We're Having a Baby!

We had lots of fun 2 weeks ago announcing our pregnancy. We're due December 1.

 People keep asking me how I am. I am definitely not super miserable, like I was concerned about, but I am also nauseated and tired, even now at 14 weeks when I'm supposed to be feeling somewhat better. I do have more bursts of energy now and more good days, so things are looking up.

We are thrilled and things seem to be going well. I've read lots of books. I like What to Expect When You're Expecting and The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy probably equally.
I got one at a thrift store for $1 and the other I got free through my insurance's Baby Benefit Program, which I thought was very cool. I don't even know if I would have found out about the free program if I hadn't decided to call the 24 hour nurse hotline at 5 in the morning because I had tonsillitis and was, of course, worried about how it would affect my unborn baby. I didn't have a fever (I had checked approximately 1 million and 2 times), but I did want to consult with someone before my doctor's office opened. The nurse helped me (mostly told me what symptoms I needed to watch for and to get immediate medical attention) and also told me about the program.

Some things about pregnancy make me laugh, even in a sad way. I can't believe how hungry I am/was the first trimester. I still get hungry, but it's not quite as pronounced. My stomach may have been refusing most types of food, but it would still demand something every few hours when I was awake. I would also eat right before going to bed, and then wake up at 3 a.m. every morning to raid the kitchen and drink lots of water before going back to sleep. When I helped out with Sarah's new baby I may have helped myself to all of her leftovers every time I felt like it. It's a good thing that I made lots of food for her family, because I also ate a lot of her food.

My favorite things to eat when I'm sick are crackers, ginger ale, and (believe it or not) chicken nuggets. I eat the precooked kind from the freezer section that you just microwave. Bananas and applesauce are pretty good too. I'm afraid I'm going to grow really sick of chicken nuggets, but it hasn't happened yet. I think I like them because of all the protein in them, and somehow they don't upset my stomach (like eggs do).

I typically try to eat so much whole wheat flour and so many vegetables, that it's hard for me to mentally comprehend that I just can't. Yesterday I was very proud of the variety and different important food groups I ate. Today I think I am paying for it with nausea.

The time before publicly announcing pregnancy is really funny. I've heard that once I am visibly pregnant, strangers will caution me about drinking caffeine, heavy lifting, and lots of other things. The funny thing is that the developing baby is actually most fragile in the first trimester when I didn't show at all. You get all the unsolicited help and advice after you've become adept at avoiding things you shouldn't do when pregnant. No, I'm not saying that I wish people started their unsolicited advice sooner. Ha. I'm still comfortably too small for strangers to know my secret.

 Before the announcement, I sent Jay to a few service projects alone because I didn't want to stand around awkwardly while other people did hard labor.

There was one time, though, when I was at a project. We were loading bags into the back of my pickup (why I needed to be there). I purposefully looked for light things to lift, and just put anything down that seemed too heavy, leaving it a foot from the pile. I felt pretty obvious in my I'm-pregnant-but-haven't-announced-it state.

Near the end I had a medium-heavy bag that I figured I could manage. At that point the man ahead of me paused and closed the hatch of my truck so we could fill the truck bed full. But this meant I had to lift the medium heavy bag up a few feet higher. I just put the bag down on the ground and walked away, figuring someone else would do it for me. I was right.

I did take some pictures of myself, even though I haven't had drastic changes yet. The first was the day Jay and I found out. It was a fun day. Pregnancy is about 40 weeks long, so I still have a ways to go. Since we don't live by family and some have asked, I thought I would share. I'm sure the pictures will get more interesting as the months go by.

I'm getting bigger, but I don't really look pregnant yet. I'm also standing a little further from the camera -- I was trying to get my head more in the frame.