12 weeks

at twelve weeks, the all-day sickness started easing up a lot. it's actually worse at night than in the morning. once i get up and have my daily meeting leaning over the toilet, i'm good to go. but around five in the evening, it doesn't matter what i do, i start feeling super crappy and nauseated, and can't wait until it's river's bed time so i can go to bed, too.

i find when i am busy throughout the day, i feel better. when i'm lying around, the nausea is all i can think about. i'm really getting tired of having to eat every two hours just to keep the nausea at bay. i'm getting to the point where i can't remember what it's like to be hungry and not feel nauseous. with river, my nausea lasted until about 17-18 weeks. i hope i don't have to wait that long for it to pass this time. i'm more than ready to feel normal again!

my uterus is getting heavy. when i'm constantly sipping water, i literally have to pee every twenty minutes, which makes it difficult to stay hydrated, because i don't like peeing every twenty minutes, so i'd rather just not drink anything! i also experienced heartburn for the first time this pregnancy, a few days ago. i think it was from eating chocolate (nooooo). back pain is pretty bad some days. i don't know what makes it better or worse; it seems to just come when it wants. breastfeeding is becoming more painful. we are nursing less and less -- probably down to five times a day. (which may sound like a lot, but compared to before, it's significantly less.) i have horrible acne due to the pregnancy. frequent headaches, associated with the nausea. very annoying. everything else is the same.

oh, and the whole, "i'm giving up junk food" bit? by that, i totally meant "i'm giving up junk food when morning sickness is over and i don't have to find random things in the pantry to fill my stomach so i don't puke." i really don't eat junk that often. but it's easier to stuff myself with five cookies and a glass of milk (no, i'm not kidding) than it is a bowl full of grapes. when my nausea goes away and i don't have to eat constantly, i fully intend to eat a fresh, completely healthy diet and give up all (yes, all) junk food. my main motivation? i want a smaller baby. river was 9 pounds, and i don't want a 10-pounder this time around. his birth was fairly easy, so i expect birthing a 7-pound baby may be even easier.

this pregnancy seems to be going by much faster than the first, probably because i have river to keep up with. i can't believe i am in my second trimester! just read about thirteen-week development -- my baby can make a fist and suck its thumb and make sounds and is three inches long? um, hello... totally cute. i have a three-inch long baby who sucks his thumb.