27 weeks + 2

Well hello! 

Last time I posted I shared the exciting news of our pregnancy! That was around 18 weeks, and now I am 27 weeks and 2 days(ish). I really haven't needed to post much because I've been feeling really great! Up until lately I’ve had minimal hip pain and have been smooth sailing.

And really, in general, I still feel pretty great. I honestly can't complain! I’ve been so lucky. I hear a lot of women talk about how awful their pregnancies were. Constant nausea, terrible pains, no sleep, awful acne, tremendous weight gain, etc. It really runs the gamut of symptoms. I have very little to complain about.

For the most part: I'm still sleeping generally okay, besides the needed to pee every five seconds. I have rouge nights were I get hardly any sleep at all. Not always because I’m uncomfortable, but sometime just because I physically cannot get myself to fall asleep. It’s very bizarre. Like a pregnancy insomnia. 
I'm heavy. I’m heavier than I’ve ever been in my life. I’m up 26 pounds. Listen, that may not sound like a whole lot for a pregnancy, but I am tiny person. I’m barely over 5 ft tall and I’m about 125 lbs typically, so carrying all that extra weight in the front is hard for me. Especially with my joint issues. I knew I’d gain weight, and I’m genuinely okay with that. I am carrying it all in my belly, and I’m not really filling out elsewhere which is a good sign for losing the weight post-baby. The only thing that really bothers me about the heaviness is that it makes it difficult to do the day-to-day things. My back hurts, my legs are tired, I’m almost always winded (I had to take a second after putting on my sneakers this morning…), and my hips are starting to feel the strain.

However, I am managing. I'm trying to make sure to take breaks and relax when I can. I get tired easily, but I'm doing my best to take it easy. So far, the major hip concerns I have at this point are my left sciatica and some stiffness/uncomfortableness in my right hip. The sciatic pain is something that is normal in many typical pregnancies, I think that for me it's just slightly more exacerbated due to the pelvic issues I've had. I have been struggling with this almost daily. Right now it's not usually too awful, but it's regularly painful and the constant pain can be hard to cope with sometimes. My biggest concern is that I still have 13 weeks to go, and I'm certainly not going to get smaller. Ya know? Baby's only (God willing) going to get bigger, which means I am going to get bigger. This is the main concern: If I’m feeling this way now, how am I going to feel as I put on more weight? I can only hope that the weight gain continues to be gradual, and that my body adapts to the weight change as I go.

So, what am I trying to do for this? Well, almost every day I'm doing a series of stretches and yoga poses to assist with the sciatic pain and to try and open up and keep my hips and pelvis loose and flexible. It also helps keep me feeling like a little bit less of a lazy shlub. I haven't exercised once since I found out I am pregnant and I'm feeling slightly guilty about that. I am just trying to be understanding of my body and not overdo it when I really don't have to. I’m not gaining weight uncontrollably, I'm still eating pretty healthy food and snacks, and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything as far as exercising goes. Also, I'm generally exhausted most of the time and I feel like I would just fall asleep on the exercise bike. BUT, besides the stretches, I'm making sure to get up off my butt every hour at work and walk around a bit. I do a few laps around the office to get my blood pumping and to keep myself from getting too stiff. This does help a lot, as well.

On another note: I’d just like to state for the record that this pregnancy thing is pretty wild. It’s been an extremely interesting physical and emotional experience. There are a lot of things that women just do not tell you (or maybe it’s just not over-emphasized, or maybe I just wasn't prepared). I don’t know if it’s because they don’t want to scare you, or if they don’t want to complain, or what. Or maybe we, as women, just take this all in stride so well. But let me tell you, there are some bizarre things that go on in a woman’s body during pregnancy.

First of all, this stomach growing thing is out of control. I think it’s pretty much every day that I wake up and my stomach is a bit bigger. There’s crazy stretching feelings that go along with this; like you’re a balloon being inflated. It’s not necessarily painful, but it certainly doesn’t tickle. And the itching? Forget-about-it. I’m lotion-ing up every night like I’m on some Aveeno commercial. Matt laughs at me because I have like a 45 minute bedtime routine (half that is spent actually trying to get INTO bed). Between the pillow arrangement, actually getting into bed, the lotion application, the chap stick and then the catching my breath, I have to start at like 8:30 pm.

Another thing, the MOVEMENT: This baby is going to be some kind of martial arts extraordinaire. Either some kind of Jiu-Jitsu, or like a Taekwondo? Or maybe just plain old kick boxing, I have no idea. But whatever it is, he will be fabulous. I also predict he’ll come out of the womb walking with all of the strength and conditioning he’s getting in there with the kicking. How do you other pregnant ladies focus all day? I mean, really? I will sit in meetings and I am so concerned that people are staring at my belly (the one in which my child is doing back flips and cart wheels and somersaults). He’s active pretty much all day. I mean, don’t get me wrong…I love to feel him move, it’s the best thing I’ve ever felt in my entire life. There’s absolutely nothing like it. But…that’s the problem! How do you do anything else with yourself when all you want to do is laugh and giggle at this crazy kid having a rave in your belly? I guess I just always imagined it was more like occasional feelings of movement. Like when my sister-in-law was pregnant with my littlest niece, I remember thinking how rarely it seemed I had the opportunity to feel her kick. No, no. I was very wrong. I’m glad he’s active, because it means I can regularly know that he’s doing just fine in there, but sometimes Matt and I are downright shocked by him rolling and kicking!

Emotions: let’s just have a quick chat about this. The other day, I nearly cried at a commercial with a puppy in it. It was a dog food commercial and it showed a kid and his puppy growing old together and it just hit me right in my pregnancy feels. I had to take a minute to collect myself. There are many other triggers. If it’s got a baby in it, I’m likely to get emotional. I got a bit wet in the eyes during parts of the State of the Union address (really?....). I had my performance review at work a few weeks ago and I got weepy as I tried to explain how great of a year I’ve had at work. What? That one really made no sense. It’s like I am a crazy person. I also have a zero-tolerance policy on stupidity or laziness. I have very little left in patience. I don’t take any crap from anyone, which is a good and bad thing, as far as work goes.

And lastly, let me just talk about the hunger for a second. People (men especially), the pregnancy hunger that is so hilariously portrayed in romantic comedies is FOR REAL. I can’t say that I’ve personally experienced much in the way of cravings. But I have never been so hungry all of the time in all of my life (and I am a hungry person…an eater by nature). I will eat an entire giant meal, and still not be full. Just a couple weeks ago I had a whole appetizer plate of calamari on my own, then I had spaghetti and meatballs with bread, and went on to top off with a hearty piece of Tiramisu. It was delicious! And I wasn’t even full. That is like freakish. I was appalled at myself for just a hot second, then I remembered that I just don’t care at all. I have another similar lunch opportunity coming up this afternoon and I am seriously looking forward to it. This is my eating schedule:

5:15 am: Cereal
6:45 am: Hubby makes me a fruit smoothie for our ride to work

8:00 am: Frozen waffles (these are delicious FYI) or oatmeal

10:00 am: Snack (usually strawberries and blueberries or some kind of fruit...baby loves oranges)

11:30 am: LUNCH because I cannot wait another second. Usually a frozen lean cuisine and a small salad or something

1:30-2:00 pm: Snack (usually carrots and hummus)

Then this is the worst stretch of the day: I try to make it until dinner around 5:00. (I honestly almost always cave and have a bag of popcorn or some chocolate covered almonds)

5:00 pm: Dinner

6:30-7:00 pm: Dessert: Before pregnancy: a fleeting desire mostly snuffed by the will-power to stay away from unnecessary calories. Now?: An absolute necessity that I don’t go a single night without. Sometimes it’s Oreos and milk, sometimes it’s ice cream, sometimes it’s brownies. 
I don’t know or care what the daily caloric intake is there. And let me tell you that if I was taking this pregnancy eating thing with reckless abandon, there would be several other snack times in there. This is me being controlled and self-contained. THE HUNGER IS LIKE NOTHING I HAVE EVER EXPEREINCED.

Anyway, I’ve seemed to ramble on like I do. I’ll keep you posted as I move along in this pregnancy thing. My next OB appointment is in a couple weeks, I’ll post if there’s anything of interest to note!

Bye all, time for a snack,

D and baby G