16 weeks!

Pregnancy has been bliss lately. I have a good deal of my energy back, and so long as I don't try to stay up for more than 10 hours I can go all day without a nap! Granted, I'm really grumpy by hour 7 or 8, but if I need to, I can skip nap time. I feel so free! I've noticed how much hungrier I am lately, which makes sense since I'm growing a human, but oddly enough all I want is wholesome food. I'm pretty glad about that since usually when I'm hungry it's easier to grab quick, not so wholesome snacks. I think the baby is controlling my mind.

The past couple of mornings I've been vomiting as soon as I've woken up, so I called my midwife this morning to ask if I should be worried. She asked me how far along I was and I told her 16 weeks. She then informed me that some unlucky women have their morning sickness return at around 16 weeks! I was so relieved that it wasn't anything serious that I don't really even mind. I've done the morning sickness thing, I can handle it. And besides, so far it's just when I wake up and then I've been fine for the rest of the day. I really don't mind starting the day with a nice vomit session!

Jim will be here in a couple of weeks for the baby's next ultrasound, and I'm excited for another visit and another baby sighting! I really hope we can tell from the ultrasound what the baby is. I've been doing as much 'practice' with ultrasound pictures online as I can, but we may just end up having to wait a few days to find out the sex. We're both hoping for a girl. :)

I've been going for long walks every day and my legs and feet are SORE. That seemed pretty weird to me since I have pretty strong legs from running so I looked in my book (The Mother of All Pregnancy Books - aka. my pregnancy bible) and it informed me that because my muscles are relaxing in preparation for the baby, it's normal to be pretty sore. I still have so much to learn! I catch myself thinking that because something hasn't happened to me yet, it isn't going to. And one by one, those things have started happening (hemorrhoids), or aren't far off from happening (swollen feet and ankles) so from now on I'm not going to assume I'm immune to anything.

I've come a long way in the past week with the body image issue. I haven't had a problem with body image for a long time, so I hated feeling so gross. After talking to Jim about it (I think it really helped to let it all out) and really monitoring my thoughts I've started to realize that pregnancy is indeed beautiful, and I should be enjoying this amazing time and appreciating my body's incredible ability to be doing what it's doing. So when I catch myself feeling self-conscious, I just remind myself "Hey! You're pregnant! Give yourself a break!" And as far as I'm concerned if anyone is stupid enough to think I carry all my weight in my stomach, then they probably shouldn't reproduce.

Well, it's bedtime for grumpy Kim. Thanks for reading!

By the way, this post is dedicated to Serena. :)

Tap. Tap.

Yesterday morning I felt the baby kick for the first time! It felt like being tapped lightly, as if the baby was saying "Excuse me, I'm in here. Just thought I would remind you." I love it! I wouldn't mind being kicked repeatedly (by the baby) every day for the next 25 weeks.

I've been doing some yoga and it's really calming and feels great. The thought of stretching freaked me out a little at first because whenever I make a wrong move too fast I feel like my uterus is ripping open - not fun. Yoga has always made me feel great though so I think if I just proceed carefully and do modified poses I can get all the stress-relieving goodness I've been missing out on.

I'm still having a really hard time with the whole weight gain situation. I've been reading articles and looking at pictures of pregnant women trying to get the "pregnancy is beautiful" feeling to rub off on me. I'm not sure why it bothers me so much, but it really does. I will never be one of those mothers who eats little enough that she doesn't gain much weight and ends up with an underweight baby for the sake of her self-image. I will keep doing what's best for the baby, but hopefully soon I will start to like it. I miss feeling beautiful. :(

I've been singing to the baby a lot lately because of all the articles I've been reading about babies being able to hear and recognize their parent's voices. I think that is a beautiful thing. I can't wait to hold the baby and talk to, sing to and play with him or her. I had my first positive baby dream two nights ago. It was a girl, beautiful and chubby-cheeked with brown hair. Every baby-related dream I've had so far has been a miscarriage dream so it was a nice change!

Well, it's a beautiful day out and time for a walk! Thanks for reading!

Smooth Sailing!

Well, my second trimester has arrived and life is sweet. Nausea is long gone, my energy has returned somewhat and except for my aversion to eggs and chicken, food doesn't seem to be a problem.

Some changes I've noticed are more frequent headaches - which I will take over vomiting any day of the week! - and my sense of smell is insane! I can smell cologne from a block away, and Bella couldn't smell worse if you ask me, but Mom and Anthony don't seem to notice. One really weird thing about my nose is that every kind of dough I've made (pizza, pita, bread) smells like fruit salad!

My first midwife appointment last week was great! Her office was bright, colourful and comfortable and she was friendly and open. It was exactly the kind of personal experience I was looking for. I'm looking forward to seeing her again next month.

Jim is coming to visit tomorrow, and I'm very excited to see him!

Now I have to go clean the bathroom. :)

Fertility Goddess or Friggin' Cow?

Aloha everyone!

A few nights ago I was talking to Jim and he asked if I've been taking pictures of the belly, to which I replied (slightly horrified) that I absolutely was not because I feel enormous and disgusting. I am simply not one of those women who feel beautiful and mystically wonderful, like they could jump from roof to roof in a neighborhood of rice paper houses. I feel like something more akin to the anvil they drop on Wile E. Coyote's head in the road runner cartoons. So no, I hadn't been taking any pictures of myself lately.

After that conversation I got to thinking that while I feel odiously huge right now, when this is all over and I have a beautiful baby and (someday) my figure back, I will probably wish I had taken some pictures of the whole expansion process. So last night, I did. And in case you haven't put two and two together yet (and if you haven't I hope my baby turns out smarter than you) the picture above is my belly. My belly. My belly. MY belly.

When I looked at the picture I was shocked. Startled. Aghast. That is MY belly? You see, I have been avoiding looking at my side profile in mirrors lately so looking at the picture - especially after I cut my head out of it (due to an unsightly mess above my neck) - and realizing it looked like it could be anyone's body was quite an awakening. This baby is in my stomach, not floating around in the secret magical realm of fetuses but in my stomach, growing at an alarming rate. As am I. This is going to take some getting used to.

Although the thought of being pregnant and becoming a mother no longer freaks me out, looking at this picture freaks me out. I'm going to have to look at my side profile regularly from now on to avoid a repeat occurrence of this event.

So, enjoy the picture, and also please enjoy having control over your body. :)

Lastly, I would like you all to know that nothing would please me more than to have the baby come out with Auntie Laura's head.

To Dairy or Not To Dairy?

Aloha!

This weekend Shannon and I hit Sears and I picked out the baby's crib (>>>>>). It was fun, but the options were overwhelming! I'm still not 100% sure about the finish I want, but when I know the sex it will be easier to choose. I want to know the sex NOW. I want to stop calling the baby "he or she". I want to call the baby Tate or Piper. Pregnancy really isn't for the impatient. Oh well. I guess now is a good time to start learning patience anyways.

The past few days have been a roller coaster pregnancy-wise! On Thursday night I decided to stay up until 2am with Miguel and I paid for it dearly on Friday. I woke up with a headache, went back to bed after an hour then woke up again with a worse headache. Then came the nausea. I went to bed by 8:30, threw up and rolled around in bed in agony until I finally got to sleep around midnight. I consider that my lesson. I will go to bed at my bedtime from now on or the baby will make me pay.

The rest of the weekend was quite lovely. The weather has been beautiful, and I think today I will brave the semi-icy sidewalks and go for a walk. It's torture to look out the window and not go out to enjoy the beauty.

For the past week or so, I have been feeling funny a lot, and I haven't been able to figure out why. It's not exactly like nausea, more like uncomfortableness in the digestion area, and I think I may have nailed down the problem. Dairy. I had a huge lactose problem before I got pregnant that seemed to go away until now. Now I feel the familiar stirrings of lactose intolerance rearing it's ugly head again. Unfortunately, I don't enjoy Lactaid and am going to have to drink large amounts of soy milk to keep up with my calcium needs. I have drank soy milk in the past a lot, but I have never enjoyed it. But since I would rather not raise my child with dairy anyways, I may as well get used to the change now. So as I sit here, I am sipping a mug of hot soy milk with honey and cinnamon, and it's delicious. I think the more I drink, the more I will get used to it, and eventually I won't be able to notice a difference.

I have my first midwives appointment this Thursday afternoon, and I'm really excited for it. I've been told that it's a much nicer, more personal experience than I will get with my doctor. That's really important to me, especially considering that this is my first pregnancy and everything is so new and exciting. I want the people around me to be just as happy and excited. Bad attitudes can really spoil the experience. I'm also thrilled that having a midwife also means double the ultrasounds! I could go for one every day and I doubt I would ever get bored of it.

Well, I'm all typed out.

The Godmother.

I made her an offer she couldn't refuse.

Say Hello to Perfection!

Today was my first ultrasound. I don't really have words besides to say that it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. To see the baby's heart beating was amazing. All I can really say due to my current state of euphoria is that I am incredibly happy, and incredibly blessed. And I can already tell this baby is going to be beautiful!

Sleep, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?

Get ready, I'm about to complain.

I am starting to realize that I might not sleep through the night again until the baby starts to...and that is a long way away. My pregnancy books say that insomnia is a 9-month symptom, so unless I stop having to wake up to pee multiple times throughout the night, I don't see a good sleep in my future. Let me paint a picture for you.

9-10:00 - Kim goes to bed.
1:00 - Kim wakes up to pee, and takes 1-2 hours to fall back asleep.
3:00 - Kim wakes up to pee, and takes 1-2 hours to fall back asleep.
5:00 - Kim wakes up to pee, and takes 1-2 hours to fall back asleep.
9-10:00 - Kim wakes up, and wonders if this is what the rest of her life will be like.

This has been my sleep schedule, give or take a pee, for TWO MONTHS.

I. AM. TIRED.

I'm sharing this with you today because this morning I woke up at 4:30 and it is now 10:18, and I still can't sleep. Therefore, I am extra bitter.

Now that I've vented my frustration a bit, on to more cheerful things! I believe I have decided that for a girl I prefer the name Chloe, and for a boy I prefer the name Tate. I'm going to do some research in the coming weeks about the healthiest way to feed your baby (aka. vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, etc.) because I'd like him or her to have the best start possible. Also, I find that kind of thing fascinating. I decided awhile ago to make my own baby food, so I'm also going to look into recipes for homemade baby food. That should be fun, and will definitely save big moula.

I got a job this week, and it starts on the 15th. This is a HUGE relief, because it means I can save for 4 months, then move in July, get settled in August, and work until mid-August, and hopefully be all ready for the baby in September! This is a very optimistic plan, but hopefully there will be no complications, no bed rest and no early delivery. That would be lovely. Also, I'm hoping a handful of muscular, spry, accommodating young men decide to help me move. If you fit this description, feel free to volunteer. If you don't fit this description, feel free to volunteer. I'm not sure how much I'll be able to move when I'm enormous.

Side note: Emma is here, and she just said "This sucks." Ditto.

Thursday is ultrasound day, and I couldn't be more excited. It will be nice to be reassured that everything is developing according to plan, and that there is a baby in there, not a dolphin. I will try and figure out how to get an ultrasound picture on here without a scanner A.S.A.P. In the meantime, prepare yourselves to see the cutest fetus you've ever laid eyes on.

That's all I have for now, mostly because my brain just shut down from exhaustion.