24 Pounds

24 pounds. That is how much weight I am supposed to gain in the first trimester being pregnant with TWINS. I am currently 7-weeks pregnant and have gained about 6 pounds total so far. For those who are as uninformed about pregnancy as I have been, that means that I have about 6 more weeks in which to gain 18 pounds!! That sounds like such a large number to me right now!

For those who have been pregnant before, you might understand how hard it is to gain weight in the first trimester with this awful thing called "morning sickness." I have to say that I have been blessed with very few vomiting episodes, but my appetite has been very unpredictable and insatiable. The nausea keeps me from wanting to eat (though I am learning to force-feed myself on behalf of those two precious beings developing inside of me). Whenever I finally crave something, my satisfaction only lasts for a few bites and then I find myself revolted by that very food I so desperately craved. It is a strange phenomenon. I have grown to deeply respect all women that have ever been pregnant and have had to experience any of these symptoms.

I know that this stage will pass. I am comforted that my body will "catch up" in the second trimester if I cannot gain the full 24 pounds in this first trimester. Apparently that is when my body will have adjusted to being pregnant. This is a time of a lot of changes in a relatively short period of time (although I know it will not feel short!).

Above all else, I am so excited to be pregnant. Whatever I must go through is just a part of the cycle of life and I am grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of it. It is such a miracle that two babies are growing at the same time and I want to do my best to take care of them even at this early stage. I want to be a great mommy for them!