Thursday, August 24, 2006

the snow and the journey, sickness between



Well, being an expectant mother is not as pleasant as it seems. This week has been the ninth week and I am still trying to enjoy it. No, I am not saying that I still cannot be happy for this pregnancy. I am happy. I am expecting this baby. I love it already. Yet the sickness during the pregnancy has driven me distracted. I cannot eat rice at all for if I do, I will have a disturbing feeling with my stomach. It is kind of you traveling with bus or car all the time, feeling hangover and you never know when the journey comes to an end – like you have a great desire to throw up all things from your stomach. That’s it. I read few articles of pregnancy and found out that crackers and hot water in the mornings can help me to avoid the sickness. Gingers also will do. However, the handiest way to avoid the sickness for pregnant women is to avoid any food that may cause stomach upset. Later on, I found out that it is rice (!!) which set me off to the sickness.

It was Friday on August 18, one day before our trip to Mt. Buller when I suddenly have a strong desire to eat rice for my lunch. So there I was with my hubby having lunch in Chinese Restaurant at Flinders Street and finishing almost all the rice on my own. As a result, I had got a very disturbing feeling with my stomach in the evening. It was like I was barfing on the sink again and again. Yet I was still thinking that I should be alright in the following day to get through the journey to Mt. Buller.

And the day began. The journey that I would have ever forgotten, perhaps. It was ok in the first place. I was asleep in the first hour and after I woke up, I tried to enjoy the journey. Yet when the bus was riding on the zigzagging route, my seat was empty. Where was I? Yes, I was in the toilet (thank God, the bus has a toilet in it!), struggling with my stomach that forced me to stay in it during the zigzagging riding. I threw all things up till nothing could be done but still, the stomach was not settled well soon. I kept praying, oh God, please, let the journey end soon, please, please…, I could not bear anymore. Then, after ten minutes (it seemed like an hour or more to me!), the bus was parked and all passengers started to get off. So did I. I had to get off of the bus immediately!

Stepping on the ground, I saw snow for the first time in my life. I tried to relax, took a deep breath, but unfortunately I could still feel the hangover. I let my hubby get on the line to hire our boots and toboggan by himself for I could not accompany him standing on such a long queue. Not long after that, I ran to the nearest toilet and threw up again. So gross! It was very annoying because I was dying to enjoy my first snow for a long, long time. Yet when the time had come, I could not do it. Annoying, isn’t it?

After we had our boots on and toboggan in hands, it turned out we had to take another bus to the main spot. I cried to my hubby, “Should we take the bus?? Can’t we just walk??” Of course we could not walk. We had to take the bus to it. I kept praying with all my heart that this journey would not be long and I did not have to feel too hangover and have a great desire to throw up. Thank goodness it took only a couple of minutes to the spot. I felt a little bit better even though I had to go to the first toilet I saw just to make myself sure I would not throw up again.

I did still feel my stomach not too well but I began to relax. It was not as annoying as before. So I touched the snow, made a ball of it and threw it to my hubby and his friend. Trying to make myself better. And even though some friends warned me not to slide down by toboggan considering I am pregnant and all, I did ignore them and enjoyed sliding down by it. That was very fun and could make me forget my upset stomach a little bit. For lunch, I could have nothing but an apple. Then away we went by a lift to the higher spot where we could see people skiing and snowboarding. It was a bit cloudy and windy at it, so I was so thankful to my hubby who suggested me to wear as warm as possible outfit (a shirt, a long-sleeve shirt, a turtle-neck shirt, a sweater and a jacket; a pair of long socks, a training pant and two jeans on them; don’t forget the scarf, the beanie and the gloves). The snow seemed whiter and cleaner and thicker at it than at the lower section.

After enjoying to watch people skiing and the thicker snow, we went to an area where the snowman contest would be held. We suddenly made up the team: me, my hubby and his friend. However, it was them who made the snowman. I was just standing up, cheerleading them, saying “the body is still not strong enough”, “oh, no, the hand is broken again!” or “why is it fatter in the back of it?”. Everybody pronounced that our snowman was good and funny. We called it: snowhulk (I preferred “Hulk returns” for the title, actually). Having it well built, some friends took pictures with it. We were very proud of it. I did not help them make the snowman, though, but hey…, we were a team, rite? Naughty, naughty. Anyway, there were nine snowmen standing motionless with their own styles. Yet, it was the snowhulk my team had made, which won the first prize. Hohohoho…, I guess it did make me better and better. We got a snowman doll and two boxes of biscuits, but my hubby’s friend refused to take the prize. So, I did nothing to make the snowman, but I did get the prize. Ehm! I named the doll: Hulkie.

Well, the snowman contest ended, the last chance to play toboggan one more time was offered and there we were ready to go back to our bus to take the journey home. I kept praying I would be alright during the journey home. I felt much, much better after all. Then, I found myself enjoying my potato cake and drinking zero on my seat in the bus. I put my mp3 on my ears and thought that some music would help me during the journey. It did help. Not long after that, I was asleep with music on my ears. It was about one hour later I woke up and my stomach did not seem to disturb me.

However, the journey did not end yet.

About one and a half hour before we arrived at my hubby’s campus, I went to toilet intending to pee. Yet, I realized that suddenly I felt like to want to throw up again. Yup, I threw up again like a silly girl in her first trip. I was barfing till I felt my stomach was but empty. I returned to my seat and tried to sleep to shake off the hangover. Thank goodness I could bear not to throw up for the rest of the journey. So I ended up happily walking to the tram stop and going home right after the bus stopped in front of the campus building.

That is not the end of the story, for I did throw up again after we got home and did not feel really well in the two following days. I did not even go working on Monday.

And I guess I have to say goodbye to my Antimo that so far keep me away from hangover during any traveling. I hope I will not be too hangover as flying home to Surabaya at the end of the year.

Wednesday, 23 August 2006
8:25 pm

ps: Still, I would love to fly to Sydney and Brisbane before going home to Indonesia! Yahoo!!

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