Saturday, October 17, 2009

Nausea, Playgrounds, and Pregnancy

Thank you everyone for your kind comments on my announcement. It made me feel very happy at work on Friday as I fought through nausea and exhaustion while trying to write a brief on a complicated securities law issues. Each gmail "new message" alert gave me a reason to smile, and watching for them probably kept me from closing my door, curling up in a ball under my desk, and simply wishing my brief away. So the people working on this case with me probably thank you too.

As of Wednesday, pregnancy is pretty much kicking my ass. I felt 100% fantastic until I woke up that morning - I even took a few extra tests just to see if I really was pregnant - after all, I felt so great! No more. I wake up feeling nauseous, spend a blessed two hours nausea-free from about 4-6 p.m., and then struggle with it all evening. I don't actually want to throw up or feel much of a need to, it's just a constant queasy, almost sick feeling swirling around in my stomach. I'm also exhausted and feel like half of my brain has been removed and replaced with cotton balls. I didn't finish an assignment that I'd promised to send out before I left on Friday, so I stayed up until midnight finishing a draft that was definitely not up to my usual standards, but I sent it out anyway and then went back to the office today for a few hours to clean it up. I absolutely had time to finish it by Wednesday or Thursday of this week, I just couldn't physically pull it together. I hope this gets better soon - usually if I waste time during the day I make up for it at night, but right now that isn't an option. I barely have the energy to fire up the DVR.

This baby is already getting expensive. I've been feeling so bad that I can't think about food until the second I am hungry and then I want exactly whatever pops into my head. This makes packing a lunch and planning meals to make during the week impossible. Today I ate out for every meal and snack. Breakfast tacos with Academomia, a soft pretzel at Target, a footlong Subway sandwich filled with veggies for lunch, and then Chuy's chicken enchiladas for dinner. Apparently this is exactly what my blueberry-sized baby wanted, but our credit card balance is displeased. I'm hoping it will get better soon. With Landon my queasiness abated at 9 weeks, but it was never this bad to start with.

And speaking of Academomia, Landon and I spent a lovely two hours with Becca and family this morning. We met at a magical place where they sell organic breakfast tacos with free range eggs for 99 cents (and organic coffee, if you like that sort of thing) and there's an awesome playground for the kids (and adults!) to enjoy. Ihad so much fun watching the boys I would go entire minutes without thinking about my stomach!

Here Landon is trying to figure out how to categorize 1-year-old Wesley. Is he a baby? Or is he a big boy?



I don't know what he concluded, but he did get very close to Wes and then make his fake chomping "I'm going to eat you" sound, which I hastened to assure Becca, means that he likes Wesley very much. He also tries to pretend chomp on his pound puppy, his real doggies, Lilly the cat, and his Halloween costume. It's a sign of love. Landon also got to play with Charlie, Becca's 3-year-old, and lots of fun was had by all.



I've gone back and published the posts I wrote before I announced my pregnancy. I've forced myself not to edit them in any way, especially the one I wrote about an hour after I took that first positive pregnancy test, so you're getting the raw form. They're all in October, or you can click on the new label "pregnancy #2" to find them. I'm glad I don't have to separate my thoughts anymore. This itty bitty baby is already dominating all aspects of my life. Just practicing, I suppose.

9 comments:

  1. We had a great time too! I love that place. More importantly, kids love that place and it's cheap! :) I had the same food experience with both my pregnancies and I always felt guilt about the extra money we were spending, but it's only a couple of months and you just do what you have to do. I am glad we could be a small respite from the morning sickness!

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  2. Ugh, my morning sickness was so much worse the second time around. I also spent way too much eating out but that doesn't last forever. You just have to find things that work for you. Suckers, crackers, sprite. Whatever works. What was worse is that the nausea came back with a vengance at the end of my third trimester.

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  3. Just got around to checking blogs for the week, so I just read the news. That's wonderful! Congratulations to you and JP (and to Landon, of course). Hopefully you'll move past the nausea soon. :( Ginger? Saltines? Any of the classic remedies work?
    xoxo

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  4. Hey! Congratulations!! That's terrific news!

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  5. Congrats! I'm sure Landon will make a fabulous big brother!

    I hope you get a handle on the nausea soon. :(

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  6. First, congrats to you.

    Second, I, too, am currently pregnant with an unexpected second. I've also been writing secret pregnancy posts, and I wish mine were as upbeat and hopeful as yours were. You seem to be handling your surprise much better than I've been handling mine.

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  7. We are having the same pregnancy - I was fine until a couple of days ago and am now feeling wrrrretched. I really don't remember it being this bad.

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  8. I've been following your blog forever (since you found out you were pregnant with Landon) because I also had a baby during law school in Chicago (after 1L) and am now expecting my second at the end of 3L (in April).
    I just had to comment to say congratulations and that your description of nausea the second time around is so right on, especially having to eat what you want/can tolerate when you want it (without regard to nutrition/$). Nausea with my daughter 15 months ago could not compare to this time around. I have gained a few more pounds this time (so far) due to the eating philosophy above, but there was no alternative in my mind. Best of luck with the continued balancing act; you just have to be in what I like to call "survival mode." I look forward to finding out how things progress!

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  9. It's a bit belated, but Congrats! Children have a way of turning our lives upside down, why should your #2 wait to start? I hope you get to feeling better soon, and can start enjoying it as much as you deserve to!

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