Textbook Pregnancy

Hearing those words at my check-up today was like music to my ears. My measurements were right on target. My pee sample was fine. His heartbeat sounded great. And my weight gain is...drumroll, please.... perfect. All of these factors led her to say, "Well, you are having a perfect, textbook pregnancy." Is it strange that I felt the overwhelming need to find something made of wood to knock on as soon as she said those words??

I asked her about two things in particular: my near-fainting incident over the weekend and my mood swings that I referenced in my last post.

My near-fainting episode happened at Cracker Barrel on Sunday morning. Mom and I were waiting for a table and were just standing around for about a half hour. All of a sudden, I started to see some stars and things started to get a little dark and fuzzy. I went and sat down immediately and was fine within a few minutes.

My doctor's take? A totally normal (and very common) side effect of pregnancy at this stage. Well, it's not so much a side effect of pregnancy as it is a side effect of low blood pressure and low blood sugar- which are the common pregnancy side effects. She told me to carry snacks with me when I'm out and not to stand for long periods of time. Matt's a little jealous that I got prescribed snacks.

When I mentioned my moodiness, she just smiled. She said that when she was pregnant, she was discussing menopause with one of her patients and just started crying in the middle of their conversation. Well, if my rational, level-headed doctor couldn't even fend off the pregnancy mood swings, I'm not going to feel so bad about my own.

For today, I'm just going to enjoy my textbook pregnancy. Next up: gestational diabetes test. I can't wait to chug a bunch of surgary orange goop and have my blood drawn!

Week in Review

Things I did this week:

-Made an appointment for my 4d ultrasound on August 22nd!
-Made brownies. Again. A reminder: Matt doesn't eat sweets. Yep, they're allll for me.
-Bought a couple more onesies. I couldn't resist.
-Picked out a name for the baby. After months of throwing name ideas back and forth and never finding anything we both felt good about, we quickly came to an agreement a few nights ago. It seemed easy and natural. And that's the way it should be. (Disclaimer: I am pregnant and hormonal and reserve the right to change my mind in a month. Or an hour.)
-Reached the 6 months pregnant milestone!
-Picked a date for my baby shower!!

Things I did not do this week:

-Prenatal yoga. After a strong start to my exercise regimen last week, I completely slacked this week. Peeling myself off the couch after work seemed like an impossible feat.
-Eat even remotely healthy. This week's menu consisted of: hot dogs, Arby's, BAT sandwiches (bacon, avocado, tomatoes- YUM!), brownies, chocolate milk, etc.

Things I will do in the next week:

-Visit the OB for my last appointment in my 2nd trimester! Only 4 more weeks until the 3rd tri begins...YIKES!
-Go to a baseball game with Mom, Dad, and Matt.
-Go shopping with Mom for a changing table, amongst other necessities.

And coming soon: Another belly shot. It's overdue, I know.

I am utterly convinced...

...that I have a boxer-in-training growing in my belly right now.

And if his in utero training is any indication, he will definitely be going pro one day.

Pregnancy Brain: Not Just a Myth

I had heard of the "pregnancy brain" phenomenon from various sources over the years, but always kind of rolled my eyes about it. So basically, because you're pregnant, you have a built-in excuse for every dumb thing you do or say, I thought to myself as the expectant mother referenced her pregnancy brain. Now I know that it's very real. And it's taking over my life.

Two moments just from this past weekend:

1. Matt and I went to pick up Cheesecake Factory for dinner on Saturday night (and can I just say that their oreo cheesecake is amazing?!). We did the curbside pick-up and the server came around to the passenger side door with our food. I thanked her, handed her our credit card, and then waited while she brought me the receipt. Our total bill was $40 and some change. I wanted to add a $4 tip for her just to be nice since she did bring our food out to the car. Enter: pregnancy brain. I knew that adding a $4 tip would make our bill total around $44. So, I started adding $44 to the original $40 bill. I was almost finished writing the total on the final line- $84 and some change- when I heard Matt whisper next to me, "What are you doing?!" I quickly realized my mistake but was then far too flustered to fix my math. I handed the bill over to Matt. Sadly, though she came very close, our server did not get a $44 tip that night.

2. Matt always jokes that he's outnumbered in our house since our dog, cat, and myself are all female. Yesterday, as I was getting ready to walk out of the door, a thought dawned on me:

Me: "Hey, you're not going to be outnumbered anymore once the baby comes. The numbers will be even!"
Matt: (stares at me for a second) "No, they won't."
Me: "Yes, they will. You and the baby...and then Maggie & Snickers......" I trailed off for a second before adding, "Oh. I forgot about myself."

So, yeah. It's very real. Still have your doubts? Come hang out with me for a day.

Change, Change, Change

Yes, I've been in hiding again. It hasn't been the easiest past week or two for me.

Normally, I would preface this post by saying something along the lines of please don't think I'm complaining about this pregnancy, but...

I'm not going to do that anymore. Thanks to some good friends, I've come to accept that I don't need to justify the way I feel with a disclaimer. No, not even after going through infertility. Everyone knows I'm thankful for this pregnancy. That's not a secret.

But pregnancy is a time of change. Your body changes, your priorities change, your goals change, your marriage changes, and on and on. It's also a time of anticipation. You anticipate each major milestone of pregnancy; you anticipate labor and delivery; you anticipate those first few weeks after the baby arrives when you're in survival mode; you anticipate how your relationship with your spouse will change; you anticipate what kind of parent you'll be. In summary, you anticipate your future.

Pregnancy is also a time of astronomical amounts of hormones surging through the body. The result of these combinations of factors, at least in my case? Tremendous amounts of anxiety.

In a matter of a few short months, my world will be changing. I'll no longer be at the job I've worked at ever since graduating from college, six years ago. I'll be fully responsible for the happiness and well-being of a tiny, precious life. I'll be a mom.

I'm excited for these changes. I'm ready for them. But change is an interesting thing, accompanied by a dichotomy of emotions. And it's something that I've never been particularly good at.

But you know what? I'm learning, slowly but surely, that sometimes it's okay not to know. It doesn't need to be scary to not have all (or any) of the answers. Live and learn, right? And that's exactly where I am right now, in this moment.

It's Learnin' Time

In theory? I'm going to be the most prepared mother on the planet. In addition to clothes shopping (as documented below) and nursery painting (well, I can't take credit for that; that's all Matt), I have now officially signed up for an infant CPR class, a breastfeeding class, and a tour of the Labor & Delivery unit of the hospital I will be delivering in. I'm still waiting to hear back about the Prepared Childbirth Class I want to take. This one's really important to me. They go over everything to expect during labor and delivery. And let me just tell you: I've been reading enough stories about labor online to be thoroughly freaked out. So I figured a class, where I can learn the facts, would be helpful. Now, most of these classes let you register online through the hospital. The Prepared Childbirth class? Not so much. I had to page the teacher (yes, I said page- like it's 1998) and she has to call me back and let me know which class I can fit into. Apparently these things fill up fast.

As a sidenote, I already took an informal breastfeeding class at my dentist's office. What, does that sound unusual to you? That's because it was really freakin' weird. And awkward. When I was checking out with the receptionist after my cleaning, she was excited to talk to me about everything baby. She was full of advice. I listened politely (read: I saw her lips moving while I thought about where I wanted to stop for lunch. And what I wanted to make for dinner. And my weekend plans. She talked for a long time.) I snapped back to reality, though, when I saw her hands on her breasts and I realized she had moved on to the subject of breastfeeding. "Like this," she was saying. "You have to massage them like this." My (male) dentist also caught the tale end of her breastfeeding class.

In reality? I'm going to be just like every first time mom, fumbling my way through the first few months in survival mode, learning mostly by trial and error. Even the perfectionist in me can admit that. It's a rite of passage.

Nevertheless, I've gotta do something to help pass these next 4 months that are dragging by as if they're oblivious to the fact that the most important event in the world is going to happen in November. And Matt can't think of anything he'd rather do than attend breastfeeding class with me on a Saturday morning. So there.

An overload of cuteness

I think there are two kinds of women in this world: those who like to shop and those who really can't stand it. I fall into the latter category. Unless I have a specific purpose for my trip, shopping is pretty torturous for me. You will never find me aimlessly wandering a mall for fun.

One major exception: shopping for baby clothes. I find this ridiculously fun. The cuteness is overwhelming.

I went shopping with my wonderful mom and aunt on Friday and below is the aftermath of our trip.

And now, for more pointless fun, let's divide the clothes up by category.

First, we have the dapper young man outfits:
And then we have daddy's future little athlete gear:

My personal favorite? The animals.

So.much.fun.

Happy 4th of July!!!!

It never gets old.

I realize this is not a very original thought, but I'm saying it anyway.

This kid growing in my belly? I love him.

Everytime I feel him kick, or flip, or do cartwheels (or whatever it is he's busy doing in there)? I could melt. And maybe, just maybe, I've been eating obscene amounts of chocolate because I know it makes him hyper. I can neither confirm nor deny that.

Now, maybe I will feel differently when he's 6 lbs and is using my bladder as a sofa and my ribs as punching bags. But for now? Bring on the acrobatic circus moves.

My Growing Belly

How far along? 19 weeks, 6 days

Total weight gain/loss: I'm still only up about 5.5 lbs, which I was a little bit concerned about until I found out my baby is the perfect size at my ultrasound. But still- bring on the brownies. And milkshakes.

Maternity clothes: Primarily what I'm wearing. I have one pair of Old Navy maternity pants that I am obsessed with. They are so comfy- I could wear them every day. Actually, I am wearing them in the picture below.

Stretch marks: Not yet.

Sleep? I've been sleeping much more soundly, thanks to our Sleep Number bed and probably also thanks to the fact that I saw my sweet little boy recently. But bathroom breaks? Yeah, they're still happening- at least a few times a night.

Best moment this week: Without question, finding out that I am having a healthy little boy. And getting to see his sweet face. And watching him move around. There is just nothing that compares.

Food cravings: Well, I'm craving sushi, which is strictly off limits.

Gender: B-O-Y!

Labor signs: No thanks...let's give this a few more months.

Belly button: Still an innie.

What I miss: Nothing right now. Just enjoying every minute.

What I am looking forward to: Shopping! I can't wait to buy some clothes and stuff for the jungle themed nursery!

Milestones: The big ultrasound!!!!