14 week belly shot

I've decided all future belly shots will be covered - no more bare bellies. The last one just didn't turn out well.

This shot makes me think a couple of things:
1) I still don't really look any different
2) My husband needs to improve his photography skills. What's he doing taking pictures of all the cat toys all over the floor? Oh well.

My clothes are still fitting fine, although they're starting to get a bit tight. And, my energy level is much better than it was. I didn't realize how tired I was a few weeks ago until I started to feel normal again in the last few days. It's kind of like how having a hangover can make you appreciate feeling normal.

Weird responses to our news

At this point, we've pretty much been telling everyone about this pregnancy. I've told work, and I'm trying to tell as many people face-to-face as I can. So, it's been a frantic few days of giving everyone our news.

During these few days, I've had a few weird responses:

Several people that are NOT particularly good friends have asked if this baby was "planned." Excuse me? I think that would be inappropriate for someone to ask that if they were a good friend, but these are more of acquaintances anyway. Very weird. Highly inappropriate.

One person told me my face was getting fat. He used the word "round," but he meant fat. First, that isn't true - my face ISN'T fat. At least not yet. And second, WHO SAYS THAT?!?!?!

And then, tonight, I went to a Halloween party. The hostess (who I've met once before and whose husband is my boss's peer) rubbed my belly. I'm FOURTEEN FRIGGIN' WEEKS!!! I don't know you!!! Why are you touching me?

I know none of these people are trying to be mean, but what the heck? I get why someone would rub my belly, but I really can't understand why someone would tell me that my face was round or ask if the baby was planned.

What am I missing here? Are people just idiots, or are they trying to be somehow supportive or nice?

A weighty issue

So far in this pregnancy, I've gained 5 pounds. When you read that, you probably think to yourself, "Well, that's not too much."

In your first trimester, you're supposed to gain 2-5 pounds. So, when I read that I've gained 5 pounds, my immediate thought is, "Oh no! I'm on the high end!" I try to talk myself down from those thoughts, though. I actually gained about 4 pounds almost right away (within about 2 weeks), and I've only really gained 1 pound since.

Gaining weight freaks me out a bit. Not a ton, but a bit. I've always been thin, through a combination of a fast metabolism and a LOT of time at the gym. The idea of gaining 30 pounds is really kind of scary to me.

I've always had the approach of trying to eat relatively food. I eat when I'm hungry, and I eat until I'm full. And, I go to the gym 4 days per week with cardio / walks about 6 days per week. So far, I've been able to keep up that same schedule since I got pregnant (other than the week of gym time that I took off because I felt sick), and I'm hoping to continue that plan for as long as possible.

I'm also trying to come to grips with the idea that my body is never going to be the same after this kid gets here. I'm not sure how I'm going to come out the other side, but something is definitely going to be different.

I'm just going to concentrate on being as healthy as I can and not worrying about things that I can't change.

I'll even predict my total weight gain. I bet I'll gain 30 pounds. As scary as that sounds, it's right in the middle of the healthy range of 25-35 pounds of weight gain. Now, I just need to wait and see.

Second appointment

We had our second appointment - everything looked great! They weren't able to find baby's heartbeat right away with the doppler, so they brought in a small ultrasound machine (this practice has several of them that they transport from room to room). It was crazy to see the little bugger flipping around in there! It really looked like a baby this time, instead of just like a gummy bear. We didn't get another picture, but we scheduled our anatomy scan for November 30th. That's when we'll find out the sex of the baby (hopefully)!

I think the midwife actually got enough of a glimpse today to guess what the sex was, but she wouldn't tell us. The small ultrasound doesn't produce the best images, and, since it's so early, there's no way she could have been sure. She did say something to the effect of, "Whoa! We got a really good shot there!" And she looked at us wide-eyed. When pressed, though, she wouldn't venture a guess. Not that I blame her. And, waiting another few weeks is no big deal.

So, now there really aren't any more excuses for me to tell everyone at work! That's going to be a little awkward, though. Telling people that you're pregnant is a little like saying, "Hey! Congratulate me!" I think it needs to be done, though, or people are just going to start gossiping at some point.

We also got some contact information for a local doula, which is exciting. For those that don't know what a doula is, it's essentially a labor coach. They attend the entire birth (unlike midwives or doctors who are generally in and out quite a bit), and they help you with things like pain management throughout the birth. I'm very interested in a non-medicated birth, and doulas definitely help with that. I hope I like her!

A bump picture (but only because I promised)

I had my husband take a first bump picture on Saturday (when I hit 13 weeks), and I'm posting it here. I'm ONLY posting it because I promised I would, though. It's a pretty terrible picture, mostly because you can see our trash can in the background. Just ignore that part.



I don't really think I look any different yet. A little thicker, maybe, but definitely no bump yet. I'll try to keep up on posting these as much as I can. Once I start getting a noticeable bump, though, you aren't going to be seeing any more bare belly shots anymore...

Welcome new readers!

Friends and Family - welcome to my blog! As you can see, I've been chronicling the last several months here, and I hope you enjoy what you read. There used to be a few more posts, too. I've unpublished a few of the more personal ones, although I will continue to blog anonymously. If you notice that the story line tends to jump around a bit, the missing posts may be why.

I look forward to sharing this journey with you all! And, I really need to get a belly shot up here at some point (although there really isn't much to see - definitely no bump yet).

Welcome!

We ordered our glider!

The glider I've had my eye on went on sale today, so I ordered it. I was able to use $200 in gift cards (I actually had another $50 card, but Target wouldn't let me use it), and, with the sale, the $350 glider is only going to cost us $162, including delivery! I'm pretty pumped.

So, now we have a crib, changing table, and a glider on the way. We'll need some sort of dresser, too, but there's no rush to get that. We'll be getting rather inexpensive furniture. We're still renting right now, and I don't want to spend a bunch of money on furniture that may not work in a future house. Plus, I'm not really a big fan of spending a ton of money on baby furniture. Some people choose to do that, but it's not really our style.

Next, we have to make some decisions on other baby gear. (I say "we," but I really just mean "I." My husband really couldn't care less, although he has said he wants a Maclaren stroller. The reason? The name sounds the same as the McLaren F1 car, even though it's spelled differently. Weirdo.)

Speaking of strollers, this is the one I'm thinking about right now: A BabyJogger City Mini.


As strollers go, it's reasonably-priced. It's only about $250 (compared to $500+ that I've seen for other strollers). We want something that's relatively durable for our daily walks (I hope to be able to go on walks at least occasionally with the new little one), but it still needs to be light enough to get in and out of the car easily.

I have other thoughts on more gear, too, but I'll save that for another post!

What I thought this would be like

Before I got pregnant, I had ideas about what the pregnancy would be like. Some of my ideas have been relatively true (I haven't gained a ton of weight, my symptoms haven't been too bad), but others have been way off base. The biggest area where I've been wrong has been my excitement level about the pregnancy.

Don't get me wrong: I am excited to be pregnant and to have a baby. But, at the same time, I'm still just trying to live my life. Work is busy, and I'm busy with other areas of my life. In a lot of ways, it's as if life is just progressing as normal.

I thought I'd be taking weekly (or at least frequent) belly pictures. I haven't taken a single one yet. I thought it would be hard for me to keep the pregnancy a secret, but it hasn't been. While we've told several of our friends face-to-face, I still haven't sent out a mass e-mail to all of my friends back home, cousins, etc. to let them know about the pregnancy. I'm not really sure what I'm waiting for. The baby is clearly getting bigger (I can feel my uterus growing when I push on my belly), but I'm still delaying. I have another appointment next week, so maybe I'll be more interested in telling after that.

I think, in some ways, I kind of like it being a secret. It's like a little secret between me and my husband, and, in some ways, it makes me a little sad to let it out. We're only planning to have 2 or 3 kids, so I know that there are only going to be a few times in my life where I'm pregnant and no one knows it but us. It's actually kind of a cool feeling. And, while I'm thrilled to be able to start telling people, there are definitely some mixed emotions.

I have a feeling that the next 18 years (and probably the rest of my life) are going to be filled with all kinds of mixed emotions. I'd better start getting used to it.

Our next baby purchase

I mentioned here that we've already purchased a crib and a changing table for baby. We bought it several weeks ago because of a great sale at Target, and we've kept it in the basement since then.

Our next big purchase is likely going to be a glider. As I've mentioned, we've been planning for this baby for quite awhile, so I've been doing things like saving up our credit card miles for things like Target gift cards to use for baby furniture. I just ordered another $50 card with our points, so we'll have about $250 to put towards a glider. There's one at Target that has been recommended. Here's a picture:



While I know it's still early to be buying furniture, I want to jump on this purchase ASAP. Target has a tendency to suddenly remove items from its website (presumably because they're sold out) without any warning. That's what happened with the original crib that I really liked. I really don't want that to happen with this glider.

So, once I get the final gift card in the mail, I expect to order the glider right away. After that, the last big thing we need is a dresser. There's no rush for that - any dresser will do.

Feeling better every day

I know I haven't been a good blogger lately, but I've been swamped at work. Things have finally started to calm down, though, and I think I should have some more time for this blog now.

The big news now is that I'm generally starting to feel better. It's crazy to think that I'm nearly at the end of my first trimester. My energy level is improving, and my nausea continues to get better. I took last week off from the gym, but I was able to go again yesterday for the first time in about 10 days. I'm trying not to beat myself up over taking a week off. After all, I'm pregnant! I just don't want to use the pregnancy as an excuse to totally let myself go, physically. Last week, I felt pretty crappy in the evenings, though, so I took those days to just rest (rather than pushing it at the gym). I still walked every day - just no weight lifting. As I feel better, though, I'm looking forward to getting into more of a routine.

My weight gain has been pretty minimal so far, which is good. I gained a couple of pounds almost right away, and, as of this morning, I'm up about 4 pounds in total. That's actually a little on the high end for first trimester gains (you're supposed to gain 2-4 pounds), but I'm trying not to overthink it. I was pretty thin to begin with, so I'd expect to gain a fair amount of weight.

Overall, things are going great! We're going to start telling our friends tomorrow abou the pregnancy, and then I'll tell work in about a week and a half. We have our next appointment on the 26th. It will be the first with the midwives, and I'm pretty excited to meet them.

Telling the parents

Sorry I've been a bit MIA lately. I've been absolutely swamped with work. Good swamped, mostly, but I wish the timing would have been a little different. I still generally feel okay, but I'm still occasionally nauseated and often tired by the end of the day. I've been staying late at work lately to try to work on some big projects, which is quite a bit harder while pregnant. I'm nearly done with the 1st trimester, though, so I hope things will be getting easier soon.

In baby-related news, this past weekend, we told my parents about the baby. The weekend before, I told my sister. It's starting to feel a bit more real now, although I still don't really think it has sunk in yet. Everyone's excited for it, and I think they're still in shock, too. This upcoming weekend, we're going to a wedding. I'll be 11 weeks at that point, and I'm thinking that might be a good time to start telling people. I don't want to detract from the wedding, but, if people ask why I'm not drinking, maybe we'll just tell them about the baby. We'll see, I guess.

Other than that, things are going well. My symptoms have actually been a little worse the last few days than they had for the previous couple of weeks, but I've generally still been really lucky. I've mostly felt fine. Not "good," but "fine." It really hasn't been that bad. I haven't really been a big fan of vegetables lately (they sound a bit repulsive), so I've been eating a lot of fruit to try to get vitamins that way.

We just bought a baby name book, too. We're pretty settled on our boy name, but we haven't really agreed on any girl names. I'm hoping the book will help, but I"m a little worried that it won't. It's not that we disagree about names - there just aren't that many girl names that we like. We have plenty of time to decide, though.

At some point, I'll probably go back over this blog and hide a few of the posts from before we were pregnant. I'd like to keep those posts for my own knowledge, but i also want to be able to share this blog with family and friends once we tell them about the baby. Stay tuned...