It’s the little things that make me happy…

I’m not going to lie, the last week or so has been tough and I’m not going to go into why because one, there’s no point in complaining about it since I’ve done that already and it doesn’t really help, two, it’s a bit personal and three, it’s time to move on and focus on the positive. Being negative just doesn’t make things any easier or better. 

With that said, what I’ve figured out is that it’s the little things that make me happy and that dawned on me a few nights ago when Ryan and I were playing on the living room floor. He was doing what he does best, being all cute and junk, flailing his little legs and arms around like nobody’s business. It was hilarious! Then during tummy time, he kept lifting his head up and looked all around the living room with a big, huge grin on his face. Occasionally, he would try to crawl and when he wasn’t making any headway, he would pout, which was equally cute since it wasn’t real pouting. It was more like him not being able to do what he wanted to do and it would only last for about five seconds because he would start grinning again and he even giggled a few times. Our play time was so much fun and to see him so content was completely rewarding as a parent. At that moment, I realized it’s the little things that make me happy. Seeing him grin during our play time for example, just something as small as that grin made me melt inside and it was more than enough to help me forget my troubles and be positive again. Thanks little guy for how much you help me and to mark the occasion, I snapped some photos. At one point, him and the dog were even getting along!

Ryan and the Beave! :)

The thing is, I think I’ve known all along that it’s always been little things that make me happy and it just took me seeing Ryan be his fun little self to remember that. Looking back, it’s always been those moments, even before he was born, like when he kicked for the first time or when he had the hiccups for the first time and Dave and I would watch my belly jump, laughing the whole time. I guess I just didn’t put two and two together for whatever reason. I had another moment last night when Dave and I were feeding him. We gave him some baby food mixed with formula. It was apples and cinnamon I believe. I was holding him and every time Dave gave Ryan a spoonful, the little man grinned and couldn’t get enough of it. The fact that Ryan was so happy with his food made us both smile. It was cool!

Now that I get it, I feel pretty good again and I’m going to start holding onto those little moments like I did before. It’s those moments that make life worthwhile and I’m going to do my best to never forget that again. :)

Tummy troubles...

One thing that has become quite clear during my pregnancy is that my tummy hasn’t been all that happy about me carrying a little guy or gal. Poor tummy, so upset allllll the time!

It’s pretty much been a battle from the get-go to figure out what makes my tummy remotely happy and I’m laughing to myself as I write this. Why? Because, sharing with everyone about my tummy troubles is really, really funny to me and not something I think I ever would have done before. Yet, tummy troubles are something that all pregnant women deal with and 

now that I’m one of them, I might as well offer my take on the situation.

The first thing I’ve learned is at the beginning, there are, quite frankly, no foods to eat that won’t bother your stomach. The reason being is that there are so many hormones running through your body, your stomach just can’t handle the food whatsoever. This means that you have to just find a way to get by to get the nutrition you need into your body. My coping method was to trick my tummy into thinking it was feeling better. The tried and true method of soda crackers and clear soda always seemed to get the job done. Then, after a few soda crackers and a few sips of soda, I would feel a bit better and would able to eat something else on top of it before I felt like poo again. The feeling like poo part after eating was a bit annoying too. Eventually, that would subside though and I could go about my day. 

Finding foods to eat that didn’t make me sick has been a long process given that it was all about trial and error to figure out what I can and can’t eat. (I say can and can’t eat because this is still something I have to deal with on a daily basis.) For example, as I’ve said in another blog post, plain cheeseburgers and chocolate shakes go down okay. However, if the cheeseburgers had ketchup and all the other fixings on them, then it was a no go. 

Yummy chocolate shake!

Or for awhile there I eating a bunch of oatmeal and now, I can’t stand the texture of it. What’s weird is my new favorite is chocolate flavored Malt-O-Meal, which I can eat without any problem. I also really liked Lean Pockets, yet, I’ve tried a few over the last few weeks and those are now off the list of things I can handle eating. Some of the other things I’ve discovered were/are easy on my tummy include: cups of jello with fruit in it, cooked broccoli, pasta, vanilla ice cream, lean cuts of meat like chicken or flank steak, Frosted Flakes and Captain Crunchberries without the milk as they’re perfect for snacking, microwavable macaroni and cheese cups, cheese, skim milk, Gatorade, raw carrots, and toaster waffles! I have been able to sneak in some calorie loaded foods as of late like cookies and doughnuts, the cheeseburgers as mentioned, some pizza (as you will find out about a bit later), and I even gave Taco Bell a try the other day since I was craving it and it actually worked. I don’t quite get it due to the fact that oatmeal makes me gag, but I can eat Taco Bell??? Oh well.

Another way I got over my tummy troubles at the beginning was to eat smaller meals throughout the day instead of three large meals. This made it easier on my stomach to digest whatever I was eating and prevented the rest of my body from stressing out over being really, really full. Eating smaller meals throughout the day is still the meal plan that I’m sticking too at the moment because now instead of being sick all the time, I actually can’t eat all that much food at once. I take a few bites of something and I get full, which can be a bit of a downer when I’m tremendously hungry and just want to go all out and stuff my face. This past weekend, we got Toppers Pizza for the Super Bowl. Yes, full of calories I know. Anyway, I ended up eating small pieces of thin crust pizza and three Toppers’ Stix. In the past, I could’ve packed away double, even triple the amount. I shouldn’t brag, but just wanted to give you a comparison. Well, it was a crying shame because I was SOOOOO hungry heading into the meal and then that’s all I could eat! Very disappointing. In a way though, I guess it’s not a bad thing since not being able to eat a lot at once is preventing me from gorging myself. Wow, I’m proud of myself for looking at the positive side of that one! J

In all seriousness though, it’s about finding a balance with what and how much you eat when you’re pregnant and I’m think I’m getting there at least. I try not to give in to my cravings too much and I try to eat food that is good for me. I think that’s really the best that any pregnant person or non-pregnant person can do. It’s all about moderation they say. So, this moderator is outtie. Until next time, it’s Carla the pregnant tomboy signing off!