A Day of Distraction

I tried a new tactic to fight the first trimester yucky blues today. All weekend as I swallowed hard and my stomach rumbled, I tried to remember how on earth I did this before. I thought back to my first pregnancy during which I was still teaching.

I remember feeling much the same but the distraction of getting my job done helped to ease my pain. So today, I struggled to get out of bed and fought to get some food down so I could distract myself with some activity.

The first order of business was to pack a lunch for our trip to the pool. Then I had to go to Lowe's to pick something up for the house we're STILL building. From there I made a stop at Nelson's office to pick something up and then on we went to the Y.

I actually worked out for the first time in two weeks. Although I got a few hard lumps in my throat, I made it through. I think the endorphins helped. I even giggled at myself a bit as I did my ab workout. The thought of my soon to be expanding stomach made me wonder about the kinds of looks I always get as I continue to work my abs up until the last day. Hey, I know you can't see them anymore by that point, but they sure help in the delivery room.

After my work out, I gathered up the kids and headed for the pool. First order of business was lunch. It's funny how eating affects me these days. The emptier my stomach gets, the more nauseated I feel. As I sat there forcing half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich down I knew it would help, but it was hard to eat.

Two hours of sun and swimming were almost enough to make me forget about the nausea. We headed for the showers and then to Sam's. My mom had a great idea for my inability to cook these days. She suggested I got to Sam's and get some of those pre-made meals. Since, I was already feeling guilty about the two weeks of frozen waffles, cold cereal and grilled cheese sandwiches I had dished out to my family I thought it sounded like a good idea.

Unfortunately, it was a bit harder than I thought. All the free samples I usually love to try made me sick to my stomach. Each aisle we went down only worsened my condition. Everything that normally made me hungry did the opposite. Perhaps the worst moment of all was when we passed by a trial table and the lady said, "How about a garlic or jalapeño stuffed olive?" as she held it out towards me.

Poor lady. Her innocent olives literally made me gag out loud. I had to apologize and explain to her that it wasn't her but my condition that evoked my response. Then, like the loving wife I am, I picked up a jar for Nelson and buried it at the bottom of the cart so I wouldn't have to look at it anymore.

After all that, I was exhausted and so were the kids. So, when we got home, I popped in a frozen pizza because, well, it was all I could do. I keep telling myself that these weeks will not cause any permanent damage to my family's health or well-being. As I apologized to Nelson through near tears about the sorry supper I put on the table, he just looked at me with a loving smile and said, "What's wrong with this? It's great." Ya’ gotta' love the man that can thank you for pizza.

All in all, it was a better day. I may try it again (a shorter version that will hopefully involve a nap) tomorrow. And in a few weeks, I will be singing a different tune I'm sure. The nausea WILL go away. The energy WILL return. And in the meantime, I just try to remind myself that growing a human is very hard work.