Some new beginnings

I've been off the radar for awhile, I know, and there have been a lot of reasons, the main one being Christmas. Andrew and Peregrine and I spent the first half of my Christmas vacation in Hawaii with his family. It was wonderful and warm and relaxing, and once Peregrine got used to the idea of sand, he loved playing on the beach. I have pictures, but they're still on my phone. We took a red-eye back to Seattle on Christmas eve, and picked up my family at the airport shortly thereafter. So it's been a crazy busy Christmas, but a good one.

The other big reason I've been a bit out of commission is that I found out, a couple of days before we left for Hawaii, that I am expecting baby #2! I am so excited, if exhausted and sick. I'm not going facebook-public with this yet. But, the circle of people who read my blog is significantly smaller, and I really want to be able to write about this pregnancy as I experience it. 

So far, everything has been pretty much the same as it was with Peregrine. I feel symptoms so early (as in, before I miss my period), and they come on strong from the get-go. Honestly, I'd forgotten just how nasty and disgusting the feeling is. It goes beyond nausea. It's like my whole body is nauseous, not just my stomach.

With Peregrine, though, everything was so new. I had no idea how long this period would last, what kind of foods and stresses my body could tolerate in its new state. It felt so long, and I never really knew what was going on. It's different this time because I know what to expect. I know what my body can handle, and I find myself instinctively doing things that I had to learn how to do before. I'll hold my breath, for instance, before I open a trash can instead of catching a whiff of fresh trash, choking, and then holding my breath. So in that way, it's easier. And I also know I've done it before, I can do it again. I worked four days out of five with Peregrine, and one of those days was ten hours of teaching dance. I didn't skip a day of work due to morning sickness (although I badly wanted to, most days!), and I know I'll survive this one, too.

But on the other hand, it's harder. I have a toddler now. Sure, I worked four days with Peregrine, but I crashed and did nothing in the evenings. Parenting a toddler is 24/7. He gets hungry, he gets bored, and worst of all, he creates poopy diapers that I and my stomach have to change. It worries him when I lie on the floor and close my eyes. He has to confirm I'm okay by sitting on my head, yelling "HI!!!" in my ear, and crawling all over my terribly sore body. He gets whiny and clingy when I'm not my normal self. That's the worst, that I have to be "on" all the time. That I can't just sink into oblivion and try to sleep my nausea away. That my child still poops in his diapers, and if my wonderful husband isn't home, I have to change them. Please, please tell me people survive simultaneous morning sickness and diaper changing. Preferably without vomiting.

So that's the news here. I'll post Hawaii pictures soon. And more pregnancy updates as time allows!