I will attempt to be better at documenting this pregnancy. This is how the second month of pregnancy (weeks 5-8) went for me.

morning sickness

The terribly-named pregnancy nausea struck one afternoon when I was five weeks and three days. It came on gradually, culminating in the full-fledged combination of nausea and fatigue by the day I turned six weeks.

The worst thing you can do for morning sickness is bow to your food aversions. In the past, I have spent the first trimester not eating, since the very thought of eating would sometimes be enough to send me running to the bathroom. But an empty stomach actually makes the sickness worse. I tried this month to keep up with my regular meals as much as possible, forcing myself to eat eggs and toast for breakfast like I usually would.

pregnancy cravings

Occasionally some specific food breaks through the fog of nausea and sounds INCREDIBLY good. We live far from town, and running into the city to satisfy cravings isn’t really very practical. I was in luck, however, that I had all the ingredients on hand to make the thing I was craving: gyoza.

Somehow I found the energy to make the dough and then the dumplings from scratch. When something finally sounds good to eat, you do what you have to to make it happen. Of course I was sick again immediately after eating the dumplings, but tasting them was pure bliss.

Other than those dumplings and ice cream sandwiches, I haven’t had any strong cravings. The sandwiches I asked my parents to pick up for me. I did not attempt to make those on my own.

other symptoms

Three things I deal with every pregnancy immediately reared their heads again: insomnia; being cold all the time; low progesterone. For the first I take half a unisom. For the last, my OB prescribed me a dose of progesterone to take every day until 12 weeks. (I actually felt the dose was too high and took only half of it each day.) For being cold, however, there seemed to be no recourse except to huddle near the fireplace as much as possible. I am very much looking forward to the summer!

postponed appointment

My first doctor’s appointment was scheduled when I would be about eight weeks, but after talking it over with Jeremy, we decided to postpone it due to the concerns surrounding the Covid-19. I sent a message to my OB’s office, and he called me personally to discuss it. Since this is my ninth pregnancy (and I know the drill) and nothing is done at that appointment that can’t be done later, we decided that my coming in would be superfluous. We rescheduled the appointment for four weeks later.

fatigue

I felt tired during these weeks, like always, but not too badly. Keeping eating kept my energy at a reasonable level, and I determined to keep up with as much of my own responsibilities as I possibly could. This was a loftier goal that I thought it was, but I wouldn’t realize that until the next month.