The morning sickness is pretty much behind me, although I did have a small relapse yesterday. For the most part I am feeling outstanding. I can't believe how much energy I have. I haven't had this much energy since before my fibromyalgia symptoms began in late 1997. I'm enjoying eating immensely. I eat every meal as if it's my last and savor every bite. I've been sleeping a lot less, but still able to get almost a full night's sleep each night. It's been pretty common for me to wake up around 4 or 5 am, wide awake. What to do that early in the morning? Usually I just lay there until I fall back asleep, or I'll go to the kitchen for a snack or turn on the tv.

I have been having some severe lower back pain, and I think most of it is related to my arthritis and perhaps the pregnancy is causing it to act up. It usually hurts the most towards the end of the day. I know that its a sign that my body is doing all the prep work it needs to do for the baby so I welcome the pain with a smile!

I'm just starting to show a little, though unless you see me every day you probably wouldn't notice. I've always had a pudge, so its just the same pudge only a tad bigger. I have one pair of jeans I can still wear, although I have to rubber band the top button otherwise they are too tight. I have two giant tubs of maternity clothes loaned to me by my sister, cousin, and friend. They are all different sizes so I am already making good use of some of the smaller items. It's like raiding someone else's closet every morning, I love it!

I really need to get those ultrasound photos scanned and added to the journal. Maybe I'll remember to do that when I get home from work tonight.

I am so glad to be eating real food again. I'm easing my way back into it because I lost total faith in my digestive system and I'm honestly not sure what it can handle at this point. On the list of things I can digest: green tea, granola bars, cereal, vanilla ice cream, chicken noodle soup, some pasta, fruit and jello. Not very exciting but it works. Some days are better than others. Monday I came home and felt great so I ate a bean burrito. Yesterday I ate pizza for lunch. I'm slowly coming back around.

Mike and I went for another ultrasound yesterday. The baby is healthy and growing normal. We found that I am further along than we thought. On Saturday I will be 11 weeks, and my due date is May 19, 2007. We also found that I had lost 4 pounds since getting pregnant, though I think I lost more than that and have just put some back on in time for the weigh-in.

I started taking some meds for the nausea. It helps, but I still wasn't able to keep any food or liquids down. After a few days of this I was feeling so weak and lightheaded that I decided it was time to call the doctor (with the urging of my mother, of course). The nurse said I was probably dehydrated and sent me to the emergency room to get rehydrated with an IV. Apparently I didn't get the nausea meds in time, and by that time I was already dehydrated. The doctor at the hospital said that often dehydration is just a vicious circle and often the only way to get out is with an IV. So Mike and I spent all day last Thursday in a hospital room watching tv and napping. It was great. Also, I feel somewhat better. I still need to be careful what and how much I eat, and I'm doing my best to keep drinking lots of fluids, but I still vomit occasionally. I can't wait for this part to be over.

It's been hard on me psychologically as well because I'm not able to do much more than working at my job 8 hours a day. I nap at lunch time and then I nap in the evenings as soon as I get home. I feel cut off from the world. I'm also discouraged because I can't do much for myself - cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping - and I hate asking for help. I guess I'm going to have to eventually. I feel like such a downer about this pregnancy and I'm just hoping that things turn around soon. I know it will all be worth it in the end, and I'll be reading back on this later and laughing.

I know it's only been a week or so of morning sickness, but it is so hard to function and I've been feeling rather down about it. I keep telling myself that it's a good thing because it means the baby is healthy but it's still hard sometimes. It's all I can do to get up in the morning and work all day, so coming home to housekeeping needs and cooking and bills is hard. It's all falling by the wayside. I might end up having to ask friends for help in that area.

If you're easily grossed out you may just want to skip reading this part of the entry. Monday morning I threw up for the first time. I felt so much better afterwards that I ate two whole toaster waffles. I haven't been able to eat that much at a time in days. Tuesday I was miserable. The nausea was the worst it had been and all afternoon I felt like I was on the verge of throwing up, but I kept holding back. This morning I decided not to hold back. It's obviously not a pleasant thing, but it provides at least 30 minutes to an hour of relief from the nausea. My friend, Sarah, threw up 100 times with her first pregnancy. I think I might keep track and try to break her record :)