24 WEEKS

Just a little pregnancy update.

So unfortunately, I am still sick. On the bright side, it is about half as bad as it has been, so that to me is HUGE. I used to have to eat dinner while lying on the couch, but now I get to sit up :) It actually got worse at 12 weeks, but then it started slowly getting better around 16 weeks (that was the first week I was able to actually walk around and do things without having the constant threat of throwing up). And good timing too. It was Halloween that week, so I was able to go out with Kellen and Shade.

However, even though the nausea/vomiting got slightly better, my food choices got smaller. I was not able to eat a lot of the foods I was able to in the beginning (like pasta, rice, etc). So it was more difficult in a different way. Good thing I was able to put on some weight the first 16 weeks (or so I tell myself) - not from eating a ton, but by not being able to move around a lot. But then around 20 weeks, my body started letting me temporarily add foods that I can tolerate - they come and go - one day I can eat pizza or soup, the next day the idea makes me sick, but then a week later my body lets my eat pizza again, etc. But that came just in time for Thanksgiving, so that was nice.

Anyway, so it looks like I'm not going to get a clear break this time around either. But I suppose my life was too perfect without this ;}

On another note, the other day I was telling Shade how I don't like to have babies in my belly because it makes me so sick. He put it together and said "but remember I said I wanted 3 sisters and 6 brothers?" I then replied "but I will be sick that whole time." To which he replied "but I will take care of you every time you are sick!" :) He has been a real great helper. He jumps right up whenever I ask him to get something or do something for me (except cleaning up his toys - that usually takes a bit more coaxing). He has also been very loving towards the baby. He will often give hugs and kisses to my belly and talk to it like he would his little sibling. And sometimes when I tell him I need cuddles, he will say the baby needs cuddles and cuddle my belly instead (although I end up getting cuddles anyway, so I don't mind). And of course Kellen has been AMAZING, as usual. He often makes dinner when I can't stand the smell of cooking food, and he often does the dishes for me when I have had a rough day. He also rubs my feet and back when I get home from work. I am so lucky to have them both in my life!

But can I tell you how blessed I have been even though I am still miserably sick? I like my job, but some nights it is so hard to be there. Perhaps I am jinxing myself by mentioning this, but something I have noticed - even when my coworkers didn't know I was sick, or I got pulled to another floor, I have had an amazingly easy patient load ever since I got pregnant, even if that wasn't their intention. At church on Sunday, someone was asking me how I was feeling. After mentioning I had only thrown up once so far that day and had only gotten 3 hours of sleep after my midnight shift, she asked me why I was there. The only thing I could think of was that going to church each week is often the only way I can make it through the rest of the week without spending the entire time stuck in my house not being able to go anywhere or do anything. I suppose God gives us trials not only to see how we will handle them, but to also remind us that He never abandons us when we need Him, even when it can be difficult to recognize His help.

          "And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs...and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.
          And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon [them] were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord."

This helps me keep a different perspective on my so-called hardship. I know 8-9 months of being sick is only temporary, the end just seems so far away when you are actually going through it day by day. So yes, I still get frustrated from time to time, but you can always find something positive in every trial.