18 Weeks Pregnant!

Here is what is new with me:

First of all let me say how overjoyed I am about being over my stomach virus! What a horrible thing to have to go through when you are pregnant! It is bad enough having to deal with it when you aren't pregnant. It is unbearable when you are! I seriously thought I was dying! I could not keep anything down and my nausea medication did nothing to help me. I had a horrible headache for days from throwing up so violently! I called the doctor to find out what to do, but I could not get suppositories because they only have them for the medication that I am allergic to. I know that they would have helped me had I not been allergic. So, basically they offered me little hope! They told me that if I continued to not be able to keep anything down, then I would have to go the hospital. That was definitely something I did not want to do!!! Praise the Lord, it shut off right before I had to go. Thanks to everyone who prayed for me and encouraged me during that time. I was really rough, and I am praying that it does not return again for a really long time!!!! This was a memorable 4th of July weekend, but for all the wrong reasons! Hopefully next year will be better!!

I am now officially 18 weeks pregnant. I will find out the sex of the baby on Monday, July 14th. I am sooooooo excited! I have been looking forward to this day for months-actually probably from the time that I first knew that I wanted children! I cannot imagine being surprised or having a baby back 20 or so years ago and not being able to find out the sex of the baby until it arrived. Thank the Lord for sonograms! I am just the kind of person who loves to plan things out. I am not into neutral baby items. I am either all blue or all pink. That is just me! You know, I really do not think that I like surprises at all. Every Christmas and birthday I make it a point to know every gift. This situation is certainly no different! Well, I guess there is one difference-this baby is WAY better than any Christmas or birthday gift! :)

I have really been nesting here lately. I love going in the baby room and looking at all my baby stuff. To Scott it is really strange, but I guess it just isn't real to men until the baby arrives. We women are nurturers. I think that it is neat how God designed us that way! A guy could never spend hours just looking at baby clothes/items and day dreaming about a baby. I know that my desire to nest and set up my home for baby is going to kick in even more once I find out the sex! Monday could possibly be one of the best days of my life. That is just how excited I am about finding out if it is going to be Faith Noelle or Tanner David! YEAH!

The nausea is better! Praise the Lord! It is funny how things change throughout the different stages of pregnancy. I started out being nauseous all the time. Then it lessened some during the day but was really bad at night. Now I have it occasionally during the day but every day around 5:00 until about 9:00 it is really bad. Then around 9:00 I get a sudden burst of energy and feel better. I am able to sleep well and have even been able to get somewhat comfortable (as comfortable as you can get with a stomach the size of a cantaloupe-Ha!). Then around 5:00 in the morning I wake up and am extremely nauseous again for about an hour. Some times I take a Benadryl to put me back to sleep, but most of the time I just lay back down and tough it out. I usually fall back to sleep within 30-45 minutes or so. (It is amazing how tolerant you learn to become when you have had chronic health problems for most of your life! ) I have been trying to just take my meds once a day, but most days I have to take 2 doses. It really does help me some, and I am so grateful for it-better late than never, right? I just got a letter from my insurance company that said that they had approved me for the medication for as long as I need it. Now I had already been told that, but it was really great to get the promise in writing. What a huge relief! I am still thanking the Lord for that HUGE blessing!

Okay, I have heard from a lot of women about how much they love pregnancy. Me, not so much! I love feeling the baby kick, and I love the miracle that God is creating inside of me. It is fascinating and truly miraculous! I am in awe every time I think about it. However, I do not really enjoy being uncomfortable all the time. My back hurts, my abdomen hurts, and I cannot hardly eat anything without getting horrible Acid Reflux. There is NOTHING more annoying than hearing women go on and on about how easy and fun pregnancy was for them. While I am happy for them that they had such a great experience, that is not very encouraging to me. It just seems really insensitive to me when people go on and on and rub it in. Recently I have even come in contact with a few people (mainly family members) who tried to make me feel guilty about being so sick. I have heard them say, "She is just psychosomatic; it is all in her head." Okay, that is crazy! Apparently, they do not know the first thing about pregnancy and female hormones! The thing I hate the most is when someone says, "You are still sick? What is wrong with you?" HOW RUDE! I have learned who is like that and who isn't and I try to avoid people who make me feel like this is my fault. I am a very open and honest person. If you ask me how I am doing, I am not going to sugar coat my answer. I am going to tell you the truth. Some people just cannot take the truth! While I can be negative at times, there is a difference between being open and honest and being a pessimist. I always try and give some good with the bad, but I am not going to tell people I am peachy when I am not. I value honesty and pride myself on being that way. Yah, like it has been my choice being this sick! I like being miserable! I guess some people think that I do. Hey, I like sympathy, but only a mentally ill person would pretend to be sick just to get attention. I do not need or want it that bad! Anyway, you really get to see the incredible insensitivity of people when you are having a hard time. It really is true that it is hard to sympathize with someone who is suffering if you yourself have never really had any health issues of your own. That does not mean that you cannot, but I think that it is just more difficult. I have met a lot of really compassionate and sympathetic people through the years who have had it pretty easy in life. They haven't had a lot of physical struggles but yet they are understanding and compassionate towards those individuals who have or who do. Those people really get it! I think that God continues to bless them because they have a heart of gratitude for what God has given them and what He has done! They are blessed and yet they never take it for granted. They always turn back around to say "thank you, Lord". This is commendable even though it is much easier to give thanks when times are good than when they are bad. I have been in both positions and know first hand. However, when I am dead and gone, I want to be known as the kind of person who gave thanks in all circumstances. That is one thing that this pregnancy has taught me-give thanks ALWAYS. No matter how bad things are going, there is always something that you can give thanks for. And although I have spent quite a bit of time complaining about insensitive people, I do not regret being exposed to people like that. They teach me a lot about God's amazing grace that He extended to me on the cross 2000 years ago. He had it so much worse than I ever will! Having to deal with people that are insensitive and rude forces me to learn to follow Christ's example and extend that same kind of forgiveness and grace. It also teaches me patience and how to control my tongue! Isn't it cool how God can take the bad things that happen to us and use them for our good?

I miss Mexican food, barbecue, Chinese food, and Italian food! I get sick anytime I eat these foods. It really stinks! Prior to my pregnancy, I loved shrimp, salads, and chicken and now I cannot stand the smell or taste of shrimp. I am starting to like chicken and salads once again. The funny thing is that I love burgers! Yeah for Whataburger!!!! I was never really a beef eater until I got pregnant. Now I eat at least 2 burgers per week. I am addicted! Ha! I think that it really is true that your body craves what it needs the most. I am anemic and beef is high in iron. Maybe that is why I crave it all the time. I even had Scott go get me a burger in the middle of the night a few times when I have been out of breath and so fatigued that I could not sleep. I eat the meat-not the bun because I am allergic to wheat, and it really helps. Strange I know! Lately, I have also really been into Doritos, string cheese, fruit, and Lemonade. I also have been into Totino's pizzas-gross I know! The weird thing is that almost every tomato based food makes me sick, but not pizza. At least that is one thing I can still eat! Lasagna and spaghetti do not agree with me. :( I really miss salsa-especially my mother's! Additionally, I was really into Long John Silver's until I got sick with a stomach virus last week. There is nothing like throwing up Malt Vinegar. I probably will not be eating that again for a while! I also will not be taking Pepto Bismol. That was not too much fun coming up either. I really thought it would calm my stomach but I was wrong! YIKES!

I bought a body pillow but do not use it except when I lay on the floor and play with my niece. I also bought a small, square wedge to rest my belly on when I sleep, but I do not like it either. Instead I am using a $2.50 beanie travel pillow. I bought it to use on the plane when we travel, but I absolutely love using it at night when I sleep. It has actually been helping me get comfortable and get some rest. YES! I am really glad I did not pay $60 for a pregnancy pillow-chances are that I would not have liked it! Lately, I am also really into gowns and dresses. I hate having stuff on stomach-not even maternity pants are comfortable for me! The style of dresses that is popular now is perfect for my pregnant body. I am still wearing size small in regular dresses. The size small in maternity dresses is too big. That makes me feel better about my expanding waist line! I got the cutest dresses for $22 at Target. They are so comfortable and make me feel really cute. I am embracing my little bump! I also love my night gowns. They are super soft and oh so cozy! Scott calls the material yoga material. He bought me some pants and a tank a few years ago that were the same material and brand. I could live in that stuff. It is awesome! Target is such a life saver!

Well, that is it for now! I am sure I will have more to share soon! :)