After 6 weeks of hiatus, I'm back.
The rest of my first trimester was rough. Weeks 8, 9, and 10 continued to be marked with nausea, queasiness, and more weight loss. Thankfully, I finally gave in and wore my Sea Bands 24/7 through weeks 11 and 12 and though I looked like a small, Asian version of John McEnroe with my wrist bands, I survived it and even managed to regain 3 of the 12 total pounds I lost in the beginning. Weeks 11, 12, and 13 went fairly smoothly, with smaller meals, but definitely less sickness (and in effect, less arguments between me and John regarding my eating habits, or lack thereof).
By the beginning of my second trimester, I was feeling great. Fatigue was only a relative matter, and I was able to fight it for the most part. I kept busy at work and when I got home, I relaxed before John and I went to dinner or made dinner. As what has remained pretty consistent throughout my pregnancy so far, my husband's company has been paramount in what would be a very hormonally volatile phase. I have tried to absorb every minute of being with him. When we are home, I want nothing to do but lay in bed with him, whether we are watching TV together or he would be playing with the Playstation3. All that has mattered is that he maintain as close proximity with me as possible. During the NFL playoffs, I begged him to watch the game with me upstairs in our bedroom instead of downstairs in the family room, where we normally watch TV on Sundays.
Needless to say, our omnipresent closeness and my increasing appetite (hence his decreasing worries about the girls' and my nutrition) have really helped us go through this pregnancy more actively with each other. Many nights, he helps me put the cocoa butter lotion on my belly while he talks to the girls. When we received a Beatles lullaby CD from a dear friend in New York, he made sure the girls could hear it. He reads Dr. Seuss to them and even asks how their days have been. He is an incredibly involved dad, even with the babies still in utero, and it makes me look forward to seeing him with them once they are born.
A couple of weeks ago, we made a trip to Bergstrom's, a popular baby store in Orange County, to survey our options in all the baby gear we will need. That trip, though we did not purchase anything (as planned), did help us narrow down our choices as to important baby items such as the stroller, car seats, diaper bag, high chairs, food storage, bottles, etc. We have been doing extensive research on every item that we will be needing for the girls. John researches safety and I, of course, aesthetics.
We have also started the first of our baby registries at Restoration Hardware Baby. The girls' entire nursery will be based on one of the rooms in their room gallery, so I've registered for several items from that particular color scheme and I know that we, ourselves, will be purchasing many items from that list one or two at a time.
Another point of excitement (which only came yesterday), was the news that we would, in fact, be staying in our same house for at least another year and a half. We didn't waste time and immediately started making plans on the girls' nursery, John with his measuring tape and diagram of the room, and with me figuring out the aesthetics of the furniture arrangements as well as wall paint, color, and design. We were relieved that despite our plan of two full-sized cribs, an oversized glider (I absolutely DETEST those wood and fabric combo looking things. I want my glider to be an actual upholstered chair.), and a dresser/changing table, we have ample room for everything we want. In the less than 24 hours since the news of staying, we have had so much fun discussing plans for the nursery, and I think John is just as eager (if not more so) as I am.
What I have been thankful for is the relationships we have with the people in our lives. While my mother and I (as many moms and daughters) have an insane love-and-hate relationship, she has been such a great support. She always asks about how I'm feeling, and gets excited about any news she hears about John and the girls. My brothers and my dad have been the same, especially my younger brother, Ryan, who, when I had to do my last visit to the ER, text messaged me relentlessly the next day, asking about the girls. I know I can always call Ryan and tell him about the girls and he always is so involved -- he never tries to divert conversation to focus on himself until I ask (which I always do). My older brother Ronchie, my sister in law Audrey, and my nephew Gab have also been so excited. Audrey is even planning on being here when the babies are born. My older brother, the ever protective older brother, calls me to ask if I am eating or when he catches wind that I'd been losing weight due to not eating. Even John's son Nathaniel, asks about the girls every time he is down for his visits. He imagines himself showing the girls the ropes when they are older and it makes both John and me proud to hear him want to have the girls call him Kuya (which means big brother in Filipino). It's also been nice to be hearing from friends all the time. What's difficult about being the only married and pregnant one among my close friends is that I always fear that there's so much disparity between our ways of life that there would be nothing left in common. Thankfully, my friends have been so supportive and always calling, even to just (excuse my language) shoot the shit with me. My dearest friend, Molly, for example, calls me at least 3 times a week and we have hour-or-so long conversations about anything and everything, and she even manages to squeeze in a speakerphone message to the babies. Even friends who I have not seen in years, have kept in close contact via Facebook. We are overwhelmed and flooded with comments and sweet messages every time there is a new update or picture on Facebook. We have not seen too much of my mother-in-law or my sister-in-law (John's mom and sister) too much as we have not hosted as many get-togethers at our house as we did in the past, so they don't really ask too much how we are doing, but I am still beyond thankful for my family and our friends to always be there.
The toughest week so far has been this past week when I was struck with the worst (and I mean the WORST) head and chest cold I have ever had. With pregnancy significantly decreasing the body's immune system, I fought it for almost a week until it finally hit and it hit hard. I skipped two days of work and John and I slept in separate bedrooms two nights in a row as I was miserable, congested, and blowing my nose all night. Although there was a list of "safe" meds that my doctor provided for us, I refused to take anything as I feared that it would affect the babies. I drank tea, lots of water, and eventually fought it off.
On Monday, I will be exactly 16 weeks pregnant. Four months down and another five to go. Time has flown by so fast and I cannot wait to meet our babies.
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