this trimester knocked me out. i wasn’t totally overcome with insane nausea –but it was there. and often it came bc i was hungry. but the problem was, nothing at all sounded good to eat. nothing. more than all that though, i was dog tired. dog. tired. i would get up from bed to do something productive and could only make it to the couch. where i would stay for as long as ramona would allow. and then i’d get up to try to do something again and would find myself back in bed. it was brutal. poor ramona and i were cooped up and had cabin fever bad. i couldn’t even get up to take a walk around the block. thankfully, i have a wonderful hubby and amazing friends who really chipped in with spending time w ramona to give me a break.
here’s what helped me try to cope with nausea and extreme exhaustion (weeks 6-8 were the absolute worst!): 1. liz lange maxi dress bc not having to pick out an outfit each day is key || 2. hue ultra wide waistband leggings bc i already don’t fit in many of my pants! || 3. house of cards on netflix for when i was too tired to read or leave the couch || 4. saltine crackers (kept in every room in the house) || 5. ginger snap cookies (kept in every room in the house) || 6. lavender room spray for relaxation || 7. tons of sparkling water to calm the belly || 8. barney to keep ramona company || 9. lemon drops seemed to soothe a nauseous tummy when i couldn’t bring myself to eat anything || 10. (not pictured) a loving, patient hubby to pick up my slack and help take care of the things i usually take care of.
have you experienced a rough first trimester? what got you through it? how long did your symptoms last? i’m still more tired than usual but am way better than i was doing a couple of weeks ago and certainly see the light at the end of the tunnel.
yeah, it doesn’t look like a baby to us either. but there he or she is! little bug PowerDriver, due sometime around 3/21/14.
this explains my absence, my exhaustion, my overall disinterest and inability to engage in anything beyond sitting on my couch watching ramona play with blocks or, if she needs more attention than i can give her, watching her watch television. a lot of it. way more than is good for a two-year-old. power to the mothers that rear more than two offspring bc this first trimester has been a good reminder to jp and me of why two, at least when it comes to child-rearing, will most likely be our lucky number.
with ramona, we essentially talked one night about having a baby, tried one night to make a baby, and then 40 weeks later, had a baby. this little bugger took many more months’ effort. and it has been humbling to experience the emotions of anticipation and disappointment and impatience and fear and insecurity and the unknown. our bodies are incredible things; the way we work has me in awe. i do not take this privilege of carrying this sack of life inside of me lightly.
|| weekly belly posts to commence at next week at week 12. i’m huge already. ||
chef kelly whitaker and his crew at basta up in boulder are putting out some amazing food from their wood fire oven. this is certainly one of jp’s and my favorite restaurants. if you’re looking for some thoughtfully prepared and perfectly seasoned food that just makes you feel so so good and well-fed, next time you’re in boulder make this your spot for dinner. we had a feast the last time we were there — a little bit of everything. my go-to is the burrata and at least one of their pizzas. and then whatever chef whitaker recommends. ramona can be picky. she never turns down food here. i’m no food critic or writer so hopefully the photos can speak for themselves:
basta is open every day, 5:00 until 10:00. they serve a friday lunch from 11:30 until 2:30. chef whitaker is opening up a place down the street from the populist at 25th and larimer and we cannot wait to have him join the neighborhood.
two year molars suck. they really do. these photos describe our day perfectly yesterday. it wasn’t until today that i pieced together it was her mouth that was giving her such a high fever and a crappy time. she slept like a rock in our bed for most of the afternoon (that NEVER happens for our little wiggle worm). i enjoyed the snuggles and the quiet day. it was nice to have a sleeping babe close –even on me at times! it certainly brought back memories of when she was a wee one that was more often than not attached to me.
how to soothe a two year old with molars wreaking havoc? here’s what we did:
- for the fever we alternated with children’s doses of acetaminophen and ibuprofen every three hours. she was incredibly uncomfortable, even to the point of having chills that left her restless and whiny. we found that acetaminophen helped this tremendously and quickly.
- i took her temperature every hour and kept track of the temp as well as the dosage of medicine. at one point her temp got up to 103.9, which was quite scary as she’s never had a high fever before and i didn’t yet realize it was her molars causing this. keeping track helped me keep a level head before i freaked out too much (having a brother who’s an ER doctor and responds to my frantic texts also helped and is a perk i am forever grateful for).
- we put clean sheets on the bed, did a quick clean of the bedroom, and sprayed the room with lavender to create a calming environment for her. the ceiling fan was turned on low so there was air movement but no chilly draft. pillows were piled up and all her lovies were close by (green blanket, teddy, pacifier).
- she got as much PBS, elmo, tinker bell, eloise movies as she wanted. also, unlimited access to her pacifier.
- we encouraged water and, when we realized it was her molars, gave ramona as much ice cream as she wanted. you know it’s bad when she starts to turn away ice cream!
- most importantly, plans were cancelled, we kept her home, and i made myself as close and available as possible. she certainly needed it and i wasn’t going to miss out on any snuggle time this anti-snuggler was going to give me.
my parents were recently in town. every time they come to visit we make sure to make a trip up to boulder. usually we time it with the farmers’ market. we extended our stay up there this time, getting in a full late morning and early afternoon of adventures. we’ll most likely never live in boulder (but if we found some land we could afford on the outskirts of it, that might be a different story) but we love taking day trips up there as it has such a different feel than denver. here’s what we did that day that i’d highly suggest for any family with (or without!) little ones:
- start at the boulder creek. dip your toes in it. picnic in the shade of the trees (there’s also many grassy spots for frisbee throwing etc along the banks).
- then walk along the river path down to the boulder farmers’ market (saturday mornings and wednesday evenings). pick up fresh, local, organic produce for your dinner.
- finish up your visit with a refreshing visit to the small splash pad along the pearl street mall. make sure your little one either has a swim diaper or swimsuit as they’re required (or be willing to sacrifice your child’s clothes, as we did!).
what day trips do you take to get outta your town?
welcome
