A Glimpse....: 2010

The first trimester was rough for me. I was nauseous all of the time. It wasn't the type of nausea where you throw up and then go on with your day, but rather the type of nausea that feels like you have the stomach flu. My entire body ached and I couldn't eat or drink anything. Water...I would throw up, Ginger Ale...I would throw up, toast...I would throw up and I got no relief from throwing up, instantly afterwards, I would feel nauseous again. I would wake up in the middle of the night and run to the bathroom to throw up but because I couldn't eat anything, it was that horrible stinging kind of bile throw up. I rarely brushed my teeth during the first trimester because simply sticking the toothbrush in my mouth made my throw up.

Things that made me very nauseous were Japanese noodles, Chinese food and Scrubbing Bubbles cleaning products. The only things that I seemed to have any luck with holding down were bean and cheese burritos and El Pollo white chicken meat, with no skin.

I also got used to throwing up in public places. I remember one day I was leaving work in Century City and I was stopped at a red light on Ave. of the Stars right in front of the crosswalk at 5:00pm...at this time of day, that crosswalk is packed. As I was waiting at the light, I look up and see two Asian girls walking across the street and I immediately started to think about Japanese noodles and just that thought alone made me throw up outside my car door, right in front of the crosswalk and all that passed by. It was disgusting! I threw up so many times in the work bathroom, twice in the side bushes by my apartment, once in the trash can outside the elevators at work and once while driving in rush hour traffic on my to work, I threw up in my brand new yellow/tan leather purse and ruined it.

I remember just lying in bed and being miserable. I was so tired because I literally wasn't eating or drinking anything for days at a time and I was still throwing up and my body was aching, I would get the chills, and couldn't stop shivering and Jon came to me and said, "Mercedes, it's just nausea, you're just going to have to get over it." I was so mad, it was not just nausea, it was this horrible debilitating sickness that I hope I never have with any of my other children.

My doctor was concerned because every time I went to see him, I had lost weight and I also threw up during my first visit with him, so he gave me a prescription for Zofran, and suddenly my life was great again. That is quite possibly the best drug on the face of the planet. I ended up being nauseous for 6 months of this pregnancy and that is the only thing that helped me keep food down and restored my energy.

During this trimester, I developed a super power sense of smell. I could smell lettuce that had begun to rot and grow brown from our front door even though our refrigerator door was closed. Also, after Jon was done riding his bike, he would come into the house smelling of metal, iron and dust, it was just the strangest smell, but it was so strong.

My favorite part of this trimester was hearing our baby's heartbeat. I remember thinking that he was so small, and just a blob but had such a strong, fast heartbeat. It was amazing. It was such an odd feeling at the time to know that my body was working so hard to create this baby inside me and the only thing that seemed real to me at this point in time was his heartbeat.