It's my fifth time around, but pregnancy still surprises me. I thought I was following a pattern of being sicker each time than the time before. I was sick this time, but it was bearable (comparable to my pregnancy with Merrody). Actually, I'm finding that the hardest part of this pregnancy is fatigue. I AM SO TIRED. This is the first pregnancy I've had with a bunch of older kids in school. Merrody, Joel and Jack were all born before I had anyone in school and Norah's first trimester happened during the summer before Merrody went to 1st grade and Joel and Jack were still at home. I have deep respect for women who have teenagers and are pregnant. I have no idea how they do it! The homework and constant running around with just my few elementary-aged kids is just about killing me.
One thing that never changes, of course, is the anxiety about constantly gaining weight. I'm 15 weeks along (almost 16) and I've gained 15 lbs. I know that's not what the doctors and websites say is normal, but it's totally normal for me. I usually gain between 40 and 45 lbs with each pregnancy. Anyway, I don't beat myself up about weight gain in the first trimester. If I have to eat every hour to keep from barfing, I will do it to survive. I can worry about watching what I eat when the nausea subsides, which it has finally.
For a while there I thought I might be having twins. I looked about as pregnant as I do now at 12 weeks. Seriously. Luckily for me, things have evened out a bit and I'm not feeling WAY bigger than I'm supposed to be. Either way, my baby is the size of a big orange right now. My belly is the size of a volleyball. You do the math.
