The Mom Crowd

We recently found out that we are expecting baby #4 in December.  When we found out we were pregnant my husband, Jon, started feeling a little nausea if he didn’t eat every few hours.  Or he would just feel like he needed to eat.  Like his stomach needed something more–even though he just ate.  And he started craving things that have sustenance–like cheeseburgers, not carrots.  He describes it as his stomach gets tight and he feels like he might throw up if he doesn’t eat something.  He feels grumpy and just wants to eat.  And he has been craving more sweets.  He is more of a salt guy than a sweets guy so that is a new symptom too.

When he starts telling me all this I can’t help but laugh!  I have felt that way with the last 3 pregnancies!  Yes, I know what it is like to HAVE to eat every few hours or face the porcelain god.  Yes, I know that protein/cheeseburgers are more filling and help you feel better for longer when you are dealing with morning sickness and that the idea of eating veggies and couscous for dinner may not sound appealing.  Yes, I know what it is like to feel like you don’t care what someone is saying because all you can think about is what you need to be putting in your stomach so you don’t feel like you are going to toss your cookies.

We decided that he is experiencing Sympathy Morning Sickness.  And I say, “I’m so thankful!”  Nausea debilitates me.  I have a hard time NOT throwing up and once I start it is hard to stop.  I don’t feel like I have time to figure to mess with what we call “inconvenience sickness”. I have way too much other stuff to do–shuffle 2 kids back and forth from school, do laundry for 5 people, cook meals, keep the house in a somewhat reasonable living condition, and oh yeah, start packing/selling/decluttering our stuff for a move to England later this summer! I digress. Now, truth be told, I am only 6 weeks along and I usually don’t start getting heavy nausea until week 7.  We will see how this whole scene plays out.  Perhaps it will come full force in the next week.  Or maybe, just maybe, he’ll have it the whole time.

Many people have reported similar things. I mentioned it in my birth class on Sunday night and one of my couples said the same thing happened to them.  I found this website where women shared their stories about sympathy morning sickness/pregnancy pains.  Now it is fun to ask couples with kids if they ever experienced that same thing.

So, what about you?  Did your husband experience sympathy morning sickness?  Weight gain? Pregnancy pains? C’mon! Share your stories!

I found that t-shirt from Cafe Press. I thought it was pretty cute .