Thanks everyone for checking in and commiserating. I've been craving sweets lately, so Daisy, don't feel bad. Just do the best you can. Bandito, I understand if you can't write. When you're feeling crappy you just don't want to do anything that requires energy. Lonewolf, hang in there with those classes. I know the feeling of being overwhelmed. I keep thinking to myself, my God what did I sign on for...selling my Mom's house, height of wedding photography season, and caring for our home while I'm pregnant. And yet somehow I'm managing...day trip to the house here and there, dinners at night, laundry when I can (though it backs up bad!!) and well...the wedding biz stuff just has to happen and I just spend a lot of time making notes and keeping in touch. Thankfully we've done this long enough that we're a well-oiled machine and I'm feeling good enough that I can shoot a whole day (10 hours not including travel) and not only survive but come up with good stuff. (Hubby just said he doesn't even have to be around during receptions anymore, I'm that good at dancing candids. LOL)

I've been craving chocolate and sweets but I'm not going to speak of what I'm doing or not doing. I know my body and I know what I'm trying to accomplish and I'm answering only to myself. I'm still having all the usual symptoms, including varied tummy tenderness and mild cramping...but nothing that's alarming. I've noticed a pooch forming. <sigh> I guess it was bound to happen! Next visit to doc is 7/2 so until then I just need to get through a bunch of meetings and one relatively "easy" wedding (shorter day, all at one location, great couple) next weekend and then an on-site auction of the contents of my Mom's house and business (6/30-7/1). I can't wait to get through my first trimester for so many reasons!

Take care everyone. Rest. Be good to yourselves. Be kind to yourselves. And remember your #1 priority right now! <hugs>

Well, I just learned a lesson the hard way about me and carbs. I went a little crazy with my cravings on Saturday (I'm so very embarrassed to admit what I ate, but it was a carbfest - junk food - so, so bad) and spent Sunday with my body "cleansing" if you get my drift. Through, down and out...quick as anything...and such awful gas. My God, I was a wreck! The worst part? Today I was fighting a fever and really, really scared! My normal basal temp tends now to be around 98.5 or so (pre-pregnancy it was closer to 98) and the morning started off around 98.9. By close to noon my temp bounced up above 100 (close to 101) and scared me so I gave in and took Tylenol and continued to drink as much fluid as I could in between lying there utterly fatigued and achy. By about 3pm today I finally got it to hold at the low 99s and it's still there. I feel better, I've sweated it out, I'm still drinking and slowly getting in some food (unfortunately I can only stomach carbs - oatmeal and toast so far today). You know when I used to get sick it was no big deal, but now it's such a totally different story. I feel like I brought this on myself with my bad food choices. <sigh> At least I feel like I'm out of the woods now, especially if I stay in bed tonight. Anyone else go through anything like this? I'm going to review our thread again just in case.**

**ETA I just went back and, as I thought I remembered, Kim had a fever in early June too. I'm pretty much doing what she did.

**ETA again: I was back down to normal temps for dinner and had food that stayed put (higher carb, but classic "safe" stuff like rice - oh well). My stomach is still sore and my temps are about 99ish right now. Not too bad. I'm going back to bed and will stay there as long as I have to...and yeah, I'm drinking lots of water.

Oh yeah, I'll admit it, I had that "cleansing" thing happen a couple weeks ago-I woke up in the middle of the night with the WORST stomach pains I have ever had-DH was at work (he works overnight shifts) and I almost called him to come home because I didn't know what was going on....but yeah, 30 minutes later I was fine.
I had eaten nothing but fried greasy junk for dinner and then 3/4 of a box of Lemonheads (the big, movie theater style box). Plus a couple other sweet things earlier in the day. My body has never reacted that way from too much sugar before, but I just know that's what did it that time. It has definitely been a deterrant-it really hurt!

I'm doing OK so far this week-not perfect, but close! I did have a piece of ice cream cake that I bought my DH for Father's Day, but a little piece, and just one. Half of the cake is still in the freezer and I haven't been tempted to touch it today. That's definitely progress!

Well, I must tell you I'm amazed at how quickly my calm, relaxed approach to this pregnancy just flew right out the damn window when I started to have a fever! OMG it scared me so to think I'd done something stupid and even giving in and taking Tylenol. I can't believe how much of a screw-up I feel like. Has anyone ever felt that? My relationship with food has changed drastically too. It's ironic that since getting so sick from junk food, now all I can stomach are higher carb things. Of course I'm trying not to be inappropriate but my first priority is to try to get things in me that will digest well and STAY in, including my vites (which I've managed to take every day). It's been a slow start and now my taste for food is WAY off but I'm taking baby steps (haha, pun intended) toward eating better again.

Lisa, you're doing great. You really are. Everything will be fine.
Tylenol is OK. I know it's best to take nothing at all, but if you need it, it's OK.

I had an appt. yesterday and heard the heartbeat for the first time -thank goodness there was only ONE-my DH wants twins (he's crazy) and I've been having dreams about twins lately so I was a little worried

I've gained 5 lbs so far.

Oh Daisy! YAY!!! I'm so excited for you! My appointment for that is coming up on 7/2 and it'll be such a relief to finally hear it. I got to see it around 6 weeks (flashing on the U/S screen) but to hear it with my hubby and Mom there will be very important. And yeah, your DH is insane! LOL , 5 lbs sounds good to me! Congrats on the great news, Jennifer!

Boy I bet we could fill a thread on crazy dreams, though, huh? The wildest one I had yet was I was at some kind of photography gig (more commercial/media - not wedding) and a woman asked me when I was due (I have a tummy but I don't look pregnant yet) and it shocked me. Then she asked if I wanted to hear the heartbeat of my BOY. My goodness! What's really odd is if you forced me to guess, I would've said girl, but what the hell do I know? I guess at some point we'll find out. But anyhow, that was the coolest "baby dream". The rest of the time I'm dreaming about houses and moving and auctions and other things that comprise my stressful life. LOL

Thanks so much for the support. I was amazed at how I freaked out, ya know? Believe it or not, I did some research and reassured myself...realizing my fever would've had to be much higher much longer and probably hit at a different time of development to cause the problems that worried me. Thankfully I'm feeling tons better and I'm back to better/intuitive eating. My weight is fluctuating a bit, but doing ok I think. I imagine at my next visit (13 weeks) I will have gained about 6 pounds, give or take. While I would've liked to have been one of those people that didn't gain during trimester 1, I guess I really can't complain. I'm taking my measurements and I can see at least where it's happening. (E.g., my waist is the same, but my lower tummy/hips have gotten bigger...along with my breasts getting fuller of course)

Hope everyone is doing well. Remember, even if you have a bad day, there is always tomorrow to eat better or do something you didn't get a chance to do! Speaking of which, today will be a good food day and tomorrow I'm going to get back to pilates! Take care, everyone!

Lisa & Daisy - I feel for you on the craving sweets thing. I went through a phase where all i wanted was chocolate (of course, after i went back to LC and wouldn't eat regular chocolate, LOL). Last night and today i've been craving sweets again - we went out to dinner last night and mashed sweet pototoes came with my meal. Normally I have no problem with this, but they were pretty sweet. I think this particular restaurant must add a lot of sugary something to them. Within an hour i had a headache (a sure sign i've come to realize that i've eaten something with sugar in it) and all i wanted after that was sweets! ARGH! Oh well, live and learn. I won't be eating their mashed sweet potatoes ever again. I've also noticed an odd pattern of behavior in the way the baby moves when I eat sugar.... When i eat too much sugar (like before i went back to LC, adn teh day i did my glucose test) the baby is awake very quickly and almost spastic in it's movements for a short while, then it like goes into a sugar coma and just goes back to sleep for a long time, regardless fo what I am doing. Eating semi-LC again, after meals the baby takes a bit longer to wake up, but movements are firmer, less erratic, and the baby is awake for longer. Not to mention if i eat anything that has too much sugar in it I end up with a headache within an hour that takes 2 days to go away completely (like the day i overdid the yummy homemade bread when we went out to lunch with freidns a few weeks ago). I'm also retaining 2 lbs of water weight (went up overnight), and that also seems to happen if i eat too much carby stuff as well as too much salty stuff. Anyway, sorry i'm rambling on about all that. Thought it was a very interesting observation.

Lisa, I feel for you on the gas eating carby too! I never had such a problem with that. And then when i got pregnant and started eating crappy, i had awful gas. They say this can be a side effect of pregnancy too, so i didn't attribute it to eating poorly (at least by my LC standards, LOL). Once i went to Semi-LC, that totally disappeared though! Antoher interesting observation about LCing. I haven't gotten sick with a temperature and stuff since i've been pregnant, but i have on occasion what i can only liken to hot flashes sometimes. I'll be somewhere like Wal-Mart grocery shopping with Hubby and say "it's hot in here" (meanwhile we are standing in the freezer section or soemthing, LOL. He looks at me weird. And it's not hot like i'm sweating even, it's hot like my internal temperature just rose 10 degrees, LOL. Luckily, this has only happened twice and they told me this can happen due to the hormones flucuating so much during pregnancy.

Daisy - eveyrone kept telling me in teh beginning i was having twins. One person at work still asks me "hows the twins today?". Grrrrrrr. My hubby's grandma was a twin, and she told him he'd have twins someday. I was SOOO scared at first! It was such a relief to only see one on the U/S screen and only hear ONE heartbeat.

I had creepy dreams when i first got pregnant. After i found out, but before my first doctors appointment, i had a dream that we went to my appointment and the doctor told us I wasn't really pregnant, i was just crazy. That freaked me out, even though i'd taken 3 home tests and then an official one from my Dad's office (he's a gynecologist) and KNEW i was pregnant!

Then after my first dr. appt i had a dream that we had 2 kids that were teenagers now, adn they were these awful, evil, chuckie-like looking kids that were always hurting people and animals and stuff. My husband woke me up from that one because i was crying in my sleep!

My next doctors appt is next friday, 6/29. We get another U/S, since the baby wouldnt' let the sonographer do the cardiac exam last time. Unfortunately hubby will miss this one too (last month's was the first one he'd missed ) because he just started his new job this past monday. He has his first client meeting friday at 2 pm, and my appt is at 3 pm. Oh well, my mom will be there with me at least. And the sonographer video tapes my U/S's for me so at least he can watch the tape later.

Well, back to my homework, sigh. I had to drop one of the two classes i was going ot take the summer semester. I found otu BOTH of them were writing intensive, not just the one like i thought. No way could i handle 8 papers, and 7-8 chapters PER WEEK for 6 weeks. I have better things to do during my 3rd trimester, thanks! Plus i still work a full-time job!

Well, take care everyone! I will try to pop in more frequently! It's just hard with work and school and trying to prepare for baby (maybe we'll actually find out what sex it is as this next U/S!).

Anyone had any problems with ankles swelling? I've had some in the last few days mainly due (I think) to not getting enough rest, water, or healthy food. I seem to be okay today.

The only time i've had any problems with water retention is if i eat too much salt or too much sugar (which sounds weird, but it affects me just like too much sodium).

For me, it's really just my fingers that get puffy.

I was thinking I might be too early in the process to have much to say about this. But I had a recent experience with water retention because I was eating CRAP. Yeah, I'm not going to sugar coat it, I was awful. Ok, well, the point is I DID "sugar coat" everything I ate. ROFL (So there you go, same issue as Sue!) Seriously, though, the scale jumped and the minute I got back to my "normal" comfortable LC eating habits...good, clean LC food, I not only felt better but bounced from 183 to 181.

Knock wood I haven't had issues with the ankles, but rather the fingers like Sue (and generally just feeling puffy/poochy/bloated). Of course there is still time yet, but watching my food intake will be in order!

Ok, have to fess up....
I have been eating badley. Very very bad! Just the thought of any of my "typical "me" foods" made my mouth start to water in a real bad way. I am talking major food adversions here. It became a matter of what COULD eat without feeling very ill.
Seems that I am in good company with this struggle.

I am starting to feel a little better, but am still having food aversions. Still tired all the time. After my 12hr night shift, I am not safe to drive. Needing to spend extra money on gas so DH can drive me back and forth.

Had a couple tan/brown smudges, but I think everything is OK. Nothing like what happened with my first pregnancy (twins minus one). Sure wish my doc would do an early US. I have to wait until 12 weeks. I dont even have any "proof" that there is a little heart beating in there. You guys are lucky.

Just wanted to check in and let everyone know that I am still here.......

Hey Kristie!

Well, you are not only with the "bad food" struggle. My 11th week I gorged on bad foods and really paid for it...then I got back on track. But I have to admit that recently chocolate chip cookies and french bread have become part of the equation again. <sigh> Mostly I'm eating very well, but then I just break down. I've had periodic food aversions, but nothing so extreme that I can't be eating well. I just get to this point where I snap and then grab for something. It's a bizarre craving thing that I feel like I can fight...and do for awhile...and then break down again. Weird. But I'm going to keep fighting it. And last week I got back to working out, so that was good.

I know what you mean about proof that there is a little heart beating in there. I got to see a flicker of heartbeat at 6 weeks and felt very relieved to know life was beginning (and in the right place). But it's been 6 weeks since and I'm finally going back to the doctor's tomorrow night to hopefully HEAR the heartbeat. That will relieve me for awhile until I can have the next ultrasound (which I think will be about 20 weeks or so). I will report back about the visit!

Hey Kristie, sorry you are having such a hard time. I definitely understand what you are talking about.

And Lisa, I'm doing pretty much the same thing right now. I do well, then all of a sudden I just can't, or I don't care, or something....I don't know. I'm not giving up this time though.

As far as swelling, my fingers get all puffy no matter what. With my last pregnancy, I had HORRIBLE swelling in my feet and ankles the whole last month. You couldn't even tell I had ankles-they were the same size as my calves (which were also quite large). It was painful as well. I was eating a lot of salt and sugar at that time, so I'm hoping that was what did it and that it won't happen again.

I just wanted to let you ladies know I heard my child's heartbeat last night. I'm still in awe and shaking my head about it. Anyhow, I put the details in my journal since I'm on the run again and don't have time to post there here too.

I'm still fighting the good fight in terms of foods...winning some battles and losing others. But I'm practicing forgiveness and constantly starting over and giving myself the chance to make better choices at my next meal. Stay healthy and be good to yourselves!

I feel for you guys. I had some serious food aversions in the beginning. All the meat and veggies and such i'd always liked to eat (even before LC) i was suddenly sickened by just the thought of eating. I HAD to have somethign carby (bread, pasta, potatoes, etc) to go with the meat or i couldn't eat it. I hardly ate any veggeis at all. And all I really wanted were things like French Fries, sweet tea (with real sugar), other fast food things, and ice cream.

I didn't even have my first doctors appointment until i was 12 weeks. I found out i was pregnant at the end of January, knew it had happened at either Christmas or New Years, and my first Dr Appt wasn't until the beginning of March! It sucked having to wait so long, and then they weren't even going to do an ultrasound then, but the sonographer had time and I couldn't remember when my last normal period was, so they went ahead and did a quickie one.

It is really neat to hear the heartbeat. It was awe-inspiring the first time, but it's cool every time. It always makes me smile and giggle.

I'm still doing OK. Still busy - school is really taking a toll on me this semester (i hate short summer semesters). Eating is going great though. As i'm into the 3rd Tri now though, i'm starting to get tired more easily again and my lower back has really been bothering me. Sigh.