Goodbye first trimester, hello work

We did it. We made it to week 15. The hard part’s over right?

Right?

Now, I know that’s not right, but a man can dream right? We’re almost to week 16 and I am still coming down from the high of seeing Peanut squirming around and waving on the ultrasound. and it looks like the worst of the “morning sickness” is behind us. That little trip to the ER appears to have been the last gasps of SuperHormones™ raging through. But it still lets us know who’s boss

The real work begins

As rough as these last few weeks have been with Kelci being sick and just some general frustration, it’s time to look toward the fun stuff. Deciding on a theme for the nursery (I vote a combination of hunting and Seahawks, but we’ll see), looking through the book of 100,000 Baby Names (did you know Bacon is a baby name?) and reading a ton of information.

One of the things we’ve been working on is a budget. How in the hell do people do this? Kelci and I are not poor by any means, but looking at our budget leaves not much wiggle room. Any advice on how much to expect to budget is greatly appreciated! What words of wisdom do you have about budgeting for baby? I’ll work on another post getting into some of those costs later.

The planning stages

You say August like it’s a long ways away. I say 24 weeks like it’s going to be here tomorrow. We’re both right. We still have time to plan, but I’m excited and I want it here now. I want to decorate the nursery and hold it and watch it puke and all the crazy little baby stuff we’re going to experience.

But there’s a lot of work ahead. How do we get ready? What should our priorities be? How did you plan?

Men’s Guide to Morning Sickness

You feel helpless when you hear her in the bathroom. You offer water or crackers, but you’d like to offer her relief. But you also smile because it’s normal. It’s part of the process.

Kelci’s battling morning sickness right now. In fact, she literally is battling right now. But I wanted to offer some coping mechanisms for the guys out there. Let’s face it. Puking, dry heaving, wretching etc… isn’t pretty. But apparently it comes with the territory.

What is morning sickness?

According to the Mayo Clinic, morning sickness can occur any time of the day and is generally attributed to “… rapidly rising levels of estrogen, which causes the stomach to empty more slowly. Pregnant women also have a heightened sense of smell, so various odors — such as foods cooking, perfume or cigarette smoke — may cause waves of nausea in early pregnancy.”

This seems to be just one of the many joys that comes with the massive amount of hormones coursing through her body…

What can I do about it?

Hold her hair and tell her she’s beautiful. Really. I find myself smiling each time because it means she’s normal. She’s pregnant. But I also know she’s miserable, so I want to help her.

Keep some crackers around. They help absorb the stomach bile and also get something back into the stomach after it’s been emptied.

Keep her hydrated. You lose a lot of fluid when you puke. She needs to keep hydrated so she doesn’t cramp, keeps her core temperature down and helps ease the early pregnancy fatigue. I’ve found that ginger beer is also good, since it ginger is a natural anti-nausea relief.

Keep her happy. Her back and tummy hurt from puking, so give them a rub. Make sure you have water and maybe a toothbrush at the ready. Tell her she’s beautiful, even when she’s turned an odd shade of green.

Keep your distance. Sometimes she just wants to be sick. Be aware of when she’s ready for you to leave her alone and be aware of when you should be by her side.

So, there you have it. Be patient with her. She probably doesn’t know what the hell’s happening either.