Originally posted to the anonymous pregnancy blog September 11, 2008.

Monday I went to another doctor appointment. I didn’t expect it to be terribly exciting but to my surprise I discovered that they were going to try to hear the baby’s heartbeat. The nurse warned me that it wasn’t certain they would be able to this early in the pregnancy. It took a while to find the right spot but all of a sudden loud and clear there was my baby’s heartbeat. It was very surreal but also comforting. Baby is still in there and currently appears to be doing fine.

After that, the doctor came in and talked for a bit. She mentioned that I had gained too much weight (she put it much more diplomatically but that’s what she meant). I already knew this as I weigh myself daily. I actually appeared to be two pounds heavier than I really was that day (I had gone hiking the previous day and always gain a couple of pounds the next day that come right off). However, I’ve still gained more than is ideal for the first trimester. Ironically, I use to have a problem with eating too much because I love food. Since around week 6, I haven’t been terribly interested in eating but it seems to be the only way to prevent morning sickness. When it comes to a decision between gaining weight and throwing up, I’ve consistently chosen gaining weight.

Tuesday I decided to try cutting back my first breakfast in an attempt to reduce my calorie intake a little bit. Instead of eating a slice of peanut butter applesauce toast, I just ate a couple pears. As I was driving on the interstate in route to work, I sudden felt extremely nauseated. I frantically went through a mental inventory of everything in the car that might work as a bag in case I actually threw up. I had nothing suitable. Fortunately, I had the foresight to pack a couple of Triscuits for a snack later in the day. I managed to get enough of them in me that my nausea subsided. Due to this experiment, I decided that breakfast was not the time to try to reduce calories and that my morning sickness was real and not all in my head. By mid-afternoon my morning sickness has usually subsided so I’ve cut back on my afternoon snacks and at this point my weight appears to have stabilized. However, I am going through Triscuits at an appalling rate. I’m going to Costco tomorrow and I’m hoping they carry Triscuits in bulk