Pregnant at last!

June 2011 I found myself pregnant - finally!  After 5 years of trying - we had done it!  I clearly remember Crystal (the acupuncturist) telling me to live it up and eat whatever I wanted until I hit 6 weeks pregnant, because that's when the morning sickness would hit if it was going to.  I hate when she's right.  The day I turned 6 weeks, I woke up and had to run to the bathroom puke.  Strangely enough, I was almost happy to finally be experiencing this - it meant I really was pregnant.  But that lasted about a day.  I stayed sick - really, really sick - until about 20 weeks.  And I absolutely hate being nauseous and throwing up.  Who does, right?  I tried every morning sickness remedy out there, and ended up taking prescription meds and chinese herbs along with acupuncture.  My job requires a lot of driving and being in strange, sometimes smelly, places - which doesn't mix with morning sickness.  Luckily I only puked on the floor once, and I never did throw up when I was away from home.  Phew. 

Once the morning sickness passed, I noticed a sharp pain under my right rib cage.  I thought it was just things stretching, but the pain just got worse and worse everyday.  Turns out my gallbladder decided to shut down.  Every time I ate something not gallbladder friendly, I would be in terrible pain.  Imagine a hot knife stabbing you repeatedly through and through.  The pain would actually take my breath away sometimes, and I spent a lot of time crying over it, or curled up on the couch or in bed with my trusty heating pad.  So much for eating whatever you wanted when pregnant, I was on a STRICT diet.  And there was only Tylenol for the pain.  It was really hard, but I was determined.  Once you're in the middle of it with nowhere to go, you don't have a choice but keep going.  Plus I only gained 8 lbs while pregnant, so it was a great (although twisted!) way to stay in shape!

I also had some spotting at the beginning of the pregnancy that really scared me.  We never did find out the cause, but I had to take progesterone supplements for the first trimeter.  They probably didn't help the morning sickness, but I wasn't going to chance anything going wrong especially after waiting 5 years for this chance. 

Other than those two (major) complaints, pregnancy was great.  I had the normal aches and pains (lots of things stretch - inuding things you didn't think stretched or could stretch!)  I enjoyed watching my belly grow, and I absolutely loved feeling the baby move.  It's an amazing feeling you just can't describe until you've experienced it for yourself.  It felt so surreal to finally be experiencing pregnancy - it still seems strange that *I* was pregnant and had a baby.  Did I really do that??  We took weekly pics of my belly, even when I was feeling like junk.  I had a belly cast made, a henna tattoo done, and we had maternity pics taken (thank you Crystal!!).  I didn't want to miss out on anything - who knows if I'll ever get to do this again. 

Overall, pregnancy was hard but it was an experience that I am so beyond grateful to have.  It taught me that I am even stronger than I could have imagined.  I will always cherish the time when it was just Dillain and I in one body, when I carried him with me everywhere I went and felt his little squirms, wiggles, and kicks, knowing that we had created life that I would bring into this world.  Absolutely amazing!