17 Weeks!

I thought last week was trying. Hahahahahahahahahaha...

First, I had to get through the holidays. And not just any holiday. But holidays with Eric's family. Don't get me wrong, I love the holidays, and I love Eric's family, but those are three indecisive boys with a very indecisive mother and for this agenda-driven woman, it drives me absolutely batty.

But, we made it through, unscathed and with a pretty enjoyable time.

I was so excited to get home, have a relaxing Sunday, and SLEEP on Saturday night. But James had other plans.

About midnight, he began throwing up. Yep, the stomach bug hit our little man. And it was messy. Eric and I finally got to sleep about 4 a.m. and on Sunday, we were pretty much zombies.

But I am not a nap person, and Eric had to work and get things done, so walking around like a zombie it was.

Luckily, James slept all of Sunday. But then Monday hit. I was fine at school and looking cute in one of my new maternity outfits! And then I started getting nauseous. At first, I thought it was maybe a touch of that second-trimester nausea that hits pregnant women every once in awhile. So I went and laid down in the nurse's office.

I felt a little better after about 10 minutes, so I went back to class.

Until a little while later, I had to go back to the nurse's office. I only had a couple hours of school left, teaching lessons, so I knew I had to push through. Until my principal saw me and popped his head in.

"Go home."

Sweet music to my ears. I got up and headed out and as soon as I got home, the stomach cramps started. About 4:00, I started puking like I was back in my freshman year at ISU. And then the shits started. Oh my god.

At one point, I was shitting in the toilet and puking in a trash can in front of me. At another point, I coughed (because yes, people, I still have a cough) and had to run to the bathroom so the puke coming out my nose could make it somewhere. Needless to say, there are quite a few things in our bathroom that have yet to be cleaned...

Monday night was like a delirium. I remember a couple of times waking up to the bathroom light on. Once I woke up and it was off, but our closet light was on. At one point, I woke up with my arm hanging off my bed and drool running down the side of my face.

Good thing my husband married me for my sense of humor.

Somewhere in there, I was able to call in sick for the next day. When I awoke the next morning after puking until about 4:00 a.m., I had a text message from a co-worker. It asked, "Do you have sub plans."

I think I text something back like, "Idk. Just give them study hall." I think that's what happened.

I had an OB appointment later in the afternoon, so after shitting and puking some more, I headed there. I hadn't done either in a few hours, and I could feel the stomach cramps beginning to subside, so I wasn't too worried about it. But I was so weak.

The OB appointment was less than exciting, but I could tell she was worried about me. I was worried about me too. I cried through the entire appointment until the end, when she suggested I go get some fluids.

But how the hell was I supposed to do that when I had to take care of James that night when Eric needed to work late?

Luckily, our babysitter stepped in when I went to pick him up from daycare and took care of him. Thank the Lord for small favors. I went to urgent care, since the ER would cost me a pretty penny.

Urgent Care was packed. I was miserable, hadn't showered, brushed my teeth, hair, taken off make-up from the previous day, or really changed clothes. I'm positive I had puke somewhere on my person.

I waited an hour for them to tell me they had run out of IV Fluid bags and they were sending me to Ankeny. Are you fucking serious? I wasn't about to drive another 20 minutes to sit for another hour to get fluids. So I just came home, had a little bit of soup, and went back to sleep.

Soup was the first thing that I had had in over 24 hours, and it did not sit well in my belly. The stomach cramps were back, and I was miserable until well after midnight. Again, I took a sick day and here we are. 17 weeks. Jesus, I hope this week is better.


How far along? 17 weeks!
Maternity clothes? Besides the sweats I have been in for the stomach flu, not too many. Just the regulars that I seem to be pulling out all the time.
Weight gain? This is where I was really concerned yesterday. When they weighed me at the doctor's office, I was at 7 pounds below my previous weight. Granted, I had had nothing to eat in 24 hours, but at the same time, 7 pounds is pretty significant weight loss for someone who is pregnant. I am also trying to stay more active, but I haven't seen the weight I saw at the doctor's office since I was so sick at Waukee. The OB looked at me and said, "You have been really sick, to have lost that much weight in such a short amount of time." But even watching my 7th and 8th grade concert, I noticed that I looked really trim, and at Thanksgiving, my (soon-to-be, I'm almost positive!) sister-in-law commented that I looked really good. But looking good and being mommy-rexic are two very different things, and I want to stay away from the latter.
Stretch marks? No. Still lotioning away!
Best moment this week? My OB appointment, even though I cried through the whole thing, especially when it took them forever to find the heartbeat (which was 164!). But at that appointment, we were able to schedule our ultrasound and we were able to get it before Christmas! Wahoo! So excited!!!
Miss anything? Feeling that second trimester spurt of energy. Oh, spurt of energy, where art thou?
Movement? About every night at 9:30 or so, Baby E starts making his or her movements. They are so much fun to feel!
Food cravings? Interestingly enough, last night, I had a craving for a Jimmy John's sandwich, even though I hadn't had anything to eat in over 24 hours. But that was the first thing I wanted, which I also knew, was going to be the first thing to take me back to the toilet should I have it. So I passed. But instead of the typical chicken noodle or tomato soup, I made Eric get me broccoli/cheese soup. Holy smokes. So good. I might go downstairs and make some more...
Anything make you queasy or sick? Hahahahahahaha...try the stomach flu!
Labor signs? No!
Symptoms? Between the puking, shitting, and generally feeling awful, I have no idea if I have second trimester pregnancy symptoms!
Belly button in or out? In!
Linea nigra? Still nothing yet. And tonight, I had a FLAT stomach. FLAT. Even after dinner. So I'm wondering when that will start to show. And i hope I don't get stretch marks along with it!
Wedding ring on or off? On!
Happy or moody?  Moody, tired, sad, occasionally happy, but moreso, just sick. And sick of being sick.
Looking forward to: Finally decorating our Christmas tree, being able to be a good mom to James, and most importantly, the end of the semester, which means the anatomy ultrasound! December 19th, here we come!!!

One Last Thing:
As I was typing this, ERic was laying in bed next to me, reading it as I typed. He would critique me on things, tell me about others, and make sure that I made it out like he was not the absent father, leaving his sicker-than-sick wife at home with the child. In fact, quite the opposite. On Saturday night, Eric took James duty while I cleaned up mess after mess after mess that James left in his stomach-flu wake. Without any sleep on Sunday morning, Eric worked until the wee hours of Monday morning. He slept in, but still worked all afternoon, taking a break only to take care of James after daycare while I was heaving my guts out. He took James to daycare on Tuesday morning after only a few hours of sleep, worked all day and well into the night last night. Tonight, he finally got the job done and is just now getting out of the shower. To say he has been super dad, and super husband, is an understatement. I am grateful for him, and everything he did for me during the first trimester, and all that he has done for me while I've been so sick otherwise. I am truly a lucky girl. :)