I’m finally starting to feel human again after nearly two months of the strongest morning sickness I’ve yet to experience. The constant nausea, headache, body ache and mild cramping became a normal part of my day and it was difficult to fully enjoy my pregnancy until recently.

Now that I’m beginning week 13, the morning sickness is slowly getting better although not completely gone, and the constant headache and weird achy feeling in my body are tapering off. I’m still very tired and it’s difficult to get multiple things done in a day. Before this pregnancy, I can run several errands at different stores, clean, cook, take care of the kids and even hit the gym all in the same day. Nowadays it seems I can only do one thing a day- i.e. one trip to the grocery store, and I’m dead tired.

Pregnancy is a joyous time of any woman’s life but also a difficult balancing act and beginning this new journey as a mom-of-three makes me wonder how other moms seem to manage it all. What do other moms do when they are pregnant and deathly ill with their third child and their first two kids demand so much attention, energy and time?

All mothers are superheroes, I tell you.

Pregnancy #1, 2 & 3

In retrospect, my first two pregnancy with my daughters were smooth. I had some morning sickness, but nothing bad enough to keep me bed ridden. With my first daughter, I worked everyday until I was ordered to go on bedrest at 7 months and even then I was too energized to stay home all day. With my second daughter, I chased after my first daughter AND continued graduate school which included sitting for long extended hours, studying and writing papers.

Being a mom in mid-30’s is a completely different experience than being a young 20-something mom. I now need more rest than ever before and even a short walk around the park leaves me breathless.

Cravings:

They say every pregnancy is different but for me, my first two pregnancies were very similar- similar cravings, aversions and symptoms. When I was pregnant with daughters I craved more sweets and fruits, no major headaches. With this boy I crave spicy foods, soups and heartier things. I also have frequent headaches and body aches that linger all day, only to improve momentarily with a nice warm bath at night time. (Realistically speaking, a nice warm bath is a rare luxury for moms of multiple kids.)

Thoughts:

Being a mom of three is starting to become real. More kids mean more mess, more noise, more tantrums and more moments of stress. It also means letting go of my ideal perfect home where everything is in its place. Being a clean freak this makes me nervous, but I’m glad I still have 6-7 more months to figure it all out. This journey of “letting go” will be an interesting one, especially after over ten years of “mommy soul-searching” that I thought was nearly complete.

God always has a way of humbling us, doesn’t He?

Anxiety:

I’m also experiencing my independence slowly slipping through my fingers. It took me long to raise my kids enough to where I can travel with them alone without relying on my husband to be there all the time. Frankly, this independence felt great and I loved being able to function as a parent without much outside help.

These days I find myself desperately waiting for my husband to come home with dinner for the kids while I’m trying to hold down what I ate three hours ago. It’s really no fun being debilitated, and I miss my mommy independence.

I guess there’s a lot more growing and learning in my path. Perhaps this is why they say third time is a charm!