Monday, March 19, 2012

A long and winding road...

I didn't puke for three days.

My mother in law called to see how I was, and I joyfully announced that I'm pretty sure I was done with the trials of the first trimester.  At 11 weeks on Tuesday, surely the pressure was about to lift, and with it the constant frustration of carrying a paper towel and plastic bag. 

I was cooking again!  My handsome husband's cheeks were no longer caving in!  Oh the things I was cooking!  Lasagna.  Tomato soup.  Homemade bread.  SURELY we're on the home stretch.

Nope.

Saturday night I was feeling queasy.  I took a walk with Alex and Alyssa, breathing in extra deep to thwart the feeling in my stomach.  I drank peppermint tea.  I gulped a little Emetrol.  I ate pretzels.  And then, like a fool, I ate fruit.  Melon and pineapple and grapes and oranges and strawberries.  Not in excess, mind you.  Maybe one of each.  What in the WORLD was I thinking?!?

The list of places I threw up before I actually made it to the toilet was extensive.  I ended cleaning it up from the sheets, off the walls, Andy's nightstand, the carpet, the hallway floor, the bathroom floor, and the SIDE of the toilet, my hair, the shower curtain...  I was trying to hold it in, and all the while just kept swallowing it and puking it back up and I couldn't breathe and I was running as fast as I could to the bathroom.  I was sure I was going to asphyxiate and that was going to be it.

It was a horrendous experience.  I will most likely never forget it.  And neither will you, now that you've read it and winced.  (Hey, I promised you bodily fluids, didn't I?)  This is as real as pregnancy gets.  When people ask me how it's going, I tell them honestly, "I'll enjoy it more when I'm not so sick."

Sunday morning I woke up to find I had burst all the capillaries in my face, chin and neck.  Evidently this is common in pregnancy because your body is pumping so much extra blood through your body that your capillaries become stretched so thin that they burst if you exert too much force.  Who knew, really?



As an aside, I want to mention how loving and compassionate my husband was.  He's really working hard at meeting where I am on this stuff, and the fact that he's trying shows me he really does love me the way I know he does.  He's a GOOD man.

So today I will start the count again.  Yesterday; one day without puking.  Check.  Like at a factory!  -- days without injury.  Done.

Tomorrow is 11 weeks!  Bring it!