The Many Misadventures of an Early Pregnancy

I've always heard that pregnancy is hard. But let me tell you this is totally wrong. In fact, pregnancy is HARD! Nothing I heard could prepare me for the dizziness, the nausea, the EMOTIONS, the vomiting, the cravings, the aversion to your favorite foods and smells, and oh yes, pregnancy brain is 100000000% real. It's been just over 2 weeks since we learned that Baby Kimball is on its way and our lives have already changed drastically. In the past 2 weeks, I've worked a grand total of 3 days and 25 minutes (they sent me home yesterday almost as soon as I got there because I looked so miserable). I can't work, can't cook, can't clean, can't go shopping, can't even snuggle (yep, one of my favorite smells in the world--the smell of Mark--makes me gag. How sad is that?). Basically, I've turned into a shadow of myself who sits on the couch all day and cries because this isn't fair.

Don't get me wrong- I'm happy and I'm excited about the prospect of being a mommy. All my life, I've jumped between wanting to be a teacher, to an author, to a hair stylist (what?!?), to a wedding planner, to pretty much everything under the sun, but the only things that have remained constant throughout my life is that I want, more than anything, to be a wife and mother. And now my dream is coming true! Even with the annoyance of everything changing within me right now, I know that in the end, it'll totally be worth it. I can't wait for that little human to be in my arms and see what he or she looks like. (I'm praying for my dark hair and Mark's bright blue eyes.) I can't wait to see Mark hold our child and begin to be an amazing father. I can't wait for my family and friends to meet our baby. And I definitely can't wait for him or her to meet all their cousins! Family Christmases are about to get INSANE.

In the meantime, all I can do is remember that I have a little miracle on the way and everything that's happening is totally normal. So I can grab my box of Kleenex and a trashcan and know that it's ok to cry at an insurance commercial and gag at an Applebee's commercial and try to remember that all groceries do not actually go in the freezer (pregnancy brain, remember?). And I'll do my best to hug my husband and tell him how wonderful he is for listening to me moan and gag and cry and complain that I NEED french toast sticks and cheetos NOW. And now I suddenly want french toast sticks and cheetos. Dang it. Oh well, today is actually the first day that I've felt 20% normal, so maybe, just maybe, I'll go get it myself this time.

Stay tuned.