The bump... It's-a-growin'!

18 weeks (as of tomorrow)



15 weeks 4 days for comparison



Big change this time! But my weight seems to be plateauing again temporarily. I'm actually down about 1/2# from last week.


News this week: I've been feeling a lot more baby movement in the last week, which is fun. And my doctor's office called to reschedule my next appt (check up and BIG ultrasound) from December 4th to the 5th. No biggie. So now we'll get to see our baby 2 weeks from tomorrow instead.


Also, as of yesterday, Craig has gotten another jumpstart on the basement/office transition. Finally! He will procrastinate till the last minute if left alone, so I've been begging (read: nagging - according to Craig) him to get started. It was the same way with our kitchen renovation and nursery before Will was born and I can't stand the stress of unfinished, drawn-out projects. I'm especially sensitive about them when pregnant. I just feel that everything is urgent and needs to be DONE before the baby arrives. So hopefully he'll keep things moving and Will's new room will be ready by... oh... February or March, maybe?


I'll close with a picture of my little buddy, entertaining himself with an empty diaper box. Kids make you look at things from a whole new angle - like making toys out of garbage!

Chug-a-lug

I feel like I could float a boat most days. Not from swelling (yet!) but from drinking so much water! I try to get at least 64 oz of water each day. And my poor pregnant bladder has me running to the ladies room constantly. Apparently it's hormonal because it isn't like my uterus is THAT big yet. I get up 1-2 times at night to pee and have to excuse myself to the restroom about 4-6 times during my work day. Luckily the process of getting out of bed at night isn't terribly uncomfortable yet and my co-workers are very understanding.

I'm 17 weeks today! Weigh-in on the scale puts me up 10oz from last week for a total of 6#13oz. I'm not "nesting" yet but the closer I get to the halfway point the more I panic about being ready and all that we want to get done. So I've started making a "to-do-before-baby list". The holidays are going to fly by and tax season will consume a couple weekends in March since we always do our own. So believe it or not, we don't have an excess of time. We have to get Will's new room ready and I basically do an organizing overhaul of... well... everything.

I've also been kind of emotional lately. Mostly with feeling like there's always so much work to be done and resenting my job for keeping me away from my home. I hate that someone else is basically raising my child for me while I work and that I only see Will for a good 2 awake hours most days of the week. I miss him and I don't want to miss out on his growing up. I find myself not wanting to do other social activities that require finding a babysitter. Keeping up on housework and cooking (which are both mostly on MY shoulders) while still trying to be a good employee and mom and wife... it's hard to keep a good balance. I don't think I could ever quit working entirely because I appreciate the adult interaction and feeling of importance outside the home, but I would love to cut WAY back. Unfortunately, the cost of health care and the goal of building a new house one day do not allow that. We've set up a lifestyle and future plans that are not afforded by one income. And it just sucks sometimes... I hate feeling like a bad mom because I'm a working mom. The guilt is impossible to avoid.

Things that I love, Part 2

(see "Part 1" under July posts)

Things that I love:
1) Craig & I say a prayer before dinner most evenings. Will has learned to fold his hands and just watch in interest. Sometimes he nods his head at the end when we say "Amen". And now when we put him in the high chair, he has started to fold his hands in preparation. Then later, we also say a prayer before bed and he folds his hands for that too. So cute.
2) At night when I turn out the lights in his room and hold Will for a quiet moment before putting him into bed, he lays his head on my shoulder and I rub or pat his back... while he simultaneously rubs or pats mine.

Love. Love. Love. Happy mom moments are good.

Quickening

Tap, tap, tap. Hello baby.

Last night I thought "maybe"... This morning I knew for sure...

One of the most exciting parts of pregnancy is feeling your unborn baby move. Also called "quickening", these movements feel like little taps very low in the abdomen. Some women describe it as a fluttering or popcorn popping. To me, it feels like a very soft tapping. And it's so awesome.

I didn't feel Will move until I was 17 weeks pregnant. But they say you typically feel subsequent children sooner and I'm only 16 weeks now. (Perhaps you just know what it feels like and can recognize it sooner.) So hooray! I feel one step closer to knowing our new baby.

At 16 weeks, he or she is about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long and about 3 1/2 oz. In the next few weeks, the baby will have a big growth spurt - doubling the weight and adding inches to the length. Just in time for our 20 week ultrasound!

Will is 17 months!

Several more new teeth have hit us pretty hard the last few weeks. Behavior is mostly fine. Sleeping is mostly fine. But Will is eating very poorly lately and he got Craig's sinus cold to boot. So we've got runny noses and coughs at our house and the vapor products are in full swing. We've got the vapor baby wash for baths, the Vick's rub, the vaporizor running at night, etc. (*I* haven't gotten sick so far... knock on wood. Wait... is that a sniffle I feel?) Anyway, 3 of his 4 canine/cuspid teeth have broken through. Will is still eating breakfast pretty well, but for lunch and dinner, he's refusing most everything except his fruits and vegetables. I HOPE this is temporary, or I will miss my good eater.

So Saturday Will turned 17 months. He spent the day at home with his daddy while mommy went Christmas shopping. Shopping is hard work! I am exhausted after this weekend!

Here are a couple cute pictures right before bath time:



Naked horseback riding?



And a couple more from the sunset the other night:

Tales from the Scale

Some women have a really tough time watching the numbers go up on the scale as pregnancy progresses. Others consider pregnancy a 10 month vacation in which they are exempt from calories and pounds. Every woman is different with how she puts on weight throughout the gestational period, whether gradual or in spurts, mostly in the beginning or all at the end.

If you begin pregnancy at a "normal" weight (BMI between 19.8 - 26.0), the recommended weight gain is between 25 - 35#. Underweight women gain more, overweight gain less. Once a normal weight woman reaches the second trimester, her calorie needs go up 300 per day (not exactly "eating for two"), and her weight gain should be ABOUT 1# per week.

Personally, I am unphased by the scale. Not because I am unaware or unconcerned. I just look at it as "that's not ME, that's just what my body has to be temporarily to grow a person!" I also think that if you are eating well and active, you have to trust that your body will naturally do what it's supposed to in order to keep both mom and baby healthy. When you try too hard to control weight gain, whether to gain more or less, you're working against your body's natural design.

With Will, I started out at 125# (BMI 21.1) and gained 23#. This time, I started at 117# (BMI 19.8) and am gaining weight faster than the first time. I trust that's just what my body is supposed to do.

I've been walking and/or doing pilates and light weights most days. Yesterday and today have been so beautiful and I've taken my lunch hour to get in a 45 minute walk at work. At home I walk outside if it's nice, or on the treadmill in the evening. I like the treadmill because I can control my pace and add an incline to get my heart rate up. I can feel a difference in my body though. It feels heavy and sluggish, which makes me all the more determined to keep moving. Exercise during pregnancy is like "training" for birth. Just like an athlete trains for a race. I need a strong heart and good endurance to be prepared for labor. Birth day is no time to wimp out!

Anyway, enough with my soap box.

Here's a new belly shot at 15 weeks, 4 days. Look closely - you can see my belly button sticking out.



Here's 13 weeks, 3 days for comparison.



I can't believe it. I feel like there's been a HUGE change, but those pictures look almost identical. Current weight gain as of today (15 weeks, 5 days) = 6#3oz.

And here's a picture in clothes after our awesome sunset last night.

FAQ's

Most websites have a section on Frequently Asked Questions, right? Well I thought I'd add one on FAQ's most people have regarding my pregnancy. It's funny how there seems to be a standard set of questions that a pregnant woman is asked. So here are my answers:

1) I'm feeling pretty good. No, I never threw up. I did have a few solid weeks of unpleasant nausea that extended way past the morning, but nothing unmanageable and it's much better now. I am still feeling much more tired by the end of my work day than usual.

2) We don't know the sex of our baby, YET. But, yes, we definitely plan to find out (assuming he or she isn't shy during the ultrasound) and our appointment is set for December 4th. We are excited to share the news with all of you when we know. My current intuition is GIRL, but we shall see... We will be pleasantly surprised with either. Obviously, a boy would be more economical since we have all the stuff. Plus, I would love for Will to have a brother so close in age. But a daughter would be wonderful too.

3) My official due date is April 24, 2009. When I tell people I'm pregnant, I usually just say I'm due at the "end of April", because a "due date" is a relative term with an approximately 2 week window before and after that would be considered normal. So technically, our baby may arrive somewhere between April 10 - May 8. That's a big window! When you put too much stock into an exact date, people tend to panic when you pass that date... still pregnant. Our baby will be born whenever he or she is ready. I prefer not to mess with God's plan.

4) Yes, we do have names in mind, but we'd prefer not to share just yet. We're pretty set on a boy's name, but for a girl we have several. We're going to wait till December to really decide.

5) Will has no understanding of what's going on, so preparing him for that transition is basically impossible. He can say "baby" and I tell him there's a baby in mommy's belly, but I don't think he knows what a baby is. He also knows body parts, so he'll try to lift my shirt and poke at my protruding belly button and then just smile up at me. Right now we're mostly working on listening skills. His language comprehension is fast improving, even if he can't speak clearly. So it will be super helpful for him to understand "let's pick up our toys" or "please close the cabinet" or "pet the doggy nicely" when I don't have 2 hands free and the ability to chase after him as easily come spring. Then, when his room is ready, we'll work on transitioning to the big boy bed.

6) Hmm. What else? I already feel like I'm carrying higher this time, though still out in front (almost pointy) and not real wide. My belly button has been sticking out since, oh, about 7 weeks or so. It never went back to normal after Will - it was more like a half innie/ half outtie. But I don't mind, because I feel like that sort of confirms the look of a pregnant belly vs. just a fat one. That's the problem with this stage - you don't look obviously pregnant to the unknowing public - just like you might have eaten too much for lunch.

I think that's it... Feel free to add questions in the comment box if I overlooked any.