Staying healthy & hair-free

The other day I went for my weekly acupuncture session. I am so glad I did. My pulses were checked and while my heart and lungs were strong both my liver and spleen pulses were weak. My acupuncturist started the treatment and oh my god it hurt!!

Okay it wasn't this bad.

But I know I needed it. My liver is obviously working hard processing all these hormones and I have often had a congested liver so any support is great at this time when it is really working hard. And since the spleen works with producing more red blood cells it too must be under strain during this very busy time. My body is really working hard and so I am so glad I get to do acupuncture which can help to keep everything in balance and give my organs an energy boost. I've worked too hard and waited too long to get where I am now not to do everything I can to ensure a successful and healthy pregnancy. Though not sure all the chips and cookies are helping.

Still finding it hard to eat normally as the nausea is very strong. All I want to eat are carbs - like chips, rice and crackers. But I am also managing to eat apples and carrots washed down with lots and lots of sparkling water - it's the only thing that really settles my stomach. I have now completely gone off the cookies but moved on to hot chocolate. Actually what I want to eat and drink changes everyday! I can't seem to get a handle on it. The worst is when I think yeah that's what I want and then I eat it and realize NO! That's definitely not what I want!! Anyway hopefully the nausea phase won't last too long.

I got myself waxed for the first time since becoming pregnant. It was well overdue as I was starting to rival a rainforest in terms of overgrowth. I was a bit nervous about it as I've heard you can become more sensitive so the waxing hurts more. But it didn't really hurt more than usual!! Though I wondered if the baby can sense when I am in pain. All those pain messages racing around in my nerves - I wonder if it causes any effect. I know that babies can feel pleasure as the endorphins that are released in your blood stream cross over to the baby too. So do they know when you're in pain? I hope not as I plan to do lots of swimming once it gets warmer and so waxing will be an absolute necessity! Lest I scare people out of the swimming pool when they see a large yeti like creature approaching.

Miserable & Wonderful

It's a good sign, right?

I feel really crappy but also completely and utterly wonderful.

Ad Nauseam

Today I am 6 weeks and 1 day pregnant. The nausea has really kicked in. I never get close to vomiting but it is still really rather unpleasant. Wonderful. But unpleasant. The only thing that takes the nausea away is eating. So I have a lot of small meals all the time. Yes I eat lots of fruit, smoothies, salads and other healthy foods. But I cannot lie. Chocolate chip cookies are the most effective.

In fact Mr. T just walked in and said "Who terrorized the cookies?" Ummm. That would be your pregnant wife. The one who's been lying down pretty much all day, going in and out of sleep. I think I am turning into a sleeping-eating cookie monster.

NUM NUM NUM NUM YUMMY COOKIES!

Annoyingly enough I keep reading websites that say there is no need to pile on the pounds during pregnancy but if I don't eat I feel really sick. I am definitely eating more than I used to because of the nausea and I never ate cookies everyday and now I have at least 4 a day. Oink oink. But as long as I am not vomiting then I am just going to oink oink happily along. And all those holier-than-thou mummy/pregnancy websites can oink off too!

I've started a weekly appointment with my massage therapist (who is also my insanely flexible yoga teacher) and I look forward to it each week with great anticipation. It soothes and calms me so much - it is a real help when it comes to balancing the stress of a heavy week at work along with helping me to make a calm and healthy environment for our mutant tadpole to grow into a strong healthy bubba. She has given me a few safe yoga positions to do at home but has told me not to come to the ashtanga yoga class until I am at least 3 months. I have to say when I do find the energy and the time to do the yoga at home, I feel amazing. I have actually ordered a ton of pregnancy fitness DVDs from Amazon, can't wait till they arrive. However I have had to send them to the UK for my mum to bring over as the Moroccan post still delivers by donkey I think. Seriously. My Granddad sent me a Christmas card on December 8th last year, I received it yesterday.

Ha ha ha I ate your mail!

I have also scheduled a weekly acupuncture appointment and I think with both the massage and the acupuncture I should be able to balance the pressure and stress at work with trying to be a calm and collected pregnant lady. Meditation is the next on my list. Though I still feel too excited for that. For me getting down to meditation is always a bit like the chicken and the egg situation - Do I need to be calm so I can meditate, or do I need to meditate to be calm? Well at least for now, I think I will wait till the nausea/cookie eating extravaganza starts to taper off. It's hard to sit still and think about nothing when you feel like you're about to hurl and even worse when you can hear the cookie jar calling your name.