Good bye nausea. Hello Starfish!

Week 9 has come and gone and with it appears to have gone the worst of the food aversions and nausea. Thank GOD! I was honestly beginning to think I was never going to want to eat real food ever again. We finished up our work week and in a haze of exhaustion we threw together our bags and passed out for a few hours before the alarm clock dragged us up and out to the airport. 16hrs later we were standing at baggage claim 2 hugging Mom and C. We were in Boston. We had made it to the hot and humid east.

I was all butterflies and nerves as we walked to the parking garage. How was I going to tell her? Did she already know? Could she tell just by looking at me? I finally said "Hey Mom, do you still have a doppler kicking around?" She said, "Uh yeah, why?" I said "Well, because I heard you can hear fetal heart tones between 10 and 12 weeks." She said "Oh shit", and started to giggle. C said she had her suspicions (Mother of 3 daughters and grandmother of 6 grandlambies) when I hadn't been calling my mom on a regular basis (because all I wanted to say to her was "MOM, help. I feel awful!"). Mom said she must have suspected something because when she was packing a cooler for us she put pickles in and as she said she has never packed pickles in a cooler EVER. Funny!

We got back to the house and she dug up the doppler. The starfish must have been hiding in the back because we could hear me just as clear as day but no starfish to be found. I wasn't worried. I was a little surprised actually, that I wasn't worried. I was confidant that starfish was in there and healthy but just probably hidden behind my poor guts. The next night after my first veggie rich dinner in 2 months, I hit the living room floor again and this time the starfish was right there. Woosh woosh woosh....I was blown away. There it was healthy and strong, about 170 times a minute. There was the baby. Heart already beating strong there in my belly. G came in from the kitchen and we both held our breath and just listened. Before I knew it all three of us had tears in our eyes. Holy crap! It's really real. G held my hand and kissed my head and looked like he was going to cry. "That's our baby" he said. "Yeah, there they are".

So, that was the night we met the Starfish for the first time. I can't wait to wait a few days and hear it grow stronger and easier to find. In the mean time my nausea seems to be coming in waves far less frequently and without the complete and utter aversion to all things nutritious. I have eaten salad, fish tacos with homemade salsa and even some steak. I am pumped to feel so much better. I missed food. I am looking forward to the second trimester, feeling better, looking pregnant not just chubby and more energy! I feel like this pregnancy thang is just going to get better and better. Keep your fingers crossed for the kumquat sized starfish and I! We'll keep you posted.