Morning Sickness - Round 2

As some of you know, I spent most of March and April feeling pretty terrible thanks to my friend "morning sickness," which is a term I really don't understand because I sure didn't feel any better in the afternoons or evenings. When Ian and I first found out we were expecting, I was feeling pretty good... tired like I had the flu, but otherwise great. As soon as I told all of my family how good I was feeling, it was over. :) This leads me to some things that I should have learned by now, but seem to ignore most of the time...

1. Keep your mouth shut. Once you tell everyone you're feeling good, you won't.
2. Just wear your glasses. Contacts give you bad headaches. Give up the vanity and just go for the glasses.
3. Chili dogs are really not a good idea. Really.
4. You'll feel better if you drink more fluids.
5. I'm serious about the chili dogs.

#1 - Even after experiencing this rule early in the pregnancy, I didn't pay attention to it. I finally had a week at the end of April when I didn't feel terrible and nauseous every day. How did I respond? I told everyone I talked to that I thought I was past the morning sickness phase. Naturally, my friend, morning sickness, returned with a vengeance this week. Boo. Here's hoping I'll keep my mouth shut now. :) #2 - I really don't like wearing glasses. It's all vanity, I admit... plus the fact that I don't have prescription sunglasses and the sun blinds me during my daily commute. It has happened without fail, though, in the past month or so that every time I wear contacts, I end up with a really terrible headache. I'm trying hard now to just give it up and go with the glasses. I guess pregnancy isn't really the best time to become overly concerned about my appearance anyway, huh? #3 - Every now and then I get this idea in my head that everything I eat makes me sick, so I may as well eat whatever I want instead of sticking to bland foods. If crackers are going to make me sick, why not eat a chili dog? How long can a person live on crackers and ginger ale, anyway? Sounds lovely in theory, but it ignores the important fact that there are distinct levels of "feeling sick" and even though I don't feel great after eating crackers, it's a world of difference from chili-dog-land. #4 - I've found that at various times there will be one magical food or beverage that I can eat or drink with relatively few problems, but then one day - out of the blue - it's over and that item will make me as sick as anything else. Even my old friends apple juice and ginger ale fall into this category. It makes me think of my friend, Vicki, who consumed far more ramen in college than any one person should. One day - out of the blue - she was done with ramen forever. It may have had something to do with eating it for breakfast... :) Anyway, at this point, every beverage out there makes me sick. Well, except for sweet tea, but that doesn't exactly help with hydration. Anyway, I fully admit that I have not been a super-star at making sure I'm taking in more than 64 oz of fluids. It's a vicious cycle - I feel like I can't drink anything because I feel nauseous, but then dehydration makes you nauseous! Cruel. Yet again, I know I really need to just suck it up and suck down the liquids. #5 - Self explanatory. :)

So, after my beautiful one-week reprieve from morning sickness, I'm back to feeling nauseous. On top of that, I've either developed allergies from hell (entirely possible, since Charlotte seems to be known for that) and I'm dearly missing Claritin-D right now OR I have a cold. Yuck. :( We were supposed to go to a wedding in St. Louis this weekend, which we've been VERY MUCH looking forward to, but I honestly cannot imagine flying at this point. The wedding may become our first baby-related social casualty. I'm hoping this second round of morning sickness will be short-lived, but I promise I'm not telling you if it is! I've learned my lesson!