The Belly Has ARRIVED...

...seemingly overnight. This past Saturday I was still sporting the "food baby," but by Sunday, I had to run out to Target and get my first maternity outfits. They're very cute, although I am not sure how useful they will be post-pregnancy.

And along with the belly, some other things have also arrived that I wasn't quite ready for. First of all, my knockers are SO BIG now that the necklines of my blouses don't quite touch my skin...which means that whenever I eat, food drops into my clothes and trickles down into my bra and finally migrates into the waistline of my pants. Which, in turn, means that whenever my husband goes to do my laundry, he always has access to an inventory of what I ate: "I see you had Pop Tarts  and Hot Tamales this week..." Can't hide anything from him anymore.

Second of all, the flatulence! Oh my goodness. I am passing more gas than a high school football team and a row of fraternities and a zoo full of elephants combined. Maybe I should start a fumigation service, as I am sure nothing and no one would survive the kind of intestinal radioactivity I am emitting. Sorry to gross you out, but it is what it is: the truth.

One thing I've been a bit annoyed about is that in Master Herbalist classes, we were taught to recommend Peach Leaf tea and zinc, but NOT Ginger, for morning sickness. Well, I kid you not, I have done a gazillion on-line searches, visited a gazillion health food stores, and found zero peach leaf tea. Ginger, on the other hand, is prevalent everywhere, and cheap. I never threw up even once throughout my first trimester, but I did sometimes feel like I was on the deck of a ship, and could have used a little nausea alleviation. I think I am going to make it my quest to find a way to bring peach leaf tea to pregnant women everywhere (and not just peach-FLAVORED tea).

Lastly, I had my Pregnancy Massage last week - it was divine. It WAS a bit interesting to have the massage on my side, especially because I was never quite able to find a comfortable position for the arm that was squeezed against the bed. But, it did put me to sleep in a way that no other massage ever has, so I am looking forward to more!