A lot has changed in the last few months. While most of the time I am either too busy or too tired to be the good blogger I dream of being one day, I am going to try to share a little while I am thinking about it.
I have tried to think of where to start, what topic to choose, what seems important, but I keep coming up empty. I blame lack of caffeine. :) I wish I had some new outlook on pregnancy- something to just stop every pregnant, been pregnant, want to be pregnant woman in her tracks for a few minutes. I love reads like that, and maybe one day I will have one. As for now, here is my take on pregnancy so far.
*Disclaimer- I am 23 weeks pregnant. This is just MY outlook. No debate, no argument, no "I know everything" takes on pregnancy here. This is just a pure and simple, VERY honest picture of what pregnancy has been for me this far. It is meant for private recording, pure entertainment purposes.*
Now, if you have been reading, you know all about my adventures with "morning sickness". Nausea is no laughing matter, ladies. It pushed me on my little (at the time) bottom and laughed at me- HARD. After weeks of nothing but Sprite and water, I may just be through with Sprite forever. That said, once the first trimester monster left me, life has been pretty wonderful. After that first doctor's visit (yuck!), the rest have been a piece of cake. Plus, I'm assured at least 4 more visits where everything is easy breezy- after that, well, I've had a nice run.
So far, I've gained a whopping 35 pounds with Little Bit. All the books say that that is the most you should gain, but seeing as we are only half way through this little journey I'm thinking the books are wrong. Sure, I crave a lot more than I used to, but it's not the outrageous preggo-foodstyle of the movies. As for post-pregnancy, I'm not even about to sweat it. What will go will go later. Right now, this is my pregnant life reality with Little Bit. As long as he is growing and my doctor isn't fretting over my weight chart, then I am certainly not going to worry. As for looks, well my belly is bigger (but that is pure baby) and my thighs are going for a more chunky-monkey look, but so far nothing horrible. My ankles and feet are starting to swell a little, but whose don't- especially a pregnant woman living in the humid summer-like heat of the south. I'll just have to invest in new (wider) shoes. :) Shoe shopping!
Pregnancy clothes are A-MAZING! They are by far the most comfortable clothing I have ever worn. I know women complain about pulling out the "Granny" panties in the end, but this chick is already there, sporting the bras to match. No, they are not the prettiest, laciest things ever, but when you have gravity making those stretch marks on your belly feel like they are going to pull you down, and ta-tas that are so big you have trouble remembering their tiny predecessors- comfort is queen as far as I'm concerned. Maternity clothing for me has been as comfortable as my pajamas. I feel quite rebellious actually wearing my comfy clothes rather than the skirts and panty hose of months that feel long gone now. P.S. Belly bands are a joke as far as I'm concerned. A friend gave me her old one to help buy me some time before I had to turn to maternity wear. It was nice for all of 2 days, until I realized it had no cover power over my pants tops where buttons and zippers were concerned. Not to mention, taking it off at the end of the day I realized I could finally breath. Take my word, save your money and invest in maternity pants. That was money well-spent.
Pregnancy clothes shopping is not so fun. I love to clothes shop a lot of the time, but maternity shopping hasn't been the easiest. First of all, businesses must know they only have you for about 6 months or less because they slam price tags on there that you wouldn't believe. I did good purchasing extra large camis at Forever 21 for $1.50 a piece, and have managed to buy a few non-maternity tops to fit in my style in larger sizes, but alas this could not be done with everything. Where I work, I have to have dressy tops still. I am also not in control of the thermostat there (which is totally unfair in my opinion), leaving me burning up for 8 hours a day for the last 4 months. Did I mention it is only getting hotter? This means I need cute, cool, possibly sleeveless tops. The second problem, I like cute outfits, which don't seem to exist anymore. Whatever happened to polka dots, happy colors, and Peter Pan collars? I don't need my belly button showing, or the 70s grunge look, or even the tight-fitting clothes I've never worn before. *sigh* Why does everything have to be so complicated? So, I turned to Amazon last week and found some super cute outfits (sold within the states) for reasonable prices. As for home, Little Bit can stretch all the shirts out he wants. :)
The aches and pains haven't been all that bad. I've suffered a pretty bad headache a time or two, but nothing too crippling. While I can now rest my arms comfortably on top of Little Bit, the baby bump didn't have to be all that big to affect my falling asleep. Falling asleep on your side has a way of causing gravity to pull on your muscles more I guess. While I laughed at first, I ended up okaying the purchase of this full body pillow. It has been the best pregnancy purchase yet! It stays cool, helps my back, my neck, my legs, my belly. It is WONDERFUL!
No caffeine bites. Now, I've read up and a lot of doctors now give the thumbs up to caffeine, or at least 200 milligrams of it in a day (about 2 cups). Still, there are risks, and while I love hearing my doctor say I should have an easy pregnancy and Little Bit is doing fine, I'm not taking any chances. I say to each her own on this one. I steal a sip from Justin's drinks, but since he is all pro-water more than 75 % of the time, he is not much help. What does help are these decaf/no caffeine tricks-
Starbucks- Spiced Caramel Apple Ciders, Strawberry Crème Frappacino, Vanilla Bean Frappacino
Sweet Tea- Decaffeinated (my mother made my day last Saturday offering this at home #bestmommyever)
Coke- Caffeine Free Cokes (thankfully someone at CocaCola had a heart about 20 years ago)
Sonic- Slushies, Lemonade, Cranberry Juice, and our favorite Cherry Vanilla Rootbeers! (Little Bit is a sweetaholic and therefore I must supply the demand. :) )
I'm told our hospital serves Starbucks, so as soon as Little Bit arrives my Push Gift will be an extra-large surprise wrapped in a Starbucks cup from hubby!
My Pinterest time has changed. My sister probably said it best when two weeks ago she told me I had some "weird stuff" on my Pinterest page. It took some time, but then- Oh, yeah, I have an entire new board entitled "For Mommy" full of info revolving around a bunch of things that I would think weird too if they weren't so darn informative to this first time Mommy-to-be right here. I have tips for post-delivery (heads up- yuck!). I have tips for nursing and just some plain fun facts about how awesome nursing is for both Mommy and baby. (Ladies, God is awesome. He thought this whole technique out to the end.) I must have at least 5-6 suggestions of what to pack in your hospital bag (All about as helpful as asking a handful of women what to carry in your purse.)
Life has changed a lot here lately. It's not been completely easy, but it's not been nightmarish here yet either. Even with all of the changes, there have been some pretty amazing moments- moments that make me not even care about the not-so-fun part. The first time I felt our little boy I had to stop what I was doing. It surprised me so much. Since then, his moves have become harder. If I don't eat on time, he especially moves. The other night, his daddy talking to him caused him to move. Justin FINALLY felt him last Monday and his excitement almost brought tears to my eyes. It was the sweetest thing to watch. To be stuck between the two of them, I can not begin to describe how wonderful a feeling that is. These days won't last forever. Pregnancy is about to get harder, I know, and labor and delivery and recovering won't be a walk in the park. Still, remembering these things- these wonderful little moments that happen so randomly and that I am able to enjoy make it easier for me to keep going without stressing over what is next. In four months, we will have a beautiful little boy to bring home. He will bring a whole new way of life with him, too. While that scares me at times, I can't help but be excited by our baby that has already brought so much excitement and love into our hearts.
