MY FIRST TRIMESTER

I found this cute cartoon online and had to share.

First Clip: I was warned about morning sickness
Second Clip: But I haven't got it...
Third Clip: Instead I've got 24/7 sickness.

My apologies for not updating my blog in the past couple months, but as most of my friends and family already know I had what felt like the worst flu of my life for the whole first trimester of my pregnancy. There were days that I felt so awful that I could not even get out of bed or off the sofa. I could not keep anything down! Getting on the computer only made me feel even more sick and dizzy than I already did! I would read when I could here and there and watched a lot of T.V. which became very old after a while! Foods and smells repulsed me! It seemed as though the only time I was happy was when I was sleeping which I did a lot of during the day because I was so exhausted. Some days I would just be nauseous all day and others I would find myself running to the bathroom to get sick several times a day. There was no particular time of the day that I would feel worse than others...I just felt sick 24/7. I spent many days drinking ginger ale and eating saltines. I even wore Sea Bands on my wrists to help my nausea.

Jake was so helpful and amazing in so many ways. He would try and bring me food and get me to eat, did laundry, cleaned the house, did the dishes, payed bills for me, let the dogs out when they needed to go potty, fed all the animals, brought me flowers and magazines, ran errands for me (including the grocery shopping), held my hair for me while I was getting sick, brought me fresh warm wash cloths to wipe my face, and gave me much needed mental support. I give him so much credit for pulling this all off while working overtime during the busiest season of the year at his work... and he did it all with such love and no complaints! One day he even stopped by Babies R Us to bring me home some goodies such as a cute Elephant baby toy, veggie chips, a strawberry milkshake powder packet, some pregnancy granola bars, and some special pregnancy waters! He even went online and ordered me these all natural ingredient candies and suckers made especially for morning sickness called "Preggie Pops" and "Preggie Drops"! When I would wake up throughout the night because I would sleep so lightly and had trouble getting comfy he would wake up and ask me if I was alright and rub my back to help me fall to sleep. Some nights I would feel so badly from being restless that I would sneak away into the guest room to try and avoid waking him. Sometimes I would wake in the middle of the night to eat some crackers and just the sound of the wrappers would wake him!

Even going to the doctors felt like the hugest chore to me! During one of my Doctors appointments Jake and I discussed with Dr. Stone how I was having trouble keeping the prenatal vitamins down. I told her how I felt that the vitamins were making me sick to my stomach and that it may be contributing to the nausea and lack of appetite and asked for her advice. She advised me to stop taking them for a couple of weeks and to take only 800mg of Folic Acid assuring us that this would be OK.
She said she would rather see me keep foods down than not keep anything including the vitamins down and be getting zero nutrients. She advised us that in a couple of weeks when I was feeling better and approaching my second trimester that I should get back on another brand of prenatal vitamins that may sit better. So, after leaving the appointment Jake and I headed over to Vitamin World to pick up some Folic Acid and to check out their selection of vitamins since the GNC brand was making me gag from the smell and the fact they were "Horse Sized" pills! I even had Jake cut the pills or smash them to sprinkle in what food I could eat but I would still gag! Jake was worried a little even after the Doctor said it would be OK to stop taking the prenatals for a couple of weeks so he grabbed a bottle of gummy bear watermelon flavored children's vitamins to see if maybe I could keep those down and at least get some vitamins! Cute Hubby! We also chose another brand of prenatals for when the time came to start taking them again by the name of "Rainbow Lite" that were petite in size and easier to swallow per the sales girl working there. Some days I was able to take the gummy bear children's vitamins and some days they made my tummy hurt, but I was always able to keep the Folic Acid down without it upsetting my stomach so that was a good thing!

Another person I owe much credit to during this trying time was my Mom. She was so helpful with advice and so caring about everything. Everyday she would call to check on me and see how I was feeling and even offered to come over and help clean the house or help with whatever she could. Many days she would just talk to me on the telephone to keep me company or listen to me cry and try to calm me down reassuring me that it would all pass and to keep my mind on the prize in the end. She was so supportive and I cannot thank her enough for being there for me. She would even send me cute little cards to cheer me up or have my Dad stop by on his way to work to drop off little goodies to make me smile.

Jake's mom also sent a few care packages with things to cheer me up. I will post some pictures of what she sent.