25 weeks, 1 day

Let's talk about weight gain


Like most women, I definitely suffer from disordered eating.  A lot of it ties into my anxiety disorder.  This means, when I am most stressed, I take it out on my body in very unhealthy ways.  Usually this involves restrictive eating and over-exercising.  Things like fasting all day before dinner.  Or spending 3-4 hours in the gym a day.

I've gotten better at realizing my limitations and working within them.  For instance, I don't keep a scale in the house so I don't get obsessive about numbers.  I force myself to take a break from the gym when I'm sick (this was a HUGE accomplishment for me a couple years back.)  I make myself have a morning snack of fruit.

Pregnancy is obviously a brand new stressor, with brand new worries and anxieties.  I've been really struggling to make sure I don't slip in to disordered behavior, for the good of the baby.  But this becomes pretty hard when you're getting weighed every time you see the doctor.

This has been especially true over the past month.  I managed to gain only 2 lbs during the first 17 weeks, but then jumped up to 9 lbs.  7 lbs in one month?  Talk to anyone with a ED background and they'll agree the mere thought brings about cold sweats.  My doctor agreed that it wasn't ideal, but tried to console me that the baby had probably just experienced a growth spurt, coupled with the increase in blood volume.  J tried to convince me that the weight gain was probably do to the heightened sodium and fat intake we had eaten the previous day at the food truck festival.

But I spent the last 4 weeks cranking it into gear on the fitness front.  I mean, there wasn't much I could do on the eating front since I already don't eat a lot of crap.  I'm not having any cravings for cheeseburgers or ice cream sundaes or anything.  So I increased my mileage on my daily runs, added in 40 minutes of gym time, and started making sure to do my pilates video on a daily basis.

I was doubly concerned for my appointment this week.  First, because I didn't want another month of a large gain, but also because I had my test for Gestational Diabetes this week.  I was worried that the 7lbs was due to GD.  And even though this is NOT what it means, the disordered part of myself can't help but correlate GD with "fat."  It's not true and not healthy, but really that's what this entire post is about right?  In fact, yesterday morning I had to fight off the unhealthy urge to get in one more run before the appointment.  I convinced myself that with the fasting required for the test and the test itself, it would be a bad idea, but at the same time it was a real struggle.

Yesterday's appointment was both comforting and enabling.  I haven't gained a single pound since last month.  Which makes me feel better, but also reinforces the need to continue with my exercise regime.  Kind of a double edged sword there, right?  I also passed the Gestational Diabetes test, based on the fact that I haven't heard otherwise and I was told that I'd hear within 24 hours if I failed.  And I feel pretty confident in that given that I "cheated" on the test accidentally.  I was only supposed to fast for 2 hours, but since the test was first thing in the morning I had actually fasted for closer to 12 hours.  According to the phlebotomist this means that the results would be clear whether I had GD or not without having to resort to the second 3 hour test.


Total weight gain/loss: +9 
Next Appointment: Monday July 18
Maternity clothes? I had to pick up some new tops this week because a lot of my pre-pregnancy tops are starting to get to short.  However, the Target "long and lean" tanks are just perfect because of their length.  I would have grabbed some more of them, but GAP's maternity tanks were cheaper so I went with them instead.  Still wearing pre-pregnancy bottoms though.  And J thinks that the maternity jeans I am in are starting to look a little big for me... 
Stretch marks: nada. 
Sleep: Awful.  I've been getting up with the sun and having a hard time getting back to sleep.
Best moment this week:  Good doctor's appointment AND J feeling the baby for the first time.
Movement: Nonstop, all the time.  Does this kid ever sleep?  And now J can feel it too.
Food cravings: Nothing 
Food aversions: Nothing 
Gender: Tell you in October! 
Belly Button in or out: in but I'm not sure for how much longer. 
What I miss: This week not so much.
What I am looking forward to: Moving next month and being able to start working on the nursery.
Contractions: Nope. 
Milestones:
- Passed the GD test
- J feeling movement.  Oh, did I mention this already?  Seriously I am so happy about this!

24 weeks, 2 days

Houston, we have viability!  There's something so comforting about hitting 24 weeks.  Mostly because we're officially at the point where Muppet could theoretically survive as an outside baby.  Now don't get me wrong, we're expecting Muppet to stay inside for a good 16 more weeks, there's still a lot of growing to do.  And if Muppet came now, there'd be a rough road ahead of all of us.  But still, knowing that Muppet could be born tomorrow and have a fighting chance takes a weight off my shoulders.

Registering

So we finally registered.  And I was warned that it was going to be an exhausting process.  It was - but only because we did it after J's huge all day event.  Meaning we got to the stores around 6pm.  Other than that it was pretty quick and painless.  Probably because I am queen of the researchers.  So I had everything narrowed down before we got in the store.  And then we just had to check out those items in person to do some yays, nays, and "mmmmm I like this one better."

And so, without further ado - the plans for Muppet's bedroom!

  

The actual reason we registered was because I had to pick up a gift for one of my best friends and figured we could kill two birds with one stone.  H's baby shower was last weekend.  She's about 9 weeks ahead of me.  She didn't tell me until she was in second tri, so by that time we already knew about our expectations.  And I was so excited to have someone to share this journey with.

Even better, because she's ahead of me, I use her as my guinea pig - or vision into the future to see "what's going to happen next."

And since we're at 24 weeks, it's time for the monthly photo brigade!!!

Total weight gain/loss: +9 
Next Appointment: Tuesday, June 21 
Maternity clothes? Still about the same.  Although I bought a new dress to wear to H's shower.  Which is awesome because then we looked like super twinsies. I plan on living in jersey maternity dresses this summer. 
Stretch marks: nada. 
Sleep: I think I've actually been sleeping better this week!  J got up in the middle of the night on Wednesday night, took the dog outside and filled the entire living room with balloons and I didn't even notice! 
Best moment this week:  I'm starting to get excited about "nesting" and the nursery, and I'm loving hitting 24 weeks.
Movement: Yup.  Sometimes REALLY hard which causes me to jump out of my seat.  
Food cravings: Nothing 
Food aversions: Nothing 
Gender: Tell you in October! 
Belly Button in or out: in but I'm not sure for how much longer. 
What I miss: I went to pick up beer for a party and realized I really miss it! 
What I am looking forward to: I really want J to be able to feel the kicks.  
Contractions: Nope. 
Milestones:
- Registering
- Viability!

22 weeks, 1 day

Baby Beluga

The nice thing about long weekends, is the ability to travel.  And we’re taking advantage of that as much as possible while I’m still able!  Before Muppet arrives and we have to start hauling twice as much stuff.  When we’ll actually have to deal with checked luggage (gasp!).

We spent the long weekend in Vancouver.  The weather was perfect and accommodating.  Warmer than we were expecting (which I was thankful for because of the great sweatshirt/jacket debacle I wrote about last week).  We got to eat fabulous food, and J got to indulge in the local brews.  We also did a LOT of walking.  Which my feet were beginning to resent. I totally pulled the pregnant card Saturday night, opting to call it an early night at 10pm instead of going out to a bar.  I know, I’m such a stick in the mud.

We went into some baby stores to scope out equipment.  Just for kicks.  I overheard J telling his parents last night that he actually really enjoyed the experience more than he thought he was going to.  And he’s been on my case about going and picking out stuff for the past week.

We also got to go to the aquarium and see the belugas.  Now, J and I have been to Seaworld and seen our very own local belugas, but this was Muppet’s first experience.  And Muppet?  LOVES Belugas.  I can’t think of another time this little guy was so active.  I like to pretend to interpret Muppet’s kicks.  Like “Hey mom, quit coughing, some of us are trying to sleep in here.” Or “Mind sitting back in your chair, because when you crunch over it smooshes my nose.”  At the aquarium I was getting a definite “Lemme out – I wanna see” feel.  I told J who decided Muppet can probably hear the whales since they use sonar.  I tried to explain that there was plenty of layer between me and Muppet, muffling the sound, but boys will believe what they want to believe.  And speaking of layers between me and Muppet – at the Beluga show the trainers told us that the amount of blubber on a beluga is equal to the space between your pinky and your thumb.  Which coincidently, is just a little bit bigger than my bump.  J took great delight in this as he pointed out that I must be a beluga too!  It’s times like these it’s good to have your mother around.  I don’t think it’s domestic violence when SHE hits your husband.

Total weight gain/loss: +9

Next Appointment: Tuesday, June 21
Maternity clothes? Bits and pieces are working their way into my wardrobe.  Still have a majority of non-maternity clothing I’m wearing, especially since I stocked up on extra-long tank tops in the first trimester. I find I mostly wear maternity wear on the weekend, and stick to my typical work clothes during the week.  Mostly because it's so difficult to find some good looking maternity business wear!  I do have a pair of maternity work pants I’ve been eyeing and I have to pull the trigger and order those before the price shoots up.
Stretch marks: nada.
Sleep: I think I had one night this week I slept all through the night.
Best moment this week: This weekend we started with the really consistent kicking.  Guess Muppet had a growth spurt, or is just tired of being a sleepy baby.
Movement: See above.  Getting kicks throughout the day. 
Food cravings: Nothing

Food aversions: Nothing
Gender: Tell you in October!
Belly Button in or out: in
What I miss: Being away made me really miss being able to drink wine!  Brought a couple of bottles home from Vancouver to enjoy sometime next year!

What I am looking forward to: I really want J to be able to feel the kicks. 

Contractions: Nope.
Milestones:
- Consistent kicking/movement