Sunday, September 30, 2012

16 Weeks


16 weeks belly. To be honest, I'm not sure how much of this is Wolfgang and home much is leftover from the Melting Pot last night (celebrating Adam's internship offer at a big law firm). At this point, Wolfgang finally moved "up" and is halfway between my pelvic and my belly button. If I push down from my navel, I can feel the top of the uterus. The doctor explained that it's a good thing I haven't full-on "popped," because that means my abs are tight. My response: "Um, what? I have tight abs?" I have NEVER had those beautiful abs that most of my friends can display in a swimsuit. Apparently, though, from all my running, I do have tight abs buried under that belly "padding," which is causing my entire mid-section to push out instead of that cute little "hey, i'm actually preggers, not fat" pop.

Baby size: avocado
Total weight gain: 5 lbs. I asked my mother (a dietician) to calculate for me what I should be gaining. She said because I was heavy pre-pregnancy (my words, not hers), if I gain 1 lbs every other week, I should go back to my "good" weight post-pregnancy instead of my heavy weight. Well, already I'm gaining a lb a week in my second trimester so this isn't looking good. :(
Maternity Clothes: I lovvveee my maternity work pants and jeans. Love. As a light bulb revelation, I can fold over the invisible belly like yoga pants. No joke, it's like wearing yoga pants all the time, except it looks like jeans and nice slacks. AMAZING. I am now cleaning out all my closet for shirts. The shirts fit fine, but most are too short for the "yoga foldover" look that dips well below the zipper. Next up? REAL maternity yoga pants.
Sleep: No problems.
Cravings: Not really anymore. I try to eat what I want in limited quantites (good advice for non-preggers too). I find that I'm hungry ALL THE TIME but I can't eat the same quantity as I used to. Odd.
Worst Pregnancy Symptom: Avoiding constipation. I've conquered it with metamucil dissolving packets, but it's a pain to have to remember to take.
Movement: Nothing. Should be coming soon!
Anything make me sick? Seafood. The smell is awful.
Embarrassing Cry of the Week: None yet! I made it through a Wegmans shopping trip yesterday without a single tear. Go me!
Excited for: Baby movement. First movements can be felt 16-20 weeks and feel like gas bubbles/popcorn popping/tapping/etc. They say thinner women feel babies sooner (ugh, so that means I have to wait longer!) and women who've already been preggers because they know what they are looking for. I seriously cannot wait to feel Wolfgang. I am going to go through the roof with excitement. To finally "feel" pregnant and not just feel fat!
Gender Prediction: It better be a boy because we've 100% agreed on the full baby boy name (and even have a back-up for the next baby boy, lol).

Monday, September 24, 2012

15 Weeks

At the request of my friend R, I am starting a baby blog to note all the "exciting" times in Wolfgang's development.

First of all, let's address this "notion" of a baby bump. I see pictures of thin, fit girls who have cute little rounded baby bumps by this time. I, on the other hand, have an ever expanding tummy/love hands that makes it look like I've enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal every day for the last week.

For a while, when I was lying down, I could tell where Wolfgang was by pressing around until I felt a little "bump" underneath. For the longest time, that bump was right at my underwear line (assume Victoria's Secret hiphuggers underwear line), and not at all in my belly. But, according to the BabyCenter app (highly recommend!), Wolfgang is supposed to be moving north shortly to sit around my belly, above my hipbones, just an inch or so below my belly button. So now I have no idea where Wolfgang is. If I lie down, stand up, or sit, the firm "bump" under my layer of belly fat comes and goes. I have my 4-month appointment on Wednesday so hopefully the doctor can tell me WHERE Wolfgang is.

The list of questions (stolen from www.laharaplusone.blogspot.com)

Baby size: apple
Total weight gain: 4 lbs
Maternity Clothes: 100% for all pants, even sweatpants are getting tight. Some of my skirts still fit and most of my shirts are fine, although I find maternity shirts work better with maternity pants because the length covers the "fake belly."
Sleep: still good. I get up to pee a lot, but usually fall immediately back to sleep with a few exceptions.
Cravings: eh, more like food indecision. My major cravings used to be calcium and protein, but after tackling those with an intense label-reading trip to Wegmans, they are gone. Now it's just making sure I eat fiber-rich clean foods to prevent the ever-looming constipation (more on that)
Worst Pregnancy Symptom: Constipation. No one warned me about this. If I don't eat a perfectly "clean" diet of fiber-rich foods, I am constipated for days. It's mean, cruel, and - in my opinion - worse than any form of nausea.
Movement: Nada.
Anything make me sick? The mere idea of certain foods doesn't sit well. Like salmon, the idea sounds terrible. But so far there are no smells that make me ill (besides eggs, but that was long before Wolfgang)
Embarrassing Cry of the Week: Crying at Wegmans while shopping with my husband. I've noticed if I have a busy day Saturday, my body announces it's overwhelmed Sunday morning by emotional tears at... nothing. Items that sparked tears at Wegmans: deciding between English muffins and not being able to find Adam at the deli. Seriously?
Excited for: The 4-month appt on Wednesday AND to start feeling Wolfgang move in a few weeks. Right now, I just feel like a big blob, so to FEEL something will really make me excited about being pregnant.
Gender Prediction: Totally expecting it will be a boy