baby moving?

Sorry - this will be short but sweet since I am going to Chicago in the AM for work...I have to pack and go to bed. So...AM i feeling the baby move? Sometimes I feel some flutters, sometimes I don't. I was told that since my placenta is attached to the front, that it might take me a little longer to feel it, but I thought I did, but then it became lighter. I dunno! Time will tell! We have our 20 week anatomy scan on 9/2, which will be super exciting and maybe the baby will move and I will see it AND feel it move! I'm off to Chicago for a quick trip tomorrow....wish me luck and sleep!

protein

I'm on a protein kick...well, I should have been all along. Truthfully, since I got pregnant I have been trying harder to eat more healthily and be more conscious of what I ingest, BUT I haven't been eating enough protein. My mother has been concerned about that for a while and mentioned it a couple of times, but I assured her I was fine. The other day however, I looked up exactly HOW much protein a pregnant woman is supposed to be eating, and it's 75g per day. That's sort of a lot, and I realized that I probably rarely hit that. So...I'm keeping track, and upping my protein. I just finished a protein shake, which has 30g of protein in it, and yesterday for lunch I had some salmon, which has 45g of protein in it (that's what the photo is...not of my lunch, but of salmon) - Oh, and I found a yogurt with a whopping 17g of protein in it! I hope this manages to make me feel healthier and maybe even less tired! On another note, my ligaments are hurting a bit, which in my mind is good, since it probably means that my belly is getting bigger and soon I will look officially pregnant and not just fat! I have been feeling ok, still need to go to bed earlier, and getting used to sleeping on my side, but I really miss sleeping on my back. Oh, and I'm 19 weeks now!

"cravings"

I don't think I've had "cravings" yet per se, like what IS a craving? In my mind, a pregnancy craving isn't really limited to being pregnant. I think it's just wanting something and having no reason to deny it for yourself. When people ask me if I've had any cravings, I sort of think of some medical deep need for something that is a switch in my brain, not just some random food I feel like eating. The dictionary says craving is "an intense, urgent, or abnormal desire or longing". So, I don't think I've had any of those. I have WANTED (to have or feel need) some foods, but that's no different than prior to me being pregnant! Those things have included the following: bacon, milkshakes, fruit, nutella, spaghetti, tacos, salted chocolate. It's not like I need any of those things immediately, it's just that I've been on a diet for at least 5 years, and now suddenly I am not supposed to be on a diet? What's a girl gonna do? I'm gonna eat what I want! If any actual cravings come up, I'll let you know!

doctor

We went to the doctor yesterday afternoon for an 18 week checkup. We met another doctor in the practice and she was very nice. There are 4 doctors and we're at the point where we start rotating in order to get to know them all, since you never know who will be on when it's time to deliver!

Again, no ultrasound, but we did hear the heartbeat - which is always nice....to know that it's still there and doing well! The rate was 130bpm, which is good. Thing were smooth at the doctor. Not much to report. They took blood for the spina bifida test, since that wasn't included in the CVS testing. Good news about that, is that I didn't pass out. The nurse that took my blood said "I remember you.." in a worried/snarky tone.

I am most looking forward to our 20 week anatomy scan, which is on 9/2. That will be the first time we've seen the baby in about 2 months!

I'm still feeling good, trying to drink a ton of water, since I do have constipation as always. I am showing a bit more, but I haven't "popped" yet. I don't exactly know what that means, but from what I hear I will wake up one morning and magically not be able to do up my pants. People that tell me this swear that they aren't exaggerating, but I don't believe them, so we'll see!

In other news, I THINK I am feeling some movement. It feels like occasional fluttering, and I think that's what it is, but it's so faint that it's hard to tell. The doc said in 2 weeks I will know it for sure...cool!!!

i'm back!

I'm back from 6 days away. It's nice to be back home and in my own bed! I was in Vancouver, where I was born, and Victoria, where I was raised. We had a lovely time in both places and saw lots of friends and family.

People were very excited to see me and my slowly growing belly, and it seemed that babies were the hot topic everywhere, much to the chagrin of my husband. He did well though. We spent a lot of time with a lovely 5 year old, and he got some good practice in!

My cousin gave me a lovely gift of a maternity shirt and sweater, which I am psyched about. It's a white shirt, which I have been looking for, and the sweater ties in the front, which will be perfect! Being that I will be super pregnant in the winter, sweaters are key. I also got 2 pairs of maternity pants thanks for my friend Tracy. She helped me find some good stuff. We also stayed at her place in Victoria and hung out with her 5 year old - Thanks Tracy!

My trip was bittersweet though. My parents recently moved from Victoria to Saskatchewan, so I wasn't able to see them, so it was weird being in my hometown and them not being there, and me not being able to go to our house. It was sad! I also don't know when I will get back to the w.coast. I hope it's soon since I have so many lovely friends and family there that I want to see them all again soon!

on vacation!

Sorry for the slight delay. I'm on vacation in Vancouver and Victoria, the place of my birth and where I grew up, respectively. I will put an official new post up soon!

more clothes...

So last night I decided to head up to the H&M in our area that has a maternity section, which happens to be the one in Herald Square right near Macy's. Yay Macy's! I was pretty damn surprised at how small the maternity section was, but the nice thing was that it was on the 3rd floor and not busy. I didn't have to wait to try anything on and at H&M that is a rarity. I tried on some jeans, pants and tops. The jeans ans pants were both ok, but I was worried about shrinkage - not of me, of the clothes;) so I decided to wait until I really needed them which will probably be in a few weeks. As of now I am wearing pants and jeans that are 2 sizes up from my normal size. I still have to undo the buttom sometimes though. The shirts were crazy. All elastic gathered waists with but poufy bottom halfs. I was really looking for something to wear now, not in 3 months, so I got one maternity shirt in this super nice royal purple color which should last my whole pregnancy. I then ventured downstairs to the normal clothes and found 2 more shirts that worked well 2 sizes above normal. I'm feeling content for the moment with regards to shirts! I popped into Macy's to see what was up there, and low and behold their maternity section is a damn Pea In The Pod...same stuff I saw the other day. The good thing though, was that the salespeople left me alone. So next time if I'm feeling like I really need something from that store, I'll just go to the macy's version!

maternity shopping ugh.

Yesterday I decided to go to the city to go to a store that was a combo Pea In The Pod, Motherhood Maternity and Mimi Maternity. I got there and it was 2 levels. Downstairs was Pea In The Pod which was SUPER expensive stuff. I mean it was ok, but really - am I going to spend $250 on a maternity shirt? I don't think so. They had some cute sale stuff, but I wasn't feeling it so I went upstairs to the other 2 places. As soon as I made it up, a saleswoman asked if I had ever been there before and explained the store to me. She told me her name. Fine. Thanks. I started looking around and managed to do so without too much hullabaloo. I was there mainly for a dress for a wedding I'm going to next week and a maternity bra and I guess to see what it's like in a maternity store.

I got to the changing room and they put my stuff in a room and asked me my name and stuck it on a post it outside the curtain. This was done by Joanna, who then brought me more dresses, which was fine. Then I left my stuff in there and went to look at bras and 2 other women helped me which was fine. Anyways - the bras didn't seem any sturdier than the ones I could have bought anywhere else, and all the dresses were empire waist, so pretty much anyone would have looked pregnant in them. My friend Stacy showed up to help me and she found me one that's nice, yet casual enough for this outdoor wedding. It was on sale and that was great.

I guess my problem with this store was that pretty much from the second I walked in it was obvious to me that these people were on commission, everyone clearly stating their names, and that is something I can't stand. It's a horrible way to shop. I want to be left alone and if I need help I will ask. Also, about 3 people came up to me at 3 different times while I was near their wall of maternity beauty products and tried to talk me into buying different stretch mark lotion which was proven not to work just last week!

Among the 40 people that seemed to be working there, the real annoyance and only generally unhappy person I came across, was the one taking my money at checkout. Despite the fact that she had a stick up her ass, she clearly had a spiel that she had to give everyone. First she asked for my zip code (I lied), my due date (I lied) and then my address. I don't like giving out my address, especially this way since she never said "do you want to be on our mailing list" to which I would have said "no thanks". She just asked for it. When I said "I don't want to be added to the mailing list", she said in a snarky tone "So you don't want money-saving coupons for Gerber and Similac and blah and blah and blah????" I said "no". I didn't end there. She asked me to fill out a form to get 2 free copies of Parenting magazine to which I said "no thanks" again. I think there were more things, but It was such a pressure filled shopping experience that I was just soured. I'm sure some people love shopping when you have commission salespeople, but not me. I am starting to feel similarly to when I got married. The rule is sell sell sell! Next time I'm going to Macy's, H&M and Target or online when I need something. This place was ANNOYING!

PS> I'm 17 weeks

how AM i feeling?

I have been feeling good. I don't feel pregnant all the time, except for some pains here and there. My boobs are getting sore again, and I have some ligament pain that comes and goes. My ability to sleep isn't good. I toss and turn a LOT. It's not comfortable to sleep on my stomach anymore since it feels like I'm sleeping on a grapefruit, and I haven't allowed myself to sleep on my back since I know I'm not supposed to - although that seems to be something I could do if I wanted to....but I know later I won't be able to, so why treat myself? I used Johnny's pillow last night and that was a nice change. Then I tried to sleep on the couch, and then I just brought a different pillow from the living room over to our room to try. I seem to be in a deep slumber right around the time that I'm supposed to be awake. At least I was in bed by 10:30, so that was good. I'm not really showing - ok - maybe a little, but I am chubby to start with, so all I feel is fat, and when I push down it feels hard underneath but there's so much fat to get through. I can't wait until I'm REALLY showing and everything, fat included hopefully - gets hard. Right now, well - especially today because I am wearing the wrong shirt - I generally feel self-conscious about my stomach area. I plan to join the Y so I can start swimming, and I plan tonight to try my prenatal yoga dvd. I've been saying that for weeks, so wish me luck. Otherwise, I do feel generally pretty good. They call this 2nd trimester the easy one, and then the third will be crappy.....I should be lucky that I can sleep at all, because god knows what will happen when I am 7 - 8 - 9 months pregnant!

emotional rescue

Last week, I was kind of a mess. It was weird. I was just in a crappy mood all week. It was totally pregnancy emotions - bigtime downers, things would just set me off on a neverending crying spree. I cried for about an hour over a bagel. There was another crying spell over a lame dinner I had to go to and it's lameness. It's weird. I sit there crying, knowing I'm crying over something ridiculous, but I just can't stop. It starts with the silly thing, and then escalades into me feeling sorry for myself for various reasons. Again, I blame the lack of sleep. SO..I think I am out of this funk, and I have no lame dinners to go to this week, in fact not many plans at all which is wonderful. I plan on relaxing, maybe FINALLY getting around to prenatal yoga, and most importantly - going to bed early!

nesting

Last weekend I did a shitload of organizing and going through closets and drawers and plastic tubs etc. We took 12 or 13 bags of stuff to the thrift store! (see photo). I am feeling a great need to get very organized and throw away unncessary crap, which there is a lot of. I hear nothing but stories of how much stuff you get when you have a baby and how amazing it is that something so little can take up so much space, so I am trying hard to create that space. As far as NY standards go, we have a decent sized place. It's a 2 bedroom with 2 closets in the main bedroom, one in the hallway and one in the 2nd bedroom. The 2nd bedroom is now used as an office, and will most likely remain that way for a while. I think the kid will live in our room for it's first year. The office is badly insulated, and either boiling hot or freezing cold, and it's also not noise-proof at all - and it's kind of far away from our room, so we've decided to play it by ear and plan for the first year of life to happen in our room. SO....we still have 2 closets to go through, and these are closets that are so full that you have to close the door really fast so stuff doesn't fall on you. This weekend I will start on the hallway one! I also made a trip to Ikea yesterday to check out a shelving unit with a drop down changing table that seems like a wise investment. It will fit perfectly i the space we need it to, so I think that will be a good purchase. A friend offered me use of her gorgeous mid-century modern bassinet, so I think I will take her up on that for the first few months and then switch to a crib. I'm on stroller research now, but I can't really proceed until I scope them out in person, and then I will start on crib research.