Baby # 2

They say every pregnancy is different. One cannot claim that their experience with their first is the same as their next one’s. And boy, do I agree with that!

My pregnancy with Dade was a breeze. I only had two episodes of vomiting during the first trimester and had almost zero nausea thereafter.  I was eating fine and had no problem with my appetite. I had no food nor smell aversions. I was energetic and always on-the-go.  I guess it’s also because of the excitement knowing that we’ll finally have our first baby in a few months’ time. But I've heard of other first time Moms who went through a terrible time in their pregnancy. So no matter how excited you are, sometimes, the symptoms just overshadow your thrill and you can’t help but bear the misery.  And that is what I'm feeling right now with this second pregnancy.

Every morning is a struggle for me.  I wake up with dread knowing that the moment I enter the bathroom, my stomach would hurl and my face would turn red from throwing up.  Not a pretty sight at all!  Thankfully, I get driven to work by the husband on a daily basis. I hop on the car with all the energy that’s left of me and I try to get some extra shut eye during our 45-minute rush hour drive to work. During good days, I get to savor some drive thru breakfast from McDonalds. But on tough days, like today for instance, I bow my head to a small plastic bag on my hands and wish so hard for the nausea to finally go away.

At work, it’s a completely different story.  I am always hungry so I keep a stash of crackers within reach, plus some date bars, raisins and sweet candies, too.  Lunch time used to be a much-awaited break for me, but now that I could barely finish my food, I realized that it’s not as fun as it used to be. I’d rather chat with my Pinoy colleagues or take a nap to kill time.

To make matters worse, I got sick a week after coming back from my brief holiday in Manila.  I caught my son’s virus and since I’m expecting, I could not take any medication.  I relied on warm water, lemon and honey to relieve myself, but my cough persisted for weeks.  My team felt bad for me because I sounded like a sick puppy barking madly at my workstation. Wednesday last week, I decided to head to the ER just to make sure I don’t have any infection (eeeps, just thinking about it gives me the shudder!).  Thankfully, I don’t and was just advised to rest. Since September started, I've taken 3.5 sick leave days already.  That is so unlike me.

I am on my 10^th week now, and couldn’t wait to finish the first trimester.  I hope to get over this feeling soon. I miss my usual perky self.  I look pale and lethargic everyday. Oh I wonder when I'll rock the pregnancy glow!