The first three months

Surprisingly, pregnancy so been a mixture of ups and downs, and definitely more downs than UPS! Here are some of them
Ups:

• I actually feel morning sickness this time, instead of wondering omg, is there still a baby in there?! Uhm yes, my symptoms tell me so!
• My face has cleared up a little as in I don't have nearly as much acne as I did pre baby/
• I'm grateful that my symptoms aren't as bad as some of those I've read about.
• Eating makes my nausea go away so at least I have a remedy for it! 
• My body image hasn't changed and I'm not sure if it will. I really want to take the unselfish approach and look at my changing body as doing something amazing and good for the benefit of someone else (babes!). I hope my tune doesn't change and I'm not crying that I'm FAT and look at this belly!! 
• We're PREGNANT!

Downs

• I haven't made it the gym in months! I think I've been a total of 4 times in the past 3 months? My energy levels have dipped so low that I can only manage to wake up for class, go to class, eat lunch, nap for 2 hours, and then study. 
• Constant waves of nausea. thankfully, it's not to the point of hugging the toilet bowl, but I'm not sure what's worse-feeling like you have to puke or actually doing so! Morning sickness is such a deception- it's all day and night sickness! 
• Tiredness ALL.THE.FREAKING.TIME. During the first two months, I could barely make it past 9 p.m. AND that was including my afternoon naps. Seriously baby, could you make me less tired!? :-)
• Constant eating. Okay, this isn't really a down because it helps keep the nausea at bay, but I often feel I eat TOO much because my mind has associated eating with feeling good so I find myself constantly nibbling throughout the day. I haven't gained TOO much weight, so I guess it isn't a worry spot yet.
• Speaking of eating, I think I need a separate section for this one.
• I crave unhealthy food all the time. Thankfully I have enough willpower but I seriously would be a mcdonald's junkie if I didn't care about feeding my baby the proper nutrients.
• My emotions haven't been TOO out of control, but most recently, I've had a few crying fits. It makes me sad that we're seemingly alone here and I don't have any pregnant buddies :(

Eating and lifestyle habits
-Certain smells bug me now more than EVER like the smell of my fridge that is loaded with kimchi and korean spices- YUCK. I literally have to hold my breath whenever I open the fridge.

-I can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke. Everytime I walk by someone smoking a cigarette, I politely try to hold my nose and steer clear of the stream of smoke blowing my way. It's very difficult now whereas before I had no problems. I was a past smoker for gosh sakes! But now, I'm so much more protective over what smells I'm taking it.

-This doesn't happen all the time, but sometimes, I get extremely turned off by the smell and sight of fried foods. I tried eating a fried polenta stick last weekend, but I found my body almost rejected it. Eeeww.

-Heavy foods such as Indian curries and sauces do not sit well with me. The last and only time I ate Indian food, it felt as if I was putting sludge into my body. Anyone that knows me knows that I don't reject good food, but afterwards, I felt as if I had drank too much and then put food into my body so that the food was sitting on top of a whole lot of liquid. Yuck!

-I don't crave sweets anymore. I mean I'll eat a candy bar here or there but it doesn't taste as good or as sweet to me. Sad. haha!

-Eating chips and pretzels out the wazhoo. I was craving salt and vinegar chips and diet coke in the beginning of my pregnancy a TON! I don't drink diet much anymore and I've cut out coffee. Only sometimes will I have a sip here or there.

-Obviously, I don't drink anymore. I thought this one would be a lot harder to quit but I've found it almost too easy. I like my glass of wine ya'll! T has stopped drinking in front of me because he feels bad, but I honestly don't mind when I see my friends drinking. No one has to quit celebrating on my account!

-I've read that if you eat ginger things it'll make your nausea go away so T bought me these ginger chews, but I don't really find that it helps that much. Except for the fact that they're pretty tasty! hehe :)

All in all, it's been a hectic 3 months, but I can't wait for the next few months to follow. I'm so grateful that we've made it safely this far as I know all too well the other devastating roads this can go. I will try whenever I have "freak out" moments to remember those ladies that suffer from infertility and multiple miscarriages and be thankful.

We find out the gender on January 19! I've been calling the baby a she so far because it feels somewhat unnatural to say he right now, but I'll be grateful for whichever sex.  I can't wait to see that ultrasound screen again. I could watch that baby move on the screen for hours!