oh baby oh baby

I would like to take this opportunity to give myself a big pat on the back. Please hold your applause until the end. :) Not only did I do dishes and laundry today, but I also went to the grocery store, picked up my bridesmaid dress for Kasey and Phillip's wedding, and had lunch at Panera with Tara.

I can't brag too much more though-- I didn't wash my face this morning or change out of my pajamas.  I did, however, brush my teeth and put on a sports bra underneath. You may now applaud. :)

I am nearing the end of the FIRST (thanks for the edit, Mom!) trimester, just one more week left to go, and I couldn't be more thrilled. I know it won't be an overnight change (or maybe it will be...please?) but I am looking forward to feeling a bit more like myself.  It seems the consensus is that some time in the fourth month, things start getting better...more energy, less nausea...until the seventh month...when things get even worse than first trimester. I know the experience is different for every woman, but I am hoping at least part of this applies to me.

Unfortunately, I don't have an captivating tales of woe, or vomit, to divulge. Things have been pretty status quo.  Sick, and tired, and sick, and tired some more.  Oh! Wait wait! I take it back.  I did have another puke fest (Mom, sorry I used the word "puke") the other night. That makes a total of two actual acts of vomiting since conception. I made mention of it in my facebook status, but I took my prenatal vitamin right before bed, and never fell asleep... the whole "you'll sleep right through the nausea" fable only works if you FALL ASLEEP in a timely fashion.

So, I got up about 45 minutes later and threw up some Qdoba in the toilet, while Stuart stood beside me.  Now, we are about to get REAL personal here...so strangers/voyeurs who don't really know me...read on, only if you're brave.

Has anyone else out there in blogworld ever peed their pants when they threw up?  Well...I hadn't either, til that fateful night.  I was squatting at the toilet and wretching so hard that I lost control of my bodily functions!  That, and I hear that all these crazy prego hormones relax smooth muscle. Poor, poor Stuart stood beside me as I tasted the horrid stomach acid/quesadilla cocktail over and over again.  Between hacks, I was able to get out the words "I'm peeing!" but my Knight in Shining Armor did not leave my side, and his lower leg was sprayed with urine as it splashed out of me, onto the tile floor, and back up again, onto him. Oh gross! I know people, TMI, big time...

however, if nothing else, I would like to paint an accurate picture of pregnancy for you all, and that includes vomiting, belching, feeling sick and tired all the time, and yes, peeing your pants every once in a while.  Hopefully this is an isolated incident. :)

In other news, I have the very, very beginnings of my baby bump.  It's buried under my pre-existing stomach "insulation" (as I like to call it) but it's there!  If you know me well, or even if you don't know me well but for some odd reason study my stomach every time we see each other ...weird... you may notice it, too! See below.

Everything has been going fairly well with the doctor.  My blood pressure has not been high again.  Today at Kroger, it was 115/76...which is like, almost hypotension for me.  The only thing that is kinda bugging me is that my platelet count has been low.  The first time, 137, just barely low.  Then, a month later, it was 122.  I am TRYING to refrain from doing what the little hyopchondriac inside tells me to, which is turn on panic mode...but boy, it's hard. All of my other blood counts were good...so it's probably one of two things: 1) my platelets were low before, and I just never knew because I never had any reason to have them checked or 2) gestational thrombocytopenia ...which is just the way some women's bodies react to pregnancy.

After lots of googling and consulting doctor friends and nurse friends, I feel a little better, and I have gone from diagnosing myself with leukemia or lupus to thinking my body will catch up and everything will be ok.  I do not even bruise easily, no bleeding gums...no actual symptoms. My doctor is checking them again on my August 5th appointment, so until then, what can ya do?  There's no magic food or pill...so yeah.

And finally, tomorrow is my quarter-century birthday. The big 2-5.  And...that's all I have to say about that. :)  Stuart had planned a surprise, and I just got it out of him that we are going to the Melting Pot (I have been asking him to take me for about two years) with my family! I also get a Caramanda's cake AND a new bra (that's what I asked for)... I am a bit of a bra snob, so purchasing one is a once-in-a-while event.  Now that the girls are getting a little bigger, they need more support...so I will be looking into different styles. :)

I believe that all my blabbering for now! More to come...