Pregnancy: Week 18

We are nearing the end of week 18, and finally caught up to real time on our weekly baby bump photos!  This week the baby is the size of a bell pepper and weighs about 7 ounces. The baby is flexing its arms and legs more, although I can't feel anything yet, and its nerves are starting to myelinate (so I am eating lots of protein per JP's advice!)

And I am definitely looking pregnant (although I am not sure I look this pregnant all the time--the combo of maternity capris with an extra layer of fabric plus a loose shirt may be making the bump look extra big):

I am still feeling good overall, and my energy level has been pretty constant over the last few weeks. It is hotter here, and humid, so I have been sort of tired in the evenings but nothing like the first trimester.  I still probably sleep a little more than I did before, but I get up more to go to the bathroom so it may be a wash in the end.  I have been doing pretty well at making it to the gym this week, and am planning to go for my third cardio/weights day tomorrow.

I am still mostly wearing my regular clothes with a few modifications, but did break out maternity capris I got with a gift card recently, although I think they are still too big:

It is hard to tell in the picture but the belly band part is not really flush against my stomach so they have a little gap in the top and were sort of saggy during the day...I am going to stick with my loose regular clothes as long as I can but I know that their days are numbered!

Pregnancy: Week 17

(FYI, Week 17 ended on Saturday.)  This week the baby is the size of a turnip! I don't have a good visual for the size of a turnip so I guess I am thinking of an extra big avocado, like a jungle avocado from peru (very big, but not as creamy as our favorite kind...).

Anyway, this week I am feeling more and more visibly pregnant (surprise) but still feeling energetic.  In the pic above I am showing off my fun birthday dress from h & m which is not official maternity but I think will last me comfortably for quite a few months of pregnancy.

Some people have asked about food--I definitely am hungrier and am trying to eat healthy snacks between meals, but haven't had any major food aversions or cravings. I am thankful for this as I have heard about people who can't stomach spicy food or other more complicated flavors during pregnancy. We still have curry and tacos and pizza and pasta and whatever else.  I did adjust my breakfast meals at the beginning, from granola and yogurt, which was healthy but sort of high in sugar and seemed hard to digest on my first trimester tummy, to whole wheat english muffins toasted with peanut butter.  I still eat leftovers or a sandwich plus fruit and yogurt for lunch, and now have a stash of protein bars and peanut butter crackers in my drawer at work, along with saltines or other crackers for just when I feel munchy.  Hopefully things will continue to go smoothly.

I made it to the gym twice this week for cardio/light weights plus once for latin heat (their version of zumba) and have been feeling pretty good. My goal is to do three days of cardio/weights plus a weekend class but I didn't get to sleep in time one night and opted for rest over fitness. I have modified my previous workouts a little but still feel like I can get a good workout in.  I am still feeling good, although I have noticed a little aching/stretchy feeling near my right hip.  It seems like it is just from the muscles stretching to adjust to my belly, and is only occasional and not really bothersome...

Pregnancy week by week: 16

We'll start doing one week at a time as we close in on really time weekly updates...

By week 16 our baby peanut is about as big as an avocado, according to my weekly email updates. 
Week 16 saw our third trip to the OB for prenatal care.  We were able to hear the heartbeat this time, and the doctor was happy. I still haven't gained much weight, even though I am looking more and more pregnant, and the doctor said that it is normal for your shape to change first and then the weight to catch up. I am still feeling comfortable so I am not complaining.  Our next appointment is at the end of week 20 and will be our ultrasound visit, which we are getting more and more excited about!

My regular clothes still fit, not all of them but enough to get through a week at work without too much trouble, but I definitely feel that the lineup will continue to be more limited until I start figuring out maternity clothes. I am trying to avoid them for as long as possible and then be as practical as possible so I don't end up with too many clothes with an expiration date...

Pregnancy week by week: 13-15

Continuing to catch up on the belly pics...for reference, today is the beginning of week 18 so we are getting closer to real time...

Week 13: I definitely feel that I look pregnant here. When I went to the doctor at week 12 (the missing photo week) I told her I already thought I looked pregnant and she said no one else even thinks that so don't worry.  But now I definitely think the belly bump is clearly appearing.  Week 13 continued to have improved energy levels, basically back to normal pre-pregnancy although I still sleep a little more.  Once we got the all is well at the week 12 check up, I began telling people at work about the pregnancy, which was a lot of fun.  I work in early childhood so my colleagues are lots of women who love kids, so everyone was very happy and excited and supportive! 

Week 14:  Still feeling more pregnant looking by the day, and more energetic.  I did throw up once this week, which had not happened before, but I ate dinner and then immediately realized it did not sit well and it all came back up quickly and then I went about my day and felt good.  Week 14 was also remarkable because we traveled to dc to celebrate my brother's wedding.  I managed to fit into my dress and mostly had to tell people I was pregnant looking.  I kept feeling good and trying to exercise, although we were tired at the end of the trip.  In this picture I am also showing off my fabulous bella band which I will go into more detail on later. 

Week 15: Still feeling good and happy that my regular clothes still fit, although more snugly.  It has been getting hotter here in Tucson but so far I don't feel like my temperature is any higher as a result of being pregnant, although people keep saying to me what a terrible summer I will have being pregnant in the heat...how helpful!  The pictures really help me see the changes from the beginning of the pregnancy, and I am thankful things have been so smooth thus far.

Pregnancy week by week: 9-12

Continuing with the belly catch up pics:

Week 9 I continued to be tired and spent a lot of time lying around when I was not at work, but I survived.  It must have still been cold then because I am not wearing a t-shirt, which is sort of hard to imagine  now that it is going to be 105+ for the next few days here.  After our doctor's appointment the previous week the idea of the pregnancy was sinking in more and I was still managing to get to the gym 3-4 times a week in spite of being tired.

Week 10: This is about the time I started to feel like my belly was getting bigger and my clothes were getting tighter, and JP and I often had conversations in the mornings that went something like this...
me: do i look pregnant in this?
jp: no, you look the same?
me: are you sure? even if i turn sideways?
jp: no, don't worry, your secret is safe!
So, reassured, I would head off to work and no one seemed to look at me twice. 
I also ended up telling my supervisors at work about the pregnancy this week because it was indirectly relevant to some future planning we were doing...I hadn't intended to spill the beans so early but they were all so excited that it made me thankful to work in such a supportive and family friendly place.

Week 11: I definitely think I look more pregnant here, but again, probably not noticeable to anyone who is not watching the week by week comparison slide show or obsessing like me.  I also noticed that I tended to have a bigger belly after a big meal or sometimes at the end of the day, but then seem smaller later, a kind of come-and-go baby bump. 

Week 12 is the week we managed not to take a picture--oops!  We did go back to the doctor for the second time and were told that everything was looking good.  Because my doc couldn't get the baby's heartbeat on the monitor, she pulled out the mini-ultrasound machine and we got to see the baby again, but did not get any pictures. The baby looked a lot more substantial than our first glimpse, and we were able to clearly see the head, discs making up the spine in the torso, and hands and feet moving around very actively. It is surreal to see the baby moving around on the screen and not be able to feel it, but exciting at the same time.

Pregnancy week by week: 6-8

We found out about the pregnancy early on, and after taking a second home test to confirm it, scheduled an initial OB appointment for 8 weeks and began taking belly pictures:

Week 6 was good. I was tired the first few weeks after finding out, partly because I had a hard time sleeping the first couple of nights thinking about how everything was going to go, and because I suddenly had to get up to pee a lot more often at night, which is apparently very common.  It was also exciting and a little bit tiring to be secretly pregnant but avoid spilling the beans to anyone at work or in our family.   I wanted to wait until I was out of the first trimester at work and wait until our first OB appointment to confirm that everything was looking good with the pregnancy.

Week 7 the fatigue continued.  I felt like I spent all my energy being an undercover pregnant person at work so I couldn't manage to find any energy after work to do things like pick up the house, cook dinner, or do dishes. Luckily, JP was very helpful and accommodating while I laid around on the couch and promised that the pregnancy book said this wouldn't last. This was also the week where I had my most nauseous moment, on Wednesday morning around 6:15 am when I was on the elliptical runner at the gym and wondering how fast I could get downstairs to the bathroom...but luckily the moment passed. While I was not actively nauseous through most of the first trimester, my stomach definitely felt off and I ate a lot of saltines and other boring crackers, which seemed to do the trick.
 

Week 8 was highlighted by our first OB appointment, with a doc recommended by several friends from work, as all of the people at work who have had babies in the past few years have gone to this practice.  We got to fill out lots of paperwork and I got to get poked and prodded and all that, but we got to see the baby on ultrasound, looking like a little lima bean with a heartbeat, and after leaving it felt a lot more real that there was an "official" baby inside.  Once we got the "everything looks good" pronouncement from the doc, we also told our families our baby news, which was very exciting as well.  

Guess what?

Things have been busy this summer, and it feels like time is flying...in the midst of all this, we have good news: I am pregnant!  We are expecting a thanksgiving week baby. We are very excited to share our news and things are going well so far!


 Here is a comparison picture of weeks 6 and 15 (which was last week):

I coincidentally wore the same thing both days that we took the picture and it seemed like a good way to illustrate the difference in belly size that we saw over that time.  We have been taking weekly belly pictures and I will try to catch up on posting some with what I can remember of that time so far. 

I am feeling good and the tiredness of the first trimester has faded as a renewed energy has combined with my slowly swelling belly.  Luckily my regular clothes still fit, with a few modifications here and there, and I am hoping to make that last as long as possible... I will try to be better about posting updates...

JP's First Triathlon

Belatedly, here are some pictures and highlights from JP's first triathlon in Rocky Point at the end of April.  We did the four hour drive from Tucson to Rocky Point on Friday afternoon, passing through the scenic border town of Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico/Lukeville, AZ:

The race was on Saturday morning, based out of a condo complex down the road from where we stayed with JP's Mom and Step-Dad, Mary and Tom, who were bravely also competing in the triathlon!  I was the support person, holding stuff, carrying shoes, and being the official photographer of course.

Here are the competitors prior to heading out to the track:

And here they are at the (very windy) transition area.  I had never been to a triathlon before, so it was interesting to see how everyone set up their stuff to transition from swimming to biking and then from biking to running:

The swim was in the ocean, and JP and Mary did the "sprint", which was 500 meters, while Tom did the "Olympic" distance of 1000.  It looked like a madhouse on the beach, but they had staggered starts and the different groups and age groups sorted by swim cap color, which seemed to work out pretty well:

I am pretty sure this next picture is the start of JP's group since the gray swim cap people seem to be heading into the water:

They basically swam three sides of a rectangle and then emerged to run up the beach to the transition area and grab their bikes:

I had found a comfortable spot in the shade on the balcony of the condo complex, so I stayed put while JP and the other competitors grabbed their bikes and headed out for 16 miles of windy, sandy riding. They then returned their bikes and finished by running a 5 k, ending on the beach.

Here's JP rounding the turn onto the beach (in the gray shirt just above the white boat):

Here's JP in his gray shirt just before crossing the finish line (his head is right below the umbrella on the left side of the finish line marker):

JP was happy with his time and is already scheming for his next triathlon in the fall. Mary and Tom were also pleased with how they did and I was just happy to enjoy a weekend on the beach!