just call me the up-chucker

Yep, that's right. It ain't over yet. With my mother's permission, I am blaming her for this trimester's woes. I'm getting these wicked migraines that seem to ignite the puke-fests and then the puking contributes to the migraines so that I just can't win. I'm so sorry if you're getting sick of hearing about all the time I'm hanging over the toilet puking my guts out, but it's really the most exciting thing that's happening with this pregnancy.

Well, that's not entirely true. I'm starting to feel kicks, which is pretty dang neat. Makes the puking worth it, I'll tell you that much. I spent the first 13 weeks of this pregnancy praying for 'proof of life' and now I get it daily. So, all things considered, even if I'm physically a wreck, emotionally I'm pretty up there. The 'baby blues' I suffered through at the beginning have ebbed away and have been replaced by a definite sense of expectancy and excitement.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, here's an 'almost 20 week' picture of the 'bulge'. It seems a lot smaller today, actually, but that's probably because I worked my abs so hard yesterday and couldn't eat. Bleh. I get to wear fun preggo clothes now, too. Good times!

10 good days

In a row, if you can believe it! But I'm back to puking every other day this week, so so much for that little run of feeling well.

But that's okay, because I'm starting to feel this baby move! It's really cool, actually. Feels like someone's flicking my insides. S/he's most active in the morning, it seems, right when I get to work. If that means s/he's gonna be a morning person, I don't know what I'm gonna do! Oh, and I haven't further tested my vinegar theory, but that's mostly because I don't eat vinegar on a regular basis.

I realize that I forgot to follow up on having to repeat my maternal serum screen. Turns out I did take the test too early. I did it again the day they called me and they didn't ask me to go back after that, so I'm assuming everything is normal.

Apparently, this kid is now about a half-foot long. I'm gonna post the picture they used on the website I subscribe to because I thought it was so funny looking. They give you these 'renderings' of what your baby looks like inside of you and this week it just looked awkward. I mean, I know babies are generally made out of rubber, but does this look comfortable to you?

So weird! Anyway, the countdown is now on to our first ultrasound - only two weeks to go! Joy!

sour kid

Interesting pregnancy tidbit of the week:

Our kid either really likes or really dislikes vinegar. Vergil and I went out for sushi (no, I didn't have any of the raw fish) on his birthday on Saturday and they started us with this salad made of rice noodles, cucumber and shrimp soaked in a vinegar-based dressing. As I was eating it, all at once my 'flutters' turned into outright womb-nastics complete with what felt like a finger flicking me on my insides. It was pretty wild. The reason I'm connecting it with the vinegar is that the same sort of thing happened to me the last time I ate cucumbers in vinegar. So, this kid either really enjoys vinegar or really dislikes it. Either way, it makes it excitable. I'll have to continue testing this theory to see if it's accurate, but I thought it was kind of cool.

The belly keeps on growing, which is a really good thing and, yes, if you know me (and I know you) and you give me that look like you want to rub my belly when I see you, I will likely let you. It's okay to ask, too. I'm not that covetous of my personal space. Just make sure you're only visiting and not hanging around to live there. :P I'll try to post another picture of 'the bulge' later this week.

Oh yeah, we had another doctor's appointment last week Thursday and got to hear the heartbeat again. The doctor said it was beating at 160 beats per minute - good and strong, which makes me happy. I'm pretty sure I heard it this time. We go for our first ultrasound on October 3rd and then I'll probably book us a private ultrasound after that since Verge really, really wants to know the baby's gender. (The reason we won't find out at our first ultrasound is because the hospital we're going to has a no-telling policy.)

And that's all that's new in baby-land for this week!