I keep wanting to make a post, but every time I open this browser up to write I either get distracted by something else or fall asleep. I don’t have a very good track record the last few days.

I wanted to talk about symptoms.

First, my morning sickness has all but disappeared. At first I thought it was the Unisom/B-6 that was doing it, but then last night I forgot to take my meds, and still no problems. Den even commented tonight that I don’t seem to be sick much anymore. Nope. Not really. Gaggy here and there, but mostly distracted by everything else. I haven’t even really noticed my stomach doing that painful “FEED ME NOW” thing when I forget to eat.

Which all would make me nervous, but I’m having new symptoms. Like a dull ache in my abdomen, and a sensitivity to using my abdominal muscles. I sometimes forget that I’m pregnant – it’s easy to do when you aren’t feeling much – and I turn too quickly or move in the wrong way and my abs throw on the brakes. No can do missy. Be nice to your abs. Once in a while I get a sharp twang in my stomach. Don’t know what it is, but it’s brief. It’s not really painful, just… strong, and out of nowhere. It always catches me off-guard.

Also, the foot cramps. Luckily I have not gotten many bad ones yet – just one or two – but just flexing my feet can and does cause a cramp to start. I’m a pro at immediately altering what I’m doing to flex my foot in a certain way to get it to go away… and so far that is working. But it’s pretty much a daily thing now. I can imagine it’s only going to get worse. (I’ve always had problems with random foot cramps… painful painful foot cramps. On the good side this means I know exactly how to deal with it. On the bad side it means I can probably expect more of them.)

My tummy is getting more and more obvious. At one car dealership I explained that we were expecting our first baby, thus the hunt for a midsize 4-door sedan, and she said, “Oh I thought so, but I didn’t want to say anything!” I’m really really pleased that it all seems to be my stomach… I’m not gaining anywhere else, so instead of looking chubby I’m looking obviously pregnant. I absolutely adore my baby belly. I find myself pausing in front of the mirror to turn sideways and pose and pat the belly. Den loves it too.

As for the boobs… I’m still waiting for the “OMG they grew!” morning, but I’m starting to doubt it’s coming. I think they are growing – very slowly. It’s like every morning I check, “Have they grown? No… no, not really.” But I put on my bra and it seems a little more filled out than it was a few weeks ago. My nipples are still a bit sensitive, sometimes I have an overall dull ache, but all in all I haven’t noticed much with the boobs.

Other than that, I’ve just been feverishly researching used cars and going out to look at some. I think I may have found my car – a 2001 Hyundai Sonata. I never really thought about looking at Hyundais, but it popped up in my price range and it looked nice enough. I took it for a test drive today and it just felt right. The other two cars I test-drove (A Chevy Cavalier and a Ford Taurus)… didn’t. Apparently I’m a foreign car girl. The Chevies and Fords just feel like something’s “off” about them – since my mom worked for a Chevy dealership for many many years and that’s basically all they’ve ever owned, I know from experience that it wasn’t just the Cavalier that left me feeling like that. My mom’s car feels the same way… very annoying. But for some reason the Sonata just “fit,” I could immediately picture it as my car, with my kiddo in the back. There was plenty of room for a car seat, lots of leg room in the back for someone of my height, and it had a nice big trunk. It was comfortable to drive, had all the amenities I wanted (power locks and windows, cupholder) and some I didn’t (sunroof, alarm system). It’s a little beat-up (paint chipping around the handles, some small stains on the upholstery, lots of miles on it), but that is certainly to be expected with the price range we were looking at. All in all I think I’d be very happy with this car. Tomorrow I’m going to try to arrange to have a mechanic check it out and then start the loan application!

There are a few things that really excite me about having my own car: I get the freedom to get up when I want, to go out when I want, without arranging schedules with Den first. I don’t have to make the twice-daily trip to drop Den off/pick him up, which saves us mileage. I can personalize the car a little bit more since it will be mostly driven by me, even if all I do is a special license plate (Spay/Neuter Mass Animal Coalition plate). Den is also very excited to get the SUV all to himself and not have to constantly put the back seats up and down, change radio stations, and rely on me to pick him up from work. This is going to be great for both of us, and I feel really happy that I’ll have a vehicle for when the baby is here.

Adding yet another monthly payment (or two – since insurance will be yet another) is a little daunting, but it’s not like we can’t do it. I may just have to cut back in other areas (I need to find a way to cut back on grocery expenses, HOW do only two people require that much every week??). With a baby coming, expenses are certainly worrisome! I have no idea what to expect when this baby comes. I’m making no plans for work, since I don’t know when I’ll feel up to it or even have the time… I’m going to take that as it comes. We are pretty much a one-income family as it is… my income is so small. It helps – certainly! But it’s only a tiny tiny fraction of our overall income. We’re lucky in that way… both in that he makes enough to be a one-income family, and that we’re already used to getting by with this, so it won’t be a huge shock.

But in the end? I’m pretty freakin’ giddy about getting a car. I really hope this Sonata works out. I’ll be sad if I can’t get it.