Update

I haven't gotten around to doing this in a while, and I think it's because I don't really have anything to bitch and complain about right now. I'm almost to 14 weeks (will be on Friday), and am feeling much better in general than I did early on. I feel a wave of nausea pass over me maybe once or twice a week, usually if I'm somewhere sort of stuffy (like Sunday Mass), but the main current complaint is just my lack of energy. I was doing an alcohol program for work last night, and though I do these several times a week, I noticed that 30 minutes or so into it, I became kind of short of breath, which is really annoying. I also had to walk up 2 flights of steps to the room where the program is; again, shouldn't be that big a deal, but I had to stop at the top to catch my breath before going into the room. Wierd.

These symptoms have kind of forced me to slow down and make different decisions than normal during this hectic time of year. I took off work yesterday and spent the day finishing my Christmas shopping since I know I don't really have the energy to battle the crowds during the evening and weekend hours, and this was the best idea! I will be making this an annual event for myself because it was just so nice to be able to take my time and really figure out what I wanted to get for everyone, instead of running into a store and finding the "best" thing I can in 10 minutes so I can get to the other 20 places on my list. I probably wondered around Borders for an hour yesterday and left with some really good gifts instead of things that would suffice but I'm not happy with. I know there will be additional things that come up, but I've finished shopping for everyone on my list, and it feels good.

Andy and I are still sticking to our plan to wait and get through the new year before we start to think about cleaning out the room that will be the nursery and planning how to furnish/decorate it. I don't imagine I'll be one of those women who buys everything in sight 6 months early. I know there are some things we need to have, but there's a lot of stuff that we don't need, and a lot that I know others will get for us during showers, etc. I can't imagine that it's in our unborn child's best interest to come into this world with parents that have just increased their financial obligations by splurging on crap that he/she will never really have a chance to appreciate or notice in the first place. We want to move out of our little house eventually, so the goal needs to be paying OFF bills, not creating new ones.

Oh! I forgot, the other sort of new thing is that I, for the first time, wore my tummy sleeve to work on Monday. I wore it with a pair of nice warm gray wool pants that I'd given up on weeks ago, and a long shirt to cover the belly region, and it was pretty nice! I noticed that the part that's more around my ribcage felt a little loose, so I checked it periodically to be sure that it wasn't getting rolled up in there, but I definitely think this was a good first clothing purchase, and I imagine it'll get more use in the next few weeks. For anyone who's interested, I lost around 5 lbs. early on when I was so sick and not eating well, and I seem to have gained about 1 lb. back so far. I know there's more to come in that area, and I'll definitely try to do whatever my doctor recommends.

I got a few books from the library the other day (including one for Andy about pregnancy/childbirth, etc.), and finished the first one last night. Called "Belly Laughs," by Jenny McCarthy. I can't remember who recommended this to me, but thank you, whoever you are! This was a funny, light-hearted look at pregnancy that I found quite helpful. It had never dawned on me that many women shit on the delivery table during labor, so that's another thing to add to the list of "shit" I'm not looking forward to, but in general it gave me an opportunity to go, "Ah, I'm not alone!" She, however, gained 60 lbs. during pregnancy, and since I'm not a celebrity with the luxury of a personal trainer and chef to get me back in shape after the birth, I hope I don't put on quite that much!

Ok, I guess I had more to say than I thought. In closing, I guess I'll mention that I'm so grateful to be at this stage in my pregnancy where I'm feeling pretty good, still looking pretty good, and have people that I know I can count on if I need something. I'll continue trying to relax and enjoy the wondrous experience of creating life, and will be sure to let you in on the highlights.