This week was probably the best yet…no, the morning sickness didn’t go away…but I did tell everyone at work the big news and that was really fun. I decided to do something cutesy, mostly because walking around and telling everyone you’re knocked up is really awkward. So, I put this in the staff room:

My classroom is upstairs, next to the staff room, so I got to see everyone’s reactions, which was cool.

After a bunch of teachers came in saying congratulations and giving hugs, one of my kiddos finally asked, “Why is everyone telling you congratulations?”

I said, “Because I shared some news with the them.”

Then he wanted to know what the news was.

So, I told him, “I’m going to have a baby in August.”

All of the kids, who were engaged in various activities froze and looked up at me. The responses were as follows:

“I knew it!”

“Weird!!!!”

“Like, for real?”

“But you’re not even fat.”

“Wait, August is 6 months away. It takes 9 months.”
Me: I’ve known for a few months
“And you didn’t TELL US!!!”

“That’s kind of like lying.”

Then the girls started picking baby names and telling me to throw it in the river if it’s a boy.

How far along?
15 weeks.

Total weight gain:
6.6 lbs.

How big is baby?
Big as an orange!

How I’m feeling:
Well, I projectile vomited on the wall on Tuesday morning. We’ll call that an all time low. But Dave said I was a very jovial wall puker. What else can you do but laugh at yourself (and scream, “Bring a towel!”) when you’ve just regurgitated all over a wall.

Maternity clothes?
Same. I’m thinking it’s about time to buy some more though. These regular jeans will probably be a no go in another week or two.

Sleep:
Pretty good. Still tired, like, always.

Best moment this week:
The kids finding out at work and all of the questions and comments that ensued.

Food cravings:
Salsa is still up there and V8 juice. Yet tomatoes on their own are repulsive to me. Explain that!

Symptoms:
Same ol’ shit.

Feeling toward Pregnancy:
It’s more fun when everyone knows!

What I miss:
I still want beer and veggies bennie…maybe together.

What I am looking forward to:
Tomorrow’s appointment.

Well, I made it…a little worse for wear…but here we are: the 2^nd trimester! The time when all this sickness will stop, I will get my energy back, smiles, rainbows, and butterflies…right…RIGHT?! I’m not holding my breath but this is what I have been promised. Universe, please deliver.

How far along?
14 weeks

Total weight gain:
5.4 lbs Might need to throw out the scale considering I’m supposed to gain a pound per week for the rest of my pregnancy…and don’t give me that “it’s not fat, it’s pregnant” shit because I’m not going to birth a 30 pound baby. It’s “fat AND pregnant.”

How big is baby?
Lemon-sized

How I’m feeling:
I was feeling pretty good for most of the weekend, then got nauseous last night and had a puke-fest this morning.  Headaches are the worst of it right now and by the end of the work day I’ve been exhausted to the point of tears. I’m hoping that 2^nd trimester energy boost will happen soon.

Maternity clothes?
Same mix of both…Still snugly fitting into the 2 pairs of normal jeans that still fit…I think there’s a couple more weeks in ‘em.

Sleep:
9:00pm bedtime with a 1:30am pee routine is my weekday norm. Weekends I can make it to an 11pm bedtime if I’m lucky (and have slept in). Party animal.

Most awkward moment this week (This is supposed to be “best” moment, but who doesn’t love awkward?):
Telling the last of my bosses the news and being asked, “Was it planned?”
Yep, one boss wanted to know the color of my pee and the other wants the details of how I got knocked up…never a dull moment.

Food cravings:
vegetable juice, salsa, pickles (cliche, I know), veggies with ranch

Symptoms:
Headaches, nausea and puking, boob pain, back pain…the list goes on…

Feeling toward Pregnancy:
Slightly less negative this week.

What I miss:
Having energy and the good headache drugs.

What I am looking forward to:
Next week’s appointment.

Yep, I jinxed myself. I was brave enough to eat an apple with peanut butter for breakfast on Tuesday morning because it had been a whole week with no pukes….bad move. My streak is over and apples are not fun on the way back up.

How far along?
13 weeks

Total weight gain:
I think I’m up to 5. Two kids at school have randomly rubbed my belly (they don’t know there’s a baby in there).

How big is baby?
Peach-sized!

How I’m feeling:
I’ve been bouncing back and forth between nausea and headaches. I can’t decide which is the lesser evil.

Maternity clothes?
Same as last week.

Sleep:
I’d sleep all day if I could. I’ve been suuuuper exhausted… but I guess 2 late work nights and Valentine’s Day at school will do that to you.

Best moment this week:
I had another great Saturday with no pukes. We met my parents for lunch and did some shopping (because I NEEDED a Wii U. Don’t ask…I don’t even know).
I think I over do it during the week and when I can finally relax, I feel pretty good.

Food cravings:
Carbs, all carbs.

Symptoms:
-Still the morning sickness but it’s getting way better.
-Tension headaches.
-My boobs are huge…and by huge, I mean a b cup…everything is relative.

Feeling toward Pregnancy:
Not lovin’ it so far. This munchkin might be an only child.

What I miss:
Beer.

What I am looking forward to:
Telling people. I made a cutesy little, make-you-gag-cheesy announcement to post on facebook. I think I am going to tell work people at 14 weeks and post on facebook at 15, after our next appointment. I was going back and forth with whether or not to put anything on facebook at all, but I think our parents are going to go crazy if we don’t tell people soon and if it’s going to end up on facebook, I want to be the one to put it there.

I don’t want to jinx it…but I haven’t thrown up since Monday.

I think most people (who haven’t lived the reality of pregnancy, or at least this particular version of the reality) have this “awww it’s so wonderful…look at the cute baby bump” etc. etc. perception. Even though I have a close friend who was sick her entire pregnancy, I STILL thought I’d feel like “ohhh so wonderful,” even if I was super sick. The reality is- fuck no, you don’t. Puking every day is not fun no matter how excited and happy you are to be a mommy-to-be. Every woman who deals with morning sickness deserves a fricken medal. Period.

Now that that rant is over…this week was pretty good! Monday was an all-day conference day at work. I woke up 30 minutes early to give myself ample puking time and it proved to be needed. I felt pretty bad the whole day BUT something magical has happened since… I think, dare I say it, the morning sickness might be coming to an end. I’ve been feeling pretty good since Monday. I’m feeling way less sick and I’m starting to get a little more energy back. Each day I feel better and better. Saturday I felt amazing. We went to breakfast, and then shopping. I feel human again, which is promising!

How far along?
12 weeks

Total weight gain:
Still the 2lbs.

How big is baby?
Plum-sized.

How I’m feeling:
Great finally. Woohoo! Though, I am getting what (through my extensive online research) seems to be sciatic pain, at night. By 8:00pm walking kills me. My lower back and legs hurt BUT, believe me, I’ll take a nighttime backache over vomiting, any day.

Maternity clothes?
Same as last week: a mix of both regular and maternity clothes. While I am a huge proponent of maternity pants…I’m not so crazy about the swimsuit selection. We planned our spring break babymoon trip to Maui and I’m seriously dreading maternity swimsuits right now.

Sleep:
I’ve been waking up a ton in the middle of the night from weird dreams and the need to pee all-the-freaking-time.

Best moment this week:
Saturday, realizing I actually felt REALLY good for the first time in ohhhh 7 weeks! I said to Dave it was like that burst of energy when you start to feel better after having a really bad cold or flu…only you had the flu for 2 months so it’s magnified by like 1,000,000. Things are lookin’ up!

Food cravings:
French fries…I’ve become a Seattle area French fry connoisseur.
I also caved and ate a steak sandwich today. So much goodness and so little guilt (sorry PETA).
I know, I know, my eating habits are shit right now…I do eat a lot fruits and veggies too! Organic ones at that!…no pesticides for this baby…only an endless supply of processed cheese. Nothin’ but the best! But seriously, lets put this in perspective here: at least I’m not doing crack or something.  

Symptoms:
Still the boob stabbing and I look fat in the tummy.

Feeling toward Pregnancy:
I’m feeling more excited now that I don’t feel like death…I really hope I’m not jinxing this!

What I miss:
Still want that veggies bennie!

What I am looking forward to:
Being able to tell everyone in a couple of weeks and our next appointment.

Week 10 was rough…this kid better be pretty awesome.

How far along?
11 weeks

Total weight gain:
2 pounds…feels like 42 though!

How big is baby?
The size of a lime! This is insane to me because 2 weeks ago it was the size of an olive. No wonder I’m so effing tired! It’s a lot of work turning an olive into a lime.

How I’m feeling:
Craptacular. This past week has rivaled week 6, which was probably the worst week of my life- puking and all-day nausea in full force. I recently read that week 10 is supposed to be the worst of it. I’m praying (mostly to the porcelain gods) that this is true. On top of that I’m fighting off a nasty cold epidemic that has swept my 2^nd grade class. Half of them are hacking and coughing (on me, the tables, other children). One kid turned in a freshly sneezed on paper and I just about died. I left work at 1:30 on Thursday because I felt like a fever was coming on. I went home and slept for several hours hoping it would help my body fight off the germs. Come on flu shot, do your job!

Maternity clothes?
Still loving the elastic waistbands! I have 2 pairs of regular jeans that I can still fit into and I can wear the others, unbuttoned, with a belly band. I’ve been wearing some maternity tanks too because they’re long enough to cover the belly band and the (oh so attractive) elastic waistband of the maternity pants. Layering has been my friend. Thank god it’s winter.

Sleep:
I’m generally passed out before 9 p.m. these days. I can’t get enough sleep. Weekends are awesome because I can nap. Building a human is exhausting!

I’ve been having crazy dreams too. I learned I shouldn’t watch “The Following” right before bedtime unless I want to be awakened at 4 a.m. by the image of slaughtered cats.

Best moment this week:
Telling Stef the big news via skype!

Food cravings:
I had an hour period of time where I really wanted a steak (I don’t eat meat and even when I did, I didn’t even like steak). I didn’t act on it for fear of deep regret in the form of uncontrollable vomiting…and all that moral crap too.

Symptoms:
-Pregnancy brain! I copied the wrong week’s homework for my kiddos not once, not twice, but three times before I got my act together. I started to hand out the previous week’s spelling words on Monday. The kids think I’m losing it, but what’s new?

-My boobs feel like they are being stabbed 24-7.

-Still puking.

-Super sense of smell…super annoying when pretty much all smells make me feel like ralphing.

Feeling toward Pregnancy:
This is the hardest thing I’ve done in my life. Being a teacher and having to always be “on” is really tough when you feel like complete shit. At the same time I’m so happy I am having a healthy pregnancy, so I should count my blessings and all that crap.

What I miss:
Feeling good, lattes (and not being repulsed by the smell of coffee).

What I am looking forward to:
The second trimester. Pleeeease get here fast! I’m excited to tell people and dying (I’m quite certain this is literal) to feel better. 

It should be obvious that anything that begins with peeing on a stick is not going to be glamorous. Three positive pee sticks, a countless number of pukes, one pant size, and one cup size later and here we are: ten weeks pregnant!

We got to see Mini Morgan for the first time on Friday. I was expecting to see just an unrecognizable blob (no offense, fetus) with a heartbeat, but it actually looks like a freaking baby! We saw him/her (“it” sounds rude) turn over on his/her side and raise his/her little mini hand. It was amazing. It made this all feel real (apparently puking daily isn’t real enough for me).

I’m starting to look, or at least feel, a little chubbo. When my size 4s were getting snug, I bought some 6s and within 2 weeks those have quickly become uncomfortable too. I ordered my first round of maternity garb during an Old Navy sale and let me tell you, there is no shame in maternity pants. They are awesome and I might just wear them for always.

I’ve become obsessed with pregnancy blogs. Mostly because 50% of the pregnancy books out there convince you you’re going to kill your baby one way or another. I much prefer real mommies’ sass, wit, and cursing over hearing the 7,000 things I should not ingest, encounter, or do. Anyway, the major pregnancy blog staple is the weekly questions. When I was not pregnant, this was cheesy to me but now that commercials make me cry, all bets are off. I’m doing it. Feel fee to join me on this sappy journey or hop off of the crazy train right now. I respect your decision either way. 😉

(I promise they won’t all be this long)

How did you find out you were pregnant? After our December staff meeting, I was driving home and felt weird cramps, but I was a week away from my period so I just felt like something was off. I had been sick for a few days, it was a late night, I was exhausted. I walked in the door announced to my husband I felt like crap and (oh by the way) I’m just going to take this pregnancy test (we had already stocked up on since we decided to start trying the month before). The first line (the “you’re knocked up” one) immediately showed up. I sat there for what Dave says was an eerily long time, in shock. You see, I had adamantly declared I didn’t feel pregnant just that morning. I was positive it wasn’t going to happen that fast. Wrong! When I finally came out of the bathroom I just held up the pee stick and we both stood in shock. Then I said, “Holy shit!” a bunch of times (I really need to stop that once I birth this kid). After the shock settled (A little, I don’t think it will ever go away. The kid will be 18 and I’ll still sit in wonder about how this all happened), the excitement started to set in.

What kind of Pregnancy test did you take? First Response (A+ on early results!)

How many? 3 total, I think. I took one the next day and another theday after that…just to be sure…nutcase, I know.

What were your 1st symptoms? Cramping…all the REAL(LY BAD) symptoms came around week 5.

Who did you tell first? Dave. Seems only fair. 😉

Who was with you when you found out? Dave.

My 1st reaction: Fetus earmuffs- “Holy shit.”

Was your baby planned? Yes

How far were you when you found out? 3 weeks! First Response does not mess around.

How did your parents react? I told my mom (and dad and brother) the day after I found out, after her birthday dinner. She was super surprised and excited. She said, “Best birthday ever.”
We told Dave’s parents and sister when we went to Oregon at Christmas time. We got them all mugs that said cutesy grandparent/aunt sayings as Christmas presents. They were excited too. Dave’s mom had a feeling there might be a mini Morgan on the way soon. Grandma sixth sense!

My baby

Due Date: August 27

Do you know the sex? No. All of the old wives tales and the Chinese gender predictor point to girl, but we’ll see!

Any names? So far our top favorites are Olivia (Livi), Norah (Dave doesn’t like the h at the end, but he’s also not puking everyday so h it is), Hannah, Jack, Henry, Grant

Any Ultrasounds? Yes, at 9.5 weeks. Baby measured at 10 weeks.

Have you heard the heart beat? No but we saw it on the ultrasound.

Who do you think it will look like? Cindy Crawford? Ok seriously, I’m kinda hoping for a cuuuute little redhead.

Will the baby have siblings? No and I can already tell you I’m gonna need a few years to recover from this! But most likely, eventually.

Have you felt the baby move? No, it’s too teeny! I can’t wait to feel it though. I’ll probably regret saying that a couple months from now when he/she is kicking me in the spleen at 2 a.m.

Miscellaneous

Did you have morning sickness? Yes. I puke almost every day. The constant day-long nausea is starting to let up for the most part though.

Did you have any cravings? Not really, but with the “morning” sickness there is usually one specific thing that sounds good to eat and every other food on the planet is repulsive.

Did you have any mood swings? I cried because Red Robin forgot my side of ranch in our to-go order. We’ll go with yes.

Are you a high risk pregnancy? No.

Any complications? No, knock on wood!

Formula or Breastfeeding? I’d like to breastfeed.

Have you bought anything for the baby yet? No. I’m sure I’ll go nuts when we know if it’s a boy or girl.

When did you start to show? I don’t think anyone else can tell, but I can now.

How long could you wear your regular clothes? Still wearing them, did rock the maternity jeans a couple of times.

Home or Hospital? Hospital birth center but we chose to use a nurse midwife. Good balance of modern and hippy.

Natural or Medicated birth? Going to try natural but definitely not going to beat myself up if I decide on an epidural after knowing what it really feels like.

Who will be in the delivery room with you? Dave. No one else needs to see that mess! …I mean miracle.

Do you think you will need a C-section? I’m hoping not but again…whatever needs to happen I’ll roll with (like there’s a choice).

Will you cry when you hold the baby for the 1st time? I’m sure I will. Huggies commercials make me cry right now.

What’s the 1st thing you might say to the baby? “I love you”…duh.

Will you let anyone video tape the birth? Dear god, no!

Are you excited? Yes!

What is your favorite thing about being pregnant? Knowing there’s a liiittle baby in there! Everything else has pretty much sucked…can’t wait for this raved about 2^nd trimester!!!

What is the worst thing about being pregnant? Morning sickness, 3 a.m. pees, no alcohol or coffee (even though both sound repulsive to me, thanks mother nature), crazy emotions, not being able to tell everyone why you look and feel like shit.

What’s one thing you miss doing since being pregnant? Eating veggies bennie…mmm…

Any days you wish you were not pregnant? On days I am super sick and emotional.

Are you ready for a baby? Mentally yes, physically no…but we have a few months!

How many kids do you want? Probably 2.

Do you talk to the baby? No. He/she can’t hear yet!

Do you still feel attractive? When I’m not hunched over the toilet.

Do you like kids? Of course.

How far along are you now? 10 weeks.