10 & 11 weeks

i can't say there was much change. again, i have good days and bad days. one day i was feeling great, and because i am nearing 12 weeks, i thought this meant the morning sickness was finally going away, but the three days after that were awful. i have succumbed to gagging over the toilet every morning before breakfast, and as long as i eat and am able to lay down all day, i feel okay. i am exhausted and even walking around for a few minutes makes me feel so light-headed and nauseated. it's not fun, and i'm getting pretty sick of feeling sick all the time. i just want to feel normal!

other than that, all other symptoms are the same, except my back pain is getting slightly worse. not bad enough to keep me from doing anything though -- so as soon as this nausea goes away, i fully intend to get back to living a normal life.

food aversions this week are hard-boiled eggs and subway sandwiches. i have very little appetite when i am nauseous and have had to force myself to eat.

9 weeks

wow -- what a difference week nine was in terms of morning sickness. i met with the toilet every other day and had a pretty consistent gagging feeling in the back of my throat -- so freaking unpleasant. i can't tell you how many times i had to stop talking mid-sentence and refrain from randomly gagging (although, it's still not as horrible as it was with river).

still constantly hungry, but no real appetite. i will crave the most random things throughout the day; this week it was dolmas, cheese enchiladas from taco cabana, cinnamon rolls from lulu's, barbacoa tacos from chacho's (all of these restaurants are very far from pittsburgh, sadly!) and beef... i don't normally eat beef (it kind of grosses me out) and when i was pregnant with river, beef was one of my food aversions, but this time i am craving it and it is delicious! this is a good thing, since i had a problem with anemia last time.

slight over-active sense of smell (but not bad), excess saliva (really gross and pretty bad this week), fatigue, sneezing. no back pain this week! this pregnancy is so easy compared to my first pregnancy.

8 weeks

besides horrible back pain most likely due to a strained muscle and not related to pregnancy and a fever unrelated to the horrible back pain, week 8 was easier in terms of morning sickness. i have not once thrown up and it has become so mild that i can get up in the morning without eating something first. of course, i do have to eat right away or i do risk gagging or dry retching (lovely, i know) but all in all, this pregnancy compared to my pregnancy with river is so much easier. even my other symptoms are milder. my sense of smell, while stronger, is not as out of control as it was with river. my back pain (the kind caused by pregnancy) is pretty uncomfortable, but i think that also might have to do with the fact that i sit a lot. i should probably start walking during the moments i feel good to take some of the pressure off my back, but it's so cold here in pittsburgh and i'm a complete texas wimp! i could walk in over 100 degree weather during my pregnancy with river, but don't ask me to walk in 40 degree weather. ;)

my hunger beast is still crazy, but my appetite hasn't returned. i can eat most anything now without feeling sick about the smell or taste (um, except pizza. my family has been eating a plethora of pizza lately and now i really can't touch it) which is great, but as far as feeling like eating anything, i would be fine if i didn't eat all day long. if my stomach wouldn't get hungry so fast. i am on an infant's eating schedule! i have to eat practically every three hours or i will feel absolutely starving and then i will get nauseated.

other than my positive update on morning sickness, i still have the other symptoms -- back pain, over-active sense of smell, sore nipples, excess saliva, bitchy hormones. i have been craving sushi! good thing my favorite sushi from HEB is cooked. too bad the closest HEB is 1,500 miles away. oh and sneezing! i forgot that pregnancy makes me sneeze. is that not hilarious? i just randomly sneeze. it sneaks up on me without warning. the other night i woke myself up at 3:45 am with a sneeze. (i've read that it's because when you're pregnant, your entire body is producing more mucus and fluids -- hence the excess saliva).

oh! and i can feel my uterus! which is definitely a milestone. with river i couldn't feel it myself until i was about thirteen or fourteen weeks pregnant. this time i am completely aware of it as of two days ago. it just seems to have popped out. definitely not showing at all yet, though. i found out today it's about the size of an orange and the baby is about an inch long. love. :)

7 weeks

my morning sickness is at its worst in the morning, but i've found that drinking water during the night and eating constantly during the day, even when i don't feel like it, keeps my nausea at bay. some days are worse than others, and i have lost five pounds this week, but none have been as bad as they were with river. during my first pregnancy, i could barely eat a meal without losing it. with this baby, i may be horribly uncomfortable but i can still manage to eat. food aversions are worse when i don't eat. so if i stay on top of it and graze between meals, i feel best. as far as food aversions go, when my nausea is bad, nothing sounds good. but the few things i have actually craved have been various fruit, yogurt, fish sticks, cheez-its, and taco salad. very weird!

slight sensitivity to smell, excess saliva which is way more disgusting than you can imagine, sometimes trouble sleeping. i'm more teary-eyed this time around than with river. but not in a bad way -- i'm crying happy tears at the drop of a hat. anything that has to do with motherhood, babies, children, and i am gasping back tears! disney commercials, diaper commercials ... it's pretty funny.

i haven't really experienced any more symptoms. my back hurts occasionally, but not as bad as it hurt with river, and not often. my nipples are still slightly sore and breastfeeding hurts every once in a while, but this too isn't very often. i've been lucky so far for an easier pregnancy this time around!