Tag Archives: motherhood

15 Weeks

How far along: Week 15 completed on 4/17/12

Weight gain: ?? Still no idea, though I’m convinced by now it ain’t zero. We’ll see at my midwife appointment on April 27th.

Clothes: Still fitting everything, but I continue to hate any feeling of pressure on the stomach. I tried to wear a belt over a dress for church . . . yeah, that belt came back off within about 3 minutes. And one day after work I was so bloated and uncomfortable (yeah, it could be the fact that I had French fries for lunch 2 days in a row . . . with more mayonnaise than you care to imagine) that I hopped out of the office as early as possible and hit up Target. It was a completely spontaneous trip, birthed by the degree of my discomfort. And there, I bought not one but TWO pairs of maternity jeans. One is a kind of blah-heh but comfy style, but I’ve forgiven it the ‘blah-heh’ part since it allowed me to comfortably eat fries again for lunch the next day (with a salad to balance things out) . . . and fries the next day too. I think I have a problem.

The second pair is a skinnier fit, slightly cropped, with a nice dark wash. As soon as I call forth the gumption I need to spend some time with Photoshop, I’ll be sharing pics of that very first maternity clothes shopping expedition! Yes, I took pictures of myself in the mirror of the dressing room and imagined that all you guys were in there with me.

Hope that’s okay.

The bench area was a little crowded, but you didn’t seem to mind sitting on each others’ laps.

And by the way, you totally loved the little jacket I splurged on.

As you may remember, I had planned on holding out on ALL maternity wear purchases until Rummage, but . . . well, to put it bluntly, that plan went into the crapper.

Sorry for the crude expression. But the word “crapper” kind of makes me laugh today.

Purchases: 2 pairs of maternity pants, 1 body pillow, 1 maternity tank (the striped number featured in all these pics).

Body: In the morning my stomach is pretty darn flat, but as the day progresses and I ingest food, it just gets bigger and bigger. And bigger. The difference from morning to night would be hilarious if it weren’t so darn uncomfortable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But in general, this week has been much better than last week. Seriously better. I have a few queasy moments throughout the day, but they usually pass after a few minutes, or at most after an hour or two. One of my queasiest moments happened Sunday night when I cooked up a batch of Spicy Tuscan Soup. Normally, I consider the smell of onions and bacon and garlic and sausage to be one of the top smells the world has to offer. I basically just lean my face over the pot and inhale the scent over and over again until I’ve rendered my smelling-organs numb and useless for the next 24 hours. But this time, sadly, the intense aromas caused me to flee to the living room and order my husband to take over soup duties. And let me say–it’s a sad, sad day for a foodie when onions and garlic send you running.

It causeth great conflict in the general area of my soul.

And yes, I appear to be laughing in that picture–but inside I’m crying.

Sleep: Awesome! I’m not using the body pillow yet, but I’m glad to have it in my arsenal. And I still can’t stay awake during our night-time reading of Sherlock Holmes, dangit, and I ended up missing out on huge swaths of a really great story this week.

Best moment(s) of the week: What will you think of me if I say “eating fries”? And more importantly, what will I think of myself if I say “eating fries”?

Hmmm. Let’s just not answer this particular question this week, eh?

Movement: Maybe? I was at Bible study last Thursday, my stomach was quite poochy and full of food, I was sitting very still, and suddenly I felt this kind of wiggly feeling when I breathed out. Digestion? Baby? I don’t know for sure, but I do know that I sat there entranced with my hand pressed into my belly and eyes as wide as saucers, imagining that it might be the twitchings of a tiny dancer/pugilist.

There was a repeat of this experience Sunday night as that Tuscan soup simmered and my husband played some blues on the guitar. I asked him to try and feel it–and he could! It was like a very persistent tap-tap-tap in the lower right side of my abdomen. Either I was having very rhythmic digestion, or . . . BABY!!! We both still think it might be digestion, but who knows–it could be a blues-lovin’ little baby, movin’ to the twang of the guitar.

Food cravings/aversions: Have I mentioned French fries? It’s like those skinny, crisp, potatoey delights have completely hypnotized me. Which is the only explanation that can account for eating them at lunch 4 days in a row. 4 days in a row, people! But coupled with juicing and frequent vegetarian dinners, I’m hoping it won’t have too many adverse effects on the Little Wa-Wa. Hopefully my body, in its internal wisdom, knows to send the spinach and carrots to the baby and distribute all the grease to me.

Symptoms: Occasional queasiness/nausea (exacerbated by strong smells), bloating (ugh)–but that’s about it.

Emotions: They seem to be toning down after last week. No new outbursts or anything–I guess I’ll have to schedule a dramatic emotional breakdown this week just to keep you guys entertained.

Hopes and dreams: Seeing pictures pictures on facebook of my cousin Steve and his wife Steph’s newborn, Levi, has been extremely emotional. I can barely look at the images of that tiny little body curled in sleep against his grandpa or daddy or mommy without tears immediately clouding my vision. In particular, a shot of the baby sleeping on Steph’s dad’s chest made me long for the day that my dad will hold our little one. I know that my heart will just melt right away like wax over a flame.

What I miss: Same as last week–having normal digestion that doesn’t call attention to itself. My stomach used to be a mean, clean food processing machine–and it seems to be just limping along right now, in sore need of replacement parts.

What I’m looking forward to: A permanent baby bump instead of this sometimes-here sometimes-not belly that has nothing to do with the size of the baby, but the size of my serving of . . . you guessed it. Fries.

Husband update: Emotions have been happening! The other day he got really upset that pregnancy is so tough on women. It hasn’t been too bad for me, but historically childbirth has been very risky business. And we have a friend at church whose pregnancy has been a nightmare of sickness and headaches. We had to talk it out and work through that a bit–why does God let this beautiful life-creating experience also be a really horrible experience for so many women? Why did childbirth have to get cursed back in the garden of Eden? Seeing my husband process through this was totally unexpected for me, but also precious–he’s a guy who thinks deeply, feels deeply, and cares deeply. That’s what drew me to him all those years ago when we were freshmen at IU–his intensity, his passion, his inquiring mind and his tender heart. His ability to see and feel both beauty and pain. I just love him, and he’s going to be such a wonderful dad.

And in case you were wondering, here he is at 15 weeks.

Lookin’ pretty good there, sweetie. Pregnancy suits you well. And I’ve always thought that vein running down your forearm was especially hot. Keep up the good work.

Hee hee.

Thanks to all you guys again for sharing so much with me and leaving so many encouraging comments!

 


14 Weeks

Two days ago saw the end of week 14, and I’m going to attempt to write regular weekly updates–with pictures! Pregnancy updates are something I enjoy reading so much on other blogs (and I’ve learned so much from those real-life stories!) that I want to pull a page out of their books (like Lindsy’s fabulous blog–you should totally check it out).

How far along: Week 14 completed on 4/10/12

Weight gain: ?? No scale at home . . . but my next appointment with the midwife group is April 27th, so I’ll share then.

I can’t wait to put on a few pounds–I know that sounds weird, but seriously . . .

Clothes: I’m still wearing normal clothes, but I can’t stand any pressure on my stomach area. Can’t stand it. And by that I mean keent steeeenit (anyone seen “Singing in the Rain”?). So goodbye belts and cinched waists! I’ve never loved my loose tops more than I do now. Technically I could still wear snug tops, but when I do, I feel like I have to hold my stomach in since after I eat a meal–or even just a snack–I look inflated but not necessarily pregnant. Kind of an awkward stage. I’m still sporting my regular skinny jeans and cords, but not my 3 pairs of skinny-skinny pants if you know what I mean (yes, those are two different categories). They are banished from my sight. Banished, banished, banished. I’m holding out for Rummage to find some maternity jeans–I remember loving my sister Heidi’s pair from Target (even on my then not-pregnant body), so I’m pretty excited about finding a flattering pair with a nice soft waistband. And by the way, if you don’t know what Rummage is, you can read about it here, here, and here. It’s going down the week of May 7th, and it’s the sale of the century.

Purchases: Nothing since those adorable 3 baby things from Salvation Army. But Rummage, oh Rummage, I know you will be a treasure trove.

Body: Everything was feeling pretty good there for a couple weeks (#12 and #13), with sickness mostly gone and bloating becoming not as much of an issue (though still present). I thought I had said my final adios to nausea . . . until I got a surprise fatigue + sickness-attack last Wednesday. It was bad, folks. I got home from work around 5:30, collapsed on the couch, and slept for over an hour. My husband heated up some leftover Pad Thai for himself, and the smell was so hideous to mine heightened sensibilities that I ran around the house opening windows, lighting candles, plugging in an Airwick scent thingy, and even lighting an incense stick. Then I sat in a chair feeling pretty deathly, and my husband announced he wanted to clean out and organize our front closet. For some reason, this sent me into an avalanche of tears, and I cried for about an hour. Then I spent some more time on the couch. Finally, I roused myself around 8:30 to play a round of Bananagrams with my poor, neglected husband. However, halfway through the round I felt the bile rise, said “Oh s***!” (sorry, Mom), ran to the toilet, and spent 10 minutes dry-heaving into the toilet.

Aren’t you glad you’re hearing all the gory details?

Don’t answer that question. You might make me cry.

Suffice it to say I had no desire for any food the entire evening, though I worried down a cereal bar right before bed because I didn’t want to starve out that lil’ baby. That was the worst sickness yet, and I was caught totally off guard by it. I hope it goes away forever–and don’t you come back no mooore no moooore no mooore, no mooore!

Sleep: Going strong! My husband has been reading me Sherlock Holmes stories at bedtime, and I’m usually out after about 2 pages. Of course, when he finishes the story and gently asks “Jenna, are you still awake?”, I wake up again and then he has to fill me in on everything that I missed. Which is basically the whole story. So technically I’m not enjoying Sherlock, but my husband’s excellent recaps. Thanks, baby.

Best moment(s) of the week: Communing with my baby during yoga–it was awesome.

Movement: None yet, but I’m looking forward to it.

Food cravings/aversions: Fried eggs, Thai noodles, and popcorn are still pretty much off the docket, though they used to be top-of-the-list favorites with me. Sigh. Food is still trickier than ever before. I’ve never been a picky eater. I have trouble even thinking of one thing I don’t like to eat point blank. Let’s see . . . umm . . . okay, raw shrimp! I had raw shrimp at a sushi place once and gagged. But I really love variety in my diet, both ingredient-wise and cuisine-wise. So it’s wild that I don’t want to eat just anything these days. For example, the other night (not Sick Night Maximus–a different one) nothing seemed to appeal to me. I knew I should eat because hey, having dinner is generally a good idea, but . . . ugh! After listing all my options about 5 times out loud–yoghurt? mac and cheese from a box? a cereal bar? a potato? rice? a carrot? rice and a carrot?–(sorry, husband-o-mine), I finally decided that I felt like a boiled red potato slathered with butter and a strawberry banana smoothie. I nixed the potato (too much trouble) and just went with the smoothie (yep, this one–so thick and perfect!).

Symptoms: Still some bloating any time I eat (blech), a feeling that I pretty much loathe. But it’s really lessened recently, and I’m hoping the sickness goes far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, . . . you get the idea.

Emotions: They’re there. And they’re strong. Who bursts into tears when their husband offers to clean? I make no sense, even to myself.

Hopes and dreams: I’m so excited about my maternity leave this fall. I have visions of napping with the baby while a stew simmers on the stove or a chicken roasts in the oven. This is, of course, assuming that my appetite returns, which at the moment feels impossible. Unlikely. A pipe dream, really.

What I miss: Always feeling great no matter what I ate, and never giving even a thought to my digestion. My stomach worked so admirably for so long that I was never even that aware of it. Now it’s much more iffy. My stomach seems bent on proclaiming “here I am, and I am NOT altogether that pleased with you!” Little punk. I’ll have to start getting tough or something.

(are you frightened by my ‘let’s get tough’ look?)

(yeah . . . maybe it needs a little work)

What I’m looking forward to: Having a little belly! Having this whole “chest” thing I’ve been hearing about for so many years! And seeing what kind of hair our baby has. Do you remember my husband’s afro-like mop from our college days? I keep wondering if our baby will inherit that wiry, voluminous head of hair. And it gives me fuzzy feelings inside.

Husband update: I’m hoping to do a little interview soon and get the man’s perspective on the 1st trimester. But until I actually take 15 minutes to come up with questions, interrogate him thoroughly and type up all of his fascinating answers, I should share that he is still a very willing photographer. He just learned the trick of bracing his arm on a wall or chair to avoid camera shake and the resulting blur. BUT I happen to love this blurry shot that somehow happened in the midst of the snapping!

And by the way–what kind of things do you think I should ask him during the little interview? Any brilliant ideas, or burning questions that you may have?

In the meantime, here’s to no sickness in week 15!