10 pounds, all baby (yeah right)

Here I was, so proud of myself that I had been able to maintain my weight for the most part. My Dr. had even told me on a few occasions that she'd like to see me gain a few pounds. When do you ever hear that?! So to my horror, at my last appointment my Dr. looked at my weight gain and asked me, "What, did you eat the whole turkey on Thanksgiving?!" I had gained 10 pounds. 10 whole pounds since my visit 4 weeks prior. How does that happen? And no, I did not eat the whole turkey. I may have had an extra large serving of dessert, but really, that doesn't constitute 10 pounds worth. But even so, the Dr. wasn't worried about the weight gain. Apparently she is used to seeing this sort of trend with women who don't put on weight in the beginning, there is a spike in the second trimester. I was told, however, that it shouldn't be so dramatic for the next visit. Darn it, it's the holidays! The average person puts on 10 pounds for the holidays, and I've got an exception here right? Right?

24 weeks

Is it hot in here, or is it just me?

Another thing rarely mentioned, or maybe just unspoken...hot flashes while sleeping. Anyone experience this? I mean, besides my menopausal aunts (heh heh). I go to bed freezing and wake up around 2 AM drenched in my own sweat. Blech. Ick. Add this to the insomnia, the uncomfortable sleeping positions, getting up to pee 3 times, and sleepy night-night is not my best friend anymore. And then I feel her kick and all is right in the world.

Be careful what you wish for

I can't remember a time when I didn't want to be pregnant, ever since I was a little girl. I told my mom this all the time--I wanted a baby. They got me a puppy, Ms. T, the cutest thing ever. But who took care of her? My mom of course. I'm not sure what I wanted more, the pregnancy belly or the doll like animated creature I can cuddle and hold. I used to stand in front of the mirror and push out my gut as much as I could and rub my belly. You'd think I would grow out of this stage, but I found myself doing this when we were trying to get pregnant, those very long 2 years. I imagined what I would look like with a big pregnant belly. Well, now I'm on the road to realization, so to speak! Holy belly, it's here and now I'm afraid at how big it's going to get.

I had my first stranger comment on my belly the other day. Finally went shopping for the first outfit to commemorate finding out our baby is a girl (see picture below). The lady ringing up the purchase asked when I was due. I was beaming, just excited that someone outside my circle noticed I was pregnant! I proudly announced, "April!" She looks at me and says, "Wow, you are really big. My daughter is due in March and she's not as big as you." Hmm, OK-- not quite the response I was looking for. I started to panic and obsessed with this to Dione for a good amount of time after the purchase.

22 weeks


Outfit

And the moment of truth...

She's perfect! Major sigh of relief here. We got to see a very detailed scan of all her organs, her brain, heart, bones--everything. The tech said she is very active and stubborn. Ha, well look who the parents are, duh. She was so active in fact, that there aren't really any glamour shots I can post to brag about. They are all fuzzy and distorted. I do have the money shot though, which I'm sure she'll be embarrassed about one day, that her mom showed her intimates on a blog for all the world to see. But she'll get over it!

Thump

Rick felt the baby move this morning! I think. He could have just been going along with it after days and days of putting his hand on my tummy with no such luck. I swear that man has the thickest callouses on his hands, it's a wonder he feels anything. Anyway, I had some pretty big thumping going on and the baby was higher this morning, just under my belly button. I grabbed Rick's hand and I had a little dialogue with the baby on being a good little baby and please just kick hard for mommy, just this once because daddy thinks I'm making this stuff up. So like a good little baby, s/he cooperated. I even felt the kick with my hand over his hand! And the response...Tears of joy? Wide eyes of wonder and awe? Nope. Nothing. He said, "that was it? I thought it would be bigger." Oh well, we tried, the baby and I. I had a brief glimpse into the future when he comes home from work one day and I am jumping up and down because the baby rolled over and Rick says, "that's it? I thought s/he'd be walking by now."

20 weeks

Halfway there! I've got my appetite back, and it's come back with a vengeance. The other night I wolfed down dinner, amazed at the amount of time (or lack of) it took to clean my plate. I knew I had eaten pretty fast when Rick still had a good portion left on his plate. Like a gentleman, he didn't say anything...or did he even notice? After a ladylike belch, I looked at him and batted my eyes and said in my most seductive voice, "do you feel like getting frozen yogurt?" How could he resist my charm?

With the amount of eating that has increased, there's got to be some added fat coming soon. I feel like it's already started and am having second thoughts about the whole belly shot images I have posted. But I am going to keep my pact and keep on posting these shots, even if stretch marks start showing up. Remind me of this if clothing cover belly shots start to make their way onto the pages.

So the halfway point deserves some reflection. I forgot to add a conversation I had with my Dr. during my 1st trimester appointment. I was so excited to finally feel my uterus and I was convinced that the baby was towards the left side. I lovingly rubbed that spot as I talked to the baby. So at the appointment, my Dr. took out the Doppler to search for the heartbeat. With conviction, I told her the baby was over on the left, I even pointed out the spot. She looks at the spot, looks at me and says, "um, that's your colon. Your uterus pushes your colon out over there." Not only had I failed at figuring out my own anatomy, I had been lovingly rubbing and talking to my digestive tract.

Oh but what a long way I have come since then! I know where my stomach is now! It's pushed up towards my lungs. So now my lungs growl when I'm hungry! But the one thing I am sure of is where my uterus is and also where the baby is. The baby likes to kick on my right side (apparently likes to stay far away from all that digestive stuff going on), and the kicks and flutters are amazing.

20 weeks

Weight (of certain things)

Just finished a really quick read called Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy. You know who she is, the crass, beautiful woman who's dating Jim Carrey. It's along the same lines as the Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy, but crosses that line a lot more. Meaning that she really gets down to the dirty truth about pregnancy and the things ladies don't usually talk about. One thing in particular that cracked me up is that she measured her boobs. Apparently they got A LOT bigger and well, I thought that was a great idea. I attempted this yesterday. Why? Well, the girls have been getting bigger and heavier and I thought it would be a great idea to keep track, just in case one day I get some grief from my Dr. for gaining too much weight. I think weight gain from boobs is a great justification if I can back up the amount of weight, right? A few things to note if you try this at home:

1. Heat up the scale somehow...maybe use a blowdryer to take the chill off...brrr!
2. Don't use one of those fancy BMI digital scales, unless your boobs are so long they fit across the whole scale length. If that's the case, honey, you have more to worry about than the weight of those puppies!
3. Bring the scale up to the counter height, don't attempt to lean over and dangle the girls on top. Pregnancy makes one dizzier than normal and the weight of the new belly throws one off balance.

Needless to say, I still don't know what they weigh, but Rick made a good point of using one of those kitchen food scales...I have yet to find out where that is or how much weight it holds but I'll keep you updated.