Waiting Well: Week 7

**I wrote this the last week of December/first week of January**

Week Seven: This Pregnancy Has Kind of Rocked My World

Okay… I’m just going to say it.

This pregnancy has kind of rocked my world.

I’ve become increasingly uncomfortable, and I’ve been dealing with almost constant, low-level nausea. The best way I can describe it is that it comes in peaks and valleys.

There are chunks of time where I feel totally normal—great, even—and I can act like myself. And then there are moments where I suddenly feel so sick that I can’t even fully stand up. I’m talking mouth-breathing, sweaty, hold-on-a-second-I-need-to-sit-down kind of nausea.

Most of the time, I’m in the middle where I can function, but it’s still just sitting there in the background like a constant low-grade “bleh.”

And if I’m being honest… this has never happened in my other pregnancies.

I’ve usually felt totally fine. Like… no big symptoms, no major differences, just life as usual.

So this has been a very new experience for me.

Martin + The Kids Have Seriously Stepped Up

One huge blessing in all of this is Martin.

He has been so, so good.

He’s done almost all the cooking, all the cleaning—basically everything. He’s been like, “You go lay down,” and honestly, I’ve needed that more than I ever expected.

The kids have also been so sweet and helpful. They’ve really stepped up. And if they need me, they’ll just come sit with me while I’m resting.

There’s not much I can physically do for them right now, but thankfully they’re all old enough that they don’t need me in that way as much.

And I will say… there’s one perk of having a bigger age gap between my older three and this baby: they’re independent enough that I can actually rest when I need to.

The Bloating Is WILD

At night, I am extremely bloated… and when I say extremely, I mean it is crazy how protruding my stomach is.

And I know it’s not the baby (it’s still so early!), but wow.

The weird part is it usually goes down overnight, and then it gradually builds up again throughout the day. By the time evening hits, my abdomen is like, Hello, I’m here!

I’ve Been Eating Really Healthy… and It’s Surprising Me

Since Christmas, I’ve actually been eating so good.

Processed foods don’t sound good to me at all. I’ve been eating things like:

• cottage cheese

• veggies

• tons of fruit

• salads

• lots of chicken

Part of me wonders if my body is adjusting to eating healthier and if that could somehow be contributing to the bloat.

But everything I’ve read says the main thing I need to do is drink more water, so that’s my big focus this week.

I’ll keep you posted if it helps!

Round Ligament Pain (But Only When I’m Laying Down)

I’ve started having some round ligament pain, but only when I’m laying down and rolling over.

Sometimes if I move too fast, it’s like a sharp pain that makes me freeze for a second like, okay wow nope.

But I’m getting better at moving slowly so it doesn’t happen as often.

Eating Is Tricky When You’re Nauseous

Eating has been… complicated.

Big meals feel so daunting right now, so I’ve been doing the small-meals-throughout-the-day approach.

Basically, I’m just trying to eat small nutritious things consistently, and I think it might be helping a little.

At least it feels more manageable than sitting down to a big plate of food.

The Saddest Part: Coffee Is Disgusting

The saddest thing of all…

My coffee. My beloved coffee.

The thing I look forward to every single morning.

It tastes absolutely disgusting to me right now.

And I keep trying every day! I make it thinking, This is the day. Today it’ll taste good again. And then… nope.

Still gross.

I’m forcing myself to drink about half of it because I really don’t want a caffeine headache on top of the nausea… but it’s honestly such a tragedy that I don’t even enjoy it right now.

First Doctor’s Appointment Is Next Week!

Next week is my first doctor’s appointment where we actually get to see the baby, and we are SO excited.

I told the kids that if everything goes well and everything looks great, we might start telling more people.

They are so excited (and honestly… so am I).

Because at this point, I truly don’t know how much longer I can hide this.

Between not feeling well and my body already showing early, I just don’t think it’s realistic. And being the fourth pregnancy… I swear my body is like, Oh yeah, we know what to do. Let’s get this show on the road.

I think I’ll feel more comfortable physically if people just know.

No more worrying about what I look like, what I’m wearing, sucking it in, or trying to hide my bump (or my bloat).

I just need to embrace it.

Baker’s Question That Made Me Laugh (and Want to Cry)

The funniest moment from this past week was when I was putting Baker to bed.

He was asking a million questions like he always does, and he goes:

“Mom… do moms gain weight when they’re pregnant?”

I told him yes, they do.

And then I said, “I usually gain around 30–35 pounds.”

And he goes:

“But the baby only weighs like seven or eight pounds…”

And I was like, “That’s true, that’s true.”

So I explained how your body has extra blood, and extra fluid, and stores fat to help make milk, and all the things.

Then I said, “So yes… you’re going to gain at least 30 pounds.”

And he goes:

“Whoa… we’re gonna have one big mama.”

It made me laugh… and also want to cry on the inside because he’s not wrong.

I am going to be one big mama.

But you know what? That’s okay.

I’ll happily become one big mama for a healthy baby.

That’s Week Seven

That wraps up my week seven update with baby Miller #4.

Make sure to come back next week for a new Waiting Well update—especially because we’ll have our first doctor’s appointment and hopefully some exciting news to share!

See you next time.