Morning Sickness

It seems like almost everyone deals with morning sickness in some form or another. Those of you who haven't yet or didn't, consider yourselves lucky! The best way I can describe morning sickness for those of you who haven't experienced it, is nausea. You know the feeling you get when your stomach is empty and growling but you can't stand to think about putting anything in it! Also a similar feeling to having the flu. Don't let the term confuse you though, just because its called morning sickness does not mean it only happens in the morning. As a matter of fact, I have experienced this most commonly in the middle of the day around lunch time.
All in all I would have to say I have been very fortunate up to this point. I have had some morning sickness but certainly not to the point of actually making me vomit. I have had a lot of advice from friends and family and have found that if I keep something in my stomach I am much less likely to have the very sick feelings. At first I tried drinking Vernors, a ginger ale, this helped a lot and I would drink one before lunch so my appetite would be better. Then I realized that I was adding an additional 150 calories to my diet (you only need about 300 extra calories during pregnancy) for each soda and no nutritional value so I decided to search out some additional remedies. The next thing I tried was ginger cookies, I know not much more nutritional value, but I didn't need to eat as many to get the soothing feeling. I ate saltine crackers to keep something in my stomach when nothing sounded good. I also found that if I ate more frequent meals I was more likely to keep my appetite. I have found that if I eat dinner early I will get hungry right before bed. If I don't eat anything I may be nauseous when I wake up. So if this happens I try to eat something before bed. If I wake up feeling sick in the morning I know I have to force myself to eat something so I will have a yogurt because its nutritious and easy to get down quickly.
The biggest thing for me is to try to eat healthy even though I may not feel like it. I try to keep a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables handy. Quite often I will find myself losing track of time while I am away from the house so in this case I keep granola bars in my purse for a quick snack. My most favorite unhealthy food is pizza, but since I have been pregnant I cannot eat it. Even if I just get a vegitable pizza to try to keep it less greasy and more healthy my body seems to reject it. About 30 minutes later I am sick and regret ever trying to eat it. This experience has made it easier for me to eat healthy because I want to avoid feeling bad later. I still have the occasional Ginger Ale when it gets really bad but I try to leave it for a last resort.

September Month 3

Okay, the moment you have all been waiting for :) The first belly shots. I have gotten an aray of comments on my belly. Some people think I am not showing at all yet and some people think I am showing quite a bit. I think it depends on the day (and what I've eaten!) I have actually lost a little bit of wait so far in the pregnancy. I have had a little bit of morning sickness but not enough to make me physically sick. I have to attribute the weight loss to

changing my diet and not knowing what I feel like eating (most of the time).

I have to admit, the belly photos are a little embarassing! But....I know that is what I look for when I am trying to keep up with a friend or family member who is pregnant, so here you go. I'm sure I'll get more used to it as the pregnancy progresses and its always fun to have those pictures to look back at and keep track of the pregnancy. I'll keep you updated as we grow!!

Due Date

Based on all of the Due Date calendars available online we have figured out our prospective due date to be April 10, 2010, exactly one week before Jeff's birthday. Hopefully we will have a beautiful baby to welcome to the family and the baby will be able to give its daddy the best birthday present he has ever had! I am happy about the time of the year we are due! Hopefully we will be able to enjoy the summer with a couple of months under our belt as new parents!