Gah

Thanks so much for all your well-wishes. The last week has been very strange. It's very hard to wrap my mind around the concept of being pregnant. If I didn't have so many symptoms, I would hardly believe it to be real.

I went to the doctor yesterday and had a lot of bloodwork done, but he said it is too soon for a sonogram. I have to go back a week from Monday. I don't think I'll really believe it until I can see it with my own eyes.

I'm a little wigged out worrying about the expense of all this. I've been looking around online to see how much things cost and I'm definitely overwhelmed. To make it all worse, the doctor demands his delivery fee up front. After insurance, I will still owe about $1000, which I have to pay before January. I guess that means no Christmas presents this year.

I've been trying to get my diet plan in gear. It's a little different now. I'm thinking in terms of making sure I eat the right nutrients. Plus, I'm supposed to eat high protein and high carb and average between 2000 and 2300 calories a day. It's a real change. Also, I seem to get full really fast, but then I'm hungry two hours later.

I start back to work next week, and I'm very apprehensive about that. I've been cooking and freezing food so I have as little food prep to do as possible. I will be completely swamped--we have a new curriculum and I have a department full of new teachers that will need orientation. There's also a conflict I have with my principal that will have to be resolved. I haven't dealt with it yet because I'm so weepy and sensitive. I don't trust myself to have a conversation without bursting into tears, which will seriously undermine my bargaining position.

To make it even better, my doctor says the nausea usually kicks in in week six, which will be next week. Between that and having to pee every 20 minutes, I hope I can keep this pregnancy under wraps.

Exercise has been pretty much non-existent the last two weeks. I went to yoga last Sunday and was so weak, I couldn't really finish the class, even though it was a beginner class. About 75% of the way through, my muscles just started shaking and I just had to collapse on my mat and lie there like a dead fish. I'm going to try a prenatal class this afternoon. Cardio, however, is out of the question. I don't even have the energy to walk around all the day without lying down every few hours.

As I said, I'm concerned about next week. I know I'm going to be exhausted and likely to start crying at the slightest little thing. At least with the increased activity, I might stop gaining weight so rapidly. I know I will gain in pregnancy, but it's really too soon for me to be putting on so much weight. I really want to keep it under control.

I'm sure I won't have much time to spend blogging the next month. I just have to reserve my energy and time for the most important and pressing things. I hope you'll continue to keep checking back periodically and not write me off altogether! I'm going to try to update at least once a week, but probably no more.

Wish me luck!

You can do it

First trimester is pretty rough with the nausea and so forth, but you'll start to bloom in the second trimester, then lumber around ready for it all to be finished in the third. That's what I did.

Take care of yourself and don't fret. I know you have a tendency to read a lot and then worry when things aren't happening for you the way they are described in the books. Don't worry.

By the way, a new life is a great Christmas present!

You will love being pregnant

Congrats.  I just loved it.  You and the baby are one.   How miraculous it is to have a life in us.  You do get tired, so take your naps when you can.  Take your vitamins and eat smaller meals.  Each pregnancy is different, so the books can only give you an overview.  I had two with little morning sickness and one with morning sickness for the 1st 16 weeks, throwing up at least once a day.  Weird, huh?  I had one vaginal birth, 1 c-section and 1 VBAC.  With the first, I spotted the first three months~he was a healthy boy, the second, we couldn't hear the heartbeat until after the 16th week~another healthy boy and the third I had an amnio due to age~she is a healthy girl.  They are all different.  I kept a journal during my pregnancies to help me remember each and they are different.  They are expensive, but the Lord has always provided.  So put your worries away and enjoy!!!

wow!

Well girl hang on for all the mom stories.  I know you will have so much support and advice along the way.  2300 calories? WOW!  What a HUGE jump!  But, like you said, your appetite is changing so I guess it makes sense.  Prenatal yoga sounds like a good idea. 

Money is a HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGE issue for us when it comes to kids.  We are just not ready to live the sacrificial life it takes to be good parents.  God bless you for doing it! :-)  The vast majority of teachers make great moms, in my very unscientific opinion.   And knowing you, I have no doubts!