This is a new experience for me... I'm blogging in the car on a roadtrip using my new work laptop, equipped with a Verizon aircard. It's amazing how far technology has come even in my 24 years, but I digress...
Anyway, I brought my laptop with the good intentions of getting some work done on the long drive up to Illinois for my cousin's wedding, but some issues with our main server have prevented me from doing so, so what better way to pass the time than write a new blog entry?
There's nothing much new in the Patricks' world, just me being pregnant. Anyone who's been pregnant before knows that's no walk in the park. I think I jinxed myself early on by assuming that since my mom never had any morning sickness with me or my brother, that I was in the clear. Boy was I wrong. At about 6-7 weeks, nausea hit me with the force of a brick wall and didn't subside for almost 2 weeks straight. Now, at 9 weeks and 5 days, I'm just now finally starting to feel semi-normal again, although I never know what sights, smells, or tastes will send me running to the nearest bathroom to dry heave for fifteen minutes. Tyson has been as helpful and supportive as possible, running to the store for the random bland food items I think I can stomach, and getting rid of the ones I can't. And he also doesn't complain that I come home at 5:30 everyday and immediately take a spot on the couch or in bed and don't move until it's time to go to work the next morning. Who knew growing a baby could be so much work, and cause so much exhaustion?
Morning sickness aside, the arrival of our baby is the one thing I've looked forward to more than anything in my life. I thought I was excited about our wedding, but the time flew by for that in comparison to the wait I feel like I have to endure until November when we'll finally meet our little Patrick. Every time I see a baby now, I get choked up and emotional and feel sad that I still have to wait so long. I know those feelings are ridiculous, and 7 months from now I'll be freaking out and thinking how little time I had to prepare for everything. But right now the due date just seems to be light years away!
So far, we've gotten two ultrasounds and two amazing chances to hear the baby's heartbeat. Our OB couldn't be more reassuring and positive about the pregnancy right now, saying everything looks perfect...which makes sense, since I can't imagine my baby being anything less! In our last visit, we actually got to see little tiny body parts...the whole head, and we could even see where the eyes and nose are forming, and arms and legs with little feet... Truly a miracle to see it! And we found out our little nugget is quite an active little thing! While watching the ultraound, tiny legs were kicking nonstop. It was so adorable, and Tyson especially was so giddy he couldn't stop laughing! The doctor told me to get my rest in now, because when TOM gets big enough for me to feel those kicks, I won't be getting any sleep! :)
Funny little anecdote...a true one...that happened to me recently: I'm going to be a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding in mid June. Obviously I'll be showing by then, and the procedures for doing a dress fitting are slightly different than for a non-pregnant person. My friend had called ahead and asked what the process would be for me, and they had told her that they would take my current measurements and ask me a few questions about how far along I was and whether or not it was a first pregnancy, etc. So last weekend I brought my mom with me to David's Bridal to get my measurements done. Of course, it's prom season, so the store was packed with a million teenage girls trying on dresses for that. We were assigned a sales associate who had worked there for less than a week. I explained that I was pregnant, and she asked me what size I normally wear. I told her a 2-4. She brought out three different dresses....sizes 8, 10 and 12. This alarmed me a little, but I didn't say much. She brought me to a dressing room, and right before I went in, she handed me a pillow with two velcro straps and told me I would need to strap it around my stomach underneath the dress. I just stared at her. This was not the process I had been expecting. Coming out of that dressing room was pure misery. I swear I had 50 sets of eyes staring at my huge deformed stomach, with a consultant who was poking and prodding my body but really not making any progress as to what we should do about sizing. In the end, after standing in the middle of that room for ten minutes in front of everyone, it was decided that my normally petite body should order a size 10 dress....3-4 sizes bigger than normal. Not in the mood to argue and really just wanting to escape from the store, I adopted the belief that too much fabric is always better than not enough, and signed the credit card slip and bolted.
So that's our life in a nutshell right now. Well, it's mine anyway. Sleep, pee, take prenatal vitamins, eat something...ANYTHING...as long as I can keep it down, repeat. They say the second trimester is easier...I'm about 3-4 weeks away from that, and I'm sure hoping for even the slightest burst in energy and appetite. Other than that, we're just spending our time making baby plans and, in Tyson's case, waiting for lake and football seasons, respectively. (I think it helps for him to break long waiting periods into smaller, highly anticipated parts...in Tyson's case, it's always summer fun and anything Volunteer related.) Until next post, here's to hoping for less nausea and potty breaks!
