12 weeks

We're getting closer to the end of the first trimester, and we're still hoping to say goodbye to the nausea within the next few weeks. The morning sickness has continued, although perhaps not as severe or continuous as it was in the beginning. I've been sleeping a lot lately, too, with an average of 11 hours/day. I noticed that over the weekend when I am able to sleep in and stay home all day, eating and resting at will, I don't suffer from nausea. So then I think, maybe it is gone away now!... but then I ride a bus or train to work during the week and it hits me hard. So I've been using the mantras: "I'm so happy and grateful to be pregnant!" and "Being pregnant is fun!". I've had pretty good results from using positive affirmations in the past, and I'd like to change my sore attitude about my symptoms. It is true that we are very grateful and we feel so lucky and blessed to have this new life with us.

I found a great podcast called Pregtastic. It is like a radio talk show with a panel of pregnant women, and sometimes they have experts on the show to talk about different topics like breastfeeding, doulas, or natural childbirth. It has been wonderful to listen to the podcasts, I even caught Bob listening to one of them. It is great to hear other families going through similar transitions that we are and will be going through.

I'm reading a book called HypnoBirthing: The Mongan Method: A natural approach to a safe, easier, more comfortable birthing. I first heard about hypnobirthing by researching about doulas in San Francisco. I found that a lot of the doulas (birth coaches) are trained in hypnobirthing. I was pretty skeptical at first. The name sounded weird to me. But then I read some birth stories by women who had great results from hypnobirthing, and I heard a podcast by a woman who said it helped her have a happier/calmer pregnancy and delivery. I've learned some breathing and relaxation techniques from the book, and I used one of them this morning on the train when a strong wave of nausea hit me. It helped! I'd like to take a class in hypnobirthing, too, so that both Bob and I can better learn and use the tools that hypnobirthing offers.

Several friends and family members have pointed out that we call our baby a "she". We are guessing that we have a girl, although we truthfully do not know. Hopefully we will be able to have an ultrasound in December that will tell us what the true gender is. And until we learn differently, we will continue to say she. : )

I joined a gym a couple weeks ago on a day when I felt a lot of energy, and I enjoyed a walk on the treadmill with a view of tree tops, marin hills and the golden gate bridge. However, I haven't been back yet because I've been either working or eating or sleeping. I hope to have some more energy and less sickness in the second trimester, and that will be a good time to start swimming at the gym. It has a pool, which is the main reason I joined. I've heard that swimming feels great, especially later in pregnancy, because it takes the weight of the baby off of the back. I will also use the treadmill for walking on days when it is too cold or rainy to walk outside. It is important to exercise throughout pregnancy. I went to a prenatal yoga class a few weeks ago, and I also have a prenatal yoga DVD that I've been using at home about once a week. Again, I'd like to increase my yoga practice and exercise more when I'm feeling better.