to see.

Things are looking up

I didn't throw up this morning. That's big.

I'm hoping this positive trend continues. Found out yesterday my mom threw up for the first six months. But only when pregnant with girls. No throwing up with the boys. Super. My Grannie threw up with both, so I guess there is no consistency there.

We go meet our OBGYN tomorrow. Hopefully we can hear the heart beat so this "thing" becomes a little more real. Not too sure how the appointment will go. I've heard and read some not-so-positive things about this guy. I just hope he has small hands.

Is this the other side?

So far this pregnancy blog has mostly been about how miserable I am, instead of how great pregnancy is. That's because all you people who told me how wonderful it would be and how great I would feel are fucking liars!

So far it's one day at a time, and unfortunately most of my days have been pretty awful, today however is one of the few good days so far. I did throw up this morning, as I do every morning, but for the large majority of the day I have felt okay - that's as good as it gets around here.
I will admit I've eaten a lot today. Veggie subs from Subway are a staple in my diet. I eat one every day.

I pray to God, Buddha, The Queen and anyone else out there who will listen to my whining that this is the start of me coming around. The start of me feeling somewhat good again.

On another crappy note, three people at work in the last two days have accused me of being pregnant. I can`t fake it right now. I just can`t. I guess the cat`s going to be outta the bag sooner than we planned. I am actually looking forward to that so then I can whine to everyone, all the time.

Back to the old routine

Ok, seems that I have survived the cold/flu combo. What a nightmare!

That's the good news.

The unfortunate news is that the icky baby tummy is back. I have to go back to work tomorrow and I'm not sure how that is going to go. Until this point - except for the days with the flu - I've been needing to eat every 1.5 - 2 hours. Grilled cheese and toast are my staples. I'm not sure how I'm going to do that at work. Toast yes, but grilled cheese is a bit of a stretch....
We'll just have to see how it goes.

Apparently if your mother had morning sickness when she was pregnant you are more likely to have it. Heather...?

Seriously. What. Have. We. Done.

I am home from work sick for the third day in a row. I have the WORST cold I've ever had and that combined with the all day morning sickness has not made for a good week.

Tuesday I went to the doctor for some morning sickness medication. I just couldn't take it any longer. I got a prescription, went home and took my first dosage, then I went to sleep for 2 hours. At 4:30 p.m. I took the second dosage and immediately my eye lids were heavy. I went to bed at 7:42 p..m. but before I did I took two more pills as per the directions. I slept until 6:45 a.m. when I got up and tried to get ready for work. What was I thinking? Everything was in slow motion. I was sweating and shaking, I couldn't stand without holding the wall for support. I was basically high. There was no way I could have driven a car. Oh and I threw up. So much for that.

Then, I bawled my eyes out. I was sick, tired, scared and frustrated.

I called the pharmacy but it was closed, then I called TeleHealth. I waited on the line for 30 minutes before talking the the nurse. She eventually transferred me to the pharmacist. Lovely woman, but the news she had for me was not good. She said I had to decide if I wanted to live with the morning sickness or the "fatigue" caused by the medication. Umm... this is not fatigue! I'm stoned!

I have not taken another pill since that day. I have another appointment with my doctor on Monday so I'll talk to her about it then.

So needless to say Wednesday I stayed home, slept most of the day and spent the rest blowing my drippy nose - oh yah, don't forget about the mother of all colds! I spoke to my boss Wednesday and based on how I sounded, she told me to take Thursday off too. I guess I sounded as bad as I felt.

Today is Thursday. The good news is that I don't seem to feel nauseous, although I have thrown up several times all ready today. My cold is still here in full force. I'm hoping by tomorrow will be the day that it turns the corner. I really do have to go back to work tomorrow, so let's keep our collective fingers crossed that I feel even slightly human.

The person I feel the worst for is not me, it's Norm. I told him this baby thing was going to be great. So far it has been less than great. His wife is a sobbing, snotty, sneezing, barfing mess who is second guessing this whole Goddamned thing. This kid better be the next Brad Pitt.

Drugs. Sweet, beautiful drugs.

After a solid week of constant nausea and intermittent vomiting I finally broke down and went to my doctor today. I was desperate. What a HORRIBLE feeling! I have been completely useless!

My doctor just happened to have horrible morning sickness for the first 20 weeks of her pregnancy so she has a lot of sympathy. She prescribed Diclectin - the same nausea drug she took throughout her pregnancy.

I am thrilled to finally get some relief. Hopefully it actually works! I'll keep you posted.

Oh no... please tell me this wont last forever

Wow I didn't think I could feel worse than I did yesterday, but surprise!, today is much worse. Much worse. Spending the day on the couch watching the Olympic coverage.

7 weeks and 5 days sucks

This has been the most difficult day thus far.
I'm vomiting, nauseous, and exhausted.
Thank goodness I had a vacation day today.
Let's hope this doesn't last forever. :(

The best husband in the world!

This post was going to be about how God awful I feel today - no like seriously a.w.f.u.l. - but then I came to my senses.

So I've decided instead to write about my wonderful husband. No like seriously wonderful. Since peeing on the stick(s) Norm has been incredibly supportive, listened to me whine about how seriously awful I feel most days, how fat I am likely to be eight months from now.

The first day I felt bad my wonderful husband marched himself to the drugstore and spoke to the pharmacist about remedies for morning (try all day) sickness. He came home with an arsenal of anti-barf supplies. Ginger ale, ginger beer, ginger cookies and soda crackers - oh and the knowledge that those motion sickness bracelets are a bunch of hooey.

What a wonderful husband.

Since then, the barffieness is still here, and so is my wonderful husband.
He makes me healthy dinners, concerned about my iron intake, he lets me sleep in, walks the dogs when I can't, and asks me how I am feeling daily.

Let's hope the barffieness goes away soon, and that my wonderful husband doesn't!

Thank you honey!! I LOVE YOU!