The maternity veil

My friend Heidi said in best during her second pregnancy when she said, "The maternity veil was very good to me." In other words, she had not remembered any of the horrible events and feelings that came with her first pregnancy, and so she rolled right into baby number 2 as blind as a bat. Oh, the maternity veil. Oh, how we forget.

But I think it is important to remember the facts the way they happen ... if anything ... for my future sanity and the sanity of my posterity. For example, I have already heard myself say the following things several times, "I can't believe how sick I feel. There is no way I felt this sick last time." Blah, blah, blah.

Oh, but without even cheating by checking my blog, if I think really hard, the truth surfaces. With Quinn, I remember sitting in my office EVERYDAY from WEEKS 6 to 8 with my head in the trash can. There was no throwing up yet, but that was the only place I felt safe. Then at 7 weeks I went to New Mexico for a conference. I could not eat anything, and I missed 2/3 of the event because I could not get out of bed in my hotel room. Then at 9 weeks I canceled a very important business trip and canceled an invitation to speak at an important event 4 weeks later because I could not image being able to a) write my presentation b) get to the event without dying.

The details are a little foggier with McKenna, and I really do not think I felt as sick. But I do remember that at 10 weeks with Quinn and 12 with McKenna I finally starting throwing up and it felt like I had won the lottery. Throwing up felt so much better than feeling sick all day.

So, as I sit here thinking, there is no way I would EVER sign up for this torture again ... I know that I will because I will forget it all.

Hopefully this blog, my dear friend, will keep me straight, but I fear there is no beating the maternity veil.