Marination Time: 20 Weeks
Size of baby: Little Bean is 10.5 ounces and 10 inches long. Baby Center says banana this week. This finally seems long/large-ish to me!
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 14 pounds. Ohhh BABY. I’ve jumped a little the past two weeks, and would say it has made a remarkable difference in the appearance of the bump/looking pregnant. Last week I was a little down about getting some cute outfits together, but this week I’ve had a lot of positive feedback now that I “officially” look pregnant and not just a bit chubby. 🙂 I’m feeling great and am eating pretty healthfully, so I’m choosing to not feel too badly about the Mayo guide’s “you likely have gained 10 pounds now” recommendation. I was a little on the smaller side anyway pre-pregnancy, and I’ve got the Jessica Simpson fear in me, so I think we’ll be ok. (Sorry Jess – 70 pounds is a lot!).
Maternity Clothes: This past week I became very conscious of the dwindling days I have left in pre-pregnancy anything. I have some cute Boden faux wrap dresses that have served me well, but it is about time to graduate to all maternity all the time. A vent – despite a LOT of trial and error, I have found very few cute things in smaller-ish sizes without wacko prints, bows on top, or gross/awkward necklines while looking for maternity wear. I have actually had some better luck buying dresses 2 sizes up in non-maternity for the babymoon and summertime. Unfortunately, it is still dead winter here in Chicago and I need some additional options. While Pea in the Pod makes some nice things, I am not willing to spend upwards of $100 for individual pieces of clothing that I will wear only for maybe a year total of my life, max, provided I actually have two or three pregnancies during the same seasons of the year. Some of the cheapest stuff has worked out best for me – thank you Old Navy and Gap for some basics! Have also had some luck with brands Seraphine and Asos Maternity – not too expensive. And Rosie Pope for more splurge-y stuff. I also have bought stuff through random vendors on Amazon.
Sex: Next Tuesday is our 20 week appointment. I’m more eager to know all is going well with Little Bean, but it will be very fun to also know which way we’re going – pink or blue! DM’s parents will be in town just three days after, so we might find a cute way to tell them our news. My visit to my folks isn’t for two more weeks and I don’t know if my mom will forgive me if I keep the sex under wraps until then!
Movement: Lots! I’m noticing 10am and 10pm are popular times, as well as about 20 minutes after I eat. DM got to feel the baby kick last Tuesday, after four days of me shouting come down here! and him then sitting around waiting for baby to make a move, with nothing happening. He gave a little lecture to LB on cooperating with his/her papa!
Belly button watch: Innie.
Sleep: I was short on sleep this week but getting in some workouts helped me make it to Friday.
What I miss: I would have enjoyed being able to have some wine this week. It is the first time during this pregnancy that a glass (or half a bottle…) sounded good to me.
Cravings: Had to have tacos this week. Mission accomplished.
Symptoms: Roly poly when getting up from lying down or when doing ab work on an incline at the gym. It is comical how I’m not even that big yet and need to roll. I’ve been emotional this week – a girlfriend and I went to Buy Buy Baby together to check it out and I choked up at a few of the baby toys. Really.
Best Moment this week: DM feeling the baby kick. And DM surprised me by ordering our crib this week to check it out in the future nursery (it was one we could not see in person, so would need to order it online to see if we liked it). And we had a Super Bowl party and I felt great throughout getting the house ready for it and hosting it.
Also (um – lots of best moments this week?) I had to take a two week hiatus from working out while I worked my tail off finishing up my fiscal year at the firm. I knew I’d need a shift away from my regular workouts sooner or later, which had been mostly circuit training (modified Shred, No More Trouble Zones and Burn Fat Boost Metabolism), with a little pre-natal yoga mixed in. I’m excited I was able to do this through almost week 18. As I was starting to get a little less comfortable with the jumping in those videos though, I’m now trying some prenatal circuit training classes offered at my gym. I also just went to my first Zumba class and I (and the baby!) LOVED it. It was a fun dance party and I could modify to keep both my feet on the ground whenever there were some jumps in the moves. I hope to become a Zumba regular (and that statement probably just aged me 15-20 years…but I don’t care).
I’m trying for about 4x/week workouts – and I need variety pretty much for every day of that in there to stick with it. I shoot for 1-2 weight/strength type sessions, 1-2 cardio type sessions, and prenatal yoga 1x/week. I definitely wasn’t this committed about fitness before getting pregnant, with the exception of the four months before my wedding and about year afterward during which I actually worked out 3x/week regularly – who WAS that woman?! But now, I’m finding that I totally stiffen up and feel more pregnant and achy when I’m skipping workouts, so it is enough to motivate me to keep going/aiming for something about every other day, even if it ends up being something light.
And now, for posterity, some serious belly pics! Here is a picture of me at seven weeks, and then a few of me now at twenty weeks. I’m amazed, for sure!
