Dear Blob,

We had our first visit at the Women's Birth & Wellness Center today. They examined me, asked me lots of questions, and listened to your heart beat. Everything was fine. We are both doing great. We go back in three weeks when I'll have to drink this awful orange gunk in order to test for gestational diabetes. (Because your brother and sister were large babies I have to undergo this test at 14 weeks.) I like the center a lot. They were all very friendly and even humored me my request to not know my weight.

So as far as the pregnancy stuff in general, I think that I may be getting over the nausea thing a bit, although I still have fairly strong likes and dislikes when it comes to food. Most of this is attributable to mood, though, and not so much feeling sick, as was the case a few weeks ago. Some of the things I like: chips, particularly cheetos, combos, and tortillas with salsa; bread; pasta; fruit, especially bananas and oranges; sweet potatoes; tomato soup; pizza; wheat thins; pickles; and all Mexican food. Some of the things I don't really like or do not sound appealing to me: steak; pork; cheese all by itself; salad; veal; chicken livers; shrimp; etc. Really anything "heavy" doesn't appeal to me. Dinner time has been challenging because while I'm generally ravenous during the day, I rarely feel hungry at night, making it difficult to plan dinner.

You are still making me extremely tired. Extremely. Dawg tired. I am hoping that this will soon pass. I'm not sure I can stand 7 more months of feeling this fatigued. It also isn't helping my exercise mission. Whenever I have time to take a walk or otherwise get some exercise, I just want to lie down and go to sleep. I have become one with the couch. I rarely stay awake much past 10 o'clock in the evening.

I'm also still sensitive to smells. I can't even wear my own perfume. Your dad cooked sausage the other weekend and I thought I would die. The lady who sits beside me at work likes some kind of hand lotion that turns my stomach. About a month ago I tried to carve up a pork roast after dinner and the smell made me feel so ill I had to go outside for a moment to clear my senses.

What other things are going on with me?

There's still the tender breast issue, but that's not going to change anytime soon. In fact, it'll probably get worse the bigger you--and they--get.

My waist has expanded a bit (though that could be due more to my new found desire for junk food than to your growth). Not enough for anyone to tell I'm pregnant, but enough that I don't even attempt to wear my "normal" slacks to work (except this one pair that is cut low and really comfy). Instead I wear these maternity pants I bought from Gap. They don't look like maternity pants at all as long as I leave my shirttail out. I can still wear my jeans, but only because they are made with that stretchy material.

Well I'm sleepy and tired of typing, so I think I'll call it a blog entry and take a quick nap before dinner (which is tomato soup and grilled cheese tonight).

Love you,
Mom