The past two days have been tough. After a few weeks of feeling icky (and Instagraming all about it!) this week started out really great. I felt good overall, no really bad days or even really terrible moments like I’d been having off and on since the New Year.
But then yesterday it all went downhill. I started the day feeling terrible and I really haven’t been able to get away from it, even a day and a half later.
“Morning sickness” is a finicky thing. Most people know that the name is a lie and it can last all day and that while it’s most common, it can occur throughout an entire pregnancy. And most people equate morning sickness to nausea and vomiting.
And while this is certainly the norm for pregnant ladies, I’m here to let you in on a little secret: not all mommies get nausea or experience vomiting during the first trimester. I am one of them.
So technically I don’t know if my issue is actually “morning sickness” or not, but I classify it as such because it happens in early pregnancy and usually tapers off at the end of the first trimester.
I did have a lot of nausea with Honeybun. And I did a lot of dry-heaving with Sugarplum (with Honeybun looking on, of course). But Doodle and this 4th edition have taken a different issue to all new levels (looking back, it was there with the girls but not as severe).
I have trouble being upright. I usually use the terms “dizzy” and “light headed” but those are not really accurate descriptions. What it is, is an uncontrollable, panicky feeling when I’m upright (generally standing) for too long. I start to feel hot, my mind has trouble focusing and my eyes have trouble focusing. It’s what I imagine the start of a panic attack to feel like.
When it happens, all I can focus on is getting down, sitting on something or laying down if it’s really bad and this often leaves me on the floor (usually in the middle of the kitchen). Sometimes if I just put my head down on the table or counter and close my eyes it helps but not always.
I guess the good news is, I know how to appease it. The bad news is, a mommy stuck on the couch or in bed 24/7 is a pretty terrible thing. Times when I am feeling really terrible, I can’t even walk the 15 steps from the couch to the kitchen to get the kids food when they’re hungry. I rarely finish a meal at the table with the family, I usually have to eat as much as I can before I feel so bad I need to lay down (after eating is definitely the worst for some reason.)
Sometimes the feeling comes with what might be considered nausea, a feeling like I’m going to explode. But generally this doesn’t result in throwing up but rather gas. No, I don’t have a flatulence problem, my problem is belching! For some reason when I’m pregnant my body takes the food I give it and makes a massive amount of gas. I often find after eating, if I get that really uncomfortable, exploding feeling, simply sitting up will cause me to belch like a dinosaur (not even kidding) and then I feel so much better. Imagine chugging 5 cans of soda at one time, that’s me after nearly every meal. It’s a problem I had with Doodle that didn’t go away until he was born.
I like to pretend like I’ve got a handle on the situation. I try to prepare meals when I’m feeling well (prepping ahead has become key) and not wait until I’m too hungry and icky feeling to get up. When I’m not feeling well, I try to eat something high in protein (with Doodle I used to do sugar but it didn’t last, protein is much better!) I try to not over do it. I try to be patient with my kids and ask them to be patient with me. And this chair has become my saving grace:
