Stretching and Overheating

No, this is not an entry about exercise... something I really must, must get back into. No, it's about growing. OVERNIGHT.

I'm very happy that the nausea is gone and all... but this little adventure called pregnancy always seems to have a new surprise in hand when another goes away. About 3-4 nights ago I was sitting on the couch with my husband, just holding my stomach and groaning. He said, "I thought the nausea was gone?" It was. I had this new feeling, like I was literally growing RIGHT THEN and told him so. He said, "well you are growing, you're pregnant." (Aren't men cute when they're logical). Crazy pregnant Mariska took over and said even grumpier and more emphatically, "no I mean RIGHT NOW, I'm stretching as we speak!"

It was the craziest feeling. It was like the sides of my belly were made up of dozens of rubber bands already pulled too tightly and now they were being pulled even more. Well, after two full days of this... I have a belly now. I'm not kidding. I'm not crazy. The people at work (who have been asking me why I don't look pregnant yet) were like, "wow! where did that come from? you're showing now!" And I am. It's not huge and I'm not waddling or anything, but I no longer look like I've just had a few too many beers... I'm looking pregnant. It's kinda wild.

Of course the uncomfortable stretching feeling was replaced with itchiness as soon as it went away and I ran straight to the lovely lotions and oils my mother purchased for me to prevent stretch marks. Now, I haven't grown that much or that big... but I'm pregnant and therefore a little nuts so I figured better safe than sorry. I'm applying the lotion and oil religiously now. Besides... they feel quite nice and make me smell like a big chocolate bar because they're quite heavy on the cocoa butter - especially the oil.

Besides the stretching I have another symptom, which I have had for a while, but has become out of control! Overheating. I get hot WAY too quickly and easily. It's the freakin' dead of winter in Oregon and, in a fit of hot-stretchy discomfort that first night of stretching, I asked my husband if I could just wear one of his really large T-shirts. Even that is almost too warm to sleep in. And the real bitch about the overheating is that I'm getting migraines with it. Man, no fair. I was a migraine sufferer way before this pregnancy thing (since I was 8 actually), why can't I be one of those women whose migraines disappear when they're pregnant? Because let me tell you... having a migraine and then being able to take nothing more than Tylenol for it is nuts. I might as well chew Tums for all the good Tylenol does for a migraine. I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping as I climb further into my 2nd Trimester (I did just start it after all), the migraines will fade.

Besides the stretching and overheating, though... I still am mostly enjoying my little adventure. Each day can bring something new, fun, funky, scary, painful, funny, crazy...and I look forward to seeing what's around each corner. I know I'll laugh about the stretching, the nausea, the overheating, the discomfort and all that someday and be thankful that it all produced something as wonderful as a child. The little girl I wrote about in my last post died... as did the daughter of one of my husband's co-workers. So I just pray each day for a healthy child with all it's fingers and toes... and the rest, well that's what this blog is for.