And Just Like That, I'm Huge

This great post is from Rachel Balducci over @ Testosterhome

Rachel describes herself and her blog  . . . .  

"I am married to Paul and we are the parents of five lively boys. Here you'll find my musings on life with these boys.
I'm a writer and a newspaper columnist.
If you're passionate about swords, army guys, Chuck Norris and basketball, you've come to the right place."

 And Just Like That, I'm Huge

This past weekend I spent a lot of time on the couch feeling exhausted. I think we all had a touch of a bug, but this evening as I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror I realized I was also tired because the baby was doing some serious growing these last few days.

Check it out:

I mean, that's impressive. It feels like one minute everyone is telling you how great you look. The next, you've spent two days on the couch and you suddenly find yourself lumbering around like your hamstrings are fused to your glutes. Which, let's face it, they are.
I'm not going to freak out about any of this. It's to be expected after all -- it's necessary and good and a beautiful gift. It's just always a jolt to get to that stage of the pregnancy when you remember (suddenly) why you don't want to stay pregnant forever. The end of the second trimester is often when these feelings arise.
Last night I was at Ethan's basketball game when a friend asked if I was feeling okay.
"Feeling pretty good," I told him.
"How far along are you," he asked.
"Nearly 26 weeks," I said.
"Are you okay," he asked. "You keep putting your hand on your large, round abdomen." (I might have added a few of those adjectives myself.)
"I must be trying to maintain balance," I told him.
The truth is, I'm not nearly as big as I'm going to get. And that's the other scary part about this stage of the pregnancy. I know this comes with these growth spurts that babies have, but it's always a tad disconcerting to watch your belly grow, to wonder where all the extra skin in going to come from (answer: McDonald's triple thick shakes) and to realize that you have miles to go before you sleep.
Ahhhh. Sleep. Yes, that sounds nice.

Combatting Nausea

H/T Shoved to Them
Her blog's unique name comes from something her beloved Nanna, Marie Lane, used to say. (May she rest in peace)

"One day God will have enough of your foolishness and demand that you hit your knees before Him. You can either do it willingly or He will put his hand upon your head and shove you to them."

I've become a self-proclaimed expert on being nauseous. There are ways to make it more pleasant if you can't make it go away. Why should my family be the only group to benefit from this knowledge?

Some helpful tips:

1. If smells are making you queasy, try carrying a lemon with you. When you start to lose it, scratch the rind and sniff. For some reason, it overpowers your gag reflex and blocks out the offending smell. Strap one under your nose and never gag again.

2. Feeling constantly nauseated? Find a comfy chair and put a heating pad on your stomach, a hot water bottle is better if you happen to have one as the pressure helps, too. The heat will relax your cramping muscles and let you rest and restore energy for your next sprint to the loo.

3. DO NOT eat saltines to battle all day nausea. They are good in the short-term, but, as they convert to sugar, they will make you sicker in the long run. You want protein. Lots of protein. You may have to gag it down at first, but trust me, it works. Some of the easiest to take is Robertson's beef jerky. I'm not kidding here folks. You want the real thing, not the make believe that they sell at the supermarket. You can get Robertson's on-line here.

4. Preggie pops work. Order them if you have the time. If you don't, call your local medical supply store and stock up on sugar free suckers.

5.If you can tolerate nothing else, try a wedge of sour citrus. Start small like a lemon or a lime. Somehow your stomach won't recognize the acid as an outsider and will let it stay. Take it slow and easy with this. An orange will not work, it's too much sugar.

6. If you are going to be in there a lot, get a chair or stool to sit on that's about 6-9 inches tall. A kid's step stool works fine. It saves your back, and the low height will cut down on disgusting splash-backs.

7. If you absolutely can't avoid throwing up, then grab a glass of lemon juice and water en route to the bathroom. Chug it as you run. It won't keep you from throwing up, but the acid of the lemon will mask the stomach acid flavor and make it more palatable.

It's a tried-and-true list. I've spent almost two years of my life with morning sickness.
I spend at least 3 months of every pregnancy battling nausea. I've been pregnant 7 times....you do the math. That kind of time is bound to teach you something.
It's just not an area of knowledge that I get to share very often. It's like knowing about child-birth and this kind of thing, it's valuable knowledge, but you can't discuss it at dinner parties. I wish that I was an expert on things which could be discussed at dinner parties, things like hang-gliding.