What I Learned from Morning Sickness

If you've been following along with me over the past several months, you know that this third pregnancy has brought with it some new experiences...some first-trimester yuckies that were very different from anything I experienced with my first two babies.

Morning Sickness? How about 24-7 plain-old yuckiness!

Just after sharing Our Pregnancy Announcement, I began to chronicle my first trimester:

A Diary of How I've Been Feeling - Part 1

A Diary of How I've Been Feeling - Part 2

A Diary of How I've Been Feeling - Part 3
A Diary of How I've Been Feeling - Part 4 

Journaling my thoughts and feelings...and trying to find the humor in the yuckies was therapeutic for me, and I'm so glad I kept a diary of sorts.

Over the course of those beginning months, I learned a few things.
Well, I guess I should say that I was reminded of a handful of things that I think God has been trying to teach me for quite some time.
(Needless to say, I am not a quick learner.)

What I Learned from Morning Sickness

Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. When I am sick, I want my hubby and I want my mommy! Period. While other people's thoughtfulness is appreciated, when a gal is sick, there are very few people she feels comfortable calling on to hold her hair back as she leans over the potty. I didn't like crying and saying things like I can't do this! or I need you to come help me! but when you feel your crummiest, sometimes it's simply best to admit that you need support...especially when you have two other little ones running around the house wondering if their mommy is ever going to get off the couch again.

I am not indispensable. During this time, my hubby pitched in even more so than he already does around here. He truly kept things afloat. Meals weren't always made the way I would've made them. Laundry was not always folded and put away in the way I usually do it. Outfits for little ones were not always put together in the way I would've chosen. But you know what? Everything was taken care of...and while it was taken care of differently, it was taken care of well.

The house will not crumble if I don't do my chores.  Routines, organization, etc. all keep things running smoothly around here. However, when a gal is laid up on the couch for weeks and weeks, a good bit of that goes out the window, and amazingly enough, when I started to feel better, the house was still standing.

Cartoons will not kill my children. You know how I mentioned that I was on the couch...for weeks? Well, so were my kids. They hung out on the couch, too - watching cartoons. Lots and lots and lots of cartoons. Because I typically try to limit screen-time, I felt terribly guilty about this new routine of ours. I really tried to pull myself together. But I just couldn't. My little ones suddenly knew every cartoon character that is currently popular, and I felt like the worst mom ever. Couple this with the fact that they were eating large amounts of goldfish crackers that the grandparents had brought...and I felt like a total failure...but they lived, and so did I.

Throughout this third pregnancy, I have done a little comparing of my pregnancies. It has been fun to look back and see the similarities...and the differences. Let's start with hubby's reactions to two lines on the stick...