Preg-Zombie

I was always curious about pregnancy symptoms. I wondered if the symptoms just “started” once a pregnancy test was positive, and I wasn’t quite sure why they wouldn’t show up beforehand. In the book I’ve been reading (I’m Pregnant by Lesley Regan, MD) pregnancy symptoms usually start around four weeks into the pregnancy and home tests usually start detecting HCG levels around week 5. What my book says is the most important thing to remember is that every pregnancy is different and everyone will have different symptoms at different times.

Since we found out about the baby, I have been having bits and pieces of the typical symptoms. I’d feel nauseated after I ate anything but Cheerios or saltines. I’ve been joking that the only thing the baby likes is Cheerios. I’ve had to use the bathroom every 30 minutes and I’ve been having trouble staying awake all day. What’s blown my mind the most is how forgetful and clumsy I am! I can’t remember words like refrigerator or how to start my car… I feel like I’m completely brainless and to be honest, it’s quite hilarious!

Looking back to the weeks before we found out, I’ve got several instances where the symptoms of pregnancy had surfaced, but I just didn’t recognize them at the time. One day, Christopher and I were driving in the country and we passed a gravel truck. The smell was horrible and made me so sick, but Christopher wasn’t affected by it at all. Also, I was sleeping a lot more than normal and had a lot more problems with motion-sickness than normal.

But today was the first day I actually felt pregnant.

I woke up around 6:30am and my stomach was churning. I laid in bed for a while, hoping it would pass like it has been over the last weeks, but eventually I asked Christopher to get me some water, Cheerios, and a vomit bowl – in case I couldn’t make it to the bathroom. I felt so bad asking him to get up that early, but he’s so amazing and brought me everything I needed to start feeling better.

I’ve been asleep ALL day… We went over to Cathy & Gordon’s house and I slept on their couch for hours. And I’ve napped twice since then, but I feel like I could fall asleep again at any moment. I told Christopher he could call me “Preg-Zombie,” since that pretty much sums up how I’m feeling.

My “morning” sickness from earlier hasn’t really subsided at all today. But I hear it gets better in the second trimester, so I only have a couple of months to wait!

There’s one thing I keep telling myself, and it’s something I asked Christopher to remind me of if I forget. All this feeling bad is the way I can feel my baby right now, and that makes it so special. Even though I’m feeling bad, this is an answer to prayer that has been long awaited, and I am so thankful for every minute of nausea and fatigue – not to mention, every trip to the bathroom!