Early Pregnancy
Let's talk about pregnancy! I haven't talked about it too much yet, which is kind of surprising. It's interesting to see how this pregnancy is already different from my others. I hope it's because it's a boy, though I suppose it could be because I'm older and have changed quite a bit over the years.
I'd mentioned early on that I was meeting heartburn for the first time in my life. That seems to have mellowed out, thankfully, but it does hit me every now and then. It seemed bad in the first two or three weeks.
Heartburn and an intense craving for vegetables were what tipped me off that I might actually be pregnant, despite the false test I'd had first.
I've had a few bouts of nausea, but no puking. It hasn't been a whole lot, so I don't know if you could even really consider it morning sickness. Although the last two weeks, my stomach hurts when I first wake up. Not nauseous feeling, but pain. It feels almost like a stone dropped in my gut. It's weird. It usually goes away after I'm up and moving around.
Vegetables. OH MY GOD - GLORIOUS, GLORIOUS VEGETABLES!
This is mellowing out a bit too, but damn, I have been eating my veggies. I was craving my mommy's soup before I even got sick. Made soup one night, added meat and made it stew the next night. Then, about a week later, I got super-sick (lasted two weeks) and was practically living off soup.
I've been eating veggie plates a lot, too. I always take some veggies & ranch to work when I work long enough for a lunch break. Broccoli, carrots, various peppers. I don't even usually care for peppers with dip, but I'm loving them this time.
Then, on New Years Eve, it hit me - I needed a tomato like I needed oxygen. I could feel my very life force slipping away as the hours ran down, heartbreakingly tomato-less. I kept a smile on my face and managed weather small-talk as I checked people out for four more long hours, but the whole time, I was fetishizing dancing in a field of tomatoes and eating them like apples, their sunwarmed juices running down my chin and arms. It was a good thing we closed an hour early that night. I actually jogged my fat ass next door to the grocery store and spent far too much money on a pack of vine-ripened tomatoes. The good shit - you know what I'm talking about. I'm surprised I made it home before I ate one whole, then cut up another for tomato-laden tacos, then made a vat of salsa to top it all off with.
I suppose it's better than my cravings with Eden. I was young and carefree, happily "eating for two" and indulging in whatever my sick little body decided to beg for. It was mostly Popeye's french fries. Josh worked at Popeyes in those days. I'd take my work-in-progress (a King David novel) when I dropped him off in the mornings, and I'd enjoy breakfast and do research while the old guys jabbered on and I took notes on their Southernisms when no one was noticing. I'd hang out until french fry time, and Josh would send me home with a big chicken box full of them. I'd eat them with mayonnaise. I also craved little debbies a lot. I gained over fifty pounds. I quit pepsi, coffee, everything questionable for my baby...but those fried & processed snacks did me in.
Ivy wasn't quite so bad. I mostly craved water with lemon - ALL THE TIME - and strawberry slushes from Sonic. At least I went the fruit route. I'd still have my morning coffee, and occasionally a cold pepsi on hot summer days, but mostly, I was sucking down water and lemon. I'd enjoyed that quite a bit with Baby #3 as well, but it's more because I know I shouldn't be drinking so much soda and coffee, and not because I have this all-encompassing need for water & lemon.
Not like my need for veggies.
Oh my lord, describing and reliving that tomato was so wonderful. I think I have to go indulge. I knew I should have bought those mozzarella pearls last night, but I was trying to stick to my list. I've been trying to plan our menus and focus on budgeting.
That's about it so far for this one. A few bouts of heartburn and upset stomach. A need for healthy food. Sore breasts. A lot of productive urges. So far, so good. Still wish I'd lost more weight first. My face already looks fatter. At least it's veggies and not boxes of french fries two or three times a day. If I can just wean off all the ranch, I might just do all right.
* Edited. Forgot that I did have my tomato moments with Ivy. I used to crave grape tomatoes with basalmic vinaigrette & feta. Mmmm... A comment on one of my communities about prohibited foods reminded me. I think it's asking too much to make us go without sushi and feta. (I do go for smoked or cooked meats though.)
I'd mentioned early on that I was meeting heartburn for the first time in my life. That seems to have mellowed out, thankfully, but it does hit me every now and then. It seemed bad in the first two or three weeks.
Heartburn and an intense craving for vegetables were what tipped me off that I might actually be pregnant, despite the false test I'd had first.
I've had a few bouts of nausea, but no puking. It hasn't been a whole lot, so I don't know if you could even really consider it morning sickness. Although the last two weeks, my stomach hurts when I first wake up. Not nauseous feeling, but pain. It feels almost like a stone dropped in my gut. It's weird. It usually goes away after I'm up and moving around.
Vegetables. OH MY GOD - GLORIOUS, GLORIOUS VEGETABLES!
This is mellowing out a bit too, but damn, I have been eating my veggies. I was craving my mommy's soup before I even got sick. Made soup one night, added meat and made it stew the next night. Then, about a week later, I got super-sick (lasted two weeks) and was practically living off soup.
I've been eating veggie plates a lot, too. I always take some veggies & ranch to work when I work long enough for a lunch break. Broccoli, carrots, various peppers. I don't even usually care for peppers with dip, but I'm loving them this time.
Then, on New Years Eve, it hit me - I needed a tomato like I needed oxygen. I could feel my very life force slipping away as the hours ran down, heartbreakingly tomato-less. I kept a smile on my face and managed weather small-talk as I checked people out for four more long hours, but the whole time, I was fetishizing dancing in a field of tomatoes and eating them like apples, their sunwarmed juices running down my chin and arms. It was a good thing we closed an hour early that night. I actually jogged my fat ass next door to the grocery store and spent far too much money on a pack of vine-ripened tomatoes. The good shit - you know what I'm talking about. I'm surprised I made it home before I ate one whole, then cut up another for tomato-laden tacos, then made a vat of salsa to top it all off with.
I suppose it's better than my cravings with Eden. I was young and carefree, happily "eating for two" and indulging in whatever my sick little body decided to beg for. It was mostly Popeye's french fries. Josh worked at Popeyes in those days. I'd take my work-in-progress (a King David novel) when I dropped him off in the mornings, and I'd enjoy breakfast and do research while the old guys jabbered on and I took notes on their Southernisms when no one was noticing. I'd hang out until french fry time, and Josh would send me home with a big chicken box full of them. I'd eat them with mayonnaise. I also craved little debbies a lot. I gained over fifty pounds. I quit pepsi, coffee, everything questionable for my baby...but those fried & processed snacks did me in.
Ivy wasn't quite so bad. I mostly craved water with lemon - ALL THE TIME - and strawberry slushes from Sonic. At least I went the fruit route. I'd still have my morning coffee, and occasionally a cold pepsi on hot summer days, but mostly, I was sucking down water and lemon. I'd enjoyed that quite a bit with Baby #3 as well, but it's more because I know I shouldn't be drinking so much soda and coffee, and not because I have this all-encompassing need for water & lemon.
Not like my need for veggies.
Oh my lord, describing and reliving that tomato was so wonderful. I think I have to go indulge. I knew I should have bought those mozzarella pearls last night, but I was trying to stick to my list. I've been trying to plan our menus and focus on budgeting.
That's about it so far for this one. A few bouts of heartburn and upset stomach. A need for healthy food. Sore breasts. A lot of productive urges. So far, so good. Still wish I'd lost more weight first. My face already looks fatter. At least it's veggies and not boxes of french fries two or three times a day. If I can just wean off all the ranch, I might just do all right.
* Edited. Forgot that I did have my tomato moments with Ivy. I used to crave grape tomatoes with basalmic vinaigrette & feta. Mmmm... A comment on one of my communities about prohibited foods reminded me. I think it's asking too much to make us go without sushi and feta. (I do go for smoked or cooked meats though.)