Pregnancy as a diet plan?

A few years ago, I got to go on an amazing cruise with my good friend's family. We've all heard the stories of people catching some weird illness on cruise ships. Well, I actually started my cruise with a stomach flu. Yep, I got ON the ship sick. So there I am, for the first few days, on this beautiful ship surrounded by fantastic food and booze! Even after I started to feel better, I couldn't eat anything but chicken & rice & potatoes. The upside was that I only gained 7 pounds during the cruise rather than the 10 pounds I would have gained if I'd been eating from day one. But man, I would have preferred the extra 3 pounds.

So, here I am, deja vu all over again. I'm eight weeks pregnant and I've lost 3 pounds. Yeah, I can't eat much of anything. I can look at something once and it looks good. I look again and I just want to hurl. Crackers seem to work well but they don't exactly provide a lot of nutrition. Oddly enough, potatoes, in any form, seem to go down ok. I like McDonald's hash browns in the morning and french fries in the afternoon. You'd think the grease would be a problem - but it's not. Cheese and milk are still ok. (What do you expect? I'm the granddaughter of a dairy farmer.) I've given up my morning mochas in exchange for Coke or ginger ale.

Now, I've found that I'm fine as long as I don't move. Given that, I have tried to get my cat to fetch me some crackers and a ginger ale. I mean, I've seen dogs do it and cats are smarter than dogs so............ She just looks at me and tells me to get up and let her outside or feed her. No help. Fortunately, I work from home so I don't have to even get dressed to do my job (I do though). So all in all, I have no right to complain. Still, I'm looking forward to the second trimester when I can eat more of the things I want and can indulge strange cravings.

The Perks of Pregnancy?

Well, I haven't started parking in the spots reserved for pregnant women & women with kids. But I have experienced the first "perk" of my current situation - although I'm not sure how thrilled I am about it. A week or so ago, I got a Swine Flu vaccine. If it weren't for my pregers status, I would not be eligible. My doctor insisted that I get it. I was reluctant. I mean, can we really be sure that it won't do more harm than good? How much do I trust the CDC when they tell me that it is safe for pregnant women?

I haven't had a reaction to it - except for a really sore arm (for a couple of days). Hopefully it works and I'll be able to walk amongst the infected without contracting it. But mark my words, if my kid is born with a snout and a curly tail, I'm suing.


Tomorrow: my attempts to teach my cat to go get me some ginger ale.