We had a doctor’s appointment this morning, and saw our little fetus’s heartbeat. This was such a relief, for both my wife and me, because (1) there was only one baby in there (relief for wife), and (2) it is in fact growing as it should, so all of this exhaustion and nausea has some sort of point to it (relief for both of us, but mostly me). I couldn’t stand the thought that I felt this horrible for no particular reason.
Our doctor cheerfully informed me that the nausea usually eases up around week 12, so “only” about five more weeks of it to go. Ha. And to think, not that long ago, I was feeling all left out for my lack of symptoms. I have not actually thrown up yet, but that does not make me feel any better considering that I have felt like I could throw up, at any minute, for days. I have had some conference calls lately where I spent the better portion of them just purely focusing on not vomiting on the floor of my boss’s office. It makes it kind of hard to take notes, actually.
Here are the things that are helping me, on the nausea:
(1) Getting more sleep. If I rest, I feel better all around. Sunday night I slept miserably, and felt horrible all day yesterday. Last night I slept better, and feel better in general today. This did not stop me from passing out the entire Long Island Railroad ride into work after my doctor’s appointment today, but I really do feel much more human with a solid 8 or so hours of sleep under my belt.
(2) Eating McDonald’s. Really! It’s the only thing that sounds good to me, which is weird, since I haven’t really eaten McDonald’s more than a handful of times in about 10 years, but let me tell you, there is nothing like one of those skinny little cheeseburgers right now. I have eaten McDonald’s three times in less than 2 weeks. I figure, as long as I eat some sort of real food in between the McDonald’s trips, it can’t be so bad, if it’s the only thing that doesn’t make me want to barf. Really the moral here is, I think, to eat what your body is asking for if it is trying to reject everything else.
(3) Eating more in the morning and less at night. I used to eat the other way around – a light breakfast, a mid-sized lunch, and a relatively big dinner. Today I had eaten a bagel with cream cheese, a Nutri-grain bar, a breakfast egg wrap, and 2 large glasses of water before 11 am.
(4) I also finally switched out my normal prenatal vitamin for a Flintstones chewable. They seem easier on the stomach, and I had not been that great about taking the prenatals since they upset my stomach so much. Once the morning sickness eases up a bit, I will switch back, but I figured a Flintstones vitamin is better than no vitamin at all, if it’s all I can stomach.
The nurse at my appointment today recommended ginger, so maybe I will try that. I have also heard that hard candy helps, as does drinking food instead of eating it (like smoothies and soups). We shall see.
GAYBY MAKES SIX 