"How Are You Feeling?"

This is a question that I, as well as all other pregnant people, hear a lot. And I feel so blessed to be able to answer positively almost every time. Between weeks 6 and 10, there were days I didn't feel the best but luckily it was never bad enough to keep me stranded on the couch. My friend Amy who had her cute little boy Noah in April described her first trimester as feeling hung over a lot of the time. That's how I felt many days too, only without the funny memories (or lack thereof) from the previous night to go along with it.

I also had some food aversions. The strangest one happened when I was about 7 weeks along. I made a bunch of taco meat for burritos and ate some of it with no problem. But the next night, Nate was reheating the leftovers in the microwave, and as soon as the smell wafted over to me, I was absolutely disgusted. And bummed out, wondering how long it would be before I could tolerate it again. Going out for Mexican food, chips and salsa is our favorite date night activity. Nate felt bad for me, but was more than happy to continue eating burritos for dinner every night until they were gone (while I was out of smelling range). A few weeks later, me and tacos made up, and our Mexican date nights resumed. YES!!

You also hear about horrible mood swings during pregnancy. Fortunately for me (and even more fortunately for Nate), this has not been the case. I'm actually happier now than I was before I was pregnant, because I feel lucky to be carrying Baby O, and so very excited to meet him. Now that I am 18 weeks and well out of the first trimester, I feel like my old self again...except for the feeling of Baby O dancing around and reminding me that he (and I) are getting bigger!   

Several of my friends and co-workers are expecting right now and all of their experiences have varied, ranging from no symptoms at all to crippling, all-day nausea. That's what the books and websites say...that everyone and every pregnancy is different. One thing we all have in common though...keeping our eyes on the prize and remembering that all of this will be worth it in the end.