Week 23

I do not like to blog in a non-chronological order.  It doesn't sit right with my logical, organized, linear way of thinking.  However, I am in blog overwhelm.  I know that I have a couple of blogs that need to be written and then I need to tackle our fantastic trip to Europe which, while I can't wait to have it all documented, is going to be a serious task.  I have over a 1,000 pictures to sort through.  Ugh.  So I have been avoiding blogging.  Which just puts me further and further behind. So, I am going against my grain and writing this blog because I don't want to get further and further behind.

When I first learned I was pregnant, I thought, "wouldn't it be neat if I blogged every week so I would have a written journal of this journey?"  Yeah, it would be neat.  But see above paragraph for why that hasn't happened.  No more delay.  I am going to start blogging now otherwise it will never happen.  I may not blog every week.  Maybe I won't have anything to say every week.  I certainly don't expect you, as a reader, to care to read my pregnant thoughts once a week.  But, maybe someday I will want to look back and remember so I will do it for me and you can feel free to skip this for the more fun and interesting blogs about such things as gelato, extinct volcanoes, and ruins that are thousands of years old!

Week 23 -
In the past two weeks a few things have changed.  To start with, I have gotten nearly all of my appetite back.  I still don't think meat sounds particularly good however, if prepared as part of a meal I will eat it.  I feel hungry AND I can't seem to stop myself when eating.  I have eaten to the point of stuffed more in the last 2 weeks than in the last 5 months.  Gotta get some self control back.  :)  As a direct result, the scale has finally moved past the point it was when I got pregnant.  I was so excited for the first 22 weeks to have lost weight, then gained some back but still be under what I weighed when I got pregnant.  Since I was already overweight when I got pregnant, my doctor and I set a goal for me to not gain any weight during pregnancy.  I felt like it was doable based on the first 22 weeks.  Once I hit 20 weeks I figured it may be harder to keep from gaining weight so I thought, if I can gain just 1/2 lb a week then when I deliver I would only be up 10 lbs - awesome, right?!  Sure.  Until the last 2 weeks.  It's like I've gone off the deep end. I have gained 6 lbs in the last 2 weeks.  GRRRRRR.  This is so not the plan. 

So now I've got to #1 - Get back to focusing on either healthy vs. eating what sounds good #2 - practice some self control and #3 - start exercising.  I really don't want to go out of control with my weight and gain 20 - 25 lbs by the time I am done.  Don't get me wrong - I am committed to giving my baby the nutrition it needs and am not talking about starving him.  However, I can be healthier about what I am doing, now that it's showing in my results.

Another thing thing that has happened in the past 2 weeks (and maybe, fingers crossed, the weight is a result of this- at least partly) my belly has really popped out.  There's no denying it anymore, unless I wear big, baggy, non pregnancy clothes.  I have a pregnant belly.  My belly button is getting shallower - weird!

Lastly, the baby is making his presence more known.  His movements have grown from the kind of rolling sensation I felt early on.  I now feel what I will call, points of impact.  He must have grown big enough for me to feel him kicking and punching.  It's not extreme yet but it's definitely different.  Also, I have been able to feel those movements from outside my belly as well.  Peter hasn't quite had that "I certainly felt that one" moment but he's got a short attention span when it comes to waiting with his hand on my belly.  Also, in the last week, if I watch my belly when he's kicking/punching (?! will I ever know which one he's doing?) a bunch I can see my belly move.  This is a WEIRD thing for me.  Seeing my belly move independently from something I'm doing is an odd thing.  Don't know if I'll get used to that.

Sleep has become a problem.  Not only do I not sleep through the night because of at least 2 nightly trips to the bathroom, but it's become difficult to get comfortable.  Either my back hurts or my belly isn't supported or my bosoms are squished... Seriously, it's a joke.  I have a pregnancy pillow but it causes me more stress than helps.  I've seen a different version that some women swear by but it's so BIG (look it up - it's called the Snoogle).  How would I ever feel like I could cuddle with Peter if I'm sleeping with that thing?  Plus it's so large it would take up most of the bed!  And, lastly, I'm cheap.  I hate that we spent 50.00 on a special pillow I'm not crazy about but it would kill me to spend another 50.00 just to try another kind that may not work either.  So instead, I torture myself every night and wake up tired.  I am tired all the time.

There's the update for the week.  No, we haven't picked out a name.  No, we haven't bought furniture.  No, we haven't made space in the office for it to become a nursery.  No, we haven't signed up for birthing classes.  I'm still in avoidance on all of those.