Call me crazy, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this dog is not going to adapt well to a baby in the house.

For one thing, the dog randomly jumps to his feet barking at something-or-another. He’s going to wake the baby ten times a day and I’m going to want to kill him. I know, because he wakes me ten times a day and I want to kill him.

He also doesn’t do well without attention. Attention that he wants, when he wants it. His daddy is away, so his favorite pasttime is standing there barking at me. I’m pregnant; I can’t wrestle. I try to fetch, I try to let him run around, but no. He stands there and barks, demanding I bring his daddy home.

And I really don’t think he’s going to be too happy when daddy has a new center of his life. It’s not going to be an easy adjustment.

(The rest of the zoo are just fine with whatever goes on. The other dog may freak out at a little crying monster in the house – since anything that moves terrifies her – but she’s happy to nap at your feet all day while you do whatever, and the cats just want to get fed.)

::

I am not finding the book Belly Laughs as hilarious as I’d been led to believe it is. Maybe it would be funnier if I were further along. I’ll re-read it later. I think the Girlfriend’s Guide is causing me to giggle a lot more.

From the Hips I’m finding to be a very pretty book of very basic information. It appears at times to have more quotes than actual information. Quotes in very pretty multi-colored talk-bubbles… but not all that useful or interesting, IMO. The info is very condensed and at-a-glance. I definitely could have done without it.

I just got two new books today, a gift from my best friend Kel: Your Pregnancy Week By Week, and The New Father’s Panic Book. I’ll tell you what I think of them when I read them. (Den’s actually going to read the latter book. If I had bought it he wouldn’t, but it was a gift, so he’s going to read it. Heh!)

::

Symptoms are all very mild. I feel great, really. Hungry, but not starving. I sometimes think a food sounds like a good idea, but it’s not like a major craving or anything. I don’t have to get up in the middle of the night three times to pee. No nausea… except one moment last night. Know that soy protein drink I was raving over? I had a glass. And I swear to god I nearly barfed. It did NOT sit well. But that was an isolated incident.

Sometimes it’s just weird because I don’t feel much of anything – I’m not even twinging or anything like it was last week – so it’s a weird mindtrip when I think about me being pregnant. On the other hand it does feel like it’s sinking in a bit more. It’s not such a shock when I wake up anymore, and realize that I am, indeed, still pregnant. I’m still nervous about the ultrasound, though, and I don’t think I’ll feel really okay until afterwards. I really wish it was at the beginning of the week rather than the end of the week. One day at a time, I guess.

::

And there goes the dog again. Lovely. I can’t wait until hubby gets home.

So I’m looking through the Your Pregnancy Week By Week book and it’s pretty cool. Good info in there, and appropriate to the week (unlike some sites I’ve come across). What really got me was seeing the Week 6 drawing of the embryo and then beside it the “actual size” blip. Holy crap.

First of all, that doesn’t look even remotely human. Now I know where the whole alien idea came from. And that coupled with the size… okay. It’s a little freaky. It’s like I have a little maggot in there. (Gross, but seriously… does it not look like that??)

Then it gets bigger and it looks more like a hamster. Or an alien. Not sure. And it’s still a little freaky. I know I always read about people being weirded out by having a little alient growing in them, and I though, “Phaw. I’m well prepared.” Yeah, umm. It’s weirding me out. There is something growing in me, and it looks nothing like a pudgy, cute little baby.

And then at the back they have a neat little bullseye, showing 1cm dialated, 3cm, 5, 7, 10. Holy fuck 10cm is really fucking big. The book was laying open on my tummy and I’m trying to imagine my poor little cervix and vagina getting that big and I think I got a little faint.

::

I mentioned to some friends that I’ve been smelling weird things, and one friend pointed out that it won’t get better. I mean, I can’t even say, “Wow this is WEIRD, I must be pregnant!” I could easily pass it off as the neighbors barbequing some really really pungent food… or having something very weird rotting in my sink drains (which, okay, isn’t too far fetched, it does get stinky). The weirdest one is one of my cupboards. I store my chai tea in there. And I KNOW I haven’t added or removed anything to/from that cupboard in months. And suddenly it REEKS. Mainly of chai, but there’s other flavors in there too. And it’s not a “mmm, chai tea” kind of smell either, it’s a really gross, strong chai in old wooden cupboard with garlic and other weird baking items smell. I now have to hold my breath every time I open that cupboard.

I’ve always had a crazy sensitive nose… a trait passed down from my dad.

Oh and don’t forget the moodswings. Or rather, the moodswing. It swing from Happy Natalie to Impatient Irritable OhMyGodYou’reATotalFuckingMoron Natalie… and it hasn’t swung back. Did I mention that today somewhat sucked as far as work was concerned? I’m feeling much better after hours of venting, some ice cream, and some baby registry shopping. But I’m really hoping tomorrow isn’t a repeat. I will get very cranky. (As if that’s hard.)

I had my first brush with morning sickness today, though it was far far more of a “brush” then a “hello morning sickness!”

See, this morning I forgot to eat. I was trying to work and thinking about food when the heat and the barking dog drove me over the edge and I packed up and drove off to Staples. Which was fine. I bought some supplies for work, then I headed to the grocery store.

About halfway to the grocery store is when I remembered I hadn’t eaten. And I remembered in a major way. Suddenly, out of nowhere, my stomach was grumbling and gurgling and a couple of times I felt the need to puke. I cursed myself for my stupidity, then cursed the car in front of me for not turning left, you moron, it’s green!! Who cares if there’s cars going the other way?! I need to get to the grocery store RIGHT NOW!

So I ran into the grocery store to the bakery counter and then waited… and waited… and helloooo anyone in there? I eyed the rack of muffins and wondered if someone would get upset if I just started eating one. Finally someone noticed me and came running over. I ordered a bagel with creamcheese and stupidly said sure, toast it. But toasters take far too long, I discovered.

That bagel tasted mighty good. I didn’t even eat all of it… I just needed to get something in me.

So always remember to eat breakfast.

::

I considered giving this URL to my mom so she can read along with my pregnancy, but then I dropped a few f-bombs in an entry and realized it probably wasn’t a good idea. So I’m thinking about creating a site just for her (and other family, if they want) to follow along with my pregnancy. Not daily entries like these, but every few days a little “update” with milestones and such. And when the baby comes, photos and video and what the baby’s doing. I know Kel has said that to her mom her blog is a lifeline (she also moved to the U.S. from Canada), and that really got me thinking. If mom would use it, I think I’ll do it. Now I just have to think of a domain name, hehehehe.

Then again, maybe it would make more sense just to give her this one. I’ll have to think on it.

This bedding set (“Naples” by Nojo) just went on my list. It’s cheap! And I like the stripes and dots. :D (Girl)

I still like Clover Fields… though I don’t think I’d get the whole set. (Boy)

What I’m leaning towards is getting just a dust ruffle and some sheets. I don’t need a blanket (to tack on the wall?), I don’t really want a crib bumper either – they look cute, but you shouldn’t really use one anyways.

I’m just going to post this for inspiration, because I LOVE IT, but there is no way in HELL I’m paying over $700 for bedding for a crib. Are you freaking crazy?? (Girl)

This one is nice for boys, but $100 for JUST the dust ruffle? (Boy)

And then tonight I puked.

The thing is, it wasn’t from nausea. Or at least, not what I equate to be nausea. It was from pain… gas pain, to be exact.

I’ve been laying in bed since just after 1am. It is now after 3:30am. I have not slept. I have been laying here, rolling from side to side, holding my stomach… unable to sleep because my stomach hurts. Indigestion, I thought at first. (And maybe that’s what I’d classify it as anyways?) It’s right up under my rib cage, feels like a painful ball sitting there.

I got up to pee and just started burping like a sailor. It kind of helped. Obviously, that “ball” is gas, just sitting there, making my life miserable. I leaned over the sink and just tried to burp it out.

Yeah, well, of course one too many of those triggered my gag reflex, which caused me to upchuck. Fun stuff.

And the pain isn’t even gone. :( I can’t find my tums, I’m sipping slowly on water, I can’t sleep (and I need to be up in the morning – joy). It’s not as bad as some gas-related pains I’ve had in the past (oh yes, I’m well aquainted with these stomach aches), but it’s in a weird spot and it hurts!

Going to go attempt sleeping on an incline… see if that helps. :sigh:

My day got slightly better, but only slightly. After I posted at close to 3:30am I got up and had a cup of hot chocolate, which *usually* really helps settle my stomach when I have gas pains. And it did! I was so happy! I laid down to go to sleep.

Just as I was almost asleep it started hurting again and got just as bad as it was before. More dry heaving and burping trying to get the pain out of me. At one point I just sagged over the toilet and started crying, it hurt so bad. I hate these stomach aches, and this one wasn’t necessarily worse than others I’ve had before, but it was far longer. It just wouldn’t go away.

So around 5:30am, I’m in bed, in pain, with a bowl clutched to me just in case, I open up my laptop… nothing. I tried a bunch of different things, finally turned on the TV to find out the entire cable was out. I wasn’t happy. I had nothing to do but wander back and forth between the bedroom and bathroom, gagging and burping and rubbing my tummy.

Plus the cable outage gave me a dilemna… obviously I couldn’t go to my client’s feeling like that, but if I stayed home I should work, which requires internet. It was a gamble.

I finally managed to fall asleep sitting up in bed, until my alarm went off at 8am. I think I got half an hour of sleep. My stomach was still hurting, so I called in to let them know I was sick. And then fell back asleep for another hour.

Internet finally came back on while I was asleep, thank goodness, and I felt a wee bit better but I was honestly afraid to move.

At 2pm I did go in to my other job because I more or less had to, and I wasn’t outright puking at that point so I got into my nice big size 12 sweats and dragged myself in. I worked slow and carefully (and banged my ass and elbow into corners, which made me more upset), and basically I just felt miserable all day. And when I’m physically feeling miserable? I feel it emotionally too. Really crappy side-effect. All I wanted to do was cry, my life sucked, work sucked, people hated me, my body hated me, I wanted to go home to bed.

I’m home now and washing the bed linens, and feeling a wee bit better. My stomach still gives me a sharp pang now and then to remind me to take it easy, and food kind of hurts going down, but I’m feeling okay. It’s definitely not nausea, though.

Hubby was concerned when I texted him this morning with the fact that I’d been up puking all night. He thought for sure morning sickness had started for me. When he called me he admitted that with my stomach being touchy enough as it usually is he’s afraid I’ll get morning sickness really bad. But so far so good. Just really, really nasty gas pains. As long as it doesn’t happen very often I’ll be okay. I don’t know what I’ll do if this becomes a regular occurrence.

No more corn for me. Ever. (Yes, I blame the corn I ate.)

So NO ONE carries the crib I fell in love with anymore. How irritating. Here are two alternatives, that Den will probably hate. ;)

Delta Sienna (Comes in Natural and White)

Delta Martine (Only Natural)

So. Not only have I dealing with pain off and on all day, but I’m on a complete emotional rollercoaster.

This evening I had a sudden craving for pringles (not unusual – I love me some pringles), so I ran to the gas station a block away to get some. While there I saw the Dunkin Donuts now sells flatbread sandwiches and personal pizzas. So I had to get a pizza. As I was getting into my truck someone said, “Hey!” I got out and looked at him. He pointed. “Your tire’s really low!” I walked around to see and sure enough, the tire looked like a near-flattened pancake (mmm, pancake… now I want pancakes… ). $#%!! These are the tires that we just spent $600 replacing. (I say “just”, but the day we replaced them was the day of my beta for IVF#1. So two months ago? But still!)

So, being the intelligent woman I am, I drove around to the back of the gas station where they have the free tire air. Out Of Order. Shit. Well, I’ll deal with it later. I drove home and ate. Then I got in the truck to drive to the other gas station that’s just around the corner from the first.

I pull up and someone is parked in front of the air thing. And not in the truck. I sit and wait. And wait. Finally he comes out of the gas station, gets in his crappy little pickup truck, and pulls out of my way. I pull up and see that the air machine says “$.75. Quarters Only.” Grrr. Charging for air. But whatever. I go to get some change, since I just spent my change on dinner.

I stand in line for a while, then explain to the woman at the cash register that I just need some quarters for the air machine. All I have is a $20 bill. She says, “So you want $20 in quarters?” Wha? No, no I really don’t want $20 in quarters. I tell her I’ll take $15 in bills and the other $5 or so in quarters. So then she tells me they have $10 rolls of quarters, and that’s all she can give me. WTF? My only option is to get $20 worth of quarters to use THEIR air machine?

And that, my friends, is when I turned from normal-me to crazy-me. I turned around and stormed out, muttering “I just want some f***ing air in my f***ing tires! Not a whole f***load of quarters!” I don’t think I said it too loud…

I have to pick my husband up from the airport tonight, so it’s not like I could just go home and deal with it later. So I had to drive to the next town over to go to another gas station. As I’m driving I’m nearly in tears I’m so hysterical that I’m not going to be able to put air in my tires and my car is going to crash and kill me. I’m not joking, I was nearly crying.

That station did have a working air compressor (but only one of two) and someone pulled in right ahead of me, but I did get to fill my tires. I think I filled them too much though. How the hell am I supposed to know how much they take? And how do you even read their little meter, there are three sides to it!

So that has been my evening. I’m safely in bed, not behind the wheel of a car, and I have Pringles to sedate me. I do need to drive out to the airport in about an hour though. I am SO HAPPY Den is coming home. I’m a mess and I need my hubby. :(

So I think I’m one of the gassiest people on the planet right now. Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration. But it sure feels like it. I’m burping and farting like crazy, and I’m damn HAPPY to be, because when I don’t I get that crazy-aweful gas pain again, building up in my chest.

The bad news is that this gas thing may be what I’m dealing with for my first trimester.

The good news is that I still have no nausea, though I’m not counting myself out of the woods yet, by any means.

I really can’t believe I’m going to be 6 weeks along tomorrow! 6 weeks feels like a milestone to me, though I don’t know why. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s belly pic. :) Weekly rituals are nice. It reminds me to stop and celebrate.

This week I’ve been building my registry. Early? Of course. When am I not way early for something? So I’m having a lot of fun doing it, too, because this time it’s for real. Den even liked most of the stuff I picked out too! (I showed him soon as he got home, of course. I couldn’t wait even one day, hehe.) He nixxed that girl’s bedding I liked (“It’s so 60’s! It’s horrible!” ) and the highchair that straps onto a chair (“Doesn’t look sturdy enough.” )

And then, oh god, then he started talking about our future boy’s nursery. He got wicked excited and is planning an all Red Sox nursery. Red blanket with a big Red Sox logo; white sheets with little Red Sox logos all over it. I don’t know if he’s joking or not. I sure hope he is. (I know he would LOVE to do that, sure. I’m just not sure he’s going to insist on it. Because man, I want nice blue geomtric baby cuteness. Not sports! Ugh! I hate sports!) But it was pretty darn funny listening to him describe his perfect baby room.

I would type more, but I bought a new domain name that I’m just dying to set up. I need to first come up with a design I like, which so far isn’t happening.

So, after fighting with some code for the last several hours, I finally closed it and realized my stomach was upset. Today at 4pm we each had a pizza from Dunkin Donuts (I begged for one), then at about 7pm I had 3/4 of a box of mac and cheese (We had each taken half, then I was like, “Ummm, you gonna eat ALL of that, honey?” So I got half of his too), so by 12:30am my stomach was all pissed off again. Den thought I was joking when I went running to the kitchen with a crazy wild-eyed look and started rifling through the fridge. Nothing looked good. I turned around and saw… a cake! I had bought a cake, yes, and I’ve been eating it. It’s a good cake. (Angel food cake. With whipped cream. Mmmmmm. All the other kids wanted ice cream cakes; I always asked for an angel food cake for my birthday!) So I started cutting off chunks and eating them as I stood there and harassed Den for not putting the mac and cheese pot in the sink when he was done with it.

Well then the painful gas rumbles started. Grabbed the Maalox that I’d bought earlier today, took 3 teaspoons. Well, mostly. I kind of missed a couple of times. (How does one miss your own mouth?) Den was rolling his eyes and offered to help. I threatened to throw the bottle at his head.

Then I took my pills before bed, and choked on one of them. Coughing fit. Den was kind of staring. “Ummm, are you okay? Slow down, honey…” COUGH COUGH HACK. Those big pills are a bitch. I foresee many more nights of choking.

Yep. So. That’s been my night. I think it’s time for bed, wouldn’t you agree?

This pregnancy stuff is… funny.