I am still awake 13 hours after getting up. This is unprecedented.

Today I managed to set my alarm at 6am and not to fall back to sleep. For the first time in 2 months. It was a real achievement.
Then I went on 2 buses to a new school, where I will be teaching music on Thursdays and Fridays until my centre of gravity changes and I roll over. Or something.
The school was big and scary. The headteacher there is cross with me for being pregnant. He's a man.
The music room is a cold and unwelcoming hut, separate from the main school building. Broken and dusty instruments are everywhere. Too many tambours, as usual. Not enough xylophone beaters. No seats. Keyboards without leads. Stacks of books from BBC radio programmes in the 1980s.
I had a good look round, then I met the teachers and sat for a short while with each of the 12 (!) classes that I'm to teach in just 2 days per week.
I'm very tired now.
But I haven't got a headache, or a stomach ache, and I still haven't been sick since Saturday. I'm grateful for that.

I wanted to add to my last post (not sure why) that when I felt appallingly sick, I tried ginger, acupuncture, hypnotherapy, Avomine, drinking lots of fluids (found that ridiculously hard - still can't bear the taste of tap water), eating little and often (also v hard to find any food I could bear to put in my mouth). The only thing that helped was the passing of time.

Also, about a week ago I felt the baby move lots for a couple of days. It was AMAZING, and a nice surprise as apparently it was ridiculously early to feel it, especially for a first baby. It was very reassuring. My auntie-who's-a-midwife told me not to worry if it stopped, as the baby may just change position. I haven't felt movement since then, and of course I can't stop worrying now. It was a very bonding experience, and I want to feel it again. Now.

I can still do most of my trousers up, but as the day wears on it gets more uncomfortable. While we were away, Adriano crept out one morning when I felt too horrible to get out of bed, and he bought me some maternity trousers. I'm tempted to live in them as they're the most comfy item of clothing I have ever worn. It was so sweet of him to buy them on his own.

15 weeks down, 25ish to go.

The words of my dad when I told him I was pregnant: "Good grief, how did that happen?"
I told him: in the usual way. Which after 3 years and 2 unsuccessful IUIs seemed like a miracle. It still does. After all those obsessive pregnancy tests which came out negative, the one time I was not expecting a positive was when the two lines appeared. I only did the test because I wanted to be sure my laparoscopy wasn't going to muck up a miracle. I never made it to the laparoscopy.

I felt horribly sick from about 6.5 weeks until very recently. I am still waiting for a whole vomit-free week, but I feel sure it will come soon. Until about 12 weeks, leaving the sofa or the bed was a struggle. I did a lot of inward groaning. I cried a fair bit because I felt so awful I couldn't even enjoy the fact that I was finally pregnant. Ridiculous. I also cried because I was worried I would feel as bad on our wedding day and through our honeymoon. And because I felt so needy and helpless. I shuffled about like an old lady. Having a shower became a remarkable feat. Cleaning my teeth became an exercise in focused relaxation otherwise my new-super-strong gag reflex would end in you-know-what. And it frequently did.

As you can probably tell from the photos, I felt really happy on our wedding day. I did feel rough, but the occasion carried me along and I managed not to be sick. I was afraid that it would happen just as the registrar was saying 'Does anyone know of any reason these two may not lawfully marry?'....and I would run urgently to the fire door. But thankfully nothing of the sort took place. The hardest part was the pub in the evening, by which time I was exhausted, very nauseous, yet hungry, over-excited, and desperate to enjoy the company of friends who had travelled far and wide just to share a drink to celebrate with Adriano and me. At one point I was totally and utterly ready for bed, but some of Adriano's friends had only just arrived. Somehow I made it to the end of the night. And then I couldn't sleep! It took me days to recover.

During our honeymoon it rained a lot, and I became intimate...with toilet bowls in hotels all over England and Wales. Poor Adriano.

More soon. Mind you I said that last time.

Cat out of the bag: bun in the oven.

Hello. Just a quick post to say I'm married, I'm back from our honeymoon, and I'm 14 weeks pregnant today. Yeeeeeeeeeehah!

More soon!

(Thanks to Michelle for the photos)

Bridges

Today we went to Wisley with both sets of parents. It was the first time the mums had met each other. There were lots of laughs, and plenty of love and understanding passing between the two families. It really was relaxing. I can't believe it's taken us 8 years to get all the parents together at the same time.