Ch-ch-ch-changes…

I am writing this in the evening, with another SPLITTING headache. I usually write in the mornings, but as I sit here with my son, watching TV, I felt compelled to write a few things down. For the most part, the last 2 weeks have been all consumed by these horrendous headaches. 2 nights ago, it turned to a migraine, and I was the most miserable I have been this entire pregnancy. I wake up in the mornings doing pretty good; I eat breakfast, go to work, and have productive times. Then, I eat lunch, and it all goes downhill from there. Not long after I eat, I start feeling sluggish and tired, and then the headache comes. By 7 pm, I am useless. This is wretched. I am ready for some relief.

But the thought that led to this post was about my son, Jake. He is the light of my life, the funniest person in my life (Have you seen his Twitter?), next to his Dad, and I never thought I could love another human being as much as I love this boy. He is almost 4 and a half years old, and I wish I could bottle this age. You know, that’s why I started the Twitter account – I want to remember him this way. So, as we were watching So You Think You Can Dance (he loves this!), he was lying across my lap, eating potato chips he had begged his dad for, and I was rubbing his back, I got a little sentimental and a bit sad. I got to thinking how moments like this are going to become even more rare over the next year. I was thinking how it was kind of sad that Jake wouldn’t be the “baby” anymore (not that he ever acts like the baby, but he’s MY baby). I love being his mom and watching him as he grows and learns. It makes me weepy to think that the next year is really going to change that. Don’t get me wrong, I love Love *LOVE* this SHOCKER baby, I (like all humans) am just resistant to change…

EDITED TO ADD:
Not 30 seconds after I finished posting this, the craziest thing happened!  While I was typing, Jake was lying in his dad's recliner watching TV and looking through an album of pictures from our Bowl trip to Arizona in 2007.  Right as I was finishing up, he looked over at me with huge sad eyes, the deepest frown you have ever seen, crocodile tears running down his cheeks, and he says "Mommy? I always want to be the baby.  I want to be the baby because babies are tiny and I want to be tiny."  I have no idea how he knew what I was thinking about tonight!  I never said a word to him about what I was thinking or typing...  WOW.  We are just THAT connected.  LOVE THAT BOY!

Better, but still not great!

YAY! Made it to Friday! It has been a CrAzY week, where I have felt marginally better, but have not been great. The highlights are 4th of July (day off work, and blowing things up), registering for baby items (and the barrage of Transformers movies and shows my son is now obsessed with), getting all of my chicks back in my nest (the girls were gone for 2 whole weeks!), going to court (where we got to kibitz about lawyer fashion) and for Britt, finding out that the Peach Shake is back at Chick-fil-a! I have been looking forward to this day (Friday) as it is OFFICIALLY the start of my second trimester. I just got an email that said THIS:

Welcome to the second trimester! This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb. Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him -- a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb. In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches -- about the size of a lemon -- and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces.

Monday was the 4th of July, and no one had to work, so we loaded up the van, and took to the City. My folks went with us – Babies R Us is quite a draw when you haven’t bought baby items in almost 5 years! We started off there, and made a short registry of the basics – Britt was hoping that would help me get more excited about the pregnancy. It helped! I came home with a tiny diaper – it’s SO CUTE! – and some ideas, so that’s fun. After BRU, we went to lunch at Jason’s Deli – a family favorite with lots of healthy choices. And of course, free ice cream at the end for the kids! And Dads! Britt and my Dad were both loading up on the ice cream! ;) After that, we headed to Bricktown for a quick stop at Pinkitzel – we can’t be that close and not stop in! Got some treats to bring home for later! Then, it was off to our FAVORITE shopping destination – TARGET! We started a baby registry there, too. Added a few of the same things that were on our BRU list, but got some others as well. This is where Jake decided he wanted the transformers movie, but he is a bit disappointed with it, and likes watching Transformers: PRIME on the Hub channel much better. My DVR will never be the same… *sigh*

Got the girls back on Tuesday night, and Jake was in HOG HEAVEN! I thought I had never heard him talk so much as when they were gone, but he ramped it up into OVERDRIVE when he had them back – he had to tell them EVERYTHING from the past 14 days since he had seen them! It is so nice to have them back in the house – even if it is louder and messier! Wednesday night we hung out with our “LTC” LifeGroup friends at the Perkins splash pad, which was fun and refreshing even if it was like 102 outside and the splash pad water turned off an hour before it was supposed to! We all needed to get home to bed, anyway, right?
But, the most EXCITING part of Wednesday was THIS:

 

That’s right! It was late afternoon, and I was at my desk at work, and I stretched my arms up over my head and leaned back in my chair, and I felt my whole uterus do a flip flop! WOW! I know it was the baby, and it made my WEEK! I was so excited to tell Britt, and the kids thought it was pretty cool, too! (My mom was torqued because she found out on facebook – I forgot to text or call her… OOPS!) I guess it also led to my first craving, as this was my tweet soon after we got the kids all to bed:

We also had the distinct pleasure of sitting in a court room for 3 hours yesterday afternoon. We finally got the settlement entered from when Lara got hit by a car in the crosswalk in front of her school in February of 2009. I am so glad that is OVER! We still have a few small steps to take care of, but they all fall on me (the victim, of course – why do other people’s negligence always cause the victim work and stress?), and I have some time to carry them out, but it will be COMPLETELY over soon!

So, this weekend I hope to get some rest in between sorority meetings, church, and kids’ commitments. Will probably have to visit Chick-fil-a for that a fore mentioned shake for Britt, and I need to clean my house a bit, too, since this energy drain in my belly is not really allowing that to happen these days! Here’s to the dog days of summer - and the SECOND TRIMESTER!

Every Pregnancy is Different

They (doctors, websites, books) always say that every pregnancy is different. I always thought, “Aw, it can’t be THAT different, can it?” I remember some marked differences between pregnancy number 1 (which resulted in twin girls born at 39 weeks) and pregnancy number 2 (a son born at 38 weeks), but I figured it was the difference in a twin vs. a singleton, my age (I was 26/27 the first time, 31/32 the 2^nd), and genetics. So, here we are, 5 years later, and I am totally buying in to the sentiment!

This last week has been a BEAR. Up until now, if you had asked me how I was feeling, my response was good, pretty good, or fine. I would follow that with “I’m a little sleepy, but other than that, not too bad!” This week, my answer was MISERABLE. First off, it is HOT. Oppressively hot. We have had 14 days of over 100 degree heat and it’s only July 3. We average 10-11 per summer. It’s awful. I have a friend who is 36 weeks pregnant, and I saw her at church last night. I told her I think of her often, because the heat is killing me, and I am not even carrying around a big belly yet, I’m just suffering through the end of my 1^st trimester. She promised me I would feel better soon.

So, besides being super-hot, I have just felt yucky all week. Monstrous headaches that Tylenol doesn’t even phase, extreme fatigue, body aches, and irritability. (It’s a good thing I only had one child here this week, it could have been pretty ugly with all 3!) Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I actually came home for lunch and took naps. I slept HARD until Britt woke me up to go back to work. Thursday, I tried to be brave and actually have lunch with him – was in tears by 2:30 and home in bed by 3:00. Friday I felt a small bit better, even joked about my condition with this tweet: I even made it a whole day of work with no nap, but I slept the evening away! I remember being tired when I was pregnant with Jake, but NOTHING like this. This is tired to the point of emotional distress. I don’t remember crying because I was so tired that I hurt. I don’t remember leaving work. I do remember the mood swings, though! I have heard this phrase uttered more than once by the World’s Greatest Husband: “I can’t wait for you to feel better!”

One of my favorite “predictable” pregnancy symptoms did come back this week: nose bleeds. I remember having some pretty bad spontaneous nose bleeds in the fall and winter with Jake. I just had my first one Tuesday morning when I woke up. I got up to go to the bathroom, and while I was in there, I just felt the blood come running out of my nose. Good times. It didn’t last long, but I know more are coming. Crazy pregnancy side effect! Oh – and another “symptom” that I have noticed more this time than any other pregnancy – unwanted body hair! My upper lip and chin are a zoo (before I got the wax strips out), and my belly, too! So weird. I don’t remember this from past pregnancies…

So, I guess “THEY” are right. This pregnancy sure is different from my others… I have one more week in the first trimester. I am READY to see what the 2^nd trimester brings – hopefully some ENERGY!