I couldn’t believe it when several people told me that the worst stench in the world to a pregnant nose is the scent of cooking rice. However, the past week has proved this assertion to be utterly and painfully true. But then again, it seems that everything smells offensive to me lately and nausea is my constant companion.

Yesterday marked the end of the first trimester. A milestone, in my opinion. If I could eat, I would celebrate with a big, fat okonomiyaki with all the trimmings (okonomiyaki sauce, kewpie mayo, ao nori, and generous sprinklings of bonito… ohh…). But, alas, everything is an affront to my bionic olfactory system and, even more troubling, my gag reflex is in hyperdrive. Another interesting development is that I can simply think of something distasteful and I’ll start gagging. Oh, and let’s not even talk about bathroom smells…

Sure, you may think that this is just a continuation of my previous battle with “all day sickness,” but this past week, my symptoms have intensified. For those who believe that the intensity of morning sickness is a good indication of the health of the baby, by golly, that little tyke must be kicking butt and taking names in there.

This afternoon, while a pot of rice was cooking in the kitchen, I caught a whiff and nearly lost my lunch. Just now, Tobi the Japanese Spitz walked in and huffed-huffed his hot doggie breath on me and I gagged like there was no tomorrow. He high-tailed it out of the room, undoubtedly offended by my adverse reaction to his affections.

The good news is that I have been off the estrogen patches and progesterone injections since yesterday. Oh, I can’t tell you how good it feels not to be a human pincushion anymore!

I had been weaning off the patches and shots since last week, which is about the same time as when the morning sickness intensified. It makes me wonder if my body is kicking in and taking over with its own progesterone supply, causing this sudden change?

Whatever the case, I hope my body can adjust quickly and give me some relief from the morning sickness. Being on the verge of vomit all the time really sucks after a while.

By the way, I am totally loving the comments you are all leaving for me. They are so encouraging and I always enjoy reading them. Thank you! I’m sorry that I haven’t been able to respond back. Since I’ve been feeling so crappy lately, I’ve been staying off of the computer and opting to lounge on the bed. But, rest assured, I do read every comment and appreciate each one.

It seems that the light at the end of the tunnel (known as the “first trimester”) has not brought the dissipation of my morning sickness as I had hoped. In fact, my nausea has picked up a notch, driving me to dry heaves and a couple of bouts of regurgitating what precious little food I had in my stomach. Smells accost me relentlessly and this constant threatening lump in my throat makes it necessary for me to be close to a restroom at all times.

I had hoped that a tasty okonomiyaki lunch was in my near future, but it seems all the more distant now.

So, forgive me if I am sometimes silent here. That simply means that I’m probably trying to escape the misery by sleeping or I’m trying like mad not to hurl out the entire contents of my stomach.

Please, someone tell me that it gets better.

Today, Joyce and I ventured to Ala Moana Shopping Center for some retail therapy and to check out the newly opened Nordstrom department store.

Our first stop was Shirokiya, where we had an early lunch before the crowds came and filled the cafeteria-style dining area. Joyce enjoyed a misoyaki butterfish bento while I munched on a small serving of sekihan and boiled soybeans. While my appetite is slowly returning during the early daytime hours, my stomach still seems to prefer bland fare for now.

We then made a beeline for Nordstrom, peering into the windows of the new shops that opened along the way. Once inside Nordstrom, the apparel reminded me of fashions found in Neiman Marcus: expensive and not my style. The store itself was shiny, happy and beautiful, as expected. But, the real action was found on the second floor, where throngs of people were trying on shoes and getting make-overs. We were nearly out the door, before a Shiseido lady stopped us and offered a free facial massage. I looked at Joyce and we said, “sure, why not?”

An hour or so later, we left with a rejuvenated face with a make-over, and a Nordstrom package. Heck, and you have to take advantage of the “free gift with purchase of 2 items,” right? Of course.

While Joyce was signing up at the Customer Service Center for the $10,000 New York Shopping Spree giveaway, we discovered that another freebie was due to us. With purchase of $75 or more, you get a free Shop a Lea mini tote. I love free stuff!

Last stop was Shirokiya, where I bought some Japanese goodies for Hubby including a Sapporo Arles chocolate roll cake, maccha manju with tsubushi-an, yakitori bento, and Hubby’s favorite pancake/azuki thingie (which I don’t know the name for). With a bubble drink for the road, we left Ala Moana Shopping Center feeling a little lighter in the pocketbook, but with happy hearts for being able to spend a carefree day with a good friend.

This photo is for April, who requested a preggie picture of me. I’m wearing my maternity clothes today, which makes me look a little bigger in the waist than I actually am but it is oh-so-comfortable! And, check out the color! Friends who know me in real life know that I rarely stray from the dark color palette (black, brown, gray), so my maternity wardrobe will be a shock to some. My strategy is this: if I blind you with color, you might not notice how fat I’m getting!

Thanks to NEENZ, champuru.net now has a place beside the Internet’s top Mom Blogs at Alltop.com, a new Guy Kawasaki brainchild. What is Alltop, you ask? It’s an aggregating service that brings you the top picks of popular topics such as celebrities, fashion, sports, gaming, Mac, moms, and much more.

Be sure to check it out. You’re sure to discover a ton of new websites to add to your favorites list.

Shirokiya, located in the Ala Moana Shopping Center, is my favorite store of all time — mainly for their wide selection of delightful Japanese fare. Recently, they opened a takoyaki booth. If you’re not familiar with takoyaki, basically they taste like okonomiyaki with a generous piece of octopus in the middle. I had my first, and only, taste of takoyaki while I was in Japan for the Sapporo Snow Festival in 2005. (The link will take you to my Flickr photoset of that particular visit — along with photos of the takoyaki.) The fresh, steaming hot takoyaki was unforgettably delicious and I’ve been hoping to find this delectable snack here in Hawaii ever since, so I was pleasantly surprised to find it being made fresh in Shirokiya.

Despite my morning all-day sickness, I bought a box of 10. The cheerful takoyaki girl convinced me to try the new flavor: cheese. Instead of a piece of ginger, a cube of cream cheese was in the middle, next to the tako. And, we all know that cream cheese makes anything sinfully delicious. As they boxed my takoyaki, they slathered it with sauce and Kewpie mayo, then sprinkled nori and katsuo flakes on it. It looked just like the takoyaki I had in Japan. My mouth was watering. They handed me the box and I could barely handle it, it was so hot. I picked up some manju and mochi and called it a day.

Forty-five minutes later, when I arrived at home, I opened the box and discovered that the beautiful takoyaki had lost its former vigor. Looking soggy and sad, all squished together and appearing quite unappetizing. Despite its appearance, I ate two balls and saved the rest for Hubby. I suppose takoyaki is one of those things that is best eaten fresh. Next time I go to Shirokiya, I’ll make it a point to consume it on premises to avoid the disappointing results of takoyaki that simply doesn’t travel well.

This past Wednesday, February 27, I had my first OB/GYN appointment in over a year. My nether regions have been under the care of my infertility specialist since December 27, 2006, where I’ve had so many pelvic ultrasounds that dropping my drawers for a male doctor doesn’t even phase me anymore. (This is coming from someone who refused to go to a male OB/GYN.)

My OB/GYN is the one who urged me to see a specialist and seek fertility treatment when she did a laparospy and found this. (WARNING: Clicking that link will bring you to a link showing a graphic photo of my innards.) Two years since, she was absolutely tickled to see that I had a successful in vitro fertilization procedure and am pregnant.

The doctor sat me down in her office and gave me the do’s and don’ts about pregnancy and asked me about my physical status. I told her about my “all day sickness” and she said that since the baby is roughly the size of a peanut, that I shouldn’t worry too much about trying to force myself to eat right now. She just stressed drinking lots of liquids — which I normally do anyway. She told me, “don’t worry about eating. If all you can keep down is flat Coke, I’m fine with that — for now.” Thankfully, I’m doing a little better than that, so I was glad to see that I am not endangering the baby with my poor diet at this point.

In the examination room, she did the routine gyn exam, then rubbed some cold gel on my tummy. With an ingenious little gadget called a Doppler, we were able to hear the fetal heartbeat. “Listen to that! The baby is doing fantastic!” the doctor said. There’s nothing like hearing the steady, rapid heartbeat coming through the monitor to really bring home the reality of the pregnancy. During the first trimester when the only indication of the life that is growing inside of you is the awful all-day sour stomach, it’s nice to have something positive to reinforce it to help you swallow hard and press on.

My next step is an appointment with a specialist who will do genetic testing. My doctor said that there are alternatives to amniocentesis (thank God) and that they would probably do the screening through blood tests. So, of course, lots more praying will be involved, that the baby is free of genetic defects such as Down Syndrome.

The last order of business was to give me a prenatal pack (pictured at the top of the entry), which contained a travel toiletry bag, a pregnancy journal, free magazines and a sample of Huggies. Gotta love the baby swag!