Major Bloat/ Food aversions

It is normal to be this bloated at eight and a half weeks? Geez, I look like I swallowed a soccer ball or something. I'm not complaining, I'm completely in love with my faux baby bump. I know that it's all bloat and not baby at this point, but it's pretty noticeable and is there ALL the time. It does get bigger in the evenings or after I eat though.

I'm still touch and go with food. My husband and I went to a concert last night with my sister and her husband, and another couple. Beforehand we went out to dinner, it was a seafood restaurant which I thought was great because I LOVE seafood. So of course I ordered a $30 meal. And what did I eat? The soup, and the asparagus. And that's it. No, I didn't eat the crab cake, or the crab bake (which was pretty much lump crab meat with Parmesan cheese on it that was baked until the top was golden brown). I also didn't eat the soft shell crab. The mere sight of that food made my stomach hurt. But the soup was delicious. And I even had the audacity to order dessert! :-)

So my husband officially banned me from going to restaurants until I figure out my new taste buds. Oh, I also found out that I didn't like something that I've loved for years! Strawberries!! They tasted like penicillin. Seriously, I thought I was eating antibiotics. It freaked me out, so I pushed them aside and ran to get my husband to come taste them. He took a bite, and looked at me like I had two heads. Great, so now he really thinks I'm crazy! I did chow down on a jar of pickles and some Popsicles. And I totally plan on eating Honey Nut Cheerios for dinner. The next few months are definitely going to be interesting.....

I've also noticed that it hurts to have anything pressing on my stomach. I haven't come "out" yet at work, so I've still been wearing my regular clothes as much as I can. I'm usually a belt wearer, so I've kept wearing them (only looser), but they HURT. The pressure of my jeans on my belly hurts, the elastic on my underwear hurts. At this rate I'll be in all maternity clothes by the time I hit 10 weeks!!! I finally had to break down and order some Bella-Bands. I'll be 9 weeks on Tuesday, and I plan on telling my job when I hit the second trimester, so thankfully I only have a few more weeks to go. Since the weather is nice, I'll be wearing more dresses and skirts to help hide my baby bloat.